FitzDuncan's Navy release, new look to website, and first look at the cover of "Rawlins' Redemption"

 

Just a reminder, FitzDuncan's Navy, the eighth book in the series, publishes on April 1. The FitzDuncan series was recently named a Finalist in the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

I recently had my website redesigned to give it a bit more sizzle. Feel free to check it out: johnjspearmanauthor,com.

Last but not least, here is a look at the first draft of the cover of the new series I am creating that will be published by Aethon Books. I am excited to see this book launch!

Latest Awards, FitzDuncan's Navy available for pre-order

 

I am very excited to share that TWO of my book series were selected as Finalists in the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA). The FitzDuncan series of novels was selected as a Finalist in CIBA's Ozma category, covering Fantasy Fiction. The Jonah Halberd series was selected in the Cygnus category, covering Science Fiction.

What does this mean? In order to reach this stage, the books in the series survived four rounds of judging. Both are eligible to be named as the First Place Winner in each category, and as the overall CIBA Grand Prize Winner. Regardless of what happens next, it is gratifying to see that independent, objective judges enjoy my work. 

Speaking of the FitzDuncan series, the eighth book, FitzDuncan's Navy, is scheduled to release on April 1. You can pre-order it now on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVN9K1KY)

The Halberd series is also available on amazon, beginning with the first book, Gallantry in Action (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0743MGN5R). I invite you to check these books out.

New Developments, New Books

 2024 is off to a rip-roaring start. The first and biggest development is the publishing contract I signed with Aethon Books (https://aethonbooks.com/). They will be publishing a new military science fiction/space opera series I have begun writing. The new books feature a protagonist named Cliff Rawlins, and are set in a new universe. 

The series will include at least three books. The first book, Rawlins's Redemption, is already being edited. As soon as I have a better idea of when Aethon would like to release it, I will share the news.

In addition to Rawlins's Redemption, I also just finished writing the eighth FitzDuncan adventure, FitzDuncan's Navy. That is also in the process of being edited. The extremely talented Thea Magerand has already designed the cover, and I think it's the best one yet.  For the first time, readers will get to see what Fenwick looks like.

Next, I was just informed that The Courage of the Commonwealth was named as a Finalist in the 2024 Feathered Quill Awards. 

Finally, the audiobook version of The Resolve of the Commonwealth is available for pre-order right now on audible. Alex Picard has done a marvelous job of bringing my characters to life. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did.

Awards and more awards

In the last week, I was excited to learn that some of my books were chosen for a couple of awards. I can't lie--validation like this is food for my soul. When complete strangers pick your work out of hundreds of entries as something worthy of recognition, it's a nice feeling.

The two different organizations that contacted me are the Best Book Awards (BBA), and indieBRAG (Book Readers Appreciation Group). I urge you to visit their websites to find other award-winning books (http://americanbookfest.com/2023bbafullresults.html and https://www.bragmedallion.com/). Here are the books that they honored:

The 20th Annual "Best Book" Awards
Sponsored by American Book Fest™

The Defense of the Commonwealth by John J. Spearman

Independently Published

Finalist

Fiction: Science Fiction

FitzDuncan by John J. Spearman

Independently Published

Finalist

Fiction: Fantasy

B.R.A.G. Medallion Honorees

We are proud to announce that THE DEFENSE OF THE COMMONWEALTH by John Spearman has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG.

We are proud to announce that PIKE'S POTENTIAL (Sandy Pike #1) by John Spearman has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG.

We are proud to announce that FITZDUNCAN (FitzDuncan #1) by John Spearman has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG.

 

Releases and Pre-Orders! The Resolve of the Commonwealth (Book 3 of the Perseverance Andrews series) publishes on 1-November. The audiobook version of The Defense of the Commonwealth releases on 24-October, and the audiobook version of The Courage of the Commonwealth is available for pre-order now.

The Resolve of the Commonwealth, the third and final book of the Perseverance Andrews series, publishes on 1-November. It is currently available for pre-order on amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFG4B36W).

The audiobook version of The Defense of the Commonwealth releases on 24-October. I was privileged to be given an advance “listen” and I am thrilled with the narration by Alex Picard. Alex brings Perseverance Andrews to life! To purchase, please go to: https://podiumaudio.com/audio-book/the-defense-of-the-commonwealth/

The audiobook version of the second book in the Perseverance Andrews series, The Courage of the Commonwealth, is now available for pre-order (https://podiumaudio.com/audio-book/the-courage-of-the-commonwealth/). The audiobook is scheduled for release on 21-November. Having heard Alex Picard’s narration of the first book, I can hardly wait to hear her reading of the second!

The last item in this update is confirmation of the scheduled publication of Pike’s Purpose, the fourth and final book in the Sandy Pike series. Pike’s Purpose is now available for pre-order at amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHPKGY7X). The publication date is 1-January, 2024.

Audiobook pre-orders for "Defense"

 The audiobook version of The Defense of the Commonwealth is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Audible! The official release date is October 24. Produced by Podium Audio, and narrated by Alex Picard (no relation to Jean-Luc), I will share a sample of the audio when Podium releases it to me.

This will be the only audiobook in my library (until The Courage of the Commonwealth is released). The audiobook versions of my other books have been canceled and removed. I just received the manuscript of the third in the series, The Resolve of the Commonwealth, back from my editor. Podium will be producing the audiobook version of it as well.

Silver Medal for Defense, covers for Resolve and Purpose, FitzDuncan ad

 

The Defense of the Commonwealth was just awarded the Silver Medal in the 2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards in the category of Science Fiction (https://readersfavorite.com/2023-award-contest-winners.htm).

Podium Audio plans to release the audiobook version on October 1. 

The following video was recently created to promote the FitzDuncan series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Finally, the extremely talented Thea Magerand has completed cover designs for my next two releases. The first is The Resolve of the Commonwealth, the third and final book of the Perseverance Andrews series. The second is Pike's Purpose, the fourth and final book of the Sandy Pike series. Take a look: