S.L. Rowland's Blog, page 7

Sentenced to Troll 2 Cover Reveal

I’m in love. Aiming for an early May release. If you can’t wait until then, the rough draft is up on Patreon.

Super Secret Facebook Group

Stop by S.L. Rowland’s Secret Society, my private facebook group. It’s a great place to hang out and talk books, video games, and who you think will win the Iron Throne. I’ll be doing giveaways of stickers, signed paperbacks, audiobooks and more for every 50 members that join.

New Audiobooks!

Two new audiobooks dropped this week. Sentenced to Troll, narrated by Eric Martin, and Pangea Online 2: Magic and Mayhem, narrated by Justin Thomas James, Laurie Catherine Winkle, and Jeff Hays. Both are available on Amazon, Audible, and Itunes. Check them out below:

New S.L. Rowland Logos

I had these designed for my Patreon and later this week I’ll have decals coming in to send out to everyone and to include with signed books. They are based on a gaming tier system of Wood, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. In addition to each reward on the site, you’ll be given the sticker of your tier and all tiers below you. Each design was inspired by a particular book. Can you guess which?

2018 Review and 2019 Goals

2018 has been an incredible year, with many ups and downs both personally and professionally. It was a major test of my determination and a learning experience.

The good: I published 3 novels and 1 audiobook and went full-time as an author. In spite of all the setbacks, I’m proud of the products I put out. Sentenced to Troll ended the year on a high note and will likely be my best seller to date. My Patreon has grown and I have some really exciting exclusives coming to all the supporters in the next year.

The bad: Amazon stripped my earning on 3 months this year, 2 of them launch months. This was a major blow to my income and no matter how I tried to fight it, there was little to be done. I thought I was making progress and then hit a wall. Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world and if they don’t want to answer emails, you can’t make them. I also had my fair share of injuries. A pinched nerve, sprained LCL, and surgery on my wrist dominated a large portion of the year and took me out of writing for a bit, but I finally feel like things are progressing for the better. I still have a cast on, but I’ll be typing away even if it is a little cumbersome.

Goals for 2019: I want to publish 4 novels and 3 audiobooks. Pangea 2 is in the final stages of production, so that shouldn’t be too long. Sentenced to Troll 2  and Pangea 3 are the next to up to write and then I’ll reevaluate after that. There is potential for a secret crossover with some other authors, but that remains to be seen. I also aim to launch a book into the top 500 on amazon. I came close with Sentenced to Troll, but fell just a little short at 750. I hope to double my writing income for the year, travel to various conventions, and meet up with other authors at Dragoncon. I’m going to be putting a lot of effort into growing my Patreon, and should have some exclusive art in the next few weeks. All in all, I want to get better at this whole author thing, putting out quality books and building my fan base.

For my personal goals, I’m looking forward to moving past my injuries and challenging my body in the year to come. I miss weightlifting and playing sports with friends. I’d like to quit comparing myself to others to better enjoy my own success. I want more traveling, reading, video games, and really enjoying the fact that I am making a living doing what I love. I’ve worked for years to be where I am at right now. It’d be a shame to take that for granted.

Have a wonderful 2019!

Sentenced to Troll- Available Now

Punished for his toxic online behavior, Chad faces a thirty-day sentence of full-immersion therapy designed to improve his anger issues. For his endless trolling in real life, he’s forced to play the most hated race in Isle of Mythos so that he can finally experience what it’s like to be on the other side.

To make matters worse, the heroes sent to rid the world of evil aren’t heroes at all—they’re violent felons on their own twisted paths to redemption.

Now, Chad must survive his one-month sentence in a world where anything goes.

I had an awesome time writing this novel.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Trolls rule!

This may be the last month my books are in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon has stripped my page reads again.  At this point, they have taken thousands of dollars out of my pocket, while still refusing to refund the money I spent on Amazon advertising even though the reporting they showed me was inaccurate.  I thought this was over because I was not affected in July, but after another new release, it seems it has started up again.  The best way to support authors affected by this is by either buying their books outright or supporting them through Patreon.

Unless this turns out to be an error and things are returned, I will be taking my books to other platforms and no longer participating in Kindle Unlimited.

All the Vestiges artwork

I went through a lot of revisions to get to the final design for Vestiges, but my indecision is your gain in that I have plenty of artwork for wallpapers and prints going forward.  Once I find someone who does quality cardstock prints at an affordable price, I’ll be sending some out to my Patreon supporters.  Anywho, check out the art:

First up is the initial sketch.  I loved it from the moment I saw it and new it was the one.

Then came a colorized version.  I told my artist that I loved the style of The Walking Dead comic covers and he went in that direction with the line art.  He gave me two different variations and I wasn’t really feeling the sporty jacket so we went with the red one.

Then came font choices.  I was workshopping these in several groups and a common complaint were that they looked more like comic covers than novel covers.  So even though I loved the art, I went back to my cover artist and asked if he could color it in a way that more mimicked my other covers.

This was the new painting style.  I absolutely love the other style, but I think this is more fitting for the genre.

I ended up choosing the light version because I thought it would pop more on the page.

What do you think?  Which is your favorite?

Vestiges is Live!

I’m super excited to announce my newest gamelit novel. If you like Resident Evil and The Walking Dead, then this should be right up your alley. Just make sure to bring a weapon.  Click the cover to pick up your copy on Amazon!

*****

“Unknown system error. Rebooting in 3…2…1…”

A normal day becomes a hellish nightmare when Theo is mysteriously transported to an apocalyptic parallel world where death waits around every corner. It feels like a game; the people and places are familiar, but somehow… twisted. With no idea of how he got there, or more importantly how to get back, finding answers seems impossible. That is until three notifications flash before his eyes.

Objective: Go to town.

Objective: Locate your family.

Objective: Do not die.

Coming Soon

“Unknown system error. Rebooting in 3…2…1…”

A normal day becomes a hellish nightmare when Theo is mysteriously transported to an apocalyptic parallel world where death waits around every corner. It feels like a game; the people and places are familiar, but somehow… twisted. With no idea of how he got there, or more importantly how to get back, finding answers seems impossible. That is until three notifications flash before his eyes.

Objective: Go to town.

Objective: Locate your family.

Objective: Do not die.