October is my birthday month, and I will be turning ancient, or maybe I already am…I can’t remember, but my birthday brings you gifts. Save 50% off of all of my titles…novels, short story collections, and even individual short stories…they’re all here.
DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/16618/
My new short story, “Echoes of Evolution” appears in the new issue of Boundary Shock Quarterly, which is themed around Furry Friends. This story is a prequel to my novel Echoes from the Deep. Of course, I’ve never been very good at coloring in the lines, so my “furry” characters are dolphins.
The animals have become intelligent and—dare we say—human-like.
Was it a mad experiment? Mutation from a nuclear war? Genetic engineering? New future workers? Are we humans still around or have we gone the way of the dodo? Are the animals aware of whom we are or do they see us as some distant legendary gods?
Download it at https://www.boundaryshockquarterly.com/book/furry-friends/
My bestseller for September 2026 was my latest novel, Slave to the Stars. Download it at https://books2read.com/u/3Gg068
Tilmath was born a slave, but she was no ordinary slave. Unlike most humans, she was an Espari, a human capable of sensing the emotions of other beings.
Now, having escaped from her slave masters, the teenager finds herself on the run and about to meet some of the most interesting creatures she could ever imagine, and go on an adventure that she could never dream of. Using her poorly trained empathic senses, she tries to do everything she can to survive, but quickly learns that survival isn’t the most important thing for a slave girl escaping to the stars.
Fall is the best time of the year, and Nomadic Delirium Press is having 25% off sales at several sites. Many of my titles are part of these sales, so if you’re looking for a new game to play, or some new fiction to read, this would be the perfect time to download some new titles.
Check out the sales at Payhip at https://payhip.com/NomadicDeliriumPress
Itch: https://itch.io/s/201907/start-of-fall-sale
or at RPG Trader: https://rpg-trader.com/creator/133/nomadic-delirium-press
Almost all writers struggle with their craft at times, and I’ve definitely had my own bouts of writer’s block. This time, however, I know it’s something different. I’ve never actually made a lot of money from my writing, but in the past, I could be confident that I might be able to buy a week or two of groceries, or pay a couple of bills, but sales have definitely fallen off as the economy continues to struggle, and this couldn’t happen at a worse time. My family is continuing to struggle, and we’ve had to take some drastic (legal) actions to make sure that we can keep a roof over our heads. Still, with me not able to find a “real” job, I know that I need to be making more money off of my writing, and this is putting a whole new kind of pressure on my craft. In the past, whatever I made was just extra money, but now, it needs to actually help us survive, and because of this, I’m finding it hard to write. This is a pressure I’ve never felt before, and I’m not always good at adapting to change…
Having said this, there are still some things that I’m getting written. I have a story that I’m writing for Boundary Shock Quarterly that’s almost done. When I started on it, I thought it would be about 4,000 words. I have one more revision to do, and it looks like it will be close to 7,500 words. Hopefully they like it! This has to be done by October 1st, so I’ve found myself able to focus with the deadline closing in on me.
Everything else I’m working on, whether it’s fiction or RPG titles, is nothing but a struggle. Maybe I need more deadlines in my life. I’ve tried to set artificial deadlines to see if that can stimulate my creativity, but my brain just laughs at that and ignores those deadlines.
For now, I will continue to try to get everything written that I can. We need the money, but I really don’t need this kind of pressure…but I guess that’s the world we live in. Maybe I’ll find a job soon, and I’ll find it easier to write. I know that sounds absurd, but that’s just me.
With the d6 bundle sale at RPG Trader, it’s not a surprise that Ephemeris 1.0 was my bestseller for August. Check it out at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/63664/
I’ve been working on a new novel for a while now, and I have reluctantly decided that I need to set it aside, at least for now. The further I’ve gotten into the novel, the more I’ve realized that it’s progressing in far too linear of a format. The book is way too predictable, and I’ve made it too obvious as to where everything is going. And since I can’t figure out how to fix it at the moment, I’ve decided it’s best to just stop working on it.
