This was something I had wanted to do for a long time. The nag to animate hit somewhere around the year 2018 but I struggled with the lack of equipment. I tried—yes—I had a little drawing tablet and had bought a software I wouldn’t recommend, and I had dipped my toe into the water of this new medium, but it just didn’t go anywhere…until now. To make a long story short, I went on a long tech venture of building a new computer and getting a large drawing monitor for it. Obviously, I would never have been able to get the drawing tablet (it’s an Xp-Pen Artist Pro 24) without a graphics card which allows me to have more than one monitor. So it all fell into place. In getting all this new tech, I wasn’t doing it because of animation, I had plenty of more logical reasons to pull it all together, but it certainly was in the back of my mind the whole time. And I didn’t let myself down. A learning curve came next, but I really wasted no time in getting an animation done—finally!
I worked really hard on it and I’ve learned a lot from this venture, the #1 thing being that I love doing animation and want to do some more. I think this will be a hobby that sticks, something I’m doing in the background a lot of the time. This time it was logical to make a book trailer for “A Basket of Devils” because I was gearing up to launch that book. Next, I’d like to do something for Sufferborn (duh! lol), and in between I might do meme-type things for fun.
So without further ado, here’s the book trailer! Check it out! It’s only a minute long!
I have been busy, folks! But it’s for a great cause, because I’d like to introduce you to…
I am thrilled to announce that my upcoming book, “A Basket of Devils,” is set to be released on November 1st, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you. I have been stewing this one around in my head for several years now, so I’m extremely excited to finally be able to share it.
How about that cover? I painted it in oil. It’s the first painting I’ve ever done on wood panel—my new favorite surface.
📖 About the Book: Arson was born into the life of an assassin as one of a set of quadruplets found by a madman named Haus LinGor. They travel to the elven kingdom of Norr to discover their true heritage and purchase wives to take back home with them, but at a time when trolls are rampaging through the forest. Arson is captured by Princess Hanhelin’s entourage. Regardless, he won’t give up on his quest to obtain a wife. He sets his sights on the princess’s handmaiden–if not the princess herself. “A Basket of Devils” is a gripping romantic fantasy that delves into a dramatic enemies-to-lovers struggle, intertwined with danger and adventure. It’s a tale of love, loyalty, and the choices that can change destinies forever. This book marks the beginning of a prequel series to the Sufferborn saga, which many of you may already be familiar with. It addresses something that is only lightly touched on in Sufferborn: the dreaded but fabled Overseas Taint.
For those of you who just can’t wait until launch day to read it, you can access it on Netgalley and leave a review!
I’m immensely grateful for your continued support, and I can’t wait to hear what you think about this new adventure. Stay tuned for more updates and information as we approach the release date.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of this journey with me. I couldn’t do it without you.
July 14-16, 2023, in Louisville, KY, I’ll be making my very first author appearance at Imaginarium 2023! How cool is that? I’m super excited and fretting over what I’m going to wear! Haha, just kidding, I’ll probably just wear some tactical pants and a metal shirt. If you’re anywhere in Louisville’s vicinity, why not pop in and say hello? There will be TONS of stuff to do and authors to meet. And there will be me! I’ll have a booth in the main show room selling books and goodies. I can’t wait!
Merry Christmas to all! I feel compelled to write this blog right now as a way to get out of a sort of funk I’ve been suffering with. I haven’t wanted to do much of anything online, besides spend money :} . It has been a bad 2 years for me, but this Christmas season, so far, is a lovely one.
My first announcement for today is that the third installment of Sufferborn has been written! It’s only the first draft and will be followed by a long few months of editing, starting in January, but the project is halfway complete at this point. It took me 11 whole months to write it and it is nearly 230,000 words long, whew! For the first two books, it only took about 3 and a half months to write their first drafts, but this year was different. I had trouble focusing. I took on a big computer building side project, two of my relatives died, and I continued to deal with publishing-related woes that are hard to explain to those who don’t work in this business. I was spread thin, and 11 months got the job done.
