Jason J. Nugent's Blog, page 6

Jason’s Authors You Should Know – Mirren Hogan

[image error]Today’s author you should know is Mirren Hogan. Mirren lives in Australia with her family and writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. She’s a talented writer with grand visions for the direction of her writing career.

I think I first met Mirren maybe about a year ago through a Science Fiction writers Facebook group. Soon after, we both found ourselves as part of the On the Horizon boxed set of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels (which is still available as of this blog post). She’s also the creative mind behind an upcoming shared world fantasy project which I was invited to participate in. She’s an amazing author with close to ten novels and several anthology collections to her credit.

One of her latest series of books is her Reasoner Trilogy books, starting with book 1: [image error]Dragonhaze. I know she likes to include as many dragons as possible in her work (the shared world project I mentioned earlier is centered around them!) so if those flying beasts of legend are your thing, go check out her work.

To find out more about Mirren and her books, check out her website or visit her Amazon page to read more about her novels and anthologies.

Come back tomorrow for another Author You Should know!

Jason’ Authors You Should Know – Mirren Hogan

[image error]Today’s author you should know is Mirren Hogan. Mirren lives in Australia with her family and writes fantasy, urban fantasy, and science fiction. She’s a talented writer with grand visions for the direction of her writing career.

I think I first met Mirren maybe about a year ago through a Science Fiction writers Facebook group. Soon after, we both found ourselves as part of the On the Horizon boxed set of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels (which is still available as of this blog post). She’s also the creative mind behind an upcoming shared world fantasy project which I was invited to participate in. She’s an amazing author with close to ten novels and several anthology collections to her credit.

One of her latest series of books is her Reasoner Trilogy books, starting with book 1: [image error]Dragonhaze. I know she likes to include as many dragons as possible in her work (the shared world project I mentioned earlier is centered around them!) so if those flying beasts of legend are your thing, go check out her work.

To find out more about Mirren and her books, check out her website or visit her Amazon page to read more about her novels and anthologies.

Come back tomorrow for another Author You Should know!

Jason’s Authors You Should Know – Vince Churchill

Today’s author you should know is Vince Churchill.

[image error]I met Vince at Contamination back in 2016 in St. Louis, MO. We were on the same aisle together and spent a lot of time over the weekend talking and trying to make the best out of a tough selling situation. Vince even came up with a contest for the authors in our aisle by having us compete for the “Golden Screw” award which was nothing more than a rusty screw found on the show floor. Technically he won by selling the most books but I did take the screw home with me (and subsequently lost it!)

Vince writes horror, and lots of it! He hails from Springfield, IL and[image error] attends a ton of conventions throughout the Midwest. I’ve read his book The Butcher Bride and loved it! He’s got an amazing grasp of the genre and held my attention throughout. If you’re a fan of horror, you have to check him out!

From his Amazon page:

Vince Churchill has six published novels: The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth, The Blackest Heart, The Butcher Bride, Pandora, Hyde, and Goodnight, My Sweet. The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth was featured in 2009’s XBOX Magazine’s ZOMBIES! Collector’s Edition as one of The 37 Greatest Zombie Triumphs.

His short fiction has appeared in anthologies such as The Undead, The Undead Volume 2: Skin and Bones, The Horror Library – Volume One, The Beast Within, and the recent Midnight Walk. He is also a list contributor in the Book of Lists: Horror. Vince’s latest novella, Condemned, anchors the Butcher Shop Quartet II horror anthology.

If you get a chance to meet him in person, do so. He’s a great guy and a lot of fun. Buy a book from him when ya do! If you can’t find him out in the wild, grab one of his books from Amazon. You can find more about Vince on his website.

Come back tomorrow for another author you should know!

Jason’s Authors You Should Know – Donna Maria McCarthy

[image error]Today’s author you should know is Donna Maria McCarthy. She’s a horror writer from the UK and crazy talented.

I first met Donna when we were both included in the Hellbound Books Anthology Shopping List 2. She has works published by Hellbound Books including Biddy Trott and [image error]The Meddler. Her first book The Hangman’s Hitch came out in 2016.

