Jim Stein's Blog
March 1, 2022
Manybooks.net talks to fantasy author Jim Stein
The good people at Manybooks.net are always on the job connecting readers with books they’ll love. Naomi Bolton was nice enough to work up a virtual author interview about The Heartstone Chamber, MTS book 1. Jump over to thier site to get the scoop and see pencil drawings of a few main characters.
https://manybooks.net/featured-author...
My Magic Trade School (MTS) trilogy is complete and available on Amazon for purchase or as a borrow through the Kindle Unlimited (KU) program – just 1 slot in your library! Individual books are also published in paperback for those who savor the tanglible heft of a story while traveling to new realms.
The post Manybooks.net talks to fantasy author Jim Stein first appeared on Jim Stein Books.
June 2, 2019
My Legends Walk series is complete!
Strange Medicine marks the completion of my urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic/dystopian/fantasy series. Finishing the series with two self-published books was an adventure. Thankfully I had access to awesome cover design by Kris Norris, good Beta readers, and editing by Caroline Miller. These factors helped ensure my final products were professional and up to industry standards. I even managed to publish the eBook and print version of book 2 (Strange Omens) from the road while visiting our son in Austin. WiFi in the motorcoach proved sufficient for research and publishing. Even getting print proofs delivered worked out okay.
I hope you’ll give the series a try and let your friends know. Watch for all 3 books on Amazon at my author page. The “look inside” feature lets you get a sample of each.
To celebrate completion, each ebook will go through limited time special pricing of 99¢ during June. The perfect storm will be 4-8 June when book discounts will overlap and the entire series can be bought for just $3 ! Books 2 & 3 are also available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
If you take a chance on reading my work, I could really use a short honest review on Amazon. Good or bad, these are critical to gain social proof and help inform readers so they know if the story may interest them (or not). Thanks in advance and happy reading.
Legends Walk
Strange Tidings (80k words)
Strange Omens (105k words)
Strange Medicine (105k words)
P.S: For a change of pace, I’m finishing up a light SciFi novel with target publication this fall before getting back to fantasy novels.
April 8, 2019
Spring drawing for Signed book or $15 Amazon CG
https://jimsteinbooks.com/spring-give...
See above link for rules and to enter by signing up for my infrequent newsletter. Already a subscriber? Comment under my FB post that you've shared this post to be entered. -Good luck!
Ends 4/15.
Strange Omens
April 4, 2019
Spring Author Scavenger Hunt 5-9 Apr
SPRING FACEBOOK
SCAVENGER HUNT
April 5-9
https://bookwrapt.com/spring-fb-scavenger-hunt/
Spring is the sweetest time of the year. Yes or no? We’re betting you’ll agree if you’re
the lucky winner of our grand prize See’s Candies gift basket. Play our fun and easy
hunt for your chance to take home over $100 in chocolates and other goodies!
Plus, with 35 authors participating—most hosting individual giveaways of their own on
the hunt—our Spring basket is overflowing with dozens of treats we’re eager to give
away! Enter April 5-9 for your chance to win!
Authors Participating in the Hunt
Alex Gordon • Amanda Uhl • Angela Roquet • Angelica R. Jackson • Angie Wilder • Anna
Durand • Anne McClane • Ben Westerham • Cailin Briste • Casi McLean
Christine Grabowski • CM Lally • Donna R. Mercer • Honey Phillips • J.M. Walker •
Jacqueline Diamond • Jacquie Biggar • Jim Stein • Joanne Dannon • Judith Sterling •
Katherine Gilbert • Kathryn Knight • Kerry Blaisdell • Kristine Smith • Lia Davis • Lisanne
Harrington • Michelle Jo Quinn • Shae Banks • Shereen Vedam • Soraya Naomi •
Stephanie Queen • Taylor Marsh • Viola Calvary • Zoe Dawson • Zoe Forward
Join the fun, discover new authors, and maybe win some of those goodies.
FYI, I’m hosting a companion giveaway for new newsletter subscribers between 4/5-4/15. See the details and enter for a chance to win either a signed copy of my latest book (Strange Omens) or a $15 Amazon Gift Card at https://jimsteinbooks.com/spring-giveaway-2019/
If you are already subscribed to my newsletter, hang on because i have a chance to win coming your way soon.
