December 2023

 We made it to the end of the year...It's been a mixed bag for me, but let's jump into book stuff first.

First off we talk about what came last which had been LV7. It did, okay-ish, but the drop off over the series has been speeding up, sadly. I have 1-2 more books in the series to wrap it up. It's still on my targeted path for the series, thankfully.
For those who were hoping for an eastern book, because of where book 7 ended. It wasn't ever going to happen. I always intended to keep the book focused on the western theme. Which means you will see book 8 pick up with Doc returning to Emerita. Luck's Voice 8: Emerita Divided, is going to bring a lot of conflict.

Now for those who are waiting for the audio of LV7, some bad news. It's not going to be recorded until February. Hang one, hang on, there's a reason. I have a recording slot with Andie here in December. This is when she would normally record LV7, but I'm having her do BW11 instead. Why? Because BW11 is the end of the series, and I'm hopeful to get the audio for it released in January so no one has to wait for the end of the series overly long. Though that does mean people have to wait for LV7 a bit longer.

Speaking of BW11: Divine Agreements, it's currently slated for December 16. If I can get it back and polished and put together before then, then I will push it out sooner. Andie will have the best copy for it I have when she starts to record even if it's not officially out yet. This way she can begin while things are still being handled. Might mean she has to make a few more corrections, but we agreed it would be better this way.

That leads us to what follows BW11 which is, Aether's Revival 8: Proven Strength. We get into the Krogga arc with Gregory.  Here we get to see another country in more depth than we did Buldoun. We have been told repeatedly about Krogga being strength focused and how dangerous it can be. But we also get to see something from outside of the lens of the Empire...which is fun. And yes for all those wondering, the shadows are finally stripped from Darkness in this book. Your theories and suspicions will be laid bare for you to either crow with joy at having figured it out, or be flummoxed by what is.

When I finish with AR8, I'll be shifting to Heavenly Chaos 1. This does jump the schedule a bit, but only because I want to see how the first book does. HC is a litrpg-cultivation series, it mixes the tropes of some cultivation with hard numbers for the litrpg side of things. The setting is a multi-verse of kingdoms that all cultivate with futurish tech, but fighting with magic and weapons that harness the power of the Heavens. The MC does not come from a happy place, and the trauma he has faced all his life is a key component of the series. Which does kind of bring us back to AW in a way of how trauma can shape people.
I had a lot of fun writing it, and hope people love reading it when it comes out next year. HC1 has been written for months as it took up my free time as it was screaming to get told. So I will be writing HC2 in the spot for HC1 so I can have a little buffer for once on where I am compared to my editors.

After HC1, the rotation will restabilize as AL3, LV8, AR9, HC2. HC takes the place of BW, but jumbles the rotation slightly due to me pushing it out after AR. That does mean AL3 and LV8 get delayed by 2 months, but I think it will be worth it.

The year will end with some impressive numbers. I will have published 8 books: AL1, DW4, LV6, BW10, AR7, AL2, LV7, and BW11. Because of me giving up my free time to write HC1 and GD1, I have as of December 1st written 985,927 words, across 9 books. That's 200k above normal because of HC1 and GD1.
For those wondering GD is Grafting Demons, and is likely the series that will fill for LV when it ends. It'll be a cyberpunk world without chrome but demons parts that augment people instead. I'm looking forward to it when it comes.

Now onto the personal bits of the year that sucked. If you were only here for Book stuff you can stop reading. This year has seen my family lose 2 cats and 1 dog; Fluff and Baby were both good kitties, but Fluff ended up with cancer and baby's lung issues got her. Lowkey, our mute husky sass boy...his numerous medical problems caught up to him too. We did a lot for the three fur-babies, but in the end they passed. They are sorely missed as they brought us love for years, but now they wait beyond the rainbow bridge for us.

Otherwise, we are dealing with ongoing medical problems for both girlfriends. Waiting for tests results and answers still. The human body, for all of our technology, still causes confusion and uncertainty about how and why things go wrong. We hope 2024 bring s us solutions and answers.

As for me, well...I didn't use a CPA for my taxes in 2021...so now the IRS is having a fit with me. This has brought my stress levels way up, as no one ever wants to deal with the IRS. Wouldn't have been as bad if I had ever received a letter from them before the one that said, "see you in tax court", but well...yeah. No letters before means I got blindsided like a motherfucker by that bit of news. Hopefully this gets resolved with minimal trouble, but with a government agency involved...I'm not getting my hopes up.

As you can see 2023 some good, some bad. Now to hope 2024 is better.

Stay safe out there and see you when the year begins again.

