Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three is now available! Click here for your Kindle now. A paperback version will be available later next week.

Here's the description for Resurrected Soldiers.

Tyrus never thought he’d see war again, but to save his family he must once again accept its sickening embrace. By night, painful memories of past battles haunt his dreams. By day, the nightmare continues as he commands an army against impossible odds to destroy the Geneshan artifact responsible for the near destruction of Turine. Worrying about friends and family both near and far, he wonders if he’ll ever truly know peace.

Ava promised her brother she would take his kids and those traveling with them to the safety of the Southern Kingdoms. She didn’t think it would be an easy journey, but she couldn’t have foreseen facing roving armies in addition to battling the unexpected obstacles of the bleak land. She is forced into a role she never wanted, being a leader. With so many relying on her, she hopes past experiences and the fraction of sorcery still under her command will be enough for her to succeed.

Resurrected Soldiers is the third volume in The Tyrus Chronicle. The final book of the series, Forever Soldiers, is due to be released Summer 2016.

For a free sample, click here.

If you enjoy the story or any of my other works, please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

Thanks for the continued support!

I’ve posted a few times about how busy this year has been for me and so it is no surprise that for the first time in a few years I didn’t reach my goal of reading at least 50 books. The past few years I’ve gone well over that goal, but this year I probably won’t crack 40. Admittedly, a part of that is not only being busier with work and other responsibilities, but also I picked a few duds that I either didn’t finish, or simply took a long time to get through.

Anyway, my top ten below were all great reads and in every instance was one I couldn’t wait to get back to. Highly recommended.

10. Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game

Lived up to the hype. I also read Speaker of the Dead which I greatly enjoyed, but this one was slightly more up my alley.


9. Terry Pratchett – Reaper Man


One of Pratchett’s better books that I’ve read so far. Still a little less than a third through his massive catalog.


8. Joe Abercrombie – Red Country

Awesome book. One of my favorite authors. Loved the setting and also the continuation of a great character from earlier books.


7. Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Quest

Don’t know why I only recently read this series, but I’m glad I finally did. I enjoyed it so much I’m currently reading the The Tawny Man trilogy as well.


6. Robin Hobb – Royal Assassin

The best of the first trilogy, IMO. The first book was interesting, but pretty slow at first, really only grabbing me until around the 60% mark. Royal Assassin had me hooked from the very beginning.


5. Tim O’Brien – The Things They Carried

Sobering stories that show the side of war rarely discussed in fiction or even in real life.


4. Matthew Stover – Caine’s Law

This whole series dominates the top of my list. Another author like Robin Hobb I wished I would have read sooner. Stover is now a fav of mine and Caine might be the baddest man I’ve ever read in fiction.


3. Matthew Stover – Caine Black Knife


2. Matthew Stover – Heroes Die


1. Matthew Stover – Blade of Tyshalle

Though I love the first book in the series quite a bit, this one was so different and interesting that it edged out Heroes Die for me.

So, what great books have you read this year?

That time of the year again . . . my top five albums released in 2015. This was probably the hardest list I’ve done since I started my blog. I could honestly shuffle most of these albums around depending on the day and my mood (except my number one). I mean that in a good way as they are really solid releases.

HONORABLE MENTION:
The Winery Dogs – Hot Streak


5. Trivium – Silence in the Snow


4. Armored Saint – Win Hands Down


3. Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls


2. Nightrage – The Puritan


1. Clutch – Psychic Warfare

It’s not all Rock/Metal here. The original is great, but this is one of the few cases where I prefer the cover.

Captain Love


The Bridge


The Lamb

The new Clutch album is awesome (naturally). Already one of my favorites.

X-Ray Visions


Son of Virginia

While the manuscript is with my editor, I thought I'd reveal the cover for the third book in The Tyrus Chronicle, Resurrected Soldiers.

The illlustration is by Mario Teodosio. You can see his other work here. As usual, the cover design is by my wife.

A description and release date are forthcoming, but my goal is a late December release.

Let me know your thoughts on the cover!

A very underrated band from the punk/glam era that few people ever talk about. Trash is a particular favorite of mine.

Personality Crisis (Live)


Trash (Live)

I’ve mentioned before that my new job takes a lot more of my time than my previous employer, which unfortunately has cut into my writing/editing time quite a bit. However, there are a few perks to the company and position. For instance, a couple weeks ago I was sent to a week’s worth of training in Seattle. The days were pretty long, starting around 7:30am and not ending until usually well after 8:00pm since dinners were scheduled each night. But, a bright spot to the trip was that I got to drive several trucks that most people will never get the opportunity to.

