The Rain of Stars … BEGINS 🌧+⭐️=🤩

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This is one of my world-famous emails, originally sent Saturday, 1 June 2019. Get on the list here! This week, it’s not about me True story. For the month of June, I’m bringing you a selection of five-star space operas for the bargain of … zero Earth dollars. Enter: the five-star space opera bundle. Before that, a quick update from yours truly. I’ve been working for a very cool organization. It’s been quite exceptional, not least of which because they do stuff like this (click the first one). Writing on Boundless continues to be good, clean fun: today I had Geneve slice a man in half, but from the groin up. Should that stay in the final cut? To be fair, I usually lop off arms, so this is a big departure for me. I teamed up with four other Read More …

The Terror of New Things 😨

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This is one of my world-famous emails, sent Friday 24 May 2019. Get on the list here. Being asked to do something different can be terrifying. There’s a thing happening in AuthorLand™ – readers want new things and authors do not know WTF to do. I, because I have very little sense, pride, or self-preservation instinct, am trying new things anyway. This week: How’s Boundless going? Terror, and A sample. Let’s dig in. Your Boundless update. Boundless is kicking ass and taking names. I’m about 11,000 words into the manuscript so far (even ignoring the ~3,000 I ditched as a result of my Meriwether experiment [that link will take you to a before-and-after shot of two versions of Boundless’s co-hero, Meriwether]). I’m having a lot of fun with it. I’ve spent more time worldbuilding this one than anything I’ve written Read More …

You Don’t Need All The Money…

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…and sometimes the quest for it can fuck you up spectacularly. I’ve been a sometime fan of the recently-released Anthem. It’s a fun game, but it’s not finished; it lacks a bunch of things that would make it AAA, and the developer’s gone radio silent after their mad cash grab / lurch for market share. This morning, while catching up on my PC PowerPlay, I saw this great opinion piece I’ll just leave here for you: The thing I like most about this is the calling out of the reprehensible tactics of people who already have all the money, trying to get more of the money, by exploiting people. It’s really not okay, but it’s evident everywhere – even in book marketing, where the biggest indie names are doing a kind of mad land grab (that’s a story for another Read More …

Testing Meriwether Versions

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Long time followers might know I experiment with different scenes to test characters. I will sometimes put them out of place — like putting a werewolf in a hair salon — or try different versions of the character. Boundless is a new thing for me, with a whole new cast. The two main characters are Geneve, a Church Knight, and Meriwether, a fugitive from the Light’s justice. It’s okay, we love him anyway. When constructing Meriwether, I wanted to find out whether he feels better as a strong hero, or a disempowered one. Behold, two versions of a what’s-next chapter*. The first is strong Meri, who can conjure illusions without breaking a sweat. The second is Meri the lesser, who has a … rougher time. * These are first drafts, full of errors, inconsistencies, and other fuckery. Do not send Read More …

A cover reveal, wallpapers, and … CAN THIS BE A RELEASE?! 🎉

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One of my world-famous emails, originally sent Saturday, 18 May 2019. Get on the list here! Tyche Everywhere We’re pausing our Boundless talk to return to the Ezeroc Wars universe for a spell. Back in the mists of time, I wrote y’all a for-fans novel. So very, very many of you emailed me saying a) you liked it and b) where the hell’s the next book? Your wait is at an end. This week: What’s been going on in the Empire; Tyche Forever and its new cover (spoilers: it’s amazing, I love it); A little about the next two; and My cover artist’s last gift for you. Let’s dig in. The Empire …by which I mean, my life. It’s been a good couple months this end. I’ve finished up a contract with an excellent bunch of people at New Zealand’s Read More …

Anon: Not Quite There

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We watched Anon last night. The trailer makes this look like a reasonable cyberpunk action flick – does it deliver? No. Despite reasonable star power with Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, and a good start, what follows is a sagging, poorly-paced tale marginally redeemed by an on-point ending. Anon features Owen’s character Sal, a kind of future police officer with the easiest job in the world, since everyone’s got cybereyes that record their every waking moment. After uncovering a soft underbelly of criminals who can edit these memories from the public record, we’re treated to about 45 minutes of old white men sitting in sterile-looking rooms, all while they watch snips of the world through other people’s eyes. There’s quite a lot of naked women on display, sadly not balanced by men – which we should probably be thankful for, Read More …

Calterburry Keep 🏰 and a Cover Reveal (kinda)

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This is one of my world-famous emails, originally sent Friday, 3 May 2019. Get on the list here! Calterburry Keep This week, we’re talking about manufacturing a medieval keep out of thin air. I like to call this professional lying: May’s deals; A Old-Is-New Cover! and Building Calterburry, without any practical skills. Let’s lift that virtual hammer. Night’s End I’ve had Night’s Favor on sale before (it’s my earliest release), and the sequel Night’s Fall too, but probably close-enough-to-never* the series finale, Night’s End. Now you can see how a mismatched, gritty team (including a cop, a reprobate, a soldier, a sorceress, two werewolves, and a non-sparkly vampire) can save the world from Judgment. Your deals for May are FIS Favor and the finale, End, all bookstores, all over planet Earth: [0.99] (or adjusted currency) [0.99] (or adjusted currency) * Read More …

Building People 🤺

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One of my world-famous emails, originally sent Wednesday, 24 April. Get on the list here! It all started with Crossfit. Last time, I talked about new story worlds. Y’all gave me a lot of thoughts on what to cover next, and the two most popular were, “Yeah, more on Calterburry,” and, “Let’s talk about the people.” We’re going people first, notably the main hero of Boundless. This week: A reminder! Chromed: everywhere, and Building realistic heroes: the science behind women who are warriors. Let’s get in there, yeah? April’s Sale ends… at the end of April. You might remember the first two Tyche books are on sale for a buck apiece, or adjusted Earth currency, on Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, and Nook. If you want to get into Firefly-meets-Aliens, you know what to do: [0.99] [0.99] While we’re here, May brings Read More …