Thank you all for your patience during this period of my life. Moving is never easy, and if I had to describe the experience of the past almost-month, it would something akin to "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." Yes, that's including the breakdown scene laced with vulgarities. things are getting better. Yet there's still plenty of boxes around the house left unpacked. But the most important stuff is unpacked, making the new place livable. It's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun.
With all that said, I know you care about where I'm at with the next book. The good news is, book 3 of "The Adventures of Jack Wartnose," named "The Hunted Mage," is virtually done with editing! Once I get the ISBNs for the paperback and ebook versions, my editor can finish and The Hunted Mage is ready for print. But...don't get your hopes up for me posting it before the end of the year. I know many of you are excited for the next story, however, the rest of the year I'm taking care of these three objectives: 1. Redesign of the book covers. Kudos to Jesse for the cover art so far. I'm waiting on him to redesign my previous covers (including book 3) with a program he's recently bought that makes the art style more realistic. You can see where I going with this in a sneak peak of what's going to become my social media banner. It will look close to this. I'm sure you will understand why I'm waiting for the covers to be redone in the new style before publishing The Hunted Mage.

2. Finishing Book 4, "The Condemned Mage." You heard it here first, I managed to complete the first draft of The Condemned Mage. And, right now, it's clocking in at just over 183,000 words! Yes, this will be a bigger book that The Wayward Mage. Chances are it'll balloon just slightly as I get through my self edits and realize I need to tie things together better or fill in those pesky plot holes. My goal right now is publish Book 3 at the beginning of next year and Book 4 about mid-year 2024. And, this doesn't include a side project I started with Jesse. Ambitious, I know. More about that will be revealed at a later time.
3. Most importantly, I really need to train myself how to market and promote. I've been neglecting this aspect a lot and I can't keep doing that going forward. So after I get through my first edits for Book 4, I'm devoting the remainder of the year to learning these important skills. Without them, I'll keep struggling to keep the initial publishing bump going longer and my sales will continue to slump.
So I appreciate everyone's patience as I get through the remainder of the year accomplishing the three goals I set out for myself.
Now, before leaving, some more good news. Some of this has been posted to my social media, some of it not. First, I can officially say that my book series is award winning! The Forbearing Mage took Gold from the Speak Up Talk Radio's Firebird Book Awards, while The Wayward Mage took Silver in their recent contest. Second, both books have advanced to the next round of competition in the Ozma Awards. Third, The Wayward Mage is a finalist for the Arizona Authors Association 2023 Literary Contest! Results will be known early November. Lastly, both books are finalists in the 2023 Global Book Awards! Will know which one takes Gold, Silver, or Bronze early September.
Thanks again to everyone's support. Now that I'm back to a normal schedule, expect a blog every other week from here on out. Next blog will hopefully bring more good news.
God bless all! Until next time...
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