Orphan X is next as I’ve been plowing through the usual suspects in the genre I call ‘guys with guns’. Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills have all been sampled. Now it’s the Orphan series’s turn.

The premise is a black ops organization filled with orphans selected and trained to be killers for the government. Evan Smoak (I know, right?) has left the Orphan program after a terrible thing happened. As a result, he’s a man with resources, skills, and a desire to help people.

Self titled as “The Nowhere Man”, Orphan X (or ten) helps people with serious problems. If someone is threatening to leak unsavory images of you onto the web just call The Nowhere Man. Or if Drug dealers are making your sister an unwilling drug mule? Call The Nowhere Man. The problem is, he doesn’t advertise on Facebook or X (though maybe he should). His services are referral based only. If the Nowhere Man helps you, his only price is that you promise to refer someone in need to him.

Very cool premise and very well written. I love the prose and the slow character development. Undergirding this unlikely hero plot is that fact that he’s being hunted by the program he left. Other Orphans hunt him.

Will the other Orphans get to Evan, or will be prove to them he is the best?

Get his book in the usual places: Orphan X

The post Bad Book Review – Orphan X appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

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I’ve been a bit coy when asked: “What are you reading?”. It’s a simple question, but I’ve deftly avoided answering. It’s time to come clean. I’ve been doing some reason into the thriller genre in view of dusting off my old stories, once Book 3 of DoD is complete. Guys with guns, and a particular set of skills. The underlying thread of these stories fascinates me. Not the violence or even the intrigue. At the heart of these stories is a well-trained guy trying to do what’s best for his country. That’s what my gun guy stories are about, and it’s what I like. I wanted to outline a few of those stories here.

The Gray Man

I was expecting a story about some poor dude who got argyria from exposure to too much silver. Not so much. The Gray Man is a guy (with a gun) named Cort Gentry. Yes, Netflix did a decent adaptation with Ryan Gosling, but let’s stay focused. The Grey Man is an assassin that doesn’t exist. He was rescued like a beagle puppy from incarceration and trained to kill people for the CIA. When they try to burn him, he burns back.

What makes the Gray Man unique is his unwavering ability to focus on a problem, regardless of the obstacles. This is a characteristic the Netflix show glosses over. Which is sad because he is a little bland without it.

They Gray Man is the name of Book 1 of The Gray Man Series. I know. A bit uninspired naming. But the book was fantastic. Mark Greaney does a wonderful job of building suspense (something I need to work on) and raising the stakes (something else I need to work on). I highly recommend this book if you like guys with guns.

The Terminal List

Another recent adaption (Amazon this time), but that’s still not why we are here. BOOKS! The Terminal List by Jack Carr surprised me. I watched the show first (which I don’t normally do) and enjoyed it. Chris Pratt was good. The genre elements were spot on. But the book was on another level. The glimpse behind the curtain of the lives of our US Special Forces (Navy SEALs in particular) was wonderful. It was so well done, in fact, that a few parts of Carr’s books are redacted by the US government.

The Terminal List follows a pretty bad month in the life of Navy SEAL Commander James Reece. The story starts with Reece (many guns at hand) losing his whole team in an ambush. He survives and Carr really presses into the guilt guys in this situation feels. It’s very real and you connect with Reece early on. And it’s a good thing because you need to like him to follow the trail of bad stuff he does to avenge… lots of people (no spoilers) and get to the bottom of who set his team up. Bro makes a list and checks it twice. Reece won’t stop until they kill him or he crosses off every name.

My intent in the research was to read Book 1 on a handful of series, but I’ve already started on Book 2, True Believer. These are very tight stories packed with tons of cool information about the lives of the SEALs. Oh, and guns. Lots of guns.

