Jason Paul Rice's Blog

Our current giveaway features easy sign-ups and four different winners.

The grand prize will be: Joe Abercrombie, The Heroes-Signed, Limited Edition Subterranean Press Edition(Only 500 printed and still in the original plastic covering) and Jason Paul Rice Signed Copies of Two Heads, Two Spikes and Fractured Families.

All three prizes will be accompanied by signed copies of Two Heads, Two Spikes and Fractured Families.
Prize #1-$50 Amazon Kindle Card
Prize #2-Robin Hobb Specially Inscribed Fool's Assassin Hardback
Prize #3-George R.R. Martin and Daniel Abraham Double Signed Game of Throne Comic Book

http://gvwy.io/u0cmhgw

My name is Jason Paul Rice and I am basically a one man operation. This is my new Monday blog to interact with readers and help any beginning authors out there by sharing my experiences of navigating the treacherous waters of the book selling business. I thought you put a book out and it magically sold so I’m clearly not an expert but if others can learn from my mistakes or success and save money, it’ll be worth it. I am an indie author and I do have a line editor, cover artist, beta readers and a few dedicated friends and family members but the rest is up to me. Writing, promoting and paying for everything is just me. I am a full-time chef and would love to hang up the apron for a pen and keyboard someday, but alas, that day is not today. I would really be grateful to get feedback from readers about what factors lead them to select a book.
This is the story of a good man against the giant mountain known as the publishing business. This week’s post will provide you with a look at a writer trying to get his work out to as many readers as possible using different methods to obtain the almighty review. Future posts will detail Goodreads giveaways, Amazon algorithms, rafflecopter, Kirkus, Bookbub, freelance editors, artists, author/reader etiquette and the psychology of readers.
People always scoff when I tell them that it’s hard to give books away. Without a publishing house, big support system or large readership as of yet, this will chronicle the desperate efforts of a writer trying to get his books into the hands of readers.
HISTORY-
I am the author of the Pearl of Wisdom Saga. The first volume, Two Heads, Two Spikes was released June 2014. Due to working sixty hour weeks, it took me much longer than I wanted in between the first two books. Fractured Families is now available in ARC form to anyone interested and I am writing Volume 3, Six Heads, One Crown at the moment. I have three chapters written but the entire book has been outlined and mapped out. I write in a notebook first and then on the computer so I can revise the work as I type it before I revise it ten more times before completion.
CURRENT AFFAIRS-
At the moment I have Two Heads, Two Spikes listed free on Amazon and Barnes and Noble if anyone is interested:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3FJOOE
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-h...
As I said earlier, it can be hard to even give away books. Amazon obviously isn’t going to help me push a free book so they can make $0 off the deal. I understand that, but my advertising channels are mainly facebook author page and twitter. Now both sites want you to pay to promote everything. Facebook is actually making me pay to promote my posts to my own followers? People liked my page to get my posts but Facebook won’t let them until I give them some money. I tried an ad to a targeted audience with minimal if any success and will probably never do it again. As for twitter, you can pay for more followers or a particular tweet. You can also set the promo for a link or profile click off a particular tweet. I tried one of these with minimal success. I am sure you can go more in depth and set particular filters for a more targeted audience you would like to reach. I also didn’t spend very much on either ad campaign but would rate them as failures.

