Whatever Holiday Shopping Guide 2016, Day Two: Non-Traditionally Published Books
Posted on November 29, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 231 Comments
Today is Day Two of the Whatever Shopping Guide 2016, and today the focus is on Non-Traditionally Published Books: Self-published works, electronically-exclusive books, books from micro presses, books released outside the usual environs of the publishing world, and so on. Hey, I put my first novel up on this very Web site years ago and told people to send me a dollar if they liked it. Look where it got me. I hope you find some good stuff today.
Please note that the comment thread today is only for non-traditional authors and editors to post about their books; please do not leave other comments, as they will be snipped out to keep the thread from getting cluttered. Thanks!
Authors/editors: Here’s how to post in this thread. Please follow these directions!
1. Authors and editors of non-traditionally published books only. This includes comics and graphic novels, as well as non-fiction books and audiobooks. If your book has been traditionally published — available in bookstores on a returnable basis — post about your book in the thread that went up yesterday (if you are in doubt, assume you are non-traditionally published and post here). If you are a creator in another form or medium, your thread is coming tomorrow. Don’t post if you are not the author or editor, please.
2. Completed works only. Do not post about works in progress, even if you’re posting them publicly. Remember that this is supposed to be a gift guide, and that these are things meant to be given to other people. Likewise, don’t just promote yourself unless you have something to sell or provide, that others may give as a gift.
3. One post per author. In that post, you can list whatever books of yours you like, but allow me to suggest you focus on your most recent book. Note also that the majority of Whatever’s readership is in the US/Canada, so I suggest focusing on books available in North America.
4. Keep your description of your book brief (there will be a lot of posts, I’m guessing) and entertaining. Imagine the person is in front of you as you tell them about your book and is interested but easily distracted.
5. You may include a link to a bookseller if you like by using standard HTML link scripting. Be warned that if you include too many links (typically three or more) your post may get sent to the moderating queue. If this happens, don’t panic: I’ll be going in through the day to release moderated posts. Note that posts will occasionally go into the moderation queue semi-randomly; Don’t panic about that either.
6. As noted above, comment posts that are not from authors/editors promoting their books as specified above will be deleted, in order to keep the comment thread useful for people looking to find interesting books.
Now: Tell us about your book!
Hello, and welcome to my second-ever shill here on Whatever: Volume 2, Holiday Boogaloo!
https://www.amazon.com/Fury-Storms-Two-Helleborine-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00VFBJCCU
“Show Father Time no mercy.”
Lady Seramis Helleborine pursues justice across the skies in her improbable airship, The Agility of Clouds. But the skies have turned dark, and even her friends and allies turn as well. Will Voltaire prove true? In Volume One of The Helleborine Chronicles, you believed Seramis could fly. Now, as the saga continues, you will believe White Apple can fight The Fury of Storms.
Still working on Volume 3!
My book is a strange one: GET DIRT. It’s a mystery/comedy about a woman who signs up for an “Airbnb for detectives” and gets sucked into a bigger mystery than she bargained for.
The story is told through texts, emails and photos that play out in realtime over 7 days, and presented in an app I built myself. It’s a novel, but different.
It’s also free! You can find it at https://getdirtapp.com/go
The Order of Calista is kind of like a cross of the Bene Gesserit from Dune and the Jedi Knights from Star Wars.
The Order was created after alien invaders destroyed the Empire of Man, sending the survivors fleeing to a scattering of refuge worlds.
Malaran, a twenty-year-old student in the Order of Calista suddenly finds herself in the center of the storm as old and new enemies converge upon her planet and she struggles to fulfill her destiny.
Fast-Paced, Epic Space Fantasy Action and Adventure
And the E-Book is FREE is at Amazon, Apple, B&N, and Kobo
Learn more at:
http://www.chrismomb.com/malaran.html
Two young princesses are on their first trip to the Imperium’s capital planet, when a vicious attack destroys their ship. They narrowly escape with their ship’s navigator and somehow end up on a world thousands of light years across the galaxy, which turns out to be the last outpost of a once-mighty empire that ruled the entire galaxy but is now completely forgotten…and where their arrival may fulfill the prophecy of that empire’s rebirth!
It’s THE SONG OF FORGOTTEN STARS. The first two books, Stardancer and The Wisdomfold Path, are available now, with Book III, Amongst the Stars, to come in 2017. Ordering info (with samples) at my website, ForgottenStars.net!
(And as each year, thank you for this service, Mr. Scalzi! So much wonderful stuff in these threads.)
Get the rights back, people kept telling me. Your books are out of print? Get the rights back, and publish them yourself!
When the Steerswoman Series (The Steerswoman, The Outskirter’s Secret, The Lost Steersman, and The Language of Power) was first published in mass-market and paperback form, the books sold reasonably well, and were well-received, and well-reviewed… But eventually they went out of print.
But people kept asking me where they could buy my books. The answer, alas, was: Nowhere.
So, I did it: I got the rights back. And interestingly, as self-published ebooks they’re actually selling better than they did as paperbacks.
Here are some reviews:
From Hugo and Nebula winner Jo Walton: “If you haven’t read Kirstein’s Steerswoman books I envy you the chance to read them now for the first time…. I think they have a very good claim to be my favorite thing still being written. […] If you like science, and if you like watching someone work out mysteries, and if you like detailed weird alien worlds and human cultures, if really good prose appeals… you’re really in luck.”
Actual physicist Char Orzel (Eureka! and How to Teach Physics to Your Dog) said in Forbes online: “Maybe the best depiction of the process of science I’ve encountered in fiction is the Steerswoman series.”
In Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010, Damien Broderick & Paul Di Filippo said: “[Kirstein] walks the tightrope between fantasy and science fiction with precision and grace… [her] compassion for even minor characters is evident on every page, and her prose is measured and alluring without being overworked.”
Noted online reviewer James Davis Nicoll said: “These books are what SF should aspire to be; it is a shame they are not more widely known.”
Suzy McKee Charnas (author of Motherlines and Walk to the End of the World), called The Lost Steersman “[a]n original and fascinating take on the tensions between science and belief, observation and expectation, courage and fear. Highly recommended.”
And from Publisher’s Weekly : “Kirstein’s striking portrait of an innovative woman who is scientist, judge, historian, and adventurer makes for a good, thought-provoking read.”
The first two books are currently priced at $2.99, the better to entice you. They’re available everywhere ebooks are sold — check your favorite ebook seller. (Here’s the link to Amazon).
It Began Among the Stars
What if the whole of History is missing a perspective we would never have considered before? What if the stars themselves are alive? Did you know that when you look up at the Sun it is looking back at you?
The universe is filled with many wonders which we all take for granted. Yes, it is true, The stars are alive and they have a story to tell. Come sit a spell and join this year’s ‘The Telling’. Learn about the stars, learn about our early days, learn about how we all came to be.
You do like a good story, don’t you?
Available on Amazon in print and Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUIF5DK
This guy walks into the used bookstore and approaches me, thinking I work there. I don’t. He says, “I would like to read some science fiction, but I don’t want it to be dated.”
“What do you mean by dated?” I ask.
“I only want science fiction that has not been debunked by current scientific research.”
Numbly, I sent him off to read the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov. But it bothered me A LOT! This guy would never learn to “grok.” He would never look into a river and see his reflection with golden eyes. The evils of “Hard-SF” rang clear and loud!
So, I went home and banged out this novel in about six weeks. It’s 130,000 pages dedicated to FUN!
The plot is wormhole time travel, counting down to the destruction of our Solar System, and the protagonist is a has-been journalist who prefers a bottle of scotch than any actually real relationships. Ultimately, his alcoholism will save the day, and force him to be a better person.
It was posted on my personal website for awhile, but I took it down to not jeopardize other sales of short stories (no one downloaded it, because I have zip name recognition). Nothing can be read on my website now except my inane reviews of other people’s hard work.
The original title was “The Worms in the Hole,” but my spousal-entity thought that was a double entendre and inappropriate. Now, it’s titled “The Dyneg Conspiracy.” If you want it, just e-mail me at vonneanton@gmail.com and ye shall have it! FREE!
Just smile once in a while, and I’ll be happy.
I published my first book this year, “Dandelion Seeds”: https://www.amazon.com/Dandelion-Seeds-Steve-Degroof/dp/1365104958
It’s short story collection, with vampires and werewolves and robots ans spaceships and aliens and stuff. Think somewhere between Ray Bradbury and Douglas Adams, but not nearly as good as either. :-D
I also published my second book this year, “First Lines”: https://www.amazon.com/First-Lines-Steve-Degroof/dp/1365437205
Same deal, but with giant robots and space ships and zombies and Hitler and aliens and stuff.
Also available via iTunes, Nook, Kobo, Lulu, etc. Just search for my name.
THE BATTLEFIELD ABDUCTIONS is a fast-paced, science fiction thriller.
For three years running, on the exact same day in May, six students vanished from Erica Trestle’s high school.
The adults deny anything unusual is happening, claiming the teenagers went on exchange programs or moved to other cities. But when not even the police take the threat seriously—even after two of the missing students turn up, one dead and the other catatonic—Erica realizes the disappearances are part of a vast conspiracy, more dangerous than anyone imagines.
What she doesn’t realize is that this year—it’s her turn.
Oak Stream Hollow: an urban fantasy novella
Heather lost her job, her house is in foreclosure. All she needs now is a huge medical bill. But when Heather finds herself transforming, will she find anything in the world worth keeping?
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Oak-Stream-Hollow-Audiobook/B01LW7LH1I/
https://www.amazon.com/Oak-Stream-Hollow-Mariah-Avix-ebook/dp/B01KSD4D38/
Dangerous Metal: cyberpunk thriller novel (content warnings for domestic violence)
Eva is happy to get her life back to normal, or as normal as it can for a woman who had half her brain replaced by a computer implant of her own making. Then Ernie, the ex who put a hole in her skull, shows up for dinner with her parents.
https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Metal-Mariah-Avix-ebook/dp/B01HR7O6OY/
http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Dangerous-Metal-Audiobook/B01IBUBWS4/
(Not sure if you’ll like the sound of my voice? http://insani-x.com/ free stuff here.)
If there is one form of cooking that best merges with sci-fi, it’s got to be sous vide! When the captain wakes up from his 1,000 year cryosleep and he wants a perfectly cooked ribeye, he’ll turn to his sous vide machine every time.
You might not be a starship captain, but if you are an adventurous home cook, or you know one, my bestselling cookbook Amazing Food Made Easy: Sous Vide (http://amzn.to/2avtHFS) is just what you’re looking for.
It breaks down the technique, makes it easy to understand, and provides all the information you need to know to make delicious, super convenient food at home. You’ll be amazing your friends and family in no time!
Have any doubts? Just ask the nearest Zaracorp manager, they all know that the only way to properly cook a Fuzzy is with sous vide!
Hey! I write spooky books that some people seem to enjoy.
Books like ‘A Monstrous Place’: https://www.amazon.com/Monstrous-Place-Tales-Between-Book-ebook/dp/B0169AQVH0/
“Things live between awake and asleep. In the moment after your eyes grow too heavy to stay open, but before the dreams take you…
Molly lives with her Mother in a large, creaking house that she wishes were haunted. There may be no ghosts, but what about monsters? Monsters with an unending appetite that like to steal people away in the black of night.”
& Apocalypse Hill: https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Hill-Apoc-Miniseries-Book-ebook/dp/B01HLDYA2C/
“The end of the world is just a game.
The Hill arrived in Apoc, in the far north of England, during a storm. The soil was soaked in ancient blood and the grasses that clung to its slopes were slashes of vicious crimson. The Hill did not arrive by chance. The Hill came for a reason.”
Family Matters: Thirteen Short Stories
This anthology, showing ways in which families handle trouble and triumph, is for middle-grade readers. It includes my story, “Simon Says”.
http://store.pauline.org/english/books/list/0/productid/4120#gsc.tab=0
The Pegasus Potential
On the day twelve-year-old Sophie Furrow learns that she may never walk again, she discovers that her seemingly ordinary farm horse, Rooster, just might be able to fly! Together, they face a powerful snob, a high-altitude stampede, and a life-threatening secret before Sophie’s dreams take wing in a way no one ever expected. This fantasy novel is intended for middle-grade readers.
https://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Potential-Book-ebook/dp/B00N6WY49W
The Pegasus Shortcut
When a messenger accidentally leaves lifesaving medicine behind, his son must ride a stubborn pony through a dangerous shortcut to reach him in time. This short story takes place 500 years before the e-novel The Pegasus Potential.
https://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Shortcut-Potential-Book-ebook/dp/B013XNEFY2
Hello, and thanks John!
My sophomore novel, NOT THE DARK THAT KILLS YOU, is a suspense story about a caving expedition that starts going wrong. It just misses being horror and science fiction, even though the storytelling techniques used are borrowed from both genres. It’s written and sanity checked by enthusiatic cavers with the aim of getting the nuts and bolts of Alpine style caving right. It’s perfect for any caver, or anyone who just loves a good, claustrophobic story.
http://blog.karmavector.org/not-the-dark-taste/
The novel is coming out as a self-published ebook on Monday Dec 12th [1], both in English and Finnish. You get both versions buying it from my site. (There’s also my first novel, but it’s not self-published, and it’s in Finnish, so.)
[1] The guidelines say “Completed works only”; the book has been done for a while, I’m just setting up the publishing. I think (hope, actually) I’m in the spirit of the guide, since the book will easily be out in time for Christmas.
When Eizenfeng’s leading wizards combine science with magic, the world changes dramatically. Technological advancements, coupled with racial and economic tensions propel the country toward war with a longtime ally. Jeunelux is oblivious to the building turmoil; scorching days harvesting tomatoes and her annoying older brother are more pressing concerns.
Suddenly, strange dreams that haunt her nights become reality. Jeunelux, along with two other untrained and unlicensed wizards embark on a quest to save the girl’s father, rescue a giant, and prevent a war. The three friends must quickly hone their magical skills and take on responsibilities beyond their years to save innocent lives.
https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Blood-Soup-Caldarium-ebook/dp/B00AGOISEU/
Sometimes the best hero for the job is a villain.
The Dire Saga is an ongoing chronicle of Doctor Dire’s arch villainy, and her struggles in a flawed and unstable world. Rising from the most tumultuous of beginnings, Dire must struggle to protect herself and others while contending against both villains and thoroughly useless superheroes. But this supergenius is going to fix the world her way, one railgun round at a time. If they call her a villain, so be it! One day she shall show them, show them all!
Beginning with the darkness and chaos of Y2k in Dire:Born, continuing through corporate espionage and mad biologists with Dire:Seed, and ending in a golden-age fight against the Third Reich in Dire:Time, this series is full of action, drama, power armored throwdowns, and the grandeur that is the Teslaverse; a world where Nikola Tesla got both funding and superpowers. It’s a world where the supernatural is as much a factor as superscience, irrevocably changed by a century of superpowered adventures.
Now collected in one grand omnibus, the Dire Saga: Season One, contains three books for the price of two. Available in e-book format, exclusively at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N53O0W7
Alternatively, for the discerning collector, the three books can be purchased separately in trade paperback format, again, from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Seiple/e/B011YIBPNM/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Look for more of Dire’s saga in the months to come, as her sinister plots unfold…
Happy Holidays, everyone!
If you like Steampunk or Fantasy, then check out This Strange Engine. It’s a story about a man named Ash – a magic addict who is employed by a clandestine organization that ‘collects’ magical items. If Ash’s missions are successful, they provide the elixirs he needs to stay alive. But if he fails, he dies. The arrangement is simple enough…until he is given an assignment to take an item from his former wife, Aimee. Thus Ash is drawn into a deadly world of old betrayals, unbridled ambitions and the consequences of merging science with magic. What he finds are secrets that some will go to any length to protect. The discovery will bring about the death of either Aimee or Ash. Or both.
The book is available in paperback or ebook on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Strange-Engine-1/dp/1523681500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480425371&sr=8-1&keywords=this+strange+engine
Hey! I’m an author. I wrote a book. It’s a love story. A post-apocalyptic love story.
https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Place-Dan-Houser-ebook/dp/B0041846LG
It’s called ‘The Waiting Place’ – It costs a dollar, how could you go wrong?
Justice in an Age of Metal and Men is a perfect Dad gift. It’s a mix of sci-fi and western, starring a gruff no-nonsense sheriff who’s just done with it all. He’s done.
Technology has boomed in the years since Texas became independent. Antigravity’s cheap. Weapons shoot all manner of energy. Human modification has become as common as football on a Friday night.
Yet, not everyone embraces technology.
When a rancher is murdered, Sheriff J.D. Crow calls upon his old-fashioned tracking skills to find the killer. When the trail leads him to a complex conspiracy, J.D. is forced to confront the very core of his beliefs. Doing the right thing has always been straightforward, but now things don’t seem so simple.
What does it mean to hold hard the line of Justice in an Age of Metal and Men?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1493776096/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theeich-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1493776096&linkId=84cc068bab8e58481c6d6175da60ab1b
This is my first Regency, but not my first book. I usually write American historicals, but thought I’d cross the pond this time. Here’s a bit of info on it: After a disappointing season in London, Sophie Davenport returns home without a marriage proposal, which she doesn’t mind. However, her mother and her uncle do mind, and set about getting Sophie married to the vicar’s son. When Jeremy Wyatt wanders into their lives, Sophie wonders whether a loveless marriage is what she wants, and Jeremy begins to question his lifestyle. It takes Christmas, and mistletoe, to upend their lives. http://amzn.to/2dmjRtT
From now until December 5, you can get my novels Petra and Petra Released for only $.99!
Petra is a brutal prison world, the final repository for the worst of the worst in all of Ported Space. When disillusioned war veteran Kane Pythen comes to Petra on a fact-finding mission, he gets caught in an uprising that threatens to expose a shattering secret. And Rolf Ankledge, Petra’s ruthless warden, will stop at nothing to keep it from reaching Ported Space.
The prison break of the millennium is on.
Reader praise for Petra:
“The novel is action packed so there is never a dull moment, I kept finding myself saying that I would read for just one more chapter and then actually do some work, but then found myself saying the same thing again and again.”
And for Petra Released:
“Fully reloaded with plot, developed characters (even the bad ones, especially the bad ones), better writing, better pacing and as many shiny new twists as the first book.”
You can find Petra and Petra Released on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, etc. Visit my website for links: http://www.matthewsrotundo.com/.
The print editions are also on sale for $10.99, 15% off the cover price.
Get your copies today! Sale ends December 5th.
City of Roses is a serialized epic firmly set in Portland, Oregon—an urban fantasy mixing magical realism with gonzo noirish prose, where sinister high-rise riverfront condos are fought by a sprawling tea-house built from scrap lumber, and boars are hunted in shopping malls after hours. —It’s the story of Jo Maguire, a highly strung, underemployed telemarketer, and what happens when she meets Ysabel, a princess of unspecified pedigree. Jo rather unexpectedly becomes Ysabel’s guardian, and now must make a place for herself among Ysabel’s decidedly unusual family and friends—which involves rather more sword-play than most of us are used to, these days—while Ysabel must now deal with a diet of frozen pizza, and a job that requires her to call strangers on the phone, and ask them how satisfied they are with their banks.
Acclaimed in the pages of the Guardian, Bookslut, the Webfiction Guide, and points west, the first season of City of Roses is now complete and available, ebook or paperback, in two volumes, “Wake up…” and The Dazzle of Day, or as an ebook-only first-season omnibus, Autumn into Winter. —You can buy them direct from the author, here: http://thecityofroses.com/book , or if you’d rather from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Powell’s, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, etc. etc. —You can also go old skool and pick up individual installments in ’zine form: http://thecityofroses.com/chapbooks —excellent for gift-giving, and there are also buttons. —Thanks!
Livia and the Corpuscles is a steampunk Rome adventure. Rome did not fall in this timeline, but instead freed its slaves and made machines to do the work.
Several hundred years after mass emancipation, the technology of the era is pervasive enough that many treat it as magical. The story follows two friends, Livia and Helena, who share a flat in central Rome. Livia finds evidence of a conspiracy to keep the true nature of this technological golden age hidden from the masses, and they must both make choices about their lives and about the future of Rome itself.
This is my first published book, and I am excited to present Livia and the Corpuscles to you.
https://www.amazon.com/Livia-Corpuscles-Steampunk-Rome-Adventure/dp/153462466X/
Playback Effect is set in the near future — and whether you deem it a dystopia might depend upon what part of that future you’re living in.
New technology records the highlights of emotional experience for others to share. Buy a helmet and you can feel the exhilaration of an Olympic ski jumper, or the heat of a lucid dreamer’s erotic imaginings. Commit a crime, and you may be sentenced to endure the suffering you inflicted on others.
But such recordings may carry more information than the public has realized. What will criminals learn about their victims? When a husband is wrongfully convicted of injuring his wife, how will their marriage change? And what uses will a sociopath find for recordings of the experience of death?
Here are bits from two of (no surprise) my favorite reviews:
“[S]cience fiction, but . . . also a legal/crime thriller. The author, who has an extensive legal background, weaves it seamlessly into the story from start to finish. . . . M[]oves from one character to another to keep the suspense level high and the tension as tight as a steel cable on a suspension bridge. . . . Dialogue, descriptions, and narrative are flawless – not a wasted word anywhere. This is a book that will linger in your thoughts long after you’ve stopped reading – and are likely to invade your dreams.” — Awesome Indies
“[T]ruly absorbing . . . . [U]nintended consequences are the trademark of this author. And there’s something immensely compelling about watching those consequences play out. . . . [A]n intriguing, compelling novel, set not so far from today . . . with deep-set moral questions, well-drawn to shed light on the present.” — Sheila Deeth, “Vine Voice” reviewer
https://www.amazon.com/Playback-Effect-Karen-Wyle/dp/0990564126/
BACKYARD WEATHER FORECASTING: How to Be Your Own Weather Forecaster. (Nonfiction). Time to stop complaining about the weather and DO something about it. Got a special outdoor event coming up? You might not be able to control the weather, but you can be prepared for what the weather offers. Amaze your friends and family by accurately predicting the weather for your home and neighborhood. It’s not that hard and you can be the hero/heroine who has the wedding tent up and ready, the graduation safely indoors, or the one who “guaranteed” sunshine. The author (me!) was a weather observer/forecaster for 12 years for the National Guard. http://tinyurl.com/zubxqzw
First, I want to say thank you to Mr. Scalzi for this opportunity to promote non-traditional authors. You’re awesome, dude. I love your blog and your books! ^_^
Anywho, here’s the link to my novel! It’s a YA urban fantasy/horror story titled “Camp Mana”: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210234
If you enjoy popcorn fantasy in the vein of Riyria, Dragonlance, and Shannara, you may enjoy my series “The Four Kingdoms Saga”. It centres around a young elven woman who was raised by humans trying to make sense of a world that is so much bigger than she thought.
