Updates and Newsy Things

Updates and news about our writing, publishing, and such!

New Release! Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken

June 17, 2019 By Frank Hurt Leave a Comment

We’re delighted to announce that the fourth novel in the Ascending Mage series has been released!

Description for Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken

Her changeling friends are imprisoned. To free them, she’ll have to break the laws of magic.

Ember Wright managed to save her friends’ lives, only to see them locked up and tormented. With each passing day, the changelings weaken and submit to their interrogators. Secrets start to slip.

Running out of options and allies, Ember turns to an ancient, forbidden form of advanced magic. Her reluctant teacher’s warning echoes in her head: almost all mages who attempt the spell become corrupted by it.

Complicating matters, her overbearing mother decides to come visit–in the middle of a crisis. What could possibly go wrong?

As though an answer to Ember’s desperate prayers, an otherworldly force reveals itself. Will this new power be her greatest weapon? Or will it be her ultimate undoing?

Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken is page-burning modern fantasy with a kick-ass heroine and magic that will grab you by the throat.

You can grab your copy of Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken on Amazon.

ebook version – Buy now on Amazon

paperback version – Buy now on Amazon

First Look at Ascending Mage 6 Cover Art

May 24, 2019 By Frank Hurt Leave a Comment

The first five Ascending Mage books contain a complete story arc, which we consider “Season 1” for the series. We’re currently writing Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken for its release on June 16, 2019.

With the response we’re seeing from readers, there’s going to be a Season 2. 😎

Without giving any spoilers, here’s a rough sketch fresh from our cover artist for Ascending Mage 6.

Ember Wright’s badassery continues!

Ascending Mage 6 sketch — First draft sketch of Ascending Mage 6 cover art

Emotional Intensity for Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken

May 23, 2019 By Frank Hurt Leave a Comment

The Ascending Mage series has many subplots and characters. We use spreadsheets to outline and keep our descriptions consistent while keeping the overall story arc on target.

One of the aspects we track for each book is what we like to call the “Emotional Intensity” of each chapter. It’s subjective, but allows us to ensure we aren’t including too many low-key scenes in a row–or conversely, too many high-intensity scenes without an emotional break so our readers can catch their collective breaths. Essentially, the goal is to create an escalating saw-tooth pattern.

Below is a screenshot for the Emotional Intensity we’ve mapped for Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken. I’ve blurred the chapter descriptions to avoid spoilers.

Emotional Intensity chart for Ascending Mage 4 — Emotional Intensity for the chapters in “Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken”

Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken is releasing on June 16th. Pre-ordering is available.

New Release: Ascending Mage 3 Buried Truth

April 28, 2019 By Frank Hurt Leave a Comment

The third novel in our Ascending Mage series has just been released! You can get it now, on Amazon.

Here’s the description from the back cover:

Corrupt mage leadership. Oppressed changelings. It’s all about to hit the fan.

Newly-promoted Senior Investigator Ember Wright is just starting to win over the hearts of her adopted North Dakota home. But underneath the community’s quiet façade, unrest is brewing.

When a missing persons case comes across her desk, Ember’s the obvious sleuth for the job. The only problem: she’s the reason the three changelings went missing!

Somehow, this mage must concoct a plan to keep her darkest secrets buried while solving the case.

With their greatest threat distracted, the corrupt mage leaders make their move against the changeling community. Will Ember realize what’s happening before it’s too late?

Ascending Mage 3: Buried Truth is page-burning modern urban fantasy with a kick-ass heroine and magic that will grab you by the throat.

WARNING: this story is written for mature audiences and contains adult language and graphic depictions of violence.

The sequel, Ascending Mage 4: Nothing Broken is in the early stages of creation. It’s due for release on June 16, 2019 and can be pre-ordered here.

1,000 Copies Sold in 6 Countries – the Ascending Mage Series Launch

April 4, 2019 By Frank Hurt Leave a Comment

We’ve got some exciting news to share with you!

The first two novels of the Ascending Mage series are published and available on Amazon (product links at the bottom of this post).

We’re pleased to have sold just shy of 1,000 copies in the first 18 days of being available to the public. We will break the 1,000 mark by the end of today—Day 19 since publishing the first book.

Our books have now been purchased in six countries: the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and India.

Here’s a screenshot of our sales graph as of time of this post (blue is for Ascending Mage 1, orange is for Ascending Mage 2):

Ascending Mage series launch – units sold
*(ebooks, paperbacks, and Kindle Unlimited page reads)*

This launch exceeded our goals.

Ascending Mage 1 managed to briefly break into the coveted Top 100 Urban Fantasy titles and crested at #1,503 overall in the Amazon Kindle Store. You can read about our launch week impressions here.

We decided on a “soft launch” strategy to ensure the Amazon recommendation algorithms would get properly trained before we made the wider announcement to friends and family via social media. This launch was powered by a bevy of targeted advertising and discounted pricing (we’ve got the first in the series priced at just 99 cents).

In other words: we’re not exactly getting rich off our stories! And that’s by design; we’re in this for the long haul. Attracting new readers is our priority, with return on investment expected over time.

Of course, we’re just getting started.

About the Ascending Mage series

The Ascending Mage series is a modern fantasy thriller set in North Dakota. These stories feature a kick-ass heroine who just so happens to be a uniquely powerful mage. The novels (five are in the works with more planned) follow Ember Wright’s evolution even as she faces ever tougher opponents.

If you’re interested, you can get your copies here:

ebook
paperback