Daniel Schinhofen
Schinhofen Books

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

November 2023

 Spooky month has passed on, and made way for Giving Thanks Month.

To start with LV7: Rail-Laid Plans just came out, on Oct. 25th. Doc was back with his mission given to him by luck to same the planet. I had a lot of fun expanding on Emerita with this one. It really pushed things along for the series. Hope you enjoyed it if you read it, or will enjoy it if you haven't gotten to it yet.
Luck's Voice 7: Rail-Laid Plans

The audio for the book will be lagging behind, but should be recorded by the end of the year. Which would make it likely to be a late Janurary or early February release.
Speaking of Audio we should cover the other questions. AL2: MX Hub is on preorder already and due out Dec, 5th. AR7: Moral Stand is being recorded by Andie now. That makes it likely for a December release.
https://www.audible.com/pd/MX-Hub-Audiobook/B0CJ5WCJYZ

Okay, with last book published talked about and audio covered we can move on. I'll pause for a second here to thank everyone for their support over the last 7 years. I have been officially published since Oct. 3rd 2016, when Last Horizon: Beta was released. I'm past 50 books published now and still rolling along, all because of you supporting me. You have my deepest thanks for that.

With that covered let's talk about what comes next. Which is bittersweet news. Binding Words 11: Divine Agreements will be the next book published. Current estimated release is Jan 1 2024. This is the last book of the BW series. 5+ years of Sean on his journey to tell his story. Man, it's been something special. My longest running series to date, it'll be sad to no longer be there with him, but also a relief that I gave the series a satisfying, at least to me, conclusion. I can't wait for you all to read it and experience the ups and downs of it with me.
Audio for that will likely be recorded in February, but that will all depend on Andie's schedule, plus if she is healthy or not. I can't wait for it as I've listened to every book she's made, and when this happens, I will likely binge listen to the entire series again.

After BW we'll be moving onto Aether's Revival 8: Proven Strength. Which will bring us back to Gregory and his story. Off to Krogga where his wives and three of his friends wait for him. It's been a treat to show another nation, even more than I did with Buldoun. I think people will be a little shocked at parts of what happens in this story, but also pleased with others. I just started writing it, but man I'm loving every word so far. Probably a March 2024 release, but again all of that is subject to change.

This is where the twist comes in now. AR isn't going to be followed by Antecedents' Legacy 3. Instead, it'll be followed by the series that is going to take up BW's spot, Heavenly Chaos. I've already written it and I want to see how people enjoy it or hate it. It's a take on Cultivation, vastly different than AR and most eastern based systems. It'll have solid numbers like a LITRPG, but they will be kept in check by the system so no 5,000,000 strength stats to blow up planets because someone sneezed. I loved this book because it calls back to some earlier themes of mine. Mainly mental health which I haven't dived into since Alpha World. Hope you all enjoy it.

Following that we'll slide back into rotation with AL3, then LV8, and AR9. Hope you stick with me as we keep bending new words into the tails we've begun, and the new ones coming along behind them.

Stay safe out there as the world is a bit crazy.

Daniel Schinhofen
Schinhofen Books

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

October 2023

Spooky season is upon us, October has returned.

First things, I survived the Convid-Convention Covid- that most people I know seemed to get hit with. I was negative but all my friends had it from mild to terrible. Which includes are favorite narrator Andie. Hard to narrate when you got plugged sinus and a scratchy throat. Good news she's over it now and nearly done with TWI1 Remastered.
That means she'll be moving onto one of my books in early October. The twist is due to deadlines she'll be recording AL2, before she gets to AR7. I believe she'll be recording them both this month, but Podium needs AL2 since they already have the preorder listed for it. So good news-bad news there depending on what you are waiting for. Oh, here's the link for the preorder.

https://www.audible.com/pd/MX-Hub-Audiobook/B0CJ5WCJYZ

Speaking of AL2: MX Hub...It came out on the 6th of September as a preorder. We did have a couple of bumps with it, mostly on the back end, as I wasn't at my desk to double check everything. I do apologize to those Patreon people whose names got missed in the author note. The update was sent to Amazon and you should be on the updated version now.
It has been doing well, not Aether's well, but well enough. I'm gratified as I love being able to do this sci-fantasy series, and hope you will all stay with me as I get to expand and evolve the universe Zander has appeared in.