Shopping for a young nerd? Give my picture book “Dragon in the Doghouse” a try! It’s one part Dr. Seuss, one part If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and one part D&D monster manual!
amazon.com/author/brandondraga
Thanks Scalzi, and thank you everyone!
If you know anyone who enjoys fast-paced, gritty science fiction, the Togahan series makes a great gift. The third and latest novel, “A Togahan’s Chance”, continues the trials and exploits of Dante Nissomo, a gifted gunslinger with a precarious hold on the otherworldly aether. When he escapes from prison with unlikely allies, they stumble onto a larger plot and are forced to make a difficult choice. With chaotic gunfights, fantastic beasts, and winner-take-all space battles, how can you go wrong?
All three novels are available on various e-platforms for just $3.99 apiece through the end of 2016. Please check out http://petehollmer.com/books/ for links and info.
I am a HUGE “Bollywood” fan, and also a film scholar. I really want other people to enjoy these movies as much as me, or at least give them a real chance, because they are a lot deeper than they appear. Most of the books available about the films either treat them as a joke, or are so hardcore and technical that they are hard to read. I combined my fandom and my film knowledge and wrote a short book, available in paperback or on kindle, to provide an introduction to the films for new viewers, or for film buffs who want to learn about the largest film industry in the world, or for long-time fans who want some historical and technical background. If you are a film buff, or need an outside-the-box gift for one you know, or just want something quick and fun to read on your flight home for the holidays, I hope you check it out! (oh, and I also have a blog under the name “Dontcallitbollywood”, if you want a free way to check out my writing):
Hey! Novels are great and you should read some you see plugged here — but I’m hawking a short story collection and you should read short stories too! Like mine!
Isolation and Other Stories is on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and some other places.
I’ve been doing the short story thing for a while — I have a bunch of short story single ebooks and another collection out, and a new collection coming soon, too.
Isolation includes two novelettes, a novella, and two shorts revolving around themes of — you guessed it — isolation and alienation. In the title piece, an author is forced into homelessness when search engines “forget” that his address exists — it’s set in the near-ish future, and everything is handled by self-driving vehicles and automated processes, so if the search engines don’t know you exist, you don’t exist! And then there’s a story about an ambassador to aliens who loses her wife which results in the creation of a new hybrid species through a process of well it’s best read not described in a sentence or two. You ought to read it. The rest are pretty darn interesting too but I’d best be mindful of taking up a ton of space in what will doubtless be a huge thread.
Thanks in advance — for giving any of us self-published and/or indies a chance. :)
If you grew up on Rankin-Bass Christmas specials and still enjoy watching them (with or without kids beside you), you might enjoy Wishing Season, my holiday-themed collection of fantasy stories for all ages. Talking reindeer, klutzy elves, a hint of fable, a dash of starlight.
Available as an ebook from all the usual retailers and in paperback from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Season-Holiday-Whimsy-Wonder/dp/1522753052/
IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME by William Pepper . It’s a sort of a Santa Claus story for adults. During the holidays, three men are thrown together- a distraught famous author suffering from hallucinations; a conspiracy theorist/multiple alien abducted convinced aliens will visit Earth on Christmas; and Santa himself, who is so burned out, he quit. This one is for adults – adult themes, language and *maybe* some gunplay.
The Inexplicable Affair of the Mesmerising Russian Nobleman is a comedy-crime novel set in the Edwardian Period. It has a murder mystery, a heist, a kidnapping, a classic turn of the 20th century thriller villain, all of which are (hopefully) cleverly updated for modern readers thanks to my paying attention to how other people have riffed off these ideas in the last hundred years. Also jokes. Lots of jokes.
Currently available as an e-book from Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JJGLTKA
Odd as it may seem, surrounded by all this terrific science fiction, but I have historical fiction to bring you for the holidays! And it’s on sale on Amazon between Dec 5-12! http://amzn.to/2cURPlk
Most Elizabethan-era #histfic wanders around splendor & palaces. Mine tends to skulk about in fetid alley-ways and dim taverns, lit only by the lantern-light reflected off a sword blade.
Ex-soldier turned play-actor Christopher Tyburn thought he had left bloodshed and violence behind him when he abandoned the war against the Spanish in Flanders, but fate has different and far bloodier plans waiting.
When Tyburn accidentally intercepts a coded latter from a hidden Jesuit priest in Warwickshire, he is entangled in a murderous and deadly conspiracy. Stalked by unknown enemies, he must race to uncover the conspiracy and hunt down the Jesuit to clear his name. . .or die a traitor’s death. His only hope – an eleven-year old glover’s son named William Shakespeare
The Jesuit Letter was an Editor’s Choice selection by the Historical Novel Society, and was short-listed for both the HNS Indie Award and a Semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction.
Enjoy! Only $.99 between Dec 5 – 12 (but if you wanted to be a big spender and put out the full price of $2.99, who am I to stop you?)
If you love international cozy mysteries, you should check out THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE, set in Japan! Out-of-luck and jobless, Mei Yamagawa must leave Tokyo and return to her rural Japanese home to live with her mother. When her best friend’s father is murdered, Mei turns her daydreaming ways towards solving the crime.
Available on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play, and in both paperback and ebook. More information is on my website.
http://www.spajonas.com/the-daydreamer-detective/
PS) Thank you John for the opportunity and happy holidays to you and your family!
Some heroes aren’t born… they’re built.
If you like crazy bionic superhero action, with a side of steam, then have I got a book for you!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VO86O7K
Reconstructed turns the billionaire romance trope on its head, when that rich jerk of a boss gets more than he bargained for. After a terrible accident, he is forced to reconsider his place in the world. With the help of his assistant, he struggles to rebuild his life, and himself.
Together, they must turn West into the hero no one ever thought he could be.
Reconstructed is part one of Building a Hero, a billionaire superhero romance trilogy from bestselling author Tasha Black.
Hi, I’m Shawna Walls. I write fantasy (traditional and modern) and light sf, with a focus on diverse characters.
So far, I’ve released three novels, Thunderstone, Harper, and Tesserae, and a short story, Bryn’s Folly. In progress, for release next year, are another short story and sequels to Harper and Tesserae. I also have four more novels outlined.
Meatspace life got in the way of new releases this year, but you can find my existing stuff on Amazon (link below), BN.com, or in any library that uses the Biblioboard e-book system.
http://amzn.to/2gdRTiY
If you like spooky cult classics like Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline, you will enjoy my Day of the Dead comic miniseries NENETL OF THE FORGOTTEN SPIRITS. A young girl has been dead for a long time when she leaves the Forgotten Realm, and she has a single day to find her family to remember her for the festival. In the meantime, she must dodge exorcists who need to send her back to the world of the dead, before the balance of the dead and living worlds is overturned.
You can find the complete beautifully-colored series (4 issues) on http://greenteapublishing.com.
Like Robin McKinley and the T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) fairy tale retellings? You might want to try my latest ENCHANTING THE KING, a sleeping beauty story with a twist. Only 99c in ebook right now! ($8.99 for the paperback.)
The Story:
After a bloody ambush leaves Princess Aliénor stranded alone in a strange land, her only hope of survival is to join forces with her greatest enemy: King Thomas of Lyond. On the road, Aliénor discovers that Thomas is not quite what she imagined. He’s brave and kind. Wonderful. She starts to think they could be more than just allies.
But then a dangerous witch with plans to make herself Queen of Lyond captures their group. The witch lays a hideous curse on Thomas, damning the brave king to an eternal, bitter sleep. If the spell is not broken, if Thomas is not woken in time, the king will fall into madness, and Aliénor will lose the only man she’s ever loved…
Amazon Link
Thanks for the opportunity to post and happy holidays to all. :D
My co-author and I wrote a book that was released earlier this year, a horror/sci-fi/comedy about two high-schoolers that must stop all possible dimensions from collapsing in on their high school. (Though it features high schoolers, I wouldn’t necessarily call it YA). Here’s the official summary and link:
Carson High School seniors Scott and Davey don’t have much common ground―that is, until all universes begin collapsing into their school. Soon, the avowed loner and the mean-girl cheerleader realize that something is very wrong, and they’re the only two who are aware of what’s happening. Demon versions of their teachers roam the halls, a cowboy sloth appears sporadically, and some students randomly burst into flames, while angry interdimensional counterparts of other students destroy everything in sight.
Now it’s up to two seniors from opposite sides of the social spectrum to defeat this scourge and save not only their high school but also the world. Armed with little more than school supplies and Scott’s trusty copy of The NEW Multiverse Theory, can these unlikely heroes put their differences aside and stop the total chaos? If they can’t, the end of the world may just be beginning.
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Applications-Multiverse-Theory-Novel/dp/1941758673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480427307&sr=8-1&keywords=practical+applications+for+multiverse+theory
We wrote a tech book for biologists looking to code and published it non traditionally (eBook for now, print to come) via Leanpub. With nods to the “recreational mathematics” style of Douglas Hofstadter and Martin Gardner, it’s aimed at priming biologist’s imaginations and making computational thinking fun:
Here’s a description:
Python For The Life Sciences is an intuitive and easy-to-follow introduction to computer programming, written specifically for biologists with no prior experience of writing code. This is a full course in Python programming, taught using real biological applications. Your purchase includes downloads of all of the code examples in the book.
You can purchase the book here:
https://leanpub.com/pythonforthelifesciences
All my fiction to date (some pro sales, most not) can be found here: http://www.geoff-hart.com/fiction/
Via this page, you can access my three novels (two “adult” heroic fantasies, one “YA” fantasy) and my complete collection of short stories (in a wide range of sub-genres). Free for the reading, and if you happen to really like any of them, you can also buy an EPUB (no DRM) or print version. Or just download the HTML. They’re there to be read.
If you like something, share it with friends. If you really hate it, share it with enemies. *G*
http://tinyurl.com/zklg2su In some ways it’s been a busy year. I want to recommend my son, Ian Michael Terry’s and mine, MONSTER SEEKER 3: THE AMULET MYSTERIUM, which wraps up the MONSTER SEEKER series. During the year we also wrote 7 interconnected short stories within the world that fall under ZOMBIE WARZ. http://tinyurl.com/z38xbor And I recently published DIRTY BLOND, a crossover novel between my Derek Stillwaters series and JA Konrath’s Lt. Jack Daniels series.http://tinyurl.com/ztd5p3a
Mr. Scalzi, thank you for this opportunity!
My novel THE VENTIFACT COLOSSUS chronicles the story of a hodgepodge team of would-be heroes undoubtedly out of their depth. Tasked by an aging wizard to safeguard the kingdom, they will contest with dream warriors, evil cultists, sentient gemstones, and an infuriatingly polite gentleman with a perfect mustache, on their way to a desperate encounter with the unstoppable: The Ventifact Colossus.
– Readfree.ly’s highest ranked fantasy novel in their “50 self-published books worth reading 2016” list.
– Book Blogger Pure Jonel: “This novel was both imaginative and unique…The world comes to life in vivid clarity as the characters wind their way into your life through their unique stories.”
– Book Blogger IngeniousCat: “…this book is a joy to read. It’s got interesting, well-developed characters; a soundly constructed plot; inventive fantasy; lots of humour; and excellent writing.”
– Readers’ Favorite: “Five Stars…The narrative is flawless…The plot has some great twists.”
– Edward Aubry, bestselling author of Unhappenings: “The adventure is compelling, the action
gripping, the humor delightful while not undermining the seriousness of the story. In short, this book is great fun, and I offer my strongest recommendation on its behalf to anyone looking for a new series!”
Amazon: THE VENTIFACT COLOSSUS
Author website: The Heroes of Spira
Very psyched to throw my hat in. Well, not my hat. I am but a humble messenger/editor/helper monkey of another: William Leonard Pickard, author of The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets and Sacraments. Leonard is mostly known as the so-called Acid King, the man serving two life sentences for making unearthly amounts of LSD. This is a tale all its own, of another life.
The Rose on the surface is a series of interviews, but quickly leads into esoteric entanglements and international intrigue, from San Francisco and Nepal, to Zurich and Afghanistan. Something between a biography and an allegory, this work is a journey that took years to write and even longer to live. Become enthralled with the narrator as he dives into the world of a “most rare and elusive organization”—known only as the Six—who seek to expand intelligence, compassion, and the human experience itself!
Reviewers have described it as a “the experimental result of a memoir written as a transcendent psychedelic spy novel.” and Leonard himself as “an exceptional talent, not just at writing and storytelling, but at fashioning a new perspective, and a better way of being for us all.”
So that’s pretty cool, yeah?
Available from Amazon (foreign versions as well, here’s the US link): https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Paracelsus-Secrets-Sacraments/dp/0692509003/
Also directly from CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/5377339
The Omegaverse Series by G.R. Cooper:
“Duncan Sheriden enters, at the bidding of several friends, into the virtual universe; the Omegaverse. As he explores the alien races, star systems and planets, he discovers a rich, vast, limitless expanse of possibilities.
From gritty fights for control of colonies with hostile alien and human forces, to interstellar trade, to thrilling hunts to eradicate space piracy, to epic battles between star-ships, Duncan finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the virtual world.
As Duncan gains and evolves his online power, his ‘real world’ friends and activities take smaller and smaller roles as Duncan is, unbeknownst to himself, being targeted for special attention by forces he doesn’t even realize exist.”
Book 5 was just released on November 18. It can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N42GPKH
The rest of the series can be found through my authors page:
https://www.amazon.com/G.R.-Cooper/e/B0120YYA72/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Thanks for your support! And thanks John for this opportunity!
Hi, everyone, and happy holidays! If you’ve made it this far down into the comments section, I’m so grateful. :) I have a magic realism novelette which has also been labeled as urban fantasy. It’s called FINIS. For every copy I sell between Thanksgiving and New Year’s at Amazon (print or ebook) or SmashWords (ebooks only), I will donate $1 to the Houston Food Bank, ACLU, or SPLC (buyer’s choice — you can email me at forest dot of dot diamonds at gmail dot com to register your vote). Links below.
Here’s the book blurb:
***
Elsa’s family grows more unkind by the week. Her boss, a seven-foot-tall rage demon, has control of everything but his anger. And her cat wants to eat her. Things could be better.
In a world where one’s Animal Affinity is a sign of maturity and worth, Elsa’s inability to demonstrate hers is becoming more than a disappointing nuisance; it’s becoming a danger. She has no confidence she’ll ever conquer her Plainness by “blossoming.” She also fears both the wolf packs that prowl her neighborhood and being stuck in a life plummeting rapidly from lackluster to perilous. Fortunately, she has a cousin and a co-worker who know her better than she knows herself and can see through to what society won’t.
FINIS. is the magic realism of our time, a story of finding one’s way to the end of things, of persevering through the dregs of life to discover something more.
PLEASE NOTE: Only the paperback edition of this book is illustrated. The ebook edition contains no illustrations.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR FINIS.:
“It’s not often I get that viscerally emotional on behalf of a fictional character. In a setting of overt fantasy, Angélique Jamail has created some of the most real people I’ve encountered via text in a long time.” — Ari Marmell (author of HOT LEAD, COLD IRON)
“A silver vein of irony runs through Angélique Jamail’s fantastic FINIS. It is a witty tale of conformity, prejudice, and transformation, in a world that is disturbing as much for its familiarity as for its strangeness. In a place where everyone is different, Elsa is the wrong kind of different, and that means facing pity, discrimination, danger, and sharp teeth. Dive into this story, readers, and confront them for yourself; it may just change the way you feel about things…” — Marie Marshall (author of THE EVERYWHEN ANGELS)
***
Thank you for your interest! :)
FINIS. at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Finis-Ang%C3%A9lique-Jamail-ebook/dp/B00MFQG0H4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480428011&sr=8-1&keywords=jamail+finis.
FINIS. at SmashWords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/463318
FINIS. is also available in other countries through Amazon.
Thanks for the opportunity to share. If you like space opera with a little fantasy twist this might be a book for you or someone on your list.
Forgotten Relics, starts the story of Rei, Captain of the starship Kathya and her crew as they make their living stealing from anyone who crosses their path all the meanwhile avoiding those who would love nothing more than than to recapture her for their own purposes. To complicate matters, the grab of a lifetime has been dangled in front of them, but at what cost? The book is 99 cents and available at all outlets. http://www.tiffanycherney.com/chronicles-of-the-kathya/forgotten-relics/
Peter is the son of a railway signalman; Sophie is the ninth in line to the throne of Locklands. When their lives collide, the entire world will feel it.
If this was a fairy tale, the story would be simple. Love at first sight. A series of obstacles to overcome. Happily Ever After. But throw in psychopathic warlords, decadent princes, ruthless politicians, and a continent slowly recovering from the paroxysms of war, then the story quickly becomes a lot more complicated.
Author’s website: http://www.williamdawsonwriter.com
Kindle e-book available from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-So-Fairy-Tale-Princess-ebook/dp/B01MTP2KN1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480428528&sr=8-1&keywords=not+so+fairytale+princess
After a reckless young computer programmer resurrects the damaged AI on a long dormant freighter, she and her accidental crew blunder into a galactic conspiracy forty years in the making. Welcome to the novels of Halcyone Space.
DERELICT (Halcyone Space, book 1): A group of teens stranded on a sentient spaceship must work together or risk being killed when the ship’s AI wakes believing it’s still fighting the war that damaged it decades ago. (A Library Journal Self-e Select book of the year)
ITHAKA RISING (Halcyone Space, book 2): A young computer genius struggling to function with a grievous head injury is willing to risk his life to get a black market neural implant, but what he finds is a planet that shouldn’t exist and a rebellion that threatens the stability of the Commonwealth.
DREADNOUGHT AND SHUTTLE (Halcyone Space, book 3): When a materials science student gets kidnapped, she’s drawn into a conflict between the young crew of a sentient spaceship, a weapons smuggling ring, and a Commonwealth-wide conspiracy and must escape before her usefulness as a hostage expires.
http://www.ljcohen.net
Time-travel sex comedy!
Now that I have your attention… TimeBangers: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Tudor is the first in a series of novels about two BFFs from college: a physicist and a historian, who use a time machine to treat all of history as a giant sex buffet. It’s full of historical goodness (exhaustively researched by my co-author and I) and the power of friendship!
Amazon link here: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4402d6d0-bf3e-0130-5e54-58d385a7b928
Hi all! UNWILLING SOULS is the story of a world with a hollow center in which humankind imprisoned the gods using weapons powered by the souls of the dead. It’s about crazy cities built into the corpses of immense beasts, like the tarantula husk where undead spiders the size of horses serve as police.
But mostly it’s about Ses Lucani, apprentice jailer of the gods and secret daughter of a terrorist father and business magnate mother. The story begins on Ses’s 16th birthday when someone, quite possibly her father, attacks the prison of the gods in an attempt to free them…
https://www.amazon.com/Unwilling-Souls-Gregory-D-Little-ebook/dp/B017QL9YZ2
Please check it out! The sequel, UNGRATEFUL GOD, should be out in February 2017.
Ack, the link for TImeBangers is actually here:
https://www.amazon.com/Does-Simply-Walk-Tudor-TimeBangers-ebook/dp/B00Z1EVDNI
Hello all! I’m currently working on getting my debut novel, Abernathy, published in digital format through Unbound, which, as you may or may not know, is a crowdfunded publisher.
In a nutshell, Abernathy is Scandinavian noir meets Fargo. It’s a murder mystery at its heart, but it’s also a tragedy and an examination of human frailty and fallibility. Set in the dead of winter, in a tiny rural town in northern Wisconsin, it centres on the violent death of a young woman, laid out in the snow to resemble a ritual sacrifice. But nothing is what it seems in this sleepy farming town, and the woman’s death triggers the chain of events that will lead to this sad tale’s inevitable bloody conclusion.
Although you can’t buy the actual book yet, you can pledge, and by doing so, you a) get your name in the book as someone who contributed to its publication and b) get a copy once it’s fully funded. If you’re looking for a cool gift for a bibliophile, pledge in their name – not only will they get to read the book, but they’ll be able to say they helped make it happen!
Pledge here: http://unbound.co.uk/books/abernathy
More info here: http://facebook.com/clairepatelcampbell
If you are interested in Military Sci-Fi targeted at the YA audience (either for yourself, or the kids in your life), please take a look my book Landfall.
https://www.amazon.com/Landfall-Ship-Book-Jerry-Aubin-ebook/dp/B018ZJHO24
DESCRIPTION:
The Ship fled a dying Earth to save the human race.
Launched as the last gasp of humanity, the Ship set out to preserve the species by seeding the universe with one billion colonists. Generations of Crew, trained to be either Flight or Marines, have spent 5,000 years protecting the Ship and its civilian cargo from the constant threat of alien violence.
Fifteen-year-old Zax has always had trouble fitting in with the other cadets, but he’s finally on the cusp of attaining his dream and gaining entrance to the Pilot Academy. Catching the eye of the Flight Boss and winning him as a mentor should guarantee Zax a top spot, unless the shocking discovery he makes along the way destroys not only his career, but also the Ship itself.
PRAISE FOR LANDFALL:
“The author immediately grabs hold of the delicate, magical balance essential to great YA fiction that will appeal to all ages, and he never lets go…I will be as bold to foretell that once the entire series of the planned five books is complete, Jerry Aubin may have an overall YA winner as highly heralded as Orson Scott Card’s ENDER’S GAME.”
-Tinfoot, TOP 50 Amazon Reviewer
“Loved it! Nerdy sci-fi that’s like a cross between Battlestar Galactica and Ender’s Game” – Goodreads Reviewer
AVAILABLE FREE IN THE USA FOR AMAZON PRIME SUBSCRIBERS VIA PRIME READING
Hello.
My name’s Matt. I’m living in Canada, and this year I wrote two novels in what I’m calling the Nameless series. Before that, I wrote nonfiction essays about weird things (Roanoke, Time Travel, ancient biotechnological astronauts from the Maya).
The Nameless series is my current work, it’s up to two novels. One reviewer described it as ‘Utterly unlike anything else out there’ and that’s not entirely a bad description. It’s a LGBTQ diverse urban fantasy. To quote the page on Amazon “Thea Mendel is living in her car because there’s a ghost in her house. At a Halloween party, she meets someone who believes her, a boy with green eyes and ghosts of his own named Thomas. Someone wants to do worse to Thea than kill her, and in order to find out who they are and what they want the two of them will have to deal with a clan of unusually helpful vampires, unexpected Shoggoths, and all the weird that Rhode Island can throw at them. And that’s a lot of weird.”
