J.L. Hendricks's Blog, page 13
September 18, 2016
Worlds Away Snippet #2
Ok, so how did you enjoy Worlds Away Snippet #1? I hope you liked it because today I have Worlds Away snippet #2 for you. This one is from a scene in Chapter 1. And in case you were wondering, I am not going in order. I am just providing you with a few pieces of the story in anticipation of the book release this Thursday!! Don’t forget to pick up your pre-sale copy of Worlds Away for only .99c before it goes up to its regular price of $2.99!
One week earlier
One minute I was checking out a nice looking man across the field, the next I was in his arms inside of some strange metallic room. “Wha…who are you? Where am I?” I whispered as my head spun.
“Oh nuts! How are you awake already? I just transported you from Earth! You should have been out for hours.” This strange man looked at me with a scrunched up nose and a wrinkled forehead.
I realized I was in his arms, which were as huge and firm as a cannon, no joke. “Hey big guns, you wanna let me down?” I looked into his violet eyes and was momentarily mesmerized by the most beautiful face I had ever laid eyes on. This man had to be pushing seven feet tall, with long, wavy, dark hair that went to his shoulders and a strong chiseled face. His clothes looked like something anyone would wear on the beach, tan board shorts and a conservative Hawaiian print shirt with surf boards on it.
“I am not carrying any guns.” He had this perplexed look on his face, like he didn’t understand the name I had given him.
“Dude, let me down! NOW!” I took my one free arm and banged it on his chest in hopes that he would get my meaning. Instead, my hand ached from hitting something as hard as concrete. There was a tingling sensation going throughout my hand, so I shook it out in hopes of that feeling dissipating faster, “Ow!”
He set me down and took one step back. “I won’t hurt you.” Then he took one step closer and lightly brushed the hair away from my face. His touch sent chills down my back as I gasped from the connection I felt with him.
In a whisper I asked him, “Who are you?” Then I took a step away from him. He was too close for me to breathe properly.
“I am Commander Venay of the V’Zenian Empire. You are on my star cruiser, The Zamaya.” He looked down at me with something akin to pride in his eyes. I got the feeling that he was proud of his title.
I looked around at my surroundings and tried to process what he just said, but a headache was developing. “Are you punking me?” There was an ache behind one eye, and I closed it and tried to rub my eyelid while breathing heavily.
“What is ‘punking’?” He tilted his head slightly while looking at me with narrowed eyes, and then he scratched the back of his head.
“This is some sort of joke, right? I mean the last thing I remember is seeing you from across the field and then waking up in your arms here. Something isn’t adding up. There is no way we are in space right now or even on a spaceship…” I looked around with pursed lips and rubbed my arms as they had goosebumps on them from the cold.
“Did you drug me and take me to some sort of sound stage? I didn’t sign up to be on a reality TV show or anything like that. So if this is some sort of TV or movie production, you have the wrong person.” I slowly moved away from the giant and walked around the room. We were standing on a metallic floor, and the room was small, maybe a ten by ten square room. On one wall was what looked like a door, but it didn’t open out; there appeared to be no way for it to open. I could see the lines of the door, but no hinge. There was one small, circular window. Outside, they had done a great job of making it look like I was in space.
We must have been facing out towards space because I couldn’t see Earth or even the moon. The view was filled with stars as far as I could see. One small speck looked like it could be a planet, as it was bigger than all of the other stars around us, but I couldn’t be sure. The room was pretty cold, so they were doing a great job of simulating outer space with environment as well as with the view.
I looked back at the man who had taken me; and he was smiling at me. What was that about?
“Do you believe me now? That planet you can see is actually what you humans call Jupiter.” He looked out the window, and I took the opportunity to get a better look at him. His skin color wasn’t different from mine, but he did have some weird colored veins going up his arm. I could believe the veins were sticking out, just like any huge muscular guy’s arms. But the color had me perplexed. The veins pulsed and changed colors. One moment it was pulsing in a blueish tint, then the next it was pink, then orange. What kinda show was this?
“Um, I think you have done a great job with the special effects outside this room. But I don’t believe that we are in space.” I walked over towards what appeared to be the door and pushed on it, nothing happened. “How do I open this door?”