Amazon.com: MX Hub (Antecedents' Legacy Book 2) eBook : Schinhofen, Daniel: Kindle Store

Which brings us on to what comes next. The next book to be published will be Luck's Voice 7: Rail-Laid Plans. Current release date is slated for November 15, but as always I will be trying to move it up. That will depend on edits, but we have a good track record on early releases. I really enjoyed writing this one as it expands Emerita outside of Coalrud. Things were set in motion with book 6, and I wonder how many guessed what will happen in book 7. Hope you all enjoy it.

As LV7 is with the editors though that does mean I've moved onto BW11. BW11: Divine Agreements, that's the working title I have at the moment. This should be the last book for Binding Words. Things were put into play with book 10 and it should all be coming to a close. I'm not sure how surprising some things will be, but I'm sure some will love it, some will hate it, and others will mostly just enjoy it.
It'll be odd to wrap the series, it's been 5 years since BW1, that came out August 2018. Wow that takes me back as I've only been published for 7 years...more on this in a bit...Five years with Sean as he tries to understand the world Morrigan sent him to. The tentative release for BW11 is January 17th, but there's a chance we might see about slipping it closer to the start of 2024, or even into the end of 2023...maybe.

Now as people will be asking, I've had 2 different series both ask me to use my free time...the little bit of time I give myself to game or read...to write them. One is a cyberpunk-ish theme but with demons. The other is more of a cultivation-LITRPG feel. Honestly, I'm leaning towards the Cultivation one. It'll have stats and skills, with a clear guide on how people advance. Most importantly though are the characters, the MC and main heroine are...flawed. It'll be interesting as I touch upon things I haven't really touched on in a while. Ah well that's all in the future.

Now back to the published author for 7 years thing I put off. October 3rd is my anniversary for that. There is a contest running until the 2nd, so you don't have much time if you want to get in on it. Facebook, Discord, and Patreon all have the contest running. You can enter once per platform, so a lot of winners who will get prizes, including a limited number of the red shirt/cameo spots. So if you haven't entered yet, do it quickly.

That's everything. Hope to see you in Thanking Season, aka November.

Daniel Schinhofen
Schinhofen books

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

September 2023

 September here we are. Except I'm letting this post a couple of days early as I'll be at DragonCon when the blog should normally be posted. Busy end of August and start of September for me.

First things first, Antecedents' Legacy 2: MX Hub is up on preodrer. Doing this so I don't have to rush trying to get things ready to publish as soon as I get back from DragonCon. Zander gets to his first space station, or Hub as they're called in this universe, and gets to see more of galactic life. I hope you all enjoy what he gets up to during his time there.
I really love this story hope that you'll all continue to enjoy it with me. There is so much to cover in this series and how things can change and grow. More hints about why the Galactic Civilization is the way it is trickle out. If you pay attention you will begin to see why somethings are the way they are.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGQKXFM3

The Patreon chapters will be getting pulled down the day I get back from Con so that the book publishes without trouble. September 7th will see the start of Luck's Voice chapters.

Speaking of Luck's Voice, I really look forward to how you enjoy that book too. Some may have seen what is coming others will not have. But the stage for Book 7 was set in Book 6. I can't say more but it'll become obvious as you read it.
I love all my books, but the fact you have all supported my weird western story makes me very happy. When you limit a story down to specific settings it can limit the audience too. Luck's made me varied worried because of that.

Luck's Voice is in editing already, while Antecedents' gets its last polish. But that leaves me with Binding Words 11 on my plate. That is what I'm currently working on, and man is it going to be something. BW11 should wrap up the series, I've been wrong before about how many books it takes, but I'm pretty confident on this one. There are only a few things that have to happen for the story to reach its conclusion. You should know what they are, and I'm not spelling them out here.
If things go right, we'll see BW in early 2024. Which will put it at a little over five years for Sean's story to be told. August 2018 is when the first book was published launching Sean's story into the open. What a ride.

For those who are waiting on audio, Andie should be recording AR7 in late September. Which might mean we see it in November. As for Al2, it'll be on her schedule, the good news is she won't have any more TWI this year, so she should easily clear the small backlog.

Well that about wraps up what i had to say for the month. DragonCon will dominate the first week for me. If you are there or in the area and want to know where to find me I've attached my schedule below. The Under the Sea event and Meet and Greet are not Con events so you don't have to attend DragonCon to show up for them. If you are around stop in and say hi.

Until next month, stay safe,
Daniel Schinhofen

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

August 2023

 Seven months down for the year. We made it to August, which has a fun point right at the end of it, DragonCon.