I’m psyched about Sufferborn book 3! This book is VERY important in the series as it’s at the center of the entire composition and it stands as a pretty big mid-series climax. So buckle your seatbelts, Sufferborn fans. By now, you all know that I don’t write slow books, haha! My books are full of action and drama.
Since I finished the book a little later than expected (LOL), I’m, of course, having to push back the release date. So I’m hoping for mid 2022 now. It’s a very big book and shouldn’t be rushed. I’ll do my best and keep you informed.
I also finished the front cover painting for book 3! Another very big task done. There will, as always, be a back cover painting too, but I’ve yet to decide on a subject. I’m currently working to create a reference and…
Dah-da-na-naaaaahhhh! This brings me to my other bit of big news: I am writing this post on a bitchin’, badass, new custom-built computer—the first computer I’ve ever created with my own hands! It’s beautiful. I talked about this project in a previous post, you might remember, but the finished project turned out slightly different. What I have learned is that building a computer is quite a twisty-turny adventure. You really have to be in tune with what you’re doing and trying to accomplish. But I did it, and it’s just fabulous. This computer is the new center of my publishing company, and not a moment too soon. As it turned out, I wound up deciding to get a Ryzen 5950x, which has 16 cores, instead of my original plan of getting a threadripper. I made this decision after discussing it with someone online who convinced me I didn’t need a threadripper for what I was trying to do, lol. Alongside it, I wound up getting a Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card. Obviously, I would have gotten a higher tier, but the current graphics card situation was insane, and I just decided to get the best thing I could get my hands on. To be honest, my 3070 is AWESOME. Computer people in the youtube videos act like it has to be a 3090 or you’re just not at the best level, but all that talk is silly. I’m here to tell you this if you are currently trying to get a graphics card. My computer is amazing thanks to my 3070. I managed to get it by watching the Newegg website closely, checking its stock about three times a day (so not too closely, hahahah!) When I happened to catch this 3070 in stock, from a reputable American seller, I jumped on it. Ok, I didn’t even jump on it that quickly lol. I hemmed and hawed for about an hour. I asked my mom if she thought I should get it lol. And THEN I bought it. I paid about 800 dollars more than its retail value, as these were ridiculously inflated this year. My decision was justified though, because it’s for business. I really wanted my workflow to improve. And it has.
The book and the computer were the best things to come out of 2021 for me. I’m really hoping things will be different in 2022. I’m feeling good these days. I get a winter vacation, since I’m letting the book simmer before reading it with fresh eyes. And my day job has lightened up considerably, because this is a slow season for the work I do. So finally, I’m getting some rest and feeling at peace, after a long, grueling year of deaths and penny pinching and emotions coming from places both external and internal.
I hope for now, my suffering is over. And I’m excited about Christmas. How about you?
Merry Christmas.
There’s the magnificent bastard now–my computer! XD
Get it NOW at your favorite retailer! Available in ebook, paperback, and hardback. The ebook can be found on Amazon Kindle, but will soon be available in a greater range of stores, so please check back soon.
Her life had been planned out for her, until an elf with a fiery past came to tempt her future.
In an age of hostility toward elves in her region, Kalea couldn’t just stand and gawk when one of the handsome creatures was caught stealing. He might’ve died had she not helped him escape his grim fate. This was her first sin and she is aware of it. She might have set in motion the ruination of her social standing, her chastity, and ultimately her life…if not her own preservation.
She warns him not to follow her, yet the elf, Dorhen, manages to find her home at the convent where she is looking forward to a long, peaceful life of prayer and study. She is about to take her vow of chastity, and although consorting with any male is forbidden, Kalea can’t resist her fascination with his beautiful eyes and sweet, gentle nature. A precarious interest in Dorhen begins to blossom within her. Meanwhile, a sinister plot unfolding in her home region is about to slither right into her safe little convent in the forest, bringing Dorhen’s ominous past with it.