Venay walked up behind me and ran his hand over something on the side of the door, and it swished open, just like in the movies. The door moved sideways into the wall, and what I saw on the other side of the door freaked me out. There were more people, but they were in cages! Surrounding them were guards of some sort that looked similar to my captor, but they all were wearing some type of military uniform. The uniforms were tight fitting, button up shirts with a rank of some sort on the collars, not too different from an Army uniform. The pants were black cargo style, and they had a weapons belt with a dagger on one side and what appeared to be a toy phaser gun on the other.
I started to walk out into that room, but he put his arm around my waist and brought me back inside as the door slid shut.
“What are you doing? I want to go home! NOW!” I turned into him since he hadn’t let go of my waist yet and tilted my head up to look into his face.
He looked down at me and with a smug look and said, “It isn’t safe for you to go out there, unless you want to end up in a cage with the other humans?” Then he arched one eyebrow.
“Look, I don’t know what is going on here, but I did not sign up for this, and I want to go home. Would you please stop playing these games and let me out of here?” I put my hands on his chest and tried to push myself away from him, but he held on tight.
“Human, tell me your name. Unless you want me to keep calling you Human?” He used his free hand to move my hair so that it fell along my back. Then he ran his hand through it. I had goosebumps again, but this time it wasn’t because I was cold. In fact, it was just the opposite. There seemed to be some sort of supernatural attraction. I didn’t want to be attracted to him, but I was. His pulsing veins were calling my name and asking me to kiss them, maybe even nibble on those along his neck. Sweat was starting to form on my brow as this man held me.
As soon as I came back to my senses, I moved my shoulders in an effort to get his hand out of my hair.
“Paris, my name is Paris. Can you please let me go now?” I couldn’t look into his eyes any longer; he was doing something to me with those hypnotic eyes of his. Instead, I focused on those cannons for biceps and watched as his veins pulsed out different colors, but the purple color seemed more dominant than the rest.
“You are named after a city in France? Why?” He looked down at me with that perplexed look of his again, and then let me go. I walked back towards the wall and took a deep breath.
“Wait, how do you know about the city in France?”
“The last group of slaves I picked up came from there. Not too many of them spoke English, but our Universal Translator worked just fine with them. Well, until they tried taking it out of their head.” He chuckled at that moment and had a far off look on his face, as though he was remembering something funny.
“One of them swore we were conducting human experiments on them and that the sub-dermal translator we installed into the side of the skull, near their ear, was an alien listening device.” Again, he laughed at the memory, while motioning with his arms out wide. “Where do you humans come up with this stuff? I mean, really, an alien listening device?” He shook his head as he continued to laugh.
Does that sound like it might be an interesting story? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, or picking up your copy today! Once it is live, the books will show up in your Kindle Device right away!
The post Worlds Away Snippet #2 appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 17, 2016
Worlds Away Snippet- Enough to Wet your Appetite?
If you haven’t read the Sneak Peek, this Worlds Away Snippet if perfect for you!
I just gave out almost 900 free copies of my Exclusive Sneak Peek of Worlds Away! If you haven’t picked up your copy yet, go to InstaFreebie today: Worlds Away Sneak Peek. For those of you who already have it, keep reading, as I will get to a spot in a couple of days you have NOT seen yet!
Worlds Away on Pre-sale now! Available 9/22
I will start with the first half of the Prologue today:
The claxon bells were going off all over the ship, and the crew rushed to and fro as they took their duty stations to prepare for the inevitable. “Rotna, get off the comm with your mate. NOW is the time to focus on the ship, not some female.” the Commander yelled as he gave Rotna a stern frown and pointed to the weapons console.
Rotna usually manned the weapons console during battles. However it has been a few years since this crew had seen any battles. All had been calm during these trips until this one.
“I must go now, stay safe and know that I love you!” Rotna ended his comm with his mate and focused back on the weapons console, but he was too late. A charged torpedo hit the side of the ship where Rotna was stationed. The console discharged an energy blast that threw him against the metallic desk that housed the science scanners behind him. His back hit the hard surface, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
“Someone get a medic here immediately! I need my weapons officer back on task. “The Commander gave Rotna one more look and arched an eyebrow with the realization he wouldn’t get his weapons officer back on duty any time soon. The ship warbled as another torpedo hit a different spot on the same side of the ship. All of the warriors on the bridge looked to the Commander as he stumbled to the weapons console. His second in command made his way to the weapons station from across the bridge.
