J.R. Jackson's Blog
August 28, 2021
The Months of Madness 2021 Ebook Promotion
That’s right boys and girls, the incredible, awesome, spine-tingling, totally scintillating Month of Madness returns for 2021.
A little history – the promotion is the brainchild of the total, batshit crazy author J.R. Jackson. (He’s insane, so the promotion must be as well, right?)
In the past, the promotion focused on authors who wrote in the apocalyptic genre.
Now, with a real-world pandemic ongoing, why limit yourself?
Any author in any genre can now take part.
No worries about monsters and blood, zombies and parasites, mentally unstable Emperor Penguins vying to take over the world.
If you’re an author in any genre (except maybe those urban fantasy authors) feel free to join in and promote your books.
Okay, even those urban fantasy authors can join too.
On a more serious note, the promotion was created as a way to promote Jackson's allegedly, epic books as an indie author. Beats the hell out of paying for an advertising/marketing campaign and not seeing any results. Why pay for it when you can get those same results for free?
That’s right, act today, and this entire promotion is yours for only – nothing* (* actual cost is a few minutes of your time)
If you’re an author, indie or not, this is the promotion for you. Not only will other authors post links to your work, your blog, and your Amazon Author Page, your work will be exposed to other readers who might be interested in your genre.
More exposure opens the door to more readers and that opens the doors to more books and that means the potential for more ebooks being purchased by those new readers.* (*Results not guaranteed.)
You, the author, select one or more of your ebooks that you want to enroll in the promotion. If you have one, fine. If you have more than one you want to include, that’s fine as well.
Then, prepare a blog post about the promotion – The Months of Madness aka the 99 Days of $.99.
It truly helps to have a blog to post to and from. Blogs are free for the most part and are great ways to contact and remain in contact with your reader/fan base. You can even tie in your blog to most social media platforms.
Don't forget Goodreads.
How cool is that?
Then, on October 1, 2021, you take that blog post live and include the links to your ebook title (or titles) you’ve selected to be part of this event and change the ebook price to $.99.
Once that’s done, verify your blog post is live and the links on your blog are active and you’re set. If you want to mention this promotion during the time it’s active on any social media platform, feel free. Reference to the blog post you’ve made so all the links of those participating can be posted as well.
If this promotion interests you in any way, feel free to contact the coordinator, J.R. Jackson at his blog
https://outpostzulualpha.wordpress.com/
Or, if you’re one of the few who have his direct email, that works too.
(Hint: if you use the Contact the Author option on the blog, you’ll get an email from the author and then you’ll have his email)
A little history – the promotion is the brainchild of the total, batshit crazy author J.R. Jackson. (He’s insane, so the promotion must be as well, right?)
In the past, the promotion focused on authors who wrote in the apocalyptic genre.
Now, with a real-world pandemic ongoing, why limit yourself?
Any author in any genre can now take part.
No worries about monsters and blood, zombies and parasites, mentally unstable Emperor Penguins vying to take over the world.
If you’re an author in any genre (except maybe those urban fantasy authors) feel free to join in and promote your books.
Okay, even those urban fantasy authors can join too.
On a more serious note, the promotion was created as a way to promote Jackson's allegedly, epic books as an indie author. Beats the hell out of paying for an advertising/marketing campaign and not seeing any results. Why pay for it when you can get those same results for free?
That’s right, act today, and this entire promotion is yours for only – nothing* (* actual cost is a few minutes of your time)
If you’re an author, indie or not, this is the promotion for you. Not only will other authors post links to your work, your blog, and your Amazon Author Page, your work will be exposed to other readers who might be interested in your genre.
More exposure opens the door to more readers and that opens the doors to more books and that means the potential for more ebooks being purchased by those new readers.* (*Results not guaranteed.)
You, the author, select one or more of your ebooks that you want to enroll in the promotion. If you have one, fine. If you have more than one you want to include, that’s fine as well.
Then, prepare a blog post about the promotion – The Months of Madness aka the 99 Days of $.99.
It truly helps to have a blog to post to and from. Blogs are free for the most part and are great ways to contact and remain in contact with your reader/fan base. You can even tie in your blog to most social media platforms.
Don't forget Goodreads.
How cool is that?