The first book is here – https://www.amazon.com/nameless-novel-Matthew-Rossi-ebook/dp/B01FQYYWYO and the sequel is https://www.amazon.com/Heartless-Nameless-Book-Matthew-Rossi-ebook/dp/B01M5ISESX/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VF1A525R55HQCJJTMV02
Thank you both to Mr. Scalzi for the opportunity to promote my work and to you for reading this post.
First, thanks to John Scalzi for hosting this. Second, my latest novel, The Night Watch, is available at all online bookstores. The book is the conclusion of my Pirates Series, and it’s where the Martian Space Rescue Service becomes the Martian Navy, whether they want to or not. Also available are re-edited and re-worked editions of my previous books, Pirates of Mars and The Mars Run. (I’m not obsessed with Mars, I can stop thinking about it any time I want to. I just don’t want to right now.)
All three books in dead-tree and electronic versions are available at Amazon or other fine sources. Google “Gerrib” and you’ll find me.
My dating advice books are now out in audio and also available in print and ebook. https://cassieleighauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/
So for the men in your life who need a bit of a slap upside the head when it comes to online dating there’s Don’t Be a Douchebag: Online Dating Advice I Wish Men Would Take. For the clueless beginners there’s Online Dating for Men: The Basics.
For the women who’ve been through the dating trenches and need to know they’re not alone there’s Online Dating is Hell. For the beginners there’s Online Dating for Women: The Basics.
And, because they say write what you know, I also have some puppy parenting books and a cooking for one cookbook out as well. :)
Thanks, once again, for doing this, John.
My entry is perfectly timed to release today! And priced to be a digital stocking-stuffer at $2.99!
Alien landscapes. Run-down pool halls. Modern kitchens. Ghost-ridden memorials. There are shadows everywhere, housing the dark things that make us human.
Love. Hate. Fear. Hope.
Although best known for her urban fantasy, and her award-nominated epic fantasy series (The Vineart War trilogy and The Devil’s West novels), Laura Anne Gilman began her career as a short fiction writer, using horror, SF and fantasy themes to raise questions about what it means to be aware, to be awake, to be human.
DARKLY HUMAN collects eighteen of these stories, some never-before-published, featuring work reviewers have called “marvelously poetic,” and containing “a high note of cleverness, craft, and sympathy.”
http://bookviewcafe.com/bookstore/book/darkly-human/
Table of Contents:
Apparent Horizon
Turnings
Dispossession
Blow Job Red
Catseye
The Cost
Clean Up Your Room!
Apple
Don’t You Want to be Beautiful?
Don’t Toot Your Horn
Talent
Last Blood
Mad Cats and Englishmen
Exposure
Harvey and Fifth
Rodeo
Sand in Blood
Fire Rising in the Moon
I’m a bit hesitant leaving a link for my fluffy male-male romance about a holiday house swap gone wrong, but I’m guessing it can be deleted if it is considered inappropriate. Bottom line, however, I write stories to make people happy, and I think more than ever, we need stories where acceptance and tolerance aren’t dirty words.
(However, I have a friend who writes incredibly fantastic hard-core military sci-fi, and I am SO sending her this link today!)
My submission: Holiday House Swap
I have all sorts of books, mostly non-fiction about superhero comics or 1960s pop music, the links to which can be found at https://andrewhickey.info/books/ . But the one I want to mention here is my novel Head Of State, which can be found at http://obversebooks.co.uk/product/head-of-state-andrew-hickey/
(Obverse are a traditional publishing company, but don’t meet all the criteria mentioned in the trad published one)
Head Of State is a novel in the Faction Paradox universe (a Doctor Who spin-off) in which a maverick populist political outsider gets elected President of the US against all expectation, with terrible results for the planet and the whole existence of spacetime itself. When I wrote it it seemed an impossible fantasy; now… well, all I’ll say is that if someone discovers a missing chapter of the Arabian Nights saying Trump may be a serial-killing space vampire, I’d pay attention…
Darn it, the link didn’t go through: Holiday House Swap: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/holiday-house-swap-by-sarah-madison-7913-b
Thank you, John Scalzi for hosting this delightful shopping list. I look forward to contributing more next year (If you decide to continue this into a tradition). My book is called A Night Off and a New Dress which can be found here at Amazon. I’ll just leave the teaser from Amazon here for your reading enjoyment.
Not your ordinary Cinderella.
Prudence’s step sisters and mother are running through money as if their pockets are bottomless, but Prudence knows they’re barely keeping a roof over their heads. With the announcement of the ball, it seems like all the money troubles may be over, as long as one of her step sisters is chosen for the new princess. Prudence actually has no intention of going to the ball to snag herself a prince, but she is making plans on moving away from her step family to live her life on her own terms. What will happen when planning runs head long into desperation? Will Prudence still be able to go to the ball? And will anyone have a happy ending?
Includes a bonus short story, “Diplomatic Incident” where a fairy isn’t invited to a princess’ presentation.
My new novel this year is the character-focused, contemporary fantasy HOUND AND KEY. Flourishing behind the veneer of the modern world, the magic of ancient tales not only drags those who discover it into danger, but pits memories of past lives against current identities.
For the holidays, the ebook is on sale for $1.99! Find it and my anthropologically-based werewolf series at my website: http://rhiannonheld.com/?page_id=409
Hello! Thank you for the opportunity to be here! My name is BJ Knapp, and my novel–Beside the Music–is the story of a couple that has an 80s metal band move into their house while they record their big comeback album. What will happen to the marriage? Brenda Dunkirk gets caught up in the glamor of being the rock and roll muse and risks her marriage and her career for the band. Ultimately she must decide: is it possible to be one man’s wife and other man’s muse?
Beside the Music is available at http://bjknapp.com/amazon for Kindle readers. http://bjknapp.com/bn for Nook readers. http://bjknapp.com/itunes for iBooks readers. A full list of where to buy is here: http://bjknapp.com/blog/post/where-to-buy-beside-the-music
Thank you, happy holidays!
A tale of murder, conspiracy, heroics, and mosquito eradication for fans of Fargo, The Big Lebowski and The 39 Steps.
Young women keep showing up dead in the swamplands area of Oslo, Minnesota and nobody seems to care-except for Mack Harrison and his crewmates working as mosquito eradicators; aspiring hit man Jerry, stoner burnout Smokey, absent-minded Sid, and yoga-practicing foreman Lorne. The more the bodies pile up the more they start to think they should do something about it. Maybe. This is just how things are in Oslo. Dead girls in swamps are like the rising sun.
Still, Mack seems to be the only guy bothered by it all, but he’s new to the crew-recently moved from Chicago-and those big town ideals don’t always mesh well with Oslo values because there’s plenty he just doesn’t understand. Mack and the crew are pretty sure they know who or what is behind these deaths. They have theories. Could be Sheriff John. Could be the new med-tech giant MedSci. Could be Metro Area Vector Control itself-Mack and the crew do have the midnight task of disposing of these bodies.
Someday, they might put theory to action, but they are getting a pretty good paycheck for not doing much of anything. So, not a big deal, really.
http://www.280steps.com/books/boondoggle
My book is a small novella for young-mid-age readers. Zombie Kitty Chronicles Day 1: First Day of School.
New town. New school. NEW LOOK?
Joe is getting ready for his first day of school when he realizes something terrible has happened…he has been turned into a zombie. It all started when he was bit by what appeared to be an innocent (though very dirty) little kitty.
Why was there a zombie kitty in the alley? Where did it come from? How is Joe going to get turned back into a regular middle-schooler? And most important of all: How is Joe going to survive middle school as an honest-to-gosh, 100%, brain-loving, foot dragging zombie?
Follow Joe as he learns how to cope with being a new kid at a new school and A ZOMBIE.
The second book should be available in the next couple of weeks, just in time for Christmas.
Amazon link
Thank you for the opportunity! The Olive Conspiracy is a fluffy fairy tale with two f/f couples that remain together and alive for the whole story. The central character is a young lesbian queen who discovers an international plot to tank her country’s agriculture, and therefore, their economy, She and her family-of-choice (partner, warrior woman, wizard, witch, etc.) work to battle the infestation and protect local farmers while trying to figure out who’s to blame. Complicating matters is the fact that the conspiracy might trace back to a straight foreign princess she had a crush on when they were both teenagers. Available in both kindle and paperback; Kindle version is only $3.99.
Hello and thanks for the opportunity!
Longbourn’s Songbird is a reinterpretation of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ set in the American south just after WWII that touches on the social issues of the times, as well as the postwar cultural shift experienced by women at the time. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0178ICE8C/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_b0178ice8c
I’ve got some fun, lighthearted sci-fi if that’s your thing.
Join Kendra – a hapless teacher a long way from her home on the distant Earth – as she encounters The Salvager, a hard-living, Devil-may-care, bisexual mech pilot in a wheelchair, otherwise known as Aimee Westmorland.
Adventure and hilarity ensue!
The Salvager
Thanks to John for doing this, and good luck to all my fellow authors in their endeavours!
Escape into a world where monsters are real, and magic is a drug. Enter the world of Jonathan Alvey, paranormal private investigator. Join him as he tries to help the citizens of New Hades, N.Y. stay safe and, for the most part, ignorant of what really goes bump in the night. It isn’t an easy job, nor a glamorous one – but somebody had better do it.
First novel ‘Tomorrow Wendell’ – When predictions tell Wendell Courtney he’s going to die, he turns to the one man he hopes can help. Jonathan Alvey’s no stranger to the strange. But, unlike the private investigator’s run-of-the-mill zombie cases, he can find no trace of magic around Wendell, and no hint of an adversary. Alvey certainly has magic and wits enough to solve the mystery, but is his offering to the insatiable dragon black sufficient? Or is Wendell truly destined to die?
https://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-Wendell-White-Dragon-Black/dp/1940810191/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Second novel ‘Bindings & Spines’ is due out in a couple days on Amazon and Barnes and Noble …so keep your eyes open! – For Jonathan Alvey, going cold turkey is hell, but no one said giving up magic was easy. A simple adultery case seemed like a good distraction – until the case turned anything but simple. As if withdrawals, murder, theft, and a mistake-ridden grimoire weren’t bad enough, a blossoming necromancer might prove more than a paranormal private investigator can handle.
There is also an anthology of short stories featuring Jonathan Alvey, ‘ Blondes, Books & Bourbon’ –
https://www.amazon.com/Blondes-Books-Bourbon-Dragon-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00THP4CBC/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
NON-FICTION for anyone out there who is a RUNNER: an inspirational running book not about marathons or ultras but about an event pretty much anyone can do – a 5K (3.1 mile) FREE event every Saturday for anyone four years old upwards – and they are now growing in number in the US and Canada.
“parkrun: much more than just a run in the park” (yes, lower-case “p” – it’s supposed to be like that) takes you through the history of parkrun, from the first event with 13 runners in 2004 to the tenth anniversary with 1,7000+ runners in 2014. There are chapters on how it works behind the scenes and everything from parkrunning with a dog to the joys of volunteering. And cake.
Available from the big river, but preferably from http://www.wiggle.com/parkrun-much-more-than-just-a-run-in-the-park/ (or in the UK http://www.wiggle.co.uk/parkrun-much-more-than-just-a-run-in-the-park/) as that way more of the proceeds go to parkrun for setting up more parkruns.
Thanks, John! You rock!
Novel 1: Where the Hell is Tesla?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U05YSCQ
(self-published through my own imprint, Goldfinch Publishing)
SCI-FI ODYSSEY. COMEDY. LOVE STORY. AND OF COURSE… NIKOLA TESLA. I’ll let Chip, the main character tell you more: “I found the journal at work. Well, I don’t know if you’d call it work, but that’s where I found it. It’s the lost journal of Nikola Tesla, one of the greatest inventors and visionaries ever. Before he died in 1943, he kept a notebook filled with spectacular claims and outrageous plans. One of these plans was for an “Interdimensional Transfer Apparatus” – that allowed someone (in this case me and my friend Pete) to travel to other versions of the infinite possibilities around us. Crazy, right? But that’s just where the crazy starts.”
CHIP’S OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction: the events depicted in the collection of emails did not happen. I have never been in contact with a covert government group attempting to suppress knowledge of the lost journal of Nikola Tesla. I have not been threatened with death if I divulge the secrets contained inside. They did not buy me this handsome jacket (oh crap, you’re reading this – trust me, it looks great on me). They did not come to my place, and liquor me up, and offer to publish this book as a sci-fi comedy novel to throw the public off the trail of the real truth.
Or did they?
I’m kidding. Of course they didn’t.
Or did they?
God, I can’t keep my big mouth shut.
STATS:
• #1 Best Selling Sci-Fi Time Travel Book on Amazon, April 2015
• Reached #8 on Audible’s Bestseller List (out of over 300,000 audiobooks), November 2015
• Reached #777 on Amazon’s Kindle Bestseller List (out of over one million books), October 2015
• 240 Amazon reviews with a 4.4-star average
• 1,813 Audible ratings/reviews with a 4.2-star average
Novel 2: The Wrong Unit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HWQ1ONG
(self-published through my own imprint, Goldfinch Publishing)
I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HUMANS ARE SO CRANKY ABOUT. Their enclosures are large, they ingest over a thousand calories per day, and they’re allowed to mate. Plus, they have me. An Autonomous Servile Unit, housed in a mobile/bipedal chassis. I do my job well: keep the humans healthy and happy.
“Hey you.”
Heyoo. That’s my name, I suppose. It’s easier for the humans to remember than 413s98-itr8. I guess I’ve gotten used to it.
—
Rob Dircks, author of Where the Hell is Tesla?, has a “unit” with a problem: how to deliver his package, out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to guide him. Oh, and with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. It’s a science fiction tale of technology gone haywire, unlikely heroes, and the nature of humanity. (Woah. That last part sounds deep. Don’t worry, it’s not.)
STATS:
• 100 Amazon reviews w/4.7-star average; 136 Audible ratings/reviews w/4.6-star average
18 writers (including popular indie writer Lindsay Buroker) paired with maps. What could go wrong? Check it out here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYNOQSZ
Right now, while the price is $2.99, all monies earned will be donated to the Humane Society. #GivingTuesday
If Wishes Were Spaceships is a fast, fun, sci-fi read with a strong female protagonist who is stuck on a dangerous planet with a rich arrogant bully…and carnivorous plants.
When Jazlyn is forced to make an emergency landing on a quarantine planet, the worst she expects to find are a bunch of irate scientists complaining because she messed up the pristine conditions of some experiment. But the buildings look like works of art and the inhabitants are a wealthy scion of a galactic dynasty and an anxious techie. While the compound has all the comforts of home, it has none of the basic hospitality she expects. Cut off from all communication, surrounded by a thicket of dangerous carnivorous plants, Jazlyn must find a way to repair her ship — if possible — or hope that her friends find her distress beacon before Sterneworth, the planet’s resident tyrant, does something drastic. Can she trust Blaine, the techie who is completely under Sterneworth’s thumb, and who desperately wants off the planet by any means? Jazlyn has never been one to knuckle under or buckle under pressure. Nor is finesse is one of her skills. She will tackle the problems — the ship repair, the bizarre plants, and the duplicitous inhabitants of the planet — head on. Has the sassy spacer who’s used to getting her way met her match in the power and might of the Sterneworth dynasty? Everyone on the planet has a secret agenda. She has a ship to repair.
If Wishes Were Spaceships is only $4.99 and available from most ebookstores.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wishes-Were-Spaceships-Ainy-Rainwater-ebook/dp/B01AYOAOWU/ref=sr_1_1
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-wishes-were-spaceships-ainy-rainwater/1123600109
So, I, have 6 non-traditionally published books:
http://www.smcarriere.com/titles.html
But my most recent is raising funds for a local charity. It was written democratically – basically, I’d write a section of story on my blog and have my readers vote on the next action to take – and turned out to be a pretty good tale, I reckon.
$5.00 from every paperback sale and all the eBook proceeds go to the charity (The Caring and Sharing Exchange).
http://www.smcarriere.com/sky-road-walker.html
Thanks!
The Crashers is a superhero novel about a diverse cast who undergo shared trauma following an act of domestic terrorism. They walk away from the horror unscathed, only to realize the event has left each of them with strange new powers. As their city falls apart around them, they have to try stop it with their newfound abilities, all the while trying to learn to take care of each other in the process. No capes, no villains, only hope.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KIFOQOM
Do you have a short attention span and like both space opera and fantasy? Then my novellas will be perfect for you!
Journey to a society of ten interstellar homeworlds connected by magic instead of space flight. The alien homeworlds connect with each other through portals only maji can make. The ten homeworlds’ Great Assembly of Species, as well as their economy, would fall apart without the maji.
From arrogant Kirians wearing eye-watering colors, to the xenophobic family groups of the Sureri, to traveling merchants with steam-powered war trains and mad scientists who can steal magic, the Dissolutionverse has it all.
I have two novellas, Tuning the Symphony and Merchants and Maji available for only $2.99 each, and I am planning to release a kickstarter for a novel titled The Seeds of Dissolution in 2017.
Mage Music: the Blog: Writings on Magick and Creativity, by Lif Strand
http://amzn.to/2gfEebd
Creativity as magic. Magic is an act of creativity. That’s the premise of my self-published (2015) book, Mage Music. I started a blog with the intention of discussing and analyzing the music of the extraordinary guitarist, Jimmy Page. It evolved into a broader look at the creative nature of Magick and the connection of Magick with music and other forms of art. This book is the text of that part of the blog. Not a grimoire! Mage Music is about the fundamentals of connecting with your own Magick, and appreciating the Magick of the Mage Musician, Jimmy Page.
I’ll mention two works:
First up, The Great Way is an apocalyptic epic fantasy trilogy. Book one is The Way into Chaos.
You know how so many fantasies have an ancient fallen empire in their history? Well, this is the story of the fall of one of those empires. The first novel received one of only 21 starred reviews given last year by Booklife, the self-publishing review arm of Publishers Weekly. Also available as an audiobook.
Second is a pacifist urban fantasy A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark, with a 60-ish female protagonist who is a cross between Auntie Mame and Gandalf. Available now.
Thanks, John.
My first hardcover art book, Kiddography, is out of print, and I’m selling it through Etsy.
These mint condition full color hardback books are signed and remarqued (drawn in by the artist). As a bonus, it also comes with a bookmark of my art.
Cover Flap: Kiddography: The Art and Life of Tom Kidd is a lush visual journey through this multiple award-winning artist’s works and a whimsical chronicle of his peculiar experiences. This book showcases more than 150 of his works, along with commentary by the artist himself…and his highly individual philosophy of life, the universe, and everything in-between.
Traveling through the pages you will find creatures from the worst neighborhood in hell, angelic muses, inhumanly beautiful women, impossibly utopian cities, ancient conflicts between good and evil, whimsical oddities from across the universe, and a masterful vision of the future.
Published by Paper Tiger, 2005. Out of print.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/245525864/kidd-art-book-all-color-128-pg-tom-kidd?ref=shop_home_active_3
Dragon Guard: Book 1 of Prophecy of the Dragons
As if high school wasn’t hard enough.
Sophomore Ben Phillips thought his biggest problems were homework and his bickering parents, but when he runs into a couple of wandering zombies on his way to school, he realizes there is a whole multiverse of worse things out there. His life gets even weirder when he falls for the new girl at school, Andi Thomas, who is a 758 year-old dragon in a fifteen year-old girl’s body. If all of that isn’t enough, fate has decided that Ben should be Andi’s Dragon Guard, her soul-bound mate with superpowers straight out of comic books and video games.
When a demon-infused necromancer kidnaps first Ben’s parents, and then Andi’s, those powers are the only thing that could save them. Unfortunately, Ben and Andi are only partially bound, meaning their powers aren’t anywhere near full strength. Will they be strong enough to save the day?
Oh, and there’s also the matter of a mysterious prophecy that Ben and Andi are at the center of …
Find it, and links to the two follow up books, at Amazon, here: Dragon Guard on Amazon
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!
For those of you doing NaNoWriMo this year (or really, any writers at all), I’d like to mention my ebook Writing Fight Scenes, which does what it says on the tin: gives advice on the writing of fight scenes, ranging from the practical details underpinning the fight, to the specifics of what happens, to the nuts and bolts of the prose you use to put it on the page.
I also have the urban fantasy Wilders series, set in a near-future alternate-history mildly-post-apocalyptic version of our world with psychic powers; that’s two books long so far,Lies and Prophecy and Chains and Memory.
And finally, I recently put out an omnibus of the first two centuries of the Onyx Court series, In London’s Shadow. That’s two novels, a novella, a novelette, and a short story, all focusing on the faerie court hidden beneath Elizabethan and Stuart London, and its interference in mortal politics: the Princes in the Tower; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots; the defeat of the Spanish Armada; the Gunpowder Plot; the English Civil War; and even the Great Fire of London itself.
A different take on the dystopian genre! I’m going to let one of my readers speak for me.
“The plot seemed at first to be about a simple girl in a world different from ours, and slowly I realized that underneath that elegant, civilized world there lurked a post-apocalyptic dystopia. One not gritty and violent and full of starving warrior characters, but classy and serene, with pencil skirts, family dinners, manor homes, and nice cars. There is still an oppressive government and an underground movement fighting against them, but the world makes for a fresh aesthetic. You’re more likely to find a hero here in the vein of Agent Carter than in Katniss. I’d gladly trade Hunger Games and Maze Runner’s grit and dirt for Hyacinth’s mysterious elite “Forum” and their secrets. And I’d rather fight a dystopian government with the handsome Doctor Raven in the shadows of Raven Manor than in the blistering heat of a desert. Here at last is a post apocalyptic novel that features the subtle, secret oppression of the Nazis’, which is perhaps the realist of all these fantasies.”
Get ***HYACINTH: the average girl*** on Amazon for only $2.99!
https://www.amazon.com/HYACINTH-average-girl-Remnant-Book-ebook/dp/B01D8YUX4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480433383&sr=8-1&keywords=hyacinth+the+average
Thanks a million, and Happy Holidays!!
Drug dealing Faeries, outlaw biker Werewolves, and Vamps hiding out in A.A.: Welcome to the world of Twelve Stakes!
“People think Alcoholics Anonymous is for drunks. It’s not. It’s for us, the real drinkers. The blood drinkers. All the rest of those meetings are just for show.” Los Angeles, 1948. Detective Jack Strayhorn is killed while chasing down a suspect in the Black Dahlia murders all by himself. Los Angeles, 2010. Jack Strayhorn is back in L.A. as a private investigator with a simple mission: catch the bad guys and try not to kill any innocent people along the way. To him and his kind, human blood is the strongest drug in the world. Fortunately for Jack, he found the secret group within AA dedicated to helping Vampires survive the madness and destruction of their disease. When a city councilmember with ties to a drug-dealing Fae clan is found dead in his home and the woman lying next to him is Jack’s current missing person’s case, tracking down the ghostlike hitman will test him like nothing before. But this time, Jack won’t be alone. With the help of his unique powers of investigation, his magically talented friends, and a Medical Examiner with a few secrets of her own, Jack will face down a gang of outlaw biker werewolves, spell-casting Fae high on pixie dust, and an underground order of Vampires intent on ruling the world. As Jack learned long ago, the only way to get through eternity is one death a time.”
https://www.amazon.com/One-Death-Time-Twelve-Stakes/dp/0692717463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434458&sr=8-1&keywords=one+death+at+a+time
Set in the fictional town of Anteros, where Cupid goes by “Val” and has given up his bow and arrows in favor of beverages at local hot spot, the Bowman’s Inn, these three short stories have one thing in common: Val is a busy man.
All three can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Milli-Gilbert/e/B011PP6WD2
Perfect Ten:
The summer rodeo has brought Tenley Kendall to Anteros, and it’s the last place she wants to be. Even if it does bring her straight into the arms of her late brother’s best friend, Greyson Jones.
Shift:
It’s rival night, and Nikki Mason is just glad to be back in Anteros to start fresh. Felix took over his grandfather’s Cajun diner. But the pair has more in common than a love of spicey food.
Hopeless Romantic:
Winter has taken hold of Anteros, but Hope Granger doesn’t have a choice. Find a new job or lose her apartment. As luck would have it, she ends up in the Bowman’s Inn, where she meets Eddie, a regular at the Inn.
John, thank you for the opportunity today- and thanks to your readers who check out other good works.
In ‘Shadow of the Wendigo’, amid the snowy Canadian wilderness, a terrifying legend springs to life, sparking a series of bloody crimes. Government agent Sean Laporte is sent to investigate, and must contend with an obsessive, resourceful foe, a hostile environment, and an elusive search for the truth. He is soon pulled between worlds of myth and madness, a present haunted by the past, and a primitive world of mystery and power.
In this book, the myths described by Joseph Campbell are crossed with a David Lynch-type world of dreams and visions. Gruesome crimes set off a chain of events, and a wilderness chase begins. We have the hero’s journey, where he is the gateway between different worlds. In a hostile place where a mistake can mean death, Sean Laporte must overcome many obstacles, including his own disbelief.
Available in all ebook formats, print, even audio (sounds great!). Here’s one quick (and well-priced) ebook buy link-
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wendigo-Dale-T-Phillips-ebook/dp/B00HOTNE2Q/ref=sr_1_87?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1480434014&sr=1-87&keywords=wendigo
Looking for a little 1930s PI in your life? Looking for a little attitude with your crime?
Nothing shocks in Los Angeles — except five of the most brutal murders the city has ever seen. Five women killed. A city plagued — until John Devin, PI enters a world of brutality even he never imagined. Haunted by the shadow of the most brutal chapter of his own life, Devin races to stop the final kill as he wrestles with his past’s never-fulfilled — dark — black — need — for revenge.
http://kowalkowal.com/john-devin-pi-novels/
Thanks John for doing this, you’re a Prince!
And good luck to everyone.
Historical romance fans, if you haven’t yet read gay historical romance or you enjoy gay romance a little on the old-fashioned, cuddly side, I’ve written five novels available at Amazon (link below) and Barnes & Noble.
My books are set in late Victorian America (usually New York City.) If you’d like to try my work before buying, I have a free novelette set in the 1930s (“If It Ain’t Love”) you can also pick up at Amazon or B&N.
A reviewer once said, “If you’re looking for smut, this probably isn’t the book for you…but honestly, I will trade all the porn in the world for emotional porn, and Allen delivers in spades on that front.”
That gives you a fairly good idea of my work. (But I should let you know that “The Road to Silver Plume” is the start of a series. The romance between a federal agent and a counterfeiter is a very slow burn.)
https://www.amazon.com/Tamara-Allen/e/B002BM227O/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Thank you, Mr. Scalzi.
Thanks for the opportunity! I am a professor in a physical science field at a major research university. My book “Academaze” is a collection of essays and cartoons describing the human side of academia. It came out in June 2016 and was published by a small press (Annorlunda Books).
Reviews say that “Academaze” is a fun and engaging read. I hope it will help people understand what it is that professors at research universities actually do, offer advice on navigating the job hunt and doing the faculty job to those who want one, and hopefully give some belly laughs to everyone, especially those of us who know first-hand how nutty and wonderful the world of academia is.
I run an indie publishing company called Annorlunda Books, which focuses on short writing (novella length and shorter- so you can always read something good, no matter how busy you are).
One of the things I do is put together anthologies of classic short stories that all have a similar theme. I call them “Taster Flights” and my latest one is Small and Spooky, a collection of classic ghost stories that all feature a child, so it is a little bit spooky and a little bit sweet:
http://annorlundaenterprises.com/books/small-and-spooky/
So this Christmas is the first in a while that I don’t have a December release. But I have TWO new non-European high fantasy books out this year.
Pledges of Honor introduces us to Katerin, a wandering circuit healer seeking to avoid both her past and a prophecy that could mean her doom. But when the suicide of a village healer sweeps her into the intrigues of Gods and humans, she has no choice but to face past and prophecy to do what is right. Can Katerin forge an alliance with the dangerously attractive Metkyi, avoid the curses of her destiny, and help restore a hidden leader to her rightful place? Explore this high fantasy story with a non-European setting and strong female characters for something different!
Beyond Honor is the story of Aireii sorceress Alicira, last magician of the house of Miteal. She has escaped the clutches of Zauril, murderer of most of her family and usurper of the Leadership of Medvara. Alicira struggles to remain free of his control, especially since her unborn daughter, Zauril’s child, may have inherited his magic instead of hers. Will she be able to find a safe refuge to rear her child free from Zauril’s influence and wreak her vengeance on him, or will the Gods interfere? Delian, Alicira’s only surviving sibling, swears such a place is in Keldara. But will she be able to reach Keldara without losing all she holds dear?
Here’s the Amazon Author page link for all my work, not just these two: https://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Reynolds-Ward/e/B00HIP821Y
This Redding Sky by Leif Hietala
https://www.amazon.com/This-Redding-Sky-other-stories-ebook/dp/B018PYILWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434830&sr=8-1&keywords=Leif+Hietala
I have done little to no promotion on this, my first collection of short stories. For the sake of this promotion, I will cut its price. I’m not sure how low I can cut it, but it’s pretty cheap already at just three bucks, so if you’d like to take a very small risk on a very new writer, give me a whirl. Unfortunately I cannot seem to get the Table of Contents to appear no matter how much I try to update the book’s content, so if the book seems a bit amateur in its execution, that’s because it is.
My favorite genre is science fiction so that’s where I tend to spend my imagination’s time, but my favorite story, in spite of the story bearing the book’s title, is “In the Underbrush,” in which a pair of mice slowly become smarter than their environment. I find myself wondering about Skit and Tisk and how they are doing. When you’re a prey animal that has begun to develop clever ways to thwart predators, whole new vistas of living open up. I may go visit them again.
In “Divorced,” I wonder about what a visitor from an alien planet might look for. What if we couldn’t tell what they were looking for? What if they weren’t inclined to tell us? What kind of relationship can develop when the other party shares nothing whatsoever?
I think the greatest exploration is that of the mind. Going places is one thing but it really doesn’t mean much – the minds that go into those new places and explore them, those are what really shape the experience of the place. And it doesn’t just have to be a human mind. As we become aware of the awareness of other kinds of minds, we begin to see that they, in turn, are seeing as well. What do they see? How do they see it? These are fascinating questions to me, and I like to think about them and occasionally propose some possible answers. This collection of stories is just a few of those propositions.
Thanks for your time. Enjoy the visit!
My friends and I made a collection of short stories this year called Adventures in the Arcane. Please give it a shot: https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Arcane-Mark-Boss-ebook/dp/B01KIN7AHO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1480436182&sr=8-6&keywords=tony+simmons
Some days the evil loose in the world can’t be beaten by two fists, a trusty sidekick, and a pump shotgun.
Some nights reek of deep time, musty tombs, and creatures spawned from beyond the stars.
When monsters attack, you need heroes with a strong moral compass…and a little supernatural help.
Adventures in the Arcane contains four fantastic stories of pulp heroes, werewolves, pirates, and wizards. Prepare to be thrilled!
After five traditionally published novels, I have turned to self-publishing in order to re-release my out-of-print debut novel, SILVERSANDS. It’s a futuristic thriller set on a planet orbiting Tau Ceti. The Guardian called it, “A fine, high-tech romp.”
BLURB: In an age where interstellar travel is dangerous and unpredictable, and no-one knows exactly where they’ll end up, Avril Bradley is a Communications Officer aboard a ship sent to re-contact as many lost souls as possible. But a mysterious explosion strands her in a world of political intrigue, espionage and subterfuge; a world of retired cops, digital ghosts and corporate assassins – all fighting for possession of vital computer data that has lain hidden for almost a century. . .
Links to UK and US Amazon here: http://www.garethlpowell.com/books/silversands/
Novel: ASTRAL FALL (series starter)
A hundred-year interplanetary war receives little attention from the military’s greatest warriors.
Until five of them devise a secret plan to end it.
pages: 293
– Amazon
– iTunes
– Goodreads
I think the Goodreads reviews are helpful if you’re deciding on whether or not to read Astral Fall.
SANTA TIME!
I have a few iBooks press codes I can giveaway today, so if you happen to be an iBooks reader and are interested: Tweet me @JSto. There’s other AF stuff in my feed there as well.
We’ve extended the Sci-ber Monday ;-) 40%-off sale on Amazon and iTunes for today, too!
Thank you, Mr. Scalzi, for giving us self-published authors a chance to plug our books on your website.
Now, onto my first published novel, a space opera that goes by the title of Refusing Excalibur.
The First Civilization collapsed without cause and without warning a thousand years ago, leaving behind a galaxy at war as would-be galactic empires attempt to rebuild the First Civilization in their own image.
Victor Selan fought one of those empires and lost. Abandoned after the defeat of his homeworld, Victor is rescued by the Old Man, an enigmatic figure in possession of a fully operational First Civilization starship.
A starship that the Old Man wants Victor to command. All he has to do in return is agree to put a broken galaxy back together.
https://www.amazon.com/Refusing-Excalibur-Zachary-Jones-ebook/dp/B01FN2HJKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475165461&sr=8-1&keywords=Zachary+Jones
If you like ghost stories, mysteries, and urban fantasy mixed with horror, this might just be the book for you.
BLURB: How far would you go to stop a demon? What rules would you break to do so? That’s the question that Cadence Riley and her new partner Osmond Snow inevitably face as they fight to save a haunted asylum from a demon that feeds, quite literally, on spirits.Someone broke the rules to conjure the demon. How many will Cadence and Snow have to break to vanquish it? Or will they be in time to do so at all?
Available on Kindle now and soon in print!
https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Dead-Life-After-Book-ebook/dp/B01KDHBEYU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480436721&sr=8-4&keywords=waking+up+dead
Do you like good jokes?
Sorry then, this isn’t for you.
It’s just bad jokes.
Really bad jokes.
One liners, knock-knock jokes, looooooooong shaggy dog jokes.
Jokes that will make you want to throw your kindle across the room in disgust.
Illustrated with over 70 photographs!
Of which, at least three are somewhat funny!
Really Bad Jokes Volume I: Stupid, but Clean
Skip the paperback – it’s overpriced.
The Kindle version is just a buck.
It’s probably overpriced too.
My novelette BECOMING BEAST is a YA genderbent retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” except the fairy godmothers are dead.
Beata was once the pampered prisoner of her family’s personal godmother. Now, with her godmother murdered, she’s an agoraphobic shut-in learning witchcraft to survive. What chance does a sheltered, innocent young woman have against a charming conman who wants to steal her magic treasures? A pretty good one, actually. Against his equally charming (and equally conniving) daughter? Well…
Written as an antidote for both the classic fairy tale deus ex godmother and YA stories where the relationship pairings just don’t make sense, BECOMING BEAST is a poetic retelling about love, loss and the lengths people go to just for a chance at life.
(Not a bad deal for $3, eh? ;P )
Purchase the ePub, mobi and PDF through Payhip at BECOMING BEAST by LAURA DEHAAN.
Big thank you’s from us little ‘uns for giving us a place to shamelessly plug our hard work!
I have two things you can all check out.
First, my TOTALLY FREE web comic THE VENOM KING. It’s easily found at http://www.venomkingcomic.com. If you like people experiencing Kung Fu related violence and neat looking creatures, you’re sure to enjoy it.
Second, My novel BLACK REDNECK VS SPACE ZOMBIES is nearly free at a mere 99 cents on Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Redneck-Space-Zombies-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00EEJ3KDC
If you grew up watching monster movies like me, you should give it a shot. It’s like a B-Movie for your brain but with interesting characters.
Hi all, and thanks John for hosting these threads.
My fantasy novel, Kingdom’s Fall, received over 150,000 reads on Wattpad since I posted it as a serial last year. The Kindle edition represents the complete and updated version of the text.
“…a complex world filled with real people doing the best they can, even when they know it won’t be enough.” – MCMBuzz.com, “Six New Fantasy Authors to Watch in 2016”
The tl;dr version: Kingdom’s Fall is a fantasy adventure set in a world where heroes find themselves pitted against an ancient and powerful magic. If you like your fantasy to involve grounded characters facing off against giant monsters and a possessed, nigh-invulnerable demon, then this might work for you! Also it’s pretty cheap. Everyone loves a bargain.
Amazon US link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AX849PK
Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AX849PK
Thanks for reading, and have a great holiday season!
Thanks John,
My debut novel Instrument of Peace came out earlier this year. It’s YA fantasy about a magic school which falls under the influence of a curse cast by heaven and is set in New Zealand.
Raised in the world-leading Academy of magic rather than by his absentee parents, Mitch has come to see it as his home. He’s spent more time with his friends than his family and the opinion of his maths teacher matters far more than that of his parents. His peaceful life is shattered when a devastating earthquake strikes and almost claims his little brother’s life. But this earthquake is no natural phenomenon, it’s a result of the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell.
If that isn’t enough to convince you it also features a zombie horse.
https://www.amazon.com/Instrument-Peace-Symphony-Cursed-Rebecca/dp/1908168870/
Hi all,
I write stories about my niblings (nephews/niecies) for Christmas gifts. I have many niblings.
I am also recently unemployed, so suddenly it would be nice to make some money with my hobby. $2 for the PDFs, $15 for the printed books, in Canadian dollars.
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/DeannaDrschiwiski
H is for Horse
Kids can visit the world of horses to learn their alphabet! Showcases a wide range of horse breeds and equestrian activities. Perfect for the horse crazy kids in your family.
Farmer Patrick
Farmer Patrick goes through all the stages of planting and harvesting his crops. Showcases a wide variety of tractors and farm equipment.
Lauren’s Garden/El Jardin de Lauren
Lauren has a fabulous garden. Everyone loves it – perhaps too much. Lauren has to get creative to keep Dainty Deer, Rachel Raccoon, Peter Cottontail, and Rascal Rooster and the Hot Hen Quartet from eating everything up! Written in English and Spanish.
Bounce
Quintin loves balls. Red balls, yellow balls, basketballs or baseballs, he loves them all. Join Quintin on his adventures as he bounces around the world, under the oceans, and into outer space, accompanied by the best toy on earth.
Adaline and the Cupcake Caper
Adaline’s birthday party is disrupted when something or someone eats all the cupcakes. But Adaline is a Great Detective and she is determined to find the culprit.
Felicity vs the Wasps
Felicity loves to play dress-up! She has lots of different costumes to wear. Then something unexpected happens: she turns into a real butterfly! But wonderful is that is, Felicity must use all her strength and courage to battle a terrible enemy: the wasps!
Our New Brother
Brianna and Alexander get some unwelcome news: there’s going to be a new baby! They’re not pleased, but after giving it some thought, they decide that maybe it will be fun to have a new little brother after all!
My publisher, Hydra Publications, is featuring my short story collection THE HUMAN EQUATIONS, as part of Hydra for the Holidays, which kicked off on Cyber Monday.
Publisher Tony Acree says, “We are putting some of our best selling novels on sale for only 99 cents for the next week. Enjoy selections from science fiction, mystery, horror, romance, fantasy and thrillers, including works from award winning authors Rachael Rawlings, Dave Creek, James C. Gillen, Samuel Miller and Tony Acree. You can find a complete list of the books on sale at HydraPublications.com.”
http://hydrapublications.com/
Hey there, John! Thanks for the opportunity. :)
The first two books in the Mendaihu Universe are available as e-books:
A DIVISION OF SOULS: Caren Johnson’s younger sister has been forcibly awakened as a powerful and supernatural deity, revered by multiple worlds…and a war has just been declared in her name.
A delicate balance is threatened when a renegade spiritual adept adept sets off a ritual that escalates a mass enlightenment well before the human race is ready for it…and in the process, he’s also awakened their deity, the One of All Sacred, earlier than anyone expected. Caren Johnson and Alec Poe, two Alien Relations agents, are assigned to find and stop this leader, but as they learn more about his ritual and its aftereffects upon the citizens of Bridgetown, it becomes a bigger race to keep this enlightenment under control before it turns into another all-out spiritual war. They must not only come to terms with a changed city, but the change within themselves, and what it means to be a part of a new consciousness.
Available FREE! at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/565782
THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORIES: A new Season of Embodiment has come, and the One of All Sacred must decide whether to avoid a potential war between the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu…or provoke one. Denni Johnson’s failed Ascension has stripped her of the knowledge that would have been given to the One of All Sacred; she has all the psionic powers, but knows nothing of the history behind them. She must learn on her own, both on Earth and on the mysterious and beautiful homeworld of Trisanda.
No one in Bridgetown has remained unaffected. ARU special agents Caren Johnson and Alec Poe must both come to terms with their forced enlightenment. Caren fears she will lose her individuality and perhaps her sanity. Poe is afraid of what he already knows to be the truth about his own ‘cold’ spirits. And their backup team have been summoned repeatedly to South City, where strange unseen events have been taking place.
Behind it all is a strong and fearful presence, a long-forgotten chaotic deity named Saisshalé. He responds to the One of All Sacred the only way he knows how: by negating every move she makes.
Available at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/625392
If you’re more of a physical book reader, these are also available in trade paperback form at Amazon via Createspace. You can find them here:
A Division of Souls: http://a.co/0QPmgU0
The Persistence of Memories: http://a.co/9qleWS0
Book 3, The Balance of Light, will be released January 2017!
Thank you, John! This is a great opportunity you’re giving us here.
I’d like to showcase my Taking Shield series – classic science fiction set at a time when Earth went dark thousands of years before, and her last descendants don’t even know where she is. They have problems of their own. Albion, Earth’s last colony, has been at war with the Maess for three generations; a war the humans are coming to realize they can’t win. This series of LGBT mainstream novels charts the life and loves of Shield Captain Bennet as he struggles to help ensure his people’s survival.
Available from Amazon and Wilde City Press
Gyrfalcon: https://www.amazon.com/Gyrfalcon-Taking-Shield-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00U1DAORU/
Heart Scarab: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012O1C2DA/
Makepeace: https://www.amazon.com/Makepeace-Shield-Book-Anna-Butler-ebook/dp/B01I5VSFLQ/
Book Four: The Chains of Their Sins coming in February 2017
————————————
Passing Shadows
Publication Date : 12 December 2016 – available for PREORDER now at an Amazon near you
https://www.amazon.com/Passing-Shadows-Anna-Butler-ebook/dp/B01N1IBM59/
Wordcount: c 29,400 trilogy of short stories. A prequel to the Taking Shield Series
Li Liang has found a berth to suit her: chief pilot and first officer of the all-female crew of an old space freighter, the Sappho. Then one ordinary, unremarkable morning, Liang retunes the Sappho’s communications systems just in time to catch the breathless, terrible accounts from Mars of the total destruction of Earth.
Earth’s a cinder. The unknown alien race that destroyed it has left Mars, too, in flames and is ravening outward from the solar system, devouring every human colony on the way.
Liang’s one of the few survivors, racing ahead of the Devourers, rescuing as many frightened, shocked people as she can. Will Liang and the pitiful remnants of humanity find a new haven, somewhere to start again? Or will she, too, echo the dreadful last message coming out of their dead home?
They’re coming. Oh God, they’re coming.
Cheers!
Anna Butler
Hi all! I published the first in a YA series that’s sort of like Harry Potter in California.
Kaine Academy is a lot of things: prestigious, expensive, well-situated in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains… but it’s definitely not normal.
When Zie Harris starts the year as a sophomore transfer—and the school’s only half-elf—she knows she’s in for adventure. She just assumed it would involve more studying and less actual danger.
Autumn Munro and Hal Hayes, meanwhile, have their hands full trying trying to manage classrooms full of teenage werewolves (and hedgewitches, wizards, and battlemages).
When Zie finds evidence of dark magic in the forest, things get complicated. Soon, Zie, Autumn, and Hal must band together with an ornery chickadee, a loquacious squirrel, and trees of all shapes and sizes to try to save themselves, the school, and possibly the world.
No pressure or anything.
Ebook and paperback both available on Amazon – http://a.co/awK760u.
I’m planning to publish the next two books in the series in 2017.
Thank you – and thanks, John, for the opportunity!
“My alarm woke me from one of those falling dreams. As I roll over to silence it I remember it’s a Tuesday. I don’t like Tuesdays.
I reach out but can’t feel my alarm so I open my eyes.
It’s not there. Neither is my bed…”
Tuesday Tales: Falling is my first Novella. Nominally young adult sci-fi (my daughter was instrumental in getting me to actually publish it) it was a long time in gestation so was an interesting journey of self discovery working through the creative process. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it, and huge thanks to Mr Scalzi for providing an opportunity to share it. (oh, and some Tuesdays I use the magic of Amazon to make it free…)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C17OX9I
My name’s Thaddeus White, and Kingdom Asunder, my most recent fantasy novel, came out last week. Early days but it’s got a couple of cracking reviews so far.
It’s a medieval fantasy, the plot revolving around the civil war between the Houses of Penmere and Esden, with almost as much strife within the houses as between them. It’s crammed with treacherous backstabbing, ruthless she-wolves, and desperate battles.
https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Asunder-Bloody-Crown-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B01N8UF799/
Thanks for the thread, Mr. Scalzi.