The Lions of Lucerne

This Brad Thor tale takes a slightly different turn from the previous two. Scot Harvath, ex-Navy Seal turned Secret Service, is kind of a rogue like his aforementioned counterparts, but is also more of a company man. He works for legitimate parts of the government and isn’t a black ops guy like The Gray Man. But Harvath is a bad man, no less. Definitely one of the guys with guns. The main character gets kicked around a lot, which bothered me for some reason. The plot of this story centers around an attempt to hold the US President for ransom for political reasons. Not on Scot Harvath’s watch. This is a fun tale, and it’s clear that was written in the early 2000s. The tech kind of dates that story. I will read more Brad Thor.

The End of My Magazine

I liked these stories, as well as a few others. Guys with guns is my own term because Thriller doesn’t work for me. I want to review American Assassin by Vince Flynn and some Kyle Mills stuff (once I read it) in the near future.

Would you like to read a modern day shoot-em’-up tale by yours truly? Or should I conjure up a nifty pseudonym? Let me know at jack@authorjackadkins.com.

The post Guys with Guns appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

This…is Audible

You don’t normally think of Audible as a source for free stuff, but it’s not a horrible first option. If you have an Audible membership you have access to lots of free audiobooks. I know, not really free if you are paying for a membership, but I didn’t know about the popular books they offered free to members for almost a year after I joined.

They also have a section called “Free Listens”. These section is filled with free audiobooks. No membership or login required. Mostly it’s classics but they also have a good mix of contemporary stuff available. Check it out! https://www.audible.com/ep/FreeListens

This next section should be a no brainer but I have discovered that many people rarely think about their public library as a resource.

I know what you are thinking and–while you can still go get the 35 CD set of Stephen King’s IT from your local library–I’m thinking of much more modern means of listening.

But we mean FREE

Digital services like Overdrive (a.k.a. Libby) and Hoopla are a wonderful way to listen to free audiobooks. All you need to use these services is a library card from your local library. In Kentucky, I am a member of all public libraries in the state by having a library card in one.

A great feature about using public libraries for free audiobooks is that the authors of those books still get paid. That’s right. If you check out The Blood of a Dragon from your library (with Libby or Hoopla) I get a commission. Very cool. Libby has a cool feature that let’s you read e-books on your Kindle device, for those who read that way.

BookFunnel and StoryOrigin

Last on my list are BookFunnel and StoryOrigin. You can use Audible to hear books from long-dead folks, or listen to the latest book from your favorite NY Times Bestseller on Libby, or you can find your next Indie gem on these wonderful services. BookFunnel and StoryOrigin are tools for authors to distribute books (and do many other cool things) to connect with their readers. I’ll focus on StoryOrigin.

Free Audiobooks are just a few clicks away. Many authors, myself included, offer free audioboooks for review. You get a copy of the full audiobook that is yours forever. We only ask you to leave an honest review on one or more of the major book sales platforms (Audible, GoodReads, BookBub, etc). Click the link, sign up, and browse away. https://storyoriginapp.com/reviewerdashboard

Honorable mentions

I know there are tons of other sites that offer free audiobooks, but I’m staying in my lane on this one. I know these sources are legit and that the authors of the books are getting proper credit. There may be other sites that offer access to great books.

YouTube has become a popular place to listen. Authors are posting their books there and monetizing their channels. Just beware of illegally uploaded books.

Insert shameless plug here. If you want to purchase the first book in my Dragons of Dorwine series, The Blood of a Dragon, you can get it here.

It was narrated by the incomparible Michael Kramer of Wheel of Time and Stormlight Archive fame.

It is also available through the library system. If it doesn’t show as available through your library you can request your library purchase it with a click of a button. I love libraries and have priced my books very cheap for them.

The post How to get free audiobooks appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

Making minis has been a boon to my writing and gaming. I started tabletop gaming (specifically Dungeons & Dragons) a couple of years after I started writing. To say that one has affected the other is a grand understatement.

After I design my characters, I would either buy the minis from HeroForge (or wherever you make them) or buy the files and beg my friends with 3D printers to print them for me. Results may vary. I find the minis from HeroForge print very well.

