Dead Ringers – Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures book 9

I have a blast writing my Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventure novels. Book 9 is now up for ebook ($5.99) preorder (available April 20th), and immediately if you want the paperback ($16.99).

Universal Book Link.


On his last day alive, Gus Caleb sits alone in a bar. Quiet place. No problems. Until problems show up.

Called to the Colston Ring, an alien artifact thousands of years old and inhabited by generations of human colonists, Captain Arlon Stoddard and his crew find the local authorities in disarray. Attempting to decode the background to a rash of strange disappearances makes the job near impossible.

When the crew begin uncovering the mystery, the things they find might just change everything for the millions of inhabitants of the ring.

More than anyone knows.

A Captain Arlon Stoddard novel that pushes the series into new directions. A must for fans and great place to jump in fresh.


In other news, book 10 Tramp Steamers has been written and copy-edited and is now just awaiting final formatting and last-minute tinkering. That will be out in October.

Not Above The Law, book 7 in the Cole Wright Thriller series will be out on June 20th, and available for ebook preorder, again $5.99. It will be in paperback too. More news on that to come. I should have a Cole Wright short story up for the month, free to read here. Check back on that in June.

Speaking of Cole Wright short stories No Lack of Courage, the first collection of stories is out now. Available as an ebook ($6.99), and as a trade paperback ($15.99) and hardback ($19.99).


Thanks for reading. I appreciate your eyes. More news soon.

Sean

In other news, SF writer predicts the future. Kind of.

Well, this is more chit-chat than anything. A few years back I had a story come out in Asimov’s Science Fiction titled “Chasing ‘Oumuamua”, about a struggling scientist figuring out how to follow a high-speed interstellar visitor through the solar system.

‘Oumuamua was a probable asteroid that visited us in 2017, sprinting through and zipping back to interstellar space. See Wikipedia.

Now, naturally taking the lead from my story, there are plans afoot to, actually, chase ‘Oumuamua. See this article at Earthsky.org. Or this one at NASA, which is actually titled “Chasing ‘Oumuamua”. Holy smokes. NASA!

Whoops, that NASA article is dated June 2018 and my story came out in January 2019. Of course, with the lead times for magazine, the story had been accepted in January 2018. Six months before. Take that NASA!

No. Retract that. I love NASA.

Now, much as my ego would like to suggest that idea was mine alone, all I really did was channel wishful thinking and follow where the science might take us.

“Chasing ‘Oumuamua” is still available, both through the single copy of that issue of Asimov’s on Amazon, but also also in a little collection of my own, together with the stories “Plunge” (a personal favorite), “Abandoned Theme Parks of Ulplotzka”, Life-Span” and “L-Own”. ebook $3.99, print $9.99. Available through this link.

Release day – Measured Aggression, Cole Wright thriller #2

MeasuredAggression

Cole Wright Book 2

The sign at the edge of town announces it as Cooperville, Pop 3516.

Small town. Big problems.

Passing through, Cole Wright just wants a meal and to get back on the road.

Always happy to have a nice meal.

Always happy to avoid problems.

Sometimes, though, problems just demand attention.


Available now – ebook $5.99, paperback $15.99, hardback $19.99


Universal book link


Also available, book 1 The Arrival, and the two short stories Dark Fields and Schedule Interruption – links in the images.

The Chimneys in Atterton – book 3 in The Morgenfeld Saga, out now.

Since I was much younger, I’ve loved Mervyn Peake’s Ghormenghast books. Dark and complex, with rich worlds and bizarre characters in a strange, strange world. My three Morgenfeld books are heavily influenced by those, though (I think) my style is very different to Peake’s. I can only aspire to his depth and emotion.

Still, these are fun books to write. I enjoy hanging out in the endless city of Morgenfeld, and I’m glad that some readers do too.

The blurb goes like this: “As Head Mapmaker of Morgenfeld, Cole Palmer deals with everything from politics to cartography to simply finding his way through the maze of the endless city.When dead factories start belching smoke from ancient chimneys, and people show up dead, Cole and his colleagues race to solve the mystery before it costs more lives. And endangers the whole of Morgenfeld.A novel of intrigue and desperation from the deep and complex world of the vast city of Morgenfeld.Enter a fantasy world. Following The Map Maker of Morgenfeld and The Stairs at Cronnenwood, The Chimneys at Atterton is book three in the Morgenfeld Saga. For fans of Gormenghast and Mordew.”

Mordew, as mentioned there, is Alex Pheby’s wonderful recent fantasy that I recommend. You can just slip into it and wonder how our world seems so very normal when you return.

The Chimneys in Atterton is available here – Universal Book Link, $5.99 ebook, $15.99 print. The other books in the series are still available – should show up in series links at most retailers. I’ve updated the covers of the previous two, and I quite like the look now.

Wonderful cover art on all three by Grandfailure, through dreamstime. The mood of the images fits the stories so well.

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

Sean

How to write a lot of words

Yesterday, (February 20th, as I write this) I crossed the mark of having written 100,000 words so far for the year. That’s around 2000 words a day, which is higher than I’m used to. I did have some extra time available to me, which gave me some days of over 3000 words, but most days have been in the 1600 to 1700 word range.