Overall it was an awesome experience. The first truck I drove was a DAF (common in Europe). Unlike transport vehicles here, the trucks are automatics. Therefore, it felt like driving a much bigger SUV. As seen in the picture below, I drove it without the trailer.



I was lucky enough to drive a second truck as well. This one was a Kenworth and included the trailer. It, of course, had a manual transmission which I didn’t know how to drive. Funny enough, I stalled it out. Thanks to the guy teaching me in the passenger seat, I was able to get the hang of working the clutch while he shifted (something he did for everyone). Though I may have struggled at first, I was one of the few who kept their vehicle in the lane and took the turns without letting the trailer wheels drift off road. Both were much smoother rides than I expected. Overall, good stuff!

One of my favorite bands. Such an amazing album…one of the few ones I can listen to on repeat for several days and not really care.

Gyroscope


Dialogue with Stars (Instrumental)


Worlds Within the Margin

A band that no longer gets talked about enough. Probably my two favorite songs from them. . .

Live Forever


Don’t Look Back in Anger

Youtube has been a blessing as far as exposing my kids to great music. They would rather watch either an old music video or a live performance than just listening to a CD or a Slacker/Pandora station.

Queen has been heavy in the rotation as of late. Unbelievable band. 

This song has been in my head constantly as of late. It is a good example of a great theme song attached to an awful movie.

So, I’ve played quite a few more board games since my last post (games like Battlelore, Liberatalia, Summoner Wars, Valley of the Kings, Smash-Up, Splendor, Lords of Waterdeep, etc.). I think they are all awesome. A couple have already joined my growing collection while the others definitely made it to my Amazon wishlist. I’ve been doing some research here and there at the two resources below and found both to be really helpful for anyone looking to expand or grow their collection.

https://boardgamegeek.com/
This is a great website where you can get reviews, post on message boards, track your own collection, or buy/sell/trade with others. There is so much here and I’ve barely had the time to really dig into it.

http://www.dicetower.com/
Dice Tower is an awesome site in that it gives video or podcast reviews of seemingly every game out there. There are also quite a few top ten lists that I’d highly recommend. Besides being very informative, I think they’re also pretty entertaining.

I’m also hosting my first mini game night this weekend with three other people. They’re all pretty big into gaming so I expect it to be a blast. My hope is that we can get together every 4-8 weeks. Eventually, I’d like to throw in a couple of game nights with a large group of people. However, before doing that I need to increase the number of seats in my home. My wife and I plan to remedy that as we’ve been building a large dining room table that should seat between 10-12 people. We had talked about doing this because our home actually has the space for a large dining room table. The fact that this can be used for a bigger game night is sort of the icing on the cake.

So, any thoughts on the games I mentioned above? Any recommendations for what I should look into next?

Been listening to the new Armored Saint album quite a bit since I saw them open for Saxon a month ago. Just as good as their classic stuff.

Win Hands Down


Mess


An Exercise in Debauchery

I only own two soundtracks. One is a greatest hits CD of all the Rocky movies. The other is from the movie Singles. The movie itself isn’t very good, but the CD is unbelievably good. AIC, Hendrix, Screaming Trees, Mother Love Bone, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, The Lovemongers.

I could pretty much link each track from that album, but that seems a bit excessive. So, below are two of Pearl Jam’s best songs, a really heavy Soundgarden song not on any of their regular studio albums, and one of the best things Chris Cornell ever did.

State of Love and Trust


Birth Ritual


Breath


Seasons

One of my favorite Green Day songs and unfortunately it rarely gets any recognition.

As mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of board games at work with my coworkers during lunch. This has led me to buying several newer board games for myself and making a massive Amazon wishlist for many more. Thankfully, my wife has been indulging me in this so far.

I’ve also recently met several people at the church we meet with who are into gaming as well. So my opportunities to geek-out are exponentially increasing. For someone who always loved board and card games, but found it hard to find people with similar interests, I am getting closer and closer to nerd heaven.

Anyway, below are the top five games I’ve played so far since February (I hadn’t even heard of these before then.)

5. Carcasonne – This is an easy game to learn, but for some reason I haven’t figured out a solid strategy yet. Still fun. I’ve only played the expanded base set.

4. Ticket to Ride – Super easy to play and pretty fun as well. I’ve only played the original version, but I hear the Europe expansion is also cool since it introduces new features to the game.



3. Citadels – This one is a lot of fun. The one downside is that it takes longer than the an hour lunch break so I’ve only had a chance to play it with a large group once and then once again with four people. However, the two-player option works really well as my wife and I have played it several times.