I found buying them was a tad expensive and begging friends a bit gosh, so I bought a couple of 3D printers! Refer to Choosing a 3D Printer That Meets Your Needs.

The Printing

What’s the first question everyone asks when I talk to them about 3d printers? PLA or Resin? PLA, or polylactic acid, printers were some of the first type of consumer 3d printers to be widely accessible. What I mean by that is that resin printers are believed to give off toxic fumes and require special equipment to safely operate. PLA printers are a bit easier to manage and a little safer. I still recommend proper venting and PPE when using any 3d printer.

PLA Printing

This is the PLA printer we have. The problem with PLA is resolution. It’s great for printing Dragons and ships and the like, but I haven’t been pleased with how the 28 mm minis look.

I found that resin printers made more detailed minis. This was what I wanted. The PLA printer works great for printing ships and larger minis, but the 28mm ones used for characters require better resolution. I use an Elegoo Mars 2 and standard grey resin. After seeing how cheap the 4k printers have become, I’m looking at a few of those: ANYCUBIC Photon Mono 4K or the Elegoo Mars 3 MSLA 4k both look good.

Resin Printing

This is how the resign prints turned out. They don’t have near as much excess material to remove.

Washing the minis well in an alcohol solution is key for a clean figure. Also, inspect it carefully to make sure no stray resin is still attached and that the supports come off cleanly. You may need some clippers or a knife to clean it up a bit. Once cleaned, I cure the mini for 30-45 seconds. Overcuring can cause a gum substance to build up on the recesses of the mini.

These are the curing and washing stations we got. They are amazing.

The Painting

I’m no expert. Heck, I’m barely beyond the noob phase. I recommend picking a system (Speed Paints by Army Painter or Inks by Vallejo) and watch some videos by some pros. This is a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6LcDbwgq0I

Here are a few tips. Make sure your mini is clean. Find a well lit area to work in. Resin minis don’t require a primer, but I use a thin, Army Painter, primer similar to the base color I want for the mini. You don’t want to use a black primer for a mini that will be mostly white. Get a pack of cheap brushes (make sure it has some really small ones) to use until you start getting good at painting. Clean these brushes very well, or plan on replacing them often.

I will make another post on how I paint and show some of my painted minis.

Go here to see some of the minis I have designed and printed. https://authorjackadkins.com/mini-designs-from-dorwine/

I used to fret over the painting phase. If I messed it up I had to try to scrub and start over (a daunting chore with minis this size) to buy another mini. Now, I just reprint and try again. And they don’t have to be perfect. The more you paint the better you will get. I suggest doing your best and being content with the results as your skills grow. My instinct is to get a mini perfect before I use it, but that way lies madness. Since I use them primarily to fuel my writing, a little splash of color is all they really need.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to it. For around $400 you can get a very nice 3d printer, some resin, and a decent paint set. The STL files you will need from Hero Forge are about $7 each and you own them forever. I am a Hero Forge affiliate, and I get a nickel or two every time I refer someone. If you buy from them, click my link first and I’ll get a little credit. https://www.heroforge.com/tap/?ref=jackadkins

Thanks for reading! You can see my other post about how I use these minis to fuel my writing: https://authorjackadkins.com/how-minis-and-gaming-impact-my-writing/

The post Making Minis for Your Book Characters appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

I’m a very visual person. And while having a strong imagination involves being able to clearly picture things in my mind, having visual aids is gasoline on the fire for me. Not long after I started my Dragons of Dorwine fantasy series I started creating minis that represented the characters from my books. These minis helped solidify my characters in my mind and freed me to make more vivid descriptions.

Here is an article on Making Minis for Your Book Characters that explains the process I take to get the files I use printed.

Design

Writing sites and courses suggest filling out lone character interviews for

character development. Those are useful, but once I have the physical details down in print, they slip my mind. I still use a chart like this (one that I found is 26 pages long!) to keep track of personality quirks and the like, but like to design in HeroForge.