The Commander loaded and launched four torpedoes and sent them off one after the other in rapid fire towards the enemy ship that had attacked them. This enemy had agreed to a tentative truce some years back, and would on occasion play chicken with the V’Zenian ships, but they never would have openly attacked like this.
“Eereen, fire the laser cannons at will and target their port engine. Let’s see if we can’t damage their ship enough to keep them from firing any more torpedoes,” the Commander yelled as he handed over the weapons con to his First Officer.
“Yes, Sir!” Eereen stated as he sat at the console. He quickly reviewed the ship in front of them and targeted the port side engines with both laser cannons and another round of torpedoes. He had to be careful since they did not have many left. This ship should not have seen any combat on this trip. It was only on a trip to Earth to pick up another load of slaves and possible mates for their species. In the four trips he has made, they never saw anything more than space dust in their path.
The Chief Engineer reported to the Commander, “Sir, that last set of torpedoes damaged our engines along with the artificial gravity generator. I sent men to fix them, but I can’t guarantee that parts of the ship will have enough gravity to function normally.”
“Listen up, this is the Commander. We have an issue with our gravity generator and certain areas could intermittently lose artificial gravity. Use the hand rails if you must move about the ship, otherwise strap in and prepare for a bumpy flight.” The Commander knew that his slaves in the holding cells had nothing to help them stay secure. He briefly wondered if he shouldn’t release their cell doors so they could at least find some seats to strap themselves into. But before he could think of it anymore, another round of torpedoes made their way past the energy shield his ship had up.
“Someone tell me how those torpedoes are making their way past our shields! They should not have access to such technology! I want a solution before they blow us out of the universe! And I want something that will destroy them- five minutes ago!” The Commander sat down and strapped himself into his command chair. Then reviewed the schematics they had of the enemy ship based on their scans over the past twelve hours.
Feel free to subscribe to my blog, it’s the first place on the right sidebar where you can input your email address, and over the next few days i will post various snippets so you can get a feel for this new book which is coming out next week!!! I am very excited about this one, and going all out for the launch! So don’t forget, Pick up your copy of Worlds Away today while it is still only .99c! On 9/24 it goes up to $2.99.
The post Worlds Away Snippet- Enough to Wet your Appetite? appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 16, 2016
Sneak Peek #FreebieFriday on #Instafreebie
#FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie
This week we have something a bit different and exciting to offer you book lovers! Sneak Peek #FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie is all about just that, a sneak peek at some stupendous books that are coming up for sale! There are 20 different books spanning various genres in this post. These authors have graciously put together the first few chapters in their new books and are offering them to you via Instafreebie. So, that means that you can’t get these books anywhere else! Most are on pre-sale, but even Amazon doesn’t offer the look inside feature on pre-sales!
If you see a cover you like, click on it and download the page for Instafreebie. When you get the book, you will notice that there are only a few chapters, that is because it is a “Sneak Peek” inside the book. This is for your to test the waters, so to speak. If you like what you see, then there should be a link at the back of the sneak peek that will point you to the book on Amazon, or some other site to buy it. Most of these are on sale while they are in the Pre-Order status. So be sure to hurry up and pre-order the books today! That way when they are available it will appear like magic in your Kindle or other reading device. 
September 15, 2016
Shadow Stalker by Renee Scattergood
An author Friend of mine, Renee Scattergood, has a new book coming out! Her Shadow Stalker series is one of my favorite fantasy series out there! Seriously, I read the first book and had to meet her! I reached out to her, she is in Australia so it was a virtual meeting, and we have chatted over the past few months. The Shadow Stalker series is a serial that she puts out on a monthly basis. One or two episodes a month. But I just wait for the boxed sets! Her third boxed set is now up for pre-order! For only $1.99, it is a screaming deal!!! Check out the details below for each of her episodes in this wonderful world she has created! So, get your copy and join me in immersing yourself in a new fantasy realm, you won’t be sorry you did!