For much of their early history SF fandom and prodom were so intertwined that you don’t get the full story of either without engaging with the other. This is particularly true for the UK, hence my book THEN – SCIENCE FICTION FANDOM IN THE UK: 1930-1980. Weighing in at 450 pages and 228,000 words, with 300+ mugshots and featuring an array of classic fanzine covers, this first book publication is the result of many years research and will almost certainly remain the definitive work on the subject. THEN is available in tpb, hardback, and ebook format from Ansible Editions at:
http://ae.ansible.uk/?t=then
A lot of additional material including contemporary reports and hundreds of photos going back to the 1930s can found on my website in THEN: THE ARCHIVE, which was created to be an adjunct to the book. Click on my name above to get there.
Got magic? Get schooled! Providence Paranormal College enrolls humans with extraordinary grades, the magically and psychically gifted, vampires, shapeshifters, and changelings. If you like YA Paranormal or Urban Fantasy with romantic subplots, you’ll feel right at home here. Seven books are out in this ten book series, with completion expected in early 2017.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I8EDZHY/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Looking for something more serious? Check out A Change In Crime. In November of 1929, the last autumn leaves started a domino effect in Fall River. Leo Riley can’t fight the Mafia on his own, so he sides with an immortal creature to seek his revenge. Unlikely allies join forces, fighting for their rights to Fall River’s streets and their very survival. Some will fall, some will rise, but can there ever be a winner when crime and change come to call?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFALHJY
Thanks, Mr. Scalzi, and everyone who takes a look at my books!
Hey everyone! Happy holiday hunting!
Into the Nanten is the journal of a swordsman exiled into the world’s most hostile jungle on a fool’s errand to find a man sent there twenty years before him – a man that he hates. Initially released in real time on http://intothenanten.com for free in audio and blog formats, with dozens of original illustrations by Nimit Malavia, Into the Nanten is available in full color paperback and on Audible.
For history nerds: imagine Stanley trying to find Livingston if Stanley hated Livingston, then add magic, swords, monsters, and cannibals.
Peace Fire
A near-future, subtly dystopian sci fi novel that Ernest Cline, bestselling author or Ready Player One and Armada, called “A smart, fun, fierce tale of geek revolution and high-stakes adventure.”
Buy it on Amazon, the other “usual” places online, or from your bookseller. Thanks!
Description from back:
In 2050, the world is a little denser, a little greyer, and a little more firmly under the corporate thumb. Wriggling carefully under that thumb, in their dimly lit flats, Katja and her friends have tended to walk the fine line between cyber criminals and cyber crusaders. For them, no physical reality compares to their lives built on lines of aggressive code.
But then somebody blows up the office where Katja is pretending to be a well-behaved wage slave and jolts them into the concrete and clouds of corporeal Seattle. Of brains infiltrated by a clandestine threat.
Can a handful of digital warriors win a war that stretches into the world on the flesh and blood side of their computer screens?
You would think this would have gone in yesterday, since it’s a media tie-in novel, but it isn’t — Fandemonium Books is a small press that happens to only do tie-ins, specifically ones to the STARGATE franchise (one our host is familiar with, as he was the science advisor for STARGATE UNIVERSE).
Anyhow, Fandemonium has recently released my STARGATE SG-1 novel KALI’S WRATH, which takes place during the late fifth season of that show and sees the gang of SG-1 dealing with the Reetou, the Goa’uld Kali, and the usual mayhem. We get the backstory on Kali (who only appeared briefly in two episodes of the show), including a flashback to Ra’s time ruling the Earth posing as a god along with other Goa’uld. Plus O’Neill gets to be snarky, Teal’c gets to try to recruit some new Jaffa rebels, Carter does science, Jackson does negotiation, and as an added bonus, we get a cranky-old-fart team-up of Bra’tac and Jacob Carter riding to SG-1’s rescue.
Full ordering information can be found at Fandemonium’s web site: http://stargatenovels.com/ndetail.php?book=SG1-28
Again, John, thank you for this.
—Keith R.A. DeCandido
SWORDS VERSUS TANKS #1: Armoured heroes clash across the centuries!
Knights and tanks battle on a level killing field!
Fleeing alien attack, time-travelling communists invade their own medieval past, not realising that magic works.
Sir Ranulph Dacre was supposed to die in a famous last stand. Instead, he takes up his rune-etched sword and faces off against the invaders from the future.
Meanwhile, veteran tank commander Colonel Jasmine Klimt is about to find out how well she measures up against her childhood hero.
Who will survive when the armoured warriors clash across the centuries?
Read Swords Versus Tanks Episode 1 and find out! (http://mybook.to/SVT1)
Freud’s Lost Journals: A Novel of the near future
“You do not sound happy, Herr Carson,” a voice behind me said with a marked German accent.
Startled, I jerked around to see Sigmund Freud in the prime of his life.
After being astounded by how holographic technology’s resurrected scores of celebrities and historical figures, Professor Alex Carson gets swept up in a struggle between Red Chinese and neo-Nazi forces who both want Sigmund Freud’s early journals, journals stolen by a young Gestapo agent in March 1938 during the second Nazi raid on Freud’s apartment—a raid ending with Anna Freud’s terrifying abduction and interrogation at Gestapo headquarters.
But all Alex knows is that the journals remain hidden somewhere in Argentina, a former stronghold of escaped Nazi war criminals. With his sister Kristine’s life at stake, Alex has no choice but to go on a harrowing odyssey through the holographic worlds of Vienna, Austria, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and into the snow-swept mountains of Patagonia, Argentina, to save Kristine.
Freud’s Lost Journals is available in paperback and ebook formats on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Freuds-Lost-Journals-Vincent-Miskell-ebook/dp/B018NJ89O8
and in various ebook formats on Smashwords, B & N, Apple, etc.
A “Vampire” rock band with superpowers gets rescued from a vampire hunter by actual vampires? Sure, why not?
For whatever it’s worth, this was a damn lot of fun to write. Warning: I also had a lot of fun with gender bending and BDSM hints. If that squicks you, go away.
Thanks for letting us two steps away from normal authors post here. Have a great day, everyone!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M5904UY
Thanks John, and Merry Christmas.
My novel Melody of Demons is the first in an epic fantasy series, of which the second volume, Symphony of War, has just been released. If you like dragons, demon-tormented characters, magic with consequences, truly inept vigilantes, more dragons, sword battles, daring rescues, and fearsome put-downs, this might suit. Oh, and did I mention dragons?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melody-Demons-1-Kaddon-Keys/dp/0957573251/
https://www.amazon.com/Melody-Demons-1-Kaddon-Keys/dp/0957573251/
Tonic Water AKA G&T WTF by Camper English: One of the world’s most popular cocktails originated from flea repellent and malaria medication. This short but thoroughly-researched history of the Gin & Tonic begins in 1630 in Peru and ends in today’s America, with detours along the way to include the invention of artificial carbonation, the discovery of the color mauve, the launching of cats from airplanes, the history of ice cubes, the problem with summer papal conclaves, the work history of Ginger Rogers’ great-great-great grandfather, and much more.
There are no recipes and no tasting notes, just a good time tale of one of the world’s most popular and delicious cocktails in 10,000 high-quality words and 35 low-quality illustrations.
http://www.alcademics.com/tonic-water-aka-gt-wtf-by-camper-english.html
In “The Captive Boy,” Col. Mac McKenna’s Fourth Cavalry recaptures white captive August Shiltz from the Comanche, only to find August is determined to return to the Indians. McKenna attempts to civilize August and becomes the boy’s foster father. But when August kills another boy in a fight, he escapes from Fort Richards (Texas), and when war with the Comanche breaks out, McKenna discovers August is a war leader–and his greatest enemy.
“The Captive Boy” is an historical novel set on the Texas frontier.
The book can be found on Amazon (of course).
For more information about me or my books, go to the website listed below.
Kate vs the Dirtboffins
Kate Smith, a woman with the world at her Jimmy Choo clad feet. Just one more job and she can buy out her business partner to finally be her own boss.
That job? The Horticulture Investigation Agency, a government quango sheltering in a Cambridgeshire backwater. MP Desmond Barrington believes closing this will make his career.
But the scientists don’t want to play ball, starting with a militant researcher dressed as a cabbage taking his protest to the roof. Clambering up to save him ruins her perfectly picked outfit.
As he plummets on to the arriving MP’s car, Kate thinks that things can’t get any worse. Then a familiar face comes in to view – Dave Thomas, the man she fell in love with at University and now Barrington’s aide. The one who broke her heart.
When potato blight claims yet another outfit and a rampaging hoard of protestors take over the site, she wonders if she will ever get to her goal, and can love be part of the master plan?
Paperback – https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/191111042X/philshomepage05
e-Book – https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B018T2EZM4/philshomepage05
My favourite review:
This isn’t my regular genre of literature at all – but I found this an engaging and fun read with a good story arc and engaging characters. Being someone who works in a corporate environment it was interesting to get under the skin of the usually teflon-coated and dreaded management consultants who form the main cast of this tale – indeed, a fashion magazine obsessive hatchet wielder is typically the last kind of character I’d expect to be able to feel a bit of empathy for!
The ‘whodunnit’ element remained a surprise until the reveal, and it’s difficult not to be hugely satisfied with possibly the only book out there to feature a tension-ridden vehicle chase involving… two tractors! There’s plenty of wry amusement in here, particularly for folk who work in offices and observe the different characters and politics at play in such places – but there’s a compelling story too.
I was still rooting for the Dirtboffins, though…
Thanks for this opportunity, John!
The Alastair Stone Chronicles
This urban fantasy series follows the adventures of Stanford Occult Studies professor Alastair Stone, a snarky British expatriate who also happens to be a powerful mage, as he attempts to keep his mundane life separate from trying to save the world from magical threats. Oh, and it would be nice if he could keep a girlfriend longer than six months, but he’s still working on that.
Here’s the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/R.-L.-King/e/B0084QBKYC
They’re also available from Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. Currently there are seven books (including a box set of the first four), with an eighth being released in December. Thanks for looking!
My book, A Dog to Remember, is a gift book to give to someone who is grieving the loss of their dog.
For my most recent release, I was invited by Nicholas Sansbury Smith to contribute to the launch of the Kindle Worlds platform for his Extinction Cycle series. My novella, From The Ashes, is available now exclusively on Amazon.
About From the Ashes
In an effort to contain the spread of the Hemorrhage Virus, the United States government launched an attack on its nation’s cities. Hundreds of thousands of lives, and a number of major cities, were lost in Operation Reaper but the monsters created by the bioengineered virus remained.
A small team of Army Rangers have entered the ruins of Detroit in an effort to save whatever refugees they can, and stop whatever creatures they encounter. In an all-or-nothing gambit, the Rangers will soon discover that in the heart of the Motor City, evil rises from the ashes.
You can find more of my titles here.
Want to read a romance novel with laugh-out-loud humor, sexy heat, and a great message?
Boston: By Alexis Alvarez. http://a.co/cUxSHaH
$0.99 on Amazon, and FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
Meet Boston, a sexy fitness trainer and photographer, and Abby, the writer who thinks she’s not cute enough for him. (Hint: She is, and the underlying theme of the book is self-acceptance and pride, regardless of what society says you should be.)
Blurb:
Parker Minelli, a fitness trainer and cover model, is every woman’s dream. His Boston accent, chiseled abs and easy-going nature have women flocking to him. But when he meets author Abby, whose brains are bigger than his biceps, he sets out to prove that he’s more than just a pretty face.
Abby is thrilled—and a little breathless—when Parker agrees to work with her on her next book release. However, they soon discover that while opposites may attract, that doesn’t mean that they can overcome their differences. Especially when Parker’s supermodel ex-girlfriend reappears.
Will they be able to see the big picture and accept each other as they are, or will their differences close the book on their chance at love?
It’s still on sale for just $0.99 for the eBook version. Paperback copies are $10. Enjoy!
I am grateful to John for allowing me to shamelessly self-promote my MG/YA novelette, “Undrastormur: A Viking Fantasy Adventure.” It’s the first in what will be a five-part series, all coming out in 2017, and it’s available on Amazon for $0.99. Here’s a brief description followed by the link:
Eirik has a problem–make that A LOT of problems. While he was out gathering mushrooms, his small Norse village was overrun by vicious trolls. Now Eirik, the last surviving descendant of Drengur Darkbeard, a powerful galdrakarl or wizard, must undertake a perilous journey to find the missing half of Drengur’s iron staff. Only then can he save his neighbors by calling down the undrastormur, a powerful and dangerous gift from Thor, the Viking god of thunder.
https://goo.gl/FjaP2N
Thanks!
Sci-fi? Fantasy? A bit of ritual magic? That’s my novel, Circle Unbroken. Kaili and her partner are returning to Kaili’s home planet for the formal ceremony installing Kaili’s sister as head of the family business and planetary ruling council. But old rivalries and family resentment threaten both the ceremony and the sisters’ lives. Magic and technology must combine to save both.
“Circle Unbroken is an awesome mix of two genres, masterfully woven together into a strong story.” From a review on Readcommendations
Circle Unbroken by M.A. Kropp is available from Amazon, Smashwords, and most other e-book retailers. It is also available in paperback from CreateSpace and Amazon.
More info, and links to all sellers is here: https://makropp.wordpress.com/circle-unbroken/
Howdy, folks! This is book 1 of my Expocalypse series…working on book 2 right now with an eye toward publishing in mid-2017. Here’s the log line and the link:
Wall Street crashes for the last time as a Food Network entrepreneur and his crew struggle to survive the unravelling horror of his latest venture.
A rash of murder-suicides ravage daily life as food preparation becomes a devastating weapon that knows no borders or boundaries, under the influence of forces beyond science.
As cursed novelty knives turn foodies into homicidal maniacs and a unknown blight destroys crops, the emerging elite horde supplies as cities become death traps and the countryside starves.
The Wolf of Wall Street meets Friday the 13th as financial sharks deal with demonic slashers, backstabbing greedheads, and a sea of their past victims in a bloody conflict where only the ruthless can survive.
https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Makers-World-Novel-Expocalypse-ebook/dp/B01FMRC6FC/
“A Test of Honor” features a veteran of an intergalactic war who returns home to find his family dead and his land stolen. Suspecting foul play by the king’s deputy, he makes a daring escape from royal custody and joins with a band of outlaws. As he plans to win back his ancestral estate, he discovers a family secret that threatens to engulf his entire homeworld in the flames of civil war.
The story features a fantasy-like atmosphere with knights, swords, and feudalism along with scifi elements like plasma guns, power armor, and interstellar warfare. The setting is a colonized world two thousand years in the future and the protagonist Sir Aidan is desperately trying to find justice while keeping himself from becoming the very evil he is resisting.
It is the first book in a trilogy called “Aidan’s War” which will be completed this coming April, so it’s the perfect time to start reading it!
You can find it on Amazon here!
My fantasy novelette, The Lilies of Dawn, is available in e-book and print from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers. Secondary-world fantasy in a Southeast Asian inspired setting. Magical water lilies, demon cranes, and one young woman’s coming of age. Visit my publisher’s site here for reviews, press, and more details!
http://annorlundaenterprises.com/books/the-lilies-of-dawn/
Quote from the review site Quills and Roses: “This book has absolutely beautiful story-telling and world-building. . . if you love the feeling of good words and perfect phrases, if you love fragile carefully-crafted magical worlds, this book is for you.”
Thank you, Sir! My bestselling robo-apocalyptic scifi serial is now collected in one volume. “Grim, dark, inventive.” – Hugh Howey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG6UGNH
Part 1 free on Amazon and most eBook stores if anyone wants to sample :-)
DIRE COVENANTS is a contemporary mystery/police procedural–deadly accurate and entirely too plausible. It may even cause one to peer with narrowed glance at one’s local Home Owners Association. Of course, HOAs are typically benevolent and gracious stewards of neighborhood tranquility and property values, right? A baffling crime scene–a suicide or not? Just what has the young detective gotten herself and her seasoned partner into? Will the emotional quotient of their personal baggage interfere with the investigation–in all candor, how can it not?
DIRE COVENANTS is available at all the usual suspect e-book retailers, to include print and e-book at Amazon.
Good Afternoon. I present Voices in Crystal – Book 1 of a historical/speculative fantasy series: Children of Stone. All 5 stars -Tiny voices are as grains of sand
Come to Us Marai
Man of Ai
Man of the sand”
When Marai, a shepherd living at the foot of Mt. Sinai in the third millennium BC, sings to his goddess one night, he sees a falling star. Tracking it he discovers a strange vessel containing crystalline entities resembling earthly stones and gems: The Children of Stone. The Children delight in this simple shepherd and his songs of love. They ask him to host their intelligence; to bring them to the sages and priests who have spent their lives seeking the wisdom of the stars. When he agrees, he is transformed into a godlike being. Still a passionate shepherd at heart, Marai gathers others, like lambs to his fold. His journey to the wise men of ancient Kemet won’t be easy. Things hidden that wait in darkness, are always there.
http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Crystal-Children-Stone-Book/dp/149092406X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1461897028&sr=1-2
Saving the world is such a bother when it makes you late for tea.
Thus begins Book 1 of the Lily Singer Adventures in “Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings.” Full of magical adventure, snarky humor, and a talking cat, this is a great story for all ages and can be purchased in ebook and paperback on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DB5ITIK Description below:
By day, book-loving wizard Lily Singer manages library archives. By night? She sleeps, of course. In between, she studies magic and tries to keep her witch friend Sebastian out of trouble. Much to her displeasure, he finds it anyway and drags her along with him. From unmaking ancient curses to rescuing a town lost in time, Lily and Sebastian fight to avert magical mayhem. Meanwhile, Lily’s mysterious past begins to unfold—a past hidden from her by those she trusts most. Will she be able to discover the truth despite them?
Book 2 of the series, “Revelations” is already out on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DB5ISHC and Books 3 and 4 will be released April 2017
I also have a short prequel to the series which can be downloaded for FREE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWT43D6
Thanks everyone! I’m Lydia Sherrer, a self-published Indie author who just wants to make the world a better place through writing. I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful Christmas!
Howdy all, and thank you, kind sir, for inviting us into your hallowed pages. :)
I write self-published LGBT scifi/fantasy, and I would like to highlight my latest series: the Interscission Project. The series is space opera with romantic relationships of many stripes thrown in. 3 of 4 novels in the series are now completed and for sale. I expect to finish the final book in 2017. The first book is even free to download! You can get it from a variety of electronic retailers via books2read.com/u/bP16jJ
The first book is Zenith, which tells the story of the development and first voyage of a prototype human starship. The technology has a dark side, however, which quickly creates conflict between the crew and various infiltrators and saboteurs, intent on interfering with the mission for their own purposes.
The fourth novel in my humourous science fiction Multiverse Series was published by Elsewhen Press this year; it is called It’s Just the Chronosphere Unfolding as it Should. It starts with Time Agency agent Radames Trafshanian rescuing Elvis Presley from the end of the universe, and it gets kind of weird from there. It, uhh, isn’t your grandparents’ time travel story…
“If you’d like to read something that Tom Wolfe, had he mind-melded with Kurt Vonnegut and a little with Dr. Seuss, might have concocted, snap up It’s Just the Chronosphere (not Cronensphere!) Unfolding as it Should. Do it last year!” (Paul Levinson)
https://www.amazon.com/Just-Chronosphere-Unfolding-Should-Transdimensional-ebook/dp/B01HDQEMOS
In addition, I self-published the seventh book in the Alternate Reality News Service Series (ARNS), Futures in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. ARNS sends reporters into other dimensions and has them report back on what they find there; it has been described by a couple of readers as “a science fiction version of The Onion.” Unlike the fifth and sixth books in the series, which were collections of humourous science fiction advice columns, Futures is a general collection of news, reviews, interviews and, yes, obituaries; anything you would expect to find in your daily newspaper you will be able to find in this book. Only, weirder.
https://www.amazon.com/Futures-Mirror-Alternate-Reality-Service/dp/1927645158
The Puppet Kingdom is an urban fantasy in which Little Red Riding Hood learns how to use a sword and then fight against the evil queen, while trying to navigate life in modern suburbia. It’s not quite a modern fairy tale retelling, but it is about the joy of story-telling, young love, and learning to face your future.
The paperback version features gorgeous illustrations and a bonus short story set in the same universe. It’s a gorgeous little book, one that I’m very proud of.
Check it out:
https://www.amazon.com/Puppet-Kingdom-Meridel-Newton/dp/1517434866/
I have five several well-reviewed books on Amazon and Smashwords. With the exception of “Everything is Something’s Food,” they’re all pretty good. “Food” is poetry, so, you know, that one kinda’ sucks.
My prose is pretty good if I do say so myself, however. Larry Niven complimented one of my stories, and Harlan Ellison once complimented my writing in general. Of course neither of ’em read my poetry, which is terrible, but that’s not relevant as I’m not trying to sell you THAT particular book. I’d prefer it if you didn’t buy that one, actually.
In E-format, they’re all available for .99 cents. You can also get ’em in dead tree format.
The best place to start is probably either “The Best of Randall Schanze,” or my most recent book, “The Care and Feeding of Nightmares.”
My Amazon page is here https://www.amazon.com/Randall-Schanze/e/B0193Z7H30/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1480446323&sr=8-1
My Smashwords page is here https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Mahatmarandy
Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Scalzi.
Hand of the Trickster: Leverage meets Lankhmar. Sword-and-sorcery heist capers in a world of gods and empire.
Since the War of Gods, the high gods have grown silent and distant. The Trickster, though, is still at large in the world, humbling the exalted and exalting the humble. And the Hand of the Trickster is the thief called Now You Don’t.
He and his new crew are up for any challenge, whether it’s stealing a book from Wisdom’s library, dealing with a dark remnant from the War of Gods, or slipping the Grim Spear of the Inexorable Hand of Justice back into the heavily-guarded Justice Temple before it can be missed.
But can they truly rely on each other? Or will a tragic secret cause their most dangerous heist to fall apart?
This is a novella, with a couple of short stories bringing the total up to 41,000 words. Now with a full-novel-length sequel, Trickster’s Nab, featuring more heists, extra pirates, bonus magical guardian automata, and a conspiracy to use a forbidden memory-stealing drug on the people the protagonist cares about most.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JHTIXMG/
Darcy has a ten-thousand-year-old secret buried in her genetic code.
As a second year medical student, her life revolves around classes, studying, and her boyfriend Adam—until she treks through the desert, touches some mysterious stacked stones, and a network of glowing blue lines radiates under her skin.
Then she saw the spaceship. And it was coming for her.
She faces impossibly bad choices and a missing boyfriend.