January 30, 2019
Strange Omens eBook FREE until 2/2
Strange Omens on Amazon
Legends Walk Series:
Strange Tidings
Strange Omens
January 27, 2019
Strange Omens Blog Tour 1/28-2/4
Hey everyone, I’m fueling up the keyboard and hitting the virtual road for a blog tour. Please stop in at some of the below sites and say hi, ask a question, and check out the blogger’s corner of the internet. I’ll be answer interviews and posting articles to six of the stops. The rest will highlight my new release, Strange Omens. I’m also giving away a $25 Amazon Gift card so be sure to enter and good luck!
And if the eBook introductory price of $2.99 for Strange Omens (book 2) and 99¢ sale on Strange Tidings* (book 1) isn’t enough to get you into my Legends Walk series, watch for my 1/29-2/2 KDP free days where Strange Omens will temporarily be F.R.E.E! Yep you could get my 1st two eBooks for just 99¢ (plus tx) if you play your cards right.
*99¢ sale price ends 2/15
Follow the Tour:
January 28 Lisa’s World of Books
http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/
January 28 Fang-tastic Books (Guest Blog)
http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com
January 29 Rose Shababy
http://therealroseshababy.com/category/author-spotlight/
January 29 Paranormalists
https://paranormalists.blogspot.com/
January 29 Roxanne’s Realm
January 30 The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom (Guest Blog)
http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/
January 30 SImply Kelina
http://simplykelina.blogspot.com/
January 30 Authors’ Secrets (Interview)
https://www.tenastetler.com/category/authors-secrets-blog/
January 31 Mythical Books
http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.com/
January 31 Jazzy Book Reviews
http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com/
January 31 JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder
https://jbbookworms.blogspot.com/
February 1 Urban Fantasy Investigations (Guest Blog)
http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/
February 1 Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
http://mommasaystoreadornottoread.blogspot.com/
February 1 The Book Junkie Reads (Interview)
https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/
February 4 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!
http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com
February 4 Ramblings of a Book Nerd
https://booknerdramblings2015.blogspot.com
February 4 Supernatural Central (Interview)
http://supernaturalcentral.blogspot.com
Dark Stars, Bright Realms SF & Fantasy Giveaway 1/22-2/12
Kindle Fire • Ebook Prize Packs • Amazon Gift Cards • Geek Chic
SciFi and fantasy lovers, we have just the thing to brighten up any dreary, earthbound
winter’s day. Enter for your chance to win a Kindle Fire, gift cards, or ebook prize packs
where winners get to choose the books THEY want to win from Amazon’s vast universe.
Plus, don’t miss our book fair with its own giveaway and binge-worthy, SciFi, SciFi
romance, fantasy, fantasy romance, and urban fantasy, all priced 2.99 or less, some
FREE!
https://bookwrapt.com/dark-stars-sff-book-fair/
(This giveaway is sponsored by the authors listed below)
Alasdair Shaw • Amanda Uhl • Carol Van Natta • Christine Grabowski • Clarissa Lake •
Crystal Dawn • D. Lieber • E.B. Black • E.L. Roux • Eli Lang • Elizabeth Rose • India • R.
Adams • Isaiyan Morrison • J.L. Hendricks • JC Andrijeski • Jim Stein • Judith Starkston •
Katherine Gilbert • Kristine Smith • L.E. Harrison • LM Preston • Marsha A. Moore • Mary
Morgan • Mike Coville • Neil Port • T.J. Quinn • Theresa Beachman • V.S. Holmes •
Wesley Britton • Yumoyori Wilson
January 10, 2019
Legends Walk Book trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzb45...
January 6, 2019
Pina’s Holiday Adventure (free short fiction)
For fans of my Legends Walk series I wrote a fun short story (about 12k words).
Strange Omens (bk 2) is now on sale through Amazon for 1/11 release. Either of the 1st 2 books can be enjoyed as a stand alone, but this story helps introduce a few of the characters and what they are up to between Strange Tidings (bk 1) and Strange Omens. Pina is a forest sprite who lives in Ed’s house. She’s just plain fun in the main stories, so now has her own. Enjoy!
Read the beginning here or the whole story on my webpages at https://goo.gl/pko45u
Pina’s Holiday Adventure
Heavy steps padded down the hall and stopped just outside Pina’s door. She clutched the little black purse to her stomach. A dark shadow fell across the green Berber carpet beneath the door as the beast snuffled along the crevasse—searching for a way in. Snorts from the massive black snout sent out fine jets of snot in moist bursts.
