Chris A. Jackson's Blog, page 7

Wizards of the Coast Going Electronic

As a long-time gamer, I know how quickly you can build a library of gaming books: GM guide, players’ rulebooks, bestiaries, supplements—you name it. And living on a sailboat, I really know that sometimes there’s just not enough space to keep up. So it’s good to see Wizards of the Coast re-releasing their books in PDF format at dndclassics.com. (For background on the original decision of Wizards of the Coast to pull their PDFs, check out Chris Meadows’ blog.) Not only can you keep all your...

The Lost Gate: not quite Ender with magic

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found The Lost Gate a disappointment. Card has created an interesting concept, has done a ton of research, has woven it all into an elaborate tapestry as usual, but one thing is wrong. Setting alone does not make a story; the plot seems a bit directionless and I found the characters, including the primary character, to be less than compelling. The members of the play act without feeling, come to conclusions that don’t make much sen...

Weapon of Flesh on Amazon.de: Our First Foreign Review is Five Stars!

To our great excitement, Weapon of Flesh has caught on in the Kindle store on the German Amazon site, with increasing sales and a five-star review. Here it is:

Alles, was gute Fantasy ausmacht

Tief verborgen in der Festung Krakengut Keep, hat der Magier Corillian die perfekte Waffe erschaffen. Ein junger Mann, von den besten Meistern der Kampfkunst trainiert, durch Magie gehorsam und gefügig gemacht, ohne Gefühle, Schmerzen oder moralische Skrupel. Als die Waffe 16 Jahre alt ist, ist der Z...

Noah Stacey Agrees to Design Book Cover for Weapon of Blood

We are so excited! Noah Stacey, the artist responsible for the covers of Weapon of Flesh, Deathmask, A Soul for Tsing, and the Cornerstones Trilogy, has agreed to do the book cover for Weapon of Blood, the sequel to Weapon of Flesh. This is a big deal for us, because the main purpose of a book cover is to catch the reader’s eye, and Noah’s artwork excels at that. At conventions, people do double-takes when they see our big, glossy posters of the Weapon of Flesh and Deathmask covers. Many...

Sequel to Weapon of Flesh is Underway

Numerous fans who enjoyed Weapon of Flesh have asked about a sequel. The latest review on Amazon put it nicely:

“The only down side to this book is that there is not a sequel, better yet a trilogy.”

Until now, our answer was “Maybe…” Chris had the plot all worked out in his head, but has been busy with other projects. Now that the Scimitar Seas series of nautical fantasies is complete, and his pirate novel for Paizo is in the publisher’s hands, he’s finally hard at work on the requested seq...

Happy New Year from Chris A. Jackson and Jaxbooks!

Here’s hoping that everyone had a happy and safe New Year’s Eve. This is the time for reviewing the past year and planning the next.

As a writer, 2012 was one of my best years yet. First, a contract with Paizo for a pirate novel set in their fantastic world of Golarion. Then Scimitar’s Heir won the gold medal for Science Fiction/Fantasy in the ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards 2011, making that three gold medals in a row for the Scimitar Seas series. The fourth and final Scimitar Se...

Chris Makes the Top 100 in Amazon Author Rank

In a previous blog, I noted that Weapon of Flesh (Kindle version) has been selling great this month, making the Top 100 list for Action & Adventure Kindle books. Well, as of this morning, Chris’ Amazon Author Rank was as follows:

#100 in Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Action & Adventure

Woo hoo! Like the Bestseller book lists, this rank changed hourly, so it may not last if sales fall off, but just to be here is a privilege, and certainly a boost to our writers’ self-confidence.

A request: If you...

Betrayed by His Majesty’s Dragon

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I loved the concept of this novel, the Napoleonic wars with dragons. I’ve been a Patrick O’brian fan for many years, and a sailor and fan of fantasy. The book has won many awards, so I thought I’d give it a try.

At first, I was elated; here was an author who really had it going. She assimilated the feel of Patrick O’brian, added fantasy elements, and went to town.

Unfortunately, about half way through the book, a couple of things hap...

Weapon of Flesh on Kindle Bestseller List!

Kindle sales of Weapon of Flesh—our perennial bestseller in both paperback and ebook formats—have really taken off over the last month (more on this in a later blog). So what a great feeling this morning to see Weapon of Flesh on the Kindle list of Top 100 Paid Best Sellers in Action & Adventure Fiction! Some of the other names on the list? How about George R.R. Martin, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy. Great company to keep. These lists are updated hourly (Weapon was at # 73 when we saw it)...

Ancient Cheese Runners?

Apropos of our release of the humorous science fiction Cheese Runner Trilogy in ebook format, NPR aired an interesting article on the ancient art of cheesemaking. Apparently, man has been making cheese for more than 7,000 years. So perhaps cheese-running is the world’s oldest profession…