An interview with Kyle Kellams of "Ozarks at Large" will air tomorrow (11/18/22) on KUAF at noon and 7 pm, CST. If you're local, you can tune in to 91.3 FM (or 88.5 FM in the Mena area), and KUAF is always streaming live on their website as well. 

Thanks to Mr. Kellams and the KUAF staff for having me!

Skate the Seeker
I’ve sent the book back to the publisher for another read-through and round of edits. I’m hopeful for no more than one more round before we go to publishing. Then it’s discussions of cover, setting a release date, and so on. After two years of work, I’m excited to be this close to having the finished copy in my hands – and in yours! Stay tuned for further updates; if anything major comes, I’ll post about it before the end of the month.
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Media

House of the Dragon came and went, and what a ride. I was so pumped about the show at the end that the realization that we have to wait TWO YEARS for season two almost crushed me. Someone better win an award for this show – it’s some of the best TV I’ve seen in a long time.

I rewatched The Great Mouse Detective for the first time in years because my boys were interested in it. What a weird, fun Sherlock Holmes story this thing is. I forgot about the mouse burlesque scene (yes, really), and had to scramble for the remote to hurry past it. Vincent Price was having a great time as Ratigan, and the movie’s better for it.

Next on my list is probably Andor – I can’t resist Star Wars stories, and I’ve heard nothing but good things – and I'll eventually get around to watching Rings of Power, too. There’s also Tales of the Jedi and His Dark Materials, all waiting to be picked up while I wash the dishes at night. Too much to see, too much to do.

I’m about three quarters through Sanderson’s Oathbringer, and then I’ll be onto Rhythm of War, though I’m not sure my local library has gotten book four yet. If not, it’ll be off to the store for me. Really enjoying it, and I particularly find myself enjoying Pattern, the cryptic spren. Overall, it’s been a very fun read.


Events
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I was part of a talk at the University of Arkansas about writing while having a career. The audio is a little scratchy, but you can watch it still. Special thanks to Dr. Leigh Sparks of the University, who organized the whole thing.

I may have some upcoming appearances – again, stay tuned. When I have news, I’ll plaster it over Twitter, Facebook, and here. 
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Now that Skate is once again out of my hands, I’ll be taking a short break this week, then it's back to drafting Rainbow while I wait for word on Seeker. I’ll probably have a completed draft of that before the end of November. I’m holding off on drafting anything for Rag & Bone III until Seeker is out; any changes of the latter before publishing time could disrupt the former.

That's all for me, for now.
Write your story!
​-J. E. Ayers

If you can make it to the University of Arkansas campus this Friday at 5 pm, I'll be speaking as part of a panel of local authors discussing how to write and publish writing while also holding a full-time job. There will be a Q & A time as well.

I am told by reliable sources that there will be cookies available for the audience.
​See you there!

First an update, then some comments.

I can be more specific about a timeline for Skate the Seeker, now. Edits and revisions continue, and I believe we can expect a release early in 2023 (not, as I'd hoped, this year, but who's fault is that? That's right, MINE). Expect more details in the coming months; there's still a lot of work left before we can fix a specific date! If you are one of my readers, be sure to tell everyone to get book 1, so they can be ready for book 2 and join you in reading it. If you're not one of my readers... hey! Good to meet you.

Now for some random comments about media. I've finally started reading Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series. I blew through Way of Kings and expect to be done with Words of Radiance by the end of next week. 10/10 so far, must-read fantasy. He made a weird  world, and I love every minute spent in it.

Netflix's adaptation of Sandman has been spectacular so far, and so has HBO's House of the Dragon, an adaptation of sections of G.R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood. All excellent reading choices, and I'm glad to see them (successfully!) adapted for the small screen. We're living in the golden age of fantasy nerd television and books, y'all.

Aside from waiting on Skate and watching awesome TV, I've been drafting a side-project to keep myself in the habit of writing. I'm enjoying it so far, and even if it never sees publication, I'll be happy to work on it to completion. The less said of that, the better, I think, until it's done.

That's all for me, for now.

