So, Yes Been Thinking

Lot of blog posts this week. Wonder why? ;-) 

So I've been thinking about things, obviously and I've realized a few things as well. First off, I shouldn't be unhappy that a lot of folks didn't want to spend the $8.99 for the Summer's End ebook when I've made a friggin' career out of always having low prices to try and make it easier on my readers. I mean, seriously! I took forever to go to $4.99 and I think I may STILL have some books out there at $2.99. Definitely more than a few at $3.99.

So it's pretty mean spirited of me to bitch about this. So mea culpa. 

Will I be writing the sequel? Probably. It's on my schedule to be written in January so I'll probably still be doing it. Will it ever be sold? Probably not. I haven't heard word one from my publisher, so I'm thinking that they're not interested. December is definitely the worst time in the traditional publishing business to release a book if you're not somebody famous. I guess they may be waiting to see what happens in January - but for me, I've moved on. 

I think I mentioned somewhere that one of the 'lower level' folks who works there that I was talking to mentioned they were considering putting the book up for an award. One I wouldn't mind having though I honestly know I don't have a prayer of winning. Who knows? If they do, maybe that'd rekindle sales but again, no longer my concern.

What I do need to do is focus on the here and now. If I'm not going to be writing books for them, (they've been rather quiet the last two weeks and for me 'quiet' equals 'bad news' - but who knows, maybe I'm wrong on that) that will free up a lot of time this coming year and while one of the two series I was looking to write for them I won't be writing unless they ask me for it, the other I'll write for myself, which also means you lot :-) I also of course have a few more things Valens that I want to get done.

So with the end of the year coming up it's time to move on to new things. Yes, I'd hoped to be able to be successful as both a traditional published writer as well as an indy writer. Barring a miracle, that is not to be. C'est la vie. 

Again, I very much want to thank all of you for having been there and for having supported me. It has meant a lot to me, and again, I shouldn't have been unhappy over folks who just couldn't afford it. Or chose not to spend that much, especially on a new genre that they don't have an interest in.

Last of all, I'm not going to be on Social Media much for a little while. I'm trying to 'break' that addiction so I can spend more time writing. It's become a bit insidious how much of my time it has come to consume. I'll still be on Patreon & SubscribeStar of course, and I do pop into my discord a couple times a week. But I want to see just how long I can stay off of Facebook, Twitter, and Mewe. 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy all those other holidays which I know happen around now but I'm not exactly sure when.

-John

Ah December...

 So today I started out with an hour long drive (each way) to the 'local' big bookstore. So I could give them some signed copies of the new Summer's End book, so they'd have some to put on the shelves. Apparently books released in December don't usually end up on the shelves until January because of all the promotional stuff going on in December. They sit in the chain's warehouse.

If only I had known. So get home, the gate doesn't work (still- it didn't let me out this morning either so I had to open and close it by hand). After lunch I checked it out, the batteries in one of the remote sensors you're required to have for 'reasons' were dead. It's working now.

Then of course there was the $5000 dollars worth of tax fines in the mail... WHAT!!!!

Yeah, eye-opener. So spend the next few hours first on the phone, then finding out I've been filing one of the local state reports to the WRONG agency and so max penalties - with interest. Isn't it funny how they always wait until your penalties are up to a certain point before they notify you? But the nice thing was once I went back and FILED (electronically too) the proper form with the proper place, I only got hit with a 50 dollar fine on the last four, so that was a lot less money. I may be able to get some of that money back as well.

I will say this about Texas - their tax help people are the BEST. Hands down. They will take the time to walk you through everything so that the absurd fines go away and then they'll tell you how to appeal the regular fines so hopefully you get that money back as well. Honestly I'm starting to wonder if the whole reason the absurd fines exist is to get you to file the stupid paperwork, because as soon as you do, those fines (and the interest on them) goes away. 

So yes, it's been an 'exciting' day. I'm starting physical therapy for my shoulder, now that it's mostly healed. Doc still wants me to replace the joint. I may in a couple of years, we'll see. But I'm not looking forward to that at all. It's still sore and annoying, but it doesn't hurt like it had been and of course the muscles that had been paralyzed are now working again. 

Oh, and my office chair died yesterday. At least I had one in my shop I can use for now. Been a hectic week.

Another Valens Heritage Book is out: Ain't It The Life

 Hello everyone,

Yes, I have a new Valens Heritage book out today. The cover art unfortunately ran a bit late or I would have had this out last week. I just hope this doesn't take away from folks looking to buy my other new book: Summer's End. 

This is the second book in the series to feature Troy, as we get to see just what Washington D.C. has in store for him. Or perhaps what he has in store for Washington?

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it!

Ain't It The Life

 

Here's an interview on my book that comes out tomorrow!

 

Exclusive Interview: “Summer’s End” Author John Van Stry

https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-summers-end-author-john-van-stry/

Summer's End Comes Out Next Tuesday!

 

Hey everyone! In six days my newest book, 'Summer's End' comes out on Amazon and in bookstores across the nation! So yeah, I'm gonna pimp it from now until then :-)

I'd like to thank Baen Books for giving me the opportunity to write hard SciFi once again.

For those interested, here's the link for Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B62G8S59

 

 

 

Had shoulder surgery yesterday

 

Okay, I got out of surgery 6ish I think, I didn't get out of the place till like 7:30pm. Never had so much trouble coming out of anesthesia before. I've got a nerve block on my right arm that will take several days to wear off and my right arm is now useless until then. Oh and the sling is gigantic and might as well be a body cast.

