ARES Virus: White Horse nearly ready

The second book of the ARES Virus series is at the editor.  It has a couple of editing rounds which I’m hoping will be complete near the end of October.  A Halloween release would be awesome, but I don’t think it will be ready by then.  Oh well.  While it’s in editing, I’m working on a stand alone book that I’ve been working on for some time.  This one has super cool creatures, much different than those I have created in the two other series.  I want to get this one finished before moving on to Book 3 in the ARES Virus.  Yes, yes, I know…Book 11 of A New World.  That one may follow once these two are published.  I’ve also been tossing around the fantasy book that has been rattling around my skull for years.  And then there’s the military/horror fiction series I want to begin – perhaps bringing Jack and Red Team back to head up that series.  We’ll see.

Well, that’s my update.  I hope everyone is having the best of days!

John

ARES Update

The second book of ARES Virus is moving along, although I’ve taken the last couple of days off.  The next time I sit at the keyboard, the story will have reached the 2/3 mark, or something close.  Dean Samed has already designed the cover for it, which will be revealed once I send the draft off for the final editing.  And yes, the cover is another masterpiece and I can’t wait to unveil it.

As I found with the New World series, some characters emerge that weren’t originally supposed to be a thing.  As I’ve mentioned before, Gonzalez was a placeholder for the one of the Red Team members.  I found that I enjoyed writing about her for some reason and became fascinated with her story. Thus, she turned into a major character, becoming Jack’s confidant.  I am finding the same in ARES Virus.  The character that is filling my mind and emerging is Emily.  She was just a thought for a situation that Brown and the cadets would find themselves up against.  At first, my mind was blank, the notion of a rescue filtering in.  Then, the rescue of a little girl.  I found myself written into a corner, though.  Brown and the cadets were supposed to integrate back in, but that couldn’t happen with Emily in tow.  I tried killing her off with an emotionally-charged scene.  Tears would flow, the loss of a little girl weighing on hearts, but the story line would be back on track.  She wouldn’t die.  The more she hung around, the more she became more than a placeholder.  I liked her.  The bitten part, well, that came about as I was writing the scene.  I stared at the screen, and stared some more.  What had I done?  But, once written, it’s part of the story.  And now, Emily is off on her own adventure. Because of her, the ending I had in mind has altered.  That’s the joy of writing in this manner.  I get to be surprised and am dragged along with the story, intrigued as to what will happen next.

I’m not sure when the second book will be ready, but if I tie myself to the keyboard, it could be around the end of the month or the beginning of October.  I again want to thank everyone for all of your support and hope your week is treating you well!

John

What’s on the Horizon

Well, ARES Virus: Arctic Storm has been released for the most part.  Early this coming week, I’ll get that out on paperback with the audio most likely following later this year.  At the moment, I’m writing on the next book in the series, most likely the last one.  I had intended for the tale to be a single issue, but it ran away from me.  The story will probably only be two books, but we’ll see.  As it stands now, the first draft is nearly a quarter of the way finished.

Following the completion of this series, I have another book a quarter of the way finished that I’ll dive back into.  That will probably be a stand alone book and I’m interested in getting back to it because of the creatures involved.  Then, I’ll have to see what direction I go.  I could begin the 11th book in A New World, or I have a prologue completed detailing Jack’s earlier life.  I’m not sure which one I’ll do first, but I’ll try to remain busy at the keyboard.

I want to thank everyone for sticking with me through this past dry spell and I hope life is treating you well.

John

ARES Virus: Arctic Storm on Amazon

It’s Been A While

I apologize for the severe lack of posts and updates.  I put everything I had into the ten books of A New World, having enough left to co-author the two books of A Shrouded World with Mark Tufo.  After I wrote the last word, placed the last period, I was drained and needed time to recuperate.  That took longer than I anticipated.  I tried writing on a couple of books, but those just kind of faded away.  I felt like I was merely rewriting the same scenes over and over.  The ideas rattling around my limited brain space never ceased, I just wasn’t able to put them on paper.

Feeling much more energized, I strapped myself into a chair and began pecking away at the keys.  At first, it was a difficult process, but it became easier the farther into the story I went.  Then, the flow began until I stared at the paper and said, “Wow, I’m done.”  The current story that I’m working on was supposed to be a stand-alone book, but the tale escalated and I decided to make two books out of it.  The first book, ARES Virus: Arctic Storm, is in the last stage of the first round edits.  That should be finished tomorrow and the book sent off to the editor.  After turning those bleeding pages into something readable, and upon approving the cover, I will press the publish button.  I’m hoping that will be toward the end of the month, or the first part of August.

