jonathanbrooksauthor

Plans for March 17-22

It's slowly getting there!  I only got 4 more chapters of The Fusionist Book 5 done this week, a couple less than I had hoped, but it was worth it because of all the time I was able to spend with the family for my daughter's spring break.  We went to Great Wolf Lodge for a few days, which was awesome, and then we were snowed in when about 16 inches of wet, heavy snow fell over about 30 hours, so I spent a good 3-4 hours shoveling (in 2 sessions) to dig us out.  

Next week...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Even though it wasted a few hours, the two of them discovered that the Flying Shappos only spawned from the Aperture after every tenth River Shappo appeared. Nedira belatedly said that it made sense because it matched the ratio of the smaller Shappos they killed compared to the evolved version.

That information was all they needed for Larek to start working. After placing a few of his existing Healing Shelters to kill off any of the River Shappos that appeare...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 49

Chapter 49

It wasn’t but an hour into their journey to the northeast that Larek and Nedira finally understood how dangerous it was in the Calamity the closer they got to the center. It was only the second subservient Aperture they passed after making the decision to keep going that they discovered their first evolved monster – other than the Rainbow Slimes, of course.

When they had to pass within range of the Aperture for it to send out reinforcements, Larek didn’t think a...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“I have to say, this plan is genius,” Larek said, watching as the latest Locust swarm entered the range of the Frozen Zone Fusion and froze completely solid, before falling to the ground below. As a tiny amount of Corrupted Aetheric Force flowed into him, ready to be purified for his own use, he continued. “All this AF is really adding up. This was a lot easier than I expected it to be.”

“Don’t let your guard down, Larek. This is only the beginnin...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Stone shards tore up yet another Red Spring Daisy that attempted to land on Larek’s head, as the Stone Shredder Dome Fusion he had placed on the ground near his feet protected him from above. As its spring-like roots were shredded, the rest of the plant monster was flung away, landing among the remains of two others that the Martial Fusionist already slice apart only moments ago.

He dodged another barrage of sharp leaf projectiles sent by a different Daisy ...

Plans for March 10-15

I got another 9 chapters done this week, which was about what I was aiming for :)  I've been spending a little time each day monitoring my ads for Unexpected Healer, so that consumed some of my writing time, but the release has been extremely successful!  I've negotiated with Miles Meili to produce the audiobook, as he's been able to fit me into his schedule to produce it after he finishes a different book that has been on hold for a little while.

Speaking of audiobooks, Miles...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 46

Chapter 46

It turned out that Larek could keep ahead of the Razor Locust swarm that followed them, and even get so far ahead of them that they disappeared over the horizon, but they quickly discovered that it didn’t matter.

Because they didn’t stop coming. Being in the territory of the Calamity, the Locusts could apparently track them everywhere and anywhere they went. The only way to lose them completely was to exit the Calamity, but that was impossible at the moment; they ...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 45

Chapter 45

“Where are they?” Nedira grumped, staring out over the edge of the box. “They should be in sight according to the schedule.”

“Perhaps they changed it? Or went a different way other than what was left at their compound?” He wasn’t sure why they would do that, since it seemed like a good – if foolish – plan. “Unless… they left them there deliberately?” he proposed.

After traveling for a full day, following the route marked out on the maps t...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Larek remarked, walking out the gate leading into the Strike Faction compound. Inside of Nedira’s Void Pocket bag was a collection of the papers and maps that they had found in the guardhouse in case they needed to reference them, but as for obtaining any other information from the Martial left in charge of the place… that didn’t turn out so well.

“I know! I can’t believe he didn’t have any information!” Ned...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“They’ve already left—and good riddance!” the guard shouted, laughing along with the others at the gate. “Always so annoying with their insistence that we all head into the Calamity and sacrifice ourselves to the monsters there. Like that would ever possibly work. It’s suicide to go deep inside there; everyone knows that!”

