May 2019

Here we are at the beginning of May. I swear this year is going by faster then any previous year. Okay, let's jump into all the stuff to talk about, or I'll get sidetracked by something random.

First we should hit the sad news. Alpha World 8 has been written, it ends the series. Before editing it sits at 162,000-ish words, making it my longest book to date, surpassing Last Horizon: Beta which should have been two books. Now before you all get your hopes up let's talk editing.

Currently AG4 is being edited, but it will be with my beta readers in the next week or two, which puts it on track for a June 1st release, or possibly even earlier. As soon as my editors hand that off to beta readers they will be digging into BW3. When they finish that they will then get to AW8, which puts it at an October release at the moment, though that could get moved back considering the length of the book.

I am having an editor also take the short stories from my patreon page, as well as another one that is unpublished, and give them some love. I'll be putting that Anthology up after AW8 is published.

Now before you all start asking, Delta World isn't happening right now. I have my notes for what that will be, but that story is going to wait. In fact the whole slated release schedule will be bumped after AW8 publishes.

Why you are probably asking, well that's because following AW8 will be the first of a new series. Name still pending for it, but it will be a group of table top gamers who end up in another world, that mimics a lot of the rules from the game. AG5 and BW4 will follow that book, and then we'll rotate around like I would normally.

Okay let's answer the question about audio for AW7, it's in the hands of Podium. Which normally means 3 months for the audio book, so a late June or July release is likely, but I don't have a firm date from them yet, so it could fluctuate, I'll keep you posted.

Now for some new stuff. I have two books finally up as physical books. Binding Words 1 & 2 are now available for purchase.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/172671084X
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1095595520
Those links will take you to Amazon to purchase them.
I know some of you are asking about signed copies. I'm not selling them, not yet, maybe not for awhile as that will take some logistics to make work. However I might include them in the big giveaways.

Big giveaways you ask. This moth marks my 2 year Anniversary with Patreon and my 1 year Anniversary as a fulltime writer. Patreon supporters are getting a special giveaway for them. My fulltime writer giveaway will be handled via Facebook. Both of those have the chance of signed copies of books. The next one will be in October to mark my Anniversary as a Published Author.

I think that's everything but the Monthly Live Chat on Facebook. It will be May 14th at 2PM PST. I'll be giving away the usual prizes for that, not likely to include signed books.

That's it folks, you all have a great month, and I'll be back in June with more information, not the least of which should be the news that AG4 is live.

April 2019

Man, that month went by too fast. March was a pain in the ass. Let's digress into life issues for a moment. My best friend's dad died this month, that sucked. Losing a loved one is always hard, family doubly so. I had a plumbing issue that took a full week and 2 plumbers to solve, needless to say the first plumber will never get my business again. The good thing this month was purchasing the land I plan to build a home on.

Okay now that we've done life shit, let's get to the part you all really want to know about, books and audio.

Binding Words 2: Life Bonds is out on audio, preformed by the lovely and talented Andrea Parsneau. I was thrilled to have her once again voice the characters there. If you enjoyed her first rendition in the series you'll love the second.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Life-Bonds-Audiobook/B07PW4LZJH

The next big news is that Alpha World 7: Darkhand is now live for you to read.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NX328XT
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NX328XT
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07NX328XT
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07NX328XT

Those are the two big things to speak about first. The big news isn't over though, I'm almost done writing Alpha World 8 at this point, and it is the last book of the alpha World Series. I know that makes a lot of you sad, but I have many more stories to come, so please stay with me.

The next book that will come out is going to be Apocalypse Gates 4, around June 1st. Following that will be Binding Words 3, around August 1st. Both of these might move up, depending on the editors and how fast they can get through it.

I held a small live chat when the book was released and gave away 6 copies for free. I'm considering making that a normal release event, not 100% certain yet, but there was a lot of chatter for the hour I did it and it felt good. Speaking of Live Chats, the next monthly one will be April 15th @5pm PST.

I think that about covers everything to touch on this month. What I plan to do with the Alpha world slot once I finish AW8 is still up in the air, but I'm leaning towards filling it with a new series, but time will tell, because I'll be writing AG5, and then BW4 before that happens.

One last thing before I go, remember to review books. Not just mine, but everyone's books. The more reviews a book has the more it gets bumped in Amazon's system to get it in front of people via also bought, and recommended. Reviews matter a great deal to indie authors, so please take a minute or two and leave a review.

Until next month, may the books keep you entertained.

Daniel Schinhofen

March 2019

Well here we are again, a new month, and a new blog post.

Let's get things rolling. Andrea finished recording Binding Words 2 audio. Now it is going to her proofer. Once they finish it she'll put it up for me to proof it. Once I sign off it will go to ACX to hand it over to Audible. If everything goes as it should we are looking at late March release of it for you all to grab.

Revisiting my post from last month about AG becoming a once a year series. I've heard a lot from you guys that you really enjoy the series and would like it to continue as it is. I'm currently reconsidering due to the outpouring on this front, and on Facebook. I'm on the fence right now about which way to go, especially with AW wrapping up.

