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How many times does a genius have to die anyway?
A rogue AI named Nessie makes answering that question problematical.
What happens when you die, but the universe isn’t done with you?
You might end up as the pet of a giant worm-a-pede alien and…if you survive your evolved descendants and rogue aliens of 1 million A.D…discover you have more in common with intelligent worms than you ever thought possible.
Yes, all this might happen if you are Rudy Albert Goldstein—the discoverer of the Biomic Network Algorithm—who thought his time had come. He had done his part to make the world a better place. Now he deserved—even looked forward to—a peaceful and mercifully succinct death. But the universe had other plans…
What reviewers are saying:
“The arch tone should remind readers of Kurt Vonnegut, although Raham is better grounded in exobiology and science and displays a more upbeat outlook for the human (and nonhu man) condition in this engaging tale.” Kirkus Reviews
“A Once-Dead Genius is filled with fascinating characters that we hu mans can learn a lot from (despite the fact that we are, as one of Gary’s characters puts it, ‘primates with delusions of grandeur’). The plot is solid, the action entertaining and philosophically challenging, and the science is great.” Michael Carroll, Astronomical artist, journalist, and author of Europa’s Lost Expedition
**On Sale! Get it for only $2.99 for a limited time!**
When young paleontologist, Ryan Thompson, finds a new species of mosasaur in Cretaceous seaway sediments, he is thrilled. Joy quickly turns to fear when he touches an artifact buried among the sea reptile’s ribs. Suddenly, he must fight a mental takeover by an alien intelligence committed to transforming the Earth into a refuge for her own species. As Ryan and his girlfriend, Skeets, attempt to thwart alien plans to colonize Earth begun in the deep past, even this crisis becomes trivial when the uneasy symbiosis of Ryan and the alien, Siu, generates a new entity with the power to transform the entire universe.
What reviewers are saying:
“Gary Raham, the author of this enthralling book, seems almost to have been there hundreds of millions of years ago when Siu’s dim star blinked out and the trees began to die on the planet known as Grove. This is the magic of good writing, and Raham is no less convincing as he describes the discovery by modern paleontologists on Earth of the jewel-like engram that has carried the genetic imprint of Siu through a galactic gate, out of the void of deep time, and into our lives.”
Kate Gilmore, author of The Exchange Student and Enter Three Witches
Rudyard Albert Goldstein, inventor of the Biomic Network Algorithm, made peace with death in the 22nd century. But an idiot doctor hijacked his mind, placing it in the care of Nessie, an impish AI guardian. Then, he died again, nearly a million years later, merged with a worm-a-pede alien male sated after completing his conjugal obligations. They expired peacefully on a cliff top, pondering the nature of existence—and the promise of abominable liaisons.
Two deaths should be quite sufficient for any genius to endure.
Somehow, though, Nessie resurrected him from oblivion. His descendants needed him again. New hostile aliens roamed the Earth—along with a mysterious immortal hybrid with powers that rivaled those of Nessie. Was the healthy young body Nessie had prepared for him, along with the prospect of meeting a maker of universes, enough of a bribe to risk dying a third time?
Apparently so.
Readers of Raham’s A Singular Prophecy (Biostration, 2011), and A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand (Penstemon Publications, 2018) will reconnect with old friends (both human and alien). But even those new to the author’s quirky sense of humor will enjoy this third adventure that spans the breadth of time and space.
What reviewers are saying:
“After reading and reviewing the 2018 release of “A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand,” I could not imagine where Raham’s distant future could take us that would outdo that fine novel. But this author is clearly writing on a different plane because “A Twice-Dead Genius Comporting with Misunderstood Abominations” is even more intriguing and entertaining.” Pat Stoltey, Author of Wishing Caswell Dead
Naked apes, gigantic worm-a-pedes, alien life forms galore. Gary Raham’s latest does not disappoint. It’s yet another cosmic-scale adventure with fascinating characters and a riveting, amusing story.
Michael Carroll, Astronomical artist, journalist, and author of Europa’s Lost Expedition
**On Sale! Get it for only $2.99 for a limited time!**
How many times does a genius have to die anyway? Rudyard Albert Goldstein, inventor of the Biomic Network algorithm, asked himself—and his AI guardian, Mnemosyne (aka Nessie)—that question many times in the course of their million-year relationship. Nessie didn’t play fair, making multiple copies of him from time to time in an effort to preserve his precocious species, H. sapiens from natural disasters, invading aliens, their own self-destructive proclivities, and even from the now angry planet that gave them birth.
Could Rudy & Nessie manage to convince multiple species, each with their own unique delusions of grandeur, to work together to avert their own extinctions? Could Rudy find a way to let Nessie finally set him free?
Only time—and the completion of an even vaster intellect—would tell.
What reviewers are saying:
“An increasingly madcap conclusion to an eco-themed SF saga of a weary Earth chafing under its alien tenants.” Kirkus Reviews
“One of the things I love about this series is the cast of imaginative characters, including human, alien, and the combinations of living creatures with the surviving intelligence of great minds long gone.” Pat Stoltey, author of Wishing Caswell Dead
Deep Time and Gary are close bud dies, as is evidenced by the panoramic time and physical settings taken in by his tales. Fans of the first Once-Dead Genius—and newcomers as well— will not be disappointed by the newest installment…” Michael Carroll, Astronomical artist, journalist, and author of Europa’s Lost Expedition
**On Sale! Get it for only $2.99 for a limited time!**
R. Gary Raham illustrates nature with the critical eye of a biologist, but he also loves to tell stories that highlight nature’s complexities and undiscovered mysteries. Sometimes that leads him to speculative fictions that he hopes will inspire another generation of both scientists and story-tellers. Raham’s work has been known to make a reader laugh and think simultaneously with no known deleterious effects. Raham taught biology at the middle and high school level, has worked for decades as an accomplished graphic artist and science journalist, and won numerous awards for his writing and illustrations. He currently has over 20 published books of science fact and/or science fiction. Raham has written science titles for Chelsea House, Discovery Channel Books, Marshall-Cavendish, and Teacher Ideas Press. Many of his award-winning science articles for both children and adults are featured in Confessions of a Time Traveler (Penstemon, 2015), a finalist in the Colorado Authors’ League Awards.
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The End of the World has Never Been This Incompetent!
✔️A deadly virus. ✔️A world overrun by monsters. ✔️ Six scientists on a dangerous mission to cure the world. We are screwed…
They only wanted a Nobel Prize. Instead, they will have to save the world.
It was going to be the experiment of the year. Preparing to blast x-rays through a piece of palladium at the most dazzling European synchrotron, Anna and five of her fellow scientists expected a few hiccups.
Not a horde of hungry spleen-eating zombies.
The world has succumbed to the virus, leaving only scattered survivors.
