Joshua Kern's Blog, page 2
November 24, 2022
Happy Thanksgiving and or Feasting Days!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the United States, to everyone else, happy err Thursday.
I just wanted to send out a quick email this morning with some updates.
The first book in 'The Well Within' series is done; I'm just waiting on the cover before I can release it.
The first book in my cultivator series that I wrote for Aethon has also been finished. We're just waiting for all the narration and other details to be finished at this point. (I believe.)
I have the cover done for 'Game of Gods 5' and I think it looks great, so do the people who I've shown it to. I just need to finish the rewrites to it and set a release date for it.
I'm making progress on the dungeon core / cultivation story that I've been writing for fun. It's coming along at a decent pace and can be found on my Patreon along with everything else.
Have an awesome Thanksgiving / day, and I hope you enjoy these books when they come out.
Happy Holidays, and I do hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy.
Josh
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The pre-order for the audiobook of 'Portals of Change', the second book in the 'Nameless Chronicles', is now up! The audiobook will actually be coming out on the 29th, in just a couple of days, so look forward to that.
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Portals of Change Book 2 of The Nameless Chronicles Audiobook Pre-Order is Out Now!
The Nameless Chronicles 2: Portals of Change - Ebook
The Nameless Chronicles 2: Portals of Change - Audiobook!
Destiny has approached. A painful past is explored. School is in session.
Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter.
If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc.
Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past, and now they have something new, a friend. The portals which gave them a way to fight back, to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that.
It brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.
Everything is changing. Now they just have to survive what comes next.
November 9, 2022
Portals of Change is Now Up For Pre-Order!
Hi everyone, I just got the email from Podium telling me that the audiobook version of Portals of Change (The Nameless Chronicles: Book 2) is now up for pre-order!
Amazon Ebook LinkAudible Link
Destiny has approached. A painful past is explored. School is in session.
Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter.
If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc.
Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past, and now they have something new, a friend. The portals which gave them a way to fight back, to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that.
It brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.
Everything is changing. Now they just have to survive what comes next.
September 29, 2022
MidJourney Kira
To celebrate here are a couple of pictures of Kira I finagled from #midjourney.
The hairstyle is wrong though, she is supposed to have a reverse bob. Think Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell or Akima from Titan AE. Overall, it still isn't bad.
August 17, 2022
TCL 20 Pro 5G Review
TCL 20 PRO 5G SPECS
Operating System
Android 11
CPU
Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G
Dimensions
6.5 by 3.0 by 0.4 inches
Screen Size
6.67 inches
Screen Resolution
2,400 by 1,080 pixels
Camera Resolution (Rear; Front-Facing)
48MP, 16MP, 5MP, 2MP / 32MP
Battery Life (As Tested)
15 hours, 47 minutes
First off, I just want to say that this is a very good-looking phone and is comfortable to hold. I’ve had it for a little over a week now, and I like its size. It’s the perfect size to type on with one hand.
Now, with that said let’s get to the review of the phone.
I’m not going to go into the nitty-gritty details of the phone. It is a year-old model at this point, and there are plenty of reviews which do exactly that.
Instead, I am going to review this as a user, with regular person needs.
One of the first things anyone will notice is how good looking the phone is. It is a very stylish looking phone, of course that really only matters for the first ten minutes before it’s hidden by a protective case. The AMOLED display is also very eye-catching, and frankly unless you have actively used a more expensive phone is very nice.
I like the display, it is gorgeous, especially for what I paid for the phone.
The phone is water-resistant, but not waterproof, so tread carefully there.
I’ve been using the phone on T-Mobile’s 5G network, and it definitely gets better and faster reception than my old phone. It should also be noted than many of the problems that have been mentioned in other reviews have been worked out in updates.
I do have an issue with the phone dropping the network occasionally for some reason. However, a simple restart fixes that, but it is odd.
The call quality is good, and the speaker is sound is decent though I do wish they had gone with a stereo set up, instead of just one in the bottom.
On the plus side, the Bluetooth is 5.1 High-Res Audio Certified and sounds fantastic as long as you have the headphones for it.
Now here is the part for the everyday consumer.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is an older processor that absolutely doesn’t lag on anything you can throw at it. This phone will play any of the newer games without an issue.