I am currently using three review sites. I started on October 30th with NetGalley, Story Cartel and Reading Alley. All sites strongly encourage their readers to review all the books but they are not required to do anything after downloading your work.
I can’t say much about Reading Alley. I have both my books listed on there because it’s pretty cheap, $25 for two months. I didn’t get any requests from anyone I didn’t know beforehand. They do encourage you to promote your books for more money and reviews are posted on their site. I chose not to promote and apparently I am suffering the consequences. I tweeted about it early on but better success on the other sites made me lose interest quickly. If I was grading this after three weeks, it would be incomplete but success so far is an F.
NetGalley-$399 for six month listing
http://netgal.ly/9BwItM
NetGalley has been an expensive investment. I wish I would have heard about the cooperatives people use to band together to beat the high cost before I signed up alone but that will be included in next week’s post. I heard that NetGalley has the harshest critics and I want to put my work to the test. This will be a tough assessment as I tried a few different strategies and I am in a unique boat. I am only offering my second book in a series that almost all the members of NetGalley haven’t started so that is an uphill battle right there. This is an incomplete series to top it off which turns some readers away immediately. I listed on my Fractured Families description page that the first book was free on Amazon to let the readers get both books but I am not sure if this helped or not. One reviewer did mention that they went to Amazon to read the first book.
After a week of having my book available for request, I switched my title to READ NOW which means the reader doesn’t have to wait to be approved by the author, they can instantly download your book. NetGalley also lets you see if the person who requested your book actually downloaded it or not. The site encourages you to vett your requests to decide if that person should have your book. NetGalley does provide a full profile of their readers unlike the mystery faces on the other sites. However, as an independent author I am in no position to turn anyone away who even shows the most remote interest in my books. If I could have been more selective I would have probably turned down a few people who requested my title. My only issue with NetGalley is that they let their reading members request an unlimited amount of books. One member has been approved for over 15,000 books since 2012. Nobody can read that many books in that amount of time. I wish NetGalley would put a cap on the number of requests a member can make in a certain period of time. Again, I had the opportunity to turn some people down but I took a chance. I have seen blog posts from readers who say they just can’t help themselves and keep requesting books until it gets out of control.
Users can also vote on your cover. As of today, I have 15 thumbs up and none down so I guess the cover is working. The readers can also vote on your description, author status and buzz. My description has gotten a very good response too.
As for the stats, on an approval basis, I got twenty requests and approved all of them. I got fifteen readers from the READ NOW option. I had read about some authors getting negative reviews from this widespread method but I need to utilize the shotgun approach. Now it would seem like the approval system is the way to go but I was using that when my book first showed up on the site and got a lot of requests. Not many authors use the READ NOW option so my book is still on the first page of SCI-FI and FANTASY in this category. I have received three reviews already and you have the choice to make them publicly show up on your book page or keep them private. I happily published a five star review that would definitely convince someone to check out the book. I also have two 3 star reviews as of now which is pretty good considered I have read about authors having hundreds of requests and only receiving a few reviews. One, actually, is only a rating. Needless to say I was disappointed when a Librarian Member of NetGalley left a 3 star rating without a review or a quick note on how to improve the book or writing. The other review stated that she was expecting Game of Thrones and it just fell short in her opinion. Neither was terrible but I didn’t make either public as they wouldn’t entice someone to read the book. I am grateful for the feedback and the person who expected GOT thought she was being harsh, but I didn’t think so. If you go into any book expecting it to be as good as GOT, you will probably be disappointed. I would rate my experience a big success with three reviews in the first three weeks and give it a solid C+ only because of the hefty price with plenty of room to move up or down in future grading. I would love to interview NetGalley users (readers or authors) for a future blog post. If anyone is interested, respond below.
Story Cartel-$25 for a month (sort of)
Because of the price both books are listed on Story Cartel, the only site I’m using that doesn’t list reviews. The ‘sort of’ above means that they let people download your book for three weeks. This site is the only one that immediately sends your book to the reader but the final week is a review period which I can’t really understand. I would rather have my book available to download for the entire time since no one is posting reviews on the site. Story Cartel lets you download a spreadsheet of everyone that requested your book. I’ve used this twice and found most reviews came through Amazon or Goodreads. I tried to list both books at the same time but they wouldn’t let me list Fractured Families because readers couldn’t leave reviews for a preorder on Amazon. After two weeks it was approved and listed. I received 23 downloads of Two Heads, Two Spikes and I’ve already received two reviews on Amazon. One was a 2 star and the other a 5. The bad review didn’t really get me down and the good one didn’t make me think I was the greatest author in the world. I have been conditioned for criticism as a chef. We are judged on a table to table basis, every day we work. There is a saying, “You’re only as good as your next dish.” I try to translate that into my writing to stay humble and not get too high or low. I received eight downloads of Fractured Families and no reviews have been posted which I understand because it’s only been a week and SC users prefer Amazon. This is the most bang for the buck and I would rate this as a great success and will probably list both books again next month.
Goodreads Event-Free
I made my ARC available to all my friends on Goodreads through an event. I don’t like doing because of all the event requests I get but I know some of my friends would want a chance at the book. You can only invite people from your own friends list as far as I know. In the listing I even offered the first book to anyone who hadn’t read that yet. I got 34 people to say yes and about 12 to say maybe. However, of the 34, many still haven’t responded to the private email so that number is lower. I was happy with anyone saying yes or maybe to spend precious time reading my tales so this was a success also. Two very positive reviews for the first book came in and both are reading the second. Some people did say they had other projects in front of mine which I completely understand. I am also running two Goodreads giveaways for each of my books and the early response to that has been good and I will talk more about that in future posts.
General Assessment-
I am finding out more than anything this is a numbers game even when it comes to beta readers and genuine promises from friends. I understand that life gets crazy for everybody, not just me. Someone may have downloaded your book with the best intentions but sometimes it must be swept aside for more important matters. Everyone who downloads your book on NetGalley or Story Cartel isn’t going to review it or even read the thing. In fact, very few will review it and you really don’t know if the others even read the dang thing. Some people have said that these are pirate sites for those who simply don’t want to pay for books. I disagree and would argue that these sites are a reflection of humanity. I think the core and early members of these review sites started out with noble intentions and most users left feedback on their readings. Over time, of course there will be people who manipulate the system and use these sites to read free books or just get out of control like the above-mentioned case. If you have a 10% success rate of downloads to reviews, consider yourself lucky. With that in mind, it can be frustrating as an author to see the number of downloads to actual reviews. I am just happy with anyone who will read my books and the review is icing on the cake.
As you can see I am open to any and all advice especially from readers. I would love to interview readers on a variety of subjects about books and life so if anyone is interested, please email me or respond in the comments. Authors, please feel free to share your experiences on these sites with any techniques that would help fellow writers. Feel free to ask any questions on the content of this article and thank you for your time.
Let’s make reading cool,
Jason Paul Rice
Author
Pearl of Wisdom Saga
twoheadstwospikes@gmail.com

Hey everyone, Jason Paul Rice here with some author and giveaway updates.

