Tutorial: Making a Paperback on Amazon!

This might be helpful to other writers! I do a video tutorial, producing a paperback version of my first novella!

Finally Making my First Novella Presentable!

Honestly, I resisted doing this for a long time, but I figured that, as I was finishing up the first full-length novel in the series, that it made sense to finally get a real cover for my first novella, The Hyacinth Rescue.

Better than Expected! Into the Riverlands Review

I really need to remember to put reviews from YouTube up over here... managing multiple sites with different formats is surprisingly easy to screw up!

Setting that aside...

I kind of expected this book to be a demonstration of the unsatisfying path that modern fantasy and science fiction have taken over the last couple of decades. After all, this novella is part of a series that managed to win a Hugo Award, and that whole process has been going downhill for a long time now.

So, it was with a skeptical eye that I began to read Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo. I figured, hey, if it's bad, at least it's short, so why not give it a try?

Book Trailer: Missed Contact

I created a short, 60-second trailer for my book, Missed Contact. A little bit more involved than the short teasers I made for some of my short stories, this one uses several pictures and a little bit more thought, since it's not an excerpt from the book, but a "three act" (that's what the Internet told me I should write :/ ) script about the setting, characters, and plot.

For those of you who have been kind enough to visit my blog, I'll note that even though the video says to go check it out on Amazon, it's also available at a variety of other e-book retailers, too.

I'd love to get some more feedback about this book. I really enjoy the mixture of mystery and science fiction that I created for this one. It's a quick, fun read that should be perfect for one night of reading.

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What the Soul Still Fears, Released!

Have you ever jumped because a moth flew at you? At a peculiarly-shaped shadow in the night? Something harmless like that? These reactions are a part of your brain that is a relic of evolution, so ingrained that you need not even think of it--or more so--even if you think of it, sometimes you cannot resist the sheer instinctive force of your ancient reptile brain. 

What if there was something that, instead of terrifying your brain, brought a similar instinctive fear to your soul? Something, perhaps, long banished from this world, that no human has been exposed to for hundreds or even thousands of years. Would you shake? Jump? Scream? If you did, would it be your brain doing those things?

What the Soul Still Fears is now available at your favorite e-book retailers!  This time, I set up a simultaneous release at Smashwords and Amazon.  See?  I'm learning!

Get my homage to Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness just about anywhere you like.

You want it at Amazon?  I got you covered.

You prefer Barnes and Noble?  Get your Nook and hold on for some weird sci-fi.

You're one of those Apple lovers?  Sweet.

You like vanilla Smashwords?  Of course, I've got a link for you.

You use Kobo?  Here you go.

Odilo?  I'm on it.

What the Soul Still Fears (Novella preview!)

A photo of Rome by Martin Guido at Unsplash

I am finishing up my next novella, a story of fear even deeper-seated in our beings than those peculiar reflexive reactions we have to certain shapes that suggest predators, or movements that hint at imminent attack.

Have you ever jumped because a moth flew at you?  At a peculiarly-shaped shadow in the night?  Something harmless like that?  These reactions are a part of your brain that is a relic of evolution, so ingrained that you need not even think of it--or more so--even if you think of it, sometimes you cannot resist the sheer instinctive force of your ancient reptile brain.

What if there was something that, instead of terrifying your brain, brought fear to your soul?  Something, perhaps, long banished from this world, that no human has been exposed to for hundreds or even thousands of years.  Would you shake?  Jump?  Scream?  If you did, would it be your brain doing those things?

What the Soul Still Fears follows the efforts of psychiatrist and neurologist Arthur Barstow as he is drawn into a bizarre study of the unknown by his childhood friend, physicist Luca Pellegrino.

Sample below... full version coming soon to e-book retailers!

Edit: Available now!

Before Death Blossoms released!

 That novella I was working on?  It's a little later than I expected, but it's done and up at Smashwords!  I'm quite satisfied with the result.  It's a longer work using the character Lawrence G. Samson from Old Forests and Older Things Within.  It's very pulpy.  Basically, he's trying to chase down a parasitic plant that uses people to spread its pollen, thorns, and seeds.  It's a bit of action, a bit of sci-fi, and a bit of detective work.  Plus, I had an idea for how to expand that universe and add some more characters, which will help me make more complex and interesting stories in the setting from here on out.

Samson novella first draft done!

 Just finished the first draft of that Samson novella.  I like the flow of the plot but I think the phrasing is going to need some tweaking before it's ready for prime time.  Came out at about 20000 words.  And of course I need to source a cover, and I'm having real trouble even figuring out what I think a good cover for this would be.  The main story elements don't really jump out at me as suitable for a cover that will not be terribly misleading.  Hmmm...

L. G. Samson Novella Well Underway

 I'm making some fun progress on my new novella.  I'm about 10k words in and really enjoying it.  Lawrence George Samson is a character I introduced in my short story "Old Forests and Older Things Within," (also available at Smashwords for free in a variety of formats) and he's my take on a pulp hero.  Forced into hiding after an incident that consumed the rest of his scientific team, he's put together a good suite of skills and technology to root out and extinguish all sorts of nasty creatures that threaten mankind.

Missed Contact released!

My new novella, Missed Contact, has just released!  It's only on Smashwords right now, but it should be appearing on the other platforms they work with once it's approved.  I'll edit this post and add more links when that happens.

Edit: I've got a full store page for it now!

It's another adventure with the Misevelin Salvage crew from my first novella, The Hyacinth Rescue.  This time, they're looking for a survey team that stopped checking in while they were exploring a newly-discovered planet.  An old coworker from back when Aric was working at his uncle's company, Greg Ralchester, drops by the office to offer them the job.

What follows is an uncertain and tense experience as Aric, Bill, and Lew try to find the crew and get to the bottom of what happened to them.