Small potatoes compared to some, but more than many other writers. I feel that I don’t often write about my writing process here – mostly this is aimed at readers, rather than writers. For a year or so, I wrote a weekly column for Harvey Stanbrough‘s Pro Writers Writing project – where a group of us discussed the process. I learned a lot, both from the other writers, and from thinking about my own rhythms and patterns. The site has gone now (over the period, we lost contributors – which I get; it was tough work coming up with a new topic every week), but I’ve saved all the posts, which may, or may not, depending on time and inclination, appear as a book here.

Still, how did I get to 100, 000 words? How did I write 2000 words of fiction, on average, each day. It comes back to Heinlein’s rules. Rule One: You must write. So I wrote. I made sure to write every day. I took moments when I could, to write. Before leaving for my day job. During my tea breaks and lunch break. After work. Weekends. Sometimes I get to squeeze out 100 words in a sliver of time, sometimes I would get longer blocks – a couple of hours.

Part of it is about not waiting for the muse. It’s about just writing. Bum in chair. Fingers on keyboard. Writing. Cycling or churning. Getting the words down.

I’ve also published two novels so far – Desert Creepers and Raphael Marooned – with a third coming next month – The Chimneys in Atterton (Morgengeld Book III). I’ll post about that sometime soon. The point is, no sense in writing without putting it out there (Heinlein’s Rule Four: You must put your work in the market).

Desert Creepers is the fourth in my Captain Arlon Stoddard series, kind of trying to be a little like Gregory Kern’s old F.A.T.E. books, but with a modern beat (SF in the 2020s is a very different thing to in the 1970s). The fifth book should be out later this year – Core Runners, with the sixth – Underworld Climbers – either much later this year, or early next. I need to fix the cover of Desert Creepers – not quite happy with that layout and the font size and color. Still, thanks to those who’ve bought it already (and Raphael Marooned) – I do appreciate it.

Raphael Marooned – New book out January 20th

marooned-ebook-cover-27-1-21-bMy new novel, Raphael Marooned is out on January 20th. This is a shorter novel – about 40,000 words, so priced at $3.99 for the ebook. It’s available as a 6x9in print book at $9.99.

“The wrecking of Raphael Cruz’s vessel, The Willalou, on Planet Eduardine throws all his plans into disarray. With a trusty AI, Raphael plunges into a desperate race to survive Eduardine’s baking desert. Limited supplies, a broken ship and no way to call for help force Raphael to seek extreme solutions.Nothing comes easy.A survival story with a heart.”

This was a fun book to write. What I notice is that I’m having more fun with writing as I write more. I think perhaps I’m getting more relaxed with it, leaving behind the echoes of some of those ancient writing courses with all their strictures and constraints.

Find the universal book link here, which should take you on to your retailer of choice – Apple, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords, etc.

“Problem Landing” – new story in Analog

analog cover march april 2021

My story (a novelette as it turns out) “Problem Landing” appears in the March/April issue of Analog Science Ficion & Fact. Another Mars story, this one takes its inspiration from the current activities of companies like SpaceX.

This is the more practical end of my science fiction – all possible and probable extensions of current technologies. Nice to have cover art by Maurizio Manzieri – for Meg Pontecorvo’s novelette “Flash Mob”.  I love Maurizio’s art – he’s always able to capture the essence of a story so evovatively.

Sometime soon there’s a Q&A with me appearing on the Analog blog, with some background on the story. I’ll post a link when that’s up.

That was 2020

Quick post, I hope. I’m not here much, but I got a delivery a few days ago. All of my indie published books from last year.

Why, in January 2021, am I only just receiving those? Well, Covid, a little bit, also, shipping, a lot – the shipping charge getting one book sent over at a time more than doubles the cost of the book, getting thirteen at once is quite a bit less than double (but still pricey). Also, New Zealand’s National Library’s legal deposit rules changed – no longer do I have to supply, in a timely manner, a print copy if the book is also available as an ebook.

This is what was in the box. Some standalone short stories, some short novels, some series novels, and a few collections. (and, yes, Mum, I got extra copies of those two you’d asked for ).

If I was being smart and patient, I would list links to all of them here, you know, ‘cos I should be good at marketing. Well, if you look at this link to Amazon, you’ll find my books there, in print and as ebooks too.

Thirteen books. This year I’m taking it easy. Only going for twelve. Some more from the series, some more standalones, and a whole new series coming.

Thanks for reading.

New Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventure, available January 20th

Progressing through my challenge of getting something published every month for a year, the book for January is Desert Creepers, the fourth book in my Captain Arlon Stoddard series. Pacy sci-fi adventure. I think this is my favorite of the four so far. Hoping to have another two out later in the year – Core Runners and Underworld Climbers. One is ready to format, and the other needs final editing

Desert Creepers

Captain Arlon Stoddard, hero of the spaceways, tackles anything thrown his way. Even simple mysteries on backwater planets, like Souoria.
Meanwhile, Emme Jonette, vagabond, opportunist, thief, roves Souoria’s scorching desert hunting down mythical Zeytana artifacts. With even more desperate thieves on her tail.
Simple mysteries can turn into collision courses with devastating consequences. Cover image by Keremgo.

