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Showing posts with label Freebie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freebie. Show all posts
Tuesday, 4 August 2020
Promos & giveaways a-plenty
Sunday, 26 January 2020
Musical sci-fi & freebies
This week I have a cool little freebie for you. If you've followed closely you may already have heard about it, but many of you haven't, and that's my collaboration with doctea, who wrote the music to go with my sci-fi story Ten Billion to Ten. You can listen for free here, or download (for a donation if you wish). It's in the vein of the War of the Worlds style, and conjures some great soundscapes and visuals. I had the pleasure of a live performance by DJ Ed Steelefox (narrator). If you enjoy, do let us know!
The image on the left was the Star Trekian set for the reading, and really added to the vibe!
Writings
It's been a good week for my writing - I managed the 2.5k short story for the NYC Short Story competition I mentioned last week, fulfilling the Mason, Obsession, and Fantasy keywords. Hopefully. Hopefully I haven't played my cards too close to my chest on that one, and I get through to the next round. It was a lot of fun! This week, it will be back to The Risen Part 2, refining the prologue and getting on with the novel. I may post the prologue here when ready, as well as the short story for the competition. Might be something fiction to read next week!
Review of the week
Had some great reviews this week. One of my favourites was for Neon City:
Rebellion is brewing in Neon City. Great series! January 23, 2020
In the world of Altadas, there are no more human births.
As the Greshian Empire broadens its reach, pockets of rebel forces form to combat their tyrannical rule. Death before dishonor becomes the last gasp of dying civilizations.
Brendle Quin is the death dealer. More times than he can count he has pulled the trigger to desolate entire worlds. Growing disenchanted with galactic murder, he finds himself on a course that will pit him against the empire he once swore to serve.
When two sides of the war converge, surviving becomes common ground for unlikely allies. As the battle wages overhead, they will die unless they trust one another—no simple task after years of mutual hate.
Join the crew of the Replicade, in this first installment of The Alorian Wars, as they fight a battle that will bring them to the brink of death—or beyond.
Writings
It's been a good week for my writing - I managed the 2.5k short story for the NYC Short Story competition I mentioned last week, fulfilling the Mason, Obsession, and Fantasy keywords. Hopefully. Hopefully I haven't played my cards too close to my chest on that one, and I get through to the next round. It was a lot of fun! This week, it will be back to The Risen Part 2, refining the prologue and getting on with the novel. I may post the prologue here when ready, as well as the short story for the competition. Might be something fiction to read next week!
Review of the week
Had some great reviews this week. One of my favourites was for Neon City: Rebellion is brewing in Neon City. Great series! January 23, 2020
Take up the story after Calix and Annora surrender themselves to Neon City’s authority. Rebellion is brewing. Will the truth prevail or will the Authority just keep winning?
Movies of the week
Also found time to relax with a few movies this week, two highlights being Phantom Thread and Toys Are Not For Children. The latter was found through a blog I follow (DVD Infatuation) and sounded intriguing. From the drive-in era, it's a psychological exploitation movie about a girl with an unnatural desire. Definitely worth a watch if you enjoy that era. The YT channel seems to have a plethora of drive-in style movies which I'll have to check out!
As a massive fan of Magnolia, I was keen to watch Phantom Thread. It didn't disappoint but I wasn't convinced by the ending: it was beautiful to look at and far more sedate than Magnolia, but I think more of the underside of the characters needed to be shown for the ending to be believable, as it was I wasn't convinced by the motivation. The central pairings relationship just seemed too toxic, for both of them. Perhaps that was the point. This creative game of ours is such a fine line, between telling a story that feels real, and one that is twisted to fulfil a vision.
As always, thanks for reading. And please check out some promos below.
The Regime is replacing the unborn with demons, while the Resistance is trying to destroy a drug called Hope that the demons need to survive.
Between these two warring factions lies Jacob, a man who profits from smuggling contraceptive amulets into the city of Blackout. He cares little about the Great Iron War, but a chance capture, and an even more accidental rescue, embroils him in a plot to starve the Regime from power.
When Hope is an enemy, Jacob finds it harder than he thought to remain indifferent. When the Resistance opts to field its experimental landship, the Hopebreaker, they find they might just have a chance to win this war.
Between these two warring factions lies Jacob, a man who profits from smuggling contraceptive amulets into the city of Blackout. He cares little about the Great Iron War, but a chance capture, and an even more accidental rescue, embroils him in a plot to starve the Regime from power.
