Tag: space adventure

Tramp Steamers – Captain Arlon Stoddard book 10 now available for preorder

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

I’m excited that the Captain Arlon Stoddard series has now reached book number 10. I have such a blast writing these and it’s fun setting them free into the world.

Also, this is going to be the first with an updated cover style. Still with the “A CAPTATIN ARLON STODDARD ADVENTURE” banner across the top (but now in caps), but also switching the title to the bottom, and my name to the top. In this world you gotta shout out if you want attention 🙂

Here are the old style and new style covers by way of comparison. Next part of my plan is to retrofit all the previous nine novels in the series like this.

 

 

Tramp Steamers

Planet Ulshene’s unique trading culture takes some getting used to. Steamers ply the skies, skimming over the endless prairie.

Barl Brennan rates his skills as a crewman. Without a job, he faces a tough choice. Edmond Steverin knows desperation when he sees it.

Captain Arlon Stoddard slips undercover and finda himself tipped into a world filled with intrigue.

Can they survive the complex interlinked web of easy deceit and mortal danger?

Universal book link here. ebook $5.99, print book $18.99. Preorder available now, releasing on October 20th.

I love the art of Ian McQue, most especially his junks and tugs that float through the sky. Would that I could draw images like those. At least those images were part of the inspiration for Tramp Steamers. Something that fitted right into the Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures – antigravity is part of the stories already, and the idea of pirates and complex commercial shipping all kind of fell in together.

And another inspiration was Sherri S. Tepper‘s wonderful 1989 novel Grass. Less about the alien side of it, but certainly a planet dominated by prairie. I was much younger when I first read it and found myself plunged into her remarkable, immersive world. Sometimes it’s compared to Dune, as a book that takes a world with a singular aspect and exploits that for the story.

 

Dead Ringers – Captain Arlon Stoddard book 9

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

Dead Ringers, book 9 in my Captain Arlon Stoddard series is available on pre order with an April 20th release – universal book link here

More will come closer to the time (though I will be away from the net on a research trip on the lead up to release day).

I will say now, though, that I’m excited about this one. Nine books now in the series. Who’d have thought, huh?

And, as I type this, I’m working on Tramp Steamers, the tenth book.

I also wanted to mention briefly the wonderful cover by Algol (licensed through Dreamstime) – I actually licensed this years back for a different story. A story I hadn’t written at the time. I loved the image and I grabbed it, and wrote a story based on it, thinking just to indie publish it. But then, I sold the story to a magazine, so that locked it up for a while (generally when you sell – license – a story, part of that is a period of time when it’s exclusive to the magazine, fair enough, they paid for that).

Anyway, in the interim, I’ve just never got around to publishing the story as a standalone (goofing off, I guess, since, you know, apparently I’m a slouch when it comes to putting stories and novels up indie and really should be getting more of them out), but I still hold the license on the image.

Then I wrote Dead Ringers and it was really different and high-concept and stuff like that and ultimately I was struggling to find cover art that fitted the story. Then I remembered I had this. It fits this story well, it’s dynamic and energetic and conveys the action. So here it is.

More soon – a blurb and other details on price and so on. But you know, we do have until April 20th until it’s out.

Thanks for reading.

More soon.

Sean

Mist Drifters – Captain Arlon Stoddard book 8

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

I love writing science fiction adventure stories. Kind of stuff I grew up reading. And with my Captain Arlon Stoddard books, I seem to have more fun each time.

Book 8 Mist Drifters is out on August 20th.

Mist Drifters – Blurb

Captain Arlon Stoddard and his tireless crew patrol the spaceways.

Unexplained deaths on the planet Hanshirr stretch the local investigators to their limits. Arlon and the crew find themselves in a race to save lives. With virtually no clues.

Because the layers of appearances and deception pit them between the obvious and the hidden.

Another pacey adventure in the Captain Arlon Stoddard series.

Cover art by Luca Oleastri – thanks Luca.

Available from the Universal Book Link

$5.99 ebook, $15.99 print

Right now it’s showing as “#10,339 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks” on Amazon. That’s an awful long way down the rankings 🙂 but I suppose a fair start for book in a little series still on preorder. 

See the Captain Arlon Stoddard page here for the full run down on the series. Now that we’re up to eight books, it might be time update the graphic.

Island Hoppers – Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventure #7 available for preorder now

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

I have several series on the go now, and it’s hard to pick a favourite. I like them each for different reasons. The Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures are really just me writing the kind of stories that I liked to read as a teenager. They’re fun to write, and Arlon’s universe is broad and complex. I’ve had settings in deserts and deep space, ice bound planets and jungle-covered lands. Island Hoppers is set on an ocean world, dotted with islands.

