A Quick Update

So, I thought to finally give a short update for my patrons and followers on Patreon. Forgive me for the long absence. I will probably only be hopping in and out maybe once a month or so.
There are a lot of things going on in my life right now. But as I say in my Patreon update below, I promise I will return to a more vigorous author/writer lifestyle. SOON!
In the meantime, check out my update:
Patreon.com/A-Little-Update-from-the-Ghost-of-an-Author

A Galaxy of Freedom

When the Tyrants of the Milky Way arrive, it’s time for some good old-fashioned resistance.

The very first novel I published was StarQuest. It’s hard to believe this book turned six years old two days ago!

The story of a group of freedom fighters who became a galactic task force to find a New World where they could reestablish a nation based on their own principles and ideals.

Yes, today being 4 July is the reason I’m bringing this book up.

A national resistance becomes a galactic resistance.

General Johan Eryn and his task force take the USS Patriot on an excursion across the Milky Way and they discover… we are not alone.

But surprise, the other worlds were actual colonies from Ancient Earth—we’ve merely been out of contact for millennia. Now, these other colonies are being oppressed by a tyrannical race called the Clongoth.

Can the rebellion unite a whole galaxy against this powerful race? How will all these “primitive” races form a strong-enough front against a technologically advanced force?

Oh, did I mention, if you sign up for my Super Supporters on Patreon, you’ll receive a free hardcopy of this first novel of mine! On top of that, you also get the option of choosing one of several ebooks I’ve also published.

There are two short ebooks in the StarQuest world: Forgetfulness and Epix. These both take a setting before the novel on the timeline. So, if you join the Super Supporters tier level, you could grab a free copy of one of these too!

www.patreon.com/irvinnovelist

Forgetfulness is sort of explanatory. The team can’t remember who they are or where they come from. They’re servants at some royal palace in some strange world they believe to be their homeland.

Epix is about the time when the USS Patriot is given a whole new addition to its spaceship body and becomes the USS Patriot Ultimatum. Everything in this story is oversized! Even the moon god that threatens the planet’s existence.

I want to mention before I leave today, soon, I will write a third short ebook, which will take place after the novel. After that, there’s a second novel planned and it’s going to be even more epic because I am a far better writer now (it’s not bragging if it’s true). There will be some original characters and lots of new ones too!

So, on that note, come join our space ship and explore the galaxy with us!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

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I have Returned and Here’s the Upcoming Plans

I can’t believe we’re already twenty days into November!

by John Irvin

Okay, so I thought I’d already blogged the first week into November, but come to find out, no it’s not here. Weird.

Time gets away from me these days.

I have an excuse for last week’s absence. I was literally absent from my computer. I took the annual camping trip with friends to Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama.

But, now I’ve returned with more zest to accomplish more goals. I love how nature does that to me. It’s like a natural refresh or recharge. Not that I’m a robot or anything.

Anyhoo, you ever get something done and think, phew! I feel so accomplished and I made it through. Then you listen to the work you finished and the audio seems so quiet you’re disappointed with your life?

Yeah, me too.

That’s what happened to today’s YouTube vlog. It took a lot of gathering pictures and audio recording and background music. Then I published it and listened and… YUCK!

I can barely hear myself.


So, for today, I’ll just share the transcription below and next week, hopefully, I’ll do better. Thanks for understanding!

YouTube Episode 123 Transcription:

It’s been over a month since I last posted a vlog. There was a reason for that. You recall how my vlog normally coincides with my blog?

Well, the past few weeks, the blogs have been a sub-series about my dream cast for the first three books in my Longevity series. And, since I would have to post pictures, in order to keep away from copyright issues, I decided to forgo the vlog side of it.

My readers could simply google the actors and actresses while they read the articles.

It was enjoyable and I’d love to see these movies come about within the next couple of years. Of course, I’d have to have a little face time in each one, I’d be a random Scotsman in a kilt running across the background in a scene or plowing a field in France in another scene, depending on which movie.

Then I finished that fantasy and went on a camping trip with friends last weekend, so there was no blog either.

We’ve returned safe and sound and now I’ve been working on an outline for my upcoming work.

I’m finishing up the first draft to an old book idea I conceived years ago. It’s called Strangers to the Realm. It has elves, orcs, faeries, ancient prophecies, parallel realms, and blossoming romance.

I plan to finish that before the end of November—this is possible, I only have four chapters left to write.

