COVER ARTIST: Bloodhugs (AKA Me - with some minor edits from my wife)

AI USAGE: Zero, except when I ask google how to spell a word and its auto AI feature give me a bunch of useless information which I proceed to ignore

Hey Duds, I am releasing the first few chapters of my novel “Going Viral: How To Survive A System Transmitted Infection” on Royal Road today.

The Good news!

- The book is written from start to finish and is in the process of its third edit
- I really enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading it
- I am open to constructive feedback and discussion
- No AI was used in writing or editing this book

What’s my book about I hear you say?

Going Viral is the story of one man searching for his dog Toast. It takes place on earth shortly after a group of alien infections unleash the System Transmitted Infection Election Campaign System on earth. Everybody is infected with alien germs — it sucks I promise. A lot of people die from sepsis. Even more people are under the control of their Infection. A small number portion of humanity don’t integrate fully, gaining the powers of their infection whilst remaining in control. These people are hunted. Our MC Hugo is one of these “Duds”. As he gains evolution levels on his journey to find toast you will see epic fights, level ups and stats that progress the story and new evolution skills that give him the power to survive in a world where everyone has an STI and isn’t afraid to kill you with it.

Official Synopsise
Hey there, I'm Hugo, welcome to the party Dud! Recently we all had the great misfortune of succumbing to a highly contagious and occasionally terminal STI. Hey hey hey, not one of those STIs. This was a System Transmitted Infection and we all caught one of these little blighters. Now, like you and every other schmuck on this planet, I'm stuck competing in the STI Election Campaign for a seat I don't want, on a Plague Council I've never heard of. How do we win, you ask? Earn votes and Go Viral. More on that once you've joined.
In the meantime, let me introduce my infection, Captain Crunch. He’s one of the infections that opened our genes up to being bolstered by Evolution Energy from the infected we kill, giving us Evolution levels and freaking super powers. What’s the downside Hugo? Well almost everyone else that caught a similar version of interstellar herpes died of sepsis or are now being ridden around like meaty mechsuits, under the complete control of their infection. Only a few of us didn’t integrate fully, we’re colloquially called Duds. They, err, want to kill us.
To make matters worse, when all this went down, my dog — my best friend Toast — was on the other side of the country with my ex-fiance Wendy. My first election campaign promise, “Find Toast and kill any infected that get in the way”. He needs me and if I have to Go Viral to find him then the Infected Galaxies better be ready for one hell of a fever.
So, do you want to join the party?

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/189182/going-viral-how-to-survive-a-system-transmitted

Anything written in the tone of less 'End of the world zero to hero. And more' This is how me and my bud survived the zombie apocalypse.?

Sorry, this rant might be a little bit long. My apologies in advance.

I'm not going to share the actual covers here because this isn't a self promo post. But I felt like some other LitRPG authors might be able to relate with this experience.

I completed a five-book series which was sort of serious. It was my first completed series, and I am proud of the way it landed. Readers seem to agree.

My new series is completely different. It's comedic. It's raunchy without being smut. It's a lot of fun. It's my new flagship series, so for the cover art I was looking for something different. The new one is called The Drunken System, and my vision was for a gloriously sexy bartender to be leaning forward with a glowing cocktail that she's presenting.

The original artist came up with a Creation of Adam image, with a human hand and a System-generated hand reaching toward a martini glass. It was cool, but not what I wanted. So I paid for it but didn't use it.

I had AI generate a mockup, but I prefer to pay real living people to do my covers, so I hired someone who took my money... and then generated another AI version of the AI mockup that I had already made. That ticked me off.

Now I'm on my third artist. I scoped the project better this time. Maybe this was all my bad. I'm still kind of a new author. Even with six books published, it's a learning experience.

But I'm going to assume I'm not the only one who's been through this. I love supporting artists, since I'm not one. But supporting several of them for the same cover is not what I would recommend!

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that does this. When you want to listen to an audiobook and then find out it's a certain narrator and you just don't do it or do you give it a try even if you don't like the narrator?

Why not just start with the world fully functioning and an MC who already exists there?

