Sword & Sorcery

Audio News for The Bow of Hart Saga!

Hey everyone! It’s been a busy few weeks for me and time has been short. There has been some interesting news from my audio publisher, Podium. First, a little background.

Podium Audio discovered my work back at the end of 2016, something I almost missed at the time. Suffice it to say that in early 2018, I signed with Podium and they published all three of The Bow of Hart Saga books in audio by the end of that year.

The audiobooks have always been distributed through Audible only. Since the company’s inception, Podium preferred this retail platform over all others which has been their business model that’s worked well for them as they’ve grown quickly. They were even part of the SFWA virtual conference production this year. Lately, they’ve been gaining partnerships with more voice talent which is excellent news.

This past week, I received and email from my Podium representative informing me that all three books are now non-exclusive, meaning they are no longer exclusive to Audible. That’s right, you can find them most anywhere audiobooks are sold including Chirp, Apple, Kobo and Overdrive.

This development was a surprise to me but I welcome seeing the move to wide distribution of the audio format. Who knows, maybe they will got to physical copies too, but this is one change I like. I’ve wondered if I needed to go back wide with The Bow of Hart Saga and this has me seriously considering the change. I moved the series to KDP Select and access to Kindle Unlimited. The move was very helpful at the time but I’ve still wondered if it was the best move over time. I’ve also considered the move back for other reasons and this might just jolt me into a decision. I won’t be hasty, but it is worth the consideration.

For now,  I include the links for the audiobooks at the retailers I know about at this time. As I discover more, I’ll get them posted.

That was the big development for the moment. However, I’m also considering another move with the site to further develop it and also bring in more fantasy related posts between my own. It’s another move that has been on my mind for a while and one that, if I make the right moves, I think will enhance the site for readers while making it easier for me to manage engaging posts regarding the genre.

Anyway, here are the new links and I’m in process of updating the audiobook pages too so bear with me on that front.

The Bow of Destiny

Chirp  Apple   Kobo  Overdrive  Audiobooks.com Barnes & Noble (Nook Audiobooks)

An Arrow Against the Wind

Chirp  Apple  Kobo  Overdrive  Audiobooks.com Barnes & Noble (Nook Audiobooks)

The White Arrow

Chirp  Apple  Kobo  Overdrive  Audiobooks.com (not available yet)  Barnes & Noble (Nook Audiobooks)

That’s all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by. I will announce the site changes when the time comes as well as the print release of The White Arrow. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and share this post wherever you wish.

Publication Announcements

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a good week. Mine went fast but progressed well. Revision of the Cursed Mage series (formerly Reformed Mage) manuscript was completed and sent to my editor who begins work on it today. I should have that back at the end of the month after which I’ll begin working toward publication. During this month, I’ll continue work on a host of projects but I’m narrowing down my publication schedule for the next several months as follows:

Curses Dark and Foul is almost ready and should be posted on Amazon within a few days so that date is this week as soon as possible. There are several previous posts about this anthology which can be found at the following links:

The Next Step: Curses Dark and Foul

Curses Dark and Foul – More Background

Curses Dark and Foul – A Personal Story

Curses Dark and Foul – Blurb Reveal

Those should catch anyone up on the book background and the cover. This has been a fun little project to work on recently.

 

The White Arrow print edition should be ready on Amazon about mid-September if all goes well. I’ll update this with a specific date when I have one. This will complete print for the entire three-book series and round out the main formats being available (eBook, print and audio).

The Changeling Incident, which is the prequel for the first Reformed Mage novel, should be released in October, possibly by mid-month. That is part of the current editing for the full novel so it is a priority when the manuscript is back in my hands. There should be a pre-release link available soon.

The Feral Name is the opening novel of the Cursed Mage Case Files series and my hope is to release it between October 26th and November 16th depending on how much work will be done on the final version. I’ve contacted my artist about a cover and should have that within a few weeks to share here. I will have a pre-release link available as soon as possible. I’m going to print from the start with these novels in addition to ebook. Audio is a desire and I’ll approach my publisher with the manuscript and pre-release sales to see if they are interested in the series. Audio is not immediate release expectation. but I hope to add it quickly after the first book is published and possibly release this format with the subsequent titles if that works out at all.