Next, I choose the race, the features, the clothing, the weapons, and even the pose they are in. I like to pose my minis in several ways, saving each as a separate file.

Finally, I color them. This part really gets my creative juices flowing. I always end up adding a feature I hadn’t planned on. For Anuka, it was his teeth. I didn’t want him to have nasty goblin teeth. So I picked some perfect ones and loved the look. This is where his fetish for teeth came from and it’s a huge part of his character.

Storyboarding

Even before I buy the STL file and print the minis, I use the Windows Snipping Tool to grab a screenshot of each mini in their various poses. I print these out and post them up in my workspace. When I lean back to consider a scene, they are staring down at me.

I can close my eyes and imagine them in a heated sword fight or leaping to from the deck of a flaming ship. This method is also great for spatial design. The size difference between my tiny goblin and massive Triton is more clear in my mind.

Printing and Painting

I have articles on both printing and painting, so I will just touch on them here. While I don’t have a lot of time (my kids do most of my mini painting) I try to be as hands on as I can. Actually holding the minis in my hand trigger a lot of creativity. I think of questions I otherwise might not. What does Anuka’s fabled dagger look like? Because of the first mini I printed, it changed from more of a Kris to a stiletto type dagger.

Crenthys was the most fun as her figure changes drastically from book to book. (IYKYK). If you don’t know, then RAFO. The Dragons of Dorwine Series.

Wrap Up

Not everyone needs to do this, but it’s a great help to me. Designing helps my writing. Printing and painting are cathartic. And I end up with something cool to look at.

PSA: None of the sites I use allow me to sell the characters I print. Until my Blender skills get WAY better, it’s something I have to live with. I have given them away at signings and such and people love them!

Materials List

A few people have asked what paints and brushes I use. I’ll link them below.

I started with a set of Citadel paints because I got a great deal on them. They were made for Warhammer and aren’t perfect. You can get a set similar here Warhammer Paint Set. I am falling for Army Painter paints, however. They are a little thinner, I think, and go on better.

I use every gnarly little brush I can get my hands on, but I do have a set I like. About $17 on Amazon.

I bought a stack of palettes and they work great.

Finally, this little guy has saved my skin a lot. For $20, I’ve resurrected many dried up paint pots.

The post How Minis and Gaming Impact My Writing appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons for thirty-five years (I was VERY young when I started), and my four sons all love to play. They each have groups of friends, plus they have cousins who play. You get the picture. Since the first time I saw a gaming table, I’ve wanted one.

There are companies that make gaming tables that are amazing, but they are incredibly expensive. After a few hours on the internet, I zeroed in on what I wanted. I’m sort of handy and decided to try making it myself.

Original Idea

This one pic seeded the image of what I wanted in my mind.

It had cup holders, a dice/pencil tray, and it had a TV in the center. I looked at tons of tables that used a projector aimed down on a table, but I didn’t like any of them. The embedded TV was the way to go. Plus, I dreamed up a few extras.

Drawing

My brother-in-law Chris (who is considerably more handy than I am) helped me sketch it out and do some of the tougher cuts. He has better tools than I do as well.

This design, like all well-laid plans, got changed along the way. But this is the basic outline of what we make.

The foot shelf was added to store my cases full of miniatures, and we added power outlets and USB charging ports to the ends of the table.

The materials cost about $175 total. This was pre-COVID so lumber was only outrageous, not yet astronomically expensive.

Early phases

Before starting this project, I read a ton of posts. Successes and horror stories alike. One guy built a huge table but ended up hating it because everyone had to stand up to roll dice or see anything.

Another put down a surface that was quickly destroyed by metal dice. I have banned using those without a dice tray, but it was good advice.

After we had the materials, we marked and cut the pieces for the top. My brother-in-law had a very nice miter saw that worked well for the 45-degree angles. I think it was a Metobo HTP or similar. I’ve since gotten a Cobalt that I love.

We built the top first because it was functionally the most important piece. It would also prove the toughest to work around. Finding the right TV was key. I wanted the stupidest TV I could find. I didn’t want it to connect to the internet or try to decide what web page we should be loading. The Element ELEFW328R 32in was perfect, but is no longer available. The INSIGNIA 32-inch Class F20 Series would be a good choice. The TV hole was basically centered. It has a very small bezel, the legs come off easily, and it isn’t too thick. Cradling the TV would prove to be a pain.

Assembly

This sucker is massive, as you can see from the schematic. From the beginning, we knew it would need to disassemble it every time we wanted to move it. We switched from lag bolts to regular bolts and washers.

Circumstances required us to do some staining after it was in place, so we put down some thick plastic first. I had a weird idea about the feet that never came to fruition, so those needed staining as well.

PRO TIP: I got marine cup holders because they are bigger. These are the ones I got CUP HOLDERS.

Staining

We picked a nice Dark Walnut poly stain. I used two coats of stain. Because I’m a noob, I made a big mess. I used a lot of paint thinner so I suggest having it on hand. You’ll need it to clean your brushes.

I hadn’t stained ‘furniture’ before, so I watched some YouTube videos and talked to some competent people. Bubbles are your enemy. Be patient when stirring your poly and when applying. I only have a few bubbles. Nothing I can’t live with.

The dark color looks so good. It required a little bit of sanding and a bit of touchup.

We originally put down a bunch of sheets of 1/4″ foam sheets for the surface. It looked okay, but ultimately I wasn’t pleased. We pulled it up and put down a nice faux leather surface that I really like. It doesn’t have a seam.

Adding TV

Getting the TV mounted was such a pain. For some reason, I thought I would be laying a completely flat TV down and didn’t account for the brains of the TV. It took a lot of shimming and re-shimming to get it flush.

The TV cover is… special. We rigged up a punch rod on one end of the gaming table. When you push in the handle on the rod, the TV cover raises up and you simply remove it. I’m not in love with it, but it works.

We were all set to run electrical wire to outlets and tie it all together, but we found some extension cords that terminated into little boxes with two plugs and two USBs. It was much simpler just to plug these together around the table. They are similar to THIS.

Finished Product

I don’t want the post to have so many images it won’t load, but here are a few of the finished product. I hope you have enjoyed this article about how I built my gaming table. E-mail me with questions and I’ll try to help.

jack@jackandalicia.com

I am an Amazon Affiliate Associate. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy something from this page I could earn several pennies.

The post How I Built My Gaming Table appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

I’ve had a few authors lately on various stages of their journey (some brand new, some who’ve been around a while) ask “Do I really need an author newsletter?”. An author without a newsletter would be like Bob Ross without PBS. Sure, he’s great, but no one would ever know!

Do People Still Read E-mail?

Yes, yes, and yes. Not only is e-mail marketing alive and well, according to

Statistica, e-mail marketing will grow to $11 BILLION in 2023. When correctly done, e-mail is still one of the best ways to engage with your readers.

I highly recommend Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque, and the follow up Newsletter Nina 2. These books explain some of the way of e-mail marketing, and go into more detail about the how than I’m going into here.

Another book I really recommend is Strangers To Superfans: A Marketing Guide to The Reader Journey by David Gaughran. In fact, David has an amazing class I recommend to all authors to want to sell books. Oh, it’s FREE.

Why a Newsletter?

See, one of the main purposes of a newsletter isn’t to sell books, it’s to make connections. Then, once the connections are made, you want to move those connections to be loyal customers by giving them useful information.

Not everyone is going to love your writing. That’s ok. The inverse is also true; some people will really enjoy your writing. They just don’t know it yet. The process of adding to and pruning from your newsletter is simply about sifting through hundreds of thousands of people to find a group of those who will love your work and follow you forever.

Author Newsletters allow you to bring other people alongside you as you take your journey as an author. They get to see you build your brand. I’ll paraphrase a great quote I read recently: “Newsletters (social media) don’t sell your books. Bookstores do that. Social media gathers your readers so they can interact with you. Newsletters curate”. So true.

