It’s summer and with the sun out here in the Northwest, it’s been time to get out before the gray sets back in. I’ve been doing some here and there at the keyboard, but my time has mostly been spent with yard improvements. Retaining walls have been built, land leveled, raised beds constructed, and dirt moved…a lot of dirt. I’m pretty sure that the Earth has changed its rotational spin with the amount of dirt brought in. If you’ve felt that wobble, I apologize. But, that work is nearly completed and it’s time to get back to putting Ramen back on the table.

A Shrouded World: Valhalla, the fourth book in the series, is at the publisher and should be available soon. “Should” is the key word to focus on here. That series is released in all versions at once, so it takes time to compile everything and have the narration for the audio books completed.

I have nearly finished the editing for the second book in the Lifting the Veil series, Lifting the Veil: Winter. This books will take you into the lives of the survivors as they wait out the years until they can again emerge from their shelters. I will say right off that it doesn’t have a ton of action or heart-pounding moments. It’s time to set that bar low. This is the pause before things get really interesting. You can see the storm clouds rising on the horizon and feel the ozone start to build. But first, we have to get to that point and make sure all of the duckies are in a row. The cover is almost complete and I will share that when I get it into my greedy mitts. I anticipate a release before the end of the month, perhaps sooner.

Once I have Winter released, I’ll continue with the scant parts I’ve written on the concluding book. That one is going to be interesting to write, but I’m looking forward to it. I have a ton of ideas and we’ll see which ones make it into the story. Following the finish of this series, it will be time to dive back into Jack and the rest of Red Team.

I have a thought sitting in the recesses of my brain to develop an action/adventure series of books involving Red Team, different from the current series. This one won’t involve monsters, but instead as a special ops unit taking on various assignments. I’m not sure about this one as yet, but there’s a tickling of ideas emerging.

So, that’s about it for now. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

John

Well, the editing with the fourth book of A Shrouded World has finally been completed and with the publisher.  I don’t have a specific date for when it will be released as all versions with that series are released together, so the narration has to be completed.  But, it’s finished and should be ready sometime this summer.

The first stage of editing the second book of Lifting the Veil has also been completed and was sent for the second round of editing this weekend.  This book was difficult to write because it’s less about action and more about putting pieces in the right places.  The conditions had to be correctly set in order to move into the third book.  I’m used to having action break up the monotony of the phases in between, so moving from one survival camp to the next without blood-splashing actions scenes was tedious to write.  I learned that I’m much better with action scenes than I am with any other aspects…or that I enjoy writing them better.  But, the tedious scenes are necessary for the story to evolve.

Now, with the completion of the second book’s draft, I can move on to the concluding third book.  There is a lot happening in my mind with regards to the final book that just needs translation into words on paper.  The forces of light and dark will work to bring the bring the souls to their side and eventually collide with a  decisive battle.  I’m looking forward to diving into the book and will do so shortly.

Thank you all for your support!  If you wouldn’t mind taking a moment to leave a review for all of the books, I would greatly appreciate it.  I hope you had a great weekend and that your week treats you well.

John

It’s been a while since I’ve updated matters, so accept my apologies.  I’d like to say that I’ve been chained to the keyboard, but the fact of the matter is, I haven’t.  I injured my hand and that’s been keeping me from endlessly pounding out words.  I have recently been able to start back up and am progressing with the second book of Lifting the Veil.  So, I haven’t been totally slacking and here’s where we’re at with books.

The fourth book of A Shrouded World, titled A Shrouded World: Valhalla, is at the editor as we speak.  That should be back in Mark’s and my hands in about three weeks.  We’ll have to go through the usual post-edit process and then submit it.  I have no idea when that will be actually published as it will have to be narrated first.  The plan is to release all versions at once, so be patient, it’s getting closer.

The narration of Lifting the Veil: Fallen has been completed and is in Audible’s QA process.  In the past, that’s taken about a week or so before it’s on the market.  Along those lines, I’ve begun writing on the final stages of the second book of Lifting the Veil and am but a short sprint from finishing that one.  I’ll hopefully have the rough draft completed in the first part of May, then that will begin the editing process.  As it does that, I’ll start working on the third and final novel in that series.  Yes, I know that there’s been a clamor for more Red Team and I’ll work on that series following the completion of LTV.

I will say that Lifting the Veil has been a different process.  Normally, I pretty much free flow the writing, but that can’t be the case with this series.  Everything has to be carefully fit and that’s a chore with my limited brain cells.  I do want to thank everyone for all of your support.  I’m still floored on a daily basis by all of you, so thank you!  You don’t know how much I truly appreciate it.