When sorcerers raid the convent and kidnap the other novices, Kalea manages to escape with Dorhen’s help, but he vanishes in the aftermath of the attack. Determined to save her sisters and the elf she loves, Kalea sets out on a perilous journey across a land rife with magic and festering with an unknown evil… an evil that threatens to destroy all Kalea holds dear.
Sufferborn is a sprawling, dark fantasy with sensual elements that explores the power of faith, supernatural dreams, and love.It follows the treacherous journey of a heartbroken young woman as she struggles to let her old life go in order to achieve the desires of her heart.
Trigger Warnings: This story was written for adults and has an overall sexual theme. Contains violence and blood , sex, slight and brief rape scenes and reference to rape, abduction, cruelty, and moderate swearing.
That’s right! You can now pre-order the ebook version if that’s your cup of tea! The other formats, paperback and hardback, will be available on the 19th of this month. Keep in mind that every format will have a different number of illustrations. Ebook has 3 illustrations (not including the map), paperback has 4, and hardback has 6!
Here’s the back cover copy:
Her life had been planned out for her, until
an elf with a fiery past came to tempt her future.
In an age of hostility toward elves in her
region, Kalea couldn’t just stand and gawk when one of the handsome creatures
was caught stealing. He might’ve died had she not helped him escape his
grim fate. This was her first sin and she is aware of it. She might
have set in motion the ruination of her social standing, her chastity, and
ultimately her life…if not her own preservation.
She warns him not to follow her, yet the elf,
Dorhen, manages to find her home at the convent where she is looking forward to
a long, peaceful life of prayer and study. She is about to take her vow of
chastity, and although consorting with any male is forbidden, Kalea can’t resist
her fascination with his beautiful eyes and sweet, gentle nature. A
precarious interest in Dorhen begins to blossom within her. Meanwhile, a
sinister plot unfolding in her home region is about to slither right into her
safe little convent in the forest, bringing Dorhen’s ominous past with it.
When sorcerers raid the convent and kidnap the other novices, Kalea manages to escape with Dorhen’s help, but he vanishes in the aftermath of the attack. Determined to save her sisters and the elf she loves, Kalea sets out on a perilous journey across a land rife with magic and festering with an unknown evil… an evil that threatens to destroy all Kalea holds dear.
October 19, 2019! Get ready, because you have two months! Right now I am hard at work pulling together everything needed for the release of Sufferborn, my debut novel! It will be the first book in a long series (of six installments, I’m estimating), telling the tragic tale of two souls who meet but struggle to stay together by the cruel hand of fate. Sufferborn is a piece I’ve been developing over the course of twenty-one years, and counting.
Right now, I am proud to reveal the book’s cover! This is originally an oil painting on linen, completed earlier this year. The painting is titled, “Open Heart.” I’ve been oil painting for pretty much as long as I’ve been working on the Sufferborn story, and my hard work, education, exploration, and discipline has led me to this.
I’ll be releasing FOUR different formats of the Sufferborn books. Some formats may be delayed, please bear with me. I will try my hardest to have the ebook, paperback, and hardback available on the date of release, but just in case things get complex, the hardback release could possibly be delayed. As I said, I will try my best! The one version that will, sadly, have to be delayed is the fourth, and greatest, edition: the presentation edition. This version will be beautiful. I will choose a local printing company for this one—it will NOT be available everywhere. Presentation edition will only be available through me (my website/etsy store, and at my table when I attend conventions). This edition is very special, as it will feature two extra illustrations, plus a “presentation” page in the front matter. The presentation page will be the area I can sign, or even you can sign it and “present” it to your loved ones who read fantasy. The production of presentation edition will be quite different from using Amazon, and that’s why its release delay is inevitable.
Anyway, that’s my news! Keep in touch for more updates and information. Feel free to follow me on social media—links to my social media are located on the right side of this page, and have a great week. I will be having a very busy two months. ~J.C. Hartcarver
J.C. Hartcarver 