Audio Books

Archer’s Aim Weekly Progress Report – 4/22/2022

When will the next volume of The Cursed Mage Case files arrive? Find out in this week’s Archer’s Aim progress report.

Hi all! PH here with a progress update for the week. This is a new series for me as I detail some of what I’m doing each week. It’s a way for me to keep myself going by posting each week. The update format will likely change over time until I’m comfortable with the feel of the posts. Now for what happened this week.

This Week With The Unseen Hand

The Unseen Hand cover is ready and waiting for the book release.

This week, I took a long look at where I am with The Unseen Hand. This review was helpful as I dug into how long it will take me to complete the next volume of The Cursed Mage Case Files. I started by estimating how many days each section of the book would take to revise plus copy editing, formatting and other preparation details. This assessment was very honest and I arrived at a mid-June completion date of everything up to formatting.

As a result of this appraisal, I’m giving myself until at least mid-August for release. It’s a soft date that could slide closer or further out based on my progress, especially over the next several weeks. If progress is faster, then release will be sooner. The closer I get to a finished book, the better I can determine when to set the release date. I think I should have a pretty good idea of the date within a few weeks.

Why am I being conservative with the release date? The last release was done with about thirty or forty-five days lead. There were quite a lot of details that were not finished and then I contracted Covid several weeks before the launch and haven’t been the same since. As a result, The Order of the Dark Rose didn’t get the proper release it should have gotten and, while it has sold well over the last year and a half plus, it could have been better with a more robust release. I’m planning to release The Unseen Hand with a broader plan. Advanced release copies will be available and more blog posts for the series will be written. I may even complete a growing series companion. There are other plans for promotion that need my attention so I need appropriate time to build toward the release.

This Week With Other Writing Projects

Place holder image for A Charm in the Hand, Book 1 of The Black Glove

What else happened this week? I also reviewed where I stand with The Nine Jewel Heist, Volume 3 of The Cursed Mage Case Files. Again, this book will go into in-depth revision as soon as possible after The Unseen Hand is completed. This book is intended to be launched later this year so my intention is to put myself on the clock for completing the work.

Additionally, A Charm in the Hand, Book 1 of The Black Glove, is almost ready for an editorial review. The plan is to complete that revision to send to my editor ASAP so there’s a chance to release that book this year too. It needs about 8,000 words edited which won’t take too long to complete. I’ve even gotten most of it posted to my Reedsy account where I’ll produce a draft copy for my editor. This book is much further along than it seems due to the nature of the story. I hope to share more about it over the next weeks and months and I think it will be the beginning of an entertaining series.

This Week With Miscellaneous Projects

I’m also planning an overhaul of the site with a new theme. It’s something to juggle, but this is necessary since viewing on the mobile version of the site is somewhat limited. The change is overdue so I want to push this along over the next month parallel with work on The Unseen Hand and getting A Charm in the Hand off to my editor.

Archer's Aim Press

Archer’s Aim Press logo

What else is going on? I’ve been planning to launch an imprint for print books this year. I’m behind on this project, so I plan to push it along. There’s some lifting to do, but it’s mainly smaller tasks for existing books. Readying the books is mainly having the imprint stood up with a basic website, obtaining ISBNs registered to the imprint, and putting these into distribution through Ingram. The goal here is to make the print books available to bookstores so there will be some marketing material to create. The goal is to possibly have it all ready for the release of The Unseen Hand and the following books.

Once The Unseen Hand is ready along with the website and the imprint, I hope to clear time to spend on outlining, world-building, and drafting books for publication next year. It’s important to make progress on several projects to free up creative time in addition to editing and revision.

The Unseen Hand is submitted to Podium Audio which could affect the entire Cursed Mage Case Files series.

Oh yeah, I’ve submitted The Unseen Hand to my audio publisher, Podium Audio. If there’s interested, this should get audio on the launching pad for all of The Cursed Mage Case Files series. If this doesn’t work out, I’ve got a few ideas for audio I’ll pursue at a later time

Otherwise, The Order of the Dark Rose is on sale at 99 cents through 4/24. I’m planning more items for listings in the merchandise store. I’m also looking into digital products for the NFT market as well as possible 3D figures. Stay tuned for these developments.

Thanks for stopping by the site today and reading this post. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section. Like what you’re reading? Feel free to follow this site, you can even view the site from the WordPress reader app. Looking for more information? I’m growing a text club for faster, shorter announcements and exclusive specials. You can also join me in Marston’s Station, my private fan group on Goodreads where you can read about more non-public development news and additional exclusive special deals. Look for me at these additional sites too. There are plenty of ways to follow and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Audio Status for The Cursed Mage Case Files

The Order of the Dark Rose is out in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. What about audio plans?

The Order of the Dark Rose is published and has been submitted for audio publication with Podium Audio.

With the publication of The Order of the Dark Rose, I chose to wait regarding an audio book version. The reasons were myriad, but my focus was more on the e-book which was probably done too soon due to illness. But the book was already in pre-order so it had to go.

Now, the book has been out for a while and is doing well enough. It’s been a bit more rocky since I’ve had little energy to really push the book, let alone pursue reviews.

The Unseen Hand is due out this year. Will it be available in audio soon after? That’s the goal for The Cursed Mage Case Files Series.

With the upcoming release of volume 2 of The Cursed Mage Case Files, The Unseen Hand, due out as soon as I can complete the revision, my focus is changing somewhat. Of course, I want to release this book and volume 3, The Nine Jewel Heist, this year and in print. However, audio is quickly becoming a consideration – one way or another.