Thinking that the guards would be no help, but hoping otherwise, Larek asked if he knew exactly where they went.

The still-chuc...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Stopped near the rear exit to Fort Hilltower as he tried to figure out how to open the door without being seen, he nearly reached out for it when a hand touched his shoulder from behind.  Larek nearly reacted by attacking whoever it was that had managed to spot him sneaking around in his Camouflage Sphere, but a glance at the hand on his shoulder out of the corner of his eye revealed a familiar scaly appearance. Somehow, the Senior Instructor had managed not o...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Running back toward Peratin and Fort Hightower, Larek reflected upon what he’d learned from his experience at the Aperture and from facing the Flame Trogres, which he learned from the Senior Instructor was exactly what they were called soon after facing his first one. First, he learned that he was now more than capable of killing such a dangerous monster without the use of his Fusions and only his Stama; toward the end, he even learned how to kill them without using his P...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 40

Chapter 40

“Alright, show me what you’ve learned. Use only what you’ve learned with me at the Fort; that means no Fusions, just so we’re clear. You can still use your Pattern constructs, as you have incorporated that into your fighting style, but that’s it. Understood?”

Larek nodded at his Instructor’s orders, before striding confidently into the territory of the Aperture. They had taken the day to visit and test Larek’s improvements over the last two mo...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The next two months were a blur of constant training, practicing with his Stama, and enduring the increasingly perplexed and angry looks of the other trainees and Instructors at Fort Hilltower. It turned out that the news that the Senior Instructor had taken Larek under his wing didn’t take long to disseminate throughout the Fort, aided by the obvious disdain of Instructor Hasat, who continued to show his dislike for the Fusionist whenever they passed each other....

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The first thing that Larek looked at before acknowledging his notifications was the results of his new Fusion. A thorough introspection revealed the tight weave of the Fusion’s formation surrounding the source of his Stama inside of his chest, pulsing with the replenishing energy that automatically refilled from the ambient power in the environment. As he watched it work, he witnessed it pull in ambient Stama just like his other Fusions absorbed ambient Mana, and it cycle...

Plans for March 3-8

Well, I only got 6 chapters done this week, which was about what I expected.  The release of Unexpected Healer has gone great -- but any release tends to consume most of my thoughts for a few days, so I get less writing done.  Next week should see me back to getting 9-10 chapters completed, and I'm excited to see how Larek keeps improving!

Also, on Sunday I'll be editing some of Book 5 so that I can schedule chapters on RR, because Book 4 ends next week on the site!  As a...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“So, are you ready to try some other techniques for subjugating your Stama?”

Instead of being ready for disappointment yet again, Larek was actually anticipating this class all day. His first few classes with other trainees had been very similar to the previous day, though he did receive quite a few more curious looks in his Stama and Battle Arts training; from the few conversations he overheard, they were wondering why he wasn’t participating – and w...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Struggling back to his knees, Larek barely managed to raise his training sword to lightly block the incoming blow, as his strength had given out a while ago. The impact against his sword pushed the wooden sword into his face, making his vision go slightly blurry as it crunched his nose. He was barely aware as he fell onto his back, looking up at the sky above the Mock Arena that was located outside of the Fort’s building, his breathing ragged from exhaustion.

After ...

Unexpected Healer is now available!

My newest project has finally been published!

Check out Unexpected Healer, the first book in my Earthen Contenders series! This is a LitRPG Isekai story about a guy from Earth being transferred to another world and unexpectedly being forced into being a healer class.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV674LHM

Amazon UK:  2024-02-28 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Larek reviewed his schedule again as he finished up with breakfast. Fortunately, it wasn’t that hard to remember, as more than half of it was working directly with Senior Instructor Torge. As he looked around the sparsely populated Dining Hall, he wondered if anyone else received this kind of one-on-one attention; immediately, he knew that it was unlikely that they didn’t, so that could be another source of contention between him and the other students. He already had h...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 34