Progress on Fractured Families, Volume 2 of the Pearl of Wisdom Series is going well. I have tried to fully immerse myself in everything medieval and book related. About three quarters has been written and the first ten chapters have been professionally edited so the wheels are greased and in motion. It looks like this will be at least twice as long as the first volume so I appreciate everyone’s patience. I have someone working on the cover right now and I am also having character images made right now. I already have an image of Queen Leimur finished and my artist is working on one of two male characters. I am getting some author pictures done right now to look more professional, I guess. I have somewhat held off on promoting the first book because I knew the rest of the series was so far out that I really wanted people to read the book but I didn’t want to cram it down everyone’s throat. I understand that it can be frustrating to read a book of a series and like it only to find out the next volume isn’t available. I feel that the first two volumes should consist of close to 1000 pages and will give the reader a true understanding of where the series is headed and should show some real character and plot development.

Fractured Families will be released as an ARC on June 1st, hopefully. I really want to do an advanced copy and get it on Net Galley to build up some reviews before the official release. If anyone out there would like to be on a list to receive the ARC just contact me.

I am also “kicking” around the idea of a Kickstarter for Fractured Families. I am not looking for donations but more of a pre-order with specialty packages. I already have money budgeted for my cover, editing, formatting and all other procedural costs. Any money that is made from the Kickstarter project will go into advertising, maybe a Kirkus review, and to put the advanced copies on Net Galley. Kirkus and Net Galley alone can run about $1000 but the exposure can be priceless. One package would feature both images(8X10) and a signed copy of the book. Other packages would include personal stories about your favorite characters from the author. Another idea would put you in the close circle of the author’s advisors to see all your great ideas and input come to fruition in a book. Kickstarter won’t let you advertise that some of the money will go to charity but I will donate 10% of the Kickstarter total to the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. I am not positive but it is pretty likely I will try this route.

I am going out today to mail out the prizes for the previous contest winners. The next contest will feature “Game of Thrones” items to get ready for the series return. I have a pre-released chapter teaser from “A Feast For Crows” that came out to promote the release of the book. It is a chapter called “The Captain of Guards Exerpt”. This is a pretty rare item signed by George R.R. Martin and marked ‘Special Pre-Publication Excerpt’. Then we have a signed picture of the Red Viper thrusting his Dornish spear at the Mountain in one of the most epic moments in the book and show’s history. It is signed by the Red Viper, Pedro Pascal. The final item is an autographed picture of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Jaime Lannister. It is a cool black and white of the knight contemplating.

I will attach the Prologue to Volume Two of the Pearl of Wisdom series below. This will give the reader an understanding of how the stories came about. It is really short but please let me know what you think. I would like to thank everyone for reading this and I appreciate all the support.
Read and Write On,
J.P.R
http://twoheadstwospikes.wix.com/jaso...
https://twitter.com/2Heads2Spikes
https://www.facebook.com/2heads2spikes





PROLOGUE
50 YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS OF TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES
YEAR 464
SOMEWHERE IN DONEGAL

“And remember, children, even on the darkest of days the sun rests behind the clouds, ready to break through. That is all for now children and that concludes the stories of the spring. I hope you have enough ink in the castle to write the words of the Bloody Summer,” the old woman said, looking at her niece.
“Why did they call it that?” asked her brother’s youngest daughter.
“You will find out soon enough. Just know that if you survived the summer, as I barely did, you were amongst the lucky,” Telly Burke told her niece.
Most of the younger members of the family liked to sit and listen to Aunt Telly’s stories about the turbulent times in Donegal. There had been peace in the kingdom for the entirety of the children’s lives. It intrigued them to hear the recent history of their land. As the kids streamed out the last one to leave was always Butrella Burke.
Butrella, Telly Burke’s niece, had just turned sixteen and while her aunt told her she looked like the former Queen Emilia, most others disagreed. Butrella was short and petite but the similarities stopped there. Her pale skin, blond hair and green eyes differed from the former Queen’s. Butrella had dreamed of being a great warrior queen like Leimur Leluc of Goldenfield but her size dashed those dreams. She then thought long and hard about what she could do to make her mark. Aunt Telly told Butrella about the thousand-year-old books in the castle and they excited her. The teenager decided that if she couldn’t be the person written about in books then she could be the one to write them. When she thought about someone reading one of her books in a thousand years, Butrella realized that the quill would now be her sword.
She said farewell to her aunt Telly and took one last look at her before leaving. Telly Burke showed signs of old age even though she still had a few brown hairs showing among her light gray locks. Her face had wrinkled greatly, and despite Telly’s attempts, no amount of makeup could cover the signs of her saggy skin. Her long, skinny arms hugged Butrella and the teenager headed back to her quarters. She made her way through the big castle and glided down the hallway, arriving at her destination. She pushed open the door revealing a simple looking room by castle standards. A bed, couch and several tables cluttered with books were the first to meet the eye. Two dressers, a desk and a hanging rod for gowns and dresses occupied the back of the room.
She ran over to pick up one of her favorite books and started leafing through it. She believed her aunt Telly, but she liked to check the facts and she had the right book, “A Categorical History for the Kingdom of Donegal, Years 400-440.” She found the section on year 414 and discovered her aunt had told the truth once again.
When Butrella pondered about what would make her book stand out, she instantly thought about her aunt Telly’s stories. Most of the books only talked about what happened inside the kingdom but her aunt’s tales took you all around the world. Butrella knew that every once in a while aunt Telly would twist the facts a bit to make for an incredible story. Aunt Telly had told the children several times that she personally knew all the people she talked about in her stories, some briefly and others for years, and she seemed to have inside knowledge that none of the books could provide. Butrella wanted to write a story that was exciting with her own spin on it but still grounded in facts.
Butrella grabbed a quill and sat down at her desk. She thought about the Harvest Day Tourney scheduled for the morrow and remembered that her aunt had said that there weren’t any tourneys for many years in Donegal. There would be knights from every region battling for gold and glory but in a civilized manner. She dipped the quill and prepared to make an entry in her book titled, “The Exciting History of Donegal and Beyond, Years 414-415”.