Not to worry, however, I am now working on a sequel to A Problem in Translation. I’m currently rereading the original book so that I can get to know the characters again, since it’s been a long time since I’ve worked with them.
This means that the amazingly annoying Lemec will be making a return, and everyone’s favorite Kulnar, Grisan will also be coming back. There will be all new worlds to explore, and a few new alien species will also be on display. And, of course, the humans you all knew and loved…or hated will also be there. No Senator Washburn this time though, but maybe I need to come up with another annoying and dangerous politician…there are definitely enough examples to draw upon.
Obviously, since I’ve just started work, I’m not sure when the novel will be ready, especially since this one, like the original will have world building that requires math. Yes, science fiction authors actually do use math to create their worlds…at least this one does, because I need them to be believable.
While it is true that authors may include parts of themselves (or others) in their characters, it should never be assumed that their characters are actually portrayals of some part of their personality. Unfortunately, I see many readers saying that an author has a racist, or sexist, or whatever character, therefore they must be racist, sexist, etc. No, this isn’t the case. Authors use all kinds of characters, even some that are the antithesis of their own belief systems, but many readers still want to say that a racist (or whatever) character means that the author HAS to be this way.
I will freely admit that there are a lot of really crappy people among authors, even in speculative fiction, which is usually one of the most inclusive genres (or groups of genres), but we can just leave them to the side for now…and we all know who they are. This doesn’t mean that all speculative authors are like this, even the ones that include prejudiced characters.
If I have a story in which my character is expressing homophobic or transphobic ideas, this doesn’t mean that those are my views, especially if the character is the antagonist, although I have seen some examples of protagonists that have similar views, but they usually overcome them, which is a big part of the story. I will include characters, especially antagonists, that have some truly horrible views of a marginalized group or groups, but I’m usually doing this to cast them in a bad light, or to give my protagonist one more reason to “defeat” them.
The idea of saying an author is expressing their own views in their characters seems to be a more recent development, and it’s one I don’t understand. I’ve known authors that have created characters that truly hated non-white men, but the authors themselves were some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met, even the white men! (Just kidding)
I often write characters that express racism, or some other form of prejudice, but I don’t agree with these characters. It’s more of a political commentary, and I think it’s a great way to comment on our screwed up society. I, personally, have never received this kind of backlash, probably because I’m pretty small time, but I have seen others get attacked for things I know they don’t believe. Please, do not automatically ascribe a character’s viewpoint to the author. They aren’t usually the same.
Again, I know that there are some truly horrible people writing science fiction and fantasy, even bestsellers, that use the money they make to attack the marginalized, and I think this is absolutely horrible. Not all of us are doing this however. Personally, I use characters that attack the marginalized in an effort to bring awareness of these kinds of attacks to light, and to try to show that it doesn’t matter what a person’s skin color is, or what their religious beliefs are, or what their sexual orientation is, or how they identify sexually, or if they are disabled, or whatever. We’re all people, and that’s what matters. So, please please please make sure you know what an author truly believes before you attack them for having a despicable character. While that could be a part of their personality, most often, it’s not.
End of rant
My family is continuing to struggle financially, so to try to help us out, I’m making all of my titles at DriveThruFiction available for 50% off. Check out the sale at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/16618/
If you’ve ever thought about reading any of my fiction…novels, collections, even individual short stories, there couldn’t be a better time!
If you like to play RPGs, but you don’t like using a bunch of different dice, RPG Trader has the bundle for you. For a limited time, you can download more than 100 titles, including the original Ephemeris RPG, for just $25 at https://rpg-trader.com/products/8344/d6-only-games-bundle. All of these games use only a six sided die, none of the other crazy polyhedral dice.
Of course, if you want to pay more, that’s always an option, and the extra money goes to the creators, so if you’re looking for a new game, now is the time to download this amazing bundle.