Speaking of Alpha World, book 7 should be ready for the April 1st release. The news that a lot of you don't want to hear though is book 8 is going to be the last of the series following Alburet/Seamus in Alpha World. I'm wrapping up the tale with book 8.

What does that mean for Alburet? Still not 100% certain, I've heard the outcry that people want Delta World. It's not 100% certain he'll complete the quest he was given by Victoria, if he doesn't then well Delta World wouldn't be a fun series at all. If I immediately follow AW with DW, that wouldn't let me explore any other series that I have been bouncing around, without sacrificing AG or BW.

So I'm sure you can all see the conundrum I'm in with what to do here. The next series I want to write is the more tabletop-esque, with a slower level growth but with definite abilities that are granted at each level.

What else do I need to cover this month...maybe the long awaited store?
Yeah, you heard me right, I finally have the beginnings of a store. It's starting small but will likely grow with more items offered once we see what you think. Where is this mythical store you ask? It can be found via my website, or by taking this handy link:
https://schinhofenbooks.myshopify.com/

I understand that not everyone can throw cash at things, and as such I'll still be giving away things during the Live Chats on the fan page. The next one will be held on March 13th, 2019 @1200 PM PST. So, if you would like a chance at a shirt, ebook, or audio, make sure to show up and join in on the fun.

Which brings me to another question I'd like to hear back on from you guys. Would you like a Live Chat the day before the books go live to let you know and maybe have the chance at winning a free ebook for the one coming out. It would be held on the fan page over on Facebook. Leave me your comments on a yea or nay.

Until next month, keep on grinding that XP, the next level isn't far away.
Daniel Schinhofen

February 2019

We made it through the first month of the year. Let's dig into the nitty-gritty of all the stuff to tell shall we?

Let's start with books; Binding Words 2: Life Bonds is now out for consumption. It actually went live a few days ago, as I got it out early. If you don't know what I'm talking about Binding Words is the series that started with Morrigan's Bidding. The story picks up with Sean, Fiona, and Myna traveling across country to distance themselves from the burning ruins of Oakwood.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N6LGTMX
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N6LGTMX
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07N6LGTMX
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07N6LGTMX

Next up Apocalypse Gates 3: Gearing Up is out on audible.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Gearing-Up-Audiobook/B07MJD58BZ

The narrator is Tess Irondale, so it's a shift from Andrea Parsneau's style and voice, but she does a good job with it, and is going to be the voice of the story going forward.

Speaking of audio, Andrea has signed on to do Binding Words 2, so rejoice! I know I do.

Moving on, the idea of a store is once again in play. I've handed this project over to my sister, who is working with a print on demand company to make it work. I'll update if it actually moves forward but talks are currently underway.

The next Facebook Live Chat is slated for 2-15-19 @ 5 pm PST. I'll be giving away shirts, ebooks, and audio books as normal. I'm considering doing live chats on book release day and giving out copies of the new book. I did it as an impromptu one this time and had decent turn out for it. The problem for ebooks being I only have a US Amazon account so all my gifts are US gifts.

The next book out will be Alpha World 7: Darkhand. It is currently slated for 4-1-19, which is April Fools, but maybe I'll get it out a little early like I did BW2. Once that is done the editors will be working on AG4.

Currently I'm writing BW3, I should be done with it in the next few days, and then I'll be off to write AW8. I'm hoping that I can wrap up Alpha World with book 8, but we shall see.

Now the quasi bad news. I'm going to be trading off writing slots of the AG spot with a new story. Which means that AG will be getting 1 book a year instead of 2, and the new story will be taking that slot instead.
I know you're all asking what the new story is going to be right now. Frankly I have a few to pick from, the short list as I call it. It is likely to be a more level based series, with abilities that can be used x number of times per day for each of the characters. More in line with a tabletop roleplaying game then anything I've written in the past. But I'll know more when I get to that spot which will be after I write AW8.

That wraps up the monthly ramble of what I have going on. Before we say goodbye, let me remind you that reviews matter. Reviews help push the book up the algorithm that Amazon uses to put the book before others, so please take the time and reviews the books you read, not just mine, but any book you enjoy.

Until March, thank you for taking your time to keep up with me,
Daniel Schinhofen

January 2019

Well last year sure went by fast, and a lot of life changes happened along the way. Let's do a quick recap shall we, as I was surprised by what the year brought; ebooks are in yellow, audio is in green, and other is in blue.

Playing for Keeps, AW4 was published March 1st.

Audio for AG1 went live on March 20th.

Fractured Spirit, AW5 was published May 1st.

I took the leap and became a fulltime author at the end of May.

Audio for AW4 went live on June 19th

Valley of Death, AG2 was release June 30th.

Audio for AW5 went live on August 7th.

Morrigan's Bidding, BW1 was released August 15th.

Audio for Ag2 went live on August 20th.

Schinhofenbooks.com goes live in September.

Path to Peace, AW6 was released October 1st.

Audio for BW1 went live on October 25th.