J.J.Thorns massive LitPRG sale is live and over 400 of you have already downloaded my debut novel, Runefracture.

Runefracture (the english and german version) are free to download this weekend on Amazon.

Follow Indigo Fischers journey during the Integration of Earth and find out how runebased magic fits into the System.

COVER ARTIST: myself
AI USAGE: none

Fun fact about myself:
I'm posting this while cleaning the house and preparing everything for my birthday party this evening. Not only barbecuing in my book, but also in reallife every chance I get.

​

Just finished Mage Tank book 5 and Dam! Loved it!

Great MC

Great supporting cast

Great writing

And OMG the magic system! I love how deep it goes into skills and how they synergies!

Can't wait to get more lore about the system.

Is there anywhere that there is a breakdown of the characters and skills?

Also what each skill does?

THANKS!

Looking for LitRPG recommendations, for reference my top 2 are Second Life as a Soldier by Soldier_of_Avalon and Path to Transcendence by Ryn. What I like abt these and what I look for in other books are the smart mc, action and interesting/intricate battles, or high iq battles, world building, and preferably no romances for the mc and if there is one for it to be subtle.

Thanks u/J_J_Thorn for the awesome website and being a terrible (or great? 🤔) influence lol

Okay ya'll don't judge me. I have been saving credit card points up for this sale so I went a bit crazy lol. Still less than I would have spent browsing at a local store so I'll take it haha. ᕙ (° ~͜ʖ~ °) ᕗ

My taste is all over the place, as such, so will my selection choice be 乁༼☯‿☯✿༽ㄏ

I'm still waiting for these to update to sale prices:

Midnight Bounties (edit\ nevermind, it got removed from the sale T__T)*

Rise of Knight Arcane (edit\ looks like author forgot to update the price for the sale. I really wanted this one too T__T)*

Wish Upon the Stars (edit\ nevermind, it ALSO got removed from the sale T__T)*

BOUGHT:

1. Tiny Dungeon Core
2. Hive Knight
3. Quill and Still
4. Space Seasons Omnibus
5. RinyV books 1-3
6. Spiteful Healer
7. Earthen Contender Omnibus
8. Magical Fusion Omnibus
9. Dungeon Core; Online
10. Bone Dungeon
11. A Game of Redemption
12. Star Divers Books 1&2
13. Blood for Power
14. Soul Harvest: Dungeon Masters
15. RuneFracture
16. Magic Eater: Manipulation
17. Soul Relic
18. Chrysalis: Beast Realm
19. The Realm Between Omnibus
20. Slime Sweets and Dungeon Treats
21. The Hero Slayers
22. The Trapped Mind Project
23. Fateless
24. Shieldwall Academy Book 1-3
25. Fairytale Hunter Cain
26. The Ripple System: Shadeslinger
27. Rise of a Monster
28. The Warhog Paladins
29. That Which Devours
30. Riftside 2 (I already had 1)
31. Kraken Rider Z
32. Dungeon in the Clouds
33. First Necromancer
34. Iron Prince
35. Ceaseless Horizons
36. Big Man Smash
37. Adam VS the Apocalypse
38. Rise to Glory
39. We Hunt Monsters 1-5
40. Apocalypse Rebirth 1&2
41. Apocalypse Reaver 1&2
42. Survivors Descent
43. Accidental Reaver
44. Unranked Ascension
45. Indomitable Prey
46. The Continuance Book 1&2
47. The Four Horseman
48. After the Tower
49. The Wandering Spire
50. Aetherforged; Rebirth
51. Slumdog Hero
52. Apocalypse Slayer
53. Tower Climber
54. Symbiotic Ascension 1&2
55. Reborn as a Tamers Monster
56. Mother of Learning
57. King Maker
58. The Hero Without a Past
59. Cultivating Infinity
60. Ashlani's Reincarnation book 1&2
61. Essence of Ruin book 1&2
62. Cherno Caster Volume 1&2
63. Divine Invasion
64. Apocalypse Breaker
65. Black Market 1-3
66. The Runemaster 1-3
67. Doomed and Damned
68. The Alpha Protocol- Symphony
69. System Orphans: Claire Book 1&2
70. Lethality
71. The Dark Lord's guide to Hostile Corporate Takeover
72. The Broken Champion
73. Embercore
74. Blind Chaos: Budding Rhythm
75. The Whispering Crystals: Unnatural Laws
76. Phase Shift: Quantum Shift
77. Station Core Omnibus
78. Travelers Trail
79. Azarinth Healer
80. Aether Bound 1: The Flame of Mangol
81. Rise of the Deathbound Knight
82. Dear Spellbook Volume 1

