Sunday, March 25, 2018

Greater Spirits Cover Revealed

Are you excited?

I certainly am. This trilogy has been amazingly fun to work on and I can't wait to share the final installment with you. My alpha readers have given me great feedback, and the book is currently off to my beta readers to refine. Once I get feedback from them, I'll give you a release date!

But for now, to wet your appetite, I want to share with you the absolutely amazing work Greg Bain did for me with the latest cover. So, without further ado, here's what book 3 will look like:

What do you think?

I'm loving it. I think it will be a great addition to the first two. I hope you like it as well! Let me know your thoughts!

- Zabe

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Updates!

Hello Readers!

It's been way too long, hasn't it?

Life's been busy, as I'm sure happens to many of you, but the work has continued forward! I spent the past few days with the Sterling and Stone Smarter Artist Summit here in Austin, hanging out with a number of amazing writer and learning to up my game for you fine readers. Look for some additional updates soon as a result of the great tips I picked up.

As for the stories, which you folks are interested in, I'm waiting on a few more Alpha Readers to give me their final feedback before I launch into some more edits on Greater Spirits. The always talented Greg Bain is hard at work on my third cover, and let me tell you, it's just as awesome as his prior entries! I can't wait to show it off to you!

I hope you're as excited as I am! I think you're going to love the way the first trilogy wraps up!

Keep an eye out for details soon!


  - Zabe

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Hellfire Past from Hellfire Pass

During the British Colonial period, there was discussion of working with the government of what we now know as Thailand to create a railroad that connected the major tracks already in existence, allowing for faster travel across  to what was then Burma. These plans were abandoned, however, when the terrain was surveyed and the cost was realized.

 Fast Forward to WWII, and the Japanese have now taken much of the surrounding areas, including the adjacent railroads that they too would like to connect. They see something to make it more cost effective, however, that the British had not considered using: POW and Slave labor. The results were what is now known as the Burma Death Railway.

Given that few Americans were put to work in this area, it is a chapter of world history I knew little about from my U.S. education. This changed when I travelled to Thailand in December of 2014 and was able to tour many of the areas around Kanchanaburi. Aside from the memorials and museums dedicated to that dark period, I was able to hike a specific section of the brutal railway path that came to be known as Hellfire Pass.

The details of that chapter of history were brutal and tragic. Allied POWs as well as conscripted labor from all across Asia were subjected to brutality and misery on a scale that is hard to imagine. Standing in the pass that had come to symbolize the railway to many, staring at the sharp rocks that workers were forced to traverse barefoot, looking at the places where large chunks of a mountainside were hand chiseled away by workers over the course of 18hr days while living on 600 calories of rice and sometimes rotten meat... it was an experience I will not soon forget.

The experience inspired the short story that I am publishing today. It is a bit darker than some of my other stories, as befitting the history that inspired it. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it inspires at least some of you to learn more about these events. Like so much of our past, we cannot change it, but we can learn from it in hopes that we avoid repeating anything like it in the future.


Hellfire Past is available today on Amazon and Smashwords. It will be available on all other e-book sellers this week. 

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Greater Spirits Sample Chapter

Hello Folks,

    Book 3 is moving slowly but surely along. It will still be a while before I can tell you when to expect it, but since many of you have been kind enough to tell me how much you're looking forward to it, I thought I would share a chapter. It goes with out saying that, if you've not completed The Glacier of Gods and Monsters, there be spoilers ahead. You have been warned!

Jacob shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around everything he was hearing.  He wasn’t sure it would be possible to do so. “This is fucking insane, you know that, right?”

“Aye mate. I know how this sounds.”

Jacob didn’t remember anything from the time that the funky warrior in the mini-skirt had challenged him. One minute he was charging the dude, the next he was standing in some tropical hut that apparently only existed in Jack’s mind.
Oh, and Jack was apparently now the god of this bizarre land, and had used that power to rescue Jacob from whatever oblivion these ancient souls had consigned him to.
“So, you’re Hades now. You’ve got all the power. What do you need me to
 do this for?”

Jack shook his head. “I’ve got a lot of power, aye, tis true. But not all of it lad. Not by a long shot.” Jack waved his hand, creating a window that opened directly to a secluded beach where the waves were crashing violently on the shore. “These blokes, they were smart. Now that I’m on top, I can see how everything works. They aren’t actually bound to me. They’re bound to the helm I wear.  The distinction is important.”

“So you only get the power while wearing it?”

“Aye. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that the line of connection to the object means that any member of the council can break their bond at any time they wish. They do that, and all of the souls bound through them get yanked from my control.”

“Can’t you just order them not to?”

Jack shrugged. “Not everyone at once. Might could get one or two before the others figured it out and revolted. Then we’d be stuck with a war I don’t think we could win.”

Jacob stared out over the ocean for a bit himself, trying to take more of this in. “So instead you want me to start a war you don’t know if you can win.”

“Better odds.” Jack noted with a shrug. “If there’s anything I noted when I was alive, it was that people could be made to do most anything if they were scared enough. And with centuries of warfare in their recent memories, fear of ‘the other’ is ripe. It won’t take much to play up that fear to the point where even a minor misunderstanding will escalate.”

“But why would you want to do that, man? You know how many people would die if this thing went full on battle again?”

“They’re already dead, Jacob..”

“So am I, man, doesn’t mean I want to…”

Jack cut him off with a wave. “How much art have you seen since we got here, Jacob?”

The large black man considered for a moment. “None that I can think of. But I haven’t exactly been looking.”

“Well, I have. Much more so since taking the helm. There’s none.”