Then, on October 1, 2021, you take that blog post live and include the links to your ebook title (or titles) you’ve selected to be part of this event and change the ebook price to $.99.
Once that’s done, verify your blog post is live and the links on your blog are active and you’re set. If you want to mention this promotion during the time it’s active on any social media platform, feel free. Reference to the blog post you’ve made so all the links of those participating can be posted as well.
If this promotion interests you in any way, feel free to contact the coordinator, J.R. Jackson at his blog
https://outpostzulualpha.wordpress.com/
Or, if you’re one of the few who have his direct email, that works too.
(Hint: if you use the Contact the Author option on the blog, you’ll get an email from the author and then you’ll have his email)
Up From the Depths is not over
I know, I said that Book 10 was the last of the series. What I should have said was it was the general ending of the main story lines. Not the actual end of the series.
After publishing 2 other books in an unrelated genre, I realized there was more to tell in the world of Up From the Depths.
The project I'm working on, is not as yet projected to be book 11 in the series. It might be. Huge stress on might. Time will tell if that's the case.
I will let it slip that the story is connected to the events that took place within the series.
After publishing 2 other books in an unrelated genre, I realized there was more to tell in the world of Up From the Depths.
The project I'm working on, is not as yet projected to be book 11 in the series. It might be. Huge stress on might. Time will tell if that's the case.
I will let it slip that the story is connected to the events that took place within the series.
December 24, 2019
The 3rd annual Months of Madness
Kind of late I know, no excuses on my part. The 3rd Annual Months of Madness promotion is upon us. Ending January 8, 2020.
Now is the time to grab those last minute holiday gifts. Experience some of the finest authors in apocalyptic fiction.
Don't miss out. For more info on this insane event:
https://outpostzulualpha.wordpress.co...
Now is the time to grab those last minute holiday gifts. Experience some of the finest authors in apocalyptic fiction.
Don't miss out. For more info on this insane event:
https://outpostzulualpha.wordpress.co...
September 23, 2018
The Months of Madness
It's that time of year again.
Starting October 1 and running for 99 days (The 99 Days of $.99), all ebooks in the Up From the Depths series will be $.99.
If you haven't read the series this might be your chance to get in on this promotion. This is the 2nd Annual Months of Madness.
Rumor has it that Book 7of the series might make a debut during this promotion.
That means for less than the cost of a coffee at Starbuck's you could get all the books in the series up to this point.
Starting October 1 and running for 99 days (The 99 Days of $.99), all ebooks in the Up From the Depths series will be $.99.
If you haven't read the series this might be your chance to get in on this promotion. This is the 2nd Annual Months of Madness.
Rumor has it that Book 7of the series might make a debut during this promotion.
That means for less than the cost of a coffee at Starbuck's you could get all the books in the series up to this point.
March 23, 2018
Let me know what you want to see happen next in the Up From the Depths series
You read that right. I want readers of Up From the Depths to tell me what they want to see in the coming books.
Your choices, comments, statements, etc, will be taken into consideration for the books following #7. You read that right as well, there will be more books following the release of #7.
Here’s what you can do:
Plot Point submission option
With the premise of what has happened so far within the series, tell me what you’d like to see happen next based on previous events. Be as detailed as possible. Once you’ve submitted your decision and the deadline (see below: The Rules) has been reached, readers like yourself will be able to vote on which option they like best. The highest vote could be used in an upcoming book.
OR
Character story arc option
Maybe writing about a potential plot point isn’t your thing. If that’s the case, then you can still enter this event. However, instead of detailing a plot point you’d like to see happen next, post your favorite character in the series, one that hasn’t been killed off in the first 6 books, and let me know what you’d like to see happen to them.
Maybe you’d like them to get more ‘screen time’.
Maybe you’d like for something to happen to them?
You decide what to do to your favorite character. Be as detailed as possible. Post your submissions before the deadline and like above, readers get to vote on who their favorite is and what they’d like to see happen based on the entries.
What’s in this for you, the reader?
The most popular postings, be they about a plot point or a character, could get used in an upcoming book. All submissions will be voted on and the winners chosen by popular vote. Winning submissions will have a chance to get a character named after that submitter in a future book.
The Rules:
Enter as many times as you want.
