Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Pinghavn, Book 4 of the Crazed Series available for Pre-Order

“Pinghavn”, Book 4 of the Crazed Trilogy is available for Pre-Order on all stores not named Amazon! The official release date is September 15, at which point it will also be published on Amazon.




Ahh, the glories of rescuing a damsel in distress! At least that’s how the bards spin a story. The reality is that there is a lot of journey involved before the damsel is even found. It can be quite stressful really.

A group of powerful and opinionated individuals are on such a stressful journey. That would be fine if they could all just get along and agree. However, that isn’t likely to happen. Distrust and suspicion while stuck in close quarters aboard a ship cast doubt upon the success of their mission.

Liselle is tired of being trapped on board a ship of her own. With her powers suppressed, she is only human now and that is far more disappointing than she had ever imagined. With each day it seems her captors are more determined to give up on her and possibly end her life.

Meanwhile, the threat of Tyeromaythan, Devourer of Gods and his Black Scale Guild loom over them all.

Join our adventurers in their angst as they sail the oceans, sit on laps and band together to make a mess of things.

The Crazed Series is the continuation of the Wyvern and Willden Trilogies. Beings of great power manipulate the world, sometimes to the benefit of mere mortals, but more often to their detriment. Join the odd and often unwilling heroes of Ryallon as they face threats to humanity.


Sunday, May 10, 2020

Bounty and Augury, Books 2 and 3 of the Crazed Series now available!

"Liselle", Book 1 of the Crazed Series was written back in 2013. It's been far too long since she was left in a difficult position. I'm pretty sure if she were to meet me in real life I'd be in a heap of trouble. I _have_ noticed flowers glaring at me lately.

Pelya, Tathan and others show up in this series as well!

"Bounty", book 2 was released last year. And now "Augury", book 3 is available. Links for both books are below along with links for Liselle too.

The first draft of book 4 is written and undergoing a thorough editing process. I don't have a name for it yet, but hope to soon!

The Crazed Series is the continuation of the Willden and Wyvern Trilogies. Beings of great power manipulate the world, sometimes to the benefit of mere mortals, but more often to their detriment. Join the odd and often unwilling heroes of Ryallon as they face threats to humanity.

I hope you enjoy these books!

All my best,

John H. Carroll










I hope you enjoy these and others available at your favorite online bookstores.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Twas the Day After the Night Before Christmas


Merry Christmas

Normally I read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to my kids on Christmas Eve. However, I was exhausted last night and went to bed before doing so. I woke up Christmas morning, realized my error and felt terrible. Now the good news is that I'm a writer, so why not make use of my talent (I use that word loosely) and create something special to make up for it.  So . . . here goes . . . 

Twas the Day After the Night Before Christmas
Copyright 2019 John H. Carroll
All Rights Reserved



'Twas the day after the night before Christmas, when all through the apartment
Most of the creatures were stirring, except the elephant; (I couldn’t afford one of those)
The stockings were hung on the wall before the kids awoke,
Knowing that their dad was totally broke;

The children struggled to get out of their beds,
Forgetting that visions of sugar-plums had danced in their heads;
And mamma isn’t here anymore, and I’m just their pap,
Who’s ready for another long winter's nap, (jeez I’m tired)

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I struggled up from the couch to see what was the matter,
Away to the window I bumbled, unlike flash,
Accidentally tore off a blind and slid open the sash. (I looked up what a sash was and our window has one)

The sun on the breast of the days-old snow, (this always sounds so dirty)
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below, (because it is midday)
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a dude walking his dog dressed up like a reindeer, (I’m not telling whether the dude or the dog was dressed up)

When an idiot driver, so lively and quick,
Sped down our residential road like a total prick.
More rapid than eagles his street racer came,
And I whistled, and shouted, and called him by name;

"Now, Cretin! now Dumbass! now Wanker! and Dipstick!
You Ninny! You Dotard! You Fopdoodle and bootlick!
To the end of the street! Right into a wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
I heaved a great gusty sigh,
So back to the couch I stumbled with much ballyhoo,
Tripping over toys, and St. Nicholas too. (Why in the world is he asleep under my tree? There wasn’t that much whisky in the eggnog I left for him)

And then in a twinkling, I heard from the apartment above,
The prancing and dancing of children and animals and the elephant they could afford  . . . and a dove. (Apparently this poem has to rhyme, so whatevs)
As I rose my hand, flipped them off, and was turning around,
Up popped St. Nicholas right off the ground.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with cookie crumbs and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
Wait, is that my PS4 in his sack?

His bloodshot eyes -- how they twinkled! his meth scars how merry!
His diseased cheeks were like roses, his twisted nose like a cherry!
His droll little lips were cracked and most his teeth were gone,
And the beard on his chin was scraggly as a leprechaun; (rhymes are hard)

The stump of a joint he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; (Hey! This is a no-smoking apartment!)
He had a sunken face and an emaciated belly,
That rumbled, needing a sandwich of peanut butter and jelly.

He wasn’t Saint Nick, not a right jolly old elf,
And I growled when I saw him, quite beside myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had everything to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his escape,
Stole all the stockings; then turned like an ape,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And flipping the bird, out the window he chose;

He sprang to his car, to his crew gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But ere he drove out of sight, I heard him drawl,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ME, AND TO ME A GOOD HAUL!




Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

All my best,
John H. Carroll

Sunday, November 24, 2019

9 Years Published.

Rojuun, My first Book



Book 1 of the Willden Trilogy
Book 4 of the Ryallon Series
FREE!

9 years of writing

9 years ago today, I published my first book, Rojuun. I was 40 and decided it was time I got off my behind to accomplish one of my life's goals.  It's been a long, enjoyable journey.  Having accomplished as much as I have has given me a sense of satisfaction.

In the last 9 years, I've:
Published 28 original stories and 2 compilations.
Sold over 18,000 copies of my books.
Given away over 435,000 copies of books.
Distributed books to 39 countries.
Written more than 1.5 million words.

Bibliography


Stories for Demented Children:
Odd tales of anti-heroes doing their best to survive odd circumstances.





Novels of Ryallon:

My full-length novels are set in the world of Ryallon.  They are high fantasy with magic, rogues, knights, dragons and flower children.

Dralin Series (Set before the Willden trilogy)

The Wyvern Series (Parallel to the Willden Trilogy, set in time after the Dralin Trilogy)

Willden Trilogy (Written first)

The Crazed Series (All previous series merge here)
Augury (Coming 2020)
To be Determined (Coming 2020)

Stand-alone Novella

Other Stories:

Short stories and a novella that came to me along the way.

Novella
Alien Coffee (Sci-fi)

Short Stories
Test Pilot (Sci-fi)

What the future holds

I've written the 29th book and am on my 30th book, respectively the 13th and 14th of the Ryallon Series.  I need to get further on the 30th to establish consistency between the two.

Lately, the words haven't been there.  Real life has required far more attention than I'd like.  In addition, I mentioned above that I've written 1.5 million words.  I'm a little worn out on writing, and the last couple of years, it's felt like a chore rather than a passion.  I believe it's harmed the quality of my writing.  I'm taking the time to find my passion and motivation and will eventually pick it back up.

That said, I'm looking forward to continuing this journey for many years to come.  I have a million stories left to write.

All my best,

John H. Carroll