I read book 1 in this series 'By Dawns Early Light' probably a couple years ago.
I saw it in my kindle inventory the other day and went to see if there were any new books in the series.
Sure enough there is a new one called 'Foreign Shores'.
It had been long enough since I read the first one that I couldn't remember it so Im currently rereading book 1 and enjoying it all over again.
If the 2nd one is as good as the first its going to be a fun read.

He also has a fantasy book called 'Dusk Knight'.

Jason if you read this...why is Dusk Knight not showing up on Amazon. Loved that book.

Heh, I didn't even know we had a books forum That's what I get for living under a rock, I guess.

To be fair, the rock in this case was "getting a Physics degree" which was why my publishing schedule was all sorts of fucky.  I actually had the first three books in the sci-fi series written (last 2 as draft-only) when I published By Dawn's Early Light. The idea was that I'd be able to write/edit over the summer and kick out a book a year while I was taking classes.  

Naturally, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The last two years of my degree were hellacious, then a certain respiratory virus showed up, and after that bundle of joy settled in, my editor stopped making delivery dates. Unfortunately, I was friends with said editor, cue the 'don't do business with friends' spiel. Gave them far more time and patience than I should have before cutting the cord.

The last two explain why I'm just now hitting final preps to kick Dusk Knight onto Amazon. Pretty sure you were one of the beta readers for Dusk Knight, in which case you might be a bit surprised at the fact I added almost 20k words for the final edits.  Clocks in at 196k words now.

FWIW, I'm half way through applying my First Reader's suggestions to book 3 ATM, and am working on book 3.5, which is a companion piece told from Morgan's perspective. It's... a bit different.  Reads more like a sci-fi equivalent to James Bond, so pacing isn't quite the same. Not sure how long it's going to be, but I'm at 130k or so with it.

Also, I've got Dusk Knight's sequel, Midnight Sun, up to a bit over 30k at the moment as well.

Congrats on the degree.

Looking forward to the new content.

If anyone is interested...

I started reading Christopher Nuttall's "Schooled in Magic" series one day when I had nothing else to read.
I wasn't expecting much of it, but found myself hooked. By the time I started reading the series was close to the end - so I "binge read" (is that a thing?) it, and only had to wait a few weeks for the last book.

While waiting, I had some ideas about a few of the things that he had left dangling/unexplained. So emailed him to see if he thought my ideas might be a possible path for future books. When I didn't get a response, I actually wrote a couple of chapters do demonstrate what I was getting at.

That got a response. I ended up writing another chapter. He basically said "Ok, but this isn't the way I would take it".

That is ok - his universe, his characters. But I still like the idea. So over the next year I added more and more to my scribblings.
A few weeks ago, I decided that this (now) book was at a point where I could wrap it up. Now, since it is based upon someone else's works, I can't really publish it, and certainly can't try to sell it, but I think it might be of interest to anyone that has read that series (or maybe not...).

There is a website that hosts "fan fiction", so I dropped a copy on there. If anyone wants to take a look:  https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhilipPeake

BTW: for anyone who hasn't read any of Chris Nuttall's work, he has a lot. Some hard Sifi and some magic. He also has a world view which would fit in here very well. Gets him some negative reviews from lefty readers on Amazon.

So, a few things...

1. Most authors who make it past the larval stage are bombarded with unsolicited ideas and opinions. By the time I published my first book, my more-established author friends had made it remarkably clear that, as flattering as imitation might be, the unsolicited nature makes the suggestions more than a little annoying. Imagine if random people walked up to you every day and kept trying to tell you how to do your job and you won't be far off the mark. I'm certainly still not established compared to them, but I'm starting to understand first-hand why some of the things I thought were innocuous got the reactions they did.

2. More authors get their start writing fanfic than you'd think. Learning how to write generally involves doing it, after all.

3. A surprising number of published stories start off with "I liked this one guy's idea," followed by either "So I wrote stuff in his world, filed off the serial numbers, and published it" or "but I figured I could do it better, so here's where I went with it."