All submissions must be received before the deadline of June 1, 2018.
All submissions will be reviewed for relevancy to the series.
After a thorough review, all submissions will be posted for fans and readers to vote on.
The winning submissions will be reviewed once again and a determination will be made as where and how they will be used within the future books of the Up From The Depths series.
All submissions meeting the requirements; related to the series and received before the deadline will get the chance to have that submitter’s name listed in the acknowledgements of upcoming books.
Your choices, comments, statements, etc, will be taken into consideration for the books following #7. You read that right as well, there will be more books following the release of #7.
Here’s what you can do:
Plot Point submission option
With the premise of what has happened so far within the series, tell me what you’d like to see happen next based on previous events. Be as detailed as possible. Once you’ve submitted your decision and the deadline (see below: The Rules) has been reached, readers like yourself will be able to vote on which option they like best. The highest vote could be used in an upcoming book.
OR
Character story arc option
Maybe writing about a potential plot point isn’t your thing. If that’s the case, then you can still enter this event. However, instead of detailing a plot point you’d like to see happen next, post your favorite character in the series, one that hasn’t been killed off in the first 6 books, and let me know what you’d like to see happen to them.
Maybe you’d like them to get more ‘screen time’.
Maybe you’d like for something to happen to them?
You decide what to do to your favorite character. Be as detailed as possible. Post your submissions before the deadline and like above, readers get to vote on who their favorite is and what they’d like to see happen based on the entries.
What’s in this for you, the reader?
The most popular postings, be they about a plot point or a character, could get used in an upcoming book. All submissions will be voted on and the winners chosen by popular vote. Winning submissions will have a chance to get a character named after that submitter in a future book.
The Rules:
Enter as many times as you want.
All submissions must be received before the deadline of June 1, 2018.
All submissions will be reviewed for relevancy to the series.
After a thorough review, all submissions will be posted for fans and readers to vote on.
The winning submissions will be reviewed once again and a determination will be made as where and how they will be used within the future books of the Up From The Depths series.
All submissions meeting the requirements; related to the series and received before the deadline will get the chance to have that submitter’s name listed in the acknowledgements of upcoming books.
February 22, 2017
Changes to the series
Some of you who have read the books know that there were some internal issues related to grammar and so forth.
That has been corrected as I now have an editor who has reviewed books 1-5.
Along with the addition of an editor, there have been some updated cover images with a slight change in wording.
With exception to book #1, books 2-5 have been updated with new cover art and wording. The wording change is pretty subtle. The cover art was changed to better convey a sense of what was happening within each book.
Book #6 is coming soon, there isn't a release as yet but expect it around summer.
That has been corrected as I now have an editor who has reviewed books 1-5.
Along with the addition of an editor, there have been some updated cover images with a slight change in wording.
With exception to book #1, books 2-5 have been updated with new cover art and wording. The wording change is pretty subtle. The cover art was changed to better convey a sense of what was happening within each book.
Book #6 is coming soon, there isn't a release as yet but expect it around summer.
January 13, 2016
Insight into the world of Up From the Depths
From working on this series I discovered that it’s highly enjoyable to write zombie apocalyptic fiction.
What makes this particular genre interesting is that you can insert little twists that most readers won’t expect and make it all work with the total suspension of disbelief. The best part is that zombies are not controlled by phases of the moon. They don’t need darkness to come alive, they can’t be stopped by holy water, wolfs bane, or any number of the conventional tropes used in contemporary horror works. They are essentially relentless killing machinations fueled by a need to feast on human flesh. While it is a bit of a thrill to put fictional characters into peril there is another kind of thrill that comes from writing in this genre.
That would be meeting and talking with other authors, greeting fans, and generally having a great time discussing those fictional characters and the level of torment one can put them through. It beats the alternative, kidnapping people off the street and forcing them to act out the scenes within your book.
That brings us to the crux or pivotal moment within this series. How do you keep something like zombies real? Over the years, there have been countless movies and books that depict zombies many different ways. The goal, at least for me, was to keep the concepts within the series connected to the real world as much as possible. No fantastical reason for the zombie outbreak. No space aliens, no returning comet, nothing, that in my opinion, was a weak excuse to make zombies appear.
