The Aegis is dying. The Fiends are coming.
Nothing like an ominous start to the new year. Welcome to 2023, folks, and let's all hope the demons stay in the novels where they belong.
Turns out writing makes for a good escape during the holiday craziness, even if young kiddos at home means that writing has to happen late at night or early in the morning. Spending time in those word mines meant I was able to finish up the first book in a new Fantasy series. The book's called The Price of Peace and it's up and about for pre-order at a bit cheaper than you'll find it at launch. The full blurb and whatnot's a bit further down.
I'm excited about this one because this novel, this world is going to be the home for a whole slew of stories going forward, ones exploring strange magics, fun characters, and creatures right out of your nightmares. Or dreams, depending on who you are. Expect the following books to come this spring and summer - it's cooking fast, and I'm hoping you'll enjoy it.
But because the life of an author is one of a multi-tasker these days, other shenanigans are afoot in the Black Key Books world. You'll see more about those below, all split off into their own sections, because who doesn't like organization?
One last programming note - I used to jot down random posts on this here website, onees that often included descriptions of games I've been playing. Turns out, somebody liked those enough to ask me to do it here and there professionally, so you'll start seeing some pieces by yours truly popping up over at Noble Knight's Gaming Hall. The store itself is a whopping few minutes from my house, which means I get to pester them when there's a game I want to write about. I'm sure they won't regret letting me in the door . . .
Anyway, I hope you've all had a great holiday season! Now we're in January's doldrums, which means it's time to put down the hot chocolate and get back to the chapters. Stay warm out there, folks, and happy reading.
~Adam
The Aegis is dying, and the fiends are coming.
Across the Seven Isles, whispers sound of strange creatures haunting steps, of disappearances and deaths. Those rumors don’t reach the jungles of Vis, where Wax and his friends journey far from home seeking a rare treasure. What waits for them beneath the dark canopy is beyond anything they could expect, or believe.
As the shield protecting the isles fails, an old Guardian picks up his axes, determined to find, and finish once and for all, the reason the one he loved sacrificed herself for peace. If his efforts are too little, too late, then still more might be lost monsters or the hidden machinations of the powerful and pitiless.
The Price of Peace launches a new fantasy action-adventure series, where new threats and strange places wait on every page. Take up your sword, your staff, your sail and join a quest that will reveal the hidden secrets of a wild, deadly world.
The Price of Peace is available now for pre-order at your favorite retailer (print versions will be available on launch!).
The Wild Nines are getting a new coat of paint, along with a typo-squashing, story streamlining edit. You can find Wild Nines and Dark Ice up and available everywhere now, with the sequels coming along soon.
This includes, as with every new version we're doing, large print and hardcover versions if those are more your thing. AI Audio too.
Black Key Books now has a YouTube Channel! You might not think it makes much sense, but audiobooks play nice over there with all those videos, and we're uploading our AI Audio editions as they get finished. So if you're a YouTube fan, stop on over, check'em out, and subscribe.
As a sidenote to this, the channel will be going ad-supported in the coming months. Purchasing an audiobook from, say, Google Play or our coming human-narrated versions gaurantees an ad-free listening experience, so you're still getting value. That said, if you'd prefer the YouTube option, it's there for you.
Expect future titles at a monthly pace or so.
If you've been waiting to dive into the Sever Squad military sci-fi series, you can now find the ebook box set available across the board. This version includes all six novels at a slightly cheaper price and a convenient package. A great way to blast across the galaxy.
You'll see more box sets coming out as we complete revising older titles, so keep an eye out for those. Unfortunately, if you prefer the printed versions, these sets get too large on the page count and print cost, so we'll likely only make ebook (and audio) editions of these.
On that note, stay tuned for human-narrated editions of Sever Squad. They'll be coming along later this Spring (March/April the most likely months for the first couple books). The early returns are awesome, and lots of fun, so I hope you'll enjoy them!
That's all for this month - thanks again for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful start to 2023!