Shadow Stalker – Part 3
Episodes 13 – 18
By
Renee Scattergood
Coming November 23rd
Pre-Order Your Copy Today!
About Shadow Stalker – Part 3
Things go from bad to worse when the Galvadi Empire develops a new technology to use against the shadow stalkers. Now Kado and Makari are more determined than ever to keep Auren away from their enemies, but Auren decides enough is enough and takes matters into her own hands. She turns herself over to the Galvadi to get close to Drevin and Makari has no choice but to play along. He is forced to either torture Auren to prove his loyalty or die knowing she will be tortured and enslaved anyway. Somehow they have to get close enough to Drevin to bring him down and put an end to the Galvadi’s tyranny once and for all.
Shadow Stalker Part 3 (Episodes 13 – 18) is now available for Pre-Order! It’s 50% off for a limited time, so hurry and reserve your copy!
http://reneescattergood.com/books/shadow-stalker-part-3-episodes-13-18/
Be sure to buy it on Amazon: Shadow Stalker Part 3
Get The Whole Series
About Shadow Stalker Part 1 (Episodes 1 – 3):
The Hidden Truth (Episode 1)
A young shadow stalker is destined to enslave the people of the Serpent Isles, and the Galvadi Empire want this child of prophecy dead. Auren Trasks perfectly normal life is disrupted when the Galvadi invade, and she learns a startling secret about her past. A secret that will change her life forever.
The Delohi-Saqu’s Fate (Episode 2)
Auren is being targeted by the Council of Elders, and the only one who could put an end to their corruption is her father. But leaving the Dark Isle would turn Kado against her.
Shadows’ Betrayal (Episode 3)
After seeing the monster she will become, Auren swears not to leave the Dark Isle. Despite that, the elders are conspiring against her. To escape their scheming, she and Kado decide to explore the Dark Isle. But worse things await them in the forests.
Forbidden Love (Episode 4)
Kado and Auren survive a deadly storm, but when Auren is forbidden from pursuing love with another young shadow stalker, will it be enough to drive a wedge between her and her foster father?
Destiny Reconciled Part 1 (Episode 5)
Auren and Kado accept that they may not be able to avoid her leaving the Dark Isle. Now they have to prepare for that eventuality. Will the training be more than Auren can handle?
Destiny Reconciled Part 2 (Episode 6)
Cathnor has been arrested and is facing a death sentence. The Dark Isle is out of control, and Kado is the only one who can help his people. So he prepares Auren for the possibility that she may have to leave the Dark Isle without him and face her destiny alone, but can she leave him and do what must be done?
Buy Links:
Get it Free: http://reneescattergood.com/books/shadow-stalker-part-1-episodes-1-6/
However, you can also buy it on Amazon: Shadow Stalker Part 1
About Shadow Stalker – Part 2 (Episodes 7 – 12)
Episode 7: Bound by Fate
Auren’s best friend was captured during the Galvadi invasion, and her rescue attempt goes awry. Now Auren finds herself in the hands of an enemy who knows her true identity…one who has the power to be either her destroyer or her salvation.
Episode 8: Broken
Auren doesn’t succumb to Makari’s torture, so he decides his father was right about her being the delohi-saqu. Now he resorts to more sadistic methods to extract information, which could doom the Coalition if Auren fails to resist.
Episode 9: Turning Tides
Now that Makari knows the truth about Auren, he has sworn to protect her and help her escape. But when the other guides become suspicious, Makari’s loyalty is tested, and he is forced to do something he swore he’d never do again.
Episode 10: Separate Paths
Auren finally meets Shai, Kado’s daughter, but she is too weak from her months of torture to escape the reconciliation center. Makari takes over Shai’s cleansing sessions, but that means Auren will face daily torture again. To make things worse, Makari disappears and Auren is given a task that means taking the life of someone she loves.
Episode 11: Escape Part 1
Auren and Shai begin their escape, but it doesn’t go as planned, and they are forced to adjust their plans. They are pushed to their limits, and Auren has to put her untried abilities to use or risk being recaptured.