I had no idea that the aftermath would be like this. It wasn't the last time! I'm reduced to typing left handed and I can't wear any kind of shirt. So it's going to be very cold. But at least I'm not stumbling around. I am sleeping sitting up tonight however.

I am definitely going to be out of commission for a while. But at least it doesn't hurt. Though that could be the nerve block. I've got a lot of questions for the doc when I see him next.

Don't expect to see a lot of posts for a while, typing only with my left hand is gonna take some time to train.

Portals of Infinity, Book 11

 

 

For those of you who have been waiting, Portals of Infinity - Book 11: Bridge of Sighs is now available on Amazon!

I would like to take a moment to apologize for the cover - when I get the finished version I will of course update it. But with surgery tentatively scheduled for next week, if I don't put this up now, I have no idea when I'll be able to. As the book was finished nearly a month ago, I can no longer afford to wait.

 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLKMJB4P

 

(The paperback will not be available until I have the finished version on the cover - sorry for those waiting for it.)

Goes on Sale 12/6 in bookstores!

 Got my author copies today!

An update

Someone asked for a blog update, and so, here's an update.

I'm finishing up the first draft on Portals of Infinity #11.

Once that's done I really need to get the sequel to Summer's End (the book I wrote for Baen Books) done. I actually have a ton of work I want to do for Baen, so I'll be writing a bunch of those over the next year or two.

The next Valens Heritage book will most likely be about Troy. Then another one about Mihalis. At least one of those should be done by the end of this year. After I finish those there may be a collection of shorts and novellas dealing with some of the other characters in the family. I also need to write the book (or books) I hinted at, at the end of the last Mihalis book.

Once I get through those, I'll have to think about what I wish to write next as Jan Stryvant. Right now I have a lot of stuff lined up under John Van Stry, where it's been the opposite for the last several years. There is a LOT that I can do in the Valens Universe - it's pretty ripe with potential. So on that, I'll just have to see.

On the personal front I messed up my arm (somehow) and I need to take a bunch of drugs and do physical therapy for the next few weeks. Hopefully it'll solve the problem, because it hurts like a bitch. I'm trying to get back to building guitars in the evenings, because I enjoy it and it relieves a certain amount of stress. We're still in a drought here and it's definitely causing issues. I wish it would friggin rain already. 

Part of what sucked up a LOT of my time last month was the local con I went to, because my publisher was there and I had two series I want to sell her that we discussed. So I had to write the entire plot line for two entire series. She's interested in both of them so I need to start on one of them and get it written, though again, need to write Troy #2 as well. Yes, lots of work to do and I'm -hoping- that certain things stop happening, where I have to go get involved in other folk's problems because they need help (hope that's non-specific enough). I really just want to get back to writing and putting out a book every month. 

I suspect a lot of you folks out there would like that as well.

So yes, I've been busy. No, I haven't been dead. Not much else to say beyond that right now.

I will be at Fencon this weekend

 I will be at Fencon this weekend, as well as the signing at Half-Price books tomorrow (Thursday - Sept 15th)

Saturday I'll be there the longest, though I do have to pop out at noon to go home and let the dogs out for a while. If you're there, look me up.

So Queen Elizabeth has passed.

I'm reminded of a story I heard more than a few years ago. I regret that I do not remember who told it. It was someone I knew in passing. His father, for all that he was an American, was a big fan of the Queen and sent her a Christmas card every year. This person that I knew had occasion to be at an 'official ceremony' in another country, that the Queen was attending.

When he was introduced, the Queen asked him about his father, to which he told her that he had died several years ago. She then replied with something along the line of 'Oh, we'd wondered why we'd stopped getting his card every year.'

That right there says a lot.

They were completely blown away by the simple fact that the Queen had noticed.

Oh, and they ended up on the Queen's Christmas card list after that.

A Brief Intermission

 Just letting you know that it probably won't be until September until I publish another book. There are a couple of reasons for this, of course, none of which fall under the category of 'Bad'.

The first is that I'd been planning to take about a month off after LiberyCon. Unfortunately, that got postponed a week, as I was behind schedule on getting 'No Place Like Home' out. I'd hoped to get away for a week or two, as in travel, but things are still messed up in a lot of the rest of the country and the last thing I wanted to have happen was to be forced into some pointless quarantine. Especially as the governor in one of those places is a couple asshat (and I'm not talking about California this time either). 

Of course I had a LOT of things at home that needed attention and I spent a couple of weeks wrenching on my motorcycles which have been poorly neglected for the last year. Then there were a lot of non-writing writing work that I wanted to get done, and a fair deal of it did get done. But there's still a lot more to do and thankfully I now have help with that.

There's also some stuff I had to do for Baen Books, in regards to the book I have coming out with them come December. 

Now, going forward, I want to get the sequel to that book done. Once that's done, it goes to Baen, so that will also slow down anything new coming out. I have a number of things in my head right now as well that I want to get down in some sort of outline form, because I've got a lot of things I want to write now. Some of it is POI, some of it is Valens, and some of it is completely new stuff. I'm hoping that will make everyone happy, including the WTM folks who can't figure out what to write unless they're ripping off me or my friends. 

I will be at FenCon in Dallas this September, though I don't know how long I'll be there on any individual day as I have Very Large Dogs and I can't just leave them in the house for long periods of time. But I will try to make the most of it.

So yes, unfortunately I may not have anything new out until September or October, but I am back to work. I really did need a break where I wasn't thinking about things writing and deadlines or the rest of that. It's been about five years since I've been able to do that. I did tell my Patrons on Patreon and SubscribeStar about it, but I hadn't mentioned elsewhere really, so I figured I'd put this out here.

Hope you're all doing well!