John

So, I took a little time off during the holidays and it’s taken me a little to get started back up.  However, I did start back up on a limited basis a little while ago.  Part of the reason is that I came to a point in the second book of Lifting the Veil where I had to make a choice that would be the ultimate direction of the series.  When I first envisioned the story, it was to be a two-book set.  I was going to do something a little different and have a higher level look at events, with Michael as my main character.  That began to change part way through the second book as I could go one of two ways – to continue as planned, or extend the story to include more of a view with the characters introduced during the first book.  I felt, as this was to be a completely different story than I’m used to writing, that to shortcut anything would be to short-change the story and thus the readers.  But, to change directions in mid-story is not the easiest thing to do, so I had to carefully ponder how such an extended story might look and could it be done with what I wrote in the first book.  This series is difficult enough to write, although fun, as each piece has to fit in so tightly.  So, my daily word count hasn’t been what it should be.  But, I am now looking at three books in this story, which means that Red Team may have to be put off for another book.  However, I have felt those characters calling to me and had a complete scene of Red Team envisioned during one of my many sleepless nights.  So, not to fear, Jack and the others will return and I may have to fit them in between book two and three of Lifting the Veil. We’ll see.

Now, with that said, I reached the halfway mark through book two of Lifting the Veil, which I’ll now have to rename.  I’m thinking Lifting the Veil: Arrival.  The cover has been completed, but I’ll have to change the title.  I can’t wait to reveal this cover.  Dean has once again done his magic and put up with my nitpicking.

On another note, the audio book of Red Team: Strigoi should be coming out here in a couple of days.  I’ll begin the audio production of Lifting the Veil: Fallen in the next week or so.  I’ve slowly been catching up with the audio books and Fallen is the only one remaining.  ASW 4 is still with Mark, but should be ready to begin the editing process here soon.

I want to thank you for all of your support and hope you have an awesome upcoming weekend!

John

My first foray outside of my comfort zone with regards to writing is now live.  It’s the first book of a planned two-book series and details an apocalypse loosely based on the Book of Revelation.  Or, it’s better to say that there are elements of that in the book.  I’ve had the idea in mind for some years now, but the actual story idea slammed into me one night while lying in bed staring at the ceiling with ideas that wouldn’t cease – in other words, my usual night.  I had a vision, if you will, of a fantasy character being able to summon a shining sword of light and fighting evil.  That quickly transformed into the archangel Michael and the story in my head took off.  I was at the keyboard the following day and the story began to evolve into the tale in the pages.  I had so much research to do and it was a difficult process of formulating parts of Revelation into an actual story.  At any rate, the first part of the story is available in electronic format.  I’ll be putting together the paperback here soon and will eventually get around to the audio format.

I hope your day is going well and look forward to hearing how you like the story.

John

Well, the holidays, for those who celebrated them, have come and gone and we’ve now started marching down 2018’s path.  I took a couple of weeks off but now starting back at the keyboard.  So, I thought it might be time to give an update as to where things sit with regards to the books.

I recently finished the first of a new two-book series at it’s now out on pre-order for a 12 January delivery date.  Lifting the Veil: Fallen is a new venture outside of the usual box and, as such, I ask those that foray into the book to keep this in mind.  It was a difficult book to write and doesn’t really follow a single character or two through an apocalypse.  Rather, it takes a different look from a higher altitude.  I’ve taken a bit from the Book of Revelation and created a story based loosely on the verses.  I’ve also looked at how it might appear from the spiritual plane, so there are demons and angels in the mix.  Michael is one of the major characters, and to be perfectly honest, one of my favorite to write about.  The story itself is not meant to convey a political or religious belief; it’s just a narrative story that has been rattling in my brain for some time.  So, again, please just read it as a story if you decide to pick it up.

I’ll be picking up the fourth book of A Shrouded World as my next writing.  I’ll be working on my next part before sending it back to Mark for the last part. As it sits, we’re currently sitting at over half way through the book.

I’m still behind on audio books and just commissioned Mark Gagliardi to begin working on the third ARES book, ARES Virus: Phoenix Rising.  I’m hoping that one will be available by the end of January.  We’ll then start on Red Team: Strigoi followed by Lifting the Veil.  I believe that will catch all of the books up on audio.

Once I hand off ASW4, I’ll go back to finishing the second book of Lifting the Veil.  I’m nearing a third of the way through the concluding book in that series and will work on that while Mark is working on ASW4.  Once all of the aforementioned books have been completed, I’ll dive back into Red Team.  They’ve been sitting dormant for far too long and are hammering at me to be let out.

So, I guess that’s about it.  I hope the new year is a prosperous one for everyone.

John

As the title says, the audiobook for The Third Wave: Eidolon went live on audible this morning.  Mark Gagliardi did a tremendous job and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did writing it.  I have to say that this was just a fun book to write.

