R.J. Blain's Blog, page 13
February 15, 2024
Important Update on Audiobooks!!
Today, I got a notice from Findaway that the terms of usage is being changed. They are owned by Spotify. The contract contains the following:
Licenses that you grant to us
a: User Content
You retain ownership of your User Content when you post it to the Service. However, in order for us to provide the Service to you we do need a limited license from you to that User Content. Accordingly, you hereby grant Spotify a non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, fully paid,...
February 14, 2024
Moods Behind Series: Some Discussion about Mood, Tension Levels, and Stress.
One of the comments from the previous post (regarding my severe levels of negativity with the Royal States series) has created a brain worm. This is not a bad brain worm. It just is. But, it is a great discussion point.
Why do I write the type of books that I do? Why don’t I do the “industry standard” escalations of conflict? Why are my books… calmer?
There should be books for every audience on the market. There should be light and fluffy books that leave the reader happy. There should be ...
General Update: Life, the Universe, and Everything plus some other stuff.
This is not an optimistic or positive post, but it is an honest one.
I’m thinking I’m going to start giving weekly updates on the things going up, down, and all around. I’ll be answering some questions I’ve received, where books are at in the writing or publishing process, and so on. Please note that the following list does not obey typical numbering rules.
Announcement #1: Dead Weight by G.P. Robbins has been featured over at Kobo as part of a fantasy promotion!
Announcement #2: If you...
February 13, 2024
Fiction does not mean Fact.
Background: a reader felt the need to go into the inappropriate form to discuss how I got something factually incorrect. I’m guessing there was a tonal issue, as my PA asked me if I wanted the comment. (I have not seen the comment because when my PA hesitates to send it to me, it’s usually snotty af and inappropriate.)
As such, they reached my PA rather than me, and I had my PA escort the commentary to the garbage bin.
I don’t know which bit of fact I got wrong in my fiction. And honestly,...
February 5, 2024
If you want Trickster King for $5.99, Preorder or Buy on Release Day. (Plus other series status news)
Photograph: No idea what these flowers are, but I like them.
Trickster King was set up for preorder before the price change to $6.99, so the book will be priced at $6.99 the day after release.
As a reminder, the price change is a direct consequence of Amazon’s error reporting tool; production costs are now $2,000 per novel higher than it was prior to the tool to cover the hiring fees of the extra editors. (And no, please do not ask me to pay someone only $45 to edit a full manuscript....
January 27, 2024
Patreon News! (Seeking the Zodiacs Love for Otter+ Tiers)
Photography Note: Succulent taken at Casa de Fruta in California.
Greetings, folks!
For those of you who liked Hypnos (Seeking the Zodiacs), I’m pleased to announce that I will be starting a read along of Memento Mori, the first book of a trilogy that takes place after the events of the Seeking the Zodiacs series. (Spoiler Alert: The world is not destroyed, so there are places for the characters to stand after the events of the series. For the most part, Memento Mori doesn’t have many ...
January 9, 2024
Partner in Crime: Magic, Mayhem, and the Law in Precinct #153 is Coming on November 19, 2024!
The sequel to Dead Weight now has an official release date: November 19, 2024.
What should have been a break in a long chain of unsolved robberies leads Detective Valor Lovell into the dark world of murder, organ theft, and the black market. His informant, Miranda, shines light on the thefts tearing through Cauldron City and how they connect to the dead weight case continuing to thwart the detectives of Precinct #153.
To complicate matters, her security is his problem.
One underground ...
January 8, 2024
A Notice Re: The Royal States / Agents of the Royal States series.
Welp, the time of reckoning is at hand.
That sounds a little ominous. There’s a reason for that.
When the Vampire of Montana’s audiobook version released, and people pitched a fit over how foal was pronounced, choosing to call me a liar for… uh… (Checks notes) … having Texan audiobook proofers who used that specific pronunciation, I almost just completely canceled the pen name.
The crew over at Patreon rallied, and I decide that a certain percentage of the money that they bring in on th...
January 1, 2024
Explore a wonderful world of fantasy!
Playing with Fire is part of a super fun fantasy promotion for Kobo Plus! There is also a selection of science fiction. Basically, if it’s speculative fiction, you might find it in this promotion! Woo!
All books involved with this promotion are in Kobo Plus, including mine, so if you have a membership, you can get in a bunch of fun reading.
(Points at the link.) Click! Click! Behold the cover art!
This promotion is a “Browse by Cover” promotion. If you want to learn more about the book,...
December 31, 2023
Goodbye, 2023… Hello, 2024!
Photography Note: A great blue beauty of a heron posed for me in Halfmoon Bay during the Big Big Wave Event where I did not get a single photo of a large wave. (Oops.) If you want to follow my photography shenanigans, I have a Patreon specifically for that. Members get access to the photos to use almost however they want. (Blog usage is okay with a photography credit, but if you want to use pictures for commercial reasons, like selling a print, book covers, etc, you need to license the image...