Once that was accomplished, the next step was to make the characters someone that the reader can relate to and not some detached persona that they could care less what happens to them. Or worse, make them so highly trained and ready for a zom-poc that it became cliché and stereotypical in every scene. Then, place those characters into some kind of horrific setting like a world where, for some unknown reason, or through a strange set of circumstances, they somehow survive the initial outbreak and now have to deal with a drastically changed reality.
At this point in time, a zombie outbreak or zombie apocalypse is still fictional so keeping it grounded in the real world can be difficult. But, sometimes the real world can mirror fiction. Consider the ‘bath salts’ events. Naked people running around biting and, in one case, eating the flesh off a man’s face and then that person, when confronted by police, growls at them. Not only is that straight out of some dark horror novel, it just makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Then move onto the outbreak and spread of Ebola in West Africa. Hundreds if not thousands of people infected, borders closed. CDC response teams being flown in and a wave of paranoia in airports when someone sneezes. Take that one step further and what you have is a level of paranoid frothing and foaming just waiting for some unknown pandemic to appear like say, zombies. If that were to happen, one can only imagine the chaos that would ensue.
And that brings us full circle to Up From the Depths.
Up From the Depths has been, at times, a royal pain in the ass. I mean that mostly in jest but also with some seriousness as well. To come up with a series of events that play out over a set length of time and continue with a number of characters in different geographical locations can be, and has been, nerve wracking and migraine inducing.
Up From the Depths is not a traditional story or series. What that means is there are no distinctive main ‘hero’ characters but rather an ensemble cast. One beta reader compared it to The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan only with zombies portraying the role of the Germans. A very nice comparison, I’ll admit. But, I don’t see it as they described it. To me, it’s more like the Spartans at Thermopylae, a small group of hardened warriors/survivors faced off against the hordes of the undead. What further separates Up From the Depths from the traditional tomes is that the storyline focuses characters that are relatively prepared to deal with and survive adverse conditions be it through training or preparedness.
There’s not time spent discussing those that are not prepared or those that can’t handle the changed reality. Why bother? Those people would have succumbed to the infection and been turned into mindless, violent, cannibalistic drones or, they’re already human happy meals.
So where does that leave us?
Oh yeah, the series.
I’ve been asked several times if there will be more to this series.
Truthfully, I have no idea. Only time will tell.
To those of you who have stuck it out since book 1, I thank you. For those of you joining us for the first time, a big thank you as well and I hope this book will encourage you to go back and find the other books within this series.
What makes this particular genre interesting is that you can insert little twists that most readers won’t expect and make it all work with the total suspension of disbelief. The best part is that zombies are not controlled by phases of the moon. They don’t need darkness to come alive, they can’t be stopped by holy water, wolfs bane, or any number of the conventional tropes used in contemporary horror works. They are essentially relentless killing machinations fueled by a need to feast on human flesh. While it is a bit of a thrill to put fictional characters into peril there is another kind of thrill that comes from writing in this genre.
That would be meeting and talking with other authors, greeting fans, and generally having a great time discussing those fictional characters and the level of torment one can put them through. It beats the alternative, kidnapping people off the street and forcing them to act out the scenes within your book.
That brings us to the crux or pivotal moment within this series. How do you keep something like zombies real? Over the years, there have been countless movies and books that depict zombies many different ways. The goal, at least for me, was to keep the concepts within the series connected to the real world as much as possible. No fantastical reason for the zombie outbreak. No space aliens, no returning comet, nothing, that in my opinion, was a weak excuse to make zombies appear.
Once that was accomplished, the next step was to make the characters someone that the reader can relate to and not some detached persona that they could care less what happens to them. Or worse, make them so highly trained and ready for a zom-poc that it became cliché and stereotypical in every scene. Then, place those characters into some kind of horrific setting like a world where, for some unknown reason, or through a strange set of circumstances, they somehow survive the initial outbreak and now have to deal with a drastically changed reality.
