From the Desk of J.M. Poole

I just created a new giveaway for a signed paperback copy of Insurrection, second book of the Bakkian Chronicles trilogy.  This is the story that will see a member of Lentari’s royal family kidnapped, the daring rescue, battles with trolls, encounters with griffins, and a dragon and corgi becoming friends (the scene from the cover).

This contest is open to residents of the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Australia!  All you need to do to enter is have an account with GoodReads.  It’s easy and free!  Good luck to all who enter!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Insurrection

by Jeffrey M. Poole

Giveaway ends March 31, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

To those of you that might be wondering why there’s a Protected page here (see the last post), I wanted to give an explanation in case anyone thought I was acting like a snob.  🙂

Another author from the book club that I co-moderate, Indie Book Club from Goodreads, asked for some help on his book that I’m presently reading.  The problem was, he didn’t want what was being discussed out in the public in case it gave away any details of his book.  We tried to create a private thread in Goodreads, but apparently GR doesn’t have that capability.  I know WordPress does, which is what this site runs on, so I volunteered to move the conversation here.  And it’s password protected.

For those of you who don’t know, like the character Steve in the Bakkian Chronicles, I am a Microsoft Certified computer tech.  I go around to residences and businesses and fix whatever is ailing their computers.  So tech problems, formatting problems, software problems, you name it I’ve seen it.  I’ll even go so far as to make this offer to any fans of the series…  got a computer problem?  Ask away!  I’ll be more than happy to see if I can point you in the right direction!

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Back to work on The Lost City!

J.

It’s Wednesday.  It’s my duly-designated day to write.  I don’t see clients today.  I typically won’t run errands today.  Just write.  Seeing how I’m now relying on the royalties I receive as a way to pay the bills, I figured it was the least I could do so that I can continue to release stories in a timely manner.

What’s holding me up today, you might ask?  Writer’s block?  Nope.  Sick dog?  Nope, although it’s happened before.   Ate too much?  Aha!  Therein lies the problem.  Damn Chinese food.  That all-you-can eat restaurant certainly didn’t make their money on me today.  It was the first time my mother and I visited that restaurant, so clearly I had to try a little of everything, right?  Well, I’m paying for it now.  I want to curl up into a ball and take a nap.  However, my wife is working and I believe in equality.  She works, I work.  Since I won’t take clients today, that means I write.

I know what you’re thinking.  Suck it up, take your punishment, and get back to work!  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Easier said than done.  It’s gorgeous outside!  70 degrees!  I’d much rather be insde.  I can’t wait for it to get dark again and I can play with my telescope.

Now wait.  Before you jump to the wrong conclusions, and I have to tell you to pick your mind up out of the gutter, I want to say that I meant that literally.  I have an 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain Meade telescope that I can control wirelessly from my iPad.  It’s awesome!  I have an astronomy app that shows me what the sky looks like from my location (I input my lattitude/longitude), and my wife bought me the wifi adapter that plugs into my telescope, and then my iPad connects to it wirelessly.  It’s a lot of fun.

But, it’s a toy.  I have work to do.  I am really enjoying how this story is developing.  My wife is pointing out flaws in previous chapters (which I’ve corrected), so hopefully when I get ready to give the story to the editor it won’t come back to me resembling swiss cheese.  I guess what I mean to say is, I really love writing.  I might not be the best at it, but I sure as hell will strive to be better.  That’s why I tell everyone who reads my stories that if you find something that is wrong, or else you didn’t like something (concept or execution), let me know and I’ll see what I can do!  The fans are what makes this possible and I enjoy interacting with you guys!

Kendall, just wanted to say that not only is Athos armed with a crossbow, he is also armed with a dragon-shaped collapsible boomerang he keeps strapped to his left forearm!

J.

I posted this question on my Facebook page, but I also thought I should post this here.

I have a question. Since I have released all three books in the Bakkian Chronicles, I’m thinking about releasing an omnibus, namely all three books as one ebook.

I was also thinking about including the short story I wrote, Bakkian Chronicles – the Disneyland Debacle, with it. It’s a story I wrote for an anthology to benefit Lyndsey Roughton, a young woman dying of cancer.

What do you think? Should I or shouldn’t I? And if I do, what price should I charge?

