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The Beast has Finally Been Claimed
It took us a lot longer than we first expected. Oh sure, we realized it was possible, but there couldn’t really be that much of a story to tell about Crystal and her troubled life when she stumbled onto the affairs of a pack of werewolves. Turns out there was a lot of story – and even more that has yet to be told. But we (Dawn Michelle and I, acting as her ever faithful advisor and scribe) wrapped it up in six parts of a paranormal serial romance. And the sixth part of the Claimed by the Beast is finally out!
The story doesn’t really end there though. Or maybe it does… the problem is, I started asking her about some of the other characters and, combined with our vacation Mackinaw City in Michigan, a new story began to take form. It was something different for both us, a historical paranormal romance. It was rough at first, trying to slip fantasy into the history of the world as it really happened, but we think we’ve found a way.
So after a late night brain storming session I’ve mapped out how to break out the ideas and breathe life into them. What remains will be a single prequel book called Taken by the Beast. The elders of the pack Crystal encountered have their own tragic stories that deserve to be told, and readers deserve to know them.
So, Dawn Michelle fans, don’t worry that this is the end of Claimed by the Beast, there will be more to come, hopefully as soon as September.
Until then, here’s the cover and links to part 6 of Claimed by the Beast. Or if you want to start at the beginning, you can find it here: (Amazon, Amazon UK, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smaswhords – all of them free!).
(part 6 is not available anywhere else yet)
And as for Jason Halstead… in a day or two I’ll be posting about my latest release, Voidhawk – Broken Shards. It’s fantasy like you can’t begin to imagine and brings back all your favorite characters and then some!
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.
Fur and Motorcycles
I’ve been quiet on the blogging front lately, but it’s been for a darn good reason. I’ve been busy! Busy collaborating and helping to get new books out. New books that are doing far better than I thought possible. The books are titled, “Claimed by the Beast, and officially they’re under the name Dawn Michelle, which happens to be shared by my love wife. The author’s picture matches too, so what gives?
Well, the official version of the story is that I’m taking her influence and ideas and helping to rework them into this paranormal romance serial novel. Claimed by the Beast – Part One (UK link) has spent almost a week now in the top 200 ranking of all free books in the UK (including multiple genre lists with it ranked at a solid #1 position). Book Two (UK link), which is $.99, is on three top 10 lists in the UK and overall ranked somewhere under 1500. In the US it’s higher, but still on some top 100 lists and doing well.
What’s so special about it? Well there’s teen angst / high school senior drama without the sparkles and ridiculous Twilight-esque nonsense. There’s werewolves, witches, and a few other paranormal tie-ins. No vampires, sparkly or otherwise. She’s getting lots of feedback and a growing mailing list that, quite frankly, leaves me jealous. People are loving it and even I have to admit I’m having a lot of fine putting thoughts to paper and working out the details.
I mentioned parts 1 and 2, well part 3 will hopefully be released this weekend. Part 4 is still being edited and part 5 we’re hard at work writing. Her plan, at this point, is to wrap it up in 6 parts. We’ll see if that happens. Already the thought of a spin off serial is up in the air though, which is good and bad news.
What, good and bad? Great for her readers, but collaborating on another series will slow my own production down. Not to fear though, as soon as we finish up Claimed by the Beast I’m returning to put out another novel myself, probably my long awaited Voidhawk / Blades of Leander tie in. Then we’ll see what comes next. I’d love to do more Vitalis too, but there are only so many hours in the day.
Until then, if you’d like something a little different but still a load of fun, check out Claimed by the Beast. It’s fresh, young, and fun, but it balances that with some scary and dark themes too. It has a few sexy moments too, especially the further into the story you get. And just wait for part 4 – phew!
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’m the King of the…Road?
This post isn’t about writing. It isn’t about editing. It isn’t about my books in any fashion. No, it’s about another one of my passions. Not my family or lifting weights either. No, this is about my motorcycle. For those of you playing along at home that guessed my bike as a Harley Davidson Road King (thus the title), you earned a point!
Speaking of said bike, I’ve made two payments on it now. I’ve had some issues and I’ve spotted some design changes I think should have been made to it. More so, I’ve got a list of customizations I hope to make to it as time (and funds) come my way. This is my first Harley and there are two reason for that. The first is due to their high cost and the second is because of the many quality issues Harley’s have had. Speaking of the first issue, the cost is still up there but to add to it if you want to get work done at a Harley Davidson shop, the rates are outrageous. Incentive to do the work on my own!
To elaborate on the second issue, Harleys have gotten a lot better over the years. The oil leaks are gone and the sticky cables seem to be stick free. They even have fuel injected engines these days and finding a hardtail is virtually impossible. So yeah, they’ve done a lot with their quality and selection. These days there’s a flavor of Harley for every style. Mine happens to be the Road King.
But some bugs and quirks persist. Take the keyless remote security system. It’s a device that allows the bike to start and work when it’s within 3′ – 6′ of the bike. That means you never put the key in the bike. That also means if you use the handlebar kill switch to kill the engine, you damn well better remember to flip the ignition switch on the gas tank to off or you’ll leave your lights on. Not that I’ve done that a few times, it’s just a flaw I noticed. Compounded by the difficult of having to remove one of the saddlebags, then the seat, then the battery cover in order to jump start the battery. And charging the battery back will take approximately a half hour ride – doing it for less than that might leave it unwilling or unable to turn over and start again. That’s what this friend of mine who’s got one just like mine told me…
Having successfully changed my shutdown procedure – in light of the report from my “friend” – I was disturbed to see my check engine light come on during a ride in to work one morning. The ambient temperature was in the mid 60s and everything else was perfectly normal. My cruise control also refused to work – all the more odd since it worked fine the night before. Two days later on my way home from work (outside temp in the upper 90s) the check engine and low battery lights came on. Then they went off. Then they came on. I was looking for a pattern but couldn’t find one. Rather than going to the gym I took it to the dealership to get it resolved.
Their resolution was that it had a bad regulator. Fifteen minutes later and at no charge to me (warranties rock), it was running smooth again.
So disaster averted, right? I hope so. I’ve put a few miles on it since then without any more hiccups. My only remaining complaint is the heat. This is my fourth cruiser I’ve owned but the first one that was strictly air cooled. My next bike, I have to say, is definitely going to be liquid + air cooled. I’ve never been on a bike before that was downright miserable to ride at times because of the heat coming off the engine. Now this is only when stuck in traffic or riding slowly in 80+ degree weather, but there’s enough of that to go around to make it a serious factor for consideration.
Bikes I’ve owned and my thoughts on them:
Honda Shadow 1200cc (nice looking cruiser, okay power, didn’t like the stock seats or handlebars)
Kawasaki Nomad 1500cc (great looking cruiser / tourer, not so great seats, decent power with proper aftermarket parts, rode like a tank (aka didn’t turn all that well))
Honda VTX 1800cc (really great looking cruiser, needs aftermarket seats, great power before and after aftermarket pipes / fuel chip, a great ride)
Harley Davidson Road King Classic (really great looking cruiser, decent seat, good power with stock parts, too damn hot)
To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
Books by Jason 