Island Hoppers – Blurb

Captain Arlon Stoddard and his tireless crew patrol the spaceways.

Arriving on Melle, a planet covered in vast oceans, hundreds of archipelagoes and entirely lacking continents, the crew know they have their work cut out for them.

With conflicting jurisdictions, megalomaniac leaders and a mysterious ruin, the planet presents exactly the kinds of problems the crew specializes in. Impossible ones.

But betrayal from an unexpected quarter throws them into a desperate battle for their lives.

A battle that might just have Melle reveal its secrets.

Out on April 20th. Available now for preorder from the usual channels – universal book link here. Paperback available around April 17th. ebook $5.99, print $15.99.

 

 

 

 

If you love space adventure, the Captain Arlon Stoddard series is for you. A close knit crew, devious villians and near-impossible situations, all with a twisted mystery and a genuine heart.

With Island Hoppers, the series draws level with my Karnish River Navigations series with seven books. I’m just about finished drafting an eighth book in that series – Jackpot Kingdom – and hope to have that finished and out later in there year. I enjoy writing in both, so I might be alternating with them for a while.

Thanks for reading.

Sean

Two new Sci-Fi preorders

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

After the thriller novel, and accompanying short story in January, February sees two new Sean Monaghan releases – two science fiction long stories or novellas or even short novels if you like. Quick reads?

First out of the blocks is Cami, Metta and The Cube. A kind of cyberpunk, high-tech thriller, but definitely on the science fiction side (a rental car AI with attitude, and a hypergrid terrorist). Available for preorder, with release on February 10th. Universal book link here. $3.99 ebook, $9.99 print.

Cami, Metta and The Cube

Cami Gretton, courier, entreprenuer and getaway artist, trusts too easily. When the simple job of delivering a hypergrid Testa Cube turns sour, Cami finds herself tangled in a double cross. Or a triple cross. Hard to tell.

Could even be worse.

Cami needs every skill in her possession to extricate herself. And then some.

A near future thriller from the author of Dangerous Machines.

Second up, on February 20th, but already up for preorder, is Fubrelli’s Ghost. Science Fiction, but of a very different kind (I think). Set on Jupiter’s moon Callisto and, given the title, a little bit of the supernatural. Available for preorder with release on February 20th. Universal book link here. Again, $3.99 for the ebook and $9.99 in print. I have yet to figure out how to hang the print version into the preorder system, so that will be released a few days before the 20th.

Fubrelli’s Ghost

Jupiter’s huge frozen moon Callisto suits Claire. Suits her perfectly. Its rugged, barren landscape entrances her as she works with the station crew to fathom the icy secrets.

But when a ghost shows up, Claire and the crew face secrets that go far beyond science.

Secrets that might just change the entire nature of deep space exploration.

A space adventure from the author of ‘Problem Landing’ and ‘One Hundred’.

 

Underworld Climbers cover reveal

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

Book Six of my Captain Arlon Stoddard Adventures series will be out on June 20th. Just into the final formatting, writing of a blurb and those last few bits of tidy up before it can get out into the world

Underworld Climbers might even be my personal favorite of the series, so far, but then, usually the most recent thing I’ve written is my favorite.

The cover is by the amazing Luca Oleastri, whose images appear on several of the other Captain Arlon Stoddard books.

Blurb and links and more details coming soon. Meanwhile, this is the wonderful cover. Thanks Luca.

Underworld Climbers temp

Eyes to the Height in May/June Analog Science Fiction and Fact

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2021-05-13 at 7.22.57 PMMy short story “Eyes to the Height” appears in the current issue of Analog. This is my third Analog story, and I’m thrilled to have had even one. Cyan Reddings struggles with an issue or two with her little cutter as she flies above the moon. These are the opening few paragraphs:

__________________

Cyan Reddings tried again to coax some response from the consoles of her misbehaving cutter. She’d launched from Herschel III sixteen minutes ago and things had gone south from the get go.

The cutter was a Sampang Sliver, with a very nice Merlin engine. Twenty two meters from stem to the base of the main nacelle. Way too powerful for just moon hops–twenty thousand kilograms of thrust and just about enough fuel capacity to kick her out to Mars if she wanted.

Not that she could. She would run out of food and air and sanity, probably not in that order, long before she even got ten percent of the way out.

The Sliver’s cockpit was plush and comfortable. Way too much space for just one person. Sampang had fitted it out for at a dozen.