Then I’ll switch gears and work on a short proofreading book for my independent proofreading business. I’ve been told by several entrepreneurs and influencers that this would do well for the credibility for my business, so I’m going to try it.

Then it’s finally back to the world of Longevity. A brief summary again.

Longevity, Book 1: Revelation is about Sir Ihon Iraes discovering he is not human, he’s from the Wolf-Born Race. Then he goes on his first adventure. There’s love, grief, self-discovery, action, and mystery.

Book 2: Independence: Sir Ihon returns to the world of men to find his native country in the middle of a war for independence. He meets the famed Sir William Wallace and becomes best friends. There’s plot twists and world travelling as with the first book.

Book 3: Wandering: Still not out in print, but in ebook format, that will be fixed soon. Sir Ihon finds himself in inner and outer turmoil thanks to Zandra the Immortal. It takes wandering throughout the world and meeting so many different renowned historical figures for him to find himself again.

And when I return to that world next month in December, I plan to start where I left off. I’ve already written the first draft for Book 4: Revolution. So, I’ll begin with the first draft of Book 5: Treason and over the next year make my way through Book 6: Discovery and Book 7: Premonition to finally completing the first draft of the final book in this main series, Book 8: Extinction.

This series has been eleven years in the making. One more year to go—I can’t believe I’m this close. Of course, it’ll probably take a whole year after that to get through the second and third drafts then editing and proofreading and designing cover art. But who knows, we shall see! I’m excited.

Well, there’s the plan, y’all. And hey Magic’s Time Split was ten books and I finished and published all those, so this is possible for the foreseeable near future.

Until next time, sign up for my newsletter and get your free copy of Magic’s Time Split, Book 2: When Kingdoms Arise.

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 4.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this fourth and final list from my Longevity series?

by John Irvin

Today marks the 280th blog post on my website. Wow, that’s a lot of writing. It’s also the final part in this Dream Cast series as you can read above. This little sub-series has been so much fun. Today, we’ll actually have a couple more than the usual number of characters.

Longevity, Book 3: Wandering was quite a piece of work. I enjoyed every second of my main character’s journey through his life and the vast array of historical and fictional characters he met along the way.

But, again, a forewarning: if you see any printed copies (hardcover or paperback) on sale for this book, do not order. It is ONLY supposed to be out in ebook for now thanks to the formatting issue in the printing process.

Back to the tale and my dream cast. In this book, Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) returns home after a long time in the Haven with Zandra the Immortal. He finds a new structure built into the place where his old house used to be. Castle Iraes is managed by Lady Celia Stuart.

She is the daughter of Desi Wallace, Sir William Wallace’s daughter and Ihon’s ward. While Ihon had gone away, Desi had married an upstanding Scotsman and they’d had the funds to build the Castle Iraes and leave it in charge of their daughter who now runs it with her own daughter Lady Molly Stuart.

These two women play a decent-sized role in the beginning of the book. I’m combing lists of actresses I think worthy of their parts and have decided Helena Bonham Carter would give Lady Celia the proper air I envision her having as ward of Castle Iraes and its valley tenants. From her roles as Bellatrix from the Harry Potter saga to Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech, I tell you what, she would be a superb fit.

Lady Molly is young and slightly naïve, but extremely curious about this strange Laird of the Iraes estates. She wants to know the mystery behind his long life and journey. I believe Haley Pullos could play an excellent Molly Stuart. She’s from General Hospital. I’ve never heard her make a Scottish accent, but you never know!

This next one is one of the few men who play a major role in Ihon’s journey through this third installation. John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, is one of the few humans to actually stumble upon Sanguiatro, the Capital of the Wolf-Born Race. Tucked away into the Highlands, it’s supposed to be well-hidden from human or Spawn eyes. I wonder how James McAvoy would feel about playing this eccentric role. Something to ponder, Mr. McAvoy? I mean, you are a Scotsman.

On his wanderings, Ihon finds a solitary life in the forests of medieval France. There he meets a young girl by the name of Joan d’ Arc and sort of becomes a mentor. She, believing him to be a spiritual apparition of one of the saints, claims he is one of three. I’d like to see Mia Talerico being cast in the role of Joan.

She’s the baby star from Good Luck, Charlie. Such a cutie!

The other two supposed “saints” to give Joan her tutelage in the ways of religion and warfare are two sisters Ihon actually meets. The three of them have a short tryst together you might say. I’m not going to spoil any more. But their names are Guinevere and Margot—they are French Wolf-Born who actually choose him as the alpha of their little pack.