2. Dominion – Easy and a lot of fun. I’ve only played with the base set and the Intrigue expansion so far, but I have fun with it every time. The games go quick which means we can usually play 2-3 during lunch.



1. Seven Wonders (with Leaders and Cities expansions) – I’ve played this game the most out of all others, in part because everyone likes it, and also because it plays 8 people so there is no splitting up into two groups. We can usually do a full game (including scoring) in less than 40-45 minutes.



I’ll get a chance to play Forbidden Island, Flashpoint, Liberatalia, and a couple others in the next month or so. Others I’ve also played that didn’t make the list (but still really enjoyed) include, Dixit, Sushi-Go, Guillotine, Poo, Word on the Street, and Wits and Wagers. Any cool games I should know about? Or thoughts on the ones listed?

This Music Monday is for my son. At 5 years old, this is probably one of his favorite songs and he’s turning into a big fan of Deep Purple (which is awesome).

I haven’t done a very good job of updating my blog these last six months or so. Other than a few random posts and some end of year lists, it’s mostly been information about new releases. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not ideally what I’d like my blog to be about either. Even my Music Monday posts are getting less consistent.

There are a lot of reasons for that, but mostly it goes back to time and priorities.

You see, though I do get some traffic here, it isn’t a huge amount so it is hard for me to justify writing a deep and meaningful blog post that may take 30 minutes to 2 hours (depending on content and length) only to have it go mostly unread. Especially because I can be more productive using that time to write and get my next book out sooner (something most people reading this would probably rather anyway). Even still, I’d like to get a bit more regular with blogging again. I thought the best way to do that might be to get some general updates out the way.

New state, new house, new job and so on . . .
We moved from North Georgia to North Texas (in order to be closer to family) in February after a quick job search and house hunt. It was in the middle of all the crazy snow and ice storms so that made life pretty interesting for us (try traveling with 3 kids under 5 across that many states and then camping out in a single hotel room).

We got a lot more house than what we had before with only a fractional increase in price (Thank you Texas!). Overall, we love it, and the area. However, like most people we’ve been busy with all the small things you have to do with a new place: a heavy cleaning, some painting, fixing clogs and leaky toilets, replacing ceiling fans, etc.

Most of the pressing improvements are out the way, but there’s still a few things we’ll be working on in the coming months.

The new job is great too. It’s a step up in position and salary with lots of room for growth. The work is interesting and the people are really great (a few are big geeks like me). The one negative is that I don’t have quite as much personal time as I did before. 7:30-5:00 are the core hours with not much in the way of flexibility. The different hours and the inability to write during my lunch break as I used to have taken some getting used to. Making my word count is a bit more difficult.

Though I can’t write during lunch, the group I work with plays board/card games in the conference room during that time (pretty geeky ones) and that’s been really awesome. I’ve always loved that stuff, but rarely have I been around people with that interest. I’ll have to do a separate blog post on those I’ve played so far.

Writing . . .
Wayward Soldiers came out earlier this year. It’s sold well so far and helped increase sales on the first book in The Tyrus Chronicles, Forgotten Soldiers. I’ve been really pleased with how well the series is doing, even more so because there has been a carryover into my backlist. Hopefully, that continues.

Overall, they books have been well reviewed too, especially from those with a military background or interest which really means a lot to me. Granted, the series is different than most of what’s out there so it doesn’t necessarily resonate with everyone. That’s ok. To paraphrase Wayne’s World: “Even Led Zeppelin didn’t write songs that everyone loved.”

The fourth Andrasta and Rondel book, The Maze of Hidesi, is off with betareaders right now. Fingers crossed on feedback. It should go to my editor in early July. I’m hoping for a late August release.

I’ve started work on the third Tyrus book, Resurrected Soldiers. Though it’s early, I’m really enjoying the process so far. Ava gets to take a more prominent role in the narrative than she has in the past, and I think the story will be better because of it.

So, that’s it for right now. Busy as usual. Lots of stress and little sleep. But isn’t that everybody?

Been introducing my kids to some stuff from my youth as of late (MTV era). I know Michael Jackson was a weird person and there’s a ton of controversy surrounding what he did or didn’t do, but the music still holds up well.

As a kid, I remember wearing out the BAD cassette.

Below are my two favs from that album.



Music

The Tower of Bashan is now available as an audiobook!

The journey to the Tower of Bashan has tested Andrasta and Rondel’s partnership, threatened their friendship, and left them with a wealth of scars. After months of research and careful planning, the tower is now before them. They are confident that with the knowledge they have gained, they will defeat the guardians protecting the Jewel of Bashan within.

