Holo Books

The Reavers are back! (In your headphones.)

April 18, 2017 by hpholo Leave a Comment

One of the most frequently-asked questions we hear at cons is “Do you have audio books?” We’re proud to announce that we can finally answer “YES!”
Earlier this month, we started production on the audio book adaptation of Time Reavers! We’ve been working with the immensely talented Tess Irondale to capture the time-twisting thrills and general mayhem of our favorite monster robot bugs and super-powered teen pest control.
The audiobook will be available for download Summer 2017 on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak at the first 10 minutes:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXKK9B5J5Mc&w=560&h=315]

Keep your eyes peeled for the cover reveal, coming soon! 😀

The Wizard’s Way Playlist – Part 2

February 1, 2017 by hpholo 1 Comment

Welcome back for Part 2 of The Wizard’s Way Playlist series!

Here’s Part 1 if you missed it (or if you have no idea what you’ve just stumbled upon), and the YouTube playlist if you’d like to listen:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IpLV7PB5aY?list=PLo3lKhIPo_aTUVVxNmjCM-KIROSf5dYqt&w=560&h=315]

Part 2: Wizard

“The Gravel Road”

by James Newton Howard (The Village)

The “Chaucey is Sad, but also Analyzing and Overanalyzing Things” theme for Chapters 11-12. After all, how else is one to handle murders and shop fires and general wizard stress?

“Tightrope”

by Janelle Monae (The ArchAndroid)

While it’s not specifically relevant to her appearance Chapter 13, the ideas and enthusiasm of the song match Elsa well, so it seemed appropriate for her general theme.

“The Goose and the Abbot”

**by Bruno Coulais (Brendan et le Secret de Kells)**

Many of the scenes in the High Districts and Underoaks were written to the lovely music from The Secret of Kells, and this track in particular had a curious, investigative sound appropriate for Chaucey and Pentalion’s activities in Chapters 15- 16. Also, in my repeated listens, the quirky tune around the 2 minute mark slowly became Farwude’s theme.

“Milo’s Turned Down”

by James Newton Howard (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

This one’s frequent switching between disappointment and determined jauntiness made it perfect for the investigation that goes on in Chapters 17-18.

“What Are You Doing in My Forest?”

by Bruno Coulais (Brendan et le Secret de Kells)

INVESTIGATION INTENSIFIES (in Chapter 19).

“Dragonborn”

by Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

While it wasn’t the inspiration for Chapter 20‘s Brunl Library, I can’t listen to this song without thinking of the bearmen.

“Bay Side Slider”

by Try Force (Heat Guy J: Burn)

The “Lysa Kicks Butt” theme, especially for Chapter 21.

“Bedding Down”

by James Newton Howard (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Eew, not like that. xP Still, it’s appropriate mood music for what happens between Chaucey and Elsa in Chapter 22.

“Prologue”

by David Newman (Anastasia)

Inspiration for the Arling Ball in Chapter 23. Before it goes all crazy, anyway.

“Didn’t Your Mother Tell You Not to Play With Your Food”

by Hans Zimmer (The Lion King: The Legacy Collection)

Theme for when the Arling Ball goes all crazy. The ominous whimsy suits antagonist Milon Artur to a T, so naturally it’s his entrance music for Chapter 23.

“Nui Harime’s Theme”

by Hiroyuki Sawano (Kill la Kill)

The glassy-sounding menace in this theme makes it an excellent match for a certain spoilery reveal and associated battle in Chapters 24-25.

“Satsuki Kiryuin’s Theme”

by Hiroyuki Sawano (Kill la Kill)

The Steelgore’s theme. Any time the Steelgore does its fiery thing – but particularly at the end of Chapter 25 – it’s to this.

Part 3 coming soon!

Until then, what music do you like to read to?

The Wizard’s Way Playlist – Part 1

January 26, 2017 by hpholo 2 Comments

Music is as essential to my writing process as coffee and procrastination. While Jacob generally writes to the sound of earplugs, I have playlist upon playlist of carefully curated songs that evoke the perfect soundtrack to my novels and their characters.
So, for the similarly inclined, here’s my playlist for The Wizard’s Way! For those who haven’t read the novel, I’ve written the descriptions to be spoiler-free. On the other hand, if you’re bewildered by said descriptions, here’s your reason to read the book! 😀

Here’s the list on YouTube if you’d like to listen while you read:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqPPaxDp0Wc?list=PLo3lKhIPo_aTUVVxNmjCM-KIROSf5dYqt&w=560&h=315]

Part 1: Calderling

Overture

by George Bruns (The Jungle Book)

For the Prologue. It doesn’t necessarily scream “Ellid wrestling a dragon,” but it does establish the sultry, mysterious jungles of the island of Leray.