“It’s open, silly.” Pina smoothed out her new blue-flowered dress. “Just push.”
She gave the door a little pull and nervously stepped back to stand by the small table next to her bed. It had taken forever to find a dress that fit her tiny frame. Humans didn’t tend to make cloths small enough for her people, but Ed’s sister Piper had been so patient. They’d finally found the cutest little outfit to replace the drab fibers that were her normal clothes. As the door swung open, she straightened the bowl and biscuits opposite her tea setting, petted her dress flat one last time, and held her breath.
The blocky head that pushed into the room ducked to look her in the eyes, liquid brown to her emerald green. She broke into giggles as the giant black dog ran that wet nose through her hair and into her right ear.
“Ew! None of that. This is a new dress, and you can’t drool on it. Sit!”
Obedient as ever Ed’s dog dropped his butt onto her bed. He cocked a look down at the neatly arranged table. But she’d worked hard on her outfit, so they were going to discuss that first. She smiled at the hopeful look he gave, and pirouetted in place.
“Do you like it? I thought green would be my color, but Piper helped me pick it out this lovely floral print.”
Max perked up at Piper’s name. He was a good boy, who knew all his commands and the name of everyone in the household. It was generous of Ed to share his home, but generosity from Kokopelli’s first born didn’t surprise her—even if the boy was half human. To be honest, she’d never actually been invited to stay. The little room at the end of the hall, with the clothing hung so neatly along poles to either side and the cute little diamond window overlooking the New Philadelphia suburbs, had called to her.
After she moved in, Ed had been nice enough to remove the clothes and bring in a sprite-sized bed that made the place so homey that she rarely missed her forests. One of her greatest pleasures was hosting sleep-overs with Maxie. Ed found the stray dog while trying to track down the Owl Witch, an evil being who’d killed Max’s prior owner. Ed said he was a mixed breed with a little lab, mastiff, and rhinoceros thrown in. All she knew was that Max was the cutest little love bug—well a love bug that weighed maybe four times as much as she did and stood a head taller.
His tongue lolled out from the side of his mouth as he took in her outfit, clearly approving, which brought a smile to her lips.
“Good boy, Max. You’re beautiful too. Let’s eat.”
She never had to say those words twice. Max dropped his snout to the bowl and slurped up the ground meat she’d cooked. She almost had to scold him for drooling, but the clever boy took a few laps of water from his other bowl, which took care of the problem. As she munched on a delightfully crispy human cookie, Max picked up one of the little bone-shaped biscuits and settled down on the bed to crunch it up.
They sat in companionable silence as the sun set. After a time, they snuggled under the blankets, content and with full tummies. A chill seeped through the window, feeling colder than the December air should. She’d heard the wild stories told by Ed’s parents, of how the old man dressed in red would break into houses this time of year. He’d steal cookies and leave gifts behind in some misguided attempt at recompense. Max burrowed deeper, pushing her to the very edge of the mattress. But sprites had good balance. She clung to his neck and drifted off.
Sharp wind whipped the diamond window, making it jitter and jump in its frame. Pina snapped awake, and Max flattened his ears as something went tic-tic-tic across the roof before scraping to a stop. Pina slipped an arm around Max’s furry shoulders and eyed the plate of neatly decorated little pine trees and flowers that Piper had so painstakingly sprinkled with green sugar and colorful candies. They both jumped at a metallic crash came from the kitchen downstairs.
“Come on.” Pina swung off the bed and headed for the stairs.
The doors to Ed’s and his sister Piper’s rooms were closed, but maybe one of his friends had left something during the evening jam session. The band was always forgetting things, especially Randy, the drummer. His pretty blonde hair was even longer than hers, but—as Ed said—he was such an airhead.
Sprites were master woodspeople, but moving quietly down the carpeted stairs made little difference with a hundred and fifty pounds of dog thumping behind her. The kitchen stood dark and silent, but the door to the pantry gaped wide. To Pina’s horror, the tins full of cookies that should have lined the middle shelf were missing. Even Maxie’s big box of treats was gone.
