Tag Archives: Kal Spriggs

Writing

2023 In Review

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Hey everyone, as the year winds down, I wanted to do a quick review of what I wrote, what I published, and what I’ve been through for the year.

I released four books this year: Sorcerers of the Black Fortress, Common Valor, Valor’s Strike, and Forsworn Valor. All told, around 460,000 words published, or around 1,500 pages.

I wrote seven novels and a short story this year (along with some progress on other stuff that’s not yet finished), with a total word count of 685,000 words, or around 3,500 pages. It was a very productive year for me, and I’m happy with what I managed, though I think I can do better.

I hit a personal milestone of having 40 books published by the time I turned 40, which feels like quite the accomplishment to me, though I am sure there are people out there saying “Those are rookie numbers, gotta bump those numbers up!”

I have three novels that I’ve finished this year and not yet released, two of them will be out in the first few months of the new year, and the third, under contract, should be out in the first quarter of the new year.

My regular readers may have noticed a pause in releases and in blog posts. We bought a house and moved into it during spring of 2023. That was the second move in two years, my 27th or 28th move as an adult (I have sort of lost count, not enough fingers and toes). It’s certainly not as bad as years where we’ve moved three times in one year, but it definitely impacts my writing (and my mental health, but that’s a discussion for another day).

Part of the pause was also from a desire to get some breathing space as far as having books ready to go, including covers, editing, and all the rest. Indie publishing can be a bit like a treadmill, with the need for releases, and having those books ready to go three to four months out does wonders for my mindset as far as writing. I know when a book is ready to go, where it falls in any given series, and what comes next for my writing order. That means I’m not constantly stressing myself out as far as getting books done on time (and consequently, falling further behind).

My goal is to keep that breathing space, which also allows me some time to work on multiple projects, ideally knocking out 2-3 books on any given series before switching over to a different one. So far it is working, though I have to be ever mindful of the advancing pace of time.

In my day job, I’ve been promoted, which brings with it added responsibilities, more stress, longer hours, countered by more pay and ideally the ability to have more impact. I have jokingly said before, I don’t have a military career, I am just really into method writing. Ha. Haha.

For those who follow my YouTube channel, that is an accomplishment in itself, with me foraying into the world of visual/audio media. I have some ideas and plans for the future, time is the main limiting factor there, because time I spend filming, editing, and working on that is time I am not spending with my family, writing, or working the day job.

As 2023 closes out, I have a roof over my head, my family is fed, and I am grateful for those things. I hope that all those reading this can say the same. I am grateful for the writing I’ve managed and for ideas and inspiration that I carry into the new year.

That’s all for now, thank you for reading!

Reading

Kal’s April 2020 Forecast

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Well, I suppose this COVID-19 business is what we all get for making the 2020 vision puns, right?  Well, if you’re like me and trapped at home, I hope you’re all able to get some things done and find distractions from current events.

So what am I working on this month?  I’m midway through with revisions to Fenris Unchained, Odin’s Eye, and Jormungandr’s Venom, which I’ll have ready for re-release this month.  I’m also prepping the third book of the Forsaken Valor series, Hidden Valor, for publishing later this month.

After that, I’m finishing the sequel to In Death’s Shadow, outlining the sequel to Vernian Space Gun, and then I may even get some free time to work on some other books.  Working from home without any distractions for my son is hard, though, so we’ll see how productive I am, especially doing the day job from home as well, which still requires a lot of my attention and time.

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves!

Writing

Kal’s 2020 Forecast

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Hey everyone.  I’m back online after a bit of a hiatus.  I’m finally coming out from under a lot of the “stuff” happening in life, and thank goodness for that.  As a result, I’m writing again and I hope to be posting a bit more regularly here in 2020.

So what’s on my  horizon?  Honestly, digging into all the writing projects is at the top of the list.  I have several WIPs that I need to get edited and hopefully get out in the next couple of months, some that may be ready as early as the end of January or early February.  My goal is not to rush things, though, I want to try to keep the quality of writing solid.

I’ve got two finished novels, both headed to publishers as soon as I can do the edits.  I have an outline for the next Forsaken Valor book and I’m outlining the follow-on series, (tentatively titled War of Valor).  The fourth book of the Eoriel Saga is around 50% completion.  I have outlines for Renegades IV, Shadow Space Chronicles VII, and several other book series that have been on the backburner for a while now.  My goal is to hit 30 published novels by the end of the year.