Here is one of the chapters from the book that helped with the title.


--LEIMUR

Leimur moved down the hall toward her father’s drinking room. It had been four years since she’d walked through the royal palace. The King of Goldenfield enjoyed relaxing alone every day after supper in this room. At least he did when Leimur had lived there. She looked back and gave a nod as she entered.
A luxurious comfort room of gaudy couches and chairs greeted her. It also contained an elaborate bar with various wines and ales. The furniture was upholstered in a red velvet theme with gold accentuation, while a large dark blue carpet covered the floor.
She saw a fat, disgusting man sitting in a fancy crimson chair. The obese King, Pascal Leluc, was so drunk that he was almost passed out and his blue eyes were nearly shut. King Pascal was balding with islands of bushy black hair on the sides and back of his head. The fifty-one year old also had a full beard and mustache. He shared his darker complexion with Leimur.
“Wake up,” shouted Leimur.
Her father jumped in his seat and groggily looked over at Leimur.
“Not exactly what I was looking for, but alright,” said the King.
The King lifted his robe, unknowingly exposing himself to his daughter.
“Never get caught with your pants down. Don’t you even practice your own rules? You honestly have no idea who I am?” Leimur asked as she shook her head in disbelief.
It has only been four years, you nasty drunk.
“I will not have some whore come in here and talk to a king like this,” Pascal retorted.
“I am not a whore. I am your daughter,” she screamed back.
Pascal slowly rose and squinted to focus his bleary eyes on Leimur. “What in the hells do you want?”
“It is good to see you too, father…”
“Forget that,” he interrupted, trying unsuccessfully not to slur his words, “you were never supposed to return here after what you did.”
“Well, if you would respond to your eastern army correspondence, I wouldn’t have to do this. And that pile of horseshit got what he deserved,” she quickly responded.
“That PILE was the son of the wealthiest lord in Goldenfield, and you killed him in this palace,” the King bellowed at his daughter.
“He raped me,” she shrieked.
“Ha, a husband cannot rape his wife. She is his for the taking whenever he wishes,” the King returned.
“He told me he would wait until I was ready, but then he had sex with me while I slept. That is rape, father,” she said emotionally.
He shouted, “Don’t call me that. In fact leave here right now.”
“Absolutely not, I am home to stay,” Leimur said as she approached her father.
“Don’t make me call for my guards,” he threatened.
“Oh, but don’t you see, that would be failure number two,” she smartly pronounced.
“Failure number two? What do you mean?” a leery King queried.
“Allow me to remind you of the first failure. It was three years ago when you told General Rigby to force your seventeen-year-old daughter into the fiercest part of the battle, and leave her to die.”
“Well, it appears that the General is lying to you,” King Pascal responded quickly and nervously.
“You will like to know he did take your order. He fed me to the fire but I wouldn’t burn. The flames enriched me from within and only fueled me to become stronger. Like a tiger,” Leimur said almost in tears.
“Enough of this already, I will not be called a liar in my own palace. Either you leave this instant or I will call for my guards. I brought you into this world, and I will take you out if you force my hand,” the King declared with confidence.
“Please do, my King, it would be my pleasure,” the Princess proudly retorted with a mocking curtsy.
“Henri, come in here at once. We have a situation,” the King yelled.
The door slammed open and a man’s head rolled in and came to a stop in the center of the room.
“Well, there is Henri. Would you like any of your other guards to help you? We have them all. And here is failure number two. I am positive that you will be surprised to know a small disturbance can draw most of your guards outside the palace for easy pickings. Pathetically, you never realized Sevring was so ripe for sack.”
Fear flashed across Pascal Leluc’s face much to the delight of his daughter as she continued, “All we needed was one of the six protector cities to join our cause. So when two came rushing, begging to join my side, I knew what must be done,” she said, smiling to expose her tiger-like teeth.
The King turned and ran as the Warrior Princess pounced on his back. She quickly removed a dagger from her belt and drove it into the side of the King’s neck with a downward motion toward his chest. It had about a twelve inch blade that was made of amethyst. King Pascal had given it to his daughter as a gift but it was more of a decoration than a useful knife. Over the years the Princess had transformed it from a ceremonial item into a real killing weapon. It had a dark purple grip that matched her eyes and a gold pommel and cross-guard.
He fell on his stomach struggling to remove the dagger from his neck, but he only succeeded in flopping around like a fish on land. She held the blade for several moments, taking pleasure in her father’s frantic pleas for mercy. She almost expected red wine to pour from the wound, but human blood actually spurted from the dying King’s wound when she pulled the dagger out. He fell flat on his regal face and two more quick jabs to the back of the neck ended the reign of King Pascal Leluc of Goldenfield. His twenty two year rule slid away, mirroring the moving stream of blood on the floor. Leimur stared at her deceased father for several moments before leaving the room. General Rigby was waiting outside.
“Where is she?”
“She is right down the hallway here. We didn’t want to, uh, disturb her,” General Rigby stated.
“Are my brothers safe?” she asked with concern.
“Yes, they are safe with us,” he reassured Leimur.
They came upon what used to be a guest room. Leimur heard sounds of passion through the thick walls.
No shame. This is how she did not hear the takeover of her own palace.
Leimur booted the wooden door open, rattling the couple in bed.
“Get out before I have you thrown into the dungeons,” her mother exclaimed in a raspy, dry voice.
“The dungeons, that is a good idea...”
Before she could finish, her mother jumped out of bed, completely nude, and rushed Leimur. The Princess responded with a closed right fist to the side of her mother’s cheek, knocking the Queen onto her ass.
“GUARDS,” howled the Queen.
“Don’t waste your precious breath mother, you haven’t much left, and besides they are all dead.”
The Queen peered at her in the sparsely lit room, realizing that it was the daughter she had always hated. Leimur looked at the man in the bed only to see it was her uncle Marcel. A brother of her father’s, but that didn’t make this situation any better.
