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. đ
And hey, if you’d like to receive an update when the novel releases, be sure to join our mailing list!
Novel
The Wizardâs Way – Cover Reveal!
Well, itâs 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 Wizardâs 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 1st!
Who’s Chaucey, you ask? Read on to find outâand then to get your first official look at the cover art!
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.Â
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. Letâs bring out the whole band for our illustrator, Mandy OâBrien (aka Painted-Bees on DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Twitter).
Iâd 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 didnât 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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The Wizard’s Way – 1st Draft Complete!
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 YÂ Â 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
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.Â
But the monster inside him burns for escape.
Will he save the Iron City? Or will the monster destroy it first?
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.
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Disciple of the Dead – Released!
Book 3 of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!
H.P. and IÂ 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 weâre very excited to finally have the full trilogy out there.
Fueled by the Soul. Hunted by the Dead.
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilotâs 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.
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 SâKev, 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. đ
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Throne of the Dead – Released!
Book 2 of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!
H.P. and IÂ 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. đ
Coming in a few short months âŚ
The final books is on its way! All seraphs launching 2015!
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Seraphim Revival – Book 3 Cover Art!
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. đ
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 pilotâs 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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Bane of the Dead – Released!
 In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilotâs 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.
Jack Donolon is the most powerful pilot in existence, a hero of Earth with a mind fractured by his seraph. On the far side of the galaxy, he uncovers a terrible truth about the seraphs and their pilots. Now he must return on a mission no one will understand, to face and kill the people who once called him friend and comrade.
But the death he will bring is insignificant next to the destruction that will follow, should he fail âŚ
Book 1Â of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!
H.P. and I are extremely excited to finally be releasing this trilogy. The seed for this series started a long time ago in my mind, and it is incredibly gratifying to finally see the first book realized in physical form with beautiful cover art by Adam Burn. With the Seraphim Revival, readers are in for one wild, action-packed ride. Not only do we have giant robots tearing up the place, but there are so many twists and turns in these three novels that I can’t even begin to describe what happens in the third book without dropping massive spoilers. So, it’s probably for the best if I don’t say anything else. đ
For now, I’ll simply leave you with this.
Coming in a few short months …
 Book 2 is on its way! All seraphs launching 2015!
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Seraphim Revival – Book Spine Art!
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 Seraphim Revival book trilogy is one step closer!
The highly skilled Adam Burn has done it again! Above you can see artwork for the spines of the Seraphim Revival paperback editions, which will form the whole image once all three books are placed together.
Featured in this striking art is the mighty seraph of Seth Elexen, the prodigy. Despite first piloting a seraph as a mere child, his background is an anomaly, having descended from none of the bloodlines his people cultivate to breed pilots. Even his namesake comes from his adoptive father, who was the previous generation’s most powerful pilot, and whose death Seth was at least partially responsible for during a critical battle twenty years ago.
Despite this, Seth has not only survived decades of ceaseless combat, but thrived thanks to an unflinching and indomitable will. In combat, he utilized an aggressive, fast-paced fighting style that takes full advantage of his agility. Eschewing ranged weaponry almost entirely, he assaults his foes with an unending blitz of quick strikes.
A simple man at heart, Seth greatly prefers the purity and clarity of combat to the murky machinations of his people’s leaders, but this single-minded focus leaves him vulnerable to the very plots he so despites.
Seth makes his first appears at the beginning of the trilogy in Bane of the Dead.
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 pilotâs 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.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are âŚ
Book 1 â Bane of the Dead
Book 2 â Throne of the Dead
Book 3 â Disciple of the Dead
All seraphs launching 2015!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Seraphim Revival – Book 2 Cover Art!
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 Seraphim Revival book trilogy is heading this way!
The very talented Adam Burn has produced another beautiful image for the Seraphim Revival trilogy, and I have to admit, I really really really like this one! Here you can see the cover art for the second book Throne of the Dead that showcases one of the pilots.