The 6GB of RAM will keep you going all day as long as you don’t open every single program at once. Honestly, I would have preferred more RAM, since this is what was lacking on my last phone, but for now it is proving to be plenty.
The last thing I want to mention are the cameras. I know everyone likes to focus on them, but honestly how often do you really take photos as an average consumer?
I’m an author and come from a big family who just never took picture so maybe I’m the strange one, but I almost never take photos. So, all I’m going to say is they look good. I can’t judge any better than that.
The bottom line is that so far, I’m liking this phone. I do wish newer models weren’t quite so expensive, which is why I’m glad I was able to get this when it was on sale.
July 7, 2022
Portals of Albion is Now Up For Pre-Order!
Hi everyone, I just got an awesome email from Podium telling me that the audiobook version of Portals of Albion (The Nameless Chronicles: Book 1) is now up for pre-order!
Amazon Ebook LinkAudible Link
Zack and his younger sister, Zara, have had to fight for every scrap of food and luck that has ever come their way. All of that changes when Zack awakens as a Traveler.
As a Traveler, Zack holds the key to changing his small family’s fractured fate, and for his sister, he’ll risk everything.
The dangers that await him in the mystic realm of the portals, where ancient powers still linger, aren’t the only thing he needs to be wary of. Nobles, both good and bad, have learned of them as well.
The portals provide a way to fight back, to become stronger than their foes, to capture the life they’ve always dreamed of.
Zack will do anything to keep his sister safe, and it’s time to prove it.
Thankfully, magic has a way of evening the odds…
Hi everyone, I just got an awesome email from Podium tell...
Hi everyone, I just got an awesome email from Podium telling me that the audiobook version of Portals of Albion (The Nameless Chronicles: Book 1) is now up for pre-order!
Amazon Ebook LinkAudible Link
Destiny has approached. A painful past is explored. School is in session.
Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter.
If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc.
Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past, and now they have something new, a friend. The portals which gave them a way to fight back, to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that.
It brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.
Everything is changing. Now they just have to survive what comes next.
June 16, 2022
Portals of Change is Now Live!
Destiny has approached. A painful past is explored. School is in session.Zack and Zara have survived their first brush with nobles at the Academy. An experience that has left them trapped, lost inside a portal they were forced to enter.
If they can make it back, it will be their turn to make the rules and create some havoc.
Together they have grown stronger, pushing back against their past, and now they have something new, a friend. The portals which gave them a way to fight back, to claim the life they always wanted, have done more than that.
It brought them into the spotlight and made Zara a princess.
Everything is changing. Now they just have to survive what comes next.
Portals of Change - Prologue (The Nameless Chronicles: Book 2)
Anna fixed her husband’s tie and pushed him out the door, where Ben was waiting. He was their family’s chauffeur, butler, and general everyman. He was whatever they needed him to be, because he could be trusted. And it was under his guidance that Mathew would make it to the waiting vehicle outside instead of wandering back off to his hidden lab, or to a book somewhere.
“Do you think I should take father up on his offer?” Tessa asked her mother, slipping in before the door closed.
Anna quirked a brow and pointed to her jewelry case. “Pick out a set that will match my dress, would you dear?” Her dress was lying on the bed, all ready to be put on. It had been designed to be easily laced up from the back, and with her daughter’s help, she was ready within a minute.
“Well?” Tessa asked impatiently, as her mother began putting on the azure earrings.
“I’m thinking.” The older woman preened in the mirror, enjoying how the blue contrasted her red hair and emerald, green dress. “It’s a hard question to answer. I don’t want anything to happen to you, but at the same time if he is right, which you know he likely is, then this could give you a nice bump in the future.”
She turned around and pulled her daughter close. “I can’t make this choice for you, only you can do that. Now, we need to be leaving. The weekly Sonntag meeting will be starting soon, and I’ll be making my retirement announcement there.”
Tessa nodded mutely and opened the door for her.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. If it doesn’t feel right, then don’t do it,” Anna told her, lifting her daughter’s chin gently.
“What about dad?” Tessa asked softly, not wanting to hurt her father’s feelings.