Their progress is halted when they discover that the entrance is no longer the same. With the tower taunting the pair and their plan useless, they take out their frustration on each other until a quick-witted, young girl gives them an idea on how to succeed. A new plan is formulated, creating political waves and upsetting the criminal underground.

They entered Bashan to steal a jewel, but they may just quicken a civil war.

The Tower of Bashan is the third volume in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel.

You can get your copy through Amazon or Audible by clicking on the buttons below.

The musicianship speaks for itself.

I just learned about Sister Rosetta Tharpe this past week and that’s a shame. This woman could flat out play and sing. She did both better than most of the blues and rock legends of the time. Seriously, Chuck Berry doesn’t have anything on her.

Awesome stuff.

Up Above my Head
(A very obvious influence to King’s X – Over my Head)


That’s all


Didn't It Rain

The City of Pillars is now available as an audiobook!

Andrasta and Rondel have spent months in the city of Zafar, obtaining knowledge they will need to steal the famous Jewel of Bashan. Something goes wrong when pilfering an artifact crucial to their goal, bringing the wrath of the local authorities against them.

A beautiful woman helps them escape Zafar in exchange for their help recovering a family heirloom.

The seemingly simple job turns complicated as they learn the heirloom is in the possession of the feared Hubul’s Host, a band of warriors devoted to the Erban father of the gods.

The City of Pillars is the second volume in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel.

You can get your copy through Amazon or Audible by clicking on the buttons below.

Can U Deliver? (live)

Wayward Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Two is now available! Click here for your Kindle now. A paperback version can be found here.

Wayward Soldiers is the second book in The Tyrus Chronicle. Two more books are planned for this series: Resurrected Soldiers and Forever Soldiers. Stay tuned for their anticipated release dates.

Here's the description for Wayward Soldiers.

Tyrus expected his world to change once the Geneshan War ended. He expected it to change more once he finally reunited with his family.

He did not foresee that the biggest upheaval to his world would be caused by Turine sorcerers tampering with an ancient Geneshan artifact in the capital city of Hol.

The land stands devastated and covered in a haze. Sorcerers are unable to use their power. The king and capital are likely destroyed. Raiders seek to profit in a world without law.

Tyrus decides that he must get his loved ones to the safety of the Southern Kingdoms if they are to have any chance of surviving.  The quick flight he plans turns into a labored journey when local townsfolk join his party. Expecting only new dangers now before him, Tyrus fails to anticipate old ones haunting his steps.

Wayward Soldiers is the second volume in The Tyrus Chronicle.

If you enjoy the story or any of my other works, please consider leaving a rating or review at the site of purchase as well as other places such as Goodreads and Librarything. Like many other indie authors, I do not have a marketing team working for me and a positive review (even if only a couple of sentences long) can go a long way in enticing others to give my works a try.

Thanks for the continued support!

I’m a huge Judas Priest fan. To me Rob Halford is the perfect metal singer. That being said, the two Ripper albums don’t get enough credit. For example, this track is not only one of my favorite Judas Priest songs, but one of my favorite songs of all time. Period.

I usually focus on lyrics last with any song, but this is a case where I’ve always felt a connection to them. I’ve played this song on repeat for like 10-20 times before (something I never do) when I’ve gone through some really dark stuff in my life. One of the few songs, I actually get chills from every time I listen to it.

FYI, a little NSFW in the beginning.

My favorite section is below.

Say my whole life I've always been disliked
Ignored unless you're spitting insults at me
And I don't know why you felt so justified
In all the degradation that you dished on me

Oh! Now my status has changed
And you've got yourself to blame
Oh! I'll grab all the attention I crave
Now I'm running Hell - Heaven won't be the same

The past few weeks have been beyond crazy. And though it’s going to stay that way for a while it seems, I’m going to try and get more consistent with blogging again.

So, I thought this song was fitting to the occasion.

I wanted to reveal the cover for the next book in The Tyrus Chronicle. Wayward Solider - Book Two is scheduled to be released in early March.

The illustration, as with Forgotten Soldiers - Book One, is by Mario Teodosio. You can see his other work here. My wife did the cover design again.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

I'm excited to announce that The Cult of Sutek is now available as an audiobook!

Rondel, a once famous minstrel is crippled and rotting away in prison. He has nothing to live for until Andrasta, a mysterious warrior, gives his live meaning again. The pair escapes prison and in the aftermath, form a partnership they hope will lead to fame and fortune. Their journey is a long one, filled with peril, adventure, and even failure.