Episode 12: Escape Part 2
Makari has decided to stay with the Galvadi for Auren’s protection. Auren and Shai are on their own, and nature seems to be against them. After being seriously injured, Auren falls ill and it starts to look like they will never reach their meeting spot with Kado on the southern shore.
Buy Links:
Want to get Shadow Stalker Part 2 (Episodes 7 – 12) free too? http://reneescattergood.com/subscribe-today/
However, you can also buy it on Amazon: Shadow Stalker Part II
About the Author:
Renee Scattergood lives in Australia with her husband, Nathan, and daughter, Taiya. She has always been a fan of fantasy and was inspired to become a story-teller by George Lucas, but didn’t start considering writing down her stories until she reached her late twenties. Now she enjoys writing dark fantasy, and she’d dabbling with paranormal thrillers under a pen name.
She is currently publishing her monthly Shadow Stalker serial, and she has published a prequel novella to the series called, Demon Hunt. She is also working on a new series of novels, A God’s Deception.
Aside from writing, she loves reading (fantasy, of course), watching movies with her family, and doing crafts and science experiments with her homeschooled daughter. Visit her site for more information and a free copy of Shadow Stalker Part 1 (Episodes 1 – 6): http://reneescattergood.com
Social Media Links:
Website/Blog: http://reneescattergood.com/
Renee’s Author Spotlight: http://reneesauthorspotlight.blogspot.com.au/
– A blog where I feature indie and small press authors.
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00NTJY1W2
Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rscatts
AuthorsDen: http://www.authorsden.com/reneescattergood
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/RScatts
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/renee-scattergood
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8507658.Renee_Scattergood
Renee’s Shadow Stalkers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16rTPYCAwDq5cpyxHfphx0-x6ka9C7DWoJsdgYa2CyAw/viewform
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/reneescatts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeScatts
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100671337443224225702/posts
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/pub/renee-scattergood/56/963/3
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rscatts/
Finally, I love to pre-order books as soon as I see something I like, that way I never forget when they are released. It is always so much fun to open in iPad and see a new book cover in my list of books! I only read on iPad since I have yet to win a free Kindle! LOL However, one of these days I will get my own Kindle, but until then, the iPad works great!
Also, don’t forget, Pre-order Part 3 here today: Amazon Shadow Stalker Part 3
The post Shadow Stalker by Renee Scattergood appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 13, 2016
The Allazar Universe with Chrishaun Keller-Hanna
Today I am visiting The Allazar Universe with Chrishaun Keller-Hanna.
Chrishaun has created a very unique world that is something new and exciting! She calls her book series MagicPunk Fantasy, sounds cool doesn’t it?
Allazar is a beautiful and dangerous world filled with magiera (partial magic that gives life and sentience to all flora and fauna), human, humaniforms, and monsters great and small.
Tales of Allazar are the extraordinary stories of ordinary people that inhabit this magicpunk fantasy world. Magiera fuels the tech; monsters lurk in the city, and the plants might eat you if you aren’t careful. From the bright lights of Praina to the pristine marble streets of Etherian, millions of people live, die, and make their fortunes here.
Here first book, Tales of Allazar: Black, Gold, & Sage can be found at: Amazon
Tales of Allazar: Black, Gold, & Sage:
Chrishaun has agreed to share an excerpt from her book, Black, Gold, & Sage just for you!
The moss finally detached itself from the tree on Josi’s shoulder in a high screech. Josi reached up her arm then stretched it out until her palm was on the tree. There was no more sound from the moss. She pulled her hand from the tree. The moss fell in two pieces at Sage’s feet.
The dead moss didn’t bother Sage. The cold and efficient movement, developed through years of training and fieldwork was what gave Sage pause. It reminded her that she was in the presence of the former members of the Culling—named in part because they came from the culling of the child population, named in part because they were expendable. Culling because they were no longer Praina, but instead just tools.
Sage wondered, as Josi took her first steps into the brush, if she had that same cold look on humans and humaniforms—then snapped out of it. The crunch under Josi’s feet seemed to echo through the air.
“A Silent Step spell would make this simple,” Josi gritted her teeth but didn’t look back. “How could they see us when everything around us is using magiera? “
One of the hunters yelled into the forest.
