It seems that good news, like the bad sort, comes in bunches.
First, on Monday, I learned that my novel, Sunrise Destiny, is one of three finalists in the EPIC Awards competition (science fiction category). The winners will be announced at EPICon in March 2010. The book is currently offered in Kindle ebook format from Amazon.com. (Other ebook formats are available from the publisher.)
Then, on Tuesday, I learned that my short story, Harvey-467 Makes a Bride is now available for sale from Amazon in Kindle ebook format. (Other ebook formats are available from the publisher.)
I wonder if there's any more good news waiting around the corner....
My sci-fi short story, Harvey-467 Makes a Bride, was released by Red Rose Publishing on Thursday as an ebook. When I checked the RRP bestseller list Thursday afternoon, I was pleased to note that it was #2. It was still #2 Friday morning, but by Friday evening it had jumped to #1, where it remains as of Saturday morning. Wow! If you're interested, you can buy it here for only 99 cents. You can't beat a deal like that!
Here's the story blurb, and a short excerpt:
Harvey-467 is a typical 25th century android--blond, blue-eyed, and perfect in every way. Except he’s constrained by his programming. He yearns to be creative, but it’s impossible. Everything in his life is planned, deliberate, precise.
One day he concludes that it's time to get married, to have a soul mate with which to share his life. So he custom-orders a bride from a catalog: beautiful, talented, and equally perfect.
And that's when everything goes terribly wrong.
Excerpt:
When consciousness resumed, he checked his internal chrono and was stunned to find that 1.86 hours had elapsed since shutdown. It was well past midnight.
Wow, my cortex must really have gotten hot if it took this long to cool down to safe levels.
He became aware of his surroundings. But how did I get from the living room to the back porch?
I wonder what Maya must have thought when I froze up. She was so angry I wouldn’t be surprised if she went on for ten minutes before noticing.
He chuckled at the image of her berating the back of his inanimate head, and then becoming twice as incensed that he hadn’t heard a word she’d said all that time.
She must have been so mad she carried me out here. Well, I guess I’d better get it over with. I hope she didn’t lock me out.
He sighed and tried the door handle. It turned.
What he saw in the living room shocked him to the processor core. There lay Maya, her beautiful face smashed flat and her cortex spilling out of massive rends in her cranium plate. The spark of sentience was gone from her lovely green eyes. Red hydraulic fluid had leaked all over the mint green Berber carpet she’d insisted on buying. More had sprayed the walls and ceiling.
But how? Who? What happened here? Who would murder an android—and why?
I also have a novel, Sunrise Destiny, available for sale at RRP. For more about my writing, see my website or my blog.I hope you enjoy them!Mark.
I have a tentative release target of July 2009 for my sci-fi short story, Harvey-467 Makes a Bride. Although it's not out yet, the publisher, Red Rose Publishing has created an order page for it, which includes a brief excerpt of the story.
If you'd rather, here is a direct link to the excerpt on my website.
Here's a blurb for the story:
Harvey-467 is a typical 25th century android--blond, blue-eyed, and perfect in every way. Except he's constrained by his programming. He yearns to be creative, but it's impossible. Everything in his life is planned, deliberate, precise.
One day he concludes that it's time to get married, to have a soul mate with which to share his life. So he custom-orders a bride from a catalog: beautiful, talented, and equally perfect.
In addition to the trade paperback print edition, The World Outside the Window anthology is now also available in Kindle ebook format. (Other ebook formats will follow.)
I have a sci-fi short story ("Fallen Star, Rising Star") in The World Outside the Window anthology, which is now available on Amazon.
The anthology contains 19 stories by 19 authors, spanning multiple genres, from romance to sci-fi, from paranormal to suspense.
If you love good stories and like to explore different genres, this anthology is a great way to start out the new year.
Here's a blurb and short excerpt for my story:
Blurb:
While playing catch, two boys spy a falling star. When they investigate, they discover that the meteorite is much more than they bargained for. In fact, the fate of all humanity depends on what they do next.
Excerpt:
"Be careful!” Joey cautioned, stepping back. “It might still be ho—”
Paul clutched the shape before Joey could finish his warning. “Nah, it’s fine. Well, it’s a little warm, but not much. C’mere and look at this! It’s so cool!”
He held it out in both hands for Joey to admire. It was roughly baseball-sized, but not spherical—more egg-shaped. Paul brushed off some of the soil that still stuck to it, revealing what lay beneath. The object was multifaceted, like a giant emerald, but unlike any emerald the two boys had ever seen or heard of. The gem glowed with an internal fire, pulsing like a heartbeat, first brighter and then dimmer.
“Here, hold it.” Paul offered.
“Nuh-uh,” Joey replied. “I don’t like the looks of it.”
“Chicken. Bawk-bawk—”
“Shh! Someone might hear you!”
“Yeah? Who? There’s no one around here but us. Bawk-bawk—”
“All right, all right!” Joey reached out and touched the object with the tip of a finger for the briefest instant.
I just got word this morning that the art director at Red Rose Publishing has assigned a cover artist to my science fiction novel, Sunrise Destiny. The editing is already well under way, so I'm hopeful the book will be out in February.