“Uncle Marcel, your Queen seems to think that you should spend some time in the dungeon to ponder what you have done.” She looked at the open door. “Sir Pierre and Captain Salina, please come in here. Take this man to the dungeons.”
Just as commanded, the pair entered the room and wrestled a reluctant Marcel Leluc into submission. They bound his arms and dragged him from the room, naked and unwilling.
“Be careful uncle, I hope the rats aren’t hungry tonight,” Leimur snidely remarked as her uncle left.
The Princess glanced covertly at her mother and saw the horrified look on her face. The Queen of Goldenfield realized her time was up and started to get desperate.
“What did I ever do to you, my child?”
“You must have a worse memory than your drunken husband. Well, not any longer, I suppose. Don’t try to pretend that you didn’t ignore me from birth until sending me off to die. You hated me because I wasn’t the girly princess you expected me to be. But this is more about what you two did to the realm, driving it into the ground.” Leimur moved closer to stand over her mother.
Queen Harla Leluc was a short, bronze skinned woman of thirty-nine. Her brown eyes were now reddened from impending tears. Her black hair looked disheveled and she was overweight, but not as much as her husband. She stared at the daughter who had caused the immense pain to her jaw.
“And what are we to do with you?” Leimur asked.
“I don’t know exactly what you have done. But you will need strong counsel to rule a realm,” the Queen reminded her.
“So right you are again. You are wise. I shall heed that advice. General Rigby, come in here please,” she commanded.
The haggard General stepped into the room. The Queen didn’t even attempt to cover herself.
“General, what should we do with our Queen of Goldenfield?” Leimur wondered.
“What are her charges?” calmly asked Rigby.
“She is charged with treason, and with putting everyone in Goldenfield in danger of their lives through a rule of ignorance and overindulgence.”
“Why not let the people decide her fate? If she has served them well, they will come to her aid,” the General counseled.
“Great advice. Thank you for your recommendation about counsel, my Queen,” Leimur sarcastically stated. “Tie her hands behind her back and take her to the front steps.”
“Can I at least put on clothes and have some dignity?” her mother begged.
“You have already shown your dignity in this room. You are lucky I don’t parade you around the city so you may be stoned and beaten with sticks. Father didn’t even teach you not to get caught with your pants down. Nothing shall conceal your treason against Goldenfield,” Leimur said, raising her voice.
She rushed downstairs to be greeted by hundreds of supporters gathered inside the palace doors. Leimur had brought some from the eastern front and picked up others along the way.
This is amazing. General Rigby could have done this a long time ago if he wanted to. Why didn’t he?
They pushed open the ten-foot high doors to expose Leimur. She walked up to the front entrance a princess, and moved outside to her throngs of citizens as their Queen.
A crowd of thousands flooded the city and erupted in elation when Leimur walked out to the top of the marble steps. The rich intermingled with the poor in an extremely rare show of kingdom unity. Goldenfield had been plagued with lots of infighting due to taxes being too high and unreasonable. General Rigby handed the golden crown of the land to Leimur. She held it high in the air as the crowds exploded again. It was too big to fit her head so she just held it in her hand as she orated over the audience.
“My people, the tyranny is over. All citizens of Goldenfield, we must work together to return this realm to greatness…”
Before she could finish, the mob cheered again.
When they calmed down, the new Queen continued, “We have our first decision to make as a new Goldenfield is born. Your former Queen, Harla Leluc has been charged with treason against Goldenfield.”
Queen Harla was pushed out to the delight of the jubilant people.
Leimur went on, “We will either put her to death or exile her to another land to live out her days. All in favor of the Queen being exiled speak up now.”
A hush fell over the boisterous citizens with no one rising up in the Queen’s defense. The crowd remained silent for a few moments and then broke out into pandemonium. She stood disgraced, with people shouting about her fat body, along with any other insult that could be articulated. “Gluttonous whore” seemed to be the phrase most often used.
“Now, all in favor of death…”
Before she could complete the words, the Goldenfield crowd went crazy, clapping, stomping and screaming. The Queen was led over to the chopping block reserved for the king’s justice and placed over it. The stinging embarrassment made the Queen welcome a quick death. The undertaker drew a mighty sword and held it in the air to the delight of the crowd. Leimur stepped in to stop the executioner. She couldn’t let him do it.
“I will carry out the people’s wish myself,” Leimur stated.
Dusk started easing in as the purple and blue skyline was being flushed away, like the rule of overt excess at its worst. Leimur pulled her sword and got swept up in the chaotic wailing coming from her people. She understood the pent-up aggression from decades of abuse. Leimur felt like a liberator, walking on air as she approached the former Queen.
“You have been found guilty of treason against Goldenfield. Your people have spoken and now you shall pay with your life,” she confidently proclaimed.
The sword gleamed in the last rays of the setting sun. Leimur took a deep breath. She raised the sharp steel above her head and brought it straight down, cleanly taking off her mother’s head. Power effectively transferred from the old Queen to the new one with just a single swing of the sword. The moment was surreal for Leimur. She stood, shaking, and looked at her new people. She thought that her heart might explode from her chest. Everything slowed down for Leimur and her ears fell silent for a moment, but then the roaring returned.
“Put it on a spike,” urged the townspeople. More raunchy remarks rose from the faithful citizens. “Where is the King? We want his head on a spike too.”
The Leluc family had ruled Goldenfield for the past two hundred and eighty years. While there had been some violent power struggles throughout the years, nothing rivaled this hostile takeover. Leimur Leluc always thought power was best earned. In her mind, she’d just earned it. A broken, wayward Princess had left the Capitol four years ago in disgrace to be sacrificed. But she had now returned, hero to most, Queen Leimur to all.
The people of Goldenfield now started to speak as one. Leimur couldn’t make out the message at first, but it grew louder and stronger.
They were chanting, “TWO HEADS, TWO SPIKES. TWO HEADS, TWO SPIKES.”
Queen Leimur Leluc turned to General Rigby, “Bring me my father’s head. I must give my people what they want.”

