Kevin Hardman

Audiobook Update

As I've mentioned elswhere, my narrator finished recording the audiobook for Warden (Book 4: Roost of the Roc), and I'm in the process of reviewing it now. If I haven't said so before, reviewing audio is not as much fun as it sounds. Basically, I'm not listening to the audiobook for pleasure; I'm listening and reading along, trying to find things that need to get fixed.  (I mentioned the process to a co-worker once, and she was like, "That has to the most tedious job ever...") 2022-10-19 23:06:32 +0000 UTC View Post

Now On Kindle Vella: Glimmerblade

After haughtily displaying my disdain for Kindle Vella when the platform launched, I've now come full circle and actually published a story on the platform. I know: How the might have fallen...

Seriously though, I mentioned previously that with the changes Amazon made regarding Vella, publishing there is much more appealing now. Ergo, I went ahead and published Glimmerblade...

Other Superheroes In The Kid Sensation Universe

Someone recently asked me if there were any Muslim superheroes in the Kid Sensation universe.  My response was that the KS universe has superheroes of every race, religion and creed. (Supervillains, too, I should add.)  Most, however, are still waiting to make their debut.  I think I've mentioned it in another post, but there are even other supers in the Alpha League that haven't gotten any air time yet.

Basically, there are some heroes and villains that I've developed ba...

Publishing on Kindle Vella

Over the past month or so, I've mentioned in a couple of places that I've been rethinking the possibility of publishing on Kindle Vella, which is Amazon's platform for episodic writing. Initially, I had several reasons for not participating in Vella (e.g., the rigid exclusivity provision and the prohibition against publishing in other formats).

Since then, Amazon has mellowed. Vella authors can publish in other formats (audiobooks, print, etc.) and you can share a limited amount of the ...

Additional Excerpt from Smokescreen Novel

I'm still working on the Smokescreen story, which is taking a little longer than I had hoped. Nevertheless, I wanted to share another excerpt from the book. (As always, the usual caveats apply about proofing, etc.)

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I didn’t need a shoulder to cry on, but I did feel the need to vent to someone. If my best friend Jim had been around, I might have bent his ear. Unfortunately, he...

Excerpt from Smokescreen Novel

After dealing with taxes and other issues, I'm happy to say that I'm back at work on the Smokescreen novel. I think it's coming along well, so I thought I'd share an excerpt. (And as you might expect, the usual caveats apply - i.e., it's hasn't bene prooked, etc.) 

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I didn’t go home. I needed to confirm my suspicions, but – if she was being unfaithful – I didn’t w...

Publication of Warden 4

So I just hit the publish button about a minute ago, so you heard it here first:  Warden (Book 4: Roost of the Roc) is now published - at least from my perspective. Woo-hoo!!!

Of course, I have no idea how long it will take for the book to go live on Amazon, although they're usually pretty quick. I think officially they say it may take 24 hours or something along those lines, but my titles are usually available within a few hours.  It may depend on how much of the req...

A Change to Publishing's Competitive Landscape

One thing to note about publishing - especially self-publishing - is this simple fact: Change is constant. There's always something new on the horizon. For instance, not long ago Amazon made it possible to publish hardcover versions of our books. They also introduced Kindle Vella, so that authors could release titles in an episodic format. Now there's something else that's new.

In the past, I've mentioned several times how marketing now goes hand-in-hand with publishing. Simply...

Warden (Book 4: Roost of the Roc)

I'm happy to report that Warden 4 is done. This one was a bit of a challenge in a number of ways, but I'm pleased with the end product and hope readers will be as well.

As in the previous books, the story features what I tend to refer to as non-traditional monsters - quite a few of them, I'd say, in comparison to previous entries in the series.  I don't want to spoil anything for readers, but I believe I've already mentioned that the Each-uisge  will be in this one (i...

Update on Warden 4 (Roost of the Roc)

A few weeks back, I wrote on my blog that I anticipated completing Warden 4 this month. Thus I had hoped that this post would be an announcement that it was finished. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll need a few more days, although I'll still probably make the January deadline.

There is good news, however. For starters, the cover is essentially done. I'll take another look at it over the next day or so to make sure there's nothing that needs to change, but I think it's pretty m...

Happy Holidays!

