Symbols – Another New Release!

I mentioned it before, but it happened faster than I expected. Beautiful cover art, thanks to Willsin Rowe, and it’s ready to roll out. Due to my ongoing frustrations with Amazon, Symbols is available everywhere in e-book format.

So what is Symbols? It’s not like my other books, for starters. Symbols is the inspiration I received while camping with my family in Silver Lake, Michigan. The area is beautiful and a lot of fun, and it quickly brought to mind a new story idea thanks to the shifting sands of the sands dunes there. Symbols is a supernatural thriller / horror story with a few scenes intended for mature audiences only (so if you’re under 18 don’t read this book. Or don’t tell me or your parents you read it, if you just can’t stop yourself because it’s just too awesome to pass up).

At first glance it seems like a pretty typical story line – unsuspecting hero finds a cursed treasure. The thing is, I never considered that trope at all while writing it. Not only that, but I twist things around so much in this story that there’s a whole lot more depth to it than it has any right to contain. As a matter of fact, while I was rereading it and doing my final content edit I noticed two things – first: I was caught up in it again and not paying attention to what I should be focusing on (changes that needed to be made) and second: how deep and well done it was. Yes, that’s right, I patted myself on the back. Hey, I’m biased, what can I say?

I’ll include the blurb for a bit more of a teaser, and you’ve already seen the cover. Finally the links where it’s available at (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and the list goes on.).

 

Alan is a man in need. Forty years old with a wife and two kids, he’d resigned himself to a life of middle class mediocrity. His only escape was the adventures he’d take hoping to learn and experience something – anything – new.

The Silver Lake sand dunes gave him that opportunity. A twist of fate led him to a treasure buried for hundreds of years beneath the shifting sands. A treasure that he can’t turn away from. A treasure that is guarded by powers beyond his understanding.

Alan’s life isn’t the only one at risk. His family has already been changed and soon the rest of the world will suffer. Setting things right means more than embracing the darkness hunting him and fighting back, it means defeating a being as old as human civilization itself.

Amazon

Amazon UK

Everyone Else

 

What’s next? Well, I’m back working on my 9^th Voidhawk book. I’m either going to call it Voidhawk – Queen of Spiders, or Voidhawk – Spider Queen. I encourage feedback on either title – so don’t hesitate to reach out and tell me which one you like more!

 

To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

 

Repeating the Past

We’ve landed back in Michigan! Safely, although it’s so darn cold up here. We can’t figure it out, moving 300 miles west, northwest and the temperatures don’t change much, but it’s just felt so bitter cold compared to where we were. Less humidity, maybe? Well whatever the case, we’re back where we started from. I spent 34 years trying to get out of Michigan and now circumstances conspire to bring me back. They’re good circumstances though. A good job and we’re close to family again (a 75 minute drive is a lot closer than 5 hours!).

Another thing that surprised me is the wildlife population. I’ve lived in Michigan, Utah, and Ohio now and they all have their critters, but Michigan seems to be the one most overrun with deer. I’m a hunter, or at least I used to be, but I didn’t have any places to hunt at until I returned to Michigan. I’d always heard that Ohio had monster bucks, but I hardly ever saw any deer while I was down there, let alone any bucks. I did see herds of elk and antelope in Utah, but never had a chance to try and chase one down. Maybe some day when the books take off I can afford a hunting trip out that way. Until then I’m looking forward to Michigan’s hunting season next year.

Another thing that makes this go-round in Michigan better than the past is my location. I’m living in an amazing house on the outskirts of Detroit. Sure, the rent is high enough I thought I was going to have to prematurely donate some organs to afford it, but we’ve managed to make do with it. The moving process was horrible, complete with a breakdown on the side of I-80 during a blizzard courtesy of a flat tire on the rental trailer, but we arrived safe and sound eventually.