I’ll also mention that The Lost City is progressing nicely! I’ve since restructured my week to allow for nothing but writing on Wednesdays and Fridays. You know what? It’s working! I’m really enjoying how this story is playing out! I’ve used quite a few of the name suggestions and I’m nowhere close to being done. Thanks again for all the help!

I’ll keep everyone posted with progress updates. Got questions? Suggestions? Or find a typo? Please let me know!

Been chatting with some really cool fans on my FB page. I’ve been asking for some new monsters, weapons, and even have some really good ideas for new jhorun. I thank everyone who took the time to give me their suggestions.

Got some ideas for a new monster? Would you like to see a seldom used monster make an appearance in Lentari? Have a suggestion for a dwarfish weapon? Let me know! Add me on FB or feel free to leave a message here. I’m always open to suggestions from the fans!

I do like the idea of a boomerang, so I’ll have one of the dwarfs carrying a throwing weapon. I figure I’ll have another dwarf, maybe two, carrying crossbows. Will have to see if I can come up with a cool design/look for it. Again, if anyone has suggestions, or has come across pictures of some really cool looking medieval weapons, let me know, would you? I’d appreciate it!

I posted about this on my FB page but also thought I’d bring this up here. Ever have an awkward moment of silence with a complete stranger? And I will preface this by saying it was a pleasant awkward moment for me. If I can describe a situation like that. 🙂

Anyway, I was seeing a client for my other job (computer tech). I fixed their laptop, encrypted their wifi network, etc. And before I left, the client’s wife approached me with her Nook and showed me that she had purchased/read all three of my books. She looks me pointedly in the face and inquired when the next book will be released.

Now, I have told some of my clients that I’m also a fantasy author, but I’m pretty sure I hadn’t told these two before. Actually, I’m quite certain of it. Anyway, I looked back at this friendly older lady and looked stupidly down at her Nook.

“You read my books?” I asked, sounding remarkably like a gawky teenager.
“Yes! I loved them! When’s the next one coming out?”

So my tech call morphed into a Q&A session about fantasy books, the steps necessary to publish a book, etc. I must have sat around their house for close to 30 minutes just chatting with them about being an author. I think it was the first time that I was recognized as an author. Logic would suggest that I must have told them I was an author at some point in time, but I just don’t think I did. Then again, as my wife wouldn’t hesitate to point out, my memory is going.

And no, I didn’t charge them for the extra time!

I also want to take a quick moment to offer a word of thanks for all the fans that stop by to see what’s going on! I’m seeing a lot of visitors from many different countries, which just thrills me to death! All across the US and UK, Canada, France, Italy, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, South Africa, Chile, Denmark, Romania, and just recently, New Zealand and Finland! Woo-hoo! Thanks, everyone!

Not everyone observes Turkey Day, so I’ll just say that if you do, I hope you eat your weight in turkey!! Didn’t you know? This is one of the very rare days when calories don’t count. So pig out! Rest assured I was no different. I was fortunate enough to marry a girl who is an awesome cook!

Still, I’ve had a great year. Released my third book. My wife and I are in good health. I thought my dog Keeley had cancer earlier this year but turned out to be valley fever. Not pleasant but very treatable. Very thankful it wasn’t cancer. Ugh. Went to a bad place. Nevertheless, we have been very fortunate.

I enjoy interacting with everyone, so by all means keep the names, suggestions, and critique coming! As for me, I’m going to return to my pumpkin pie induced coma…

This can only be considered a good thing. Think of how many people live over there that love to read! It’s very exciting news, especially if you’re an Indie author, which I am. I know quite a few fans will be happy to hear about this!

So for those of you that would like to purchase my books in the UK, from Barnes and Noble, you can find them here! The latest book, Amulet of Aria, hasn’t shown up there yet, but it will soon. For now, feel free to download my first book, The Prophecy, free! It’s on me!

Whoops, should have started with this. Happy Halloween! I hope everyone stays safe!

The first time I asked the fans for a little help in naming a character for the third Bakkian Chronicles book, it was a huge hit. I had people from all corners of the globe giving suggestions. I used quite a few of them!

I’ve started working on my next book. It’s also set in Lentari. There will be a few returning characters but there will also be some new ones. Dragons, dwarves, and humans are just a few of the species who will be putting in appearances.

Think you have an idea for a character name? Let me know! It just might end up in my next book!