I’d love to see Alexandra Daddario as Margot and Scarlett Johansson as her older sister Guinevere. Perfect match. I fell in love with Alexandra as Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Scarlett was why I fell in love with Black Widow from her very first scene in Iron Man 2.

But good things come to an end and Ihon must move on after a dilemma that has to do with the Supreme Council and other officers of the Creed Army.

And now, the final character I want to dream cast an actor for—or rather an actress—is the Princess of the Chitimacha tribe. Ihon actually makes his way to the New World and ends up continuing his wanderings into the vast wilderness there. He stumbles across a native tribe that sees him as a fulfillment of a prophecy. The chief’s daughter, Fawn, is supposed to wed a white stranger, according to this prophecy, and they would bring great prosperity to the tribe.

Fawn, is played by Emma Watson. Made famous by her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter saga, and every nineties baby’s crush, I’d love to have her cast in this romantic role.

Well, there you have it, my dream cast for the first three books in my Longevity series. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 3.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this third list from my Longevity series?

by John Irvin

It’s already that time again. Yes, the time I post part three in a Dream-cast blog series for my world of Longevity, if it were ever made into movies. Because, why not? I’m sure all writers dream of the perfect cast for their books.

Now, in parts one and two, I covered the main characters and a few others from Book 1: Revelation. Today’s blog will cover a few characters from Book 2: Independence.

A quick back story again, Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) has returned from his first haunt in the Haven where he met the Immortal, Zandra. Now he returns to find his human homeland in the middle of a war for independence.

His best friend is the renowned Guardian of Scotland, Sir William Wallace. Naturally, being of Scottish descent, I had to bring this hero into the story. And also, because I’m a fan of Braveheart, no one should be surprised that when I imagined this character, I saw Mel Gibson.

Hence the blue eyes.

But, Mel Gibson has grown a bit older thanks to time. I’m so torn with this cast role to be honest. William Wallace will always look like Mel Gibson to me in my mind. I just don’t know who could play the part. I don’t care if his accent was off, he still did a darn-good job.

I wonder how his son, Louie Gibson, would do in the role.

Next character is another historical player known as King Robert the Bruce. According to history—and Braveheart—he took up the mantel to lead Scotland to victory and finally win what they had never had before: a country of their own.

Angus Macfadyen played this role in Braveheart and its sequel, which I have yet to see sadly, and he did the perfect job. He’s also actually Scottish. But, again, he’s up there in age like Mel. Although, the Bruce was about forty when he fought the Battle of Bannockburn, which was the decisive battle that led to Scotland’s independence.

Angus is fifty-eight now, so he could play the part. But, I mean, he’s already played Bruce twice now. Would it really be fair for Mel Gibson?

How does Henry Cavill or Jamie Dornan sound? Cavill starred as Superman in the Man of Steel and I find he did a good job. Jamie Dornan was the sheriff in Once Upon A Time—at least, that’s where I know him from. That is a favourite of mine. I wonder how their Scottish accents are. Dornan is Irish and Cavill is British.

Then there is King Philip of France, who, in this series, is actually not human. He’s a Wolf-Born Higher Officer of the Ancient Creed. He tasks Ihon with a mission to Constantinople. I’ll also give a hint, he may or may not play a role later on in the series.

I think the best actor to play this mysterious character would be Raphaёl Personnaz from Anna Karenina. He’s French and he did a superb job.

And the final role we’ll talk about today is that of Sir William Wallace’s daughter, Lady Desi Wallace. Yes, the real hero actually had a daughter—this is not shown in the Gibson film. And in the Longevity series, she becomes my main character’s ward for a short time. Her lineage actually plays a role throughout the series.

I won’t go into it any further. You’ll simply have to read the books. Although, I’m going to pause again right here to remind you, Book 3: Wandering is ONLY in ebook form for now. If you see any print copies for sale, those are errors. There was a format problem that I haven’t been able to get around to fixing yet.

With Amazon’s new “hardcover” option, that may be just around the corner though, so hang on.

Back to Desi, what an interesting lass this character was. I immediately fell in love with her when writing her in and wish I could have had more time with her. But that’s how it goes sometimes. Who knows, maybe I’ll write a short story for her about her time at House Iraes, I don’t know.