The Bow of Hart Saga is published in audio format by Podium Audio: https://podiumaudio.com/book-author/p-h-solomon/

Audio book requests for The Order of the Dark Rose are starting to arrive which means it’s time to think about this format. It was a surprise to have an opportunity to even do audio for The Bow of Hart Saga when Podium Audio contacted me. Now, I have a relationship with the company so it makes it somewhat easier to approach them. I’ve submitted a request for audio consideration since it’s time to move in that direction. I suspect I’ll know something soon. There is a back-up plan for audio if the interest isn’t there, so I’m not too concerned. It would be nice to fit these version in with the releases of the next two books, but that may not happen. I do plan for this format regardless, so don’t be surprised if it works out sooner rather than later. How it happens remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, I trudge on with my revision of The Unseen Hand and plans for The Nine Jewel Heist. Beyond these will be many more books in several series, and my plan is to release well in several formats – even into bookstores if all goes well with my plans about Archer’s Aim Press. But more on this last point another time.

For now, I’ve set audio in motion for The Cursed Mage Case Files. If the submission doesn’t work out, I’ll share more of my plans then. Until that time, it’s a wait and see process.

Archer's Aim Press

Characters from The Bow of Saga: Spark

Note: Fantasy Friday is a new feature for Archer’s Aim. This is a re-post, but for those interested, it’s useful. I’ll work on some new, fantasy-related posts to mix in with some of my older ones like this as well as some posts about new books in the coming months. Please feel free to share on social media or re-blog these posts. Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

This is the second of several posts revealing more about characters from The Bow of Destiny. You can read about Athson here. If you like dogs, you’ll love today’s post!

SparkSpark was a rather interesting and late addition to The Bow of Destiny. You see, Spark is a dog but not just any dog. He’s a dog that only Athson sees while he’s not taking doses of his elven medicine, Soul-ease. You might wonder if Spark is real and so does Athson. However, Athson considers Spark an old friend who watches out for him.
The idea for this invisible dog came from my daughter who did some alpha reading on the book last year. She suggested adding a dog so Spark is what I came up with. In the book, Athson identifies this dog as a Mountain Hound but to you and me he’s a German Shepherd – or very much like one.
If you’ve read my bio you know we own two German Shepherds so you can guess the origin of this character. But there’s more to the characterization than just being like a common breed. Spark is actually based on both of my dogs, appearing more like our female, Chloe, while sometimes acting rather like our male, Sam.

GSDsChloe & Sam
While Chloe is all guard-dog and ready for action all the time, Sam is more of a friendly bloke with a nasty side when necessary. But the unique quality of Sam is his way of communicating with us – he wags his tail for “yes” and doesn’t for “no”. Don’t believe me? Here’s a sample of Sam (Spark)-talk which is through a series of yes and no questions (and of course you have to catch Sam at a good time since he’s usually easily distracted like most dogs by things like food):
Me: “Sam, is it cold outside?”
Sam wags his tail – and it is (or was when this happened).
Me: “Sam, do you like the cold?”
Sam wags his tail because he really doesn’t like the hot Alabama summer but thrives in what cold weather we have.
Me: “Sam, do you want to sleep outside?”
Sam doesn’t wag his tail because, while he likes cold weather, he prefers to stay near his people like most GSDs do. This question is one that’s meant to ensure he’s really answering rather than just wagging his tail in distraction.
Me: “Sam, do you like Chloe?”
No wag because Chloe can really pesters him and bites him often since she’s rather feisty.
Me: “Sam, did Chloe bite you today?”
Sam wags his tail. Funny thing about dogs is that, being like wolf puppies, the males often let females win. Sam is much larger but always lets Chloe win.
Me: “Sam, do you want Chloe to sleep outside in the cold?”
Sam wags his tail. Yep that’s right, Sam wants Chloe to sleep outside while he gets to sleep inside.
We often can ascertain if Sam feels sick (he gets colitis) or achy (he’s getting a little older now and is starting to get stiff joints). We even found out that Sam wants a pet cat though this is likely the fact that he actually misses the old cat, Becky, who was still alive when Sam came to live with us. The cat hated Sam but he loved her. But you get the idea – Sam talks in his own way. He’s rather intelligent that way and even plays tricks on Chloe to get her to do what he wants. Now don’t think that Chloe is dumb by any means. She recognizes aggression easily and can solve some puzzles that Sam just won’t bother with.
So guess who speaks Sam-talk? Spark! I have a number of instances where Spark reveals something to Athson about his surroundings that Athson just doesn’t get. But you, the reader, get to understand that Spark may just know more about what’s going on at times than Athson.

Spark appears throughout The Bow of Hart Saga. To find out more about the character, click the links for The Bow of Destiny, An Arrow Against the Wind or The White Arrow. The entire series is not available on Audible from Podium Publishing:

Amazon

 

About the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. His first novel, The Bow of Destiny was named 2016 Book of the Year by Fantasia Reviews and is the first book of The Bow of Hart Saga. The sequel novel, An Arrow Against the Wind, was released in April of 2017. The third book of the series, The White Arrow, is due to be released during the Fall of 2017. P. H. Solomon also authored the award winning short story, The Black Bag, which won best published short story at SCWC 2012. P. H. is also a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Prequel short stories to The Bow of Hart Saga:

Trading Knives – Amazon

What Is Needed – Amazon

Download and listen to the prequels for free at AudFans

   Trading Knives 1   What Is Needed 4