I’m thinking 2020 is going to be a busy year.  Hopefully it will be a good one as well.  That’s all for now and thanks for reading!

Reading

Kal’s 2019 Forecast

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Happy New Year everyone!

2019 is here.  Boy do I have a full plate.  I’ve got six books that I plan to get published this year, another three or four books I want to get written, and a whole lot of writing to do in general.

Right now I have twenty two books in print (kind of mind-blowing to me when I think about it).  They’re set in five different universes: Eoriel, Shadow Space, Star Portal, Dead Train, and Mark Wandrey’s 4HU.  I have nine different series in print, with an average* of three books per series (and 4 more books written that haven’t yet been published).  This year I plan to finish the Children of Valor series, wrapping it up in book five, while continuing to write the spinoff series, Forsaken Valor.  I also plan to return to my Eoriel Saga, Shadow Space Chronicles, and Renegades series, with more books coming in all of them.  I’m working on the next Argonauts book in the 4HU as well.  My goal is to release a book every two months this year and finish the year at 28 published books.

Conventions are going to be coming fast this year.  I’ll be attending  LTUE in Provo, Utah (February),  Starfest in Denver, CO (April), Liberty Con in Chattanooga, TN (May/June), Spike Con/NASFIC in Layton, UT (July), Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA (August/September).  I may be forgetting something here or there, but that’s what I see for now.  At roughly one convention every two months for the rest of the year, I’m going to be very, very busy.

I’m also trying to coordinate and set up some book signings at local stores here in Colorado, but I’m not sure when that will be happening.  I’ll be sure to post dates here as soon as I know.

On the blog post front, I’m going to be posting some additional writing blog posts as well as movie reviews, book reviews, and whatever else comes up.

Lastly I’m trying to get the audiobook versions of my YA series up soon, ideally over the next few months.  That’s all for now, thanks for reading, and have a happy new year!

*Okay, 2.44, but it almost rounds up!

Reading, Writing

Introducing Kal’s Patreon

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Hey everyone.  As of today, my Patreon page is online.  So what does that mean to you?  Well, any number of things.  If you like my content here and my books and stories, that’s another way for you to help me to make more of it.  Also, if you really want to be tuckerized (see your name appear in one of my books) then this is a chance to make sure that happens, those who become my patrons get their names on a list, and as I write, I’ll draw names directly off that list.

Also, if you like swag, I’m doing a giveaway for the first ten people to sign up.  That’s right, the first ten people get gifts.  These range from shirts to mugs to signed books.  I’m also going to do a monthly giveaway, one gift to my patrons each month.

Additionally, I’m going to post one of my unpublished short stories to the page tonight and, if we hit 20 patrons by the end of the month, I’ll add the full length unpublished novel The Eden Insurrection.  I also plan to add a variety of other content there, much of it exclusive to my patrons.

You can find my Patreon page below.

https://www.patreon.com/kalspriggs

Reading, Writing

Kal’s October 2016 Forecast

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October… my favorite month for a number of reasons.  Not least of which is that I love the fall.  Lots of cool weather that’s perfect for curling up and reading/writing a book.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing.  No, really, it’s about all I do in my free time.  Write and think about writing.  It’s sort of taking over.  The good news there is that I’m putting the finishing touches on Renegades: Out of Time.  The third novel of the Renegades series is just that, a novel.  It’s every bit as manic and crazy as the other ones, but it follows a more traditional writing style.  Why is that, you may ask?  Because for this story, it flows better.  At this point, too, most of my readers should know the characters well enough that they don’t all need their own stories.

Look for Renegades: Out of Time to come out sometime in November.  Which leads me to what I’ve finished outlining and plan to write next: The Temple of Light, the fifth book of the Shadow Space Chronicles.  In this one, we’ll start to dig into what exactly Reese is doing with those alien artifacts he’s been collecting.  We’ll see more about the mysterious Minder, and we’ll start to see why it is the Balor are so set upon human extinction.

It’s going to be fun.  There’s going to be exploding space ships, intrigue, character growths, character deaths, more exploding space ships, and all-in-all, it should be lots of fun.  My goal is to finish it in November which means a publishing date sometime in December or possibly early January depending on feedback from my readers..

