Category: Short Stories
Kwellevonne Update
Well, I’m putting on the finishing touches to my Keepers of Kwellevonne short story series and have been trying to decide on a publishing schedule. I think what I’m going to do is release it privately to everyone on my newsletter mailing list for FREE. That only seems fair since you’ve been so patient with me! The plan is to release a story each week for seven weeks (starting this weekend) to my newsletter members, then sometime after that publish it on Amazon for an exorbitant sum. So if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, and you want to read Keepers of Kwellevonne for free, now is the time to do it! As long as you’re on my list before I publish it on Amazon, I’ll make sure you have access to all the stories. After that, you’ll have to pay. Okay, enough with the toothless threats. Sign up Here And of course you can unsubscribe at any time…but make sure you get the free stuff first. That’s what I would do 🙂 Here is a quick look at a new map! Hope to see you in the newsletter. all the best, jk click for larger...
read moreFree Healer Audiobook
HEALER is the first volume in the ongoing short story series Keepers of Kwellevonne. The e-Book is currently available for FREE at these vendors: Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords The audiobook for HEALER was performed by Brad Wills and the sound editing was done by Joel Timothy of Spellbound Audio, the same people who did such a fantastic job on the audiobook versions of ALTDORF and MORGARTEN (The Forest Knights series). I can’t say enough good things about my experience working with them–if you need an audiobook produced, be sure to check them out. HEALER is divided into 3 parts and you can listen to them for free below. Enjoy! HEALER – Part 1 HEALER – Part 2 HEALER – Part...
read moreIt’s Bean Day! (and a MORGARTEN update)
Three or four times a year comes a holiday that makes me twitch like a four year-old lying in bed listening for the bells of Santa’s reindeer, and today is that day. Hallelujah! My shipment of green coffee beans has arrived! Yeah, I’m a coffee nerd. To anyone who’s read my short story Playing with Fire it’s no secret. I roast my own stuff at home and distribute it to a select group of family and friends. Often in late-night meetings from the trunk of my car. I started drinking coffee when I was 13. Horrid, canned crystals that had more in common with ground-up asphalt than the roasted pit of a coffee cherry. But it’s amazing what 2 heaping teaspoons of Coffee Mate (also known as “powdered death” in some circles) will do to a rancid cup of asphalt water. I drank it. I survived. And now I make up stories about the stuff. Well, actually only one so far. Most people’s reactions to Playing with Fire go something like this: “Uh, wow, JK. This is really…different…than…you know…your regular historical stuff.” I then shrug and say, “I’m a complicated man. I have sides.” At this point they usually...
read moreMy book cover artist’s process
Chris Ryan did an amazing job on the cover for Book 1 of The Forest Knights (Altdorf). If you’re interested in seeing some initial sketches and how he transformed them into a beautiful cover, check it out here. I’ve asked him to do the cover for the second book (Morgarten) and I am psyched that he is going to take it on. If anyone out there needs some custom artwork done, Chris is your man. You can get in touch with him through his website. He also did the covers for my Keepers of Kwellevonne short story series. I’m going to post them here because I can’t stop looking at them! (click them to see a full size version) Healer by J.K. SwiftFarrier by J.K....
read moreFree coffee roasting short story
Get Playing with Fire while it’s hot…and FREE This story is currently free on Amazon & Barnes & Noble but it will be going up to $0.99 soon. Could be today–I’m not sure when it will happen. I’m a “home-roaster” (that’s what coffee geeks who roast their own coffee beans at home call themselves), so this story was especially fun for me to write. I think a story comes alive when a writer uses a variety of senses to describe a scene or a setting. I took a look at my own writing and thought I was weak in the “smell” department. To most people, being weak in this area might not be a bad thing, but not for a writer! So I decided to write a story emphasizing the sense of smell, as a way to practice. This is what came out. Does it stink? You tell...
read moreKappa Kappa Kappa!
The Kappa Hunter has gone live! Click here to buy it for $0.99 at Amazon or here to learn more I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing it. I liked it so much I’ve decided to make it a series, so there will be another one coming...
read moreThe Kappa Hunter
Sorry I have to interrupt my regularly scheduled posts on Switzerland because I just got my new cover for a short story that will be coming out soon! Some worthless information: If you’re a sushi fan, you probably already know “kappa-maki” are cucumber rolls. But did you know that a “kappa” is a mythological river monster in Japan? Ah, but here’s where the information really gets useless. The rolls are called “kappa” rolls because apparently it is well known that these monsters love cucumbers. All right. Next post I promise I’ll go back to...
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