“Come out my doves!” Shots echoed through the woods.
“We won’t hurt you! Those shots are not for you—we promised the House of Praina we would return you alive.”
The daffodils went a little brighter and waved their beams toward the racket, exposing a female figure. She turned toward the light, and the runners froze against one fir, just outside the illuminated circle. The eyes of the figure glowed and she lifted a glowing palm. A blast of magiera went from her palm to the flowers at Sage’s feet.
Sage could feel the young boy trembling. The moss flinched as well.
What do you think? Does that sounds like an intriguing book?
How about another excerpt?
Daughter of the Flood
Next is her second book, Daughter of the Flood. This is a continuation of her exciting universe!
Here is another excerpt just for you!
Magiera is the universal measure of power in Allazar. There’s nothing worth doing that you can’t do without it. What kind and the amount you have determines everything from House you’re a member of to what type of job you have.
If you’re powerful and have it to spare, you siphon off a bit here and there for future use. Part of that the Legate Power Authority takes to power the House’s comms and our lights. They ration how much we can use and what we can have in our homes in exchange, so a tower going down is a problem. Lights out can mean you’re out of work and out of magiera.
The thing is that the magiera that’s siphoned off can only be absorbed by folks of the same house. So that 5000 milliliters of Praina’s finest was useless to me as power, but Mel…
She slashed the perentie with a whip made up of golden light, cutting through the lizard’s thick skin. It swung backward and swept Mel’s feet. She hopped over it as if she was dancing and swung another whip. It hopped back and spit a green liquid at her chest. She threw up a mag-shield just in time, but the lizard launched forward and plowed right into her.
I grabbed the MilamUp, slammed it and somehow managed to get more in my mouth than on my face and chest and fished out the card from my jacket. I placed the card in my mouth and crunched down. The Deveron magiera on the card pulsed through my body, and all that gold mageira shot out of my mouth, hovering. Mageria can sense when a body is draining and jumped straight to Mel.
Her body glowed and she shot out the magiera from her mouth, cutting a hole through the lizard.
We both sat there a moment in water, perentie puke and blood soup with a touch of MilamUp.
I hope you enjoyed those little snippets of this exciting new world created by Chrishaun! Be sure to get her first two books in this universe for only $0.99 each! Go to Amazon and see her other books as well: Chrishaun’s Amazon Author Page
And if you want to interact with this fantastic author, here are her social media pages:
Facebook: facebook.com/allazaruniverse
Instagram: instagram.com/allazaruniverse
Twitter: @allazaruniverse
The post The Allazar Universe with Chrishaun Keller-Hanna appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 12, 2016
Land of Gods Free for 2 Days by Justin Sloan
Today’s featured author is Justin Sloan, author of Land of Gods. This week he is offering Land of Gods Free for 2 Days! But it goes back up to $4.99 on the 14th so you better hurry and grab it while you can!
I “sat down” with Justin, in the sense of I spoke with him via Facebook and email! And I was able to get a good sense of who this guy is. He is extremely devoted to his family as well as to his country. He served in the Marines, not as good as the Army, but hey we can’t all be Army vets now can we? (wink wink) But his military experience has really shaped who he is as an author and as a person. His discussion around his books and what was the basis and influence for his writing is actually very intriguing.
And in case that isn’t enough, he has written video games! One of his best selling games is Game of Thrones, so don’t be surprised if you have already “read” some of his work. Come with me to get to know him a little bit better and read what he is up to. Be sure to read the entire post as there is a special treat in there for you, the readers!
And don’t forget:
Land of Gods Free for 2 Days
Pick up your copy today for free!
Please give us a short introduction to your Falls of Redemption Trilogy
The Falls of Redemption trilogy is epic military fantasy, loosely based on Ancient Greek wars in the way that Game of Thrones is based on the Wars of the Roses. It follows two cousins in alternating point of view (POV) chapters. They both love the same woman, but face hurdles in a time of war that cause their pursuit of this woman to be complicated.