The rest of the book can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3FJOOE

The winners for my name a character contest in my book are Charlie Hopkins, Sean Rowland and Arash Arabasadi. Check out the book to see where their names fit in.
Thank you to everyone who participated, I really appreciate it.

The book TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES is now for sale on amazon for $2.99:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L3FJOOE

I had this small back chapter laying around that shows how everyone has been endlessly searching for the Pearl of Wisdom for the past five hundred years.




*THIS IS A QUICK BACK STORY FROM THE BOOK TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES BY JASON PAUL RICE.
THIS IS SET 29 YEARS BEFORE THE CURRENT EVENTS IN THE BOOK*

IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND

The short sixteen year-old sneaked up to the docks. This was probably just another lead that would finish in a dead end. Then he spied the glimmer in the merchant's hand and his heart thumped with excitement. The tall, wind-knot salesman shoved the object into his pocket and rushed away. Ali-Samuel Wamhoff, the red headed soldier from Donegal, realized this might finally be the one and followed at a brisk pace. After an entire year on these dreaded mountain filled islands he just saw the object every man had been hunting for the past five hundred years. The tall, bald merchant, who wore a long cloak, looked around for possible trouble before nonchalantly heading into the woods. Ali-Samuel crept over to the tree line and saw the bald man holding the giant pearl.
The man was so entranced by the stunning object that he was nearly drooling over it and didn’t notice Alisamuel take his long bow from his shoulder. He started to pull an arrow but it got stuck on the way out of the bag. His small struggle with the arrow attracted the merchant’s attention and he spotted Ali-Samuel. He immediately took off at a smart pace, swerving back and forth in a jagged pattern to avoid an arrow attack. As Ali-Samuel readied his bow to shoot, he noticed the man was repeating the same back and forth pattern. The loosed arrow ripped through the dusk and found its mark in the pearl holder’s back. It pierced the bald man’s heart and he dropped, but fought hard to ward off death. Alisamuel ran up to the struggling man who was trying to get back onto his feet. The merchant barely rose to his knees, then suddenly turned into black liquid and fed the thirsty soil.
Ali-Samuel stopped immediately. He had heard stories as a young boy about the coldomores on the Pearl Islands. Their name came from the Scribenese language from thousands of years ago and it meant cold black-hearted. Count Silzeus regularly told tales of the skin-changing demons that came from Venom Island. The coldomores would take over a human or animal’s actions and soul when they invaded the body. The castle Count had said that the coldomores turned into black blood and ran inside the earth, searching for their master Travibero. Only the clothes of the demon remained in a pile on the ground without a trace of the living being it had invaded.
He shook off the shock of the moment and pushed the dirty clothes around as he searched for the ultimate prize. There it lay, glowing in the fading sunlight, mesmerizing Ali-Samuel. A huge smile spread over his face for the first time in months. He bent down and picked up the Pearl of Wisdom. It was as big as the purple fire balls they used in battle, just as the Captain had said. It glittered with gold speckles that captivated the young man’s blue eyes. This could really help him get the respect he was searching for.
Ali-Samuel’s father was the twin brother of the King of Donegal, Ali-Stanley Wamhoff. After refusing a marriage for political gain because of his love for Ali-Samuel’s mother, he was run out of the kingdom. The King’s guard captured his mother and the newborn Ali-Samuel before his father could save them. They slit his mother’s throat in front of the castle and were about to smash Ali-Samuel’s head on the stones until the Queen ordered them to stop. She wouldn’t let them slaughter an innocent child and allowed Ali-Samuel to grow up in the castle.
However, his grandmother, Queen Tomeo, was the only one who didn’t treat Ali-Samuel like a servant. The King and Prince despised Ali-Samuel and barely acknowledged his existence. He grew up as the royal bastard of the castle.
“Their attitude will surely change when I stroll in with the Pearl of Wisdom,” Ali-Samuel thought.