Available from January 20th here – Universal Book Link – ebook $5.99, print $14.99

Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures – Books 1, 2 and 3

Asteroid Jumpers

Captain Arlon Stoddard’s ageing ship the Luminou closes in on one of the Crespin system’s asteroids. Hunting for fugitives in a protected dome.
But what Arlon and his crew find will stretch their resources to the very breaking point. Fugitives become the least of their problems.
Arlon needs to figure this out. Fast. The lives of his crew hang in the balance.
Filled with rip-roaring adventure and complex intrigue, the Captain Arlon Stoddard novels cover it all.

On Amazon

Ice Hunters

Tracking and monitoring on Ardecelle–a deep frozen planet far from any sign of civilization–should be straightforward for experienced researchers like Commander Bea Calder and her tough crew. Getting lost should never happen.
With failing equipment and lost communications they need urgent help. Which is where Captain Arlon Stoddard and his crew should be able to help.
But then, Ardecelle has a few surprises of its own.
With death, danger and disaster, the Captain Arlon Stoddard stories have it all. “Ice Hunters” finds the captain and his crew focusing on a small important task the might just hold revelations for the whole of human occupied space.

On Amazon

Ship Tracers

Finding killers hiding among the crevices and crags of cold dead asteroids challenges Captain Arlon Stoddard’s crew in whole new ways.
Far out in the Corrin system, the asteroid Nankong has thousands of hiding places. Locating the culprits will take all their skills and test their wits.
Especially when the asteroid deals out a surprising detail about how many people it has hidden away.
Mystery and adventure and exotic locales, the Captain Arlon Stoddart stories have it all. “Ship Tracers” expands the tale of the crew into whole new territories.

On Amazon

In other news, there’s more new music out from both Venus Vulture and Shadows on the snow. I’ll post links and details soon, I hope.

Still struggling with the new (well, not that new now) WordPress ‘Blocks’ system for writing these blogs. I yearn for simplicity. I get that it’s way more powerful and does some clever things, but I still, yeah, struggle. All of the above is using blocks, so I guess I’m very slowly getting there. Should do more posts, I suppose, so that I learn it faster.

There will be more fiction – a preorder for a new short novel is prepped for February – Raphael Marooned – and more music later in the year.

Take care. I know it’s challenging out there. Let’s hope for a pretty great 2021. Gotta be better than 2020, right?

Three pre-orders

I’m still learning so much about publishing, but working to get more ahead, especially with pre-orders. It’s helping me to keep a more regular schedule, without feeling rushed.

 

November 20th – The Great Wall of Endemo. This is YA sci fi, the third novel in the Matti-Jay and Dub adventures, fifth overall if you count the two short stories, and eighth overall if you count the first trilogy, “The Chronicles of the Donner”.

Visiting distant planet Endemo, with its mysterious huge alien wall, Matti-Jay and the crew of the Blue Defender expect some quiet sightseeing. But with hidden secrets, the wall, and the locals seem impenetrable. Matti-Jay struggles, racing to unravel the truth as things fall apart around her.

The Great Wall of Endemo – ebook $5.99, print 16.99 – available November 20th

 

November 25th – The Film Adjuster. This is kind of contemporary fantasy. When I wrote it, I thought it was sci fi, but a reader pointed out that there really wasn’t science involved, so fantasy it is. I don’t think it’s urban fantasy. 

Cale loves the movies. Soda. Popcorn. Almost a ritual.
Action, drama, romance, arthouse. He has eclectic tastes. Very eclectic.
When he encounters Nicole, though, things change. Drastically.
It might take everything in him to keep a handle on reality.
A twisted story that rides right into the depths of manipulation, from the author of Life-Span.

The Film Adjuster – ebook $2.99, print $9.99 – available November 25th.

 

December 20th – Tritium Blaze. This is book two of the series The Jupiter Files. Adventure sci fi.

Piloting the Echo Star around Jupiter enlivens Live Dricoll’s senses in surprising ways. Gigantic and swirling, the planet reminds her of old conversations with her late grandmother.
But strange forces lurk, putting more on the line than just her grandmother’s legacy.
This shapes up like a battle for humanity’s future. With Liv stuck right in the middle.

Tritium Blaze – ebook $5.99, print $17.99 – available December 20th.

 

This year has been one for sci fi, with some literary thrown in. Next year should be more varied, still some sci fi, still some literary, but there will also be the third book in the Morgenfeld series, and a new thriller series.

 

Interesting note on my Morgenfeld series, Alex Pheby has a new book out called “Mordew“. A gothic fantasy, apparently in the vein of Mervyn Peake. I have a copy and I’ll be reading it soon. I wonder what I’ll think. Probably envy. Still, intriguing (to me, at least) in that we’ve both taken use ‘Mor-‘ as the start of the name of our locale, with a sound a bit like Peake’s “Gormenghast”. I’ll write another post about that when I’ve finished the book. Could be a while; the stack is tall and Mordew is hefty.