That’s where the story starts, because then it becomes so much more – it’s the tale of one of these cousins who is taken against his will and forced to fight for a Spartan-like group of warriors, and then his journey when he’s must choose between the brothers in arms he has learned to love and the woman of his dreams. What I love about this series is the way the characters come first, with hints of magic behind a curtain at first, revealed slowly until BAM! The magic system comes out swinging.
What inspired you to write Falls of Redemption?
I started writing the Falls of Redemption trilogy back in 2010 when I was waiting for the next Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) book to come out. Those books were so amazing, I felt compelled to attempt to write a book that would touch and inspire people in the same way George R.R. Martin’s books did with me. This made it feel especially amazing when I found myself working at Telltale Games on their Game of Thrones title.
How much, would you say, has your military training influenced your writing?
My grandma was always asking me to write about my military time and travels, so instead of writing a journal or memoir, I thought I would write a fictionalized version of my bootcamp experience. I had taken a class in my international relations MA program on the Peloponnesian War, and loved it. So it made sense to combine these two ideas – a military fantasy novel based on Ancient Greek wars, that in some ways tells my story of going through boot camp and the years that followed.
Of course, the book changed drastically and totally took on a life of its own, but you could certainly say my military time has greatly influenced my writing. In fact, my other books have strong military aspects – the little girl in Back by Sunrise loses her father to the military, and Allie Strom’s mom is in the military (kind of) in Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon.
How different is writing novels from writing the stories for video games?
The writing process for video games is much more like screenwriting than writing novels. There are many similarities, such as character creation, plotting, and coming up with awe-inspiring reversals and plot twists. The main difference would be that writing for games, in my experience, is extremely collaborative. You might think that writing with a partner on novels is collaborative, or working with editors, but the word collaborative takes on a whole new meaning when there are six or seven writers all on one two-hour episode of a game, with producers, people in marketing, and studio executives all weighing in. And that’s not even talking about working with art and programming and all those other considerations!
However, when it comes to the actual writing, it’s still the amazing process of sitting down behind your computer and entering a magical world that is, at least to some degree, your own.
Land of Gods Free for 2 Days
If you want to learn more about Justin and his writing career, check out my Facebook page where I will share more snippets of his interview! https://www.facebook.com/JLHendricksAuthor/
Website: www.JustinSloanAuthor.com
Blog (and podcast): www.CreativeWritingCareer.com
Twitter: @JustinMSloan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustinSloanAuthor
And as a special gift since you made it all the way to the end of the blog, you get another freebie from Justin! He put up on #Instafreebie the prequel to his Falls of Redemption trilogy! And you can have the link right here: Blades of Gresva
This is the short prequel to the Falls of Redemption trilogy, Narcel’s father and Lokum’s uncle, SERGON, sets off on a secret mission with the Reveries of the religious capital, Gresva.
They are on a quest to wipe out a faction of worshipers of The Six, old gods that required human sacrifice to bring people back from the dead.
Sergon finds himself sneaking through pirate camps and confronted with his worst nightmare in a life or death mission that may be his last.
Land of Gods Free for 2 Days
The post Land of Gods Free for 2 Days by Justin Sloan appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 11, 2016
Space Team by Barry J Hutchison
Hi everyone! I have a fun week planned for my blog. I don’t normally do this, but there are 4 authors this week I would love to tell you about!
First up is Space Team by Barry J Hutchison. He is a very accomplished author who has written children’s books that have been published by Harper Collins and Penguin Random House to name a couple. Now he is writing for adults! His new comedy space opera is going to make you laugh! Think Suicide Squad meets Galaxy Quest. Here is a little blurb about his new book coming out September 26 on Amazon:
Cal Carver is having a bad day. Imprisoned and forced to share a cell with a cannibalistic serial killer, Cal thinks things can’t possibly get any worse.
He is wrong.
It’s not until two-thirds of the human race is wiped out and Cal is abducted by aliens that his day really starts to go downhill.
Whisked across the galaxy, Cal is thrown into a team of some of the sector’s most notorious villains and scumbags. Their mission should be simple enough, but as one screw-up leads to another, they find themselves in a frantic battle to save an entire alien civilization – and its god – from total annihilation.
A hilarious, fast-paced space adventure from the author the Independent calls “the new Terry Pratchett.”