Moon tourism.

__________________

 

Check it out at analogsf.com, and available on Amazon and other retailers. Even at your local newstand.

 

Wow, my second post in a week. Part of my effort to here a little more frequently. Hopefully I can continue to have things worthwhile saying. Hopefully this was worthwhile. Thanks for reading.

Latest novel: The City Builders – out on April 16th

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

City BuildersMy latest release continues the theme of strange and dangerous environments challenging the characters. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of vast cities so it I had fun taking free rein creating the world of Mackelle. The blurb goes like this:

Desra Parker loves investigating strange planets. But when missiles shoot her ship down over Mackelle, Desra and her crew find themselves in a desperate race for survival. Battling the elements and relentless building-sized robots, Desra needs to unravel the mysteries of Mackelle’s endless city if she’s going to keep anyone alive. And figure out a way to get home.
I was lucky enough to get this wonderful cover illustration by Bertrandb (Dreamstime.com) which perfectly conveys the setting.
Available from your usual retailers, including
ebook – $5.99
Print $17.99
Amazon

Wakers – New story coming out in August Asimov’s

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 2 Comments

ASF_JUNE2016_400x580 Well, this is the cover for the June issue, but I’ll post the August cover when that issue comes out… with my story “Wakers” inside.

Here’s the blurb from the Asimov’s website:

In Sean Monaghan’s tense August 2016 novelette, unforeseen dangers have disrupted an interstellar journey. Although the work of self-sacrificing astronauts has kept the spaceship running for hundreds of years, the voyage may soon be permanently altered by fresh “Wakers.”

I’m looking forward to it. Keep an eye out for the issue. It should be out in early July.

To Take a Breath – new Triple V/Self-pub story out.

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 2 Comments

to take a breath cover

A while ago I wrote a longish short story (8400 words), science fiction, set well into the future and sent it off to all the appropriate pro markets. It came back each time, sometimes with a form rejection, sometimes with a little personal note but still a rejection. So I’m putting it up through my own Triple V imprint with some trepidation.

You see, it’s about an astronaut running out of air. I haven’t seen Gravity yet, but the previews seem to have given the game away a bit too much (I’m going over the weekend so I’ll know more by Monday). I know my story’s very different from the movie (near-future vs. far future, international space station vs. space wreck, near-Earth-orbit vs. light years away, George Clooney vs. minor character, etc.), but still kind of feel like I’m ripping off the trope a bit, even though I wrote this before I’d even heard about Gravity.

Still, to assuage that guilt a fraction, for readers of this blog/facebook post, here’s a code to get it free. (I know there aren’t many of you, but feel free to pass the code on… it expires in a month anyway: Gravity will be fading from the theatres and I will feel less guilty).

Go to the ebook at Smashwords and enter the code FY77L. You have to be a member of Smashwords, but I think most of you are already. Let me know if not – I’ll send you the epub or mobi or whatever. You can preview 20% anyway with or without joining.

Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: FY77L
Expires: November 24, 2013

It’s also on Kindle, and will show up on Nook, Sony, etc. soon.

Here’s the opening:

Clare Benjamin knew she had three minutes to live. The suit’s oxygen gauge read eighteen liters, atmospheric effective. Fifty breaths. She was already on the emergency tank.

She gave the strobe a flash and saw the way ahead. Conduits and wires. Some of them were damaged, pointing stiff and sharp edges into the narrow passages.
Behind the conduits the pressure walls might be intact. Probably were. She’d felt a thrumming in the hull when she’d pulled herself along through the evacuated hold. Somewhere inside there was an engine running. It might just be some automatic function, but it might also be a converter sustaining atmosphere to some sections of the wrecked ship. If she could get inside an atmospheric room, then she could buy some time to figure out her next move.

“You find it yet?” Suz said through the comms.

Clare pulled herself along another meter in the darkness. She fired the strobe again. The gap looked even more vicious up close. Like the serrated jaw of a deep sea monster ready to ingest her.

“Clare? You got an exit yet?”

“I’m here. No. I didn’t find it.” Suzanne Memphis was waiting outside the liner in their eighty ton tender, the Mercy Me.

“You need to move, girl.”

“Oh? Thanks for the reminder.” Two months ago, they’d been salvaging from The New Jersey, a station at Cannon’s Star, busted and orbiting Cooltown, the system’s biggest gas giant. The station had been shut down by its owners. Suz and Clare’s clients had lost all their personal property being shipped through. Suz had gotten herself lost. The memory still made Clare blanch.

continue reading at Smashwords