Pictured in the artwork is Tesset Daelus, the blind empath. Kidnapped as a child and experimented on in secret, Tesset only has empty pits where her eyes should be. But this deliberate mutilation has forced her to develop a sense unique to seraph pilots. She can perceive her surroundings with surprising clarity and can even see into the souls of those around her.
In combat, Tesset is a formidable stealth specialist, striking without warning and then vanishing without a trace. She lacks the brute strength to go face-to-face with most foes, but this hardly matters when they can’t even see her coming. Outside of combat, Tesset still struggles with her new role as a pilot, having been freed from captivity only a few short years ago. Seraph pilots are typically raised from youth, but she found herself thrust into their martial way of life as an adult.
Tesset makes her debut appearance in the second book, Throne of the Dead, and may show up in the third … if she survives. đ
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 pilotâs 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.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are âŚ
Book 1 â Bane of the Dead
Book 2 â Throne of the Dead
Book 3 â Disciple of the Dead
All seraphs launching 2015!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Seraphim Revival – Book Trilogy Reveal!
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.
Jack Donolon is the most powerful pilot in existence, a hero of Earth with a mind fractured by his seraph. On the far side of the galaxy, he uncovers a terrible truth about the seraphs and their pilots. Now he must return on a mission no one will understand, to face and kill the people who once called him friend and comrade.
But the death he will bring is insignificant next to the destruction that will follow, should he fail âŚ
The Seraphim Revival book trilogy is on its way!
Thatâs right. A whole trilogy! And itâs not like youâll have to wait years to read the conclusion. All three books are well past the 1st draft stage. Our goal is to polish-polish-polish the entire series like crazy and then release all three books THIS YEAR!
UPDATE: Book 1 has been released!
UPDATE: Book 2 has been released!
Weâre very excited about this new series. Both H.P. and I have been toiling on these manuscripts for the past several months, refining them to the level of quality you, our readers, deserve. We may be self-published here at Holo Writing, but we take the quality of our manuscripts very seriously.
As you can see, the highly talented Adam Burn has been hard at work producing gorgeous cover art for the trilogy. Here you can see one of the true stars of the books: the mighty seraphs!
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 pilotâs 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.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are âŚ
Book 1 â Bane of the Dead
Book 2 â Throne of the Dead
Book 3 â Disciple of the Dead
What about Humanity Machine? Whereâs that book?
I have good news and news (which is really neither good nor bad). The good news is that Humanity Machine will be released. Eventually. The novel is now a very polished 3rd draft, and itâs coming out one way or another.
I honestly wish we could publish the book now, but here comes the neither-good-nor-bad news.
How the novel will be published is a bit of an open question. Actually two open questions. I know thatâs horribly vague, but to say anything more at this time would be premature. There are some potentially exciting opportunities here, and the delay comes from H.P. and I taking the time to explore them properly.
So, yes. Humanity Machine will be coming out. You can count on that.
When is the Seraphim Revival trilogy coming out?
Our goal is to release the complete trilogy this year. All seraphs launching 2015!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Thief’s Covenant – Book Review
Once she was Adrienne Satti, an orphan with a rags-to-riches story. Now she is Widdershins, a thief with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and help from a secret god living in her head. But now something horrid, something dark, is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her goâŚ
So declares the back of Thiefâs Covenant by Ari Marmell.
I first encountered this title when researching books that read like video games, and after reading it, am surprised that it took me the effort of research to actually find out about it. Itâs a title that has appeal for a wide variety of audiences. Fans of historical adventure, low fantasy, kick-butt heroines, good old-fashioned sneakery, and playing stealth games solely to climb on things will all find something to like in this novel.
The most perfect audience for Thiefâs Covenant is the teen who just wants to play Assassinâs Creed but has a book report due tomorrow that hasnât even been started yet. Itâs quick, itâs witty, and its combination of stealth tactics, action, and political intrigue basically render it Assassinâs Creed with a girl.