The best actress I could see fitting in this role would be Maya Hawke from the recent Little Women. We’ll have to call her up and ask for her example of a Scottish lass. Perhaps. 😉

Next up will be Book 3: Wandering and its cast of characters. I won’t give any names out this time around. Make sure to stop by next Saturday for Part 4!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 2.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this second list from my Longevity series?

By John Irvin

If you haven’t read last week’s blog, please hop down and check it out. I’ve already talked about several different characters from the first book in my Longevity series, Revelation, and which movie stars I’d love to see star in their roles.

Now, I’m continuing on with the theme and going to mention four more characters in the book!

This will probably continue on with a Part 3 next week because there are so many characters in the three books that are already published. Oh, and there will be five more books before the main series from the Longevity world is complete.

I do want to restate, Book 3, Wandering, is only available in ebook format. There was an issue in the printing, so if you see any hardcover or paperback versions, those are not correct and they are mistakes.

So, the first character for today that plays a minor role—yet he is responsible for my main character’s enrollment into the Creed Army because he happens to be the Chief Councilman of the Supreme Council.

The Supreme Council is the governing body of the Wolf-Born Race. There have always been eight seats on the Council since its founding—which is mentioned in Book 1, Revelation and will be expounded upon in the upcoming ebook novella The First of All.

Noran Mars is the Chief Councilman when Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) arrives on the scene. He is a firm, yet understanding character. Though he’s often presented as a serious individual, he can have a sense of humour.

This one was a hard one to come up with. But, after much consideration, I believe Gerard Butler or Russell Crowe would make great candidates for this position. Russell has that serious leadership aura about him and played a great role in Gladiator and Robin Hood.

Gerard Butler has done a number of characters from Machine Gun Preacher to 300 to The Phantom of the Opera—he’s also Scottish.

Then there are two other characters who are also on the Supreme Council. They are the “Chroniclers” for the Council. They’re also brother and sister. Angus and Merryn McKlean. Both carrying full heads of Scottish red hair, they’re a couple of the younger council members and very accepting of Sir Ihon.

Merryn plays a role that pops up at random times throughout the series, I will not give any spoilers away. But, I believe there is no one who would fit her part better than the Scottish redhead Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie. She was my favourite woman in Game of Thrones.

The best man to portray Merryn’s brother Angus is a tougher decision. I’m going to be open here with you. When I birthed this character, there was a reason his name was Angus. It’s because the person I saw when he stepped onto my pages was Angus from Braveheart, Sir William Wallace’s redheaded best friend.

But, Brendan Gleeson is a wee bit too old now and it would be a bit redundant if he were to play another Angus who is similar to his Braveheart persona. Wouldn’t you think?

David Wenham is a redheaded actor who played the role of Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movie saga. He’s an Australian native, but perhaps he’d be superb pretending with a Scottish Accent?

Now the final character I’m going to write about and dream about in this blog today, she arrives at the very end and we don’t know much about her in Book 1, but she plays a bigger part in Book 2. What I do want you to know is, she’s an Immortal who has been a friend of the Wolf-Born Race for millennia.

Her name is Zandra. I’m going to let you in on a secret, she’s going to get her own book trilogy one of these days.

Now, there has been only one person in all the world whom I’ve envisioned could play this goddess-like character. And that would be Jennifer Garner. There’s no one else who could even come close to being considered perfect for Zandra in my eyes.

I can see her walking the peaceful Haven she created inside a parallel dimension in a mountain near the Capitol, Sanguiatro, of the Wolf-Born Race.

Now, we’ve got this far into this little mini-series of my blog and you may be wondering why I haven’t shared ANY photos of each of these actors and actresses. I’m going to be open again, it’s for copyright purposes. I’m sorry, but I would prefer to not insult these amazing people ahead of casting them in my books’ future movies.

Yes, I know, that sounded hilarious. But it’s true.

This is another reason why I haven’t done a vlog on my YouTube channel to correspond with these blogs for the past two weeks now. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that channel for now. I’m leaving it open though!

Next week, I’ll bring up more characters from Book 2, Independence, as I continue with Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 3!

Some of the characters I’ll mention will be:

Sir William Wallace – Hero and Guardian of Scotland, best friend of Sir Ihon

King Robert the Bruce – King of Scotland and later friend of Sir Ihon

King Philip of France – Wolf-Born Higher Officer of the Creed Army

Desi Wallace – Daughter of Sir William Wallace, Sir Ihon’s ward

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com