Write your story!
​-J. E. Ayers

It has been an embarrassingly long time since I updated the website. Literal years have passed. Eight seasons. A pandemic -- still going! Two school years, 300 students come and gone. Far too much to update on every little thing. My apologies if you've been coming here expecting news and updates -- I plan to be more mindful of putting such things here in the future.

For now, I can update you on plans for the future. Book 2 of Rag and Bone is moving forward, in the publisher's hands as I type this. I think I can reveal the title here: Skate the Seeker. I am less comfortable giving a timeline, but I hope to have it out and available to you all by the end of the year.

(This is a hope, not a promise. Do not, as they say, @ me.)

As I get more information, I will pass it along. At the very least, I hereby promise to at least post some sort of update here once a month. For now, I work on a side-project -- I don't want to say much about it, as I have no idea if or when it will ever get finished, but it's what I've been working on while I wait for Seeker to get back to me.

Once book 2 gets finalized, I'll table this project to work on book 3.  So long as we don't have a world-crushing catastrophe hit again, I don't expect the time between books to be as long next time. Talk to you again soon (or at least next month).

Write your story!
​-J. E. Ayers

I am happy to announce the release of chapter 1 of Skate the Thief as a preview for the book! Click the button below to open up the pdf.

​I'll leave you with a reminder to go with this small taste: the book will be available for purchase in ebook and paperback formats on June 2, 2020.

Somehow, it is May.

I want to take the space today to talk about long-distance teaching. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, all schools in my home state of Arkansas (go hogs!) have been closed for the rest of the schoolyear. However, school isn’t cancelled. The building is closed and is offering no services to anyone, but school is still in session through online learning opportunities. There are some pros and cons to this scenario.

Pros: Students can still receive credit for classes. Teachers get to experiment with non-traditional instructional strategies. Schedules aren’t as rigid and punitive. Students still get to learn. It follows the guidelines for social distancing. Teachers don’t have to take a cut in pay for their contract days being disrupted.
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Cons: This approach necessitates a huge amount of screen time, which kids already receive in excess. Communication with students and their families can become sporadic panic-inducing ordeals. Many students and teachers are unable to commit to a “normal” amount of school engagement because being at home carries more responsibilities than being at school would. Engagement is pretty much voluntary, with no way to enforce it; as such, it is generally quite low.

I still think it’s worth it, but the situation in Arkansas is kind of a bummer. Hey, if you’re looking for something to read this summer, Skate the Thief comes out as an ebook and in paperback on June 2nd. That’s a month from now!

Write your story!
-J. E. Ayers

A lot went on this month. Not just for me, of course, but for all of us; COVID-19 has ravaged the planet, killing thousands in its wake and stranding most of us at home. The world’s a bit darker and more dangerous than it seemed just a few weeks ago. I hope everyone is staying safe and taking all prudent precautions. This post isn’t primarily about The Coronavirus, but it would be impossible to have discussion in the moment without at least acknowledging how weird - and how dangerous - the world’s become for everyone seemingly all at once.
 
However, I do find myself in a position where I can be if some service to people besides just staying home. As an author with his first published book coming out, I’ll be able to offer everyone something novel (I sincerely apologize for the pun) to occupy themselves in June.
 
I’m happy to announce that Skate the Thief, book one of the Rag and Bone Chronicles, is set to come out June 2. In two short (read: eternal, confined) months, the book will be available for purchase in paperback and ebook formats. Here’s a look at the cover art, courtesy of the always talented Nada Orlic. You should check out her other work as well; my publisher made a good choice!

Some publication news, and big personal news: I’ve gone through the first round of edits, and now I’m waiting for the second run-through; and I’m happy to announce the birth of our second child, Hattan! He came a week ahead of schedule, but mother and baby are both happy and healthy.

Nobody is getting any sleep (with the possible exception of our first-born; the happy older brother Aiden is protected from the worst of the nightly noise), so my writing has gotten a little sporadic. Still, plenty of stuff online to be done, and that going well.

This is a short one. More to come next month. So tired.
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Write your story!
-J. E. Ayers