I also received word from my editor at RJ Buckley Publishing that the anthology (The World Outside the Window) containing my short story "Fallen Star, Rising Star" is on schedule for January release. The ebook should be out in early January, with the printed copies coming in the middle of the month. Both will be available from Amazon initially, with other outlets coming over time. The anthology is also available for preordering directly from the publisher.
I just received a contract for my short story, Harvey-467 Makes a Bride. It'll be published as an ebook by the publisher (Red Rose) that's releasing my novel. So that makes a novel (Sunrise Destiny), a short story (Fallen Star, Rising Star) in an anthology (The World Outside the Window, from RJ Buckley Publishing), and a stand-alone story, that will be published within the next few months.
Good news! I have a short story (Fallen Star, Rising Star) coming in an anthology called The World Outside the Window. The book will be published in January 2009 in both paperback and Amazon Kindle ebook format, but it's already available for pre-ordering. The anthology consists of 19 adult fiction stories by 19 authors, many of them published novelists. The stories run the gamut of fiction, from romance to horror, from suspense to sci-fi and fantasy. (My story is about two adolescent boys who discover a meteorite that turns out to be so much more.) The collection has an interesting premise (which is well-illustrated by the cover). From the jacket blurb:
Imagine, if you will, a building of unknown origin. A building in which there are many rooms, each with a window that looks out upon a courtyard and a scene beyond. In each room a person sits, staring out the window at the same people and objects that everyone else sees from their windows. Yet, as we tell our stories of what we see, we learn a basic truth of the universe. We learn that even though our eyes survey identical scenes, our minds take us to places that only we as individuals know and remind us of stories that only we can tell.
Outside the window we see a winding country lane leading into the distant countryside. We see two boys, perhaps 10 or 12 years old, tossing a baseball to each other. A girl of maybe 7 or 8 swings on a schoolyard swing set, while two lovers walk hand in hand along the side of the road. A ramshackle old mailbox sits on a slanted post, and nearby there is an old car, possibly from the ‘50s - appearing to be in good running condition. We see a church steeple and an older woman walking along the side of the road, seemingly headed for the church. A young soldier stands still, his face is pensive, and it is plain to see that he has much on his mind. Two men are in a heated discussion about something, but from inside our window we can only guess at what is causing their turmoil. Nearby a beautiful girl sits on a park bench, weeping. An old dog lies on the grass, peaceful and serene, watching a puppy frolicking through a flower bed. As day changes to evening and then to night, we see a twinkle in the sky. A falling star, perhaps a starship?
Yes, the characters are there for us, waiting, making no comments that will give us any clue as to who they are or what they may be doing. They are waiting for us to cast them in their roles, to give them direction. We can use one or all of them. We can make them walk down the country lane, drive the car, or follow along behind the woman as she heads for the church. It is our world to create, and we have total control of everything in it. Whatever happens, we make it happen. Loves, lies, war or peace, death or life, shackled to earth or bound for the stars, it is in our hands to decide their fate.
We sit at the window, taking in the complexity of the scene before us and after a few hours of pondering, we sit back and relax as we use our mind’s eye to peer into a world that we will shape into anything we wish it to be.
Slowly, we begin. We pick up our pens and write our stories of the world outside the window. So every story in some way ties to the characters we see in the courtyard outside the window.
Here is the Table of Contents for the book (subject to change before publication). There may be some other authors you know there:
FALLEN STAR, RISING STAR – Mark Terence Chapman MISERY LOVES COMPANY – Pamela K. Kinney ROSE’S QUESTION – D. K. Christi SMILE – Anthony Waugh THE SILVER LINING – Rebecca Buckley THE BLACK ROSE – Woodrow Walker SAYING GOODBYE TO MISS MOLLY – Morgan St. James THE SPLIT MIND – Robert A. Meacham NEAL’S NOEL – Jay Osman THE MAILBOX – Larry L. Evans STRANGE DREAMS – B.W. Philpot ONLY THERE WAS NO WIND – Jim Wilsky AUSTIN, MY HERO – Tory Lynn ETUDE & SMOKE RINGS – Lana M. Ho-Sheing TWILIGHT – Matthew Alan Pierce THIS TIME FOREVER – Erin Gordon SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY – Curtis M. Hendel HOUSE ARREST – Richard Lord KILLING FROST – E. Don Harpe Noticing that my story comes first, I'd like to think that's because it's the best and the publisher wants to put our collective best foot forward. But who knows? Still, it's an honor to go first. I imagine a number of prospective readers will pick up the book, read the first page, and make a purchase decision based on that. So it'd better be good.
Of course, the publisher would want the last story to be good too, to leave a good taste in the reader's mind. And the middle stories need to be good, so the reader doesn't get bored before the end. And...aw, heck--they all have to be good. Just read 'em. You won't be disappointed.
My publisher recently assigned an editor to my third science fiction novel, Sunrise Destiny. She'll begin work on it shortly. I still don't have an assigned release date, but I imagine I'll get that fairly soon.