Anniversary Medley

by Koji Kondo (The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony)

I wrote much of Chapters 1-3 to this, particularly the first 4ish minutes, because of its fun sense of derring-do. This was a mood I hoped to capture in those chapters and in the novel as a whole.

Gerudo Valley

by Koji Kondo (The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony)

Epic music for an epic glider crash in Chapter 4.

Off to the Races

by Lana Del Rey (Born to Die)

The lyrics don’t suit them exactly, but when I listened to it ironically, the decadent, dangerous relationship in the song matched Chapter 5‘s Cider and Lysa well. After all, they are quite an ironic pairing (though not romantic at all).
Also, in my head, Lysa speaks with Lana Del Rey’s voice, so I wrote a lot of her scenes to said artist’s music.

What Are You Asking Me?

by James Newton Howard (The Village)

I also write to a lot of James Newton Howard, as he’s my favorite composer. This track in particular quickly became the “Chaucey is Sad” theme for Chapters 6-7. The juxtaposition of hyperactive violin over otherwise soothing music makes for a good representation of what’s going on inside Chaucey’s head in these scenes (and really, at any given time).

Manchester 1866

by Steve Jablonsky (Steamboy)

The Inventors’ Way theme for Chapters 8-9. It expresses the industrious and dangerous mischief that’s characteristic of a whole street full of inventors. For similar reasons, it was also the music for Elsa and Ellid’s hijinks in Chapters 13-14.

Ryuko Matoi’s Theme

by Hiroyuki Sawano (Kill la Kill)

The “Yer a Wizard, Chaucey” theme for Chapter 10. Truly, I wrote most of the book to Kill la Kill, even when the scenes didn’t suit it, simply because the bombast of the whole soundtrack complements the book so well. (Basically every chapter not specified in this list = written to Kill la Kill).

Part 2 to follow soon!

In the meantime, what music inspires you to write? 😀

Countdown to The Wizard’s Way!

September 23, 2016 by hpholo Leave a Comment

It’s been eventful here at Holo HQ!
Stars aligned so that H.P. could transition to working full-time for Holo Writing, which means that you’re about to see many more updates, contests, giveaways, appearances, and yes, BOOKS.
Speaking of which, The Wizard’s Way is well on its way to being released! Comments from beta readers have come in, edits have been made, layout is complete, and now all we’re waiting for is that final glorious proof copy. Once we’ve affirmed its perfection, it’ll be time to release the Steelgore!

We love all our books, of course, but we’re especially excited to bring you this one.
Though Jacob contributed a lot of content, The Wizard’s Way is primarily H.P.’s weird, hyperactive brainchild, and in it, you’ll see a face of the Holoverse that you’ve never seen before. Namely the face involving fire-breathing steel lions, pug butlers, bear libraries, and lots of general mayhem. But the latter is nothing new. 😛
And hey, if you’d like to receive an update when the novel releases, be sure to join our mailing list!

The-Wizards-Way-Cover-FINAL-052416-2008-WEB — COMING SOON!

The Wizard’s Way – Cover Reveal!

May 28, 2016 by hpholo 1 Comment

Well, it’s been an adventurous month, but it takes more than a malfunctioning eyeball and a collapsed lung to stop me, which means that Draft #4 of The Wizard’s Way is DONE!
Our next step is to see what our beta readers have to say, apply their advice in the next round of edits, and then drop this bad boy – okay, bad but well-intentioned; Chaucey is complicated – on September 1^st!
Who’s Chaucey, you ask? Read on to find out—and then to get your first official look at the cover art!

coverartsmall — A heartwarming(?) tale of a boy and his swordfighting pug. Artwork by Mandy O’Brien.