Hopefully everyone has been enjoying themselves or found something worth celebrating during the holiday season. Personally, I feel blessed – especially in terms of friends and family (although the kids often drive me crazy). I’m also extraordinarily grateful for my readers, and in particular those of you who support me on Patreon. Thanks so much for that.

In terms of writing, there’s a recent post on my website that includes an 2021-12-28 01:08:10 +0000 UTC View Post

A Tale of Two Scenes

As most readers probably know or have guessed by now, occasionally there are scenes in my books which - as in movies - ultimately end up on the cutting room floor. Basically, for whatever reason, the action or dialogue may change  or get deleted altogether. However, instead of simply writing over those portions of a story, I started keeping them in hopes of possibly using some portion later (and also, I must admit, for nostalgia).

For instance, a few months back I posted an alterna...

My Titles Are Now Available in Hardcover! Hooray!

To be honest, the title of this post is a little misleading.  My titles have actually been available as hardcovers for months now.  However, when Amazon invited me to part of the hardcover beta program, they stressed that it all had to remain confidential (i.e., I couldn't talk about it).

Needless to say, I was happy to participate, but the confidentiality part struck me as strange.  The conversation about it with Amazon went something like this:

Me: &nbs...

Alpha Prime Pyramid Insignia

I think I previously mentioned that the pyramid insignia on Alpha Prime's costume was a mistake, but I don't think I ever offered much of an explanation.  

The truth of the matter is that when I came up with the black-and-gold color scheme for the Alpha League uniforms, I had envisioned Alpha Prime in something akin to a black outfit with a gold cape. However, I wanted more gold in the costume, so my intent was to have a golden "V"  descending from the neckline - something lik...

New Audiobook Release: Conjuration

As implied by the title of this post, I received notification just a short time ago regarding the release of the audiobook of Conjuration (Kid Sensation #9).  The turnaround on this one was incredibly fast: my narrator just finished it maybe a week ago.  It took another couple of days for me to review it and have some minor changes implemented, after which I approved it and submitted it to ACX/Audible.

I think I've mentioned in the past that ACX/Audible had an extende...

Update on Conjuration Audiobook

I think I've made various promises to provide an update on the audiobook for Conjuration.  Thankfully I've finally been able to nail down  a date and the audiobook will be complete on August 20th. Sort of...

The way it generally works is that my narrator does his thing and records the audio files.  Then it's my job to listen to them and make sure everything is okay.  Unfortunately, this is a lot more tedious than it sounds because I'm not listening for pleas...

More Kindle Vella and the Hardman Writing Biz

Much to my surprise, Amazon reached out to me recently about the Kindle Vella program. Basically, they wanted to talk to me about participating in it and uploading some material before it offically launches in July. Of course, it was flattering to have Amazon initiate contact, but I wasn't foolish enough to think it's because I'm that special. The Great 'Zon obviously wants this program to be successful, so I assume that they're reaching out to everybody who hasn't signed up yet.

It was...

Original Cover Art by Kevin Hardman

Just in case someone's in need of a laugh, I thought I'd share something that I don't think anyone's seen (aside from my cover guy, that is): my attempt at cover art. Okay, not really...  

Basically, after completing the first Warden book, I had a couple of ideas for the cover.
That said, I probably didn't explain my vision very well, because my cover artist asked me to whip up something conveying what I wanted.  

Truth be told, I had two concepts:  (1) A ward, ...

Audiobook Options and Kindle Vella

I've mentioned Audiblegate a couple of times before and also talked about the internal debate I was having with respect to moving my audiobook catalog - including how that deliberation was delaying the audio production of Conjuration (Kid Sensation #9).  I've finally come to a decision, and I think I'm going to go ahead and create the audio version of Conjuration via ACX/Audible.   

That said, the fact that I'm sticking with Audible for the nonce doesn't...

Speed-Bumps in the Writing Road

I think I've mentioned before that I have the next few Kid Sensation books pretty much mapped out in my head. That said, I've been trying to find a way to tell stories about Future Jim (when he's older) without giving too much away.  Fortunately, I think I've found a creative way to do that.  I'm still working out the bugs, but I'll give more details soon.  The real problem is where to fit that story into the queue.

At the moment, I've got KS #10 (Working title: Expia...