My writing goals after that are a bit more complex.  I need to do a third Wolf Rising book, the fourth Eoriel Saga book, and I’m going to also somehow fit in there finishing off a couple other projects that have been setting on the backburners.

Also this month I’ll be headed out to North Carolina.  In addition to visiting my grandfather, I’ll be attending HonorCon, a military SF convention in Raleigh, NC.  It looks like it’ll be a ton of fun, so if you’re in the area and not cleaning up from hurricane damage, then by all means, come visit.  I’ll have copies of all my books and I’d love to sign some for you!

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

Entertainment

Tonight, See Kal in American Ninja Warrior!

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Kal Spriggs at American Ninja Warrior, 2015 San Pedro
Kal Spriggs at American Ninja Warrior, 2015 San Pedro

The episode to see me run American Ninja Warrior will air tonight on NBC!  This is a military tribute special, so even if you don’t want to watch me, I guarantee there’s some great people on the show with some amazing stories (really, sometimes talking with people there I felt like a serious underachiever).

The episode should also air on Esquire on July 7th and I have heard that individual runs will be available on the internet some time after that.

Reading, Science Fiction

Free Short Story: Look To The Stars July 7 & 8

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Look to the Stars, a short story by Kal Spriggs
Look to the Stars, a short story by Kal Spriggs

Free for the next two days: Look to the Stars.  This short story is a prequel, of sorts, for my novel The Fallen Race.

This is a short story set in the Shadow Space Universe and tells the story of Mason McGann, a smuggler who lives in the shadows.  Mason finds himself drawn into a dangerous game of politicians and warlords, where one wrong step might spell the end not just for him, but for millions of innocent people.  It is set before the events of The Fallen Race and can be seen as a prologue, of sorts, for the Shadow Space Chronicles.

 

Mason McGann is a smuggler, a liar, and a cheat. With his ship impounded by customs, he figures he has no choice left but to auction off information about the lost Dreyfus Fleet. But things are never what they seem when you hold information that can change the course of history.

Look to the Stars is free on July 7th and 8th, 2015 on Amazon.  Get your copy here.

Fantasy, Reading, Science Fiction, Writing

Kal’s June 2015 Forecast

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June is here and it looks to be a very busy month.  For those of you who missed it, Wrath of the Usurper, Book II of the Eoriel Saga came out last weekend.  The publishing process was a bit slowed on that due to my transition from active duty to civilian life.  I’m hoping to speed the process of writing/publishing now.  I’m hard at work on The Prodigal Emperor, Book III of the Shadow Space Chronicles, which I plan to have done by the end of the month.  If all goes according to plan, I’ll have it out to my alpha readers and then published in August.  I’ve already outlined the sequel to Fenris Unchained and that’ll be my next writing project, which if I’m really ambitious (and I get a lot more free time than I expect), I might get started on before the month is over.

I’m currently in California for an event, which I’ll post more information on next week.  At the end of the month, I’ll be in Chattanooga for Liberty Con, which if you haven’t already bought tickets for, they’ve sold out.  Added into the mix I’ve got a host of things to do.  All in all, while it’s exciting to be this busy, I’ll be glad once I can finally take a breather at the end of the month.

That’s all for now.  Next Monday I should have a big announcement, so check back here for that!

Entertainment, Reading, Science Fiction

Kal’s April 2015 Forecast

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I thought about putting this up for the first, but I didn’t feel that was auspicious given the day.  April is finally here and I’ve already begun writing The Prodigal Emperor.  Here in April I’ve got a busy schedule for writing: I’ve got to finish The Prodigal Emperor (Book 3 of The Shadow Space Chronicles), I’ve got to finish the outline for two books due to publishers later this year, outline and do a cover for Renegades: Out of the Cold, and hopefully get some writing done on that as well.

I’m starting to hear back from my alpha readers about Wrath of the Usurper (Eoriel Saga Book II) and while I’ve got some editing to do, it is looking to be on track for release in early June.    I hope to have the cover for Wrath of the Usurper from the artist later this month as well.

In other news, I’ll be at Starfest in Denver, Colorado on April 17-19, moderating a couple panels with more details to come.  That’s all for now and thanks for reading.