Here is a bit about Barry in case you were wondering just who this guy is:
Barry J. Hutchison is an award-winning children’s author, comic book writer and screenwriter, and now author of books for grown-ups. Writing as Barry Hutchison, he has written over 70 books for children and teenagers, both under his own name and using a variety of pseudonyms. As Barry J. Hutchison, he writes the ongoing sci-fi horror serial, The Bug, and the Space Team series of comedy space opera novels.
Barry lives in the Highlands of Scotland with his wife, two children and an annoying dog. His biggest fear is that someday someone will find out how much fun his job is and immediately put a stop to it. His second biggest fear is squirrels.
And a face to go with the name:
Barry also has another series called “The Bug”, it is a sci-fi horror! Check out Barry’s other books here on Amazon: Barry’s Amazon Page I will give you a tip, if you want to buy The Bug, pick up his boxed set and you will save yourself a few bucks. The Bug: Season One
And Barry, this is just for you because I have checked out The Bug already!
I now have an even bigger fear of bugs! Thanks alot!
Don’t forget to check out Space Team by Barry J Hutchison, it is available now for pre-order at amazon!
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September 8, 2016
Romance #FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie
This week is all about love! These authors have brought you a wonderful selection of various romance genres! I have done something a bit different this time and I am splitting them up by sub-genre. I realize that not all romance fans read all of the various sub-genre’s so I hope this helps you to pick your favorites! However, I hope you know that you can download every single one of these books if you like! You can also share this list with all of your friends and on social media via the links at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
But I should warn you, some of these Romances can be a bit steamy! So be prepared for the heat! However, you will not find anything in the erotica genre here.
Contemporary Romance:
New Adult Romance:
Fantasy/Paranormal Romance:
A Royal Bloodlines Short Story
Time Travel Romance
The post Romance #FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
September 2, 2016
Sci-Fi #FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie
Happy Friday to everyone! Today I have collected various sub-genres of Science Fiction. I hope you enjoy the freebies on #InstaFreebie! Next week will be all sub-genre’s of romance!
Veil of Reality
City of Simplicity
Life First
Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog (towards the top of the sidebar to your right) so you can get your #instafreebie books sent to you every week! Keep coming back for more great free books! Next week will be all sub-genres of romance, except for erotica.
I tried something new this time. The big publishing houses have been putting out Sneak Peeks of new books that aren’t out yet, but are up on pre-order. That is my new Sci-Fi Romance, Worlds Away. You can pre-order it now, and it will drop in your kindle device automatically on Sept 22. I have included a 2 chapter sneak peek, like the big guys do, for you to get an idea of what the story will be. Let me know if you like this idea because I have other author friends who want to do the same thing, and they want me to add them to the blog! I hope you enjoy all of the free books!
The post Sci-Fi #FreebieFriday on #InstaFreebie appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
August 26, 2016
GET YOUR #FREEBIEFRIDAY ON #INSTAFREEBIE BOOKS TODAY!
GET YOUR #FREEBIEFRIDAY ON #INSTAFREEBIE BOOKS TODAY!
This week we are looking at YA or Clean reads! All of the books in this list will be classified as either “YA” or “Clean”. Each week I will run this #instafreebie promotion and it will have a different genre. Next week will be Scifi, all sub-genres of Scifi will be accepted. Most of these books will be available for a while on InstaFreebie, but a few do expire next week, so be sure to get your copies while they are still valid! They should all be valid until at least Monday, the 29th of August.
Alright! Let’s get started shall we? Click on each book or title and it will take you to the Instafreebie page featuring that book.
A Dark Faerie Tale
The Prince, A Betrayal, & A Kiss
Ghost Storm
Netherworld Chronicles of KOA
The Syndicate
Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon
By Darkness Revealed
Street Fox
When Lightning Strikes
The Increasingly Transparent Girl
Song of the Sending
Starbound
Seeker
City of Masks
Prescient
Eclipse of the Beginning
Let me know if you would like to see a particular genre and I will do what I can to accommodate! Enjoy the books!
The post GET YOUR #FREEBIEFRIDAY ON #INSTAFREEBIE BOOKS TODAY! appeared first on J.L. Hendricks.