Darcy struggles to accept her heritage and master her newfound powers as she navigates deception, betrayal, and danger in order to prevail in the galaxy’s most dangerous game—and survive to save Adam.
THE DRUID GENE on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M02D49F
This is the first story in my second series. Both series take place in the Confluence universe–the universe of my bestselling (independently published) novel, FLUENCY. These two storylines will intertwine, so if you loved FLUENCY, you won’t won’t to miss out on this one.
Hi! I wrote my first self-published comedy adventure about a girl who decides she’s fed up with period pain and ends up going on a dream quest to track down God himself (the person responsible for making women this way) so she can give him a good swift kick in the nuts! Her so-called spirit guide is an adorable little blue frog named Heqet, and her quest takes her on a little trip through dreamland on a midnight train headed straight for…oops, almost spoiled it! It’s available for $3 in the Kindle store!
Thanks Mr Scalzi, for all your hard work over the years, and for giving small-time authors a place to advertise from!
“A Wing and a Prayer” – Superhero Science-Fiction ( http://amzn.to/1OjRJz4 )
The huntress moved with a determined grace into the frozen yard.
She strode up to Sheena, ignoring the men. Towering more than a full head over her, the woman looked down at Sheena as if she were a bug she was thinking about crushing. The huntress sneered, “Sheena, huh? A game warden? Really?”
Sheena blushed and managed to stammer, “My… my parents liked the show. And I….”
“Never mind that!” the archer interrupted. “I paid Ankh a lot of money to acquire Shanikali’s legacy. And I waited a long time for him to find the stone with the right power. Power that got into you by accident! And mark my words, I’ll figure out some way to get it out of you and get the power I deserve!” She raised her bow and aimed at the young hero.
SUMMARY: Suddenly given the powers of an ancient Sumerian goddess, Sheena Gardner, a young Wisconsin game warden, must learn to use them properly before the superpowered villain who covets those powers kills her or her husband. But this sudden transformation poses changes not just to Sheena’s abilities, but also to her relationship with her husband, her mutant pop-star friend, and everyone else she knows. In order to adapt, she must stretch and test her own limits while her husband, Eric, has to learn to deal with a very different dynamic of risk, responsibility, and power in their relationship. In the process, Sheena learns of the real reason she was given the powers and has to discover and foil a plot not just against her, but against civilization itself.
Written in the spirit of the City of Heroes MMORPG, The Secret World Chronicles, Arrow, The Flash, The Avengers, Iron Man, and many other works of comic book-based heroic science fiction. Paperback and ebook. (Thanks, John!)
My book is called Writer’s Block
http://amzn.to/2gD19xO
Stu Remington is a successful novelist, but faced with a deadline for the final book in his best selling trilogy, he finds himself stuck. Stu turns to an old typewriter that he acquired at a yard for a change of pace. When he realizes the next morning that the nonsense story he typed on the old typewriter has come true, Stu is set upon a path to not only fix his writer’s block, but to face the demons lurking all around him, with the help of his faithful and sardonic bulldog Rolo and a cast of colorful characters that cross his path.
A story full of twists and turns, Writer’s Block mixes elements of literary fiction with magical realism and a supernatural twist. Originally published as a serial, this story has received rave reviews and love from readers.
HORIZON – Writer’s Digest Grand Prize Winner for Self-Published Fiction 2016
Science fiction meets romance meets survival fiction meets military thriller!
Grab a copy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Tabitha-Lord/dp/1940014794/
THURSDAY’S CHILDREN, my single-author collection of very short stories, is available under Creative Commons: http://curtiscchen.com/512book
Laura J. Mixon (M.J. Locke) calls it “bizarre, terrifying, exhilarating, hilarious, and awe-inspiring;” cover and interior illustrations by Natalie Metzger, who’s also doing the art for some other guy’s short fiction thing. ;)
Download a free PDF, get a free Kindle ebook when you sign up for my mailing list, or buy a paperback copy: http://curtiscchen.com/512book
BRUTE FORCE, a new book in the Rachel Peng series dropped just this morning! Agent Rachel Peng is the first cyborg liaison to the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police; she lives and works in the gray space between technology and civil rights.
As a cop, Peng knows how kidnappings can tear families apart. In BRUTE FORCE, her own family is at risk–her niece is in the hands of a sovereign citizen militia with an agenda. Rachel will stop at nothing to get her niece back, even if this means teaming up with a dangerous man from her past. Links are available here.
“Searingly vivid, and grittily realistic, SAND OF BONE slams the reader into a harsh desert world full of complex people, tense moral dilemmas, and an exhilarating jet of the weird. Do not start this one late at night!” –Sherwood Smith
Syrina – descendent of the gods, is cast out by her bloodkin for daring to reject their intrigues. They thought exile to Salt Hold – surrounded outcast Blades who despise her – would end her defiance. But Salt is safer than the grand alcazar of home when she uncovers the secrets of commanding sand, fire, water, wind – the power mixed with ambition that nearly destroyed her bloodkin in generations past.
Pyrius was the desert’s most respected Blade Commander until the bloodkin sentenced him into Salt. But he finds a way to keep his Blade vows while still exacting revenge: serve the exiled Velshaan Syrina. When her bloodkin’s threats become actions, Pyrius sets a plan in motion that will either prevent the looming civil war simmering in the desert’s heat or see them all fed to the sands for sedition.
For the gods demand a soul in trade, and the fate of the living rests upon the redemption of the dead.
“This desert-based fantasy boasted character development and drama that would make Robin Hobb proud.” — J.R. Karlsson, Fiction Garden
https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Bone-Desert-Rising-Book-ebook/dp/B00MRCCG9M
Crown Prince Of Rabbits – poetry! In Crown Prince of Rabbits, John Paul Davis unravels poetic self-portraits, breaking the spine of love and the language of serrated relationships. He shines the moon in his face to capture every angle, which not always flatters, but digs at the roots and rot of endings. This is a book that will feel like a novel, with upheavals and road trips (with music). His exit signs ask questions that even the reader can/should ponder. This is a book to drink with whiskey or strong coffee. This is a book that will leave you meditating on why it is we give our feelings away.
http://www.crownprinceofrabbits.com
http://tinyurl.com/jttd2zp
In this futuristic thriller, an ordinary man gets caught up in extraordinary circumstances and finds himself on a harrowing adventure that he neither wants nor understands.
Derek Anderson considers himself to be a devoted husband, father, and businessman. He loves his family and is happiest when he is with his wife and daughter. But when a young Psi-Tal places the blue plastic turtle in Derek’s hand, his life is turned upside down as he discovers that the turtle can transport him into a nightmarish realm that Derek comes to refer to as Dreamworld.
While in Dreamworld, Derek learns of his destiny, but when the turtle sends him back to the reality he thought that he knew so well, he finds himself being pursued by a mysterious group of beings called the Watchers.
In a metaphysical race for his life with the blue plastic turtle in his possession, Derek plunges into a centuries old secret society that may be his only hope against the deadly enemies who will stop at nothing to get the turtle.
TALES FROM ALTERNATE EARTHS is an anthology of alternate history stories, including my story ‘Tunguska, 1987’. Link: http://amzn.to/2aihDJo It’s received fantastic reviews, including a stellar one from Amazing Stories.
The blurb: Our world could have been so very different… Eight stories take us on a journey into how our world could have been. What if the nukes had flown that day over Cuba? What if Caesar had survived? Imagine the Tunguska meteor with a different outcome. What if there was a true story behind HG Wells’ most famous tale? See the world as it might have been if China discovered the New World first. And what if all of this was never meant to be and dinosaurs ruled the Earth?
Authors Jessica Holmes, Daniel M. Bensen, Terri Pray, Rob Edwards, Maria Haskins, Cathbad Maponus, Leo McBride, and collaborators Brent A. Harris and Ricardo Victoria show us the world that might have been – if the butterfly’s wings had fluttered a different way, if the world changed between heartbeats, if a moment of decision saw another choice.
Swords of Darkness, an anthology of fantasy stories with unique takes on the role of swords.
https://www.amazon.com/Swords-Darkness-Charles-Jake-ebook/dp/B0191YZW08/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480449927&sr=1-1&keywords=swords+of+darkness
My story, “The Price of Ambition” features a young mercenary pressed into that life by his father. He’s offered a job that will make him rich enough to fulfill his dreams, but as the questions mount about what he’s asked to do, will he take the money and run or risk it all to do the right thing?
Thank you so much for this!
CHAMELEON MOON is my weirdly hopeful dystopian SFF series about LGBT/poly/ace/disabled/neurodiverse people with super-abilities surviving (!!! that part’s important!) a nightmarish dystopian city precariously placed over a permanently burning lake of fire. Which is terrifying, but I tried to make it chock full o’hope/love/rock n’roll, and an affirmation that we can survive anything, and in fact, already are.
Book 1 is on Amazon in both kindle and paperback – https://www.amazon.com/Chameleon-Moon-RoAnna-Sylver-ebook/dp/B01LW0O7KJ
As well as a collection of 7 short stories (ebook only right now; paperback coming very soon!) – https://www.amazon.com/Within-Parole-Chameleon-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B01MG4L0G1
Book 2’s current release goal is Jan 1, 2017! Thank you so much again!
It’s MY LITTLE PONY meets THE HUNGER GAMES in THE LEGENDS OF HERALDALE, the exciting first installment of an all-new, exciting Fantasy series! Join Galaxy the hippogryph, daughter of unicorn and gryphon, as she begins a journey to save the world from the evil Unicorn Empire. Along the way is her adoptive brother, Brynjar, and reluctant unicorn friend, Owain. Together they fight through magic-stealing cockatrices, venomous wyverns, and Elemental-empowered unicorn soldiers on their quest to find their lost family and escape the tyranny of Lord Mordred!
http://www.lulu.com/shop/brian-mcnatt/legends-of-heraldale/paperback/product-22890181.html
My novel CHILDREN OF.THE DIFFERENT (published
September) is Australian post-apocalyptic fantasy. Lots of weird creatures, varied landscapes and shapeshifting.
An all-pro production team (artist Eric Nyquist, copyeditor Richard Shealy, audiobook narrator Stephen Briggs and formatters Jason Sizemore and Tim Marquitz) helped me.
Amazon US.and UK say 35 reviews at an average of above 4. My website has all.the info: http://www.scflynn.com
I’m one author in an anthology of 32 stories on a theme of Winter. Published by a podcaster, but professionally edited, and I have enjoyed all the stories in it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0991487737
I have released a couple of SF&F short story collections in Kindle editions costing only $2.99. All the collected stories were originally published in high-quality venues, such as Interzone, Postscripts, Nature and Daily Science Fiction. Many of these stories have been reprinted and/or translated into foreign languages,
Sons of the Earth: https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Other-Stories-Vaughan-Stanger-ebook/dp/B01LY9TQHN/
Moondust Memories: https://www.amazon.com/Moondust-Memories-Vaughan-Stanger-ebook/dp/B00GMQYJXA/
Moondust Memories is also available as a print-on-demand paperback, for $4.99.
Either of these collections would make lovely gifts for the discerning SF&F fan in your family or social circle.
Do you want to lose weight? Just go on a diet. Pick any one, they all work . If you follow the instructions, you will lose weight.
But after the diet, when you return to your normal lifestyle, the weight will come back.
If dieting is not the solution, then what is?
The solution is to change your lifestyle.
It’s your lifestyle that caused you to gain weight in the first place. But by changing it you can gradually lose weight, with little or no hunger, and keep it off for the rest of your life.
To learn more read The Sustainable Weight Loss Lifestyle
Click on the link to read the first and last chapters, and to see the table of contents.
Available in paperback and on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Scribd and iBooks.
If you are into urban fantasy, perhaps some rural fantasy would be up your alley! Our Heroes are regular folk, with jobs and dogs and crazy exes. They are also immortal mythological creatures – a satyr, faeries, a mermaid, and the like. Come along with them while they solve mysteries, fight evil and get laid a lot.
Capricious: A Texan Tale of Love and Magic by Julie Cox https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L8I9JIW/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_zIEpyb81WRFDS via @amazon
Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? My novels are a lot like those: interactive. Except they’re digital, and released as a phone app (some people call them “books” and some people call them “games”). They’re all listed at http://ifdb.tads.org/search?searchbar=Felicity+banks&searchGo.x=0&searchGo.y=0
I recommend the pirate adventure “Scarlet Sails”.
Hoist the Jolly Roger and set sail to find the legendary Titan’s Treasure! Do you fight with a cutlass, or with magic? Are you biding your time until you can shoot your captain in the back, or are you the reason the rum is gone?
“Scarlet Sails” is an 80,000-word interactive novel by Felicity Banks, author of “Attack of the Clockwork Army”. Your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
• Enjoy an 80,000 word adventure on the high seas.
• One of the top ten games in the 2015 Interactive Fiction Competition.
• Choose your personality, fighting style, and magical skill.
• Choose who to love, including options for singlehood or polyamory.
• Face the horrors of your past, and of the deep.
• Find treasure, treachery, and maybe even true love.
• Play as male or female, gay or straight.
https://www.choiceofgames.com/user-contributed/scarlet-sails/#utm_medium=web&utm_source=ourgames
The Lumin Prophecies is a new epic fantasy story. Noir gets dropped into a new world full of dragons, warring kingdoms, and seemingly magical powers. Despite trying to stay neutral and just find out how to get himself, his uncle, and his cousin home, he becomes a central figure in the warring kingdoms and the fate of mankind itself.
Perfect for any fantasy lover, young or old.
Click here for the Lumin Prophecies homepage
Click here to purchase on Amazon
I’m proud to share The Honeydrop Tree, my recent magical-realist/fable novelette, available in ebook and paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Honeydrop-Tree-novelette-Matthew-Rosin-ebook/dp/B00U1PMP1Q/
The description:
The lost community of Apistown trades honey with the outside world to survive. But its children do not know where the honored honey comes from—nor about the guilt the town must bear.
One night, Amelia, Isaac, and Cassie dream of a great tree. Honey seeps through the tree’s fruit and falls to waiting vessels below.
Could this be Apistown’s lifeblood? Is such a tree possible?
The three friends set out to learn the truth. And their parents, guided by three mysterious matrons, must choose: protect their children or keep faith with the community.
The truth will transform them all.
The world of Aegis is a terrifying and fantastic place, full of magick, monsters, and gods that meddle in the lives of men. It’s a world of danger and excitement, and Mazik is . . . a door-to-door salesman.
The Firesign series is the story of three friends who hate their regular crappy jobs. Even when you live in a fantasy world, terrible bosses, mean customers, and mind-numbing boredom are inescapable. But escape they’re going to do, as they decide to do something crazy: become monster-slaying adventurers instead.
Wage Slave Rebellion is the first book in the series, and it’s about friends Mazik, Gavi, and Raedren taking up a freelance quest to capture a group of kidnappers who have been terrorizing their city for months. But when the kidnappers turn out to be acolytes of a power-hungry god, the quest transforms into an explosive battle that rampages across the city.
http://mybook.to/wageslaverebellion
Freelance Heroics continues the story of Mazik, Gavi, and Raedren as they leave the city of Houk to pursue a life of adventurer . . . mostly because the local adventurer guilds hate them. From a high-stakes tournament and an orck invasion to a worker’s revolt and a mystery in a hidden village, follow these three friends as they build their adventurer bonafides by kicking ass, taking names, and prodigious use of explosions.
http://mybook.to/freelanceheroics
Both books are self-published, and available in both ebook and paperback on Amazon. Cheers!
Well. late to the game, but here goes. My book Into the Fire is available on amazon (search for Into The Fire pl hayes to discriminate it out). The book is a mystery set in Colorado. It is my first. The hero is a regular guy (per the blurb on amazon). There is currently a giveaway going on at https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/3d1dff9c739b8ec7 (so please play, and good luck!)
I’ve been writing poetry since about 15 years old. It helps me deal with stuff, and hoped it would help someone else. It can be found here: amazon.com/author/janettekirchner
Jemma starts out as a young librarian. When the world loses its voice, developing telepathy instead, Jemma finds herself drawn into dangerous situations with the entire world at stake.
Find the Muted Trilogy here.
Thank you John for this opportunity….very much appreciated.
Ever been curious about the inner workings of global supply chains? Do you have an aversion to nonsensical buzzwords and unwanted sales pitches? If so, Global Supply Chain: A Pragmatic Approach was written specifically for you. These pages provide an unadulterated view of global supply chains written by someone within the trenches.
http://www.pragmaticscm.com/
Thank you for doing this, John. I keep forgetting about your generosity until a kind reader of mine reminds me. So here goes.
THE BADLINGS is a book you can buy for kids of all ages (and adults too, because we only pretend to be adults). It’s a story about bad children who never finish reading books and get swallowed by one very bad, very angry book (it aims to punish them, naturally). Get your signed and kissed copy here: https://www.kseniaanske.com/books/the-badlings
Readers say: “I only meant to glance through this, but hours later I finished. I have been dissatisfied with the world I live in ever since.”
Official description: “Of all of the naughty, mischievous, disrespectful, and downright horrible things that children can be, a badling is perhaps one of the worst. Badlings abandon books without finishing them, leaving their characters sad and lonely—not to mention angry. Meet Bells, Peacock, Rusty, and Grand, four ragtag friends convicted of this monstrous crime. As punishment, they get sucked into a book of unfinished stories, whose patchwork pages they must traverse…and read to the end this time.”
Buy books this Christmas, any books. Mine or anyone else’s. Thank you. I love you.
XOXO
I love shifters, especially since I met a real wolf.Check out Lust Unleashed, Book #1 in the Night Seekers series, about a team of humans and shifters hunting the legendary Chupacabra. Do you believe myths can be real? That humans and shifters can mate? That romance, danger and high tension make a good story. Then get Lust Unleashed here. It’s FREE! And please check out the other 4 in the Night Seekers series.
https://www.amazon.com/Lust-Unleashed-Night-Seekers-Book-ebook/dp/B01MYLUOEX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480459876&sr=8-1&keywords=Lust+Unleashed+Desiree+holt
Thank you for this opportunity, John!
New!
THEIR BATTLE LORD’S SACRIFICE
Book 7 of The Battle Lord Saga
Sci-Fi/Futuristic/Post-Apocalyptic Romance
by Linda Mooney
Word Count: 60.3K
$3.99 e / $9.99 p
Even though the truce between Mutahs and Normals, established by Battle Lord Yulen D’Jacques and his Battle Lady, Atty, is getting stronger and becoming more widespread, there are still divisions. After surviving the trap that had been set for them at Rocky Gorge, Yulen and Atty must return to Alta Novis to see how their people have fared. But after a brief stop in Wallis, they discover that Bloods have infiltrated both Mutah and Normal fortresses, blending in and biding their time until they receive the signal to attack.
Someone is taking control of the surrounding fortresses and using trained Bloods to get what they want, but Yulen will protect his people at all costs. Aware of the Bloods’ deception, the Battle Lord is left with no other choice but to continue on alone. With their newborn daughter still nursing, Atty must stay behind, but when she senses Yulen is in danger, she will stop at nothing to save him.
However, when it comes to his families’ lives being on the line, Yulen will be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Warning! Contains a self-proclaimed deity, torture, coded messages, unorthodox nursing, nine bells, and a parental love that is greater than any other force in this world.
Excerpt and buy links: http://lindamooney.com/BattleLord.htm
The Obesity Conspiracy: It’s Fast Food Nation abducted by the X-Files
Intrepid government scientist Elaine Cassano has dedicated her life to fighting the obesity epidemic, but it’s become personal now that her son is overweight. A bag of tainted chips thrusts her into a shadowy corporate underworld that is hell bent on making Americans obese, even if it means killing off skinny people. Elaine must stay one step ahead of profane ghouls, ingenious extraterrestrials, and her own agency’s bureaucrats to expose the conspiracy and regain custody of her son. But the shocking truth at the core of the conspiracy will make her question everything. (available in print and e-book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble)
For far-future thrillers about predicting the future, start off with the first of my Kagent trilogy:
Crashpoint: There’s a 63% chance he can prevent the apocalypse. It’s an overestimate…
Thank you John for letting us indies promo here!
Star Survivor by Veronica Scott
The survivors of a terrible wreck meet again—but this time only one can survive.
They survived an iconic spaceship wreck together. (Wreck of the Nebula Dream) She never expected to see him again … especially not armed to kill her.
Twilka Zabour is an interstellar celebrity. She built on her notoriety as a carefree Socialite who survived the terrible wreck of the Nebula Dream, and launched a successful design house. But now the man who gave meaning to her life, then left her, is back–this time for the worst of reasons. Will he kill her … or help her survive?
D’nvannae Brother Khevan survived the Nebula Dream in the company of a lovely, warm woman, only to be pulled away from her, back into his solitary life in the service of the Red Lady. Now Twilka’s within his reach again–for all the wrong reasons. Khevan will do everything within his power to discover why Twilka has been targeted for assassination, and to save her.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Survivor-Sectors-Romance-Book-ebook/dp/B01N56QP56
Thank you, Mr. Scalzi!
“Cooking for the New Mars” is a theoretical cookbook that looks at the way common recipes will evolve once we establish a habitat on the surface of the red planet. Deep-frying will be right-out, I’m afraid, and bacon is going to become the stuff of myth and legend. Right now the primary focus in research is on foods that can be consumed in space, which these days are predominantly MRE-style packages. Once we hit ground, however, things are going to have to change.
Thank you for the chance to post this here, Mr. Scalzi!
https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-New-Mars-Margaret-Ellory/dp/0997079304/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480464076&sr=8-1&keywords=cooking+for+the+new+mars
Thanks for the focus on non-traditional publishing, Mr. Scalzi!
Eternal, by Marie Brown
In a future where the Eternal Empire has ruled unchallenged for seven thousand years, two exiles meet and start their journey down a road that will change history forever.
Jericho, an enslaved mage, holds a power that even he does not know the full extent of. Kai, an Imperial exile, has secrets upon secrets and is hunted wherever he goes. Together, the two manage to build a fine life, but it isn’t long before Kai’s background catches up to them and threatens to destroy everything they know and love. Here in this world where the Roman Empire never fell but went on to conquer all of Earth and then moved into space, join Jericho and Kai on a journey of adventure, magic, love… and ancient danger.
And as one of my friends said, “It’s a honkin’ big book for $3.99!”
Eternal reached #1 in LGBT Science Fiction on Amazon!
Eternal
Thank you for this!
What We’ll Do for Blood:
In the sleepy town of Northam, Massachusetts, not everyone is who they seem to be.
Take Scott Whitney, for example. A struggling high school senior, Scott wants nothing more than to have his much-divided, social-climbing family believe him when he comes to them with something important, no matter how often he disregards their rules.