While I’m waiting for the edits to come back, I’ll be writing a short story based on A New World for a popular magazine.  I’m not sure if I can give those details as yet, but I will when I can.  Then, it’s off to finish book two of the ARES Virus, which is already close to being twenty percent complete.  The plan after this mini-series is complete is to visit book eleven of A New World.  No promises, but I would like to write another one in that series.

So, there’s my update and, again, my apologies for my absence and hope everyone is doing well.

John

Where is it?

Well.  It’s not here…yet.  I have the companion book of short stories that I’m editing at the moment.  I’m not sure when it will be ready for the viewing world, but it should be soon.

A companion book?  What do you mean by that?

Good question and thanks for asking.  I have written a series of short stories, some of which loosely tie in with the main story line.  Most of them, however, are just brief tales of others experiencing the downfall of humankind and the rise of the night runners.  I had also opened it up for a fan fiction section for readers to submit short stories set within the framework of A New World.  Great stories, one and all.  Some will be included toward the end of the book. Others will be included in a second book of short stories that will be written later – most likely sometime this summer.

After the companion book is published, it will be a short break while I compile notes for the tenth book in the series.  May will be a busy month so I’m not sure how much will actually get accomplished.  And summer is coming.  See what I did there…Game of Thrones turned…oh, never mind.  Too much or too little caffeine.

Your messages and reviews for Reckoning were way above anything I ever expected.  I seriously have these out-of-body experiences reading them.  When I realize that they’re actually written about something I wrote, I just sit feeling so humble.  At any rate, before I begin weeping out of control, see…caffeine, I just wanted to say thank  you!  You are truly the best.

And, if you happen to have a spare moment, would you mind heading over and leaving reviews on the books.  I would greatly appreciate it.

So, I really put some words on the screen without saying much.  The companion book, A New World: Untold Stories, will be out hopefully by the end of the month.  I’ll be doing a cover reveal today or tomorrow on Facebook.  Thank you again, and I hope you all have an awesome week!

John

Time for an Update

I know that I’ve said this many, many times, perhaps every time, but I suck at blogging and keeping everyone updated.  So, here it is, update time.

I first of all want to thank everyone for the great reviews on the last book.  I really appreciate you taking your time to come back and post reviews.  I read each and every one of them and ma humbled by your support.  And I would also like to thank you for all of your kind messages.  They truly make my day.

Okay, so, I said an update.  It’s been a little busy lately so I’ll try to keep this brief.  I am currently working on a companion book to the series.  It’s a set of short stories of others around the time when everything fell apart.  I wanted to do this to give a wider view of what people went through.  I passed through the 51k word count mark last night.  What does that mean?  I really have no idea.  I would like to make this a full novel length but I’m not sure at this point.  Nor do I know when I’ll be finished with it.  I guess that’s not much of an update, eh.  The writing has been slow lately but I’m hoping to pick that up now.  I’m hoping to have this one finished and out sometime by the end of April.  We’ll just see how that plan goes. 🙂

Once I finish with the companion novel, I’ll be starting on book number 10.  There are a lot of ends to tie up following the last one and I’m excited to get to it.  Jack and the gang have taken care of one headache but another, potentially more deadly one, looms on the horizon.  There are a lot of decisions to make and time is not their friend.  And no, I haven’t forgotten the collaboration with Mark Tufo.  We’ve been chatting and will get to it when our writing schedules allow.  Just know that it hasn’t sunk below the waves as yet.

I hope your week has been treating you well and the upcoming weekend is a fun one for you!  Thank you all so much once again!

John

Chaos FB Welcome Page2

Summer Is Over

Unfortunately, summer has ended. Of course, I guess that depends on your perspective.  I took a little more time off than I usually do at the end of a book.  The sun came out, the kids came over, and I spent the summer hanging with them and taking a trip here and there.  Of course, I suppose that was bad timing seeing how the last book ended.  You have my apologies for leaving everything hanging like that. But now, the sun said its goodbye here for another few seasons – there are only really two here – and the wet weather has shown itself.  That means I sat down, dusted off the keyboard – I had to find it first – and began hammering out senseless words once again.

I had left the draft of the 8th book sitting close to the 1/3 mark, typing away on it periodically, but now I am tied to the chair.  Starting last Sunday evening, I passed the half way point last night.  There is a particular furry one here who isn’t appreciating my time spent in my chair much and lets me know from time to time his dissatisfaction.  So, I spend my time here and seeing to his whims.

