This Just In: 3 Book Deal

It's official: I've signed my contract with Aethon Books, and they'll be publishing my supernatural post-apocalyptic trilogy Spirits of the Earth over the next couple years. The first book in the series, After the Sky (125K) is currently with their editor, and the second book, Tomorrow's Children (127K) is sitting on my desk in dire need of revisions. I haven't written the third book yet, but I've been kicking around some ideas for a while now, and I look forward to seeing where they take me this summer. I'm always up for new adventures with my writing, and this project promises to be a real humdinger.

Tales from the Outer Rim...

Now Available:    Amazon    Audible    iTunes

Don Wang recently wrapped production on my latest audiobook, and he did a fine job bringing these tales to life. Deep Space collects seven short stories from way out in the star-punctured black: "Live by the Ten, Die by the Gun", "From Gaia to Proxima Centauri", "Resurrection of the Hornet", "Autonomic Zen and the Art of Destruction", "From Scheol My Soulfire Burns", "Dance by the Light of the Moon", and "Tomorrow's Dawn". Spaceships sold separately.

Marching into March

I'm continuing to make good progress on the new Captain Quasar novel: up to 61,000 words this week. My ultimate goal is 80K, the same as The Space-Time Displacement Conundrum. This story is told in five parts, and I'm in the middle of the fifth and final episode right now. The tone has been a struggle for me lately (epic showdown, some dark elements while keeping the humor going strong), but I'll figure it out. I've been writing every day for the past three months, and it feels good.

In other news, Daily Science Fiction has held another story for consideration. This is my fourth submission from last year's StoryADay challenge to be shortlisted by DSF. And while it's nice being told that only 10% of submissions make it this far, an acceptance sure would be nicer.

In audiobook news, Unreal Encounters, my collection of 40 Twilight Zone-ish tales, is now in production, and it's going to have not 1 but 10 narrators. How cool is that? A producer/director contacted me via ACX out of the blue and asked if I'd be interested in working with them. After listening to a few audio samples from the narrators and liking what I heard, I signed the contract. The final product will be 10 hours long and should be completed by this summer. I can't wait to hear it and share it with you.

Free Download

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Out of Time collects 2 un-timely tales: 

"One More Tuesday" - Josef finds himself trapped in a time loop with only one way out — and a life or death decision once he discovers how to free himself.

"Leap Day" - Joan experiences a time distortion in her own apartment, and she must weave her knowledge of the past and future in order to survive the present.

Sounds in the Cloud

And now for something entirely different: I've posted excerpts from my audiobooks on SoundCloud, and you're welcome to check them out right here. The site is akin to YouTube but for all things audio, free for listeners to enjoy and free for creative types to share up to 180 minutes of their work. So far, I've uploaded about thirty-odd minutes in total, so I've got a ways to go before I wear out my welcome.

Curious Fictioning

When it comes to sharing my work with readers, I'm all for trying whatever new avenues present themselves. So when I heard about Curious Fictions, a site where writers can post previously published work for a potentially new audience, I jumped at the chance.

I'll be sharing short stories and chapters from my longer works there every week. Some will be free while others will be available only to subscribers. So, sign up and subscribe! You'll be the first to know when I post fresh content, and tip$ are much-appreciated. 

"Girl of Great Price" is the first story I'll be sharing. It's a novelette that was originally published by MacMillan in their Girl Trouble anthology circa 2013. If you like detectives with your science fiction (future noir), check it out. Below each chapter, you'll find a link to my book The Suprahuman Secret, which collects "Girl of Great Price," "Immaterial Evidence," "Yakuza Territory," and "Chimera Effect" from The Case Files of Charlie Madison, Private Investigator.

With hundreds of writers and stories to choose from, I'm sure you'll find something to like over there. Happy reading!

Welcome to the Post-Apocalyptic Badlands

Now Available:    Amazon    Audible    iTunes

John Carrick produced this audiobook in record time and did a fantastic job while he was at it. Not for the faint of heart, Into the Wastes collects 10 of my more violent tales: "Soulless in His Sight", "You Kill Me", "Survival of the Fittest", "For a Handful of Crowns", "Drawn from a World of Hurt", "Breath of Life", "Sins of the Father", "Like Clockwork", "When Tomorrow Comes", and "Idan's World". Good listening for a dark and stormy night...

Free Download: Starfaring Chuckles

Meet Captain Quasar, a cross between James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right — except in Quasar's case, things seldom ever go right...

Join Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude in this hilarious collection of short stories as they confront bands of nefarious space pirates, cantankerous bandits, exotic aliens, devious powers of persuasion, mysterious ghosts from the past, deep space identity crises, a runaway hyperspeed train, an insidious computer virus, and a villain with the fastest thumbs in the quadrant.

If you're a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Galaxy Quest, give Captain Quasar a try. Starfaring chuckles guaranteed!

Download a free copy this week:

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Reviews are much-appreciated. (Your reward will be waiting for you in Heaven.)

This Week in Writing...

I'm a little over 47,000 words into the new Captain Bartholomew Quasar novel, and the story is moving right along. It feels good to be back in the saddle for the past 50 days, and I'm not even saddle sore (yet). Averaging only 300 words each day isn't much, but they add up over time. And for me, the words are a whole lot easier to sling when I'm spilling them on a daily basis. I don't know how I used to reach 1K/day, but maybe I'll return to that sweet spot after the school year winds down.

In other news, here's an overview of this week's short storying:

• Rejections from Fireside Magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, and Asimov's Science Fiction

• Submissions out to Deep Magic, Strange Horizons, and Galaxy's Edge  

• My tale about high school bullies and teleporting samurai has been shortlisted by Daily Science Fiction. Third time's the charm? One can hope.

I need to bulk up a couple stories before I send them back out on the submission circuit; that's a project for this weekend. I have yet to hear from Factor Four Magazine, Craft Literary, Mysterion, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Nature: Futures.

My new audiobook Alienated is selling well, and I've been raffling off Audible claim codes in my newsletter. Production has wrapped on Into the Wastes, and it should be available from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes by the end of the month. Stay tuned for details.

Gunsmoke & Dragonfire

From the drought-plagued plains of Mars, to a post-apocalyptic Canada, to the familiar American West and Mexico, to other dimensions and other worlds weird and wonderful, an international cast of bestselling, award-winning, established, and emerging authors brings you 24 strange western tales.

Now Available:  Amazon

Stories by: Robert Lee Beers, James Blakey, Laurence Raphael Brothers, Zach Chapman, Sara Codair, Eric S. Fomley, Milo James Fowler, Ron S. Friedman, Carrie Gessner, Paul Alex Gray, Jude-Marie Green, Brent A. Harris, Ethan Hedman, Joachim Heijndermans, Russell Hemmell, Liam Hogan, G. Scott Huggins, Sean Jones, Mackenzie Kincaid, R. Daniel Lester, Diane Morrison, Claire Ryan, Ricardo Victoria, and Stanley B. Webb

We invite you to explore these tales in the grand pulp fiction tradition: from weird westerns, to sci-fi and space westerns, to post-apocalyptic westerns, alternate history, and time travel.