And here we are. As I am writing this, it’s January 27th. I must have blinked and missed it all! To be honest, I’m not a winter fan anyway, even though I am Canadian, and I tend to hibernate whenever I can until spring rolls around again.

On the plus side, it means that I can concentrate on my writing a lot more. I’ve personally found that being stuck indoors is a great motivator when it comes to focusing on what’s important to me.

Speaking of writing, I’m well into my second novel in my series: The War of Light and Shadow. It’s moving along quite well, especially since I’ve learned that taking over four years to write a novel means that your audience tends to wander off in search of new authors and books to read. That was my mistake and I’m paying for it. Lesson learned. So I’ve had to start from scratch, trying to rebuild my readership. It’s tough, but if I did it once, I can do it again!

Frankly, I don’t get a lot of views on this site, but that’s okay. I like to share my thoughts, even if I’m simply speaking to the void. For those of you that stop by from time to time…thank you. It’s a simple connection really, but isn’t that what writing is? A connection with people you don’t know and will probably never meet? I think so.

And now it’s back to work. February, the shortest month that often feels like the longest, is almost upon us. And once we’ve made it through, Spring is on the horizon. I can hardly wait!

Take care. I’ll talk to you soon.

J. J.

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve had a wonderful time this holiday season. Whether you celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, or simply enjoyed some much needed time off, it’s the time of year to try to unwind, catch your breath and move forward.

My holiday was very low-key this year. Family illness, fresh memories of losing a loved one and other factors made this Christmas a time of introspection and reflection. But even so, I love the holiday season and I did my best to connect with friends and family. I hope you did too.

And so a new year rolls around yet again. Time for some resolutions, perhaps? I have a few, the most important of which is to release the next novel in my new series before the end of the year. Waiting almost five years to put a series out into the world was a huge mistake. My readers lost track of me, naturally, and now I’m starting from scratch as I try to rebuild a reader base. Hopefully word of mouth and excellent reviews will help with that.

But I’m not one to mope or dwell on the past. Forward, I say! 2025 will be a fresh start for all of us. I wish you and yours nothing but health, wealth, love and friendship. May all of your problems be little ones. May you overcome every obstacle. And may you find fulfillment in all of your endeavors. Cheers to you, my friend. Your potential is limitless, so tap into it and move forward.

Happy New Year!

J. J. Thompson

Hi all,

Now that I’ve released the first book in my new series, The War of Light and Shadow, I’ve already started working on my next novel. The biggest mistake I’ve made in my writing career was losing momentum during covid and taking over four years to finish my last book. My audience dissipated and moved on to other authors, naturally, and I’ve had to start at square one again. I feel like I did back in 2015 when I released my very first book on Amazon.

It’s a weird feeling, but it’s also quite invigorating. I am motivated to carry on with the series because the characters and plot from the first book are still fresh in my mind. Unlike many other authors, I don’t start writing a new book by outlining where it will begin and end. I don’t foresee the plot, except in very general terms. I am almost always surprised by what my characters do and don’t do in any given situation. Writing by the seat of my pants, I believe is the term. It’s chaotic and leads to many rewrites and changes, but it’s exciting too. I’m a passenger on a runaway train and I can only hope that it doesn’t go off the rails before it reaches the station.

Hmm, that’s a bit of an odd metaphor, but you get the idea. My hero, Simon O’Toole, has already decided to do something quite unexpected in the new book and I’m only just finishing chapter one! Where is this going? No idea, but I’m hanging on and enjoying the ride.

To those of you who have picked up the first book in the series, I want to say thank you. I write because I love telling stories and it’s a true pleasure to know that others enjoy those tales as well. More of them are coming, I promise you.

Take care,

J. J.

I’ve been keeping an anxious eye on my new book, naturally, much like I did when I published my first novel back in 2015. Sadly, being away from Amazon for four-plus years has taken its toll.

You see, when a writer publishes a novel every six months or so, as I was doing previously, it keeps their name fairly fresh in readers’ minds. So when a new book appears from that writer, people discover it fairly easily. Not so much now.

There are literally millions of books on Amazon. Far more than there were when I first started out. Even back then I was amazed that anyone took notice of my first few novels. Luck of the draw really.

But now I’m a newbie again, or at least it feels that way. I’m not complaining though. In a strange way it’s exciting. Scary, but exciting.

The reviews that have come in have been lovely. It’s so gratifying to see that people still enjoy my writing and that they are happy I’ve brought Simon O’Toole back to lead my adventures. So am I. I’ve rather missed that young/old soul. (If you know Simon, you’ll understand that reference.)

But even if sales are slow, I wanted to thank everyone who has checked out the novel. You have given me the greatest gift a reader can give to an author…your time. And time is precious. So thank you. This new journey has just begun and I promise that it won’t be another four years before you see the next book in the series!

