PT Hylton

Author of the Storms of Magic, The Savage Earth, and The Deadlock Trilogy

A Place Without Shadows

A Place Without Shadows is out now!

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So, my new book is called A Place Without Shadows, and it’s out now! It’s the sequel to Regulation 19. Here’s the official description:

A Place Without ShadowsIn REGULATION 19, Frank Hinkle and his friends fought to save their hometown; now they’ll have to fight for something much bigger.

Frank continues the search for his brother Jake, but when he meets a stranger with shocking information, he’s forced to face a familiar enemy.
A woman named Sophie Porter travels to Rook Mountain in search of her sister’s killer. What she finds there will draw her into the fight against Zed.
Jake Hinkle only wanted to save his family, but now he’s trapped in a strange forest where it’s only safe to go out at night. A book with the symbol of a broken world on the cover is his only chance at survival.
Zed waits in a forest of tall twisted trees planning his endgame against an enemy even he fears. The battleground will be A PLACE WITHOUT SHADOWS.

Click here to buy the ebook on Amazon.

Or click here to buy a signed paperback copy.

If you do pick up a copy, let me know what you think of it.

To prepare for this release, I’ve been making some updates to this here website. The most exciting one (to me) is the Books page.

If you click the Books link in the menu above, you’ll see not only the books I currently have available, but also everything I will be  publishing between now and the end of 2015. Pretty cool, huh? This is part of ‘P.T.’s Public Accountability Program’ which started with the Ultimatum back in August 2013. (Wow, my videos have gotten a lot better since then.) Public accountability is the most effective method I’ve found for keeping my butt in the chair writing each and every day.

So go take a look at my upcoming books. And yell at me if I don’t get them out on time.

You’ll also notice a new thingie in the sidebar of this site called ‘A Place Without Shadows Spotify Playlist’. These are the songs I listened to each day while writing this book.

Finally, I added a page with Bonus Features for A Place Without Shadows, including a deleted scene (it kinda broke my heart to cut it from the book, but it was the right choice; as much as I love it, it disrupted the flow of the story too much). I won’t link to that page here, as it contains spoilers for both Regulation 19 and A Place Without Shadows. There is a link at the end of the book that takes you to the bonus features page.

I’m off to the pumpkin patch with my family. Enjoy your Sunday, Internet!

Over-Used Words of Death

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A PLACE WITHOUT SHADOWS, the sequel to REGULATION 19, is off to my editor.

This causes me both massive relief and minor panic. The relief is because  it is shaping up to be the book I hoped it would be. The panic is because it is now time to focus to THE SHORT TIMER, and I’ve given myself some intense daily word-count goals for that one.

I’ve spent the last two days engaged in my least favorite part of the revising process: scrubbing my over-used words out of the manuscript.

See, there are some words I use way too much. I know what these words are. I keep a list of them. You’d think it would be easy to avoid using them while I’m writing. Alas, it is not so. Like a junkie returns to his needle, I find myself indulging in wanton use of just, seems, and that even though I know they are not good for me.

I’m toying with the idea of setting up a rule in Google Docs so these words automatically appear in red font anytime I use them. I fear that may greatly reduce my writing speed, so I’m still undecided on that idea.

Looking at this list chills me to the bone. But, like a good optimist, I know something positive will come from this. If nothing else, at least I can present the list for your amusement.

Here are my Over-Used Words of Death:

  • still
  • but
  • that
  • just
  • had
  • might be
  • seems
  • only
  • though
  • walked
  • stepped
  • turned
  • looked
  • stopped

There they are. Look upon my over-used words, ye mighty, and despair.

Eyes are on Deadlock Book 2!

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It’s been an exciting week.

Regulation 19 was free on Amazon last weekend, and some book deal sites posted about the promotion. The number of downloads exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

So, if you are one of those people who picked up the book during the free period or the subsequent 99 cent sale, welcome! Hope you like the book!

Today, I sent A Place Without Shadows, the Regulation 19 sequel, to some early readers for feedback. This trusted group consists of friends, writer colleagues, readers who enjoyed Reg 19, and (most importantly) my wife. It’s an exciting time. I feel like the weird little monster I’ve been secretly raising in my basement has finally been unleashed on my nearest and dearest. (Or insert your own less creepy analogy.)

So, what’s next? Will I rest on my laurels? YES! Laurels are super comfortable! But, while I’m laurel-resting, I will also be working.  I’m giving my early readers a nice leisurely month to read the book. And I’m going to try my best not to obsess about it during that time. I want to put my mind on other things so that I can come back to the book with a fresh perspective in August.

Here are some of the things I look forward to doing now that A Place Without Shadows is temporarily off my mind:

  • Holding conversations during which my mind doesn’t wander into the story world of Frank, Jake, Zed, and [name redacted].
  • Posting my June book reviews.
  • Posting the original first chapter of Regulation 19 here on the blog. It’ll be fun to show you the direction the story could have gone (and almost did).
  • Starting a super-secret new book-talk podcast with my buddy Pipes (really excited about this one).
  • And starting my next book, The Short Timer. This one is unrelated to the Deadlock series. It’s a book I’ve wanted to write for a long time, and I’m stoked to get going on it. I start outlining tomorrow.

And then, when I get the feedback from my early readers, I’ll get back to work on A Place Without Shadows so I can get it out into the world in September.

Time to Jedi-Mind-Trick Myself into Writing a Novel

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In which I give myself a hard deadline for completing the first draft of my next novel. It’s finish or burn 2.0!

I’ve been slacking on writing my next novel, so it’s time to get tough. I must finish the first draft by July 15, or I will delete it and start over. I also discuss what I am currently reading.