On the walk back to the Donegal camp site, he thought about trying to use the Pearl of Wisdom to summon the dragons for his own personal use. Ali-Samuel had trouble understanding why he should return it to King Ali-Stanley, the man who had always hated him. The King would be powerless to stop him if the stories about the Pearl of Wisdom were true. The legend said that if one chanted “Boloteeso” seven times and held the Pearl to the sky, the dragons would submit themselves to the holder’s command. No, Ali-Samuel finally decided, he was going to act with honor even though the King had treated him like a peasant.
The Pearl hadn’t been used in five hundred years, which was when a small force headed by a man named Rockarius annihilated the Damian Doome-led coldomore fighters. Almost every man and woman in the world knew the name Rockarius, and soon they would remember the name Ali-Samuel Wamhoff. He thought about the reception he would get in every kingdom of the world. Kings would treat him like a hero and men would throw their daughters at Ali-Samuel’s feet.
He stopped daydreaming as he neared the campsite. He saw Captain Fulbont and walked toward him with a big smile. Ali-Samuel quietly steered the Captain into a vacant tent.
“What is going on? You never smile.” The Captain looked suspiciously at Ali-Samuel.
“Feast your eyes on this.” Ali-Samuel pulled the Pearl from his pocket to show the Captain.
“Allow me to hold it.” Captain Fulbont held out his hand and Ali-Samuel placed the shining object in his palm. Its reflection glimmered in the Captain’s eyes.
“It’s fake,” Captain Fulbont said dismissively.
“What do you mean it is a fake? I got it from a coldomore I will have you know.” Ali-Samuel’s face turned bright red, almost as fiery auburn as his hair.
“I don’t care if you got it from Rockarius himself, it is a good fake, but still isn’t real nevertheless.” The Captain tried to leave but Ali-Samuel stopped him. He had a skinny body frame, but Ali-Samuel seemed to have some unusual power for a man of his stature.
“How do you know?” Ali-Samuel tried to be calm but his hopes and dreams were crashing inside his head.
“Run your hands carefully over it. The gold is painted onto the surface, feel it. It definitely has the look and size, but it has been painted to give the appearance of the Pearl of Wisdom. I would like it to be real as much as you, but that doesn’t seem to be in the stars.” The Captain patted Ali-Samuel on the shoulder and exited the tent.
Respect and fortune had just slipped through the sweaty fingers of Ali-Samuel Wamhoff. The past year of endless fighting on four different islands where hundreds of men claimed to hold the Pearl, had been getting progressively more and more tiresome. He had tracked the merchant for the past week from the tips he received from a wizard named The Crippler. He thought his giant pearl was an end to the madness, but he was right back at the start.
The Captain poked his head into the tent. “Let’s go Ali-Samuel. We just got solid word about someone who has the real Pearl on the west side of the island. Pack up so we can leave as soon as possible.”
Ali-Samuel lowered his head and slowly followed the crew as they broke down the camp site. He realized that he was being naïve. Some men had spent over fifty years searching for the Pearl of Wisdom and he thought that he had already found it. It appeared that his foreseeable future would be spent on these rocky islands, fighting for an invisible pearl.

I am not sure if it is strange but sometimes I interview my characters to get a better understanding of them and their motives. This is one I had from a while ago that I thought I would share.

Interview with Ollor from TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES
At an inn around parts unknown.
J.P.R. is the interviewer.

J.P.R.-What is your main motivation in life?

Ollor-To redeem this dirty soul I have. You see, I have a long list of sins to clean away. So I must live out my days performing pure acts to satisfy the Gods. In my younger days, these things didn’t occur to me.

J.P.R.-What has made your soul so dirty?

Ollor-Boozing, whoring, murdering, turning my back on my family. Just to name a few. But the past has passed and all I can do is learn from my mistakes. It is true. I have done some horrible things but I have a chance to recapture my soul with the children I am raising. It’s not about where you have been. It’s about where you stand and what you stand for right now and in the future. I cannot return life to my victims or create happiness for their families. I can only hope that my good deeds will outweigh the bad when my day of reckoning arrives.

J.P.R.-You speak rather well for a nomadic caretaker. Where did you learn the language?

Ollor-I grew up in a castle. I will not tell you which one. My father loved me. My mother loved me. My brothers loved me. My wife loved me. That was before she died giving birth to our first child. The baby boy died two weeks after. I stayed strong thinking the pain would fade quickly. It only grew greater. My family tried to help and they did to a certain degree, but I still feel the void to this day.