Take care,

J. J.

So a funny thing happened back in 2020. You may have heard it. Covid? Yeah, that thing. And oh boy, did it turn our world upside-down, mine included.

I began writing a new novel just as Covid hit and then I entered what I call ‘Covid Time’. Basically everything began moving at a snail’s pace, my writing included. And so here we are, four and a half years later, as I finally release that book. Wow.

But this little blog, such as it is, is still here, so I will begin posting again. My new novel, The Wizard Returns, is a brand new adventure featuring my favorite hero, Simon O’Toole. This series is all about Simon, his elemental friends Kronk and Aeris, and his allies as they take the fight to reclaim the Earth to the gods themselves. Should be a fun ride!

If you’re interested in checking the book out, you can click here

So yeah, life continues and we put that part of our history behind us. I hope that you’re doing well and that you haven’t lost your love of reading. I certainly haven’t. I think it helped keep me (reasonably) sane during that whole crazy time.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to post again soon.

Be well,

J. J.

Hey everyone (if anyone still visits this blog),

I haven’t added any content to my blog in over a year and I apologize for that. As an indie author, I have to work P/T as well as write F/T to earn a living. And in the overloaded life I lead, some things get put on to the back burner. Apparently this blog was one of those things and I’m sad about that.

I had hopes that I would be able to post weekly or several times a month when I first created this place, but that never happened and it became a simple announcement site for my new releases.

But I haven’t disappeared nor have I stopped writing. Since the release of ‘The Dwarven Rebellion’, book IV in ‘The New Earth Chronicles’ series, I’ve released books V and VI, ”The Fall of the Elves’ and ‘The New Earth Alliance’ respectively.

I’m almost ready to release the last book in the series soon, so if you enjoy my work, keep an eye out for that one.

You can check out all of my work by going to my Author Page. Just click on that link to get there.

So to anyone seeing this post, thanks for stopping by. You can reach me on Twitter @_J_J_Thompson if you’d like to. So take care, keep reading and I’ll see you somewhere down the road.

Thanks,

J.J.

Hey everyone,

I’m happy to announce that my latest novel in the New Earth Chronicles series is now out on Amazon! The Dwarven Rebellion takes us deep below ground into the empire of one of the Elder races and gives the reader an intimate look at their daily lives.

The dwarves are one of the oldest civilizations to have ever exited on, or rather under, the Earth. Along with their ancient rivals, the elves, the dwarves came into existence millennia before human beings crawled out of the primordial jungles, stood up on two legs and stared at wonder at the world around them.

Once upon a time, dwarven mages controlled magical energies and infused their great machines with this power which allowed them to tunnel through the Earth and dig out massive caverns where they located their first cities. The dwarven empire lay sprawled across the deep places of the world, scattered like jewels glowing against the darkness. Their hardy race fought back against the unimaginable horrors that threatened them and they thrived for countless centuries as human civilizations rose and fell on the surface far above them.

Now though, the dwarves are in decline. Years of infighting amongst the ruling classes has allowed the ancient cities and the deep roads that connect them to fall into disrepair. Fewer children are born every year and where once the race was vigorous and unbowed in the face of any and all dangers, now they merely hold their own against the many monsters that stalk the black halls and subterranean depths of the world.

Into the dusty and fading empire of the dwarves comes Shandon Ironhand, the newest king and ruler of the dwarves. Shandon, once a common warrior, took the throne when his royal father and older brother fell to treachery. He was reluctant to accept the mantel, but did so to keep the throne out of the hands of traitors. He is young and ambitious and dreams of revitalizing dwarven society and raising it up again to its former glory.

But the crown sits unsteadily on the king’s head as he is challenged by dark forces bent on usurping him. Now that the ancient gods of Chaos are trying to return to the world, their agents scheme from the shadows to snatch the throne from Shandon and take control of the empire for their masters. Will the rightful king prevail? Or will evil engulf the empire and complete its long decline?

I hope you enjoy this new novel. It’s taken longer to write than any of my previous works and is also the longest book that I’ve ever written. I’ve tried to capture the spirit of the dwarves and give my readers a sense of what they are really like, at least the ones who live in my imagination. You can click on the cover of the book on the right to check it out on Amazon. Thanks so much for your support!

Take care,

J.J.

Hey all,

My latest novel, The Werewolves of Nottinghill, is now out and available from Amazon. Below is a quick video about the book. I hope that you like it. I’ll include a link to my Amazon sales page as well.

Sorry for the wait. When you reach a certain age, health issues sometimes take precedence over other things. But I’m feeling great now and I truly hope that you enjoy the book!

The Werewolves of Nottinghill Book Launch Video

Take care,

J.J.