Book Covers

I needed to host these book cover images to get them updated on Goodreads. So check it out, some of my book covers!

Here's a new one for my short story "Stuffed Monster"

Dan Dan The Art Man's Book Reviews | Episode 56The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Download the .mp3

In this 56th episode, I review the book "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson. It's his first book in his epic fantasy series called The Stormlight Archive. Listen to hear why I struggled through the first 3/4 of the book, only to fall in love with it at the end and be super excited for book 2 in the series. It was a big of an uphill battle for me, unlike most readers on this book, but it was well worth it. I loved this book by the time I got to the last act of the story, and I loved book 2 in it's entirety, so I'm very excited for this series to continue. 

Buy the Book on Amazon (Affiliate Link):
The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The)

Check out the author's website:
http://brandonsanderson.com/

Music Attribution:

Music by Kevin MacLeod at http://www.incompetech.com

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Visit my website: www.DanDanTheArtMan.com

Support the show AND get a free audiobook!

http://www.audibletrial.com/DansBookReviews

Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week:

The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The) (Affiliate Link)
Written by Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by Michael Kramer & Kate Reading

This episode of Dan Dan The Art Man's Book Reviews has been brought to you by Audible. Visit www.AudiblePodcast.com/DansBookReviews for a free trial membership.

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Get an audiobook of your choice, free, with a 30-day trial. After the trial, your paid membership will begin at $14.95 per month. With your membership, you will receive one credit every month, good for any audiobook on Audible.

Cancel anytime, effective the next monthly billing cycle. Cancel before your trial ends and you will not be charged. Check out the full terms and policies that apply to Audible membership.

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Writing Plans for 2017

Widgets! Long ago I used to have little widgets on the upper right-hand side of my website with word count tracking meters. I just put some up again! They're fun! You can see my progress on the books I'm working on. I'm hoping to consistently update them and fill them up all year!

This year I'm hoping to publish at least 3 books:

1. A supernatural drama called "Ghost Hunting Realtor"
2. A mystery chapter book called "The Case of the Missing Snowman"
3. A Sci-Fi Thriller called "Zombie Super Powers"

Right now I'm working on finishing the novel I started during NaNoWriMo. That's "Ghost Hunting Realtor," and it's super fun! I should be finishing "Zombie Super Powers," because it's over halfway done, but I haven't touched it in ages and I have a lot of momentum going on this book.

Here's the synopsis:

A realtor stumbles on some magical items that can rid a property of ghosts. He decides to use them to change his career and finally become a house flipper, but on a grander scale. He wants to flip old haunted mansions that no one else will buy. Then he plans to rid them of their ghosts, renovate them, and sell them for a hefty profit. The ghosts turn out to be demons with swords, and getting them to leave isn't as easy as he'd hoped. He also discovers there's also a man in town buying up all the haunted mansions to destroy them and put up apartment complexes in their place. 

Last year I wrote a "The Case of the Missing Snowman." The first draft of the manuscript is completed, and it's even been handed off to beta readers for feedback. So after I go through their feedback I'll make another pass at the manuscript and make changes from their feedback. Then I'll give it one last polishing pass to try and spot any typos that still made it through or clear up any sentences that don't make sense - and it will be done! So what's the holdup? Why didn't I already do that and get this book published? Well because it's a chapter book. My oldest son got excited about reading chapter books and so I bought him a ton and started reading them myself. I loved them! They're super fun! And they have awesome illustrations. My chapter book needs to have awesome illustrations too, and that's the holdup. I still have a lot of illustrations to finish for my book.

The last book, called "Zombie Super Powers," is the novel I workshopped on The Roundtable Podcast. I have no idea why I stopped writing this book. It's really fun, it really moves and has tons of exciting scenes and I think it will be the most page turn inducing book I've written to date! So after I get these other two books out the door I'm hoping to finish this one in 2017.

That's all I got. Thanks for stopping by!

#AmReading Harry Potter Again

Click to buy at Amazon
(Affiliate Link)

This Christmas we got the first Harry Potter book for my oldest son. A lot of his friends are reading them too. He just started to like reading for the first time last year, but now he loves it. He looks for time to read more Harry Potter. It didn't take him long to finish the first two books and he's already a good way through the third one right now. So I am re-reading them myself. I love the books myself and read through all of them for the first time at the beginning of 2015. I listened to the audiobooks on my commute and it took me about four months to read them all. They totally consumed me and when I finished the series there was a huge hole left in the place it filled in my imagination. I couldn't believe it was all over. It took me several days to get over it. 