J.P.R.-I am sorry. Was this when you went on your rampage?

Ollor-It was soon after. First I started drinking way too much after my father betrothed me to a lady beast. Then it was whoring and leaving the castle. I convinced myself that the killing was justified out of revenge at the time. But looking back on it now, I did it to the wrong people. I killed indiscriminately, instead of getting back at the succubus that wronged me. I didn’t have feelings at the time but as I sit here I realize I may have been wrong.

J.P.R.-How do you plan to cleanse your soul?

Ollor-I rescued a couple of children from certain death, as I said, but they aren’t just any children. They were going to be fed to the wolves, literally. They survived. And they will survive many more nights of danger until they get back home. They are ready to move on to the School of the Learned Warrior now. That is what we are leaving to find on the morrow at first light.

J.P.R.-Alright, I won’t keep you much longer. Do you ever miss your original family?

Ollor-I do. They never wronged me in any way. I just had to leave to avoid death. But there is no going back now. The Gods have taken me on this path and I shall continue to follow. There might be a day when there can be a family reunion. But that day is not today.

J.P.R.-One la st question, what is your greatest strength/weakness?

Ollor-It may be the same thing. Never underestimate the predictability of honor. It is a noble way to act but there is a certain manner in which you are expected to act. A set of rules, if you will. Surprisingly, the man who breaks the rules usually wins. Honor remains a great trait, but you must prepare to fight opponents that disregard honor. Be ready, but also be unexpected.

J.P.R.-Just one more please. What is your combat background?

Ollor-I am a knight and a soldier of several military conquests. I am getting a bit older, but I can still swing my sword with effectiveness. Fare thee well, my new friend.

J.P.R.-As well as you. Many thanks for the time.


Here is a sample chapter featuring Ollor.
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...


Get a signed copy of the book below:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

As the title says, I am giving you the chance to name three characters in the upcoming book, TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES.
This is the first part of my INFLUENCE project. I will also let fans express their ideas on cover designs and choose what characters they would like to see digital images of. I am really trying to include everyone in the process of my books and let them INFLUENCE the works as well.

These men are part of Torvald Malik's crew. They are on the upper end of the medieval social ladder. They come from a rocky, mountainous area that has a good bit of coastline too.
They are in their early twenties. Two men are short and the other really tall.
One of the short men is really stocky.
The other short man has a big cut above his left eye and is average weight.
The tall man has big ears and is kind of dopey.
*Bonus points if you include a nickname.

You can either vote on the names that I provide or you can write in with your own ideas. This is a medieval setting book so make sure the names apply to that sort of time-frame.
Here are my suggestions, but writing in is highly encouraged.

Grant Penderbroke
Arvine Denerby
Lingrid Laslow
Barold Conroy
Teslah Rohrick
Vastion Klice
Elias Intola

Again, these are only suggestions. I recommend that you write in at least one name that you create because there will be prizes. If your name gets used in the book you will receive a TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES t-shirt or hat. Look at my profile pics on here to see the shirt and hat.

Winners will be announced the day of the books release. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise early. Hopefully you will see your names worked into TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES.

Good luck to everyone and I hope you all express your opinions and join me on this exciting ride.

Write On,
J.P.R.

If you want to look at my Goodreads Giveaway, just go here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

I would like to introduce myself a bit better and talk about my upcoming book TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES.

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have written in different forms over the years before settling on books. Self publishing was never an option and trying to get accepted by a publishing house seemed a daunting task. So the option to self publish has really helped pave the way for me. I really like the word independent too, kind of means I did it mostly myself. But I would be nothing if my mother didn't give up her possible hopes and dreams to dedicate herself to me, my brother and sister. She has been and still is the biggest influence in my life so my INFLUENCE program that I will talk about later is inspired by her. She taught me to value the opinions of others and use that in decision making which is reflected in the INFLUENCE program.

I am a full-time chef and do my writing in the rest of the time so exact dates on certain things can be hard to maintain. Still, I am shooting for June 18 to be the release for my first book. It is a story that is like Game of Thrones(I am not comparing the quality in any way to GOT) in subject matter. It has a fantasy storyline but that is coupled with a parallel story of real-life drama in a medieval setting. Multiple POV characters sweep you around the landscape to tell a lost story of epic proportions.

I am also going to make a strong effort to keep my readers engaged in the writing and publishing process as well as the reading part. Right now I am running a cover release countdown in which I take you through the illustration process of my cover so you can see a start to finish project. If you want to check it out look here: https://www.facebook.com/2heads2spikes

I also would like my readers to be part of the writing process. As I reader I always thought it would be cool to have influence over what happens in a book. To look inside and say, I told the author to do that. Well, I just went out and wrote an entire book but everyone doesn't have that option. So for my first INFLUENCE promotion I will be letting the readers name three characters in the book TWO HEADS TWO SPIKES, the First Volume(of four) of the Pearl of Wisdom Saga. Later today I will post a new blog about the INFLUENCE that you can have in the book. I am going to try this out and if it yields good results the ante might be raised to the point that you may decide the outcome of a hero or villain by the fourth book.