January is a cold, dreary month suited for curling up with a cat and a good book. So to help that along, The Scent of Metal and The Last Mage Guardian, first books in their respective series, are half-off at $1.99, and Rogues and Heroes, my latest short story collection, is FREE! (But only for 3 days, so act soon!)
Half-price sale runs 1/13-1/22, and the free book is only free on Jan. 16, 17, and 18. (and it is only on Amazon).
Support Cat-Related Happiness, and read a good book!
Got a new collection up, with some old favorites and some stories that have never seen the light of day before — including the origins of Inathka from the Sequoyah trilogy! Plus a few that were first seen in Pulphouse.
(And now, back to the Work in Progress, book 3 in the world of Guardian’s Compact. So far we have university students, a drunk donkey, and a not very successful circus troupe…)
Until September 14, The Scent of Metal is on sale for a mere $0.99! Even if you already have this book, tell a friend who might enjoy it. Less than a cup of convenience-store coffee, and doesn’t taste like 40W oil!
A very nice review for The Long Way Home was recently brought to my attention. And then, a few days later, it was followed by an equally nice review for the entire trilogy! It’s always a kick to find out what my readers think, but this was no ordinary reader. She’s a writer too, and those are the readers most difficult to fool because we KNOW the tricks we use.
So when I see something like
…the kind of prose that doesn’t call attention to itself or get in the way…
and that was precisely the subtle effect I was striving for in my writing? More than wonderful.
Book has been uploaded to all the usual sites and is live (and 4 people actually purchased it already!) on Amazon. You guys are the best…
Once again, Les Petersen does a bang-up job bringing the mysterious alien vibe!
Enjoy!
There were no windows on Beredul. Especially not in the deep bunker-like depths of the long-abandoned fadohl depot facility now called Grand Central, where the Earth-humans and their Wiyert allies had set up the command post for planetary operations. So it was hard to know if it was really morning or not, but it certainly felt like one. Tired and cranky.
Joey Ramirez checked that his sidearm was firmly seated in the leg holster, tucked a handful of energy bars in a side pocket, swallowed the last precious dark drop of coffee in his mug, and glanced about to see if he’d forgotten anything before heading out. He’d noticed a certain reluctance lately to leaving the area the Earth team had repurposed as living and working quarters. Even though he was the only one there now, the familiar ammo cans, gear, and personal stuff the others had left behind gave it a homey, lived-in feel. He hoped they were doing OK. He hoped they would come back soon.
Not that he disliked the Wiyert. Tough characters, in a real bad situation. He was glad to help. Thing was, though, they never shut down. They were always in hard combat mode. Never laughed. He’d seen a kinda sorta smile on a couple, the ones they’d rescued from the planet they’d been stranded on, but they’d been hanging around Earth-humans for longer. Thing he really missed was somebody to joke around with.
Didn’t matter. He had a job to do, and he couldn’t do it here in what they called the Unready Room. It was more of a wide corridor, really. The main opening led, through a few doors and passageways, to the immense underground open space that had previously stored several hundred ancient robotic devices and now contained a giant Wiyert refugee camp. A small US flag was pinned to the wall facing the open area with the hastily scrawled text “You Are Now Entering the American Sector” underneath. Not that any of the Wiyert could read it—yet—but it served as fair warning that their usual rules didn’t apply past that point. Continue reading
The book is FINISHED! Beta reader reports are coming in, and hardly anyone is reporting injuries so things are progressing nicely. The cover artist has been summoned (and I always have to remember to go around the pentagram *clockwise* since he’s in Australia…). The editor’s schedule has been consulted.
Yep, there will be a book soon. I’m thinking of putting up a chapter or two here to help soothe the itch of waiting…
Yes, it’s been a long time. I have a lot of really good excuses which I will not bother you with, because the only thing my dear readers really care about is WHERE IS THE BOOK??? And who can blame them? I wondered where it was myself.
Soul Code is almost done. Because of editor schedule issues it will not be available until early 2019, but it WILL be out. Now with more feral AI spaceships!
Meanwhile, the short stories are popping up in print (finally). The schedule and locations as I know them:
October-ish 2018, “Crossing Over the River” in Pulphouse issue #4
November 2018, “Our Man in Basingstoke” in Fiction River: Spies
June 2019, “Need to Know You” in Fiction River: Summer Sizzles
July 2019, “Restoration” in Fiction River: Doorways to Enchantment
I had mentioned previously I would have a (new!) short story published in the first issue of the newly revived Pulphouse magazine. Turns out there’s more… I managed to sell yet *another* story, a reprint of “Coyote and the Amazing Herbal Formula”, for their Issue Zero. Even though it was originally a premium for the fundraising Kickstarter supporters, it is also available on Amazon. Pulphouse is a …quirky … publication. How quirky? They published that story with glee! And it’s a pretty weird story if I do say so myself…
The official first Pulphouse issue, I am reliably informed, should be available at the end of January 2018 and will have my new story in it. Such exciting times we live in!