All that remains is unpacking and getting things taken care of. We’re almost there too. I have a few more things to take care of, including running an electrical outlet for our treadmill in the basement and reassembling my home gym (scheduled to be done this weekend). A few more things need to be cleaned out of the garage so I can start parking my truck in it. And lastly I’m waiting on some computer parts to be delivered so I can rebuild my aging dinosaur of a desktop and clean up my office.

That’s right, I’ve got my own office. It’s great! Throughout the last week and a half I’ve been able to use it to continue writing my latest book, Victim of Fate (the sequel to Child of Fate, book 1 in my Blades of Leander series). It’s a fantasy book and in the measure of many great second stories, darker than the first. I’m having a lot of fun with it though. At this point I figure I’m five or six chapters away from finishing it. That doesn’t include the two or three extra chapters that always find a way to sneak in when I’m not looking though.

After that, who knows what’s next. I’ve got a lot of options and I catch myself thinking about them from time to time, trying to decide which one excites me the most and is ready for the rubber to meet the road. The only thing I can be sure of is that I’ll let you know when I know!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Hidden Treasures

It might surprise you to learn that this article is not going to be about the Megadeth album released in 1995 that contained previously recorded but unreleased tracks from prior albums. I’m sure that’s what you were expecting, right?

Well instead this is about the current chaos we’re living through over here. We’re moving in eight days. Got the moving truck lined up plus a bunch of trailers. We’re headed from Howland Center, Ohio to Novi, Michigan. Higher cost of living but a magnificent house. Come to think of it, just about everything costs more up there (health insurance, vehicle insurance, gas, food, the list goes on and on). So why do it? Security. The security of a job working for the US Army. No, I didn’t enlist. I did that once almost twenty years ago (Air Force). I’m going to be writing code and working with databases for the army in relation to their tanks. For the first time in a long time I feel like I have a job where I’m actually contributing to something useful. I’m not helping people sate their addiction to gambling, I’m not helping con artists sell snake oil in the guise of super-foods, and I’m not building random parts for automobiles that aren’t particularly enjoyable to drive. Maybe I’m acting silly, but this time around I’m going to be part of a force that can make a difference in the world.

Self-righteous justification aside, this maelstrom of boxes and bubble wrap we’re wading through brought some things to light that had been long lost and forgotten about. An ARC copy of Voices from a few years back. A printed rough draft of Bounty for editing purposes, and a hand written outline of a fantasy story I’d dreamed up ten years ago or so called Silver Arrows.

Silver Arrows, as I now remember it, was the story of a fantasy ranger that lost his fire. He was bitter and sick of just about everything he’d encountered but still pushed on because he was too damn stubborn to do anything about it. Then he saves a young girl captured by slavers and takes her as his own daughter to raise her and teach her his ways. He finds his way again through her, but then I think something bad happens to her and he has to go and rescue her or prove some other form of his bad-assery.

Looking back on it now, it needs a lot more to make it work, but it’s a good baseline to start from. Instead I think I’m going to ditch the entire thing but use it as inspiration for a book down the line in my Blades of Leander series. I’m on book 2, Victim of Fate, right now and it’s clipping along nicely when I can sneak some time in for writing. It’s going to be a doozy of a book, longer than the first one I’m almost certain. Book 3 will end the unofficial trilogy, so perhaps Silver Arrows can be book 4 in the series. Of course I’ll tie this new ranger guy in with Alto and the other Blades of Leander, so he won’t be the central focus of the story but still a major character. I see a lot of great fun to be had with it, as well as some heartache and the requisite bad-assery.

That’s not the only thing on my plate though. I’ve still got the third book in my Dark Earth series to write and I’m coming up with a new idea for the next Voidhawk book. Believe it or not, I found some cool Windows 8 themes that I loaded onto my aging laptop and one of the desktop backgrounds is a really neat fantasy picture that sparked the beginning of some amazing Voidhawk style ideas. I’m not letting them burst into full flames yet though – I’ve got to finish Victim of Fate first. But the great news is that there will be more Voidhawk coming down the road.