When Anna and her friends realise that the infected can be cured back into humans, they pledge to find a cure no matter the cost. Equipped with a lab wrench and questionable lab ethics, Team ID26 are humanity’s last hope.
But what is the price of saving the world?
Running out of time, Anna and her friends will face the impossible choices between life and death, morality and cure. When the future of the world is at stake, what will they have to sacrifice?
What is similar between science and postapocalyptic survival?
Everything that can, will go wrong.”
Rain Hunter is a writer of post-apocalyptic science fiction. Having spent years as a materials researcher, Rain intricately weaves scientific precision into the stories. “I’ve had a fun lab run over the years and might have picked some degrees on the way,” laughs Rain. “But the most important thing for my books is that the science has to be real. No more can-and-know-it-all characters! If I know how to cook meth from baking soda and cough syrup, I won’t be able to start a rocket engine, full stop. Even in fiction!”
Rain is a huge fan of the zombie genre, both in movies and books. “I’d kill to be a zombie extra in a film. Even if they smash my brains out in the first two seconds. Sign me up anytime.”
Dark humour and irony are the main ingredients in Rain’s novels. “I am sure the world will die laughing. That’s what I would do.”
Rain lives in Birmingham (England), which serves as a main inspiration for the goriest post-apocalyptic scenes. In their spare time, Rain plays a harp in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
How about we speak about all the things that you learn that are NOT writing? Are you an indie author? You will know all about the daily grind of DEY – do everything yourself. From creating your own website to your own ads. Here are some of the professions I’m mastering so that more people could see my books (I didn’t even say buy):
Editor. Here is an example: one of my editors (US-based) offered on her website a separate service for converting British English into American English (all those ises into izes). Reasonable – as a British author I would like to be understood by my American fans. (Hello? Any American fans around?) I specified with her that I was writing in British English (just to make sure). Guess what came back? All my en-dashes brutally converted into a bunch of em dashes. My novel started to look like written by a rabid AI. Well, if she doesn’t know the differences in bloody dashes, how could I trust her as an editor?
Cover designer. It’s okay if your novel is a mainstream romantasy (no disrespect, just not my genre) and you can photoshop some stock images into an epically looking fae/princess/warrior. It’s a completely different piece of guts when you need to explain to people what a synchrotron is. I attached photos. Photos didn’t help.
Also, explaining what is post-apocalyptic comedy turned out difficult. Or I’m just shit in explaining.
Instagram influencer. Yes, it’s a bloody job. Some people are good at it and are paid for it. Not me, sorry. I have 107 followers. They seem to be reading all types of books but not MINE.
Book formatter. Throwing together a printable pdf doesn’t work anymore.
Ads. Holy Odin, if there is Hell, it’s surely populated with ads and people creating ads that nobody ever clicks.
SEO whisperer. Backlinks, keywords, optimisation. When was the last time you searched for anything on Google? What did you find? Did you read past the AI bot at the top of the page? It’s high time we do AIO (AI optimisation).
Join my mailing list for more self-publishing stories. I’m honest and don’t pretend self-publishing is not shit. It is, until maybe book forty-two. Why do I do it? Because some books are too niche for trad pub and I do hope to be able – one day – to pay for a family dinner with the money I make from my books.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
A story of friendship and forgiveness in a world that knows neither.
Roman Koa knows that to survive, he must be ruthless.
The Slums beneath the floating city of Icaria were never meant to thrive—but they did. A gritty junkyard city of thieves and robot fighters, it’s everything Icaria isn’t. Roman has grown greedy after clawing his way to the top of the robot fighting hierarchy with his powerful electromagnet robot, taking from anyone who crosses his path. When Icarians come to the Slums for a night of risky entertainment, Roman takes twice as much.
But when he’s offered the chance to steal advanced tech from Icaria, the job is too tempting to resist—even with Oliver Flint offering it, his former best friend who sold their robotics code for a new life in Icaria. Without Roman.
The job is simple: Roman helps Oliver save Icaria’s failing gravity beams, and Roman gains access to technology to build powerful robots to secure his position as King of Ring and King of the Slums. Roman’s hatred for Icaria is hard to ignore, though and he is tempted to let the city Oliver betrayed him for crash back to Earth, but dooming Icaria means dooming everyone.
As Icaria’s gravity—and Roman’s fragile bond with Oliver—fails, Roman must choose: will he let Icaria crash, or is there a chance for forgiveness, for both his friend and the city?
Failing Gravity is a high-octane, cyberpunk-inspired adventure about friendship, betrayal, and the fight for forgiveness.
Jordan S. Keller is the author of the Ashes Over Avalon superhero trilogy and Failing Gravity. She is a type-one diabetic, a serial dog walker, and is impatiently waiting for her favorite bands to visit. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and their critters. You can visit her online at JordanSKellerAuthor.com
Jordan is one of the hosts for the Everyday Writing podcast and founder of the Queen City Fiction Writers Workshop.
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What inspired you to write this book?
Failing Gravity was inspired by the Bad Omens’ album THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND. I became obsessed with the album, and every time I listened to it I could picture Roman, the main character, in the world of Icaria. I couldn’t get it out of my head so I started writing it all down. It felt like a fever dream, the writing happened so fast.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I can’t share too much, but there is another book coming soon. It’s a story of friendship and bravery and set in one of my favorite places. I’m really excited to share this upcoming book with the world.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Failing Gravity?
Roman Koa is the main character of Failing Gravity and he’s a bit of a mean guy. His world has shaped him into this rough-around-the-edges fighter who refuses to get close to anyone. He’s the meanest character I’ve ever written and it wasn’t until the book released that I realized why. While writing this book, my father passed away in a car accident and I shut down. Writing Failing Gravity I, through Roman, learned how to love and get close to people again.
Oliver Flint is the ex-best friend to Roman and he is everything that Roman isn’t: kind, compassionate, and willing to see the good in everyone. There’s a seen in the book where Roman looks at Oliver the same way he looks at the sun. I won’t spoil the ending, but these moments became some of my favorites in Failing Gravity.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Writing Failing Gravity let me find hope. It let me remember the goodness of the world, and that loving your friends and family is worth it even if they could be taken from you. I hope readers can find that light in Failing Gravity and if they are struggling with their own darkness then they can recapture hope.
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
I had a pretty strong grip on the story while writing it. It felt like my characters and I were on the same page throughout the plot with the same end goal…. All except for a certain girl who had a crush on a certain boy. She highjacked a chapter so fast I didn’t realize what was happening until they both ended up at a cyberpunk coffee shop for a terrible awkward first date. The scene remained in the final draft. It became a pivotal moment so I’m greatful for the detour.
Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
Failing Gravity is a high-octane, cyberpunk adventure that will leave you breathless.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have written so many books that will never see the light of day. Some are full manuscripts and others are half drafts that feel like more ideas than actual books. Every book has taught me something though so I am glad I wrote them all. I follow my writing muse wherever it wants to go—it’s always a good time.
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
I feel like the easy answer is trash since part of the world is a junk town, but that would make a terrible candle. One of the characters is related to daffodils so I would like to say that. Daffodils and motor oil.
What did you edit out of this book?
I’m an underwriter so I never have to worry about cutting things, only expanding. Failing Gravity is a short book, probably too short, but it told the story that needed to be told and I didn’t want to jeopardize the story for added fluff.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
Emmanuel Arriaga is a sci-fi author trapped in the body of a Product Manager. With a 14+ year background in engineering, cybersecurity, and infrastructure, Emmanuel received education from Pennsylvania State University and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He’s held roles building products for people in emerging markets, creating privacy and security safeguards for users on the Android platform, improving core experiences for creators on YouTube, and is currently at Google Play, ensuring the integrity of developers within the Play Ecosystem in Silicon Valley. When the author occasionally breaks free, he publishes award-winning novels such as Foundra and Elevator Quest. He is best known for the Foundra Series, a sci-fi space opera and National Indie Excellence Award (NIEA) Finalist. His rich worlds introduce expansive worldbuilding with innovative technologies and concepts. He is a bronze winner of the Readers’ Favorite Award for Best Young Adult Action Novel and a TopShelf Book Award winner.
When vengeance becomes your only purpose, how far will you go?
First Elite Foundra Series Book 3 by Emmanuel M. Arriaga Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
When vengeance becomes your only purpose, how far will you go? Grief-stricken and betrayed, Neven Kenk embarks on a dangerous mission to avenge his wife, whose life was stolen in a brutal act of violence. Paired with Tashanira, a fierce Uri warrior, and Ellipse, a sentient AI, they embark on a daring mission to hunt down the killer, Entradis. But when their mission ends in catastrophe, they are forced to abandon the hunt and are removed from active duty in the Founder’s Elites. Their quest for redemption takes them to the farthest reaches of the Twin Galaxies, where they uncover fragments of a forgotten history and the veiled truths of their existence. But their journey leads to a revelation none of them are prepared for. The trio confronts the legendary First Elite and faces the harrowing cost of service to the immortal Founders of the Huzien Empire. Blending rich world-building, emotional depth, and epic adventure, First Elite explores the strength it takes to rebuild after loss and the unyielding price of loyalty in a galaxy teeming with intrigue and high-stakes politics.
In the Outer Rim, a lawless region of space filled with violence, a young girl vows vengeance against the marauding pirate bands who brutally murdered her family.
After enlisting with the zealous matriarchal Ashna Maidens who attempt to police the Outer Rim, Serah’Elax quickly becomes a powerful weapon.
Meanwhile, a ruthless pirate band has taken over a cruise ship deep within Alliance space. They run into unexpected trouble when they encounter a few members of the highly trained force of military specialists known as the Founder’s Elites, who happened to be vacationing on the vessel. Disturbed by the boldness of the pirates, the Alliance tasks the rest of the Founder’s Elites with dealing a powerful blow to the marauders, who normally operate in the Outer Rim, once and for all. However, they quickly discover that things in the Outer Rim are not as expected.
The young warrior and Founder’s Elites must come together to face an extradimensional threat left over from the Rift War that seeks to turn the last bastion of safety in the Outer Rim into something that could threaten the entire Twin Galaxies. Will the new allies have the cunning necessary to defeat this insidious threat or will it tear the Ashna Maidens apart from the inside?
A powerful force known as the Enesmic permeates every aspect of the universe. It powers the mystical art of Cihphism which allows a gifted few to manipulate the very world around them. But something has gone terribly wrong.
When the flow of the Enesmic shifts, the most powerful Cihphist in the galaxy, Soahc, can sense that something is coming. Unable to convince other Cihphists to act, Soahc takes his apprentice and sets out to find the source of the disturbance.
As colonies across the Huzien Alliance are attacked by terrifying creatures, a prodigy named Neven is recruited to join the Founder’s Elites, a highly skilled squad of specialists from across the galaxy. Under the direct command of Lanrete, their immortal leader, they join forces with Soahc and set off to discover where the creatures are coming from.
The Founder’s Elites uncover an ancient threat from another plane of existence that threatens life as they know it. With a race against the clock and a terrifying war machine from eons past churning once more, will they be able to stop the engine of death, or will they be consumed by it?
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
Douglas Smith is a five-time award-winning author described by Library Journal as “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction.”
His latest work is the multi-award-winning YA urban fantasy trilogy, The Dream Rider Saga. Other books include the urban fantasy novel, The Wolf at the End of the World; the collections, Chimerascope and Impossibilia; and the writer’s guide Playing the Short Game. His short fiction has appeared in the top markets in the field, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, InterZone, Weird Tales, and many others.
He is a 4-time winner of Canada’s Aurora Award as well as the juried IAP Award. He’s been a finalist for the Astounding Award, CBC’s Bookies Award, Canada’s juried Sunburst Award, the juried Alberta Magazine Award for Fiction, and France’s juried Prix Masterton and Prix Bob Morane.
When Did You Start Writing? / When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? I did a lot of writing in high school, but got away from it for many years. I’d always planned to get serious about fiction “someday.” Then, in 1995, I finally decided to try. I started writing what would become my first professionally published story, “Spirit Dance,” but I really wasn’t making much progress. I’d spent, I think, all of July rewriting the same opening scene. Then, while on vacation, I came across a book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s essentially a twelve-step program for recovering your creativity as an adult, the creativity we’re all born with and which is then beaten out of us by society as we’re told to grow up and get a real job. It’s a wonderful book and one I recommend to anyone who wants to be creative (or more creative), whether that be writing, art, music, acting, or whatever. But the real impetus for me to get serious about writing came when I returned from that vacation. and read that one of my all-time favourite writers, Roger Zelazny, had passed away from cancer at the far too young age of 56. That was it. Right then, I decided not to wait for “someday” or retirement or anything to start writing. There’s no guarantee any of us will live long enough to have a “someday.” I started producing stories regularly and sending them out to professional markets. I submitted my first story in January 1996—and got my first rejection that same month. But I kept submitting and received my first acceptance letter for “Spirit Dance” on Dec 31 that year, which was a great way to end a year and start a new one.
How did you discover the joys of speculative fiction? I had two “discovery” periods. When I was eight, a friend introduced me to Robert A. Heinlein’s young-adult SF novels — essentially rocket and ray-gun books. I devoured all of those, but then stopped reading the genre. Then in Grade 11, I had to do a paper in English comparing the works of multiple authors. Amazingly, the teacher included a group consisting of Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, which, of course, was the group I picked. That assignment got me back into reading SF and fantasy.