When Hope is an enemy, Jacob finds it harder than he thought to remain indifferent. When the Resistance opts to field its experimental landship, the Hopebreaker, they find they might just have a chance to win this war.
The war for the galaxy is at hand.
As the Greshian Empire broadens its reach, pockets of rebel forces form to combat their tyrannical rule. Death before dishonor becomes the last gasp of dying civilizations.
Brendle Quin is the death dealer. More times than he can count he has pulled the trigger to desolate entire worlds. Growing disenchanted with galactic murder, he finds himself on a course that will pit him against the empire he once swore to serve.
When two sides of the war converge, surviving becomes common ground for unlikely allies. As the battle wages overhead, they will die unless they trust one another—no simple task after years of mutual hate.
Join the crew of the Replicade, in this first installment of The Alorian Wars, as they fight a battle that will bring them to the brink of death—or beyond.
Sunday, 19 January 2020
The time for audiobooks is here...
As the title gives away, I discovered ACX this week! I've been wanting to convert my titles to audiobooks for ages, but the cost has always been prohibitive. If you're a writer wishing to do the same, you should check them out if you haven't already - narrators audition FOR YOU! If you're a reader, than my books will all be added to Audible throughout the year. I anticipate Neon Sands being ready in March. So watch this space!
Some oddity this week - Neon Zero, the FREE Neon prequel - shot up in the charts. I'm not sure who shared it or where it was posted, but if it was you - THANK YOU! Or if you downloaded a copy - I HOPE YOU ENJOY! Don't forget to leave a review!
I've also begun The Risen Part 2 and have a very tasty Prologue, which I may well share next week. It has already gone in an unexpected direction, with a narrator protagonist who will be very challenging to write, but not boring! It'll be a big change from writing in the Neon world, set in middle England and Wales, blood waterfalling down the hills.
NYC Midnight Short Story Competition
I've entered this year's NYC Midnight Short Story Competition, so wish me luck! There are 4 rounds of writing (if you get through) and the first round is open now. I have about 6 days left to write a 2,500 word short story, and I've been given Fantasy, an Obsession, and a Mason as my keywords. I'm currently at a loss, but I'm sure something will come to mind. Once submitted I'll share it here. If I get through then I'll be given a new assignment and a smaller word count (and shorted timeframe). All good fun and practice!
The Outsider
I haven't read Stephen King's book yet, it took forever to finish A Clash of Swords 1, and my reading time is being eaten by other things at the moment, so I thought I'd give The Outsider TV show a go. While I did enjoy the first 2 episodes (great directing and acting) it does take its time. It's not told with the experienced viewer in mind, so there's a lot of slow reveals that we could have figured out already in the first ten minutes, in the Body Snatchers vein. That 2 hours have already gone and we're still doing these 'surprise' reveals slows the pace, but I expect the mystery to return going forward. It can't be as straightforward as it so far seems...
Bookfunnel & Story Origin
As promised last week, I've rejoined these two sites and will have a raft of promos going forward. Check out the first one with a variety of genre choices!
Recommended!
Everything is on the table when survival's at stake.
Captain James Henry is caught between a rock and a hard place – again. Merchant ships operating in neutral space near the Terran Coalition and the League of Sol are disappearing without a trace. The latest report has something the others didn’t.
A survivor.
In a far corner of the galaxy, the seven systems of the Fire Quarter face a terrible threat from a dangerous warlord.
On the fire planet of Abalon 3, evil Raylan Climlee threatens to unleash a wave of destruction in order to take control of the planet's valuable source of trioxyglobin, a dangerous but valuable liquid used for starship fuel. The only person who can stop him is Lianetta Jansen, a disgraced former Galactic Military Policewoman now turned smuggler, who is haunted by a terrible tragedy in her past. Along with her ragtag, wisecracking crew—the one-armed pilot Caladan, and the malfunctioning droid, Harlan5—Lia must confront her own demons, while trying to stop another.
Fire Fight is the beginning of the Fire Planets Saga, an epic new space opera series.
It's 2350. Cold Fusion, AI nanotech cops, and the SkyLine between a dying Earth and a developing Mars are parts of life.
Major General Christopher Droan has survived a crisis. It left him with trauma and a deeper understanding of his dad’s distrust for technology.