Since meeting Donna, she’s been super supportive of my work, even when it’s not horror related. She tirelessly works to promote other authors and share their stories with readers. She’s got a great sense of humor and a sense of comradery with her fellow writers. Add to that her wonderful ability to craft dark tales, and you’ve got an author to look out for!

Check out her author page over at Hellbound Books to find out more about her. You can also follow Donna on Twitter by going to @roast914_k.

Jason’s Authors You Should Know – Leland Lydecker

Today I want to share about author Leland Lydecker. He’s an amazing writer (I think you’ll see this phrase a lot as I go through the list I’m sharing!) who writes sci-fi and according to his Amazon author page:

Leland Lydecker is a writer, professional driver, and former airline employee. No stranger to the ins and outs of government and corporate corruption, his preferred writing topics are crime, extra-judicial justice, and the future of society. His interests range from the natural world, to space exploration, to technology and medicine with an emphasis on genetic engineering, cybernetics, and artificial intelligence.

[image error]I believe I first met Leland in a large Facebook group we both belonged to. I then started a small Review Circle group for authors to help get honest reviews and he joined us and that’s where I became acquainted with his writing. I’m glad I did!

I’ve had the fortunate pleasure to read his novel Necrotic City and loved it! It was a well written tale of a future city where corruption reigns and one here will come to a decision to fight the corruption or become part of it. I can’t say enough good about this book and hope you check it out.

He and I are also contributors in the Trumpland anthology. His story, again set in a [image error]dystopian world, was gripping and quite entertaining. No matter what your political leanings, the stories in the collection are well worth a read, and Leland’s is one I enjoyed quite a bit.

Check out his Amazon page and give him a follow. Better yet, try his book Necrotic City or the Trumpland anthology and see for yourself the stories he offers.

Come back tomorrow for another author you should know!

Jason’s Authors You Should Know – Amy Hale

The other day I had the thought of featuring an author a day throughout the month of June. I wrote down a list of authors I’ve met since I started writing and sharing my work and I came up with a pretty good list. I didn’t tell any of these authors I was gonna do this so I hope they’re ok with it. They all write in various genres but I figured why not share people I know and appreciate.

First up is author Amy Hale.

[image error]I first met Amy at a small horror convention called Con-Tamination back in 2016. It was a small horror/pop culture convention held in St. Louis at a scary hotel. All I had at the time to sell was my first book (Almost) Average Anthology. All the other authors had way more books, but I had to start somewhere, right? Anyway, Amy was one of the other authors there and we talked a little but that was about it.

 

[image error]Then I met her again last year at the Eclipse Comic-Con in Carbondale, IL. Our tables were right next to each other so we talked a lot. Turns out, she lives pretty close to me! I met her whole family (her husband John is a great dude!) and we got along great. We also were both going to PennedCon in St. Louis a few weeks after the Eclipse Con and we hung out a lot there. She’s been a great supporter and advocate for me since, even offering to share her table with me so I could check out Cape Con in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Amy writes a lot of adventure with romance sprinkled in. She’s a prolific writer with at [image error]least 10 books out. She’s also part of a shared world project called Havenwood Falls where each author writes within the same world.

Welcome to Havenwood Falls, a small town in the majestic mountains of Colorado. A town where legacies began centuries ago, bloodlines run deep, and dark secrets abound. A town where nobody is what you think, where truths pose as lies, and where myths blend with reality. A place where everyone has a story. Including the high schoolers.

Amy is super talented and an all around great person. Please go check her out, buy a book or two, and share her work with others that might be interested. You can find her at authoramyhale.com and follow her on Amazon.

Come back tomorrow for another author you should know!

Seeking a Genre

I’ve had a difficult time lately trying to figure out what kind of writer I am. Do I write horror? Am I a scifi writer? What about fantasy? Does it even freaking matter?

I’m not sure what’s prompting me to pigeon-hole myself to a particular genre or not, however maybe it’s best if I gravitate toward something. The phrase “Jack of all trades and master of none” keeps coming back to me.

Of all three genres, I think the one that I most identify with is horror. It’s what I’ve read the most, watched the most, and what interests me the most.