Currently, I have the first book of a two novel series at the editor and it’s scheduled to be finished and in my hands by the 18th of December. Although, the editor wrote and mentioned that they were ahead of schedule.  My hope is to get Lifting the Veil: Fallen completed before Christmas.  I am also past the quarter way mark though the sequel, Lifting the Veil: Risen.  However, I have set that one aside for a moment as I received Mark Tufo’s part from A Shrouded World, book 4.   So, I’ll be working on that and get back to Risen once I’ve passed that one back.

In the world of Audio, I’ll ask Mark to begin on the third book of the ARES series, Phoenix Rising and hopefully that will be ready toward the end of January or beginning of February.  In addition, A Shrouded World: Convergence, the third book in that series, is on pre-order for a 12 December release.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and see you on the other side.

John

Well, I guess it’s time for one of my sporadic updates.  I finished the first book in a new series which will span two novels.  Lifting the Veil: Fallen is now at the editor for the second round of editing.  It should be back in my hands around the middle of December.  It’s an apocalyptic novel like usual, but it leads down a much different path than any I’ve taken before.  Rather than my usual free-flowing style, this one had to have the story carefully sculpted and placed.  Some of it was written in the same style, but the tale had to fit certain parameters.  At any rate, I’m thinking it should be available around the Christmas time or shortly thereafter.  I’ll present a cover reveal shortly prior to receiving the book back.

The third book of A Shrouded World is still out on pre-order for both the book and audio versions. Mark and I are writing on the fourth book as our writing schedules permit.  I have no idea when this will be finished, but we’re shooting for completion sometime in the February/March time frame.

Next, besides writing on A Shrouded World when I can, I’ll be continuing on the second book of the Lifting the Veil series before going back to the Red Team series.  I’m eager to get back to Jack, but I want to get this current series finished while it’s still fresh in my mind.  And then it’s off to the races with Red Team.  They’ve been in limbo for too long.

And finally, I’m slowly getting caught up with the audio books.  Currently, Mark G is narrating The Third Wave: Eidolon and it’s expected to be finished by the end of the month.  Then, we’ll dive into the third book in the ARES Virus series, followed by Red Team: Strigoi.  It’s taken a long time to get these out, so accept my apologies for not having them ready sooner.  I’m trudging along with these and will eventually get caught up.

I guess that’s about it for now.  I hope you have a fantastic rest of 2017 and that it treats you well.

John

 

Well,  the second book of ARES Virus, ARES Virus: White Horse, was recently released into the audio book world. I am slowly catching up with the audio book releases.  Each one takes time, so please bear with me as I work through these. I think I may skip over the start of the third book in favor of The Third Wave: Eidolon. After that one, I’ll go back to the third book.  Once those are out, then it’s onto the first Red Team book, Strigoi.  I apologize for the length of time it’s taking to get all of these published.

In the writing world, I am working on what I thought was going to be a stand-alone novel which is a work outside of my normal box.  I reached the end and realized that there was a lot of story to tell, so that is turning into a two-book series.  Currently, I’m doing a read through and need to add a couple of sections before it goes off to editing.  I’m pretty excited by this book, something that worries me as I’ve always been a little anxious over the previous ones.  No, no clues as yet as to what it is about, but I’ll be trickling those out as it goes into editing.  Once this is in editing, I’ll start on the second book before going back to the Red Team series.  And, Mark Tufo recently wrote that he’ll shortly start on the section of the fourth Shrouded World book I sent, so there will also be that to write on.

I think that’s about it in my world.  I hope that everything in yours is going well and thank you so much for all of your support and reviews.

John

Well, I’ve been spending a bit of time at the keyboard, with a little time off to enjoy the last few days of sun I’ll see in a while. I figured it was time to catch everyone, and myself, up-to-date on what’s going on.  The first book in a new series with Jack, Red Team: Strigoi, was recently released and it was fun to write more of his adventures.  The third book in Mark Tufo’s and my collaboration, A Shrouded World: Convergence, is on pre-order for December 12.  I have written about a quarter of the fourth book in that series and passed it on to Mark, but that is a series we will work on when we get time between other books.

So, currently, I am about two-thirds of the way through a rough draft in a book outside of my normal writings.  I won’t share too much about it now as I’m still no exactly sure where it’s heading.  I’m enjoying writing this one, but the hours of research it is taking is exhausting.  I hope to have this one finished and out to editing by the end of the month.  I will say that it is still within the apocalypse nature, but of a different variety.

The audio book of ARES Virus: White Horse has just been completed and is undergoing Audible’s quality control.  That usually takes about ten to fourteen days and should be available by mid-October.  I’ll be continuing along with the third audio book in the series once the second one has been published.  Bear with me as these audio books take a while to complete, but I will be getting to the rest of them in order.

Once my current story is off to the editors, I’ll start on the second book in the Red Team series.  So, that’s about it.  I hope your day is going well and thank you all for your tremendous support and reviews.

John