mech

H.P. has a new bestseller (on a spicy new pen name)!

July 2, 2022 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Well, that was a pleasant surprise! 😮

One of my recent background projects has been working on books under a new pen name – new because the content in those books is quite a bit 🌶️ spicier 🌶️ than my usual stuff, and I didn’t want YA readers who found me through The Wizard’s Way to be surprised by content that they weren’t ready to encounter.

I didn’t advertise the first one much at all outside of my personal Facebook page (intending to do so once more books in the series were out) …

… So you can imagine my surprise when the book rocketed to #1 on Amazon’s Steampunk Fiction bestseller list, lurked in the Top 10 on two other bestseller lists … and has been doing so since the book’s release 2 weeks ago. 😮😮😮

That said, if you’re into giant mechs, mages, and harem fantasy adventures, now’s the perfect time to check out Titan Mage, under my pen name Edie Skye!

Magic powers? His own mech? A whole airship of gorgeous women desperate for his genes? Yes, please!

Paralyzed by a drunk driver, let go from his job, and stuck in a sad, stagnant town in the middle of nowhere, Joseph Locke was having the worst day of his life.

And then he died.

But considering that he wakes up with a brand new body, in the cockpit of a badass steampunk robot, on an airship of nothing but hot babes, his next life may not be all that bad. Especially when he learns that he’s a void mage—the rarest and most powerful of all mages on the world of Haven. And his shipmates want to help him make more.

As if that weren’t enough, they offer Locke a job piloting one of their mechs, which they call Titans. In the meantime, Locke has to learn his way around this exciting world, all while coming to grips with his new—and dangerous—occupation. Will he be able to master his Titan? How can he best upgrade the machine to become as badass as possible? Why’s a strange parasitic sludge falling from the sky? And what’s up with the ghost of a space witch living in his Titan—and inside his head?

WARNING: Titan Mage is a fun fantasy adventure containing steam both punk and smutty: raunchy sausage-obsessed mechanics, lusty airship captains, prurient mech pilots, and saucy language to match. (So don’t read it and then complain about the spice. Y’all know exactly what you’re getting into.)

Download Titan Mage Here

From here on, updates about the series will be posted over on the Edie Skye webpage, so be sure to check it out if this is your jam. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

And, most importantly, you can join my newsletter for direct updates when new titles release – and get a free novella for signing up! 😀

Reviews and ratings thus far have been spectacular, and I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as my new readers! 😄

Bane of the Dead is now available in audio!

May 4, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Surprise, Seraphim Revival fans! 😀 You asked, we listened, and now here it is, the first audiobook in the Seraphim Revival trilogy: Bane of the Dead!

I spent the past several months working with our narrator, Justin Ross Mascorro, to bring this book to perfection. He may be new to the audiobook scene, but I think he did a fantastic job bringing all Jacob’s characters to life, and we’re excited to finally release it into the wild for you to enjoy. 😄

You can currently find it on:

AUDIBLE

AMAZON AUDIO

APPLE BOOKS

Throne of the Dead will follow close behind – in fact, I’m listening to Justin’s recordings right now! – and Disciple of the Dead will come a few months after that.

It’s hard to plan for specific release dates, as that comes down to how fast our distributor can approve the audiobooks once submitted, but we expect the entire trilogy to be out by Late Fall/Early Winter (and hopefully much sooner than that).

Also, to celebrate the release of our shiny, new audiobooks, I’ve given the eBooks some shiny, new covers! 😀

I’ll also be updating the eBooks themselves to remove some tenacious little errors we discovered during recording that somehow managed to escape our initial copyedits, way back when we first released the series.

The print versions will be updated, too, but that won’t be until we’ve finished the Disciple of the Dead audiobook.

Until then, we hope you enjoy listening to Bane of the Dead! 😀

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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Giveaway – Mechs & Misfits & Explosions, Oh My!

February 21, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

If you’re on this blog, chances are you’re a fan of giant robots and space adventure and general explosive mayhem, so here’s a giveaway just for you! 😀

We’ve teamed up with five of our #AuthorBuds to give away signed copies of The Messenger by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert, The Heaven’s Boxer by R.H. Tang, fLUX Runners by William Joseph Roberts, An Unproven Concept by James Young – and, of course, Jacob’s Bane of the Dead.

All you have to do to enter is click here and follow the directions on screen.