I don’t feel I have the credentials to call myself a scifi or even a fantasy writer, though my background in medieval history does give me a foundation for the kind of fantasy I enjoy. I’ve not read many of the scifi classics. I have tried to navigate my way through some of the mainstays of the genre to have a working knowledge of what’s been done before and the major players in the field. Still, it doesn’t feel like I’ve “paid my dues” and learned enough about previous authors to jump into their genre. Does watching a lot of scifi shows count? I don’t know. Maybe? Do I have to have those works read in order to write my own stories?

[image error]I imagine purists would scoff at the idea of someone with a basic knowledge of science fiction calling themselves a scifi writer. I kinda agree. Start throwing questions at me about Heinlein or Asimov, I might give you a blank stare and change the subject.

Same goes for fantasy. I know a few pillars of the genre, but I’ve not read many of them. My first real introduction to fantasy was through Robert Jordan and I know there were many before him like Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett and more. I love fantasy for the idealized medieval worlds they tend to portray (and yes, I’m aware of the Euro-centric bent of most fantasy) though I’ve not read extensively in the genre. Do I have to in order to call myself a fantasy writer?

When it comes to horror, I do have a greater background through reading and movies than the other two genres I gravitate toward. King, Barker, Jackson, Oates, Ramsey Campbell, and countless other authors have all been my go-to authors when I want something to read. I love the dark themes and ability of authors to scare the crap out of me. I feel much more confident calling myself a horror writer though to date, I’ve not written much more than several flash fiction and short stories in the genre.

So why question all of this? What’s the point?

[image error]As I continue to grow my readership and reach out to new readers, I don’t want to confuse them. I love using elements from all three genres in my writing. One day I feel more like writing fantasy, while another I want dark, scary horror. I don’t want to be forced into a genre I’m not entirely 100% all in on (or at least don’t feel like I belong because of a lack of rudimentary knowledge of the field.) Yet, readers and especially other authors want to know “what do you write?” Damn good stories? I mean, that’s how I want to answer.

Lately I’ve come to use the term “Speculative Fiction Author” to describe what I write. It’s a term not without its drawbacks and controversy, though for the most part, it encompasses all that I enjoy writing. It allows me the freedom to flow between genres without feeling stuck or unable to try something else. It’s like when King wrote the Dark Tower books. He’s known as one of the most popular horror authors ever, yet he wrote a fantasy series. Of course, it sold because his name is on the cover, but in my case, I have a long way to go to establish my name. If I call myself a “Speculative Fiction Author,” readers generally understand I genre-hop and can pick and choose what stories of mine to read.

If I take a big step back, this entire discussion about genre really is all about marketing anyway. When bookstores sell books, they need to know where to put books to make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. When Amazon categorizes books, they get down to fine detail about the genre. It all goes back to marketing: How do we sell this book? Who is the market for this one? Have a monster in it? Good, call it horror. Is the protagonist a seventeen year-old girl? Call it young adult. It makes it easier for readers to discern what to buy and not buy. I get it.

The more I can figure out who I am as a writer, the easier it’ll be for me to market myself. If I claim “Speculative Fiction Author” as my title, then I’m open to marketing myself in all three of the genres I enjoy depending on the books I’m writing at the time. It’s not that I’m chasing the latest trends, but writing stories I enjoy and hope others will too. I don’t even know what the latest trends are! Reverse harem? Who knows!

I hope to figure this out soon. I’d like to sell a few books and begin making a profit off my work. I haven’t yet, however I have earned a few new readers in the process.

 

Behind the Forgotten Chronicles

With the conclusion of my young adult scifi series The Forgotten Chronicles, I wanted to take a moment and share the process for how it came to be.

When I wrote the first book, The Selection, I kinda hoped to write several books but I wasn’t sure how it would be received or if anyone would care. I knew the story was interesting and action-packed, but I had no idea if it would lead to anything.

The way I write longer pieces, I have a tendency to leave the ending somewhat open for another installment if I feel it deserves it and if readers ask for more. It might not be the best way to write, but as a novice with little recognition, that’s how I thought (I’ve since changed my approach, but that’s how it was when I wrote The Selection.)

[image error]After its release, I was surprised by the reaction for The Selection. By and large, most readers enjoyed the story and were awesome about sharing that through reviews or connecting with me on social media.