What writing has inspired you? / Major Influences? / Favourite Authors? I’d have to say my favourite author and influence on my own writing has been the late Roger Zelazny. His Lord of Light is one of the greatest speculative fiction novels ever written. His stories are often based on mythology, and I’ve always loved myths—Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Native American—so that was one attraction to his work. His prose style is lean but poetic, his stories poignant and mythic and filled with unique characters you want to spend time with. Plus, his work shows the most fantastic range of imagination of any writer I’ve ever encountered. I don’t think I write like him, but I’m sure he’s had an influence. Ray Bradbury’s short fiction was another early influence. He wrote about the fantastical hiding in our everyday lives, whether the hidden mystery is wondrous or frightening. I love his lyrical prose style, the simple humanity of his characters, and his insight into what it means to be human, no matter what our age. I reread “Something Wicked This Way Comes” recently. When I’d read it as a teenager, I remember loving the book and the kid characters, but not really “getting” the father. Reading it now, as an adult and father, I realize that Bradbury really understood both generations and the changes, choices, and regrets that come with age, and that is where the power of the book resides. I came to Hemingway late and after he was out of fashion, but his lean prose style amazed me, the way he could say so much by saying so little, and often communicating as much by what he left out, by what his characters didn’t discuss, as what he put on the page. Other favourite authors include Charles de Lint, Shirley Jackson, Emily St. John Mandel, Amor Towles, Thomas Perry, Thomas King, Ian Hamilton, Neil Gaiman, and Tim Powers. That’s a short list (but a good one). Some favourite books, including a lot on non-speculative fiction, include Station Eleven, The Queen’s Gambit, A Gentleman in Moscow, Memory & Dream, Ready Player One, Weaveworld, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee series, and of course, the spec fic classics like Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, and LOTR. I’ve also written several short stories inspired in some way by the songs of Bruce Springsteen. He’s an astounding storyteller. In a few lines, he tells stories of everyday people struggling with whatever life has thrown at them, but with an attitude of defiance and hope despite the odds against them. And Buffy. Major Buffy fan. It remains one of the most creative shows ever to hit TV and is a writing workshop on character development and arcs and dialog.
Why start with short fiction? I started with short fiction because in spec fic, it’s been traditional to break in writing short stories. But I also think it makes sense to start with the short form before trying to tackle a novel, and I always urge young writers to do the same. Short stories let you learn the craft of fiction much faster than writing a novel. Twenty 5,000-word short stories let you experiment far more with different styles, points of view, genres, story structures, etc. than you could in a single 100,000-word novel. Plus, you’ll be able to find out earlier if your writing is at a publishable level by submitting those stories to short fiction markets. And short fiction will teach you skills you need whether you write short stories or novels—handling point of view, story structure, use of scenes, characterization, plot, pacing, dialog, setting, world building, information flow, voice—not to mention basic sentence structure, paragraphing, punctuation, grammar. I moved to novels once all my “short” stories started becoming very long stories.
What I read as a child I was reading by the time I was four, thanks to my parents reading to me every night at bedtime. It hooked me on books for a lifetime. Reading was a way to have wonderful adventures as a kid and make my world so much bigger than my house and neighborhood and school. My early favourites were animal stories, which probably led me to my love for writing shapeshifter tales. I loved A.E. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” books (apparently my favourite bedtime stories as a young child) and Walter Brook’s “Freddie the Pig” series (the first books I remember knowing how to find in a library). Later it was everything by Jack London. About grade 5 or 6, Robert A. Heinlein juveniles got me hooked on SF, which led to fantasy. John Creasey and Dorothy Sayers introduced me to mystery and crime fiction somewhere in there as well. I believe that parents can teach kids to love reading by reading them a bedtime story EVERY night, from the day you bring them home. Make it a fun time, something they look forward to and associate with a wonderful experience. And make books a natural thing to have around. Our kids knew we’d say “no” to games, toys, or candy when out shopping—but they could always buy a new book. And for any wannabe writers, you can’t be a writer if you’re not a voracious reader. Period.
Will Dreycott is a superhero. In his dreams…and in yours.
The Hollow Boys The Dream Rider Saga Book 1 by Douglas Smith Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
WINNER OF THE 2023 AURORA AWARD FOR BEST YA NOVEL WINNER OF THE 2023 JURIED IAP AWARD FOR BEST YA NOVEL
“Thrilling YA fantasy” —BookLife (Editor’s Pick) “A must-read story for YA fantasy fans.” —Blueink Review (Starred review) “Inventive, engaging, and boundless fun.” —The Ottawa Review of Books
Vanishing street kids. An ancient evil. The end of the world. Our only hope? A hero who can’t leave home.
At seventeen, Will Dreycott is a superhero…in his dreams. And in yours.
Eight years ago, Will’s parents, shady dealers in ancient artifacts, disappeared on a jungle expedition. Will, the sole survivor, returned home with no memory of what happened, bringing a gift…and a curse.
The gift? Will can walk in our dreams. At night in Dream, Will hunts for criminals—and his parents. During the day, his Dream Rider comic, about a superhero no one knows is real, has made Will rich.
The curse? Severe agoraphobia. Will can’t go outside. So he makes his home a skyscraper with everything he needs in life—everything but the freedom to walk the streets of his city.
Case, an orphan Will’s age, survives on those streets with her younger brother, Fader. Survives because she too has a gift. She hears voices warning her of danger. And Fader? Well, he fades.
When street kids start vanishing, the Dream Rider joins the hunt. Will’s search becomes personal when Case breaks into his tower to escape her own abduction. Fader isn’t so lucky.
As Will and Case search for Fader and the missing kids, an unlikely romance grows between the boy with everything and the girl with nothing except the freedom Will longs for.
But as they push deeper into the mystery, they confront an ancient power feeding on these forgotten kids to restore itself. And once restored, no one in the world will be safe.
To defeat this creature, Will must do the impossible.
Go outside.
Indiana Jones meets Teen Titans in The Dream Rider Saga, a fast-paced urban fantasy trilogy from “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction” (Library Journal).
Praise for The Hollow Boys: “This arresting series kickoff grips from the start as it introduces its inventive milieu, its flawed but fantastically powered hero, its playful worldbuilding, and a host of tantalizing mysteries. … [A] vigorously imaginative scenario. … Takeaway: Thrilling YA fantasy” —BookLife (Editor’s Pick)
“An assured, confident novel … A must-read story for YA fantasy fans.” —Blueink Review (Starred review)
“Inventive, engaging, and boundless fun.” —The Ottawa Review of Books “A fun supernatural tale with well-developed characters and a touch of romance.” —Kirkus Reviews Praise for Douglas Smith:
“The man is Sturgeon good. Zelazny good. I don’t give those up easy.” —Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
“A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice.” —Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner
“His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
Sequel to the AURORA AWARD WINNER and the Juried IAP AWARD WINNER, The Hollow Boys
“Give me the Crystal Key!”