J. Chaucey Thatcher has a monster inside him, but this is the least of his worries.
A murderer prowls the Iron City, slaying inventors. An angry mob storms close behind, blaming wizards. Any they find, they burn alive.
Chaucey is an inventor. He is also secretly a wizard, and the only person who can help with this secret was just murdered before his very eyes.
But when it comes to investigating, Chaucey is as dogged as his best friend is dog. With the help of his loyal pug butler, his sparky (almost? maybe?) girlfriend, and a sleuth of rambunctious bears, he has vowed to unravel the mystery of these murders and save the city from the grips of terror.
But the monster inside him burns for escape.
Will he save the Iron City? Or will the monster destroy it first?

And now, drum roll please…

…

Though really, forget drum rolls. Let’s bring out the whole band for our illustrator, Mandy O’Brien (aka Painted-Bees on DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Twitter).
I’d been following her art for years on Deviant Art (I mean LOOK AT THIS), so when I started pondering illustrators for a colorful fantasy adventure with two civilizations of talking animals, I didn’t have to ponder long. Her vibrant style combined with the animated quality of her art meshed perfectly with the world I’d pictured in the novel, and looking at these illustrations is like looking at characters that walked right out of my brain onto a computer screen!

Read about them this Fall!

Monsters. Murder. Swashbuckling Pug Butlers.

Coming September 2016.

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Holo Writing at SC ComiCon 2016!

April 30, 2016 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Another SC ComiCon has come and gone, and – as always – we had a great time! We premiered two new t-shirts (coming soon to the Etsy shop!) and the final cover of The Wizard’s Way (coming soon to this blog!). We also met several new fans, saw several familiar faces, and to answer several recurring questions:

Time Reavers and Dragons of Jupiter sequels are indeed in the works! In fact, Jacob recently finished the outline for Mind Reavers (that is, Time Reavers 2)- but the novel itself is currently in the queue behind:
Splitting Humanity Machine into 2 books (Remember that one?)
Finishing the final draft of The Wizard’s Way
Writing a story for an upcoming Safehold anthology
And a Super Cool Super Secret Project

So, it will be some time before Mind Reavers happens, but expect lots of cool stuff in the meantime.
Of course, we also snapped some awesome cosplay pics!

deathnote — An excellent *Death Note* cosplay group! (THAT RYUK.) 😀

arielursula — A fabulous Ariel and Ursula!

We don’t have nearly as many this year, though, because HP is master-in-chief of cosplay fangirling, and she actually couldn’t see for most of the con. Turns out what we thought to be a persistently weird contact lens was actually a detached retina (#conlife #partyhard).
Then, because she likes to multitask, she suffered a spontaneous partial lung collapse 5 days into recovery, spent 10 days in the hospital, and is now at home recovering from that with a bunch of ice cream, Netflix, and a load of editing to do.
As you can see, it’s already been a busy con season, and we haven’t even made our second appearance!
We’ll be at Free Comic Book Day at The Tangled Web on Saturday, May 7th @ 8am, so if you missed us at SC ComiCon, be sure to stop by! 😀

Holo Writing at HonorCon 2015!

December 10, 2015 by holojacob Leave a Comment

H.P. and I recently attended HonorCon 2015, and we had a blast! The convention itself was certainly lower key than DragonCon or AWA, but the halls were packed with readers passionate about military science fiction in general and David Weber’s Honorverse novels in particular.

martyngriffithshonorcon — Photo courtesy of The Royal Manticoran Navy.

Not only did we have plenty of fun, but this also marks the first time I participated at a convention as a panelist. Highly successful independent author Chris Kennedy invited me to join two of his panels, the first on the economics of self-publishing and the second on sci-fi world building. I had a great time on both panels, and really appreciate Chris extending the invitation to join him and Ian J. Malone. Even A.G. Riddle crashed one of the panels and offered his insight. Very cool stuff.
Now, you’d think that would be the highlight of the convention for us … but it wasn’t!

Pardon the blurriness. HP’s camera couldn’t handle the awesomeness that is me sharing a panel with an international bestseller.

For some of you, the fine gentleman in this picture needs no introduction. It was an amazing privilege to be invited onto two HonorCon panels by multiple New York Times bestselling author David Weber!!! Yeah. This actually happened. People told me I was so excited I was shaking like a Pomeranian.
Personally, if I’m going to be a Pomeranian, I like to picture myself like this:

spacepomeranian — GIF Source: http://bit.ly/1NA3q69

On the first panel, we discussed the creation of strong characters in space opera. As the creator of the greatly beloved character Honor Harrington, David certainly knows a thing or two about creating strong and memorable characters. We also touched on Vanessa Murakuma, who is a personal favorite of mine that first appears in the Starfire novel In Death Ground.