We'll start with books news:
Aether's Revival 7: Moral Stand came out last month. It was a different one as Gregory didn't have any of his wives or wives to be around him. Just a couple of dreams to help him keep in touch. It also encompassed all of his Adept posting to the northern fringe. It was an interesting book, with problems that Gregory had to handle, and did show his growth as a person. I'll be looking forward to the next book which will take him to Krogga.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBQFHSNK
Audio for this one will be after September as Andie won't be recording it until after DragonCon ends and her throat is healed up from the travel and convention. Which is fully understandable, we hope she doesn't have too much downtime.

Speaking of audio, BW10 audio went out mid-month in July. Andie is amazing as always, the surprising part was ACX/Audible turning the book around in a single day. Normally it takes them 2 weeks. So cheers for that. Sean and Truestrike come to blows in this book. Hope you enjoy it.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Truestrikes-Treachery-Audiobook/B0CCFBSGFD

Next up on the schedule is Antecedents' Legacy 2: MX Hub. Zander on an alien space station which has never had a Human on it before...I'm sure it'll be fine. Preview chapters of it are up on Patreon and will be until the book is ready to publish. I really enjoy this sci-fi series and hope you will all continue to enjoy it too. I can promise that Zander will be his normal self, so if you like the sarcastic asshole MC, who is interested in alien women, good news for you.

That book is with the editors as we speak, which puts me currently writing Luck's Voice 7: Rail Laid Plans. It's been an interesting story for me, some twists I didn't expect, but a solid book so far. I know where this book will end, and what that means for the future of Emerita and Doc. You might not expect some of the things coming, but what a ride.

Now let me slip into a bit about DragonCon. I've been invited to at least two panels, about for the Apocalypse Rising Track and another for Gaming and Alternative History. They might tap me as a secondary panelist for another couple or might not, we'll find out just before DC, but I'll update social media.
The big news for fans who are going to the con or are just near the Atlanta region, is the meet and greet. I've arranged a fan meet and greet at the Ritz Carlton on Peachtree street, for Thursday August 31 at 3-5 pm local time. I won't have books, but I will have shirts to give away. If you bring books, I will sign them for you. I have verbal confirmation from Andie that she will be there as well, so you can double dip on the goodness. Well, that should cover everything to this point. I hope to see those of you attending the con, or just in the area.

Until next month, stay safe.
Daniel Schinhofen
Schinhofen Books

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

July 2023

 Past the halfway mark for the year. This month is the time for legalized explosives in the US, as we celebrate Independance Day. I will be having a BBQ with family and some fountain fireworks to celebrate. But let's get into book stuff.

June didn't have a lot going on the book front. The only thing of note was Andrea recording Binding Words 10. As of this point it's with her audio editor and will likely be proofed and corrected early this month. After that it'll be down to ACX and Audible as to how long they hold onto it. We've had it go as fast as a day and as long as two months. So we're going to be up in the air over when it'll be out. I'll update Facebook, Discord, and Twitter as things advance.

July will see Aether's Revival 7: Moral Stand released to the public. No exact date known yet, but I would guess the 19th currently. Which is well in advance of our earlier projects, but that's because I never want to have to delay things. It'll be an interesting book, Greg is still away from his wives as he handles his Adept posting. It does encapsulate his entire Adept year, so there is that.

If you're super eager for a glimpse Patreon currently has preview chapters. Those have to come down before i publish as I don't want to violate KDP's rules since the book will be in KU. But that'll still mean a good dozen plus chapters seen before publication.
Once Aether's publishes, Patreon will see the early chapters for Antecedents' Legacy. As that'll be the book up after it. Really looking forward to showing more of my sci-fi series off. What could go wrong when the only Human ends up on an alien space station...heh.

I think that about wraps things up. I should note the live chat is Saturday the 15th at 6 pm Pacific time. You'll have to convert to your own time zone. No idea if Andie will join me again, but either way I will be there to give away challenge coins and answer questions.

Just a personal note for those wondering about the cats. Lowkey is recovering, but we are going to have to see someone for his allergies. Waiting for an appointment with the specialist for him. Our old cat, Lady Lapis, has kidney issues and is prone to UTIs, she had a downturn near the end of the month. After an emergency vet visit it looks like she is making a recovery.
We also have two new cats in the home. Hi-Jinx, he's a slinky black kitty who is still settling in. His bonded-friend is Freda-May, a black kitty with a white bow-tie on her chest. She is a complete pet slut, who will throw herself at anyone for more pets. The pair have brought some much-needed smiles to the home.
We hope the animals will not have any more problems going forward now...please...

Okay nothing else on my end right now. Stay safe out there, the world doesn't seem to be calming down any. Let's hope July eases way into a nice calm August.