The ancient cult of Sutek grips the land of Iget. Framed by the cult for kidnapping and attempted murder, Rondel and Andrasta help a young noble rescue his sister in order to clear their name.

The Cult of Sutek is the first volume in a planned series of standalone sword and sorcery adventures in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel.

You can get your copy through Amazon or Audible by clicking on the buttons below.

Feeling a bit nostalgic today for the good old MTV days.

L.A. Guns – The Ballad of Jayne

So, this blog has been pretty neglected as of late and with good reason. The new year has been pretty brutal and stressful for our family. At least one person (usually multiple people) has been sick in our immediate family for the past six weeks (and we’re all sick now).

Besides that I had been looking for a new job which resulted in my flying to Dallas and going through four very long interviews over a 3 day period. The trip was productive though as it resulted in an offer (which I accepted) from a company I’m really excited about. On top of that, my wife flew to Dallas this weekend (while I stayed home with three very sick kids) and house hunted. And we are now under contract.

Today, I’m putting in notice to my current job (last day will be Feb 16th) and then it is all about transitioning off this job, moving from Georgia to Texas, getting settled, and starting a new job on February 27th.

And to top matters off, I was writing the fourth Andrasta and Rondel book before putting that draft on hold to finalize audio files with my narrator for The Cult of Sutek. And I will shortly begin work on final edits for Wayward Soldiers (Book Two of the Tyrus Chronicle). Given all the stuff going on above and a few other things I’m not going to get into, it will be difficult to get Wayward Soldiers out in February as I had hoped. So, early March might be the more realistic date.

Regardless, the beginning of 2015 is a pretty busy period for us. But also an exciting one.

So, in honor of the new job and subsequent new bills . . .

Huey Lewis and the News – Workin’ for a Livin’

Today is the celebration of a great man who probably doesn’t get celebrated enough. For some reason, we look to Dr. King’s inspiration today, but too often forget about him and what he stood for during the rest of the year. That should stop.

Most people know his famous “I have a dream” speech. However, he said countless other things that should be an inspiration for all of us each and every day. The below article I found provides a few of those quotes that are far less known than others.

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/19/7552977/martin-luther-king-quotes

Just about every death metal band out there owes something to Carcass (especially those on the melodic side). The classic Heartwork album is just unbelievable start to finish, especially the guitar work.

Plus, there’s a lot of good anger on this album as well and I never get tired of that. ;)

Heartwork


Embodiment


No Love Lost

In January of 2014, I posted the following writing related goals. The results are bolded.

1. Write two to three books. This will probably be Book Three of The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel (currently working on this…about 35K into the rough draft), completing Book Two in The Tyrus Chronicle, and either working on Book Three in The Tyrus Chronicle or going back and doing Book Four of The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel series.

Done. I wrote The Tower of Bashan: The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel, Vol. 3 and published it this past summer. I also wrote Wayward Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle – Book 2 which is currently with my editor. I’ve started The Maze of Hidesi: The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel, Vol. 4 (over 50K written so far) and will finish it early this year.

I was hoping to be a bit further along in Volume 4, but overall it’s been a pretty productive year considering what I’ve published.

2. Publish four to five novels. This will be the first three books in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel and at least the first book in The Tyrus Chronicle. I’m hoping I might be able to publish the second book in The Tyrus Chronicle as well, but I’ll have to play that by ear. If I do get it out it will probably be around December.

Done. I later decided it made more sense not to push things and publish four books in 2014 (still quite a bit of work) rather than kill myself and my wife trying to get one more out.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how the year turned out from a writing/publishing perspective.

2015 Writing Goals

1. Publish Wayward Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book 2
     1A. Hoping to get this published in February 2015.

2. Finish writing The Maze of Hidesi: The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel, Vol. 4
     2A. Hoping to publish this in Late Summer 2015.

3. Write Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book 3
     3A. Hoping to publish this in November or December 2015.

4. Start writing either Book Five in The Epic of Andrasta and Rondel series or possibly the last Tyrus book. This will depend mostly on my state of mind at the time I’m ready to start working on these.

5. Maybe publish a short story I’ve got lying around that needs a bit more polish and a cover. It would be a good way to get one more thing out this year from me if I can get it together.

6. Release the first three Andrasta and Rondel books in audio format. I’ve hired a voice actor/producer I’m really excited about these. The plan is for all three to be available before the summer months.

So, those are the writing goals. If I can accomplish all of it, I’ll consider it a very successful year.

What are your 2015 goals?