The full title of the panel was actually “How to Create Strong Characters in an Epic Space Opera and Not Kill Them Off!” Now HP’s camera can’t take the irony.

For the second panel, we dove deep into the politics of the Terran Federation in the Starfire universe and how it survived four brutal interstellar wars against alien races, only to fracture at the end in a bloody civil war. Here, David brought his understanding of history to bear with parallels to real events as we discussed some of the pitfalls representative democracies can fall into. To say that he has a keen grasp of history and knows how to apply that knowledge to fiction is to make a monumental understatement.
What else can I say about the experience? David and I have known each other for about a year now. He is probably the most intelligent person I have ever met, but he is very approachable and down to earth at the same time. He and his wife Sharon are amazing people, both of them natural story tellers that are a ton of fun to be around. Years ago, his writing helped inspire my own, and it has been wonderful to hear his stories and to learn from him this past year.
Thank you, David! You’re awesome!

Holo Writing at AWA!*

December 6, 2015 by hpholo Leave a Comment

*Second in a series of VERY BELATED con posts because, again, EDITING. 😛
This past September, Jacob and I decided it was time to branch out from our usual tiny, comfy cons and tackle something a little bigger. So we packed up our bow ties and headed to Anime Weekend Atlanta.

AWA held a lot of firsts for us:
It was our first large con (over 30,000 people)!
It was the first con for Bane of the Dead and Throne of the Dead.
It was the first con for our snazzy new Time Reavers t-shirts.

And it was the first con at which we had a t-shirt stolen, which is a sign of success, I guess?
Despite that bump, it was one of the best cons we’ve ever attended. The Seraphim Revival was a massive hit (because obviously, giant robots at an anime convention).
Also, not to toot our own horn (Oh, who are we kidding? We are totally tooting), but the following exchange happened with a surprising number of people:
“I bought (insert book here) yesterday and read half of it last night. I want all the others!”
Variants included “I started this book at lunch and decided I needed the rest.”
My first thought at all of these was “When do you people find time to read at a con? Are there time turners involved?”
My second was, “WHOA. People really like our books.”
Which is a really lovely feeling to have.
Also lovely? Cosplayers, of course! I didn’t get to snap as many photos as I usually do at cons (because OMG SO BUSY), but awesome costumery was rampant. Here are some of my favorites:

Zeppeli! 😀

KOS-MOS!

Princess Tiana!

Mac and Bloo!

Finally, not a cosplay, but rather the best Dealer’s Room ad that I’ve ever seen:

Needless to say, House Holo is now a little more manly.

The Wizard’s Way – 1st Draft Complete!

October 25, 2015 by hpholo Leave a Comment

artwork by Mandy O’Brien

Hey, everybody! H. P. here! I’ve been largely invisible on this blog for the past age or so. This is partly because I’m a lazy blogger and partly because I do all the marketing, layout, and graphic work for Jacob’s books while he makes the writing magic happen. Mostly, though, it’s because I’ve been devoting every valuable microsecond of my free time to finishing my own first novel, which is…

~ F I N A L L Y F I N I S H E D ~

(The first draft, that is.)
Now, you may be asking, “What is this masterpiece that H. P. has been so reclusively working on?” Well, it comes down to three things:

Monsters.

Murder.

Swashbuckling pug butlers.

Yes, you read that right.
Beyond that, The Wizard’s Way is a story of a young man finding his way in the world. This is challenging for any young person, but it’s especially challenging for one whose way involves keeping giant mechanical flamethrower lions from popping out of him.
Specifically, it comes down to this:

artwork by Mandy O’Brien

The TL;DR version? Wizard puberty is the worst.
Now you may be asking, “How soon can I expect to read this redonkulous thing?” Presently, the Jacob half of Holo Writing is giving the book its first hardcore editing pass. Pending a few revisions, we’re aiming for an early 2016 release. (SUMMER 2016 UPDATE: Well, that didn’t happen. But it’s happening soon, so hooray!)
While you wait, however, you can feast your eyes on the above sketches of the cover art, produced by the talented artist linked above! And also here because you are totally not making good use of your Internet life if you skip her page.
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.