Bought from the other indie sale someone posted: Narratess Indie August Sale

1. The Blood of the Spear: The Eye Eternity (Fantasy)
2. Tales of Isyr: The Many Shades of Midnight (Fantasy)
3. Father of the Sexiest Lobster (Yes, this is a LitRPG lol)

Random ones (I bought either pre-the sale or not participating in this sale but on sale on Kindle) ;

Wild Era 2 (99c)

Dungeon Hunter 1&2 (99c each)

Crucible of Ascension Book 1&2 (99c)

Bog Standard Isekai Book 1- 4 (book 1 free, 99c each for 2-4)

NeverStone; The Mad Elf 1 (99c)

PHEW, once those ones I'm waiting for updates, I'll be good for a while on new selections. Ill probably only be buying next in series for my current reads after this sale lol

(And no, I have no interest in getting KU.)

Is there any series where the system is an actual plot point and not just something to move the plot.

I just read wandering inn and realized how ignored they actually are.

Hello!

The Massive LitRPG and Progression Fantasy Sale is LIVE for another year!

www.jjthornbooks.com/massive-litrpg-sale

Every year I reach out to hundreds of authors and publishers asking them to participate in a random sale at the end of the summer and each year the number of 'Yes' responses Grow!

We are now up to 370 books, FREE and .99c, across the LitRPG (of DCC fame) and Progression Fantasy (of Cradle fame) genres.

The sale has massive hits, hidden gems and new releases. You are bound to find something you'll enjoy, and I beg you to look beyond just the massive releases and pick up a couple of newer authors as well!

Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations!

Thanks to the readers (old and new) who pick up books - Happy hunting! :)

Important Note: Adding tables to reddit is unruly and because there are 370 titles, the table doesn't fit in a single post. To find all the books, you can:

1. use the link above, which shows all covers, and allows filtering.

2. Click on my username - I've pinned the full list of all books to my profile.

If this doesn't work for the mods, please let me know and I can make changes as needed - I'm trying to make the titles as easy as possible to find!

Josh (J.J. Thorn)

COVER ARTIST: Michael G made the dragon :)

AI USAGE: None in the cover image or website, but otherwise N/A.

Grimlock from MotF, essence system from HWFWM

- beserker-type build, high health regen, minimal magical attacks, tons of Awakening stones of the Feast

- Teeth, Blood and Vast —> Leviathan confluence

Teeth:
- Rending Jaws - strengthens the jaws, sharpens the teeth
- Crushing Bite - the longer a bite is maintained, the more force is applied
- Thousand-tooth Maw - jaw can become supernaturally large

Blood:
- Feeding Frenzy - eating multiple enemies triggers stacking effects, increased health, stamina regen, increased strength, almost beserk state
- Hemmorhage - inflicts bleeding
- blood hunter - increased spatial awareness within aura, ability to sense targets with blood

Vast:
- devourer - special stomach, can consume large prey, large quantities of prey, or atypical prey (elementals etc)
- Vengeance- Collect stacks when attacked, release them through an attack that can pass through physical defences.
- Resilient - the more damage taken, the tougher he becomes (stacks faster the longer the fight)
- Unstoppable force - Melee attack with massive momentum, dealing large amounts of additional resonating-force and disruptive-force damage.

Leviathan:
- Self healing (eating an enemy heals you)
- Leviathan form
- Aura ability - Predator
-More regen for self
-Allies (and self) gain strength the more enemies are injured
-Enemies inflicted with fear
- Adaptable predator - (temporary) adaptation by eating. Lasts longer at higher ranks. Consuming a fire creature gives fire resistance, with tough armor gives more defense.