Inspiration comes from the strangest places. For me it can be wilderness / nature or a picture on a screen. I wrote an exceptionally long book many years ago that was not fit for publication based entirely off a picture of a woman that captivated me. I’ve been inspired by songs before (Evanescence and Megadeth, to name a couple of bands that made great muses for me), by events, and even by other stories I’ve read or movies I’ve seen. I’ll grab anything I can that gets the creative juices flowing and run with it!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

The Greatest Compliment a Writer Can Get

Yesterday was a rough day. Not just for me, but for most (if not all) of America. And none more so than the affected families of what took place in Connecticut. But I’m not writing this to try and generate some interest in my blog or my books. I’m not trying to draw attention or divert focus from anyone dealing with that tragedy, nor the years and years of painful suffering the perpetrators deserve to receive.

No, I’m writing because amidst all the news about that and my own House Hunter-esque experience yesterday, I received an email that took my mind away from the stress of the day and ended the day on about the highest note it could. It wasn’t a job offer or a winning lottery ticket. It wasn’t news that I’d landed a book or a movie deal in the six figures. It was an email from a woman that had read my Lost Girls series and felt compelled to write me because my words had made a major impact on her.

I don’t know the details and if I did, I wouldn’t share them. It’s a private matter for her, not for the general public. I feel incredibly honored to have been given the opportunity to reach out to her in the first place, let alone receive a note from her sharing that my stories gave her the strength she needed to come to terms with certain things in her life. Maybe a thank you note doesn’t pay the bills the bills or put food on the table, but it did a whole lot more than that as far as I’m concerned.

Katalina Wimple, the main character in The Lost Girls series, was and is very dear and special to me. She’s not based on anybody I’ve ever known, but instead she’s got more than a little bit of all of us inside of her. She’s a strong character that wants the world to respect her and be impressed by how tough she is, yet on the inside she’s as fragile and screwed up as can be. That’s no so different from the rest of us, I imagine. But Katy takes it to a new level, trying so hard to do the right thing and risking it all for the people she trying to help that her own well being takes second billing. The girl’s had a rough life, plain and simple, and she’s done nothing to make it easier on herself.

But she learns and grows over the span of the four to six books (four main books in the Lost Girls series, with two stand alone books that she appears in). From fiesty and irritating she grew on me and became a dear friend. More than that, in fact, she became very important to me. Yes, she’s fictional and I realize that may make me sound deranged, but it’s okay. I’m a writer – it’s allowed.

Katy’s story was never about just her, to me. It was about possibilities and overcoming challenges. It was about how we can all discover ourselves and get what we want in life, although for some of us (like Katy) it might require some pretty drastic events to realize what’s truly important. And no, I’m not going to offer up my thoughts on the meaning of life. Yours are going to be different than mine, no matter whether you think you’ve got it figured out or you’re sure you do. I know I don’t, but I’m doing okay right now and that’s the most I think anyone can ask of ourselves.

So why not go check out Katalina and see what could be so special about her that could practically change a person’s life? The first book, The Lost Girls, is free. I can’t make it not take any time for you to read, but if you’ve got an open mind and don’t mind an occasionally stubborn and grating female lead, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Oh, and the House Hunters thing? We looked at three places near Detroit yesterday. The first, and cheapest, was okay but quite a drive. The second, and highest price, was an unfinished dump. The third was in the middle price-wise and it took our breaths away. Just trying to work with the owners to come to an agreement on things. Well that and wait for my security clearance to be processed so I can start at the new job. Those are the only remaining roadblocks, although selling a lot more books would probably help a lot too.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

I Get Around

I’ve been a lot of places. I started out in Michigan and, aside from a few vacations, stayed there until I was old enough to know better. Michigan’s a beautiful state with four seasons and a lot of outdoor opportunities without any major risk of dangerous wildlife. Oh sure, you can be gored by a deer and there are wolves, black bear, coyotes, moose, and elk the further north you go, but not very many. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is filled with wonderful natural locations: mountains, rivers, waterfalls, shoreline of the great lakes, and (mostly) a lack of industrialization. My family owns some land up near Marquette, in fact, complete with a small river and a water fall on it (and no power!). It’s a breathtaking getaway in the summer or winter. The UP became part of the inspiration for my book, Dark Earth.