At this point in time, a zombie outbreak or zombie apocalypse is still fictional so keeping it grounded in the real world can be difficult. But, sometimes the real world can mirror fiction. Consider the ‘bath salts’ events. Naked people running around biting and, in one case, eating the flesh off a man’s face and then that person, when confronted by police, growls at them. Not only is that straight out of some dark horror novel, it just makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Then move onto the outbreak and spread of Ebola in West Africa. Hundreds if not thousands of people infected, borders closed. CDC response teams being flown in and a wave of paranoia in airports when someone sneezes. Take that one step further and what you have is a level of paranoid frothing and foaming just waiting for some unknown pandemic to appear like say, zombies. If that were to happen, one can only imagine the chaos that would ensue.
And that brings us full circle to Up From the Depths.
Up From the Depths has been, at times, a royal pain in the ass. I mean that mostly in jest but also with some seriousness as well. To come up with a series of events that play out over a set length of time and continue with a number of characters in different geographical locations can be, and has been, nerve wracking and migraine inducing.
Up From the Depths is not a traditional story or series. What that means is there are no distinctive main ‘hero’ characters but rather an ensemble cast. One beta reader compared it to The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan only with zombies portraying the role of the Germans. A very nice comparison, I’ll admit. But, I don’t see it as they described it. To me, it’s more like the Spartans at Thermopylae, a small group of hardened warriors/survivors faced off against the hordes of the undead. What further separates Up From the Depths from the traditional tomes is that the storyline focuses characters that are relatively prepared to deal with and survive adverse conditions be it through training or preparedness.
There’s not time spent discussing those that are not prepared or those that can’t handle the changed reality. Why bother? Those people would have succumbed to the infection and been turned into mindless, violent, cannibalistic drones or, they’re already human happy meals.
So where does that leave us?
Oh yeah, the series.
I’ve been asked several times if there will be more to this series.
Truthfully, I have no idea. Only time will tell.
To those of you who have stuck it out since book 1, I thank you. For those of you joining us for the first time, a big thank you as well and I hope this book will encourage you to go back and find the other books within this series.
September 20, 2015
Up Fromthe Depths Book 1 2nd Edition
Book 1 of this epic saga has been re-released. What that means is the cover is different but the story remains the same. The "new and improved" book 1 is now available on Smashwords.com
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
For those of you who had previously purchased Book 1 when it was initially released back in 2013, I have been in contact with you and sent a coupon that enables you to get this new version of Book 1 for free. If you did not receive a message from me containing that coupon code, please feel free to message and I'll be in contact with you to clear that up.
Thank you.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
For those of you who had previously purchased Book 1 when it was initially released back in 2013, I have been in contact with you and sent a coupon that enables you to get this new version of Book 1 for free. If you did not receive a message from me containing that coupon code, please feel free to message and I'll be in contact with you to clear that up.
Thank you.
December 21, 2014
Interview with The Reality Bender
Recently, I was interviewed by The Reality Bender. Here's the link:
http://www.kerrydenney.com/blog/the-r...
http://www.kerrydenney.com/blog/the-r...
May 14, 2014
Up From the Depths
The first book of this series was available for a short time on Smashwords. While it was floating around out there on the internet, I was busy scouting out potential publishers.
I'm happy to announce that a publisher has accepted all 6 books of my ZA series with book 1, Denial Measures, to be released sometime in 2015. That means that its been pulled from Smashwords.
Up From the Depths is a 6 book series that deals with the events leading up to, during and the aftermath of a man-made viral outbreak designed to remove the disease known as 'Man'.
UPFTD contains zombies, that's what makes it a ZA or Zombie Apocalypse novel. It has accurate and realistic depictions of military units and personnel operating in an environment that they weren't obviously trained for, fighting zombies.
If you're looking for your latest zombie outbreak fix, you'll have to be patient and bide your time with other author's work until book 1 gets released.
I'm happy to announce that a publisher has accepted all 6 books of my ZA series with book 1, Denial Measures, to be released sometime in 2015. That means that its been pulled from Smashwords.
Up From the Depths is a 6 book series that deals with the events leading up to, during and the aftermath of a man-made viral outbreak designed to remove the disease known as 'Man'.
UPFTD contains zombies, that's what makes it a ZA or Zombie Apocalypse novel. It has accurate and realistic depictions of military units and personnel operating in an environment that they weren't obviously trained for, fighting zombies.
If you're looking for your latest zombie outbreak fix, you'll have to be patient and bide your time with other author's work until book 1 gets released.