Want to increase your chances of being one of the three lucky winners? 😯 Be sure to check your inbox for a confirmation email. Inside that email will be several social media sharing links. For every person who enters this contest through the links you share from that email, you’ll get five additional entries, so share away!

Contest runs from now until Saturday, February 27th. Good luck! 😊

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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

The Messenger – Book Bomb

October 18, 2019 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Hey, mecha fans! We know some of you are still reeling from the end of the Seraphim Revival series, and though we’re giving its characters a much-needed rest, we totally understand your need to read more action-packed giant robot goodness.
Luckily for you, one of our #authorbuds, Terry Maggert, teamed up with J.N. Chaney to release a thoroughly kick-butt giant robot space epic! 😀
H.P. just finished barreling through The Messenger, and if you’re a fan of Gundam, Voltron, Mass Effect, or really anything that involves big-a** tech blowing junk up in epic fashion, it’s a fun read!

Dash never asked to be a mech pilot, but fate has other plans.
On the run and out of chances, he guides his ship and crew into the heart of a relic older than the galaxy itself–and finds himself on the edge of an eternal war he never knew existed.
The relic is a mech, lost to history and forgotten by all who remain. Built by an ancient race to be the ultimate weapon, the machine is capable of unspeakable destruction, and its discovery could unhinge the balance of power throughout known space.
Worse still, the A.I. inside the machine speaks of an ancient evil that will soon arrive–a race whose power far exceeds anything humanity has ever witnessed.
Only the Messenger can stand against them, the A.I. tells its new pilot. Only you can do what must be done.

Even better, if you enjoy it, the sequel is already available for Pre-Order (Release Date Sunday, October 20th)! 😀

UPDATE 12.21.19: There are more! 😮

What to Watch When You’ve Finished The Seraphim Revival (or, a Holiday Gift Guide for Mecha Nerds)

November 19, 2017 by hpholo Leave a Comment

The Seraphim Revival may be complete, but if you’re anything like the guy who wrote it, you’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more…giant robots. Well, never fear, ‘cause Dr. Holo’s got you covered.
The titles listed below are movies or anime series that either 1) influenced the writing of the Seraphim Revival trilogy, or 2) were discovered afterward but are still hecka fun for mecha fans.
We enjoyed all these, so we hope you will, too! 😀 (And of course, if you happened upon this page and have no idea what the Seraphim Revival is, we invite you to check it out! The first book in the series, Bane of the Dead, will be only $.99 through 12/30/17, so this is the perfect time!)

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

You can’t be a mecha fan without also being a Gundam fan. It’s the rules. There will be a lot of Gundam on this list. Jacob’s first foray into the world of Gundam came in the Toonami golden age’s airing of Gundam Wing, and we may have squeed a little too loudly when we realized it was finally getting a collector’s edition Blu-Ray release this year. If that so expensive but UGH SO PRETTY collector’s edition makes your wallet scream, there are some Blu-Ray only options, too: Collection 1, Collection 2, and Endless Waltz. The main series and Endless Waltz are also streaming on CrunchyRoll.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Re:0096

Gundam Wing may be the most pivotal Gundam for us, but Gundam Unicorn is hands-down our favorite. Set early in the Universal Century arc, it includes a lot of fan service references to classic Gundam, but it’s far from a fan service series*. Its plot is solid, and the animation is the most spectacular any Gundam series has ever seen. The series’ Blu-Ray/DVD release is a little wack, though (2 episodes per disc? What is this? 2001?), so if you don’t want to take the physical media plunge, it’s available for streaming on CrunchyRoll.
*I should specify that the fan service refers to mecha and character appearances, not boobs. If you want boob fanservice there’s, like, three seconds of boob in The 08th MS Team.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

Char’s Counterattack is a Gundam classic – perhaps the Gundam classic – and it got a fantastic Blu-Ray release late last year. It won’t make a whole lot of sense if you’re not familiar with the original Mobile Suit Gundam series (or Unicorn), but it’s still worth it for the awesome mecha/military drama (and if you enjoy watching annoying characters get their just, fiery desserts). >D