Disciple of the Dead – Released!

October 23, 2015 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Book 3 of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!

H.P. and I are immensely pleased to announce the release of the third and final book in the Seraphim Revival trilogy. This series has really been a labor of love from start to finish, and we’re very excited to finally have the full trilogy out there.

Fueled by the Soul. Hunted by the Dead.

Seth Elexen and a small group of elite pilots have tracked the renegade Veketon to the far side of the galaxy. With only one ship and a single squadron of seraphs, they alone must face the tyrant within the heart of his growing power.

But Veketon is no easy mark. Through perverse sciences, he has been reborn as a pilot of terrifying power, and Quennin S’Kev, a woman Seth abandoned for all the wrong reasons, stands by his side and will defend him to the death.

Now Seth has one final desperate chance at success, but in order to get to Veketon, he must be willing to kill the only woman he has ever loved.

The Seraphim Revival trilogy is complete!

Disciple of the Dead brings everything together for one huge, thrilling conclusion. The stakes are massive, the villains have all the advantages, our heroes are in over their heads, and the nearest help is on the other side of the galaxy.
But something is about to change … something no one expects … something so small and yet so huge at the same time, and it will finally give Seth and the others the fighting chance they so desperately need.
While Disciple of the Dead has all the blistering action found in the earlier books, it is also a very personal story of love and loss. These characters are put through the wringer, and they come out changed, not all of them for the better. If you think you know how the trilogy will end or who will live and who will die, think again, because this book comes packed with shocking twists and world shattering reveals.

Welcome back to the Seraphim Revival. 🙂

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Throne of the Dead – Released!

September 12, 2015 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Book 2 of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!

H.P. and I are very happy to announce the release of the second book in the Seraphim Revival trilogy. A ton of hard work has gone into this trilogy, and it is so rewarding to finally put it out there for people to read.
So, this is the “hump” book, right? The book in the middle of the trilogy. Typically, that means it’s the slow one that spends a lot of time building things up for the finale, right? Well, to that I ask … why? Why does the book in the middle of a trilogy have to be the slow, boring one? Answer: It doesn’t!
Throne of the Dead takes the fast-paced giant robot action of the first novel and kicks it up even further. Alliances will splinter. Characters will fall. World-shaking reveals hit fast and hard. In short, things happen in this book.
I wouldn’t have it any other way, and I think you’ll agree with me. 🙂

Coming in a few short months …

The final books is on its way! All seraphs launching 2015!

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Seraphim Revival – Book 3 Cover Art!

July 3, 2015 by holojacob Leave a Comment

In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
The incredibly talented Adam Burn has completed the third and final Seraphim Revival cover for Disciple of the Dead!
Normally, here’s the part of these art reveals where I talk a little about what or who is on the cover … only I can’t this time. Astute observers who have already finished the first book may recognize that the giant robot on the cover is not a seraph, but other than that … yeah, sorry. I can’t talk about what it is. I can’t talk about who the pilot is. And I certainly can’t talk about that really tall tower in the background. Trust me, if this series interests you, you’ll enjoy it more if you discover it for yourself. 🙂

What is the Seraphim Revival?

This is a story of Intense Mech Combat. The seraphs represent the absolute pinnacle of combat technology. Fueled by the pilot’s own soul, seraphs are capable of drawing upon almost limitless power. The relationship between pilot and machine is symbiotic to the point where any boundaries between them vanish. In a sense, the pilots become their seraphs. Clashes between them are brutal contests where willpower matters just as much as hardware.
This is a story of the Living Ruled by the Dead. Here is a society where the preserved minds of the deceased exercise absolute authority over the living. Seraph pilots are extremely rare, and therefore incredibly valuable. Not everyone, dead or alive, has their best interests in mind.
This is a story of Honor and Betrayal. The best way to take out a seraph is with another seraph, but the gift to command such a craft is hereditary. Many pilots share common bloodlines, and when sides are chosen, some divides fall in the worst possible places.

All seraphs launching 2015!

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Holo Books

Part 2: Wizard

Part 3 coming soon!

Until then, what music do you like to read to?

Part 1: Calderling

Part 2 to follow soon!

In the meantime, what music inspires you to write? 😀

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