But I left Michigan at the tender age of 18. I joined the Air Force and went to Texas. I came back and ended up moving around lower Michigan, mostly near Lansing and Kalamazoo. I’m not sure which city I preferred more, but for nature and landscape my heart was still set on the UP. Then my wife and I visited my in-laws in Phoenix, Arizona and I was blown away.

It’s hard to compare temperate forests with a desert landscape. It felt like I was on another planet, although a very neat one. I never visited during the high heat of summer so I got to enjoy mild temperatures and an outside and diverse countryside. It was every bit as beautiful  as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but in a totally different way: tall and severe mountains, dry washes and gullies, sagebrush and cacti. Not to mention the ghost towns (real or fabricated for tourist traps). It fired up my imagination in ways I never expected and became the backdrop for several books, including Wanted, The Lost Girls, Bound, and Black Widow.

Next came a move to southeastern Utah. A little town called Moab which has the title of the mountain biking capital of the world. In the summer with tourism the population can swell to 5,000. Massive. But for the lack of size and numbers it more than makes up for it in high desert beauty. It’s similar to Phoenix but not as hot, a lot higher altitude (close to a mile up), and a little wetter. Moab is located in a canyon and it hosts countless natural wonders that steal your breath and bring a tear to your eye. Towering columns of rock, massive canyons bested only by the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and the arches of rock made famous in post cards, portraits, and license plates. Heck, John Wayne called Moab “where God put the west.” Indeed, many of his films had scenes shot in or around Moab, as well as Thelma and Louise (the car driving over the edge of a cliff), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the tank chase), and several others I can’t remember. Moab also factored heavily into my books, Ice Princess. Just south a couple of hours is Monument Valley, which was an important location in my book, Traitor.

While we lived in Moab I had the opportunity to get away for a vacation to Las Vegas. My first trip there (I’ve been back once since and really enjoyed it the second time) was a little rocky due to lack of sleep and some major blisters from walking the strip excessively (had to make sure I saw it all!). I didn’t get away from Vegas at all to see the countryside (I still want to visit Hoover Dam someday), but I saw enough and experienced enough to factor it heavily into a couple more of my books: Wolfgirl and Bounty.

Then I came back from Utah to northeastern Ohio, near Youngstown (about an hour southeast of Cleveland and an hour northwest of Pittsburgh). Ohio is considered the midwest and by and large it was fairly flat land with lots of agriculture, industrialization, and forested land. A fair amount of lakes and even Lake Erie an hour to the north. We really enjoyed living here even if I missed the raw excitement of nature. Great schools, great people (mostly – I have a few exceptions to that generalization), and great opportunities. It wasn’t until we followed a suggestion by a friend and checked out a place called the Nelson Ledges that I really found something natural and awesome. It reminded me of a miniaturized and temperate version of Moab. Ledges, ravines, waterfalls, even some small caves. In the middle of nowhere, it was amazing. So amazing that the Nelson Ledges became a critical location in my book, Devil’s Icebox.

And now it looks like we’re heading back up to Michigan. This time on the eastern side, near Detroit. I sincerely hope this is the last major move, but by no means is it going to be the end of my travels. I’ve been on a cruise in the Caribbean and would love to do it again. I’ve got a passport and a strong urge to visit Europe and Australia, and perhaps other places as well. I may not want to move but I’ve got a lot of years and a lot of miles left in me. And as you can probably tell, I get a lot of inspiration from traveling so it’s definitely time to find some new backdrops for some exciting stories!

Hmm, I wonder if I could vacation in Hawaii and claim it as a business expense?

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.