Joshua P. Simon's Blog, page 20

Music Monday - Killswitch Engage - Disarm the Descent

The new Killswitch Engage album (Disarm the Descent) has been dominating my music rotation. It is easily their best release in years. The more I listen to it, the more I want to listen to it.

Slave to the Machine (my current fav)


The Call

Being Judged By Other People's Actions

At some point, everyone has been judged by the actions of others. As you read this, I’m sure you can call to mind several instances in your life when this has happened to you. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we’ve been guilty of falling into this same trap ourselves.

This phenomenon struck me last week when the lead singer to a band I really like was arrested. You can read the details here. Essentially, Tim Lembesis of As I Lay Dying was arrested for trying to hire someone to kill his wife. Yes, he’s an idiot, but that’s a whole other blog post.

One of the things that stood out to me in the aftermath of this was the commenters on various websites reporting the news. Sure, some people said Tim was a moron or worse. Others wished the best for his wife and kids. However, a large majority used the event to attack Christianity. This is because in the past, members of As I Lay Dying were pretty vocal about their faith. (On a side note, Tim admitted that he lost his faith and no longer believes in God.)

Reading those comments acted as a reminder to me that as a Christian many are going to judge me more harshly than they would someone else. Is it fair? I don’t know. However, I can see why it happens.

Too often, a person calling themselves a follower of God is ready to rain down fire and brimstone on all those around them without ever willing to admit they suffer from their own temptations. Yes, I think I have a pretty good grasp of what God wants us to do. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t stumble, fail, and embarrass myself as others do. I’m a Christian, but I’m also imperfect and I’m a sinner.

With that in mind, let’s judge people by their own actions rather than stereotyping an entire group (not just Christianity) on the actions of a few outliers. Better yet, judge an individual by how they act after doing something stupid or awful. Do they give up and spiral out of control? Or do they repent, ask for forgiveness and try to do better? That may be the true indicator of what sort of person they are.

Music Monday - Iron Maiden - Brave New World

Brave New World is one of my favorite Iron Maiden albums which says a lot about the band considering it was their twelfth release. Below are the best tracks on the album to me.

Dream of Mirrors (my favorite on the album and one of my favorite Maiden songs period.)


Brave New World


Out of the Silent Planet


The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Looking Back at My First Series

Last week I published the final volume in both the Blood and Tears Trilogy and the series as a whole, which included several shorter works. All six releases (3 books, 2 novellas, and 1 short story) total around 510,000 published words.

Wow! Pretty crazy considering I hated creative writing in school, and didn’t start writing fiction until a few years ago.

Having concluded the series, it’s surprising that I don’t feel how I expected I would. I’ve heard authors say they feel upset or even depressed about leaving characters or worlds they created. I don’t have any of those feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely happy/proud of the way everything turned out, especially the ending which is exactly how I imagined it would be when I first started writing Rise and Fall.

Maybe that’s why I feel more a sense of relief. I set out to tell a particular story with these characters I love and did it pretty well in my mind. That’s probably why all I was thinking about while wrapping up Trial and Glory was that I couldn’t wait to focus on the “next thing.”

I’m doing that now, furiously writing and looking ahead. As usual, I have a crazy word count goal to reach by Memorial Day that I don’t want to miss (why do I keep doing these things to myself).

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on two series right now and I’d like to release at least one more book before this year is done. However, that may not be possible due to timing and the marketing strategies I’m thinking of for each series.

If I don’t manage to get another book out this year, it will mean releasing 3-4 books next year instead.

Regardless of what I work on in the future, the Blood and Tears series will probably always be up there as one of my favorites as it paved the way for hopefully bigger and better things down the road.

Music Monday - Slayer (in honor of Hanneman)

In light of Jeff Hanneman’s passing last week, today’s Music Monday brings you the soothing sounds of Slayer.

South of Heaven (Live)

WARLEADER is an audio book and TRIAL AND GLORY is available in paperback!

Warleader has joined Rise and Fall as an audiobook!