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

The 08th MS Team is unique in Gundam for being a small, down-to-earth story of a quartet of Gundam fighters, rather than an epic, sweeping space opera. The shifted focus from space battles opens up room for characters with very human, relatable problems, and the cast is charming in its authenticity. It’s not a must-watch, but it is a good watch for Gundam fans who are looking for something a little different.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Jacob scoffs at this entry, but H.P. loves it, so it stays. G Gundam is, admittedly, the black sheep of the Gundam family in that it is…well, terrible (especially in comparison to masterpieces like Char’s Counterattack and Unicorn).
However, it is also a whole lot of fun, if only because of its plethora of questionable choices that somehow earned the approval of a production committee. It’s like the anime equivalent of Miley Cyrus at the 2014 Grammys. A unified world where the governing country is determined by mecha fights every 4 years? Check. Hilariously stereotyped Gundam designs and pilots? Check. A Gundam so evil it’s called the Devil Gundam? Check. Participating in Gundam fights to find one’s missing brother even though that is probably the most inefficient method of finding someone ever? Check. The main character has a dramatic backstory, so at least it shares that with other Gundam series.
In short, it’s a hot mess, but a hilarious mess, too. For a serious Gundam fan, it’s probably the least watchable of all the Gundam series. But for fans of sprawling mecha train wrecks, it’s a blast. It hasn’t gotten a Blu-Ray release (understandably so), but it is available in two collections on DVD and available for streaming on CrunchyRoll.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

There have been approximately 20,000 versions of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and all are entertaining (if you find entertainment in angsty teens, mecha drama, and relationships so twisted they’d make the Greek gods cringe), so take your pick. Classic series? The End of Evangelion movie? The Death and Rebirth movie? These all had a huge influence on the writing of the Seraphim Revival books.
Our preferred versions, though, are the recent Rebuild of Evangelion movies: 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone, 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance, and 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo. This is primarily because they update the low-budget original series with beautiful animation and mecha battles, and then go off the track (and off the rails) in 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, diverging from the plot of the original to deliver something new to fans.

Transformers: The Movie

Gundam Wing may have been the pivotal mecha series for Jacob, but Transformers was the gateway drug. Without this masterpiece of toy-inspired filmmaking, the Seraphim Revival series wouldn’t exist. The 1986 movie traumatized and enthralled Tiny Jacob and even today is a regular replay in House Holo.

Robot Jox

Robot Jox holds up better if you watched it as a kid before you had any real taste in movies, or if you just like bad movies. Jacob is the former and H.P. is the latter, which made this movie perfect for us. It’s G Gundam-like in that nations settle their disputes by pitting giant robots against each other, and there is drama! Deception! Hilariously bad stereotypes! But mostly 1980s robots wailing on each other. It’s a fun little watch if you want a laugh involving giant robots.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Jacob discovered Gurren Lagann too late for it to have any influence on the Seraphim Revival, but it’s H.P.’s favorite anime of all time, the anime recommendation that convinced Jacob she was marriage material, and a list of mecha recommendations would be incomplete without it.
This is a ridiculous show where the robots are powered by fighting spirit and manliness, where they combine and sprout new weapons with even less regard for physics than normal anime, and where the scale of battle becomes so extreme by the end that…you know what? It just has to be seen to be believed. However, beneath all its hyperactive action, there’s a story with an unexpected amount of heart, and by the end, it’ll leave you cheering for humanity. (And these days, how often can you say that about anything?)
If you don’t feel like forking out the insane cash for that (admittedly gorgeous) limited edition Blu-Ray box set, there’s a more wallet-friendly DVD edition. It’s also streaming on CrunchyRoll.

The Vision of Escaflowne

Escaflowne didn’t influence the Seraphim Revival as much as the aforementioned series, but it’s worth mentioning because 1) it’s unique for its fantasy setting (as opposed to a futuristic sci-fi setting), and 2) it just got a wholly unexpected Blu-Ray collector’s edition that is actually pretty slick. Outside a few dated technology references, the anime has aged surprisingly well. (It was 20 years old last year.) The story goes a little weak at the end, but the rest of the series makes up for it with dang cool Guymelef (mecha/armor/whatever) battles, a fascinating world, and, let’s face it, Allen because he’s super hot.
Jacob surprised H.P. with this edition for her birthday, and it’s been one of her favorite watches this year.

Pacific Rim

Pssh. Did you expect us to write a post of mecha recommendations and not include Pacific Rim? 😛
So ends our list of Seraphim Revival watch-alikes! Mecha fans, what would you add?
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

H.P. has a new bestseller (on a spicy new pen name)!

Bane of the Dead is now available in audio!

Giveaway – Mechs & Misfits & Explosions, Oh My!

The Messenger – Book Bomb