4. Despite having a few unfinished stories at the time, I started "By Dawn's Early Light" as an example of the latter. It's just the first one I finished and I managed to stick with it.

5. As discouraging as #1 might sound, #2 through #4 are really what you should take away. File off the serial numbers, apply putty/JB Weld where necessary, sand and polish, and go get paid, sir. You've already written something that's yours alone. Repainting over where you had to take an angle grinder to it to eat of the VINs is less work than starting over, usually.

Well, I didn't want to write an essay here ...

I didn't exactly get brushed off. It was just not what he had/has in mind. Even suggested that I might want to develop it into fanfic.
I certainly don't think I can write better ... or that my ideas are better (or even as good).

I left those (sample) chapters for a while, then went back and re-read them. They seemed ok to me, the idea(s) were sound.
I continued adding to it, developing the story. Never had any intent to do anything with it, and probably would have just stopped at some point ... except that I didn't.
I was sort of surprised at what it was turning into. I don't think I ever got better than a C- in my English classes at school, so the idea of writing something that might turn into a book was laughable.

Well, 111k words later, I decided that it was time to finish it. Still no intent to do anything with it.
After a while, and a couple of clean-up sessions I wondered about if/how to make it available for anyone that might want to read it.
Chris worked with me on appropriate disclaimers, and explained about the problems with fan fiction, which, of course, never having done anything in the writing/publishing world I was unaware of.

So, it's there. Tucked away in a corner of the Internet where people who want to can take a look, and unlikely to worry any publisher.

BTW, people are always telling me how to do my job :-)

Worth noting, "better" isn't always pointed at quality of writing. I had storyline in mind when I used the word, not necessarily the prose itself, so more "When guy X did Y, things should have gone this way because it's more realistic or more interesting."

Most untested newbies who earnestly think their prose is better than long established authors like Nutall are in for a rude awakening, but... The thing is, that's more or less comparing someone who's lived in the gym for years to some guy who's never even picked up a bar.

What I'm trying to say is... You've written 100k+, which is not a small amount of practice. I know how much I improved with that kind of interval... If you keep at it, you might even surprise yourself. Especially if you're getting tips from folks with more experience.


Also, Chris is decent people per my limited interactions with him, so if I came off sounding like I was bagging on him, I wasn't. I'm certainly not at his level, IMO, when it comes to writing quality.

I would never try to compare my feeble efforts to his. He amazes me, and his stories and writing have improved enormously over the years.

Heh, this reads like something I would've posted not too long ago. Nearly everyone worth a shit starts off humble. I'm not sure I rate that high, but at least I've got humility . Sorry if my attempts at being encouraging may have come off otherwise; I have the communications equivalent of resting bitch face

That said, if the description of Dusk Knight stikes your fancy, I just clicked submit so it's up to Amazon when it shows up.

Dusk Knight is now on Amazon. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as my beta readers did, and if so, please leave a review!


Guns, mayhem, and magic.

Staff Sergeant Thomas Edwards was intimately familiar with the first two before incoming fire ended his career. A tactical retreat to the family cabin drops him head first into the third when he awakes in the blackened, twilight wasteland that used to be Faerie. Beset by nightmarish survivors of the Nevernever's apocalypse, Thomas’ explosive finale earns him an option besides death. All he has to do is make a deal with fae.

What's the worst that could happen?

Well, you are now a dollar or so richer :-)
It's in my queue for reading.

I downloaded Dusk Knight when you posted in GD. Started reading last night and so far I'm liking it. Your writing style reminds me of S.A. Bailey, who's character is also a wounded vet.
I'll check out your other work as well. Keep it up!

Just finished the reread of Dawns Early Light and then book 2, Foreign Shores. Loved book 1 just as much as the first time and book 2 might have been even better. I want to say the writing or maybe the flow of the story was even better in book 2. I am really enjoying this series and am looking forward to book 3.
Excellent work , Jason. I'll get started on the beta read for This We'll Defend soon.

Yeah,  I was wondering how people would take the bank robbery scene when I wrote it... I mean, it's sci-fi; who robs banks in a sci-fi book, right? :D