How Do I Get Started?

This is a common question. It’s usually followed by “I don’t know anyone”. Go buy the books I suggested. They offer some great, detailed insight. Here’s the quick and dirty.

You Gotta Give A Little

You are going to need something to give away for free, maybe two somethings. I use short stories set in my world. They are different. One is a funny story, the other is a bit darker. I offer these stories for free on sites like StoryOrigin (my favorite) and/or BookFunnel. These stories are called Reader Magnets. Then you do Newsletter Swaps on these services with other offers. They offer your free story to their readers and you do the same. Even if you are brand new, some authors will swap with you to help you get started. In fact, this is a curtesy to remember when you have a nice sized list. You can also join group promotions. This is where most of my subscribers come from.  I join a promotion, put information about it in my newsletter and post about it on social media.

What this does is attract subscribers to your author newsletters while you sleep.

How Do I Catch Em’?

You use a mail service. I use SendFox. I used to use MailChimp. They have a free tier that allows you to have up to 500 subscribers for free. This is good to start out, but you will soon outgrow this. MailChimp can be a bit pricey once you go beyond 500 subscribers. But it is a VERY nice product.

I’ve heard nice things about MailerLite and SendInBlue as well. Each of these services have a TON of free, helpful information about how to connect with the various tools you use.

Ok, What Do I Put In An Author Newsletter?

Again, get the books I recommended for details. You want to share something about yourself. Do you have a cute dog or a crazy cat? Share some pics and stories.

Ask questions and provide a means for them to easily answer. I put my e-mail address at the end of my question and get e-mail every time my Author Newsletter goes out with wonderful answers.

Also include any author swaps or promotions. Don’t be pushy. Don’t put dozens in there. And don’t dominate the landscape of your author newsletter with big images. A good way to figure this out is to subscribe to a few newsletters of your favorite authors and see what they do. They will all have them.

Finally, have a point. A call to action, if you will. Maybe you have a sale going on, or a new release, or your book cover is entered into a contest. Provide your subscribers something to do. It doesn’t always have to result in sales. Sometimes your CTA can be to answer poll questions so you can get to know your readers.

Subscribers want to be involved, and they like free stuff. Think about what kinds of things you would like to see in an author newsletter you subscribe to.

These are pretty basic things because I’m still pretty new. I really enjoy some of the technical aspects of being a writer and working with my author newsletter is one of those. If you want to engage with me on these things, feel free to look me up on Facebook or e-mail me: jack@authorjackadkins.com (see what I did there?)

P.S. I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy things from Amazon by clicking on my links, I get a few pennies and it costs you nothing extra.

The post Author Newsletters and How to Swing Em appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.

The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan is the first of six books in the Riyira Chronicles Series. In true BBR fashion, I love these books! (Remember, not bad books, just bad reviews). But this doesn’t mean I’m wrong.

The series centers on a duo of expert thieves: Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn. Hadrian is a swordsman of exquisite skill, rivaled only by his humility. Royce is a bit of a grumpy guy, but no less an expert at his craft. They take impossible jobs and complete them with professionalism.

The Crown Tower is about a job they never should have taken that puts them on a path that will forever change their lives. Why do I love this book? It’s a buddy cop fantasy with elements of heists and highly skilled characters. These aren’t noobs learning which end of the sword to stick in the bad guy. Hadrian and Royce are pros. The buddy cop trope is so well done. One day, I want to write Lethal Weapon in a fantasy world. The Eye of a Dragon was supposed to have some of those vibes (along with a strong heist plotline) but it fell through.

I recommend you pick up The Crown Tower today. It is a fun, feel-good adventure.

Check out my other Bad Bood Reviews.

P.S. I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you buy stuff with my links, I get a couple of pennies and it costs you nothing extra!

The post Bad Book Reviews – The Crown Tower – Riyira Chronicles Book 1 appeared first on Author Jack Adkins.