indie publishing

New Short Story, "Starlight Express" - Available Now

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:

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.

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!

ALL OUR TOMORROWS Update, Plus An Epic Signed Book Sale

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. ;)

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

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!

Riven Worlds Volume One - Available Now

Riven Worlds Volume One - Available Now

I’m thrilled to announce than an omnibus of the first 3 RIVEN WORLDS novels - CONTINUUM, INVERSION & ECHO RIFT - plus the Chrysalis short story is now available in a single ebook! If you’ve been waiting for the Collection to start your Riven Worlds journey, or if you simply want a shiny new cover and the convenience of a single ebook, you can download it today at a 45% discount off purchasing the books individually.

MORE INFO AND RETAILERS

I have so much more news! Where to start?

  • EXIN EX MACHINA (Asterion Noir Book 1) is now FREE to download at all retailers. Know someone who likes a heavy dose of cyberpunk in their space opera? Point them to this gateway drug. :)

  • I wrote a fun little piece for the tech/science news site The Debrief about about my creation of the sLume drive, why I was inspired by the proposed Alcubierre Warp Drive, and how the science of FTL drives is starting to catch up to the science fiction. Give it a read and let me know what you think: “Faster-Than-Light Travel Is Coming At Us Faster Than We Thought”

  • It was a climb, but ALL audiobooks are now available at the major audiobook retailers: Apple, Nook, Google Play, Kobo, Chirp, Author’s Direct & on the website (best deal). The first 9 books (plus the Riven Worlds books) are once again available on Audible as well, and the remaining books should return soon.

  • By special request, I’ve added prints of the Amaranthe book covers to the Zazzle store, as well as several concept art pieces. Note: due to restrictions on the art licenses, I can't offer individual book covers - but I can offer beautiful collages. Check them out at the store.

To close out, check out this amazing collection of 35 FREE sci-fi, cyberpunk and techno-thriller novels, available through the end of April.

CHRYSALIS Short Story - Now Free In Ebook & Audiobook | Plus More Audiobook News

CHRYSALIS Short Story - Now Free In Ebook & Audiobook | Plus More Audiobook News

The CHYRSALIS short story - originally published in the fantastic Beyond the Stars: Infinite Expanse anthology - is now available as a stand-alone ebook, FREE at all online retailers. And in a first around here, it’s also available on release day in audiobook! You can listen to the audio FREE here on the website, or grab it for $0.99 at most audiobook retailers.

The blurb goes like this: “In the cutting-edge laboratories of Asterion Prime, a new manner of life emerges: sentient artificial intelligence. But when the government responds by trying to shut down the AIs before they have a chance to flourish, one woman realizes she must do whatever it takes to protect this still fragile new life, no matter the consequences.”

But for AMARANTHE veterans, what you want to know is that Chrysalis tells the story of how the SAI Rebellion began. See Nika back when she was still an Anaden named Nicolette Hinotori. Meet her brother, Loshi, who we learned about in Continuum (he's quite a character; now that I've written him, I'm really sorry he's no longer around). With special guest appearances by: Maris Debray (then Idoni), KIR, Steven Olivaw, Magnus Forchelle and Corradeo Praesidis.

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More news: I promised it would happen eventually, and now it has. The ECHO RIFT audiobook is now available at Audible and Amazon! Of course, as a reminder, it’s also available at many other audio retailers, often at a lower price. See them all here.

And as part of the continuing roll-out of all my audiobooks to non-Audible retailers, STARSHINE, VERTIGO and TRANSCENDENCE are now available at those retailers (and directly on the website at a discount) as well.

Surprise: The ECHO RIFT Audiobook Is Now Available

Surprise: The ECHO RIFT Audiobook Is Now Available

Back in September of last year (somewhere mid-quarantine), I promised you that I was going to do whatever I could to ensure you had the audiobook of the latest release as fast as Pyper and I could make it happen. Today I’m making good on that promise. Less than three weeks after ECHO RIFT arrived in ebook and paperback, I give you the audiobook, on multiple vendors plus right here on the website.

No, it isn’t available on Audible yet. It’s been submitted and will be available there as soon as they finish their process. The last year has shown that this can take upward of two months; I hope it doesn’t take that long, but it’s out of my control. If you want to wait for Audible, I understand, and I will absolutely be sending another email whenever it’s available there.

But if you want to listen to this wonderful story of hope, love and redemption (and action, adventure, battles and aliens) right now, then I’ve endeavored to make it available to you in as many formats, apps and places as possible. It’s available at all major retailers other than Audible (and at $14.95 or less, cheaper than Audible) - that means Apple, Nook, Google Play, Kobo and Chirp (note: Nook is being a little slow, but it should be available there at the link below shortly).

For a discount off the retail price at $12.95, it’s also available at Authors Direct (listen online or via an app). For a bigger discount ($9.95) to make up for the slightly less seamless experience, you can listen to the audiobook directly on my website, or download the MP3 files to your computer or mobile device and listen in your favorite music player.

Find all your options and retailers HERE.

Bonus gift for February: Over 40 sci-fi ebooks, free or heavily discounted for the next month. Get them here.