Now all he wants is to focus on the love of his life, Sheeba.
It’s a turbulent time to be a Major General, even one resigned to desk work. But the calm can only last so long. When tragedy strikes Precinct 117 in Shanghai, Chris and his unit are forced to gear up again.
What waits for them in the heart of a robot with a beta personality matrix will change the planets on both ends of the SkyLine, mankind, and Major General Christopher Droan, forever.
No-one comes in peace. Every being in the galaxy wants something, and is willing to take it by force.
The Hedalt were no different. They came from the distant reaches of the galaxy to wage war. Their fleet wanted to take Earth for its prize, but we were ready. We were stronger.
For years, we fought them, ship-to-ship, until we scattered their forces and drove them back. Pursuing the Hedalt fleet to their home world, we delivered the decisive blow. We nuked their planet and wiped them out for good.
Or so we thought.
For decades, Earth Fleet sent out Deep Space Recon missions to scour the galaxy and clean up the remnants of the Hedalt Empire. Eventually, we found only ghosts – empty outposts and long-dead colonies. But, close to the edge of known space, I – Captain Taylor Ray – and my crew are about to make a discovery that will change everything.
The war isn’t over. The war has yet to begin.
I've also begun The Risen Part 2 and have a very tasty Prologue, which I may well share next week. It has already gone in an unexpected direction, with a narrator protagonist who will be very challenging to write, but not boring! It'll be a big change from writing in the Neon world, set in middle England and Wales, blood waterfalling down the hills.
NYC Midnight Short Story Competition
I've entered this year's NYC Midnight Short Story Competition, so wish me luck! There are 4 rounds of writing (if you get through) and the first round is open now. I have about 6 days left to write a 2,500 word short story, and I've been given Fantasy, an Obsession, and a Mason as my keywords. I'm currently at a loss, but I'm sure something will come to mind. Once submitted I'll share it here. If I get through then I'll be given a new assignment and a smaller word count (and shorted timeframe). All good fun and practice!
The Outsider
Bookfunnel & Story Origin
As promised last week, I've rejoined these two sites and will have a raft of promos going forward. Check out the first one with a variety of genre choices!
Recommended!
Captain James Henry is caught between a rock and a hard place – again. Merchant ships operating in neutral space near the Terran Coalition and the League of Sol are disappearing without a trace. The latest report has something the others didn’t.
A survivor.
On the fire planet of Abalon 3, evil Raylan Climlee threatens to unleash a wave of destruction in order to take control of the planet's valuable source of trioxyglobin, a dangerous but valuable liquid used for starship fuel. The only person who can stop him is Lianetta Jansen, a disgraced former Galactic Military Policewoman now turned smuggler, who is haunted by a terrible tragedy in her past. Along with her ragtag, wisecracking crew—the one-armed pilot Caladan, and the malfunctioning droid, Harlan5—Lia must confront her own demons, while trying to stop another.
Fire Fight is the beginning of the Fire Planets Saga, an epic new space opera series.
Major General Christopher Droan has survived a crisis. It left him with trauma and a deeper understanding of his dad’s distrust for technology.
Now all he wants is to focus on the love of his life, Sheeba.
It’s a turbulent time to be a Major General, even one resigned to desk work. But the calm can only last so long. When tragedy strikes Precinct 117 in Shanghai, Chris and his unit are forced to gear up again.
What waits for them in the heart of a robot with a beta personality matrix will change the planets on both ends of the SkyLine, mankind, and Major General Christopher Droan, forever.
The Hedalt were no different. They came from the distant reaches of the galaxy to wage war. Their fleet wanted to take Earth for its prize, but we were ready. We were stronger.
For years, we fought them, ship-to-ship, until we scattered their forces and drove them back. Pursuing the Hedalt fleet to their home world, we delivered the decisive blow. We nuked their planet and wiped them out for good.
Or so we thought.
For decades, Earth Fleet sent out Deep Space Recon missions to scour the galaxy and clean up the remnants of the Hedalt Empire. Eventually, we found only ghosts – empty outposts and long-dead colonies. But, close to the edge of known space, I – Captain Taylor Ray – and my crew are about to make a discovery that will change everything.
The war isn’t over. The war has yet to begin.
Thursday, 19 October 2017
Halloween Horror Feast - Paranormal and Occult Free
Grab a free book for Halloween! Check out these Instafreebies!
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