Will Dreycott is the Dream Rider, the agoraphobic teenage superhero who can walk in our dreams but never in the streets of his city. Case is his girlfriend, a survivor of those streets who hears voices that warn her of danger. Fader is her brother, who is very good at disappearing. Together, they defeated a body swapper and a witch to save the world (The Hollow Boys).
Now, Case battles guilt over living sheltered in Will’s tower home while her street friends still struggle. Blaming his affliction for Case’s sadness, Will searches for a way to live a normal life with the girl he loves—a way to go outside.
But his efforts draw the attention of dark forces. Sinister figures hunt Will in Dream. Intruders scour the vast warehouse of antiquities “acquired” by Will’s missing parents. And a masked swordswoman attacks Will, demanding “the Crystal Key” before disappearing into thin air.
Are they all searching for the same thing? Something from Will’s parents’ shady past? For the swordswoman leaves behind a flowery scent, Will’s only memory from the lost expedition eight years ago that gave him powers in Dream but cost him his parents and his freedom.
A trail of dark secrets leads Will, Case, and Fader to a mysterious world. Trapped between warring cults willing to kill for the Crystal Key, the three friends must master strange new powers that grow stronger and wilder the closer they draw to the truth.
This time it’s not just the fate of the world at stake…but the multiverse.
~ ~ ~
Indiana Jones meets Teen Titans in The Dream Rider Saga, a fast-paced urban fantasy trilogy from “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction” (Library Journal).
Praise for The Crystal Key: “The richly inventive Dream Rider adventure continues in this second appealing entry…with an exciting plot… always enlivened by the Smith hallmarks of crack dialogue, fun sleuthing and puzzle-solving, a strong throughline of emotion, a swift pace…and a principled refusal to settle for the familiar. Takeaway: This thrilling superpowered urban fantasy series continues to grip.” (New readers should start with book one.) —BookLife (Editor’s Pick) “The engrossing second installment of Douglas Smith’s Dream Rider Saga trilogy. … Smith continues to demonstrate an ability to expertly weave multiple complex fantasy elements into a cohesive whole. … This fast-paced story delivers in a big way—and Smith has all his ducks lined up for an explosive conclusion [to the series] that readers won’t want to miss.” —Blueink Review (★ Starred review) Praise for Douglas Smith:
“The man is Sturgeon good. Zelazny good. I don’t give those up easy.” —Spider Robinson, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
“A great storyteller with a gifted and individual voice.” —Charles de Lint, World Fantasy Award winner
“His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner
“Stories you can’t forget, even years later.” —Julie Czerneda, multi-award-winning author and editor
The Thrilling Conclusion to the Multi-Award-Winning Trilogy
Will is the Dream Rider, the superhero who walks in our dreams but never in the streets of his own city. Case is his girlfriend, a survivor of those streets who hears voices warning her of danger. Fader, her brother, is very good at disappearing.
In The Hollow Boys, they defeated a body swapper and a witch to save the world. In The Crystal Key, they battled warring cults to protect an ancient artifact tied to Will’s affliction.
The Chakana. The Crystal Key. But the key to what? To finding answers, they hope, to the questions that rule their lives.
What caused their strange powers? And Will’s crippling agoraphobia? Can he be cured? Why did their parents travel to the jungles of Peru eight years ago? Are they still alive?
Behind every question is the Chakana. What is the mysterious relic? Why will people kill to possess it? What hold does it have on Will?
As creatures from Inca myths haunt the three friends, another attack on the Chakana threatens Will’s life. To save him and solve the mystery of the lost expedition, only one choice remains.
Return to Peru. With the Chakana.
There, they find friends and foes, both old and new. And behind it all, an unseen enemy moving them like pieces on a chessboard.
To win this deadly game, Will, Case, and Fader must master new powers to defeat the most dangerous adversary they’ve ever faced—a god.
At stake this time? Every life, every world, every universe. Everything.
Indiana Jones meets Teen Titans in The Dream Rider Saga, a fast-paced urban fantasy trilogy from “one of Canada’s most original writers of speculative fiction” (Library Journal).
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The unit was sent to Durham to fight what is essentially a zombie infestation
Dark Sun C Troop, 1-5 Kommando Book 1 by Eric Johnson Genre: Military Science Fiction
After the events in 2-4 Cavalry Story 15: In the Pit of Vipers and under a new Troop commander, Captain Karl Bradi, the unit is redesignated C Troop 1-5 Kommando. After their deployment to Earth the unit is resting and refitting, and also cleaning up holdouts on Friesland. Despite this, they are sent to Durham, a planet in the Independent Planets that suffers what is loosely described as a zombie infestation. The unit fights monsters, both real and human, in order to survive on the planet.
Eric Johnson is a military veteran, and a self-published author who served in the US Army and US Army National Guard for twelve years and three years respectively. He currently lives in Baltimore and spends his time writing stories based on his past experiences as well as using current events to focus on counter-insurgency as well as other related topics. His primary genre is military science fiction (5th Kommando, C Troop 1-5 Kommando, 2-4 Cavalry series, and the Eagle Hammer Universe series), and he has written a few books in other genres as well, including fantasy (Tales of Baromir series).
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
On Threshold time travel is about to become possible. The huge space habitat, already 500 years in our future is about to go forward to a safer time and place. Aliens from the All-Time hold the keys. Wanna go?
Threshold The Threshold Series Book 1 by Janet & Chris Morris Genre: Science Fiction Thriller Adventure
Set a millennium from now on Threshold Terminal—virtually a Grand Hotel in space— a young test pilot, Joe South, is thrust five hundred years into his future and finds himself in the thick of interstellar smuggling, intrigue, and the rough underworld of an alien environment. It is a time of danger and ever-shifting powers . . . and the destinies of a lost test pilot, an underworld scavenger, and two young lovers become irrevocably intertwined . .
November’s Featured Title of the month with Perseid Press! On Sale for Only $2.99! Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads
Bestselling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.
Christopher Crosby Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, but occasionally uses pseudonyms.
Would you like a chance to win your choice of a Print of eBook of Threshold or a $20 Amazon gift card (1 winner each) Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
What is something unique/quirky about you? Together we breed Morgan horses. We consult with Morgan breeders to help them choose crosses to their stock to achieve a desired result. We are also musicians; Janet plays bass guitar, Chris sings and plays guitar. We have an album on MCA records. Look for Christopher Crosby Morris on Soundcloud or N1M.com
Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author? Janet wrote her first novel, High Couch of Silistra in 1975; a friend sent it to an agent who chose to represent her; she had already written the second book in the Silistra Quartet and her agent told her not to disclose that until they finalized the contract for the first one. When the publisher learned of the others, Bantam Books bought the succeeding three. When the fourth book was published, the series already had four million copies in print. Suddenly Janet was a novelist specializing in environmental, gender, historical and political subjects. In the process, Chris started as her editor and ultimately a co-writer. Since then, she and Chris have co-authored many books.
Who is your hero and why? Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre-socratic philosopher, whose Cosmic Fragments foreshadow our knowledge of reality and how to perceive it. Among his precepts is the statement that change alone is unchanging. We’ve worked Heraclitus’ fragments in here and there throughout our books.
Which of your novels can you imagine being made into a movie? All of them. We write cinematically, our books are vivid adventures we undertake without knowing the destination. I, the Sun, The Sacred Band, and Outpassage are particularly suited to film. The Threshold Series is a feast of opportunities for today’s special effects creators.
What inspired you, to write Threshold? Threshold explores what will happen if we meet beings who are interdimensional, not limited by time and space as we know it. Of course, there’s massive suspicion and mistrust when humans meet aliens capable of grasping a much wider time spectrum and able to predict what is about to occur as a result of current circumstance. How can ordinary people trust this super-human race and how can they not once given the benefit of their perspective?
Convince us why you feel Threshold is a must read. Today our space telescopes are showing us pictures of events that happened millions of light years ago, showing us actual images of the plastic nature of time and space. It is a short conceptual jump from those images to imagining beings like us, but capable of accessing a wider present and acting in concert with events provably happening over vast time arcs. As humans, we may feel that a lifetime is but a moment in an eternal reality and guess what it could be like to be free of the clock-time that rules our earthly progress. In Threshold, we get to play on the greatest chess board available to our fledgling perception of our own possible futures. We’ve gone to lengths to make this book available in e-book, trade paper, hardback, and soon in audiobooks.
Who designed your book covers? Most of our covers, including Threshold, are realized by Roy Mauritsen, a gifted graphic artist.
Advice to writers? As for advice to writers, here is all we know: write the story you want to read. Start at the beginning, go to the end, and stop. Seriously. From start to finish you must inhabit the construct in a manner that makes the reader choose to continue; if we as writers can’t feel what it’s like being there, our readers can’t either. Close your eyes, look at your feet where they are standing on the story’s ground; tell us what you see. Tell us what you hear. Ask at the end of each paragraph ‘what happens next?’. If you lose touch with it wait until you’re back inside it. Tell the story that comes to you, and from you, to us.
I am happy to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about
Dan has wanted to write novels since first reading Frank Herbert’s Dune at the age of eleven. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he often goes hiking with his family through mist-shrouded forests and along alpine trails with expansive views. Dragons Walk Among Us is his debut novel. He plans to keep writing fantasy and science-fiction for many years.
Finding time to write can be challenging, especially when you’re a parent. I have two high-energy schoolboys who participate in all the activities of childhood. How do I find time to write? I follow a set routine and am always flexible.
I’m a big believer in the habit of writing every day. To accomplish this, on weekdays, I’m literally up before the crack of dawn, no later than 4:30 a.m. By five a.m., I’m doing something writing-related, often either pounding out a rough draft or editing a scene. My aim is to have about ninety minutes of uninterrupted writing time before my sons drag themselves out of bed to get ready for school. It also corresponds to when it’s time for me to prepare to hit the day job.
On the weekends, I don’t force myself out of bed at 4:30 in the morning, although sometimes I’m wide awake at that hour. Typically, I’ll still get up early and try to write until eight a.m. Then, after fixing breakfast for the family, I’m back at it until ten or eleven, depending on plans for the day and how restless the boys are.
I’ve learned flexibility is vital if you want to keep your sanity. In On Writing,Stephen King points out that children and life in general often interrupt writing time. His solution is not to treat writing time as sacrosanct. Instead, work the time you write around everything else in your life. This is really great advice for all of us who have families and dreams of being future bestsellers.
What I do to be productive as a writer while having children might not work for everyone. That’s okay. Everyone’s situation is different. But having a set routine whenever possible and being flexible has served me well. I wrote my YA fantasy debut, Dragons Walk Among Us, by dragging myself up before everyone else in the household and not stressing out when the inevitable interruptions intruded on my writing time.
Do you think Writer’s Block exists?
I suppose it’s a subjective thing. If you think you suffer from it, you probably do.
My critique group, the Puget Sound Writers’ Guild, had a resident writer, may he rest in peace, who staunchly did not believe in writer’s block. If you can’t come up with ideas and bring them to fruition, then you aren’t creative enough to cut it as a writer. He could be hard, but he was a best-selling author under several pen names, so who were we, his pupils, to contradict him.
Now, I won’t go so far as to say writer’s block simply does not exist. But I do think there are practices a writer can implement to overcome it. Personally, I’ve never suffered from writer’s block. For example, the characters and plot for Dragons Walk Among Us came easily to me. It probably helped that I’ve been thinking about some of the central fantasy elements of the story for years. Here’s my remedy, or put another way, how I avoid writer’s block.
I start small with a one-page concept that lays out the story from start to finish in broad strokes. This isn’t easy; it’s hard. It takes me numerous drafts to get the concept down to one page, but I think it’s worth it. From that, I create a scene-by-scene outline that I ultimately treat as a roadmap. It shows me how to get from the start line to the finish line, but I can always take detours and side trips along the way. I find the rough draft flows quite naturally from this roadmap.
If you suffer from writer’s block, start small. That strategy has always served me well.
Dragons Walk Among Us is the first novel in The Allison Lee Chronicles. I can confirm that readers should expect more books featuring Allison Lee and her squad. Right now, I am planning four, maybe five, books to comprise the entire series.
Where do these books stand now? Well, I have the broad strokes outlined for the entire series. I’m currently writing the rough draft for the second installment. I’m about fifty percent through the draft. If everything goes to plan, I’ll have a complete manuscript ready to turn in to my publisher by December this year. The novel deals with similar themes of belonging and angst found in Dragons Walk Among Us, along with a few new topics readers will hopefully find engaging. Without giving too much away, portions of the second novel will take place in Southeast Asia. I’ve traveled the area extensively and hope my experiences will help me capture the essence of the region’s beauty and diverse cultures.
After book two, while I do have an outline, my plan is a bit more nebulous. That’s why I say the series might turn out to be five books as opposed to four. With any luck, these novels will come out steadily over the next several years. After completing The Allison Lee Chronicles, you can expect more action-packed sci-fi and fantasy tales with social commentary woven in that I think young adults will find very appealing.
Allison Lee is the protagonist of my debut YA urban fantasy, Dragons Walk Among Us, and possesses a deep-seated need for belonging. In part, her yearning is no different than anyone else’s. She wants to be part of something greater than herself and be surrounded by people who accept her. These desires burn exceptionally bright in her because she has never known her mother, who she believes abandoned her at birth. Allison’s need for acceptance hits overdrive when she starts seeing or, perhaps, in reality, hallucinating dragons. When her best friends make it clear they believe she is delusional, their bonds of friendship begin to crack.
Allison is a passionate photographer with dreams of becoming a photojournalist. Her pictures of high school sporting events around Seattle are published weekly in her school’s online newspaper. She combines her love of photography with civic-mindedness, often documenting climate marches and social justice issues. When an unprovoked attack leaves her blind, Allison feels like her life has been flushed down the toilet and fears she will never photograph again.
I’m a big believer in the adage to write what you know. It allows me to inject verisimilitude into the story. For example, Allison is an avid photographer, often out and about with her camera in hand. Details on composition and exposure for different situations are sprinkled throughout the narrative. These details are accurate because I’m a shutterbug. I think these details are just enough to characterize Allison Lee, be interesting to readers, and add a sense of realism to a story that is, after all, a fantasy.
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As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
I am happy to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about author Dan Rice. If you want to check out his debut novel Dragons Walk Among Us, click HERE!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc.
Utopia Falls by Kody Boye ~ Genre: YA Science Fiction
Society has reached its peak within the walled city of Utopia. While the outside world lies in inhospitable ruins, the city within brims with technological marvels—all thanks to a benevolent god that appeared during humanity’s darkest hour. But with the city on the verge of overpopulation, and the world outside not promised to be safe, time is running out for the Utopian people, and it’ll take one brave young woman to change the course of history.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Hillen has lived in the shadow of the god her entire life. With a promising future in medicine, she believes that her future is set in stone. What she doesn’t expect is for her Aptitude Test scores to come back with exemplary remarks—or to be chosen as her city’s next Holy Conduit.
As the Holy Conduit, Ember can connect with, and receive visions of, her god’s desires for the Utopian city. The only problem? Her god is implying that her people must somehow journey beyond their isolated city to build a new world in the wasteland. But with the mad leader of the premier engineering facility within Utopia attempting to sway Ember through whatever means possible, Ember must make a choice that will change a life forever. The only question is: can she withstand the storm that will follow?
Though Kody Boye was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, he moved south at the age of eighteen and has resided in various parts of Texas since 2010, living first in Austin, then in Fort Worth before finally landing in the Rio Grande Valley. His first story, [A] Prom Queen’s Revenge, was published in the Yellow Mama Webzine at the age of fourteen. His debut novel, Sunrise, followed at age eighteen.
Since then, he has written several novels across multiple speculative fiction genres. His most recent works include When They Came, The Beautiful Ones, Kingsman Online, and The Red Wolf Saga.
Kody is currently enrolled in an online university and pursuing an undergraduate degree in creative writing and English, with plans to further his education with an MFA, which will allow him to teach.
When not writing, Kody enjoys reading young-adult novels, playing video games such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, and browsing social media endlessly.
Emmanuel M. Arriaga grew up in the inner city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From a young age, he was obsessed with fantasy and science fiction. Breaking the shackles of a low-income life, Emmanuel developed an interest in science, technology and engineering. He went on to graduate from Pennsylvania State University with a Master’s in Information Science.
For almost a decade, Emmanuel has sought to share his vivid imagination with the world, learning the art of story crafting and eventually becoming an award-winning author. With a love for travel, gadgets and volunteering, Emmanuel is enjoying life and helping others.
Do you read yourself and if so, what is your favorite genre?
I’m an avid reader, I think it’s hard to be a good author if you aren’t. I love science fiction and fantasy, although I have historically biased more toward fantasy than science fiction. I grew up reading epic fantasy novels and that influenced much of my early writing. I love the intersection of magic and technology, it’s an area that is hard to write without falling into the trope of technology until we need to do something impossible and then magic to save the day. I love the novels that build strict rules into their magic that fit nicely into a sci-fi world based on science. In these instances, magic moves away from being this deus ex machina and instead complements the story because you know the limitations of what is possible. The old Star Wars expanded universe is a great example of this.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
This depends on what type of writing I’m doing. If I’m creating a new story or a new chapter, I write best with music. I have tailored pandora radio stations specifically for writing. Certain kinds of music really get my creative energies flowing and I fall into a trance like state that allows me to do my best work.
If I’m editing, I need silence, this is mainly due a habit I have of reading things aloud to make sure it flows wells. I view creating something from scratch as fun, editing as work. Don’t get me wrong, I love editing, but I also view it as work and don’t attempt to tackle it unless I have a higher level of energy than I typically need for writing.
Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
I focus my attention on a single book until I’ve completed that specific draft (i.e. 1st draft, 3rd draft, etc.) and then I’ll switch to another novel to be able to come back to the prior novel with fresh eyes. This usually means I have multiple novels in different stages (e.g. 1st draft complete of novel a, 3rd draft in progress for novel b, 5th draft ready for final review of novel c, etc.)
I try and do a minimum of 5 or 6 drafts before I’m ready to move something to the publication stage with a professional editor. Usually with each draft, I have different goals in mind, so subsequent drafts are typically handled much quicker, requiring less edits.
If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?
This is a hard question to answer. I think the only answer I can give is for shared creative universes, things such as Forgotten realms, Blizzard entertainment, Star Wars, etc. It would have been cool to be tasked with creating the war of the ancients in the world of warcraft universe. We all had a rough idea of what happened during that time, but the novels really did a great job defining the details and building up a narrative for the events leading up to destruction of the well of eternity. Having some set event that you’re responsible for building up to and being given the creative freedom to define the events surrounding what happened would be an interesting experience. It would be a bit hard for me because nothing in my writing is sacrosanct, so I could change a major plot point or story idea because I come up with something better. Having this restriction would be a new experience.
I do plan to play around with this concept in prequal novels within my Foundra Universe, major events have already been established in my current novels, so going back and writing about those events will force me to do this.
Pen or typewriter or computer?
Computer hands down. I’ve been using a computer for most of my life and was an early internet user back in the 90s so my typing speed surpasses anything I could do with pen or typewriter. I grew up having debates on AOL instant messenger which trains you to type fast and accurately.
Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
One of my favorite characters in the book is a side character named Marcus Henson. He’s this big genetically enhanced super soldier who is a tempest on the battlefield and incredibly powerful. He’s also super friendly and like a big teddy bear off the battlefield which endears him to many of the main characters. I’ve had a lot of different plans for Marcus but his primary story arc ultimately plays out in Pride of Ashna. I’ll be honest and say it wasn’t originally what I had planned for him when I dreamed up his character back during the creation of the first novel, but I think fans will understand why I decided to take his character in this direction. This is an example of where the character spoke to me through the writing process and ultimately made a decision that was different from what I had in mind and I just went with it.