Widdershins herself deserves to rank among fan-favorite heroines like Gracelingâs Katsa and pretty much every Tamora Pierce heroine. Sheâs quick-witted, adaptable, determined, and in no way is she going to let the powers that be step all over her. When both the Davillon City Guard and Findersâ Guild (that isâhaâthievesâ guild) start harassing her for (mostly) unfounded reasons, she decides to show them both by stealing an item from a visiting dignitaryânot because she actually wants the item, just to show that she wonât be so easily contained. Her very nickname suggests opposition, âwiddershinsâ meaning âcounterclockwise.â Of course, as exemplified by the aforementioned adventure, her determination sometimes (read: often) translates into headstrong recklessness. Widdershins frequently gets into trouble without the aid of any force but herself. For readers, this isnât a bad thing. Itâs fun to watch her fall into exponentially worsening trouble because it means sheâll have to do something equivalently clever to get out of it, which she frequently does.
Sheâs also too busy running from the City Guard, Findersâ Guild thugs, other people who generally want her dead, and oh, demons, to have time for a romance, which is a refreshing change from other heroines whose goals are complicated by the two hot guys vying for their attentions.
Her relationship with the god in her head, Olgun, is fascinating, too, as is the entire concept of religion in this setting. Davillonâs is a faith centered around a Pact of 147 acknowledged gods, from which families and organizations choose to take as household deities and official patrons. The gods are active in the city, visible through tangible boons granted to worshippers; Widdershinsâ in particular helps her thievery in subtle ways. These gods also regulate the behavior of the city; organizations with patron gods of the Pact canât openly attack one another without violating the Pact, which is why the City Guard canât take on the Finderâs Guild without resorting to sneaky methods (or otherwise starting a war). The resulting tension, combined with a plot involving the history of Widdershinsâ personal god, makes this religion one of the most interesting pieces of world-building in the book.
The writing itself is another strength of the novel. The prose is peppered with amusing, ironic wit, and the style balances the derring-do and drama quite well, never becoming too over-the-top or too melodramatic. Also, despite being the first book in a series, the story functions as a standalone, and thus is a welcome departure from the cliffhanger endings favored by other YA series starters.
For squeamish readers, itâs worth noting that the novel opens in the midst of carnage involving a ton of murdered bodies that have been hacked into such fine pieces that the characters canât figure out which body parts belong to which victim. However, that is by far the worst of the violence in the book, and most that occurs is pretty standard for a book of this type.
Overall, Thiefâs Covenant is a solid start to a promising series. I look forward to reading more!
***
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.
Humanity Machine – 2nd Draft Complete!
Can a person manufactured for war still be human?
The second draft of Humanity Machine is now complete, and Adam Burn has finished the stellar cover art and graphic design. Oh yeah, it’s coming together!
So what is Humanity Machine?
Humanity Machine is a story of Manufactured People. Soldiers created on demand using an advanced form of 3D printing. More precisely, this is the story of one such soldier: Vance. This is her journey as she grows from just one more cog in the machine to an individual that can shape the destiny of her people.
Humanity Machine is a story of Intense Space Battles. Highly advanced, self-modifying warships slugging it out in the depths of space. Vance serves as one warshipâs drone controller, commanding her squadrons of interceptors and bombers against a powerful and tenacious foe.
Humanity Machine is a story of Divided Humanity. Not by politics or ethnicities or faiths, but by technology. Itâs a story about how technology molds a society, and how that technology can make its people seem very alien to an outsider. Imagine a society with no families, no children, and no gender roles. Imagine a two-tiered society of the created and the creators. What would that society be like? What would its people be like?
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UPDATE: Where is Humanity Machine?
I have good news and news (which is really neither good nor bad). The good news is that Humanity Machine will be released. Eventually. The novel is now a very polished 3rd draft, and itâs coming out one way or another.
I honestly wish we could publish the book now, but here comes the neither-good-nor-bad news.
How the novel will be published is a bit of an open question. Actually two open questions. I know thatâs horribly vague, but to say anything more at this time would be premature. There are some potentially exciting opportunities here, and the delay comes from H.P. and I taking the time to explore them properly.
So, yes. Humanity Machine will be coming out. You can count on that.