“He might be disappointed, in which case all you have to do is tell him you want to see more empirical research data relating to the safety and effectiveness of the experiment on young women within your age bracket. He won’t have it on hand, and it will distract him while also helping him gather useful information.” Anna smiled and kissed her daughter on the cheek. “Remember, the choice is yours either way. Don’t feel pressured into making a choice you don’t want, or are uncomfortable making.”
A maid appeared at the far end of the hall with her secondary office CryTel in hand, attached to a long trailing cord. “It’s for you, madam, someone called the Major. He sounds panicky.”
Anna snorted. “The Major doesn’t know how to sound panicky.” She accepted the device and lifted it to her ear. “Hurry up, we were just about to leave.”
The maid hurried off to continue her duties in a different part of the house. It wasn’t her place to linger and listen in on the madam’s official calls.
“Zack and Zara are missing!” He roared into her ear. “They were taken along with Specialist McCleary from the portal after we left. The bodies of the soldiers I left with her to escort them back to the dorm safely were found just a few minutes ago. Dead, inside the warehouse, with one vehicle missing. Both packs the kids had been carrying were found there as well.”
Anna closed her eyes, feeling a headache instantly beginning to form behind them. “I have to ask, could it have been her?”
“No, absolutely not. Even if she wasn’t loyal to me, which you know she is! She has a soft spot for those two. She was there when we rescued them, and at this point probably knows most of their story. She would rescue them again in a heartbeat I believe, but she wouldn’t kill my own people.”
Tessa looked at her mother and mimed that she would be outside, giving her some privacy for the conversation.
Anna nodded gratefully, waiting for her to disappear before growling. “I don’t care what you have to do but HANDLE IT! In a couple of hours, I’m about to announce my retirement as a hidden adviser to the king before all the nobles and many of the citizens of this country. Then moments after that, I am going to make my final announcement in the role. It will be the same one I made last night, wherein I named Zara the crown’s special scholarship holder and temporary royalty. Can you imagine what will happen if people find out she was kidnapped even before the announcement was made?”
“Why do you think I contacted you?” The Major ground out. “I have my people working on this already. I’m contacting you mostly as a courtesy, and to see if you might have any ideas on who might have done this?”
She tapped her nail against the back of the smooth device in thought. “The Albright brat was never captured. He might be dumb enough to try something this foolhardy.”
“I had considered him,” The Major hesitated. “I’ll pay a visit to his parents and get some answers. You go have fun making your announcements.”
The CryTel clicked off and went dark, as it lost the connection on the other side.
Anna had a vicious smile on her face as she dropped the device on a small waiting table and headed for the front. She would never begrudge anyone causing more harm to the Albright family. Not after what they had done to hers. She would make sure they paid, or none of this would have been worth it.
Tessa smiled brightly as she joined them.
Well, maybe some of it was worth the trouble.
June 2, 2022
Legendary LitRPG: An All Genres LitRPG Anthology Is Live!
Amazon Link
I was recently part of a LitRPG Anthology with 27 other authors (28 total)! It was a fantastic project that I absolutely loved being a part of. Take a look at it and trust me you won't be disappointed. There are a lot of stories inside from some phenomenal authors.
Dive into worlds of wonder, action, adventure, and so much more. This collaboration includes short LitRPG stories of all types.
Warning: Expect stats, character sheets, and experience points. This is meant for the PG 13 audience and avoids intense adult content.
February 7, 2022
Portals of Albion Pre-Order is Now Up!
Siblings with a dangerous secret. Portals to different worlds. A world in need of magic.
Zack and his sister, Zara, are scarred. Spending years in a hellish existence as little more than lab rats, their lives were an unrelenting series of terrible experiments. After they were rescued and returned to the world, reassimilation proves nearly impossible for either sibling. When a path opens for them, one that may save them - and their sanity - they have little choice but to take it.
Possessing the ability to pass through the mysterious portals that appeared a century ago, and venture into these mystic realms, Zack may hold the key to changing his small family's fractured fate. Crossing over to places where ancient powers still linger, Zack may prove blessed or cursed.
The wrath of those who rule stand in the way of their future. Freedom or cyclic servitude are the only options left.
Zack will need to pull out all the stops if he is to keep both him and his little sister, Zara, safe. What began as a fresh start soon attracts the attention of nobles and those with less savory intentions when they step from the shadows.
When you have known nothing but distrust for those in power, what would you do to remain in control of your life?