Gearing Up, AG3 was released November 25th.

Audio for AW6 went live on December 11th.

That is a lot of production in a single year. Funnily enough I don't recall feeling that busy, but damn that is a lot of stuff going on. The part that wasn't work for me was the AW audio, as that was all done through Podium.

Okay let's look at what this year is going to be bringing us. My current list of goals to hit are:

BW2, Early February.

AW7, Early April.

AG4, Early June.

BW3, Early August.

Attend Dragoncon at the end of August.

AW8, Early October- this might be the last Alpha World.

AG5, Early December.

That doesn't include the audio for the series as that will be as I can get the narrators to slot in for them, I try to get it going as soon as I can after launch.

If I wrap up Alpha World in book 8 that will free me to start a different series, which I have so many ideas for, or to possibly revisit the Bananas from Last Horizon, or go off to Delta World, depending on how AW wraps up. That is a big if, as it might take me 9 or possibly 10 books to truly wrap up the Alpha World series, but it is possible.

I think that gets us caught up on the old, and tells you about the new, but what about right now. Let's give you the normal break down shall we?

AG3 audio is waiting on ACX to finish QA on it. Sadly Andrea isn't the narrator, luckily I was able to snag Tess Irondale to take over the series. Tess' style is different then Andie's but overall she does a solid job with it, and I hope you all enjoy it. Tess should be the narrator going forward on the series.

Andie is on board to do the audio for Binding Words still, so rejoice with me for that. She'll be starting on that shortly after the book goes live, exact date unknown at this time.

BW2 is almost done with the editors and will be going off to the beta readers before too much longer. If that goes as planned it might sneak out at the end of January instead of February. Waiting for the editors, once they finish BW2 is AW7, and waiting behind that is AG4 already done and waiting.

I started BW3 just a couple of days ago, and it has a lot of potential going for it. I'm really excited to dig into the story even more then I have. For those who are curious, BW1 was about 80k words, BW2 before the edits was sitting at 102k, so it'll be a longer book then the 1st one.

Since I've gone fulltime, I have taken on a fulltime editor, which is why I hope to start turning stories around faster. I've also taken on an artist, Grimmhelm has done a number of fan pieces for me, and has been the one doing the last few covers.

The fan page Live Chats have gone to 1 every month, to be held on or around the 15th of each month. January's will be held on the 14th at 8 PM PST. I'll talk for as long as we have a decent amount of people, and I'll be giving shirts, ebooks, and audio books away, so stop on by.

I think that wraps it all up. My longest blog post to date, but it was a year in review and a peek ahead. 

See you all next month.

Daniel Schinhofen

December 2018

Welcome back to the monthly update. We have some stuff to cover so let's break it down for you all.

First off, Apocalypse Gates (Author's Cut) Book 3: Gearing up is now out.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07KVJGRTZ

The continued adventures of Alvin and Gothy, some of you have been chomping at the bit for the continuation of the series. As for audio, that is being worked on, and I'll throw up an update if its done before Janurary, but I would expect Janurary.

Also on the audio front, Alpha World 6: Path to Peace is ready for preorder and slated for Dec 11th release. If you've been waiting on it, go jump on the preorder wagon.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Path-to-Peace-Audiobook/B07KXXC6LN

The fan page on Facebook had a couple of contests last month. I liked the Madlib one that was just done recently. I'm going to see about doing random contests periodically. Also the Live chats are going to be held once a month regardless of if we hit 100 new fans or not. I want to keep giving back to the fans. They will be held around the middle of the month on different days and times to try and get as many people as possible included. This months will be on the 14th @ 12pm PST.
On that same note, I'm holding one last spoiler live chat on the 8th. It will be my last spoiler live chat as the attendance for them is always much lower.

I recently had a radio interview with NPR's affiliate in Nevada. If you want to give the 10 minute interview a listen here is the link.
https://knpr.org/knpr/2018-11/pahrump-author-finds-success-books-set-video-game-worlds

The editing side of things is in flux again, hopefully that will stabilize itself by the end of the month. If it does we might be able to go from every 2 months to 6 weeks, but that's still a wait and see.

Editors are working on Binding Words 2 right now. Alpha World 7 is waiting on them once they finish that. Before they finish BW2, I should have finished AG4 and handed that off to them as well.

AG4 is what I'm currently writing, and when you finish book 3 you'll know where they are and what is likely happening in book 4. I'm trying to conclude that whole arc into book 4, so it's a nice self contained story arc for the series, but we'll have to see. I'm pushing 80k on it at the moment and I still have a ways to go before I can get it to the end point I want.

Binding Words 2 current release date is looking like February 1st. If I hit that then Alpha World 7 should hit April Fools Day. Which would lead Apocalypse Gates 4 to be June 1st. But there is always hope things will move just a bit quicker.

Thanks for stopping by for the month, and I'll be back again in the New Year.
Daniel Schinhofen

November 2018 update

Just a quick note for you all.

Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut book 3: Gearing Up is now ready for preorder.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KVJGRTZ
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07KVJGRTZ