Jonathan Moeller's Blog, page 162

Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Tuesdays: GHOST IN THE FLAMES

It’s Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Thursday! Today we have an excerpt from GHOST IN THE FLAMES.

It’s the second in the series, but chronologically, it was the first novel about Caina I ever wrote – in 2008, I think, or possibly 2007.

You can get GHOST IN THE FLAMES at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, and Smashwords. It’s also available in audiobook at Audible, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon AU, and iTunes.

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Caina hurried across the street and plunged into the shadow of Romarion’s mansion, her cloak blending with the darkness. A low ornamental wall surrounded the mansion and its grounds, and Caina hopped onto the corner, wrapped her cloak around her, and waited.

She did not wait long. A guard strolled through the mansion’s well-kept grounds. He wore a studded leather jerkin, sword and dagger at his belt, and carried a crossbow ready in his arms. All his weapons were in good condition, and he looked as if he knew how to use them. Caina remained motionless, watching the guard.

When he vanished around the corner, Caina moved. She raced across the grounds, grapnel and thin rope spinning in her right hand. She flung the grapnel, felt it catch on the red tiles of the mansion’s roof. After a few cautionary tugs, Caina scrambled up the line, her boots scrabbling against the smooth marble walls. The guard came around the corner again, and Caina swung into a darkened window frame, huddling into her cloak.

The guard did not see her. People never looked up. Caina waited until he had passed, and resumed her climb. She stopped at a high window just below the roof. Caina swung into the frame, pulled down the rope, and returned it to her belt. She scrutinized the shutters for a moment, then slipped a knife into the gap and popped the latch. They swung open, and Caina jumped inside, pulling them closed behind her.

She found herself in a bedroom, perhaps a guest room. Her boots sank into a thick carpet, and polished furniture gleamed in the faint light leaking through the shutters. The bed was empty. Caina listened for a moment, but heard nothing. She crossed the room and opened the doorway.

A high-ceilinged hallway stretched the length of the upper floor. Nighmarian and Saddai statues stood in alcoves, while unlit iron chandeliers hung from chains. If Caina remembered right, Romarion kept his offices on the east side. Still listening, she started down the corridor.

She had gone no more than six steps when she heard the voices approaching. Caina looked back and forth. The door was too far away, but a massive statue of an Emperor in antique armor stood to her left, and one of the iron chandeliers hung right over her head. Caina scrambled up the statue, perched on the dead Emperor’s shoulders, and jumped to the chandelier. It rocked a little, but the massive chains held it in place, and with the candles extinguished she cast no shadow. She settled into place, like a spider in an iron web, and waited.

Romarion and another man walked down the hallway, speaking to one another in low voices, four guards trailing after them. Caina tensed, but they didn’t notice her. People simply never looked up…

-JM

progress update

Here is where I’m at with my current projects:

-Editing SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN. If all goes well, the book should come out in late June.

-Writing the rough draft of the final MALISON book. That should come out in July.

-Working on the outline of GHOST IN THE VAULT. I think that will probably come out in September.

-JM

rough draft of SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN done!

I am pleased to report that the rough draft of SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN, the final book in the SEVENFOLD SWORD series, is finally done!

129,500 words in 31 days.

The book is now in editing, and if all goes well it should be out towards the end of June.

Meanwhile, here’s the cover image!

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-JM

road trip audiobooks

If you’re going on a long road trip this weekend, why not listen to an audiobook on the way?

Because I’ve got audiobooks. Boy, do I have audiobooks.

In fact, I have series of them!

-The FROSTBORN series, as narrated by Steven Crossley & Brad Wills, for over 87 hours.

-The SEVENFOLD SWORD series, as narrated by Steven Brand, for over 88 hours.

-The GHOSTS series, as narrated by Hollis McCarthy, for over 50 hours.

So if you are going on a road trip this weekend, I am reasonably sure that one of these series will meet your listening needs.

another SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN progress update

I am over 75% of the way through the rough draft of SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN, and am currently on Chapter 27 of 32.

If all goes well, I hope to finish up the rough draft next week. I think the rough draft will end up at 130,000 to 140,000 words, which will make it one of the longest books I’ve ever written. (I think the three longest books I’ve written were SOUL OF SKULLS, SOUL OF SWORDS, and FROSTBORN: THE SHADOW PRISON.)

-JM

Yet Another Kindle Unlimited Experiment, But This One Worked!

Today I’m going to write about some book marketing mistakes I’ve made, so feel free to skip if the topic doesn’t interest you. Though I suppose it’s human nature to enjoy reading about the mistakes of others, so I suspect most of you will stick around.

Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Tuesdays: CLOAK GAMES: SHADOW JUMP

It’s Jonathan Moeller Novel Excerpt Tuesday! Today we have an excerpt from CLOAK GAMES: SHADOW JUMP.

The name “Armand Boccand” came from a truly egregious mispelling of a name I saw on an insurance form once.