Daniel Schinhofen
Schinhofen Books

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks

June 2023

 Here we are five of twelve months gone.
For me it's felt a bit longer than that. But I'll delve into the realm of personal later, first books.

Let's touch on what came out last month Binding Words 10: Truestrike's Treachery, came out May 24th. In true BW fashion it's been well received. I'm gratified you've all enjoyed the story. I'm fairly certain BW 11 will end the series. I don't want to spoiler things, but BW 10 touched on a lot of things, which leaves only a couple of major points to finish up. It's been a hell of a ride with BW five years in the making, but we'll likely see another twist or two before the end.
Keeping with BW news, Andie will be recording it in June. If things go well, we'll likely see it out on Audible in July, or early August. I'm excited to once again hear her put her amazing range to use as she continues to breathe life into the words of the story.

With BW10 out I've moved on to Aether's Revival 7: Moral Stand. The title took me a bit to work with, and I had to bring in the assistance of my editors who've seen bits of the story to help me settle on it. Gregory on the edge of the Northern Wilds, where eurtik's are captured as slaves. Well, it's going to be an interesting ride for sure. People on Patreon have already begun to see the preview chapters.
Patreon also had a special gift that I had made by Sage, a talented artist, a short 8-page comic, of Gregory being tested for Aether from book 1. That went up just a couple of days ago, I'm glad people have enjoyed the effort Sage put into it.
AR7 is currently slated for release August 12th, but as always I will bump that release date as things get closer, once I have firmer information on it's process through editing. It looks like it'll be a typical AR chunker too. I'll likely finish the book in the next week, then it'll be completely in the hands of the editors. I can say the book has been interesting as a few things I wasn't expecting. That's pretty normal for my books though when i think about it. The joy of being an "after action reporter" instead of a plotter who has the story fully planned out in their heads. Instead, I just write what the characters tell me, even if that does make me wonder what the hell just happened.
I have no ETA at all for audio for it expect sometime after the eBook gets released. I'll update on social as normal.

After AR7 the next book to be released will be Antecedent's Legacy 2: MX Hub. I've had that one finished for a half-year already. The editors will be able to jump straight onto it when they get to it. Zander on an alien space station, what could possibly go wrong? Expect sexy aliens, people to die, and the lone human in the universe, Terrans don't count, to do appropriately silly shit.
I will point out by the time you read this the audio for AL1 has finally finished preorder through Podium and is now out for you to hear. It was released right after Memorial Day. I know I'll be listening to it in the day or two after when i take my morning walks.

While my editors work on the above I'll be pushing into writing LV7: Rail Laid Plans. I'm currently expecting this one to break a mold, but time will only tell when I get to put words down. As stated above sometimes my characters change my expectations.

I think I've touched on everything. The giveaways during May saw nearly 40 people win various prizes from signed books to challenge coins and on to three lucky people being chosen for cameo appearances in books. I've slotted all of them into Aether's 7, something for them to look forward too.
If you want the coins, which can only be grabbed via giveaways, make it to the monthly live chats, or wait for the next social media giveaway in October to celebrate my 1st book publication anniversary.

Now I'm going to delve into personal shit for just a minute. Those who keep up on Twitter with me know my animals have had a pretty shit year. Our dog, Lowkey, who tried to bleed himself to death has finally stopped trying that. He then went on to eating his own legs raw, we think we've fixed that as well. If things are right, he's on his ay to full recovery now.
Our old disapproving boy, Fluff, a mini-Maine coon cat, was found to have advanced cancer. He's too weak to survive chemo or surgery, and the surgery wouldn't help much as the cancer is too far gone to help. We're spoiled the hell out of him for a couple of weeks, but he faded quick even with the meds they gave him. May 31st we had to let him go. It's sadder here without our mighty warrior who could bunny kick with the best of them.
Which brings us to our other cat, Baby aka Huss, she's had asthma for years, but May saw her really labor to breathe and the inhaler not help. The vet informed us half her lungs are fluid, and they've been trying to help. We're doing what we can for her, but unless the vet couldn't give us enough help to save her, though they did try for a couple of weeks. We had to let her go on May 29th, as even in oxygen she was struggling to breathe. We'll miss you, you angry loving purr machine.

Because of the above things at home have been tense. My girlfriends and I have been supporting each other through the pain and worry. Shared sorrow helps ease it, having their love keeps me moving, as I do with them. Now we just hope and pray for the rest of the year to be better.

Until next month, stay safe,
Daniel Schinhofen

https://schinhofenbooks.com/ https://twitter.com/DJSchinhofen https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655 https://www.patreon.com/DJSchinhofen https://discord.gg/schinhofenbooks