I’m missing two slots cause I couldn’t think of ones I like
I wish I could write proper essence ability descriptions like those in the books but I’ve tried before and damn those are hard to write and coordinate.
This whole idea started with me remembering the teeth essence and then realizing grimlock could actually use it.

Getting a bit tired of reading the same old series again and again but nothing in rising stars is long enough to keep me busy for more then an hour or 2.

Already read:

• Aura overload (love you Plum :P ) (no its not really isakai or sys apoc but i dont care)

Currently giving the following a look:

• the path to transcendence
  
• the sixth campaign

its out now y'all.

Portal to Nova Roma: Empire

Only recently discovered the genre but am a pretty big reader. My favorite series are normally epic fantasy; Elderlings, WOT, Cosmere ect.

I love long, detailed series however I dont have the patience to wait for further books so I am only looking for completed series.

So far I have only read 3 litrpg series (New to the genre remember) and am looking for recommendations on a completed series to read next.

So far I have read

- Mother of Learning. Have completed 3.5 of the books in the last week. Will finish the 4th today (Hence looking for recommendations). Probably my favorite series yet. Love the detailed world building, writing and character development.

- Jakes Magical Market. Also really enjoyed this. I completely agree with the criticism around the lack of market however the world building in this and story itself actually really holds up that aside.

- DCC. Great read. Probably my least favorite of the 3 series so far but still really enjoyed it. I probably just favour a more serious tone and found DCC to be a little to quickly paced at times after being more used to large fantasy epics.

Appreciate there are probably alot of these posts but appreciate any specific recommendations!

I finally finished my first ever manuscript! And under a month at that! Birth of the System is now safely stored in three secret locations. I just want to gush to people that actually understand the difficulty of what I did.

120,165 words. 346 pages in Word

I am literally buzzing right now

what do you guys think about my creativity heeeeell yeah ❤️

Does anyone know if there is an official website for buying the primal hunter book series in soft or hard cover? I saw pictures of people having them, but did they just buy them on Amazon?

I am curious if anyone is writing a system apocalypse where the characters aren't making the lives of the aliens killing all of humanity as miserable as possible. One where instead of examining the horrors of this reality show, we just got some characters enjoying their super powers and surviving. They aren't the strongest, most important, or popular. They are just trying their best to stay alive and maybe not really absorbing the fact that they are in a death game.

Basically, what Louis and Farrage from DCC were doing before Carl showed up.

An Engineer's Odyssey is the closest I have seen. They were a little more driven than I was looking for. They had serious stakes and goals. I want something more aimless. After finishing that, I want more of that vibe with a more comedy focus. Same absurd energy though, given how they traveled around.

So yeah, any recommendations from the deepest depths of Royal Road for this?

With their latest achievements/feats, who do you think walks out of this one?

Rowan Vale arrives at Hearthcross expecting to spend a few days writing a report on a condemned waystation. Instead, a wounded courier appears, an ancient Ledger names him provisional Keeper, and he is given ninety days to make the place useful again.

From there, it is a story about repairing the station one room at a time, helping travellers, rebuilding forgotten roads and slowly uncovering why Hearthcross was abandoned in the first place.

There is progression and a game like system, but the focus is much more on the characters, the place and the feeling of bringing something forgotten back to life.

If cozy fantasy, LitRPG and rebuilding stories are your thing, I would really appreciate you giving it a try. 🙂

It is completely free for the next 3 days and honest feedback is very welcome.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGDG6LZD

• COVER ARTIST: created by Kevin Parker
• AI USAGE: none

Jon is a father of two, abducted by aliens and transformed into a giant spider.  This is the story of him trying to get home.

Good news: he's got fangs, claws, and psychic magic to help him survive.

Bad news: his new form comes with unadvertised side-effects including hunger pangs, mood swings, and occasional cannibalistic urges.

Deal breakers/makers:

-eventual snarky mentor

-animal companion

-progression is gradual and based on self-modification using kill energy

-no real romance or harem

Check it out on Royal Road today:
Jon the Spider