Jonathan Moeller's Blog, page 143
February 25, 2020
SEVENFOLD SWORD PART VI now in audio!
I am pleased to report SEVENFOLD SWORD PART VI, a two book audio bundle containing the final two SEVENFOLD SWORD novels, is now available at Audible, Amazon US, Amazon UK, and iTunes. Excellently narrated by Steven Brand!
This means the entire SEVENFOLD SWORD series is now available in audio – all 12 novels in six two-book audio bundles. The combined length of the series is 138 hours long.
That means if you have to spend an hour in the car driving to work every workday, the entire SEVENFOLD SWORD series would last you for 27 weeks of commuting – over six months! Even if your commute is an hour there and an hour back, SEVENFOLD SWORD would still last you for thirteen weeks of commuting.
Start listening here:
-JM
The Pulp Writer Show, Episode 16: The Best Books About Self-Publishing
In this week’s episode, I share some of the best resources and books for helping you to get started with self-publishing:
-JM
February 24, 2020
WRAITHSHARD: SWORD & FLAME rough draft done!
The rough draft of WRAITHSHARD: SWORD & FLAME is done at 88,000 words! On track to have it out some time in March.
Meanwhile, here is the cover image.
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-JM
February 23, 2020
Victory at Antares
It took a year, but I finally beat the MASTER OF ORION remake.
I opted for the Defeat Antarans victory path, and I sent a fleet of 88 ships to attack the Antaran homeworld. It was a brutal fight – by the time it was done, I only had 22 ships left. All my escort-class ships (frigates and destroyers) were gone, and only half of my heavy cruisers, battleships, and titans were left. But that is traditional naval doctrine – the escorts are supposed to protect the heavier capital ships, and they did. While my escorts soaked up fire from the Antaran fleet, my heavy ships pounded the Antaran vessels to pieces. I won the battle, and with it the game.
It’s a really great game. I hardly ever finish computer games any more, since I’m busy with my books, so if I finish a game I really like it. I don’t know why the reviews were only middling. It combines the best of the original MASTER OF ORION and MASTER OF ORION II from the 1990s, sands off some of the rougher management edges, and wraps it all up in nice shiny graphics and an excellent soundtrack. And it’s a huge, huge game. If you play in a Huge Galaxy with eight enemy races, I think a single game could take literally months to finish.
Next time around I think I’m going with a Medium galaxy.
February 22, 2020
forthcoming audiobooks!
Good news! The next six weeks will or so will see three new audiobooks from me.
-SEVENFOLD SWORD PART VI, as narrated by Steven Brand, should come out next week. PART VI is a two-book bundle containing SEVENFOLD SWORD: GUARDIAN and SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN, and it will complete the SEVENFOLD SWORD series in audio!
That means I will now have two complete series in audio – SEVENFOLD SWORD and the first GHOSTS series. THE GHOSTS is about 110 hours long, and SEVENFOLD SWORD will land around 130. So if you have to drive a half-hour to work and a half-hour back every day, both series could get you through literally months of commuting.
February 21, 2020
How many books will WRAITHSHARD be?
Five. WRAITHSHARD will have five books, and I want to write and publish them all in 2020.
For years now I’ve been writing really long series and alternating releases between months – like, a FROSTBORN book the first month, a GHOSTS book the second, a FROSTBORN book the third, and then a CLOAK MAGE book on the fourth month.
I suspect, however, this might have reached a point of diminishing returns in terms of reader enjoyment. DRAGONTIARNA is only selling at about 35% of what SEVENFOLD SWORD did (though DRAGONTIARNA: WRAITHS got closer to 50%) and I think it’s because the entry level has inadvertently become so high, and people feel like they need to read all of FROSTBORN and SEVENFOLD SWORD first before DRAGONTIARNA. Like, I intended DRAGONTIARNA to be stand alone, but readers are generally completionists and prefer to read through everything and start all the way back with FROSTBORN: THE GRAY KNIGHT. But with a series that long, (it’s 27 books from FROSTBORN: THE GRAY KNIGHT to the first book of DRAGONTIARNA) you lose a lot of people along the way who lose interest or get busy with something else.
So, I think after I wrap up my current long-running series (DRAGONTIARNA & GHOST NIGHT – CLOAK MAGE was intended to have more stand-alone books) I want to pivot to writing shorter series more frequently.
But I only think that will work, so to test the idea out, I’m writing WRAITHSHARD.
And on that note, I’m on Chapter 18 of 20 of the rough draft of WRAITHSHARD: SWORD & FLAME. If all goes well, I’ll finish the rough draft next week!
-JM
February 20, 2020
THE LINUX COMMAND LINE BEGINNER’S GUIDE now in audio!
This will be of only peripheral interest to people here, but I’m pleased to report that THE LINUX COMMAND LINE BEGINNER’S GUIDE is now out in audiobook, as excellently narrated by Madison Niederhauser. You can get it at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
THE LINUX COMMAND LINE BEGINNER’S GUIDE is also my 30th audio title.
I’m particularly proud of this one because the LINUX COMMAND GUIDE is my 9th bestselling ebook, and a lot of people over the years have emailed to tell me that the book helped them out. I’ve got a little bit of criticism from people who say it’s pointless to write a book like this since all the information can be found for free on the Internet, but I disagree. You can find infinite information on the Internet – but if it’s infinite, how do you know where to start? Or whether or not it is valid? The point of the book was to give people a thorough grounding in the basics of using the Linux command line, and then a starting point for learning more on their own.
Based on reader emails, I think the book accomplished that mission – and I hope the audio version is helpful as well!
-JM
February 19, 2020
FROSTBORN/SEVENFOLD SWORD/DRAGONTIARNA question & answer
The GHOSTS Q&A podcast episode I did last month was pretty popular.
So now that DRAGONTIARNA: WRAITHS is out, let’s do another question and answer episode! Leave your questions about FROSTBORN, SEVENFOLD SWORD, and DRAGONTIARNA here, and I will answer them on the podcast.
The episode will probably come out in a few weeks.
-JM
February 18, 2020
The Pulp Writer Show, Episode 15: What Happens When A Writer Runs Out Of Ideas?
In this week’s episode of the Pulp Writer Show, I discuss what happens when a writer runs out of ideas, and how an understanding of story structure can create a good book idea out of nearly any situation.
-JM
February 17, 2020
a second WRAITHSHARD: SWORD & FLAME excerpt
Let’s have a second excerpt from WRAITHSHARD: SWORD & FLAME!
This time it’s from the second main character, Lucan Mandragon.
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“Then you admit it,” said the voice. “Would you change it, if you could?”
“Yes,” said Lucan.
“What is done is done,” said the dry voice, “but it is not too late to keep worse things from happening. If you truly regret your deeds, perhaps you can yet avert a worse fate.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lucan.
For the first time confusion started to worm its way through the unending guilt and horror and regret that choked his thoughts, and his mind started to work again. He was dead and this was his punishment. So why was he hearing voices? Was this some sort of new punishment?
“Oh, don’t worry,” said the dry voice, a hint of amusement in the words. “Your punishments, like every other misfortune in your life, will be entirely self-inflicted.”
-JM