The characters have been calling for some time and so I must answer their call.  Without giving any spoilers, there is a lot going on and it’s not easy keeping track of all the threads.  The action is slow to materialize but it’s coming and so I hope the writing will become easier as well.  Again, sorry to keep everyone waiting to see what happened after the ending of the last book.  Hopefully you won’t have too much longer to wait.  I don’t have a date or time line to when it will be ready as yet, but I’ll make sure and let you know when it’s drawing near.

Thank you so much for all of your words of encouragement and support.  And yes, those words of ‘when is it going to be done’.  I wish everyone a very happy week and hope it treats you well!

John

The Journey Continues

The story is calling once again.  I’ve left it hanging for far too long and the characters are itching to continue their tale.  Summer is about on us so this may take some time – when the sun is out in the Northwest, it must be taken advantage of.  However, with that said, I don’t think Jack and the group will allow me to idle too much with the story.

Today will be musing on the tale and thinking through story line, although that is  seldom held to.  But, we have to start somewhere.  Lurking in the background, Michael is calling as well.  *spoiler* Sandra and her craziness may have been dealt with but the danger from the night runners is far from over.   Greg has been left out on the road with just one team, the sub continues its journey along the seaboard, and a sniper shot has rung out.  The world has become an interesting place.

I do want to clarify something regarding the last title.  I referred to the last book often as “Rampage”.  When I finished the book, that title no longer truly corresponded to the story so I changed it to “Takedown”.  I apologize for any confusion about that.

I am often asked how long the story will be… how many books will the series eventually encompass?  The answer is that I don’t really know.  I know of three books at least including this next one.  It could end up being just those three books or it could go on.  The line I walk is to tell the survival story of the group without becoming repetitious in the events.  And the timeline of the story is an element as well.  The seventh book, Takedown, takes us to a point four to five months into the apocalyptic event.  I keep asking myself how long this will go and what it will entail but that is something that only Jack and the group of survivors can answer.  Once I start typing, they let me know what happens.

I wish all of the fathers out there a Happy Father’s Day and a fantastic weekend to all.  Thanks for following along with me.

 

John

It’s Alive

Okay, perhaps not alive but awakening.  Like that segue.  The fifth book in the series is out.  It took a little longer to write this one.  There is a little more character development and thus transitional scenes which take me a little longer to muddle through.  I am both happy and worried although a lot less worried now with all of the great responses so far.  The worry stems from a little departure from the action.  I guess not though.  As my son says, “You have worried about every book.  This is no different.”  He generally keeps me grounded like that.

Here’s the Amazon link for the book:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008NFNN5S

I’ll just keep this short and wanted to get the word out that the book was released.  Thank you so much for all of your support and great responses.  That really means a lot to me.  I hope you have an awesome day.

John

Time For An Update

I have once again been a little remiss about posting.  Blame Facebook, the nicer weather showing up, the solstice, or where it should actually lie with me.  I have been pecking away at the next book in the series, A New World: Awakening.  I am pleased to say that I am about 3/4 of the way through the draft.  It felt like I was pushing an elephant when I started but it seems to be flowing much better over this past week or so.  I will have to go back and look at the first part and possible rewrite it some.  We’ll see.

When I first started this book, I didn’t think I had enough to write a whole book and I would have to draw on some of what was planned in the next to complete it.  Well, now I’m having to shove stuff off to that book.  Once again, the story has taken control and I’m at its mercy.  A part that I was hoping I could eke 1/3 of the book about has now taken up most of it.  Which leaves me in a dilemma.  There were so many threads that needed exploring from the last book(s) and now they may need to be in the next one.  I think I will be able to cover most of them but one needs its due status as a greater aspect but I think I’ve found a way to guide into it for the next one.

When you ask?  Or maybe that is me asking.  I am hoping to be finished by the end of the month so it looks like early July.  There are a lot of things that could change that time frame – finishing the book for one.  I want to thank everyone once again for all of the nice messages and great reviews.  Each and every one of them are appreciated.  Thank you!

The Summer of Zombie Blog Tour is going well and I hope those of you following have enjoyed the posts and interviews.  I am admittedly lacking in writing some guest posts but will be submitting more in the near future.  I have to tell you the bunch are a great group of folks and great authors.  I am quite humbled to be included in their midst – Ian Woodhead, Armand Rosamilia, Mark Tufo, Dave Jeffery, and Todd Brown.

Well, I guess I’ll keep this short as the story is calling.  I wish everyone a great day and week and hope it’s a prosperous one for all!

John