My thought for releasing this short story as an audiobook is that it might encourage those interested in my novels to try a shorter work at reduced price first (and depending how you purchase it, FREE) in order to determine whether Rise and Fall is right for them in audio form.

To purchase Warleader, please visit any of the following locations.

:
You should be able to listen to a small sample at each location.

Next up in the audio format is Steel and Sorrow. Hopefully I can have that released by the end of summer.



Also, the paperback version of Trial and Glory is now available for purchase at Amazon for $14.95.


As I’ve mentioned before with my previous releases, please leave a review at the place of purchase and spread the word to others. The best form of advertising for authors is through word of mouth and reviews act in this same way.

Thanks!

Trial and Glory: Book Three of the Blood and Tears Trilogy - OFFICIAL RELEASE

. . . and the story comes to an end!




Trial and Glory: Book Three of the Blood and Tears Trilogy can be purchased from the following locations for only $3.99 in ebook form. Use Smashwords for your non-Kindle, Kobo, and Nook ereaders.



If you do not have an ereader or a phone capable of acting as an ereader and are interested in reading the story, you can always download the Amazon Kindle application for your desktop or laptop and read it from your computer.

Trial and Glory will also be available in print at Amazon for just $14.95. However, the link for the product has not gone live yet. I expect it to in the next couple of days.

Here is a brief synopsis of Trial and Glory (warning, contains some spoilers for Rise and Fall and Steel and Sorrow).

A warleader seeks redemption. A High Mage doubts his success. A commander faces his past. A queen hardens her resolve.

Tobin’s domination of Hesh has left him feeling empty, the cost of victory too high. A recurring nightmare drives him to learn the one truth that could ease his heart. Just when he thinks he may have found peace, an unlikely foe pushes him back into a life he wanted to avoid.

A High Mage is on the cusp of victory when a power he did not anticipate reveals itself. Rattled, his aggressive strategy changes to one of caution. He searches for a way to overcome the new threat while guarding himself against traitors among his would-be allies.

Kaz’s returned memories of wife and home are a mixed blessing. The memory that brings him the most joy causes pain to someone he cares for greatly while the memories of his brother only inspire hate. Before he can return home he must win a battle against insurmountable odds. More than ever, the support of the Hell Patrol will determine his success.

At the High Pass, Queen Elyse’s war-torn army faces a massive horde of invading warriors. In Lyrosene, her throne is threatened once again, but by someone she never suspected. The two conflicts consume her night and day as she wrestles with a solution to her problems.

Following the events of Steel and Sorrow, Trial and Glory is the third and final book in the Blood and Tears Trilogy.

To read an excerpt of Trial and Glory, click the “Sample” button below. However, I would warn you not to read a sample unless you’ve already read Rise and Fall and Steel and Sorrow as the sample does contain spoilers for the first two books.


If you enjoy the story or any of my other works, please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

You can also shoot me an email at joshuapsimon.author@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks!

Music Monday - King's X - Dogman

King’s X is one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time. And for me, Dogman is their best album. It is one of the very few albums I can listen to on repeat. Below are my favorite tracks on the album. Such a great band live too.

Dogman (Live)


Complain (Live)


Pillow

How Crohn's Disease Sufferers Spend Their Time

A little something I came up with on how Crohn's Disease sufferers spend their time. I think it fairly represents my life, at least. How about yours?



In the bathroom.Looking for or running to a bathroom.Planning their day around bathroom locations.Thinking of excuses to explain a lack of spontaneity rather than bringing up their ailments.Wishing they could eat something they shouldn't.Regretting they ate that something anyway.Wondering how much simpler life would be without Crohn's.Everything else.

Music Monday - Iced Earth - Self Titled

I’m a big Iced Earth fan and the first two albums have some of their best material. However, the vocals especially on the self-titled album are pretty subpar. Thankfully Jon re-recorded those songs with Matt Barlow (one of the best metal singers of all time) when he joined the band (releasing the material on Days of Purgatory).

Below are the two best songs off the first album, sung by Barlow.

Colors


One of my fav IE songs . . .
When the Night Falls