Superhero High Book 1: FORCE (Announcement, Cover Reveal & Release Date!)

So, in my last post I promised you all that I wouldn't blog again until I had some cool stuff to announce and share. And now I do! My next title, FORCE (Superhero High Book 1) is coming out on January 10th 2020!

Force is actually a novella, not a full book. It's the first in a series of five titles following the students of Southaven High, a school for teens with powers, who in this world are listed as C-Class Citizens in the new American social caste system.

I had a ton of fun writing this one!

I would describe this series as, like, Smallville meets Degrassi? I've never actually seen an episode of Degrassi, but I know it's about teens at a high school and there are a ton of different generations or classes or whatever. Each novella follows a different student at the school, although they're all part of the main roster of characters who will each play a big role as they go on. I mean, not all of them, some of them just die, but I can't talk about that, because spoilers...

If that sounds interesting to you, here's the cover and blurb!

Two years ago a meteor shower rained alien particles known as Gemblood over most of the planet Earth, resulting in those humans with no immunity developing…abnormalities.

In the United States of America, where individuals with powers are listed as C-Class citizens, teenagers with abnormalities are sent to special schools, where they can hone their talents without hurting any A-Class citizens, AKA normals.

Welcome to superhero high…

Kacey Print only wants to disappear. After unleashing the powers she spent two years trying to hide, she ended up killing nine of her classmates in a tragic accident. Now the only reason she hasn’t been carted off to a maximum security prison for freaks like her is because of the timely intervention of one Dr. Christian Howell, the principal of Southaven High School, a black hole they toss people like her into to keep everybody else safe. He’s given her a second chance, even though she doesn’t deserve it, but straight-edge punk girl Kacey is going to have to fight for redemption if it’s what she truly wants, because all of a sudden, the school is under attack by a giant tentacled monster and a group of mysterious faceless men.

Welcome to your first day at Southaven! The only rule of orientation is ‘Don’t Die!’

I will update this post and make another announcement with all the links once it's available for pre-order in a week or two, and I'll also be posting the first chapter as a tease, so be on the lookout! I'm already working on book 2, TORCH, for a February release and I can't wait to share it!

You Can Have This

You guys can have this... It's a link to my Medium!

I'm posting there now, and I love it. I'll be cross-posting stuff from this blog there, but it will also contain original content and posts you can only find on that site. :)

If you're wondering when new material is coming out... SOON!

Right now it's time to update my old ebooks, publish new editions with new formatting and updated social media links, and then, THEN, I have two stories in a new series called Island of Gods coming out as my first releases of 2018.

If you like creepy, Lovecraftian tales full of body hair, eerie vibes, and tentative self-discovery & unraveling...my new stuff will be right up your alley.

FRENZY - Book + Cover Reveal!

So, I've been working on this project as a little aside for a while that I haven't been able to talk about, but it looks like I'm going to finish revisions and move onto copy edits within the next two days, and be able to publish the book within the next two weeks. So I can finally announce it.

And, because I'm just that cool, I'm going to reveal the cover at the same time, and give you all a bit of Souls of Salt & Seawater news!

So, the cover:

And a bit about the book:

If the word Gnome conjures up images of tiny bearded statues hanging around on front lawns, then think again. . .

Eighteen year-old Gnome Evelyn Torres isn't exactly having the day she planned. Sure, her skill and power as an earth elemental are at an all-time high. . .but her life is kind of a mess. Her online date turned out to be of the non-human variety. A man claiming to be the father she's never spoken to has suddenly reached out to her. Oh, and the icing on the sundae? A horde of Goblins has gone into a seriously nasty frenzy - and they're after her.

Monsters tossing debris overhead? Not exactly her idea of a great first date. Being in crush has never been this deadly. . .

Frenzy works both as a standalone novella and as a prequel to the upcoming Maelstrom in an action-packed first glimpse at the Menagerie world that will leave you pining for more. . .

So, yeah. It's set in the Menagerie world, the same universe as Maelstrom and Shadows. It's got cute romance. And family drama. And fashion. Oh, did I mention the horde of angry Goblins?

And, now, the question most of you are probably asking:

Where is SOSAS? Why is this coming out before that?

I announced Souls of Salt and Seawater this summer - before I'd actually started writing the book. I did that because there was a lot of hype surrounding it and a lot of people asking me to complete Alice's story, and I was so enamored with the potential it had that the book kept getting longer and longer, and it became more than just Alice's story - it became this worlds story.

Josmea is a world that I, as a writer, tend to play around in and explore for the next ten to fifteen years of my career. Souls of Salt and Seawater is just a small patch of a wider, richer tapestry I plan to weave - which is why I want to take my time with it and make it the best first impression of this world and these characters that I can.

That said, the book is coming soon. I'm still working on revisions right now, but I'd estimate I'll be done major revisions within the week and then move onto copy-editing. I don't even have a publishing date for Frenzy right now aside from soon, so I'll just say that SOSAS is coming soon after that.

I've announced and pushed back the books release twice now, so I've learnt my lesson about announcing dates before the minute I'm ready to hit publish. As soon as the book is ready, you will all know, because I will be shouting it from the rooftops and sending out free copies like there is no tomorrow.

As for actual pricing, both books will be initially available only on Amazon and Kobo, and they'll be $2.99 each in both marketplaces.

You can find Frenzy on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28600479-frenzy

Souls of Salty Snide Remarks

So, Souls of Salt and Seawater is coming along. Coming along as in, I'm going to be ready to send out ARCS by November, as in, I'm having fun with it, as in, the cover came out and I forgot to post about it here.

I'm a pretty forgetful bitch, if I'm being honest. I'll forget something is a dream and wake up excited to use my new laptop or go find my new husband in the backyard and then realize - wait a minute, I didn't actually go on an electronics shopping spree or marry Brandon Urie! It was all just a dream!

My dad says it's because I smoke too-much pot, my mom says it's because of my dad (his genetics are cursed with this pesky thing called alzheimer's - my gramma has it really bad) and my brother says it's because I'm plain stupid. But then, he's probably just salty because I got better eyebrows than he did.

So anyway, I forget important stuff, and then I make up for it by posting it late and trying to make it seem like it's still relevant and exciting. Which is what I'm doing now. So here's the cover:

 Isn't it beautiful? Don't you want to marry it, start a family, have a child together, and then run out on it one day by telling it you're going for cigarettes and milk and then never coming back? Me too. And the plus side is, it won't be able to hunt you down and demand child support because it's just a book cover, and your child together is purely hypothetical. All I'm hearing is a bunch of pluses, to be honest...

Anyway, aside from beginning an ill-advised affair with my book cover, you can also support the project by talking about it on Twitter, Tumblr, or the micro-blogging platform of your choice, or giving the Lilac Jones Adventures some love on Wattpad. Seriously, guys, word of mouth is so important as an indie author. I so appreciate everyone who has reviewed one of my books, or shared it with a friend, or retweeted/reblogged a post about it.

I'll have more news about SOSAS out closer to release, and when arcs are available (everyone who requests an arc of this book is getting one, no questions asked) and more. I'll also post more news about Shadows when I have it.

Thanks for being cool and not making salty, snide remarks when I take too long to post updates, guys! Love ya's!

-Oliver