Scraping and rustling had them sneaking into the living room just in time to see a shadow dart into the cold fireplace. It must have been a trick of moonlight reflecting off snow drifts outside the big bay window, because when she flicked on the lights the hearth was empty. She and her friends had tried to climb up that chimney more than once. It was sealed tight against the cold Pennsylvania weather.
“Would you look at that?” Pina whispered.
Boxes wrapped in bright paper and bows were jammed under the festive pine tree the humans set up by the window. She looked to the mantle above where Ed had decided to hang giant red socks—honestly, who wore something that big and garish was beyond her. But what had been empty footwear earlier in the evening now bulged with miniature packages matching those under the tree.
The thing that wasn’t full, was the big porcelain plate Piper had set next to a glass of milk on the coffee table. At the time Pina worried Max might scarf the colorful cookies, but he had been perfectly content to head upstairs without giving them a second glance. All that remained now were a few crumbs and a finger of milk in the bottom of the glass.
“This just isn’t right,” Pina fumed.
Taking things without permission was stealing, plain and simple. Leaving so much behind to make up for the theft was the sign of a guilty conscience overcompensating. But nothing could replace all the hard work her friends had done baking and decorating.
The humans had been through so much this year, with the Dark Court sending the witch after them and Ed learning to control his music and magic. They didn’t deserve to have something like this happen. Pina resolved to put things right before anyone woke and discovered they’d been robbed.
“I need something from my room.”
Max cocked his head and followed her up back upstairs. Sprites didn’t often use magical artifacts because their own magic came naturally. She herself was skilled in illusion and a few other specialties, but her lord Kokopelli had given her a special necklace. It let her travel to places other than the woodlands and rivers of the forest sprites, and she had the feeling she would need it.
Amongst the paperclips, bits of paper, and coins—treasures pulled from behind the couch cushions—she found the bit of silver with its amber gem. Her smile of triumph slipped when she turned back to find her own plate of cookies now stood empty. Even Max’s dish had been licked clean. Cold wind blew across the empty dishes. Her diamond window stood ajar. Pina rushed over, scampered out onto the eaves, and turned back to Max.
“I’ll be right back.”
The roof was slick with snow and ice, but her inherent magic let her dance across it with ease. Footprints surrounded a wide area near the chimney—and thee were hoofprints! The prints were even smaller than hers, with a pointy toe and odd wavy ridges across the sole. The hoofprints were huge. Opposing teardrops formed pairs of inverted hearts that galloped along the rooftop, familiar tracks for anyone of the forest. But she shuddered at the thought of how big those deer must be.
The trail ended abruptly. Something heavy flattened furrows in the snow to either side of the prints, but both kinds of tracks disappeared just shy of the roof’s edge. They hadn’t simply jumped to the ground because the snow leading all the way to the neighbor’s yard was pristine.
“This is getting weird,” Pina said as she climbed back through the window. “We’re going to need help, and I know just the sprite for the job.”
Max watched her throw a few things into the tiny black purse that never seemed to get full, another little trick of her own design. She hated the idea of covering up her beautiful new dress, but it was cold out there! Luckily, Piper also had found her a sleek purple jacket with tons of zippers and pockets. She loved how it sparkled and jangled when she walked, and the hood came up into a sort of funnel that covered her face. Max’s tail thumped the floor as he picked up on her excitement. She frowned at the gentle giant.
“This might be a little scary.” She wrapped an arm around Max and hugged him tight.
Fast as thought the room disappear. They crouched in a snowy glen drenched in silver moonlight. Max let out a little yip, but his frantic breathing slowed when she kissed his head and told him how brave he’d been.
Read the rest of Pina’s adventure on my website at https://goo.gl/pko45u (The whole story seemed too long to put in a post)
December 28, 2018
Fantasy Book Giveaway 2018 results
Fantasy Book Giveaway 2018 – Results
Entries are closed: Congrats to Jamie M. 
A random winner has been selected from those of you who subscribed to my JimSteinBooks Newsletter between 11/28-12/10/2018.
The final winner is: Jamie M.
Watch for upcoming sweepstakes and giveaways here at JimSteinBooks, or join my infrequent newsletter to keep abreast of happenings!
Prize: 5 hardbound fantasy/urban fantasy novels & a signed paperback copy of my debut novel.
Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
Dark Ghost by Christine Feehan
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchet
Ravens of Avalon by Diana L. Paxson
Strange Tidings (signed) by Jim Stein
