Writing

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New Short Story, "Starlight Express" - Available Now

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New Short Story, "Starlight Express" - Available Now

I’m thrilled to announce that I have a brand new short story, “Starlight Express,” in the BEYOND THE STARS: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE anthology, which is out today. Better yet, the anthology is on sale for 99 cents for release week only - and free to read in Kindle Unlimited - so grab it quickly.

** SPOILER WARNING ** If you’re still making your way through the Aurora Rhapsody novels, Starlight Express contains major spoilers for the end of Requiem. In fact, even the summary below contains spoilers. So get the anthology now, while it’s only 99 cents, and stash it to the side. Once you finish Requiem, I think you will find this story an absolute delight to read. :)

For everyone else:

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Six months after The Displacement transported humanity to a universe teeming with advanced alien civilizations, they’re working diligently to settle into their strange new world. Diplomatic relations with the other species are proceeding in fits and starts, and peace hangs by a tenuous thread. But in the meantime, for most of humanity, life goes on.

The Starlight Express has a reputation as the wildest, most exotic alien bar in two dozen galaxies. So when Noah and Caleb want to kick back for a few hours the night before Noah’s nuptials, it’s the obvious choice. And the wrong one.

See, aliens tend to be the quirky sort, and humans haven’t quite gotten the hang of them yet, which is why no one should be surprised when a friendly disagreement over one too many drinks goes sideways. Now, a jailbreak, a police chase across seven galaxies and an exploding ship have to get them out of this mess, or else Noah’s last night of freedom will end up being his last night, period.

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BEYOND THE STARS: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE also features fantastic, original space opera tales from David Bruns, Jack Lyster, Cindy Hung, J.M. Thomas, Nemma Wollenfang, Nadya Duke and Thomas A. Farmer, and is edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Richard Leslie.

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I am happy to report that I am now successfully ensconced in the new house in Montana - and once again utterly surrounded by boxes. The move has gone more smoothly than I had any right to expect, for which I am so grateful. I need to get just a few of these boxes unpacked, then I will be returning my attention to ALL OUR TOMORROWS. Expect a cover reveal, release date and pre-order announcement very soon!

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ALL OUR TOMORROWS Update, Plus An Epic Signed Book Sale

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ALL OUR TOMORROWS Update, Plus An Epic Signed Book Sale

I’ve got some big personal news to share (stick around, as it affects you, too). I’m moving to Akeso!

…Pardon me, I mean Montana, which is basically the same thing. I’m so excited to begin this next adventure, but why do you care? Well, two reasons. First, this means that ALL OUR TOMORROWS is going to be slightly delayed. Hopefully only by a few weeks, but I just threw my life into utter chaos, so we’ll have to see (if I have to guess today, I predict it will be released in early October). I love this book so much, and I absolutely can’t wait to get it in your hands - I just have to do this one little (by which I mean big) thing first.

Second reason? I am kicking off a Mega Clearance Moving Sale on signed books! Save me from having to box up and move all these books - I’m begging you. All paperbacks are marked down to ** 50% off ** (each one personally inscribed by me). Also, I’ve acquired some new shipping boxes, such that for most U.S. orders, shipping is also 50% reduced. What does that mean in real terms? Most paperbacks are now all of $7, plus a mere $4 U.S. shipping per book.

The sale will last until I run out of stock or I have to box up what’s left and head north in about 2-3 weeks, whichever happens first. Stock levels for some books are already low (in particular Starshine with the new cover, Inversion and Echo Rift), so get your orders in early! And THANK YOU.

GO TO THE SALE

I appreciate your patience and your support. The new view from my writing desk is going to be a-mazing, and you know what that means. ;)

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New Web Store For Ebooks, Plus a Roundtable Discussion & More

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New Web Store For Ebooks, Plus a Roundtable Discussion & More

I’ve got so much news today! We’ll start with the new web store. Starting today, you can buy all of my ebooks direct from me, at a discount over their retail prices. If you downloaded Vertigo for free when you subscribed to the newsletter, getting the ebooks to your ereader or app work exactly the same way, so it should be easy as pie.

To celebrate the store opening, all the ebooks are an additional 20% OFF for the next five days (on top of the already discounted prices). Just enter the coupon code GRAND-OPENING at checkout. WEB STORE

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Thanks to the article I wrote for The Debrief on warp drives, I was lucky enough to get to participate recently in a roundtable with mega-bestelling author Douglas Richards and dystopian sci-fi writer Eliza Green. The topic: “Is it more difficult to write science fiction in an age of exponential technological growth? To what extend does science fiction guide innovation?” We had a great time and a very lively discussion about those topics and many more, and you can check out the video on YouTube here.

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Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts in the character poll in the last newsletter. See the results here.

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Finally, I wanted to let you know about two new updates to the Amaranthe Wiki. I’ve added the quotes used in the Part headings of the books, all on one page here. I’ve also added a long-requested item: Russian translations from all the books. You can see them here, but enter at your own risk - you only think Alex curses in English! You can find both the new pages under the “Novels & Short Stories” category.