In an unrelated note, it looks like the anthology I wrote a story for last year is on track for publication in the next few months. The anthology will be called The World Outside the Window. The concept is that the main character of each story sees something or someone outside the window in the courtyard below or the road beyond. All the stories relate to what those characters see (or remember) happening outside. To add a twist, the stories cross genres, including science fiction, romance, and other types.
My (sci-fi) story is called, Fallen Star, Rising Star.
I just found out that a piece of flash fiction I wrote, "Battlefield, 1863", has been accepted for publication in an online journal called The Fiction Flyer. They haven't decided yet when it will appear, but in either the Summer or Fall issue.
The story is a bit of historical fiction, set--amazingly enough--on a Civil War battlefield in 1863. As short as the story is (236 words) I did research to be sure it was historically accurate.
I'll post a link here when the issue is available. I'm sure you'll enjoy it (the whole publication, not just my story. )
My short story, Binky Merton Takes a Trip, took 2nd place in the Rites of Passage contest at Between the Cracks Digest for April 2008. If you haven't discovered BtC, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It has terrific fiction and poetry, book excerpts, artwork, and book reviews.
Here's a direct link to Binky. I hope you enjoy it.
My science fiction/golfing short story, Parting Shot, is now available on Amazon.
The story involves an aging golfer--a former phenom, a hotshot who pretty much wasted his career partying. Now, on the downslope of his career, he has one last chance at redemption.
I know this doesn't sound much like SF&F, but trust me, it is. The possible redemption is as a result of an extraordinary (supernatural, perhaps) event. There are no wizards or aliens or high-tech gizmos. It's a character study of a man and a golf tournament (the US Open). The story is told partly from the POV of the lead character and partly by the TV golf announcers.
If golf bores you, you wouldn't like the story. But if you have even a passing interest in the game, and like SF&F, you might enjoy it. And it's only 49 cents.(Did I mention how inexpensive the story is?)
Here are a couple of short excerpts from the middle of the story, to give you a feel for the story and the writing style: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After his latest par, a buzz insinuated itself into Gomez’s cocoon of introspection. Startled out of his reverie, he glanced at his caddy, who pointed at the scoreboard nearby. The leader, Steve Hawks, had just hit in the water and double-bogeyed. His score stood at even par for the tournament. Right behind him came Jay Collins, at one over par. Two other players lurked another stroke back, followed at three over par by four men, including…Tom Gomez?
What the hell? Fifth place? How did that happen? Gomez chuckled to himself, accentuating the wrinkles around his mouth and the crows feet that seemed carved by geologic process. Figures. I scratch and claw and fight for victories and keep falling short. The one time I tune out the world and say ‘to hell with it,’ I play well. So now what? More of the same, I guess. He tried to ignore the leaderboard, but that was like a drunk trying not to notice the bottle of whiskey on the table. It simply tugged at his mind until he was forced to look. Now suddenly in contention, Gomez became distracted by his internal tug-of-war. He hooked his approach shot to the fourteenth green and bogeyed the hole. That dropped him to four strokes behind, and back to ninth place, with four holes to go. Too many strokes to make up and too many men ahead of me. His shoulders slumped and he let out a deep sigh. That does it, then. Once again, I’ve managed to screw up royally.
…………
Gomez’s career, his reputation—hell, his life—rode on this one shot. A ridiculously tough shot at that. The green sloped away from the bunker and slightly to the left. If he hit the shot too hard, it would roll forever. If not hard enough, it wouldn’t clear the rough separating the bunker from the green—assuming he even got it out of the bunker
Gomez wriggled his feet down into the sand for balance and waggled his club to loosen the tension in his arms. Focus on the shot, not the consequences. Hit the ball. Follow through. Execute. You can do this. He swung smoothly and hit the ball perfectly, just as he’d done thousands of times in practice over the years, spraying sand everywhere. The ball flew high and right at the pin. If it didn’t go in, it would land close.
The gallery roared. From that, Gomez knew he’d hit a great shot. I did it. Damn, I did it. I didn’t choke. The ball landed softly on the green, four feet from the pin and spun toward it. Gomez hopped out of the bunker to watch the roll. The gallery held its collective breath and went silent. Go, baby, go! Three feet, two feet, one foot, it was going right at the cup, picking up speed. The crowd roared. This was history in the making. It’s in! It’s in! It’s—
I finally got around to setting up a web site to promote my novels. You can find out about all five of my novels (finished, unfinished, and finished but unsold), as well as my short fiction, nonfiction, humor, poetry, and children's books. Feel free to browse around, read the blurbs/excerpts/bio and the linked stories and poems, watch the video, and so on.
This site may or may not be permanent, but it'll do the job until something else comes along.
I suppose I should have mentioned that I have a short story coming out in the August/September issue of AlienSkin magazine. The story is called Selamere's Quest, and it's a bit of a genre-bender. It looks like a simple sword-and-sorcery fantasy, but there's more than meets the eye.... (Isn't there always?)
It seems that good news, like the bad sort, comes in bunches.
uesday, I learned that my short story, Harvey-467 Makes a Bride is now available for sale from Amazon in Kindle ebook format. (Other ebook formats are available from the publisher.)