What made you want to become an author, and do you feel it was the right decision?
Funny enough, becoming an author was never a dream of mine growing up. It was never a career path that I considered or something that I intended to work toward. I went to college, got a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in a completely different profession that I still enjoy to this day. What ultimately led to me writing goes back to a conversation I had on a school bus in my senior year in high school.
I had a friend who I rode the bus with who was as much into fantasy and sci-fi as I was. We used to talk all the time about different books we were reading or things that interested us (we were also into yu-gi-oh cards which was the style at the time). One of the final days before the end of the school year, I started sharing with my friend this sci-fi universe that I had been daydreaming about since I was younger. I went into detail, outlining the major characters, this futuristic society, and the history of this galaxy. It was the first time I had ever shared my private imagination with another human being, and it filled me with excitement. He was hooked on every word I was saying, and I started drawing attention from other students on the bus. I didn’t realize it at the time but many years later after the rush of college was over and I was a working professional in the career I had chosen, that moment came back to me with crystal clarity.
I realized that I was a storyteller and that my imagination was meant to be shared with others. I immediately started writing down that universe and years later, it culminated in what became my first book, Foundra. I also started writing down every dream I had, every moment of inspiration and instance where my mind started crafting unique stories or situations. Writing things down enabled me to retain the moments of inspiration so I could come back later and do something with them. Looking back, I also give lots of credit to my creative writing teacher in high school. That was the most enjoyable class I had in high school which should have been a sign to me at the time! It was in that class that I learned the process of taking creative inspiration and putting it into words. I don’t remember her name, but I wish I could chat with her today and share what her teaching enabled in my life.
A day in the life of the author?
My day is complicated, I have two young boys who are bundles of energy that constantly crave attention. I also hold board positions for non-profits and have a full-time job in the technology industry that demands a lot of my time. Being an author usually fills just a couple hours (if I’m lucky) of my day. The only rule I have is write every day, whether that’s 30 minutes or 4 hours is up to the random nature of my days!
Advice they would give new authors?
Two main things, one for authors who have yet to finish their novel. Finish that novel, get it over the hill. Sometimes people get stuck on chapters and let that stop them from finishing their novel. I think in those moments, you need to write something down, even if it doesn’t fully capture what you’re trying to accomplish and make a note to yourself to come back to it. It’s more important to get to the end of the novel and officially notch off your first draft than it is to leave it in an uncompleted state. Editing is always easier for improving something than working with nothing.
For the new published author, welcome to the world of marketing. You’ll need to get good at this to be successful. I’m so sorry. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what you wrote will immediately draw readers and make you successful. This is rarely ever the case. You must get good at selling, which is hard if you’ve never sold anything in your life. It’s even harder to sell your own work for some reason, I think this has to do with rejection and us personally feeling rejected when people aren’t interested in something we’ve poured our hearts and souls into. You must get over that and move on, they aren’t rejecting you, that specific book just may not be for them and that’s okay.
Describe your writing style.
Editorial reviewers have commented that my writing has deep thematic threads woven into my prose that is commonly lacking in sci-fi. This is probably due to the way my brain works, everything is interconnected for me and I’m a natural systems thinker. It’s how I remember things and I’m not surprised that this comes through in my writing. Those reviewers have also mentioned that my writing is “smart and clean, with expositional elements slowly introduced throughout the prose, rather than the author subjecting readers to lengthy passages of procedural information,” which I interpreted as I don’t have the bad habit of dumping information on people to “catch them up” so I can continue telling a story. I hate it when authors do that in books, and I usually don’t retain all of whatever it was they just tried to dump on me.
Personally, I just try to relay the movie that’s playing in my head as I write, and I focus on improving the prose more and more until it flows as naturally as I envisioned it. I’m constantly looking at ways to improve my writing and love working with experienced editors who are just as passionate about my books as I am.
What makes a good story?
A good story is one that makes you feel something. You can have the most interesting characters, the most impressive plot, or the most technically proficient writing in the world. But if your story doesn’t elicit an emotional response, it’s forgettable. I have teared up at certain scenes that I’ve written in my books and even gotten angry at characters as situations have unfolded. I put emotion into my stories, and I care about what happens. It’s not just a narrative, it’s a view into another world with characters who have their own lives with motivations, desires, and fears. I think the best storytellers are ones who make you forget that it’s not real.
What are they currently reading?
Right now, I’m reading The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It’s been on my list for awhile as I was a huge fan of the Mistborn series and his other works Elantris and Warbreaker. I’m also on a quest to read as much classic sci-fi as I can and just recently finished I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
Emmanuel is the author of the Science Fiction, Space Opera Series: Foundra!
The Huzien Empire has existed for 80 millennia and a powerful invisible force known as the enesmic permeates every aspect of the Twin Galaxy.
Neven is an engineer working for the pinnacle of scientific achievement known as the MinSci on the Huzien homeworld of Thae. His genius draws the attention of one of the immortal Founders and he finds himself drafted into the military as part of an elite group of special forces known as the Founder’s Elites. Not given much time to adjust, his team is called to investigate stories of otherworldly creatures attacking fringe colony worlds.
Soahc is the most powerful wielder of the enesmic in the Twin Galaxy, he’s also incredibly cocky. That is until he senses a powerful shifting in the enesmic that he can’t explain. Terrified that something is horribly wrong, Soahc leaves his comfortable planet and hitches a ride with Neven and the Founder’s Elites as they investigate the carnage on the fringes of the empire.
Neven, Soahc and their allies discover something ancient from another plane of existence. Something that exposes the fragility of their galactic empire as they fight to survive annihilation from enesmic beings.
In the Outer Rim, a lawless region of space filled with violence, a young girl vows vengeance against the marauding pirate bands who brutally murdered her family.
After enlisting with the zealous matriarchal Ashna Maidens who attempt to police the Outer Rim, Serah’Elax quickly becomes a powerful weapon.
Meanwhile, a ruthless pirate band has taken over a cruise ship deep within Alliance space. They run into unexpected trouble when they encounter a few members of the highly trained force of military specialists known as the Founder’s Elites, who happened to be vacationing on the vessel. Disturbed by the boldness of the pirates, the Alliance tasks the rest of the Founder’s Elites with dealing a powerful blow to the marauders, who normally operate in the Outer Rim, once and for all. However, they quickly discover that things in the Outer Rim are not as expected.
The young warrior and Founder’s Elites must come together to face an extradimensional threat left over from the Rift War that seeks to turn the last bastion of safety in the Outer Rim into something that could threaten the entire Twin Galaxies. Will the new allies have the cunning necessary to defeat this insidious threat or will it tear the Ashna Maidens apart from the inside?
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Nina Soden 