Chapter 34

When the training room inside the Fort was completely empty other than Larek and the smiling Drekkin, Senior Instructor Torge, the Fusionist stood there for nearly a minute with the silence stretching uncomfortably long. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask what he should be doing, the powerful instructor suddenly moved, using a speed that Larek hadn’t seen up to this point. His own Agility was just barely high enough to catch the movement, and his mind worked qu...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Quickly switching his clothing into what he was given, Larek laid his previous clothes outside of the circle where he thought they would be perfectly safe. It wasn’t that he was worried about the clothing themselves getting damaged, but if something the Martial Instructors did to them caused one of the Fusions to rupture, the explosive detonation of all the Mana releasing could be unfortunate.

As soon as all of the Fusions were off his body, he immediately felt weak...

Unexpected Healer chapters down Tuesday

To comply with Kindle Unlimited terms and conditions, I'll be taking down all of the Unexpected Healer chapters on Tuesday in anticipation of its release on Wednesday!

The paperback and hardcover are actually available today, if you're interested in the hard copy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVWWSTD9

Plans for Feb 25-Mar 1

More chapters done!  I think I managed to get 10 written this week, which was what I was aiming for going into the week.  Next week will likely be a bit less, perhaps 6 to 8 chapters, because I have Unexpected Healer coming out on Wednesday!  The promotion for a release usually eats into my writing time, but I'm going to try and get as much as I can done.

In better news, I finally passed the 100k mark on Fusionist book 5, and I expect there to be another ...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“Trainee Larek!  Move to the center of the circle and prepare for your evaluation!” Instructor Wendie shouted.

As the slightly taller-than-average man walked from the edge of the circle toward its center, Instructor Torge was already watching his movements. He had found over the years that a lot of information about someone, and especially a Martial, could be gained from something as simple as walking.  There was a lot more that could be assesse...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“I’ll be fine,” Nedira said, shooing him down the street. “You know how well I can take care of myself – especially with these Fusions, yes?”

Larek chuckled. “Yeah, I know, but I can’t help but worry.”

“I doubt they’re going to send me out to a dangerous Aperture immediately, especially if they don’t know about my capabilities. Besides, even if they do, you’ve equipped me well enough that I shouldn’t have any problems.” She took his...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 30

Chapter 30

On the way to Peratin, Larek and Nedira stopped by the only Aperture nearby Aperture that wasn’t closed, as the Fusionist wanted some additional Aetheric Force before he attended Fort Hilltower, but unfortunately it was an extremely weak one with Vampiric Sheep, which were essentially black sheep with red streaks running through their dense wool, as well as fangs that could suck the blood right out of your body if you weren’t careful. For Larek and Nedi...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 29

Chapter 29

It didn’t take long for Larek and Nedira to backtrack toward the village that had caused him so much trouble, as it only required a quick use of his Pattern box and a flight over to it; in all, it took him no more than two minutes from his decision to visit it and setting down in the village center. He didn’t care how it looked, he didn’t care if it brought attention to him, and he didn’t even care if they recognized him – all he cared about were the answers he ne...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The next week was filled with fighting, Fusions… and fleeing from Factions that wanted to force Larek to work for them. As the two of them traveled east for another day before heading northeast for a day and then straight north afterwards, they encountered additional Apertures that were able to give Larek a little over 26,000 Aetheric Force when he killed the monsters inside; it wasn’t as much as he was hoping for, as most of what they encountered were Apertures that di...

The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Standing near the gate leading out of Fairmeadow, Larek shook the Faction Commander’s hand as he got ready to leave with Nedira.

“What you’ve given us is incredible, Larek. You’ve only gotten better at what you do after all this time, haven’t you?”

The Fusionist just shrugged with a smile on his face rather than answer.

“Well, if you’re ever back this way, please don’t hesitate to visit – or drop off any Fusions you feel like donating t...