Otherwise, I’ll begin work on the next book in the Cursed Mage series this month to complete that revision for hand-off to my editor during October or November. Book three of this series should be right behind that and the hope is to release these two books in early 2021, February and April being the respective timelines. My expectation is to complete dictation of the last three books over the interim and possibly release the untitled fourth book during late 2021.

One more series is targeted for initial release during 2021 which is under the working reference of Black Glove. This first in series novel is ready for editing now and I’ll get it on the editing schedule if I don’t give Inkshares a submission with it. It’s my plan to quickly plan the entire series so I can dictate the next several books in the coming months too.

The Broken Shield series and the sequel series for The Bow of Hart Saga are also in the works, the former already having a completed rough draft. I have one other completed rough draft for a fantasy named All Things Forgotten and I hope to plan a full series for it as well during August. I should be busy with all the revisions and planning for dictation this month, but I’ll be ready to pivot to my main title of the year when the time arrives.

That’s all for today. Look for the release announcement of Curses Dark and Foul within a few days. Thanks for stopping by today and reading about the latest updates.

 

Curses Dark and Foul – Blurb Reveal

Hi everyone, I’ve been remiss about posts the last few weeks but I was away over the weekends and there just wasn’t time for a post.

First, I want to thank everyone for visiting today with the blurb reveal for Curses Dark and Foul, my first fantasy anthology. Before I a go any further, I do have one request: please this post in some way to help spread the word about the release of the book.

The title of the anthology has a rather grim connotation to it as well it should since all three stories involve a curse. Each of the stories places a main character in a situation of coping with an insurmountable challenge from a curse. These characters are in a situation where they likely have no way out but forward into the teeth of an inescapable fate. Dark and foul certainly well describes the circumstances which hopefully makes for an intriguing read.

Here’s the blurb for the anthology:

Grim words spoken. Foul intentions invoked. Curses never offer surrender.

Within Curses Dark an Foul are three fantasy tales of unlikely hope in the shadows of dark fate.

The Black Bag: Coryss finds herself alone against three powerful witches. Young and foolhardy, she confronts her foes and challenges them to a simple contest. Hopeless, Coryss finds help from an unlikely source. But the dark and foul curses fly without mercy. Can Coryss save herself?

Shadow of the Beast: Sa’hatap serves the Seddessan Empire faithfully as a foreign conscript, his people merged into the political scenery of merciless overlords. An enemy tasks the warrior and holy-man with ending a curse upon the missing empress. Unwilling, yet with his people under threat of annihilation, Sa-hatap sets out to accomplish the impossible and kill an accursed beast that cannot be defeated. Will his sword and his faith save him?

For No Reason: Dax is haunted by the curse upon his village as the living emblem of the revenge of a witch. No one can kill him and his touch is death. But the curse will take Dax’s mind and transform him into a beast of retribution. His only hope is helping the village, but they hate him. How will he ever save himself, and them?

If you like short fantasy with a mix of sword and sorcery, dark fantasy and noblebright, then you’ll like Curses Dark and Foul. Bestselling fantasy author, P. H. Solomon, presents three short stories of curses both dark and foul, where characters never had a chance. Yet in the darkness abides the glimmer of hope and the slimmest of chance against overwhelming odds.

Dire curses threaten these characters with inescapable fate. Will each hero make a choice and take a stand regardless of hope or chances of success? Click the BUY NOW button at the top and join these cursed journeys.

Curses Dark and Foul will soon have a link on Amazon for pre-orders which I’ll share here on the blog as soon as it’s ready.

As you read, there’s little doubt as to the danger in which all the characters find themselves. One curse may have been for a shorter period of time another curse may have stretched out for years. Either way the consequences are fraught with an emotional strain that reveals an underlying attitude toward life. Hopefully you’ll find the stories interesting and entertaining.

Thanks for stopping by today for the blurb reveal. Don’t forget to share the post with a reblog or on your social media. I’ll be in and out all day to reply to any comments. Have a great week!