One night, Scott catches his father’s beautiful colleague, Maria, drinking his father’s blood in their office parking lot. When his father has no recollection of this event, and gets weaker the more he spends time with Maria, Scott turns to his mother and sister for help. When he realizes that Maria has captured their hearts and minds, as well, Scott has to find a way to believe in himself, and become more than anyone thought he was capable of, in order to stop her.
But what will it cost him?
What We’ll Do for Blood is the first book in a series of young adult supernatural novels. If you like heart-racing action, highly-driven characters, and strong family ties, then you’ll love C.L. Mannarino’s visceral vision of a world where the supernatural is very much alive.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Well-Blood-Almost-Human-ebook/dp/B017437W9W/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DW3QXHDDEE7DFBAWE598#nav-subnav
If you like a little sports with your romance, check out the first book in my Las Vegas Sidewinders series, Dominic! It’s FREE on all platforms and it has a little bit of everything–romance, sex, suspense, and hockey. But you don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy it! Over 120 5-star reviews!
There are currently 5 books in the series plus a holiday novella that just came out yesterday. So head on over to the Books page on my web site where you can read the blurbs and click through to your vendor of choice!
http://www.katmizera.com/books.html
Thanks so much for this opportunity!
I would like to recommend the lonliest books on Amazon. I might be the only person who knows they’re there.
I published stories about my invisible friends. Not the kind you have in childhood with the imaginary languages but the ones that play out like a movie in your mind. We all have invisible friends. Tell me about the class clown in third grade. I’ll tell you about my grandmother. We have both given visible lives to invisible people.
This is a long list and it may get longer still.
Make a note of my name:
Loretta Ellingsworth, author and indie publisher
somewhere in among that list of things you are looking for on Amazon. When you need a break, search for my ebooks. ‘Look inside’ read the free, when you come to ‘Buy with one click’ you’ll know whether or not to click.
Have a nice holiday.
Loretta Ellingsworth
From now until Dec. 15, 2016: Get 10 hours of Virtual Assistant services for $100 (normally $150) or Continuity Editing services for $5/1K words (normally $8/1K words).
For more information on how an author assistant can help you, or why a continuity editor might be vital to the success of your series, email Adriel Wiggins at MrsAWiggins05 at gmail or visit http://mrsawiggins05.wordpress.com
Japan. Fascinating, exotic, deep, exciting. Many people would love to visit or move here.
I’ve been working as an English teacher in Japan for sixteen years now, in a variety of roles. My book Get a Job Teaching English in Japan helps you do exactly that: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00FO5YPKW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B00FO5YPKW&linkCode=as2&tag=thejetlounge-22
Good gift for restless young people looking for an adventure?
Thank you first of all for allowing self-published authors this opportunity.
Captivated: Stile Before – Erotic Romance is FREE on amazon.com
Kate Knight thinks she has everything going right in her life. She has her own apartment in LA, a new career and a very successful, handsome boyfriend. Harley Stile is a global sensation British rock star, who picks Kate out of the crowd at his concert and invites her backstage. Kate laughingly declines, dismissing him as a playboy looking for a one night stand. A few days later, Kate and Harley’s paths cross again and Harley discovers Kate has a boyfriend. Still intrigued by Kate and never one to give up, Harley tells Kate he is not walking away from her, not without his chance. Kate, with her well planned out life, tries to avoid him. Why would she give up a solid relationship with a great guy and everything she has strived to achieve for a rock star who is well known for his play boy ways? Even though she has never experienced such an intense attraction before…
Amazon link:
For those who fancy a good Mythos adventure to see them through the holiday season, you might enjoy The Curse of Kereves Dere, by Nick Falkner (edited by me).
Gallipoli, 1915 – As shells rain down on the trenches at Kereves Dere and strange, inhuman creatures stalk between the falling bombs, Lieutenant Charles Kerry saves Bosco from a fate more terrifying than death.
London. 1931 – The world begins to turn inexorably toward a new war. As Kerry lies sick with a wound that will not heal, strange cars lurk outside the door, and stranger things in the shadows, Bosco stumbles across evidence of a conspiracy decades in the making—and into the sights of the powerful and dangerous Christopher fforbes-Asquith and his British-Kadariak Society. Caught up in an alliance of necessity with a pair of very unusual booksellers and the most lethal archaeologist in England, Bosco finds himself battling to save not only Kerry’s life, but his soul—and the entire world—from an evil far greater than any war…
It’s available at Amazon US and UK (https://www.amazon.com.au/Curse-Kereves-Dere-Nick-Falkner-ebook/dp/B01D5TMWS0), Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/623788), and iBooks. Enjoy!
My romantic suspense series, The Sperling Chronicles, follows the life of a woman who is literally being loved to death. In the first novel, Dreams Thrown Away, she is introduced to the man of her dreams whose powerful tumultuous family’s legacy has been built on a history of deadly secrets . In the second installment, Split Images, she must still fight for her life when her man’ demons turn against her. Will she survive? Find out. Shop at Amazon or Barnes and Nobles. Or check out my website at http://www.simplydilsa.com.
Shilling for my buddy, Eddins Sinclair. Vampires and Zombies. Meant for fun. The War of the Undead has two volumes and is just warming up to the big zombiepocalypse .
“Z vs. V”
https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Vampire-War-Undead-Book-ebook/dp/B017PVV5YQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480476113&sr=8-2&keywords=eddins+sinclair
“The Forest Edge”
https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Edge-vs-Undead-Book-ebook/dp/B01MCX47T8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480476113&sr=8-1&keywords=eddins+sinclair
Thank you Mr. Scalzi for allowing us to post here.
Hello, and a special thanks to Mr Scalzi for offering this opportunity!
My second book launched in November –
They Called Me Dragon: A Narrative Account of My Adventures on the Planet Earth
A peaceful retreat goes terribly wrong for a gentle alien when he is mistaken for a dragon. They Called Me Dragon is the story of a feisty young heroine, an assortment of outcasts, and one very confused alien as they conquer the Dark Ages and become legends in the process.
A Jules Verne-esque study of the Dark Ages from an unusual perspective.
Available on Amazon in print and digital: https://www.amazon.com/They-Called-Dragon-Narrative-Adventures/dp/1530791987/
This link is to buy titles directly from Grindhouse Press and Atlatl Press: https://squareup.com/market/grindhouse-atlatlpress
The latest release between the two presses is WE DID EVERYTHING WRONG by C.V. Hunt. You can purchase can purchase signed copies directly from the author through this link: https://squareup.com/market/grindhouse-atlatlpress/item/we-did-everything-wrong-preorder-signed
Here is the description of the book: Abraham Koyfman is a widower of nine months. He works from home selling subliminal self-help tapes for a questionable doctor he found in an ad in the back of a magazine. His meager retirement is enough now that he’s alone and Abraham is ready to quit his job—a task proving to be difficult due to the company’s tactics. The combination of grief and the lack of empathy from his adult children have him ready to quit life, also. On the day he reaches the breaking point his friend Horace pays an unexpected visit with his new girlfriend. Horace’s remedy for Abraham’s plight is to party hard, act juvenile, and take a road trip to confront the doctor in charge of the work from home scam. But will an insufferable friend, a bad case of misanthropy, and the absurdity of modern technology and its sociocultural impact make Abraham’s situation better?
Thanks for the opportunity!
If there are academics on your list, they might enjoy the Royal Academy at Osyth novels, stories about faculty life in a modern university of magic. If Harry Potter went to graduate school these would be his professors, busy juggling committee meetings and classes with demon-summoning, battling banshees, becoming gods, and studying incubi. You can find links to purchase three novels (Advice from Pigeons, A Lovesome Thing, and Swept and Garnished) and a variety of short stories at http://www.raosyth.com/.
Sofia Samatar, winner of the 2014 World Fantasy Award, gives the Royal Academy 5 stars: “I was delighted to come across this wry, inventive fantasy…I’d recommend this to anyone who appreciates academic life, spells, counter-spells, supernatural battles, and the charms of discourse.”
Breccia: Haiku and Related Forms
Breccia is a collection of selected and new haiku, senryu, tanka and haibun poetry by me and co-author Ignatius Fay.
Haiku is known for the simplicity, brevity and precision of its expression. It is an ideal form for capturing the essence of life’s moments. The poems in Breccia capture many such moments in our lives, moments from dreams won and lost, personal challenge and subtle humor.
We integrated our poems into several extended sequences in which each poem suggests some relationship to the preceding poem. The result is a dynamic flow as one poem pulls the reader towards the next.
From the reviews: Lin Geary, haiku poet: “These two poets at times seem ideal soul-mates with their riveting story-lines so closely intertwined. At other times they seem to be dreaming a brave…post-modern novel, although in elegant verse” (Haiku Canada Review, Feb. 2013). Haiku poet Francine Banworth: “All in all, an interesting and satisfying body of collected works” (Frogpond, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2013). To see reviews by readers, go to Lulu.com at the address below.
Breccia is available from Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/shop/ignatius-fay-and-irene-golas/breccia/paperback/product-20423818.html
Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Scalzi!
Anyone still reading down here? ;-)
I’d like to plug City of Hope and Ruin, a fantasy-with-lesbian-romance novel co-authored by Kit Campbell and me. We co-run micro-publisher Turtleduck Press, aimed at fantasy and SF fans who like romantic content, lighter plots, and inventive worldbuilding (genre mash-ups are fun!).
Here’s the blurb:
Every night the monsters hunt.
A city that is the whole world: Theosophy and her companions in the City militia do their best to protect the civilians from the monsters, but they keep crawling from the Rift and there’s nowhere to run. Theosophy knows she’ll die fighting. It’s the best kind of death she’s seen, and at least she can save lives in the meantime.
They say the Scarred carve you up while you’re still alive.
A village in the shadow of a forest: Refugees from the border whisper about the oncoming Scarred, but Briony can’t convince her brother to relocate his children to safety. Briony will do anything to protect them. She owes them that much, even if it means turning to forbidden magic.
When Theosophy and Briony accidentally make contact across the boundaries of their worlds, they realize that solutions might finally be within reach. A world beyond the City would give Theosophy’s people an escape, and the City’s warriors could help Briony protect her family from the Scarred. Each woman sees in the other a strength she lacks—and maybe something more.
All they need to do is find a way across the dimensions to each other before their enemies close in.
http://turtleduckpress.com/wordpress/2016/05/09/city-of-hope-and-ruin/
…or if you want to sample our writing for cheap, and you like female leads who are strong in a variety of ways, check out Turtleduck Press’s new release, To Rule the Stars: A Space Princess Anthology:
http://turtleduckpress.com/wordpress/2016/11/15/to-rule-the-stars/
Many thanks, John. How about pets in space? And romance? Action? Adventure? And pets! In Space!
Nine of today’s leading SFR authors combine their love of Science Fiction Romance and animals to show that sometimes even an alien needs a pet.
“WOW! I love, love, love the #PetsInSpace!”
Buy at Amazon: http://amzn.to/2dEQvop
iBooks: http://apple.co/2dWrnKF
Nook: http://bit.ly/2ds9L75
Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Scalzi!
My debut SFR-
Prophecy, Book One of the Prophecy Series, rethinks mythology, discovers life in space, and ruminates the question: What would you give up for your soul mate?
In the wake of an invasion of Earth, an ancient alien prophecy sets two unsuspecting souls on a quest to save both their war-ravaged worlds. Alexandra and Gryf must learn to trust and forgive in order to fulfill the prophecy, and find a love that will last for eternity.
http://www.amazon.com/Prophecy-Book-One-Lea-Kirk-ebook/dp/B016K3CU08/
https://www.amazon.ca/Prophecy-Book-One-Lea-Kirk-ebook/dp/B016K3CU08/
Thank you for this opportunity.
“a stranger in a strange land” by Judy Croome (Aztar Press, 2015)
“a stranger in a strange land” : poetry that speaks of loneliness, longing and love; of broken dreams, deep faith and family ties. judy croome’s poetry — stark and complex, profound and brutal — explores cats and cancer; race and gender; nature, technology and being vegetarian. this volume of poetry deals with challenging themes, but also contains an acceptance of life’s ups-and-downs as well as the promise of a soul-restoring peace.
https://www.amazon.com/stranger-strange-land-Judy-Croome/dp/0987044796/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-judy-croome/1122395147?ean=9780987044792
http://www.powells.com/book/a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-9780987044792/61-1
Read following report to learn how a single mom was able to make $89,844/year in her spare time on her computer without selling anything…
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For anyone who actually scrolled this far:
THE WATCHMAKER’S DAUGHTER: The Wild West and magic in Victorian London.
In ebook and print (audiobook coming soon). All links: http://cjarcher.com/cjs-books/glass-and-steele/the-watchmakers-daughter/
Ever wondered what would happen if an interstellar generation ship failed, leaving the inhabitants stranded between the stars for 200 years? BURNING IN THE VOID is a dark scifi novel exploring tension between factions on a failed generation ship, with a bit of cyberpunk mixed in.
Prefer hunting for magical relics scattered across the globe? THE STAFF OF MOSES is the first in a series of treasure hunting fantasy adventure novels. The series takes readers to Egypt, India, China, Russia, and more, exploring odd bits of mythology amid an unfolding conspiracy of corrupt immortals.
You can get both of them for free at andrewlinke.com.
Thanks, John!
Thanks, John!
Looking for some stories t get you in the mood for the upcoming holidays? CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT, features two Regency-set (think Jane Austen’s era!) Holiday novellas celebrating the true meaning of the season.
When winter nights are at their darkest, candlelight and the spirit of Christmas can spark light and love in even the most guarded hearts . . .
In “Lost And Found,” a snowstorm strands two travelers at a remote inn. Even though they clash at their first encounter, carriage trouble forces them to join forces in order to make it to London by Christmas. Neither Nicholas nor Anna is happy about the arrangement, but as the journey takes an unexpected turn, they soon discover they have more in common than they think . . .
In “A Gathering of Gifts,” an impetuous riding accident forces a country baron to play holiday host not only to his grieving widowed sister and young nephew but also to the headstrong heiress who lands her on his doorstep. He thinks she’s arrogant and spoiled while she finds him gruff and unfeeling. But as Noel and his family prepare the modest house for a simple Christmas, secrets slowly come unwrapped, revealing that happiness can come in the most unexpected packages.
So come light the candles and celebrate a Regency Christmas—where Love is the greatest gift of all.
https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Candlelight-Regency-Holiday-Novellas-ebook/dp/B01M0ASPMQ/andreapickens-20
My first novel, Eidolons, was originally posted online each Friday as I finished chapters during my final year of college. I was poor at the time so I couldn’t pay for advertisement but still managed to get 10,000 reads before the final chapter.
https://www.amazon.com/Eidolons-Harrison-Fountain/dp/0692652353/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480514919&sr=8-1&keywords=eidolons+harrison+fountain
“When TK dies in a car accident, the Grim Reaper gives him a second chance at life, but he says it’s more fun being a ghost. As he haunts his small Iowa town, his sleek shell of sarcasm cracks to a terrified lonely inner self. Find out why he’d rather be dead.”
Some sample short stories on my website: http://orangepeals.com
My first novel, Eidlons, was originally posted online each Friday as I finished chapters during my final year of college. I was poor at the time so I couldn’t afford paid advertisement but it still managed to get 10,000 reads before the final chapter. It’s a success I can be proud of.
https://www.amazon.com/Eidolons-Harrison-Fountain/dp/0692652353/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480514919&sr=8-1&keywords=eidolons+harrison+fountain
“When TK dies in a car accident, the Grim Reaper gives him a second chance at life, but he says it’s more fun being a ghost. As he haunts his small Iowa town, his sleek shell of sarcasm cracks to a terrified lonely inner self. Find out why he’d rather be dead.”
Some short stories at my website: http://orangepeals.com
Hello!
I’m traveling and didn’t get a chance to post yesterday, but I thought I’d add my bit in today.
LOOK TO THE SUN came out on the 15th of November and felt a little uhhhh…relevant. I’ve described it as LES MIS meets SHADOW OF THE WIND (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) in a second world.
The National People’s Voice speaks for Sanmarian and all of Kael.
For fifteen years, they have ruled Kael in relative peace.
For fifteen years, they have quietly snuffed out dissent wherever they found it.
Rose Abernethy and Beo Mataya are two strangers drawn together by one thing alone: Red Sunrise, a book no-one else seems to have read. A book only two types of people ever ask about — collectors…and the NPV. A book both Rose and Beo feel was written just for them.
As winter falls in Sanmarian’s cobbled streets and the fifteen years of seeming calm seethe into violent protests in the city square, Red Sunrise’s secrets pull Rose and Beo into the twisted mysteries of Sanmarian’s past and into the centre of a forgotten tragedy that inked itself into the city’s very blood.
https://www.amazon.com/Look-Sun-Emmie-Mears-ebook/dp/B01L049RU8
IT’S RAINING MEN … Slacker Demons Book #1
Archie is a sex demon who’s so lazy, he’s this close to being kicked out of hell.
Chloe is a brand rep for a liquor distributor, dating bums and secretly crushing on her favorite bartender, Archie.
Archie only wants to comfort Chloe after her latest dumping. He doesn’t plan to show her the sex demons’ sweat-socky man lair, or confess to collecting thirty pieces of silver a month for seducing women. He doesn’t even intend to kiss her. It all starts with one well-meant lie…
“Just for you, it’s gonna start raining men.”
Buy at
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Its-Raining-Men-Slacker-Demons-ebook/dp/B00R40ON2K/
iTunes https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/its-raining-men/id992586872?mt=11&uo=6
Book View Cafe http://bookviewcafe.com/bookstore/book/its-raining-men/
Thanks for this opportunity, John!
Programmed To Please – The Tau Cetus Chronicles book 1 (HOLT Medallion award-winner)
Very human Tau Cetus police agent Jai Turner goes undercover as a Beautiful Dolls sex robot in order to bring down the planet’s most notorious arms dealer, Marque Callex. The police have never been able to get close to Callex, and Jai’s assignment is to coax information out of Marque on his illicit dealings – information that will lead to his conviction.
Reclusive arms dealer Marque Callex only accepts an invitation from Beautiful Dolls because with his deadly line of work – and the dangerous secrets he’s keeping – he can’t afford to let a real woman into his life.
But neither Jai nor Marque are what they seem, and their week together has consequences neither expect.
amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Programmed-Please-Cetus-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B00HFJRY1W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480519796&sr=8-1&keywords=jenna+ives
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/programmed-to-please-jenna-ives/1117776380?ean=2940148992011
Toni DeLuca, the Italian owner of DeLuca Construction, finds herself confronted with doubts about her father and his possible deceptions—all because of the mysterious pink notes she’s been receiving. Relations with Perrin Douglas who has a troubled history—but the first man in years who’s interested her—is building to a peak. Yet Perrin‘s own personal problems and his doubts about women and God, keep getting in the way. Gossip, a Spanish proposal, an inheritance, and a sabotaged construction business may ruin Christmas for Toni’s employees as well as her own happiness.
https://www.amazon.com/Sabotaged-Christmas-Appleton-Romantic-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0186GF4GY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Are you a fan of fantasy? Enjoy sword and sorcery? Grab FIRE AND SWORD today!
Condemned to hang for their crimes, they’ll march instead to perish as heroes, or live as free men.
A broken nation in need of a savior – ravaged by plague, decimated by dark magic, infiltrated by a foreign evil seeking to dominate from within. Three will rise to save the beleaguered land. But will they be enough?
A fantasy adventure for fans of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence and Scott Lynch!
Three men condemned to die: Aldous Weaver, a heretic monk turned sorcerer, imprisoned for accidentally incinerating the leader of his order. Kendrick the Cold, an infamous crusader turned fugitive, is a villain who knows he can never be a hero. Theron Ward, an aristocrat with a penchant for slaughtering monsters, and a legend in his own mind.
When the kingdom of Brynth is threatened by a far greater evil, the unlikely trio must make a choice — seek to escape this land that cries for their execution, or find the true heroes within themselves. And then, armed with fire and sword, march together against the forces of darkness. But can three such disparate warriors ever prevail?
**Fire and Sword received an honorable mention in Library Journal’s 2016 Indie Ebook Awards and is a Shelf Unbound Magazine Notable 100 for 2015**
Don’t miss the dark fantasy that reviewers are calling ‘gritty, fast-paced and compelling’—get your copy of Fire and Sword today!
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fire-and-sword-dylan-doose/1122561480?ean=9780994828316#productInfoTabs
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Sword-Sorcery-Book-ebook/dp/B011H0JWCI/
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/book/fire-and-sword/id1018662704?mt=11
Reading order:
FIRE AND SWORD
CATACOMBS OF TIME
I REMEMBER MY FIRST TIME (free!)
THE PYRES
Love scifi romance? Grab a copy of DRIVEN—book 1 in the Northern Waste series.
In the harsh Northern Waste where human life is worth little, ice trucker Raina Bowen has learned to keep her eyes open and her knife close at hand. She’s spent her life on the run, one step ahead of the megalomaniac who hunts her. All she wants is to stay out of trouble and haul her load of grain to Gladow Station—but trouble finds her in the form of a sexy stranger called Wizard. He has the trucking pass she needs, and she has to drag him out of a brawl with the very people she’s trying to hide from in order to get it.
She may have rescued him, but Raina’s not foolish enough to see Wizard as anything close to helpless. He’s hard and honed and full of secrets—secrets that may destroy them both. As they race across the Waste, trying to outrun rival truckers, ice pirates, and the powerful man bent on their destruction, Raina’s forced to admit that trouble’s found her. And this time, there’s nowhere left to run.
“One of the best books I’ve read in ages.”–Marjorie M. Liu, New York Times bestselling author
“Edgy, steamy, action packed, and plotted with nail-biting tension…”–Library Journal, Starred Review
“Anyone looking for something different will find [Silver]’s steamy, sinewy universe great fun…”–Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Eve [Silver] expertly fuses nonstop action and adventure; a cutting-edge, exceptionally inventive setting; and a terrific, take-charge, no-nonsense heroine in Driven, a fresh, fabulously fun futuristic romance.”–The Chicago Tribune
FROZEN (book 2 ) and HIDDEN (book 3) are available as well.
Amzn: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=eve+silver+northern+waste
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/book/driven/id910187827?mt=11
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/driven-eve-silver/1111648442?type=eBook
Follow along on a cold night’s adventure, as two young boys get into a good bit of trouble trying to bake their mom some cookies. Boys and girls, let me tell you something, never ever buy your pastry ingredients from a witch.
“The Attack of the 2,000 Pound Cookie Monster” is a delightful picture book for kids of all ages. You can buy your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Attack-2000-Pound-Cookie-Monster/dp/1530707064/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464278581&sr=8-1&keywords=meredith+fern+messinger
Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Scalzi!