It wasn’t until about a month after its release that I decided to write a follow up novel. That was also when I decided to make it a trilogy (I mean, it worked for Star Wars!) I started writing in early May of 2017 and by November, I had a fairly clean and polished story ready for release with book 2, Rise of the Forgotten. It came out in January of 2018.

Before the release of book 2, I had already started book 3.

I kinda knew how I wanted it to end and did a bit of planning to make sure The War for Truth was a satisfying conclusion to the series.

It’s been an educational journey as I went from “Hey, read my book The Selection” to a finished trilogy.

I never wanted to write a YA series. I wanted a book for my son written by me. What I found out was the story worked for others and they were eager to find out more about the world introduced in The Selection. I can’t even explain how amazing it felt knowing someone else cared about what I created.

I hope you were one of the many readers who took a chance on me. If not, no worries. Maybe one day you’ll give it a try. Until then, feel free to ask me anything about the process or how it came together. I’d love to share more with you.

Thanks!

 

New Release: The War for Truth

[image error]This week sees the release of my latest novel The War for Truth on Thursday May 10th. With this book, I conclude my Forgotten Chronicles trilogy. If you’ve read the first book in the series, The Selection, now is a great time to pick up books 2 and 3 (especially since book 3 is on a special pre-order price of only .99!)

I’m thrilled to share this strange and dangerous world with you and hope you find enjoyment in the series. It was a series that I created with my son in mind. I wanted to write something he’d enjoy and so far, I’ve nailed my audience! Having new readers discover the books has been amazing and humbles me. To know someone who doesn’t know me personally has enjoyed a story I wrote means so much to me.

 

Book 1, The Selection, is available for $1.99 in ebook form or you can get it as part of the 22 novel collection On the Horizon for only .99. Book 2, Rise of the Forgotten, can be yours for $2.99 in ebook.

Both are also available as an audiobook narrated by Paul Jenkins (he’s currently working on book 3 for a June release!) Grab The Selection or Rise of the Forgotten from Audible, iTunes, or Amazon.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement!

 

Behind The Story

Not many readers know I like to hide surprises in my writing. I want to share one of those with you today.

 

My young adult scifi series “The Forgotten Chronicles” is set on an alien world similar to ours yet orbiting a red sun. I based it off of a NASA travel poster released several years ago for the planet Kepler 186f. I wanted an Earth-like world where readers were familiar enough with how it worked yet still completely alien. If you’ve read The Selection or the follow-up book Rise of the Forgotten, you know what I mean.

What hardly anyone knows is they may have read a story about this series before it was ever released. I had it hiding in plain sight.

I honestly didn’t know if The Selection would ever see publication. I enjoyed the story but still wasn’t sure if I was going to put the time and effort (and money!) into making it a novel I wanted to release. I wrote the book leaving the ending in a way that if enough readers enjoyed it, I could continue the series. As it happened, many readers loved the book and that gave me the impetus I needed to write Rise of the Forgotten. The final book in the series, The War for Truth, is due out in May (and can be pre-ordered for the ridiculously low price of .99. Go here to get it: The War for Truth)

However, one of the questions I often get asked is why are there so many boys born on the planet Anastasia? What causes this? Why does it happen?

[image error]As an origin story mostly for myself, I wrote a short story called The Long Sleep which answers these questions. If you’ve read any of my short story collections, you may recognize it. I released it in my first ever book, (Almost) Average Anthology, back in 2016. It was the last story in the collection and gives a great explanation as to how things got to be in The Selection.

I released (Almost) Average Anthology in Jan. of 2016, well over a year before I released The Selection. The story The Long Sleep isn’t my favorite of the collection, but it most certainly belongs with my series as an origin story.

So, for fans who like to know behind the scenes info, there ya go. You can get the entire 16 story collection (Almost) Average Anthology for .99 or if you subscribe to my newsletter, you get it for FREE. Either way, I hope you enjoy the dark tales and I hope you continue to follow along with my scifi series. It’s been so much fun to write and the reader response has been amazing.

For those interested in the series, here are the links.

The Selection: ebook, paperback, audiobook.

Rise of the Forgotten: ebook, paperback.

The War for Truth: ebook (special low pre-order price)