A friend of mine created the following video trailer for “The Jenkins Cycle Boxed Set: Binge Edition.” I thought it was pretty cool, and used it in a Facebook ad. Now that the ad is over, I’m posting it here for your enjoyment.
Monthly Archives: August 2015
New Release — The Jenkins Cycle Boxed Set: Binge Edition
iBooks – Amazon – Kobo
“The Jenkins Cycle” is a series of dark paranormal thrillers. Each book is also available individually. If you enjoy the body-hopping concepts presented in novels like “Tale Of The Body Thief,” or “Every Day,” then this is the series for you.
KICK
They say suicides are damned for eternity. But if coming back to life in the bodies of violent criminals is Hell, then Dan Jenkins will take it. And he does, every time a portal arrives to whisk him from his ghostly exile in limbo.
Dan rides the living like a supernatural jockey, pushing out their consciousness and taking over. They’re bad guys, right? Killers and brutes of every sort, which makes it okay. He doesn’t know where their minds go while he’s in charge, and for the most part doesn’t care. For three weeks at a time, it’s a chance to relax and watch movies, read fantasy novels, and have random conversations with perfect strangers.
Normally, before the villain returns to kick him out, Dan dishes out a final serving of justice and leaves the world a safer place. It’s one of the rules if he wants more rides, and he’s happy to oblige. For a part-time dead guy, it’s a pretty good gig … until someone changes the rules.
FOOL’S RIDE
Dan Jenkins is back, body hopping a scumbag at a time in his quest for the perfect ride. He doesn’t need much. Premium cable TV, good books, a well-stocked pantry, and he’s set. But the Great Whomever has other plans.
After six months waiting in limbo, Dan catches a ride as a horror novelist whose gruesome stories aren’t just fiction. Later, he hunts a man who’s escaped justice for far too long. Then, in his greatest challenge yet, he strays too deeply into the lives of the people he loves: his most foolish ride of all.
HOPPER HOUSE
Dan meets a mysterious woman named Rose who says he’s not alone. Like him, she’s dead and possesses the bodies of awful people. Unlike him, she doesn’t care what they’ve done, and she hides a secret shame.
Through Rose, Dan learns there are others like them, living in the shadows, hopping blissfully from ride to ride chasing excitement and chemical highs. For them, morality doesn’t matter, virtue is negotiable, and consequence has a three week expiration date.
They call themselves “hoppers.”
Filed under Uncategorized
Ultimate compliment: “I want to kill him and publish his books as mine.”
Here’s a wonderful post by E.J. Robinson saying scary, yet flattering, things about my typing practice. I was planning on letting everyone know that I’d published a “Binge Edition” (boxed set) today, and this is a good way to do it. Have a look over on Robinson’s site to see the new cover 🙂
Filed under Reviews
Mark Coker talks about Amazon exclusivity, and the latest casualty: Flipkart
Fascinating read by Mark Coker of Smashwords. It starts off talking about Smashwords ending its relationship with Flipkart, but goes into Mark’s opinions (mirroring mine) about Amazon exclusivity and what it means for indies.
http://blog.smashwords.com/2015/08/smashwords-and-flipkart-to-end.html
Filed under Indie Publishing
Cool podcast with a guy who’s reviewed my dumb books :)
Ok, so big disclaimer — yes, the link I’m about to share is by a reviewer (who’s also a fellow author). I was naturally curious about his show, so I snuck over and peeked at it — and loved it. I absolutely loved all the stuff about Quentin Tarantino (a favorite director/writer/genius). Really loved Simon’s opinions on various things. Why?? Because I agree with them! Yeah, I’m all about me sometimes… Agree with me? You’re a genius. Disagree? No comment. Terrible character flaw, I know. I’m waiting for the New Years to address it, I promise.
Here you go — hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
“Hopper House” today, on iBooks
What can I say? I’m loving my break from Kindle Unlimited. I do miss the additional ranking on Amazon, but building an audience on other platforms is — for me — a long term strategy. Also, it’s really cool seeing my book at the top of the screen like this.
Filed under Writing Market
“Hopper House” launched today
A messag
e to fans of the The Jenkins Cycle:
I’m happy to announce that “Hopper House” went live last night at the stroke of midnight. The pre-order was a big success, especially over on Apple, where it hit #2 this morning in the Paranormal category.
The series has been a bit hard to categorize. Horror? Paranormal? Contemporary Fantasy? As I think about it, “A Little Of Everything” sounds about right. But try as I might, I can’t find that section at any of the bookstores I go to. What that ultimately means is: “The Jenkins Cycle” is hard for new readers to discover.
Right now, I’m not sure how long until the next book comes out. That said, I greatly appreciate your interest in my books and your patience between releases. Anything you can do to spread the word (by sharing with family, friends, and colleagues, and/or by leaving reviews) would really help with discoverability. And I’d be forever grateful.
~ John
Some early reviews for Hopper House
Hopper House comes out this Saturday. I didn’t send the book out to tons of people to review, but I did send it to two folks I know. One, Patrick Stemp from the TBR Podcast, who gave it a review on Goodreads. Another was from science-fiction author Simon Cantan, who reviewed it on Goodreads, too, but offered a more detailed review on his website.
I’m flattered that anyone would read my writing, let alone review it. Thank you Simon and Patrick.
Filed under Reviews
Vine Voice reviewer Carol Kean’s epic article on Dystopian Sci-Fi
I felt my brain grow two sizes too big reading this wonderful article. Can’t say I have a problem with dystopian sci-fi, but I definitely think she’s onto something, and recommend this to lovers and haters of the genre alike:
http://www.perihelionsf.com/1508/article_1.htm
Great quote:
Chicken Little Syndrome may not have a place in the DSM-5 Manual of psychological disorders, but it spreads faster than Bird Flu and Ebola. The chicken story began twenty-five centuries ago as a rabbit, by the way. The wise Buddha was trying to teach people to keep cool and carry on, as we say today. In his parable, a rabbit hears the noise of a falling fruit and instigates a stampede among the other animals—“the world is coming to an end!”—until a lion halts them, investigates the cause of the panic and restores calm.I like that lion. I like his lesson on the value of deductive reasoning and investigation.
Filed under Just Cool
Will be on the TBR Podcast this Tuesday
For those of you who aren’t tired yet of seeing my ugly mug in low resolution, I’ll be on the TBR Podcast this coming Tuesday at 8PM EST.
Blog link: http://patrickstemp.com/john-l-monk-and-the-jenkins-cycle/
Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpXDLxJYyzU
I have it on good authority that the podcast will feature lots of scandal, innuendo, gross hyperbole, and advice about good books. Should be a blast!
Filed under Podcasts
John L. Monk 