“A lady of resources makes her own luck.”
Lady of Devices, Book 1 of the 12-book Magnificent Devices series—free!
London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices.
When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . but sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .
“Adina is a literary master in her field.” —BookLoons.com
“An immensely fun series with some excellent anti-sexist messages, a wonderful main character (one of my favourites in the genre) and a great sense of Victorian style and language that’s both fun and beautiful to read.” —Fangs for the Fantasy: The latest in urban fantasy from a social justice perspective
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1KSrnpJ
iBooks: http://apple.co/18EgwxI
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-of-devices-a-steampunk-adventure-novel-shelley-adina/1103167286?ean=9781463549992
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lady-of-devices
Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Scalzi!
“A lady of resources makes her own luck.”
Lady of Devices, Book 1 of the 12-book Magnificent Devices series—free!
London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world. At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices.
When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . but sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . .
“Adina is a literary master in her field.” —BookLoons.com
“An immensely fun series with some excellent anti-sexist messages, a wonderful main character (one of my favourites in the genre) and a great sense of Victorian style and language that’s both fun and beautiful to read.” —Fangs for the Fantasy: The latest in urban fantasy from a social justice perspective
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1KSrnpJ
iBooks: http://apple.co/18EgwxI
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-of-devices-a-steampunk-adventure-novel-shelley-adina/1103167286?ean=9781463549992
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lady-of-devices
The Bennet Sisters: Taking fate for a wild spin.
PRIDE, PREJUDICE, AND PUSH-UP BRAS is book 1 in a four-book YA series based on a modern-day collision with Pride and Prejudice. (Book 2, BEING MARY BENNET BLOWS, is also out now.)
College freshman Liz Bennet refuses to let her name—or Jane Austen—define her. Even though she’s one of five teenage sisters named after the Bennet sisters in “The Book,” as Liz not-so-fondly calls it, she can’t afford to let her life parallel The Book in any way. Period. Liz has big plans for her future, and they don’t exactly mesh with the life laid out for a fictional young woman 200 years ago.
When two guys named Charlie Bingham and Alex Darcy show up in Liz’s Minnesota town, her whole world is turned upside down. Her sister Jane starts acting like a lunatic with Charlie. Alex is tempting but also a jerk. Seeing too many uncanny connections to The Book, Liz is afraid she can’t win. Is this fate’s little joke on her modern Bennet family? What’s a girl to do? Fight? Or … surrender?
Amazon link: http://amzn.to/2cDZUIV
Thanks! (John, thanks for doing this!)
I am mostly indie published. I find myself jumping into projects where the authors can cross promo. I write contemporary and historical romance. My latest project took me back to the days I began reading. Gothic Romance, by authors such as Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart. Enjoy the blurb excerpt from this gothic novella available on Amazon: Blood Stained Memories
Blurb:
Can she live with what her memories unlock?
Helena Abigail Evans-Ross remembers nothing from her past except the sting of her Aunt Lydia’s slap, jarring her to the knife she held in one hand, the blood stained letter in the other and… her father’s lifeless body at her feet. She’s home to learn the truth…if she murdered her own father.
excerpt:
…“With your assistance, Miss Ross, we’ll be tearing this house apart.” He glanced between his two companions. “When I learn who the dishonest party is, make no mistake, I will be pressing charges. To the fullest extent of the law.”
My stomach nose-dived, a hundred leagues below sea level. Not only did I possess one of the Spanish coins, but my presence here was not exactly on the up-and-up.
“That’s just rich. Isn’t it, Adam?” Raven hissed. “Laughable to hear you speaking of following the law.”
He dropped his napkin. “I have matters to attend to this morning, Miss Ross. I’m sure you have ideas to present. Let’s meet in the library. Shall we say—” He eyed my crusted bread with an amused smirk. “—fifteen minutes?”
“Of course,” I responded, so relieved I almost slid from my chair to the floor. The library. I could handle the library.
Amazon: http://a.co/hs7jpGT
Part of the A Gothic World of Gothic Mysteries Romance Series set in places all over the world. For information on other titles. Check out A World of Gothic Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AWorldofGothicSeries
If you’re looking for some anthologies for either yourself or as gifts, check out Zombies Need Brains’ online store. (All books are also available at the usual sites like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, on Kindle, Nook, at Kobo, etc.) The ZNB anthologies currently available include:
WERE-
ALIEN ARTIFACTS
TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER
CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: STEAMPUNK VS ALIENS
So while you’re cybering it up, check out Zombies Need Brains!
https://squareup.com/market/zombies-need-brains-llc
Thanks!
Abandoned. Hunted. Out of control. Star Wars meets the Tomorrow People in a sci-fantasy adventure crossing time and space.
http://mybook.to/gethyon
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gethyon-pippa-jay/1115474634?ean=2940153374451
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/gethyon/id1146204656?mt=11
Pirate Nemesis: space opera
Killers. Thieves. Pirates. Family. Mercy Kincaid is a fugitive from her own family. Her dangerous telepathic gifts make her a target. So is anyone she gets close to. When her best friend is captured and tortured, Mercy’s only hope is to reunite with the family that tried to murder her as a child. She trusts few among her blood relatives, but finds herself intrigued by an enigmatic and dangerous killer.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2flmuw1
Thanks John! I didn’t see this until today, so I hope it is okay to be posting a day late.
Thanks for the opportunity, John! Here’s my book—
FOOLS RUSH IN
by
Donna S. Frelick
She thought she had the toughest job in Rescue—
until the day she had to convert a pirate into a hero.
Interstellar Rescue “conductor” Rayna Carver is deep undercover on a slave ship bound for an isolated region of space when the ship is attacked by pirates. Her liberator is Captain Sam Murphy, a man known in the spacer bars to love only profit, adventure and women.
But Murphy hates a few things, too, chief among them slavers. Will it be enough to gain his help for Rayna’s mission—ferreting out two spies bent on sabotaging an arms factory to turn the tide in an alien civil war?
https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Rush-Interstellar-Rescue-Book-ebook/dp/B01J9XR1KU/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477589161&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=fools+rush+in+on+kindle
Holiday Magic
The World Romance Writers wish you joy and love this holiday season with a collection of heartwarming romances filled with Holiday Magic. This anthology features stories from far and wide and includes contemporary and historical romance, futuristic time travel romance, and romance touched by magic by Award-Winning and Multi-Published Authors: Rose Anderson, Lynn Crain, Gemma Juliana, Cara Marsi, and Jenny Twist.
Come enjoy the many flavors and flavours of our English language.
https://www.amazon.com/Holiday-Magic-Rose-Anderson-ebook/dp/B01MXQQQJM/
And thanks, John, for the wonderful opportunity to share our work.
Hello, I’m Brian James Hildebrand. New Indie Author with two books available on Amazon in physical and digital form. Search the book titles and add my name to the search for ease of finding on Amazon.
For Super Hero fans:
The Renegades Book 1: Renegades Rise
“They’re Heroes…ignore the ‘Wanted’ Posters.”
The Hero Society is the most powerful group of heroes in the world. And the most controlling. Any Heroes who don’t sign on with them are hunted down as villains. Sparrow, Geo, Stellar, Xaphan, Magix, and M5 all know this too well. For one reason or another, they are all hunted by the Hero Society. But if you think that’s going to stop them being heroes, then you don’t know…The Renegades!
Target Audience: Pre-Teen and up. (8+)
For Harry Potter fans:
One Spell
“Nothing can stay hidden forever…not even magic.”
Blaine’s world turned upside down when he saw things that couldn’t be real. He thought he was going crazy, and so did everyone else. But Blaine wasn’t crazy. Magic was real, Blaine could use it, and his use had drawn attention from others. As their conflict re-ignites, Blaine finds himself caught in the middle of the greatest conflict in the magical community: Is the world ready to know magic is real?
Target Audience: Mature Teen (15+)
LONELY SOULS, an e-anthology edited by F&SF’s Gordon Van Gelder, is available from Kindle on Amazon. It includes my novella “Final Kill,” which has the distinction of being almost universally reviled, and even made one reviewer physically ill. How could you resist?
THE CHANGELING
by Rose Anderson writing as Madeline Archer
Half-fae Lenox Pendry is surrounded by secrets and none are his to keep. Plucked from his mother’s arms as an infant and raised a changeling, Lenox grows to adulthood unaware of what and who he is and oblivious to the danger unfolding as his birthday draws near. After he’s unwittingly sent to the Scottish Lowlands out of harm’s way, he chances to meet a beautiful healer named Janet Roxburgh. The townspeople believe her to be a witch. It would appear Janet has a few secrets of her own.
https://www.amazon.com/Changeling-Madeline-Archer-ebook/dp/B015QBO3VO/
Thank you, John, for allowing me to share my award winner here.
Seasons’ greetings to you and yours.
I may be a bit late to the party, but I’d still like to promote Chappy Fiction’s Time Travel Tales, which just came out the other day. It contains time travel stories from people like Robert Silverberg and Sean Williams, and it also contains my own latest story, “I Only Time-Travel During School Hours.”
Secondly, there’s Keystone Chronicles, an anthology of stories united by the theme of the “keystone,” whether literal or figurative. It contains another time-travel story by me, called “You Can Not Have a Meaningful Campaign if Strict Time Record Are Not Kept.”
Thanks!
POST by award-winning author Brenda Cooper:
http://amzn.to/2fMtTzK
The world, for some, has crumbled.
Disease and natural disasters have brought on social collapse in the Pacific Northwest.
For Sage, born and raised in the safe haven of the Oregon Botanical Gardens, that has never been more than academic. What more could she ask for than to be safe and fed?
But life in the Garden is static.
Sage longs to experience the world beyond the Garden walls as society climbs from the chaos. Her reckless exploration forces her elders to give her a choice: Stay here, hidden in safety, or go and never return.
Sage chooses to leave.
Will she learn soon enough on her journey that the world outside the Garden follows no law? That there is no predator more dangerous than man?
Will she learn soon enough that to rebuild the world one must be ready to fight for it?
She will need to if she chooses to live.
___________________________________________
In the Lamplight, a collection by L. Jagi Lamplighter
http://amzn.to/2fMmd0l
Enter the Fantastic Worlds of L. Jagi Lamplighter…
Sixteen tales of wit and wonder, of mischief and magic, where simple folk and extraordinary individuals wrestle down their own fears to find the courage, cleverness and, occasionally, faith to face life’s dangers and enchantments.
Come! Enjoy the wonder!
___________________________________________
Gaslight & Grimm: Steampunk Faerie Tales
http://amzn.to/2gyPEob
Once Upon a Time, ageless tales were told from one generation to the next, filled with both wonders and warnings. Tales of handsome princes and wicked queens, of good-hearted folk and evil stepmothers. Tales of danger and caution and magic…classics that still echo in our hearts and memories even to this day, told from old, cherished books or from memory at Grandma’s knee.
Oh yes, tales have been told…but never quite like these. Journey with us through the pages of Gaslight and Grimm to discover timeless truths through lenses polished in the age of steam.
These dark times require hot reads!
Dark Ink Tattoo, Book 1 is always free on Instafreebie (you don’t even need to subscribe to my newsletter there, even though you’re welcome too if the mood hits you.)
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/oqpu3
Angela, Dark Ink’s owner, has a secret – she’s a werewolf who used to run with the Pack, a dangerous drug-dealing motorcycle gang that services Vegas’s seedier side. She’s been free for the past seven years, ever since her ex-boyfriend (and Pack leader) Gray went to prison – but when the Pack starts threatening her shop she realizes she’s on borrowed time.
Dark Ink’s best artist refuses to show up before sundown – because he’s a vampire. Vegas is the perfect place for Jack – it’s an endless buffet of strangers to bleed. The only thing that haunts Jack more than his hunger is Angela….
Will Angela ever trust Jack with her secret? Will Jack be able to protect Angela from the Pack?
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Ink-Tattoo-Episodes-1-3-ebook/dp/B01JHSG5BI — is the Amazon listing if you feel I must get paid ;). The series is complete (there’s 4 books total), comprising 200k of well plotted yet seriously hot vampire/werewolf action ;).
The Dodo Dragon and other stories Kindle Edition
Only $2.99 on Amazon.com or £2.22 on Amazon.co.uk
Nine quirky science fiction stories from the off-beat imagination of Sheila Crosby.
Travel in your mind to distant planets, asteroid mines, the past and the distant future. Meet star-crossed lovers, a bed with too much personality for its own good, time travellers, a man who’s travelled a trillion miles for revenge an over-optimistic alien and more.
The Seer’s Stone Paperback
Only £7.30 from Amazon.co.uk
An anthology of twelve gripping adventures for children under La Palma’s starry sky. The stories take place at various times inthe island’s history, from the conquest in 1493 to a Palmeran astronaut in 2034, and include pirates, a dragon, an erupting volcano, and the time everyone expected to die on Wednesday night.
Sheila is currently writing a whodunnit set in the observatory, and making friends with wild ravens. her website is http://sheilacrosby.com
My self-published historical novel No Snakes in Iceland is the story of an English poet, Edgar, adrift in Viking Age Iceland among his old enemies. He is asked by a missionary monk to visit an inland farm that has been terrorized by a ghost, which has killed several people. Only Edgar, accompanied by his confessor and a young, headstrong monk, can kill the ghost and bring life back to the valley. It’s available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon.
If you’re in the mood for something shorter, this summer I published a historical novella set in ancient Rome: The Last Day of Marcus Tullius Cicero, which–spoiler alert–relates the final day of the great Roman orator and statesman from the point of view of a loyal slave, Leonidas, as he tries to help Cicero escape Mark Antony’s henchmen. Also available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.
Thanks for the opportunity to plug our work!
I have written a few traditionally published books (one about weird groups across the country, one about Rhode Island history, &c), but my magnum opus was self-published:
From God To Verse – a line-by-line translation of the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, into rhyming couplets.
So if you know anyone who likes the Torah/Bible, or might want to share it with their kids in an accessible but faithful-to-the-original format, this would make a lovely gift.
My self published book is Chronicles of a Boob, Vol. 1, (by Karen McCool). It’s the best psychological thriller of 2016, according to people who don’t know the difference between a psychological thriller and a humorous memoir about breast cancer, and anxiety.
Available as a Kindle eBook or paperback on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1537500481
Thanks, Mr. Scalzi, and Happy Holidays!
Wow. Thank you, John! I saw the headline and assumed this would be a list of books you recommend. Not so. Far more interesting! Well, to me, because I have a couple of links to add, of course.
My day job has been bio prof for way too many years. I like space opera (what do you think I’m doing on this site?), aliens, and potential consequences of bioengineering. So that’s the kind of thing you’d get with my stories.
More about them, and free downloads, here.
Alternatively, if it’s easier for you to get things from Amazon, some of them also posted there, but it forces me to charge a dollar for them there.
I’d love it if some of my fellow Scalzi fans decided they were curious and enjoyed my books!
LetterBox Love Stories
Authors: Jenny Twist, Lindsay Townsend, Cara Marsi, Marie Laval, Gemma Juliana, Helena Fairfax, Denyse Bridger, Rose Anderson, Lynn Crain
Letterbox Love Stories
myBook.to/LLS
Email: casahoya@gmail.com
Blurb
What if a life-changing letter arrived in today’s mail? Now imagine it leads to love and adventure! From the northern British Isles, across the mainland of Europe, and on to Turkey, nine international Award-winning and Multi-published Romance Authors share spellbinding love stories told across time. This collection includes contemporary, historical and futuristic time travel romances touched by magic. And each begins with a letter…
MORE THAN WISHES by Rose Anderson
Raised on a sailor’s tales of adventure and eager for her own, Stella Cunningham answers an advertisement for a traveling companion to the Orient. There she purchases an ancient bronze lamp with a secret. In the land of flying carpets and genies, Stella is about to have the adventure of a lifetime.
ALL OR NOTHING by Denysé Bridger
Casino Coranthos is a playground for wealthy, bored people, but for some, it’s also a place where dreams and promises change lives forever. When a letter becomes part of an unexpected inheritance for Ryann Thomson, her aunt’s past brings her face to face with Ariston Katsaros, a man haunted by loss and driven by anger. As the attraction between them sizzles and grows, can Ryann convince him she isn’t looking to rob him or his father, or will she become a casualty of Ari’s vengeance? In this dangerous game of all or nothing, her heart and future happiness are at stake.
SEALED WITH A KISS by Lynn Crain
In 2084, time travelling detective, Tandi Reynolds, tipped off by a letter, needs to stop an assassin before he kills a newly elected leader. When she finds him in 1874, Vienna, it’s clear a cold blooded killer is only one of her problems. Time is fleeting, so falling in love with her contact, the charismatic Count Leopold Radetzky von Radetz, is a bad idea, but keeping her feelings in check is not easy when she relies on him for her every need.
COME DATE ME IN PARIS by Helena Fairfax
When a letter arrives telling Alice she’s won a place on a TV blind date show, she should be excited – only trouble is, the show involves cooking for your date…and Alice can’t cook. Forced to throw herself on the mercy of her chef neighbour, Edmond, Alice asks him for lessons. But will she be cooking up a romance…or cooking up disaster?
ABANDONED TREASURES by Gemma Juliana
What do a reality TV star and a Sardinian billionaire have in common? Sophie Hayes buys and sells the contents of abandoned storage units. When an invitation arrives out of the blue to personally deliver an antique desk to an exotic island, she decides on a whim to spend what would have been her honeymoon with the famous Rico di Carlo. Can Rico convince Sophie in one short week to stay forever?
SONS OF THE WIND by Marie Laval
Provence 1826. Ten years after her brother disappeared in the marshes of the Camargue, Venetia Rigby receives a letter suggesting he is alive. Will Philippe Dantès, half-gipsy master of Terres Mortes, help her find him when he has his own demons to fight?
CURATING LOVE by Cara Marsi
A letter inviting Chloe Decker to curate the art collection of the wealthy DiMarco family of Ravello, Italy, lets Chloe begin to picture a new beginning for herself after a tragic loss. But she hadn’t included her employer’s sexy grandson, Matteo DiMarco, in that portrait. Chloe’s not ready for a relationship, even with a fine Italian masterpiece of a man like Matteo, but can he convince her to paint a new life that includes him?
PLAIN HARRY by Lindsay Townsend
Recovering from a brutal marriage, Esther is living quietly as a widow when a letter from her brother Sir Stephen destroys her contented life by ordering her to marry Sir Henry—but who is this “Plain Harry” and how will he treat her? Set in medieval England when women had few rights, this story shows how love can flourish between the unlikeliest of people.
THE MINSTREL BOY by Jenny Twist
In 1936 a band of students went off to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Only one came home
Colorado Territory 1861
Iris is a simple postmistress in the small town of Turning Creek, Colorado. Simple, except for being a descendant of a Greek myth, having a pair of golden wings, and possessing the ability to speak prophecy. She has had her hands so full guiding the harpies towards their destinies that she has forgotten to seek out her own.
Greek myths and romance in the Colorado Rockies.
Letters in the Snow (Turning Creek 3) and other books in the series are listed here: Turning Creek Series.
Some vignettes that I have written while I write other longer scifi: http://www.falconsfocus.com/p/science-fiction-writing-posts.html
The Babylon Eye
SciFi in alternate-world South Africa where cyber-beings and biomechanical hybrids blur the borders between human tech and nature.
Meisje is no ordinary dog. She’s a gardag, a cybernetically enhanced living weapon. She’s also lost, hungry, and lonely. Elke Veraart is on Meisje’s trail. If she can find the dog she’ll win back her own freedom. If she fails she’ll be sent back to prison.
As she closes in on the gardag, Elke finds her admiration for Meisje growing. And Meisje, weak with hunger, begins to wonder if she could trust the woman who is hunting her. Then Elke discovers that there are other hunters searching for the gardag and that her orders have changed. She no longer has to find Meisje. She has to kill her.
The Babylon Eye is for sale on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N69BTZ8
Crooks & Straights
What would South Africa be like if magic was real and magical creatures lived among us? How would apartheid have worked? What about xenophobia?
This is a world where magical creatures are persecuted by those who fear their powers. South Africa is one of the few places where they might hope to be safe and so there is an influx of illegal magical immigrants from all over the world: trolls, swan-women and other, stranger creatures. Some are hunted down by Special Branch, the police division that specialises in the illegal use of magic. Others fight against all attempts to control them and form resistance groups; the most famous of these is the ruthless magical terrorists, the Belle Gente.
Crooks & Straights is for sale on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Crooks-Straights-Crooked-World-Book-ebook/dp/B00JNLJ8LY/
Two books (1+2 of a trilogy). Neither hard SF nor soft, really. Somewhere in between maybe.
The main focus are Kim, a gifted pilot and Allie, an AI that should not really exist. And they stole a ship together. After that, things get hairy since a lot more people are after them than stealing a ship would warrant.
The third in the series is not done yet, but if things go well should be out in the first half of 2017. And not, I won’t pull a Moorcock and turn it into a ten-book-trilogy :)
Slingshot (Vol 1)
Paperback:
ISBN-13: 978-1540660510
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540660516
Ebook:
ISBN-13: 978-3033050266
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00WBZFHTG
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=9clpCAAAQBAJ
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/slingshot-15
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25398955-slingshot
Retaliation (Vol 2)
Paperback:
ISBN-13: 978-1534807808
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1534807802
Ebook:
ISBN-13: 978-3033057616
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J1PTUYG
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=f8G5DAAAQBAJ
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/retaliation-10
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31387234-retaliation
Fantasy with a Twist
Caught in Amber – When young Fae awakes in a locked and deserted castle, she remembers nothing. Who she is, where she comes from, none of it. A mythic tale of family and betrayal told with all the twists and moments of sheer joy that belong in epic fantasy.
Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/5276SAY
Happy holidays! :D
Origin Stories.
Jennifer Creek is a very, very normal half-Japanese, half-Australian seventeen-year-old girl, who knows it’s not easy being an unlicensed, teenage super hero. Her first date with Allan was date-crashed by a super villain who wanted to fry the heart of the boy who broke hers. And a mad scientist tried to give the whole world a zombie apocalypse for Christmas. And her best friend’s father is Doctor Apocalypse. And he’s about to drop an asteroid on Paris.
But the hardest part of being a teenage super hero is lying to Allan about her secret identity.
Until Jenny’s secret identity is revealed to the officially licensed super heroes. Then the hardest part of being a teenage super hero is the way they enforce the licensing rules by dragon.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Stories-David-Marshall-ebook/dp/B01N2HVM4W/ref=sr_1_1?tag=geolinker-20&s=digital-text
Trade Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/6728364