I just finished the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, today. I was crying like a baby at the end of it. The characters are so lovable. The adventures they go on are so much fun. The world is so rich and interesting. I can't wait to read these books again and for the first time do something I've dreamed of ever since my boy was born - talk about books we're reading together.

Have you read the Harry Potter books? What do they mean to you? Did you read them when they first came out or later in life like me so you could barrel through them all in a row? Have you read them more than once? What did those subsequent reads bring out that you enjoyed or didn't notice the first time through? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the series in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!

Have you not read the Harry Potter novels yet? I don't how old you are, you will thoroughly enjoy them! Go get the book for yourself and start the journey with us!

Affiliate Link:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Dan Dan The Art Man's Book Reviews | Episode 55Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan

Download the .mp3

In this 55th episode, I review the book "Hollow World" by Michael J. Sullivan. Listen to hear why I think it's an instant science fiction classic. This is a book that really made me think and made me laugh. The future the protagonist visits in this time travel novel was pretty amazing and not what I was expecting. 

Buy the Book on Amazon (Affiliate Link):
Hollow World

Check out the author's website:
http://riyria.blogspot.com/

Music Attribution:

Music by Kevin MacLeod at http://www.incompetech.com

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Visit my website: www.DanDanTheArtMan.com

Support the show AND get a free audiobook!

Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week:

Hollow World (Affiliate Link)
Written by Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by Jonathan Davis

http://www.audibletrial.com/DansBookReviews

This episode of Dan Dan The Art Man's Book Reviews has been brought to you by Audible. Visit www.AudiblePodcast.com/DansBookReviews for a free trial membership.

Audible Free Trial Details

Get an audiobook of your choice, free, with a 30-day trial. After the trial, your paid membership will begin at $14.95 per month. With your membership, you will receive one credit every month, good for any audiobook on Audible.

Cancel anytime, effective the next monthly billing cycle. Cancel before your trial ends and you will not be charged. Check out the full terms and policies that apply to Audible membership.

FOLLOW ME:
Twitter | https://twitter.com/DanDanTheArtMan
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/DanDanTheArtMan
Google + | https://plus.google.com/+DanAbsalonson/

Help Me Name My Book

   

I'm writing a novel. Will you help me with the title? Here's what it's about:

When a realtor, who desperately wants to become a house flipper, stumbles on some magical items that can get rid of ghosts, he uses them to try to and finally become a successful house flipper. The items include an invisible sword and the ghosts turn out to be demons with swords because they're fallen angels and angels have swords. He finds haunted houses for sale, buys them for almost nothing, duels with the demons until they are forced to leave, renovates the property, and then sells it for a hefty profit.

So, which title do you prefer?

• HAUNTED HOUSE FLIPPER
• GHOST SLAYING REALTOR

Or do you have another suggestion? Please leave your votes, new title ideas, etc. in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!

The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen KingBook Review

This was a pretty incredible book. If you liked the second one in the series you'll enjoy this one. That said I had my reasons for rating it as I did (3/5 stars). If the ending hadn't been... what it was I would have given this book a 4/5 stars. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, but this book is just nuts. I think it's him letting his imagination run full tilt and just seeing what happens. Lucky for us King is a bit of a genius so a lot of great story happens. I really liked this book, but I did find the middle pretty slow and drawn out. Also, there is a part of one scene I really didn't care for in this book. I found it disgusting unnecessary. 

I'm trying not to spoil anything but my favorite characters in this book were Jake and Oy. While I like Roland a lot now, Eddie and Susannah were getting a little old. I like them more with Jake around and the way they interact with Jake. Oy the billy-bumbler is awesome. That said it's also been cool to see the character growth in Eddie and Susannah in this book. Thanks to the ending I have no choice but to immediately start the fourth book in this series. Sheesh!

Get the book on Amazon (Affiliate Link):
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

Check out the author's website:
http://stephenking.com/

The Library

You may have noticed a new tab on the website called The Library. This is where I am going to post links to all of my stories. Most of them are available for free. There will be over a dozen stories to choose from. It's a work in progress but I'll be posting the links until they're all there in order of publication date. Thanks for stopping by!