You can read CLOAK GAMES: SHADOW JUMP at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Australia, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Google Play, and Smashwords.

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“Did you bring the tablet?” he said.

I swallowed, desperately trying not to show any of my fear. He would not respond well.

“No,” I said.

He stared at me in silence for a full minute, and I forced myself not to look away. His eyes were cold in that gaunt, alien face, colder than the air in the duct, colder than the blast of the winter’s night.

“Why not?” he said.

I knew my answer would determine whether or not I lived or died.

“Someone else took it before I could take it,” I said.

“Who?” said Morvilind.

“I don’t know,” I said. “He was a human man. Caucasian, probably English, about thirty or thirty-five. Blue hair, brown eyes, about six and a half feet tall.”

Morvilind raised his white eyebrows. “Did he overpower you and take the tablet?”

“He was a wizard,” I said. “He used a spell I had never seen before. It made him disappear and…”

“What?” said Morvilind. His voice was flat, hard.

I started talking faster, unable to stop myself. “It wasn’t a Cloaking spell or another illusion, I would have detected it. It looked…it looked almost like a rift way to the Shadowlands, but I don’t think that was it. I…”

“His name,” said Morvilind, eyes narrowed. “Did he use a name?”

“I don’t think it was his real name,” I said, “but he called himself Armand Boccand.”

Morvilind went still, and my terror redoubled. His face had become a cold mask, his eyes blazing.

He was angry.

I had only seen him truly angry once before, on the day of the Archon attack upon Milwaukee. Two Archons had made the mistake of attacking him, and their attacks had so offended him that he slaughtered all of their orcish soldiers and butchered the two Archons. It had been a terrifying display of power, and in my bones I knew he was about to direct that wrath at me.

At least it would be quick.

Then Morvilind let out a hissing breath, and I blinked in surprise.

He was furious…but he wasn’t angry at me.

He was angry at Armand Boccand.

“Tell me precisely what happened,” said Morvilind.

“I infiltrated Lord Castomyr’s Thanksgiving banquet, as you commanded,” I said, trying to force my exhausted, spinning brain to put my thoughts into order. “While I was there, Boccand approached me and asked to dance. I thought he was a Homeland Security agent or one of Lord Castomyr’s security men, but he left me alone after the dance. I then entered Lord Castomyr’s vault, and as I walked towards the tablet, Boccand appeared out of nowhere. He said that I would make the perfect patsy for the crime, took the tablet, and vanished using that spell. The alarm went off, and I hid myself for two days in the ventilation system. Once the guards had relaxed, I escaped and made my way back here.”

Morvilind said nothing. He was glaring, but not at me, at something only he could see.

“I warned him,” he said. “I warned that fool what would happen if he crossed me again.”

“My lord?” I said.

“Get up,” snapped Morvilind, stalking back towards his work table. “There is work to be done.”

-JM

SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN – two thirds done!

22 chapters of SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN down, 10 to go. We are 2/3 of the way through the rough draft!

-JM

Interesting Links #32: Kindle Unlimited vs Adobe vs Everybody Else

It’s time for another Interesting Links post of interesting articles I’ve read recently.

This week’s installment of Interesting Links includes articles about the dangers and rewards of Kindle Unlimited, the difficulties of narrating audiobooks, and yet another excellent reason to use the GIMP over Photoshop due to Adobe’s convoluted licensing:

-If you are published on Amazon, this is a good guide for setting up your Amazon Author Page: The Complete Guide to Making A Great Author Page With Amazon Author Central.

-This account of a social media canceling illustrates why it’s never a good idea to rely on just one website or vendor: Our Pinterest Account Got Suspended!

-Here’s a good account of the difficulties involved in audiobook production. Why narrating an audiobook is a LOT harder than you think!

-Why isn’t this book in Kindle Unlimited? The Amazon Conundrum.

-More about Kindle Unlimited: Exclusivity vs Publishing Wide. (I’ve done both at various times, but I definitely lean towards Publishing Wide.)

-Good advice from Orson Scott Card. (But avoid agents!) Finish it first!

-“I keep working. The more you shy away from the material, the worse it gets. You’re better off pushing through and ending up with 30 dead pages you can correct later than just sitting there with nothing.” How Has Danielle Steel Managed To Write 179 Books?

-Yet another good reason to use the GIMP instead of Adobe Photoshop! Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop.

-JM

bad first dates

A reader of CLOAK OF DRAGONS sent an email saying how much she liked the book, and then asking if there was a story describing how Nadia and Riordan met.

That’s pretty much the entire CLOAK GAMES series, the first book of which is free on all platforms.

But! If you want to read about their incredibly awkward first date, you can read the short story WRAITH WOLF – it features Nadia walking out of dinner, Riordan deciding he’d be better off single, and then a fight with monsters from another dimension. You can get WRAITH WOLF for $0.99 USD at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Google Play, and Smashwords.

-JM