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Before I leave you, I’ve got another collection of books for your reading pleasure. Go here to choose from 42 FREE sci-fi ebooks from popular indie authors. Enjoy!

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Huge Audiobook Sale, Plus a Reader Poll & a Cornucopia of Free Sci-Fi Books

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Huge Audiobook Sale, Plus a Reader Poll & a Cornucopia of Free Sci-Fi Books

If you're curious about audiobooks but have yet to take the plunge into a different way of reading, I've got a deal for you! Get the first four Amaranthe audiobooks at a huge discount for the next two weeks exclusively at Chirp, and immerse yourself in the dulcet tones of the amazing Pyper Down: gsj.space/chirp-sale

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A little news you might be interested in: the first draft of ALL OUR TOMORROWS is complete! At over 92K words, it might well be the longest first draft to date. Make of that what you will. ;)

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Now, I have a question for you. Apropos of nothing and almost certainly just for fun, the question is this: which secondary-major character in the Amaranthe universe do you think is most deserving of a spin-off novel?

A preview of the choices (in alphabetical order):

  • Corradeo Praesidis

  • Eren Savitas asi-Idoni

  • Joaquim Lacese

  • Marlee Marano

  • Nyx elasson-Praesidis

  • Perrin Benvenit

  • Other (you can write in your preference)

VOTE HERE

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In closing, I’ve an incredible selection of 75+ FREE sci-fi and fantasy ebooks for you to feast upon. Enjoy!

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ECHO RIFT Release Date, Cover Reveal & Pre-Order

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ECHO RIFT Release Date, Cover Reveal & Pre-Order

ECHO RIFT, Book Three in the Riven Worlds series, will be released on JANUARY 15, 2021. But you can pre-order it today at all major online retailers for a special pre-order price of $2.99 for 1 week only. The price will increase to $4.99 next Thursday, so grab it today. You can also add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf here.

PRE-ORDER ECHO RIFT

See the cover here.

“Everything we have done from the start of this endeavor has been risky. Is the goal not worth any risk?”

In the aftermath of Namino’s liberation, everyone seeks a moment of peace to catch their breath and regroup. But the Rasu will not be waylaid for long, and peace soon becomes a race against time before the next onslaught.

Alex and Caleb search distant stars and the ruins of a dead civilization for a secret weapon that may hold the key to defeating an enemy who cannot be killed by conventional means. In the Dominion, Nika and Dashiel probe the mysteries of kyoseil in search of answers, but the Asterions’ bond with this ancient and enigmatic life proves more complicated than they ever realized.

“You act as if there are no consequences for your actions and no price for your foolish decisions. It is time to remind you that there is always a price to be paid.”

Formidable as they are, the Rasu are not the only foe seeking to destroy Concord. The Savrakaths have seen their cities leveled and fleets decimated by rebel Anaden forces. Now they marshal their last resources for a final vengeance-fueled strike—against the wrong enemy.

After a failed coup attempt, the Anaden leadership bickers and squabbles amongst themselves—until a ghost from the past returns, determined to finally unite his people. But those who have wielded unbridled power for millennia will not give it up so easily.

Yet amid the deadly battles and insurrections, struggles of faith, hope, friendship and love light the way forward, because winning is about more than just surviving.

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In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.

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The INVERSION Audiobook is Here - Plus a Visual of Anaden History & a Video Chat

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The INVERSION Audiobook is Here - Plus a Visual of Anaden History & a Video Chat

I’m so excited (and relieved) to share that the INVERSION audiobook is now available on Audible & Amazon (it should be available on Apple Books in the next day or two - when it is, you’ll find it HERE). Patient audiobook listeners, you can at last find out what happens to Miriam, to Malcolm, and to Marlee and all the Asterions trapped on Namino. Lots of other exciting goings-on, too, so get to listening. :)

If you missed it earlier, check out my blog post on how I plan to make sure you never have to wait this long for an audiobook from me again: Audiobooks, the Changing Face of Indie Publishing &…You're Tired of Waiting! (So Am I)

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Weren’t able to make my live hangout with fellow Forged From the Stars authors EJ Fisch and Tammy Salyer? Not a problem. You can now watch it at your leisure on YouTube HERE.

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Finally, I've recently gotten several questions about the order of events in Anaden history - with good reason, as that history is dribbled out to you in bits and pieces throughout the Resonant novels. But as all our players begin to converge once again, ancient events will continue to haunt the future. So I give you a Timeline of the major events in the Anaden Empire (and, to a lesser extent, the Asterion Dominion). View it in high resolution on the Amaranthe Wiki HERE.

The Anaden calendar is complicated with its Epoch system, so I've used a relative calendar, with Year 0, at the bottom right, equaling the start of...well, RELATIVITY. As you go to the left and up, you go back in time.

Let me know if anything isn't clear, or if you think I should have included something else! Oh, and it's free of *major* spoilers, so feel free to peruse it even if you aren't caught up (though depending on where you are, the events might not mean anything to you). And of course, you can see the spoiler-free Aurora Rhapsody timeline HERE.

ECHO RIFT is coming along quite nicely, with well over 100K words in the bank and heavy editing underway. Look for a cover reveal and release date announcement soon!