“Well, that’s a bit weird but…”

“No songs. No advances in technology. Hell, even though they’ve gotten some knowledge from a hand full of souls that have been banished over here, there’s no bloody advancements what so ever. These souls, they’re stagnate, Jacob. A bloody pool of dead River stuff that cannot change. Even with me in charge, it’s bloody unlikely that I could do much but make small alterations.”

“So your plan’s to kill everyone?”

“If it takes that, yes.” Jack turned back and looked his friend in the eye. Jacob noted a gleam of seriousness he rarely saw, along with a tinge of something else… madness? “Listen lad. I know this sounds crazy. But you’ll have to trust me on this. There’s a chance I can get us home. If so, then all of these fair folks can be returned to the River, to be recycled as they should have been millennia ago. But I can’t do that without a lot more power than we have. “

Jack turned back from the window and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking more exhausted than Jacob had seen him in a long time. “Trust me, lad. I’ve looked at this from many angles. I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought there was another way. But there’s not. We do nothing and we’re trapped here, like these souls are, till we all thin out so much that we’re nothing but bloody automatons going through daily motions with no idea why we’re doing it.”

Jack sighed, a tinge of sadness entering his voice. “Many of the souls here have already reached that point.  They’re just bloody shells, mate. There’s no true life left in them. No dancing. No singing. It’s all just a routine, most of which is set forth by the council to keep people going from one day to the next. Oblivion would be a blessing for them next to this.”

Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know man. Seems unfair, us playing god and all.”


“There’s no playing, Jacob. I am bloody god here. But there’s a reason they gave me the guise of Hades. I’m not the god of life. I’m the god of death. I can’t do anything to bring joy to these souls. But I can end their misery. I can end their suffering. And maybe, just maybe, by doing so I can truly free us all.”

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Greater Spirits

Hello Folks!

    I know, it's been far too long since I've done a post. Life remains busy, but I wanted to update everyone on the series. First, of course, news on Book III - It's coming along quite well. A bit slower than I would prefer, but I knew that would happen as I want to make sure to tie up all of the loose ends I've left open with the prior books, and bring this particular story into a satisfying close. I'm happy with the direction the story's gone so far, so I hope you will be too. Tentatively, the third book will be called Greater Spirits. I'll post more on that in the near future!

I've also finished another short story, and this will be coming out soon. It's called Hellfire Past, and it's both set in the world of the River Sanctuaries and based on the history I was able to study when I was in Thailand earlier in the year. The Railroad of Death, and the Hellfire Pass that was carved out for it, was a devastating history lesson, and I hope I was able to capture some of that in my story. I personally feel that it's one of my strongest pieces to date. I hope you agree. Look for more information on that soon, too!

Till next time!

   - Zabe

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Back from Thailand!

Hello Folks!

    Happy 2015! Hope all of you have had a great holiday season. As many of you probably know, I spent my holidays in Thailand this year. Thailand is a beautiful country, and I highly recommend it as a vacation destination. We spent much of the time an hour north of Kanchanaburi, where we were able to see the Bridge of the River Kwai (made famous by the movie of the same name), explore museums, learn much about the Death Railroad from WW2, including a hike through the Hellfire Pass, explore many Buddhist Wats (temples) and see the famous Tiger Temple. The history of the area is rich, and I have a short story already started from what I learned (a few more ideas floating about too).
In the Safety of Sunflowers

  The end of the trip finished up south of Bangkok in a much more tourist oriented town known as Pattaya. The town has a beautiful beach area, and destinations that range from the very adult centric (the town did start growing when it became the R&R destination for Vietnam soldiers) to the extremely family friendly. There are some amazing gardens in the area, and more rich history to explore. Definitely worth checking out if you get the opportunity.

Chilling with Thomas's Alter Ego
Sending Wishes up with a floating lantern
 Now I'm back in the real world, fighting off jet lag and getting ready to return to the grind. This should be a fairly busy year. I've got a short story centered on depression that I've gotten good feedback on. I'm going to do one more edit on it then start shopping it around. If I can get it published through a magazine that'd be great for boosting the visibility of my other stories, but if I don't like the terms offered then you can expect to see it published along side Safety of Sunflowers. I'm really liking what I've got laid out for the other short story inspired by my trip, so I'll probably run it by some magazines first as well.
Riding Elephants
Getting Grabbed by Other Elephants

Then of course, I'll put my nose back to the grind stone on Book 3. I plan for it to finish out the current storyline from Waking Up Dead and The Glacier of Gods and Monsters, but there is a lot that needs to happen to properly wrap things up. I won't hesitate to put it into two books if it really needs to be.
A Scenic Hike

Alright, back to unpacking. Enjoy your January and for those in Winter, try to stay warm! Coming from the tropics back to Texas in January means that's my most difficult goal :)

-Zabe






Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Century Mark

It's really difficult to figure out just what a baseline of expectation should be for sales. As a new author with limited marketing funds and no public name, I knew I had to aim high but set my expectations low. A large number of self published books don't sell more than one or two copies, and those are often relatives trying to support you. Per some slightly dated data I was able to track down from Nielsen's BookScan, 79% of published books sell fewer than 99 copies. 16% of all books published make it to the 100-999 range. That's not many. 3 out of every 200 books published.






I'm extremely happy to say that Waking Up Dead is officially into that 16%. Less than a year after its debut, it has over a hundred purchased copies out there, with a number of others who have told me they still intend to pick it up. Thank you folks. I couldn't have done it without you.

Now to set my sites on that 5% who bust 1000+!