The Special Edition Book Promo – It Begins!

Today’s edition of book promo and vignettes begins what will probably be a book promo a night week. There is a reason for this.

Some of you are probably aware of the kerfuffle where Devon Eriksen was kicked out (on spurious grounds) from a contest he never entered because he (being libertarian) is obviously a “fascist”. The truth is Devon is very free with his opinions on X and even though I don’t always agree with him (I don’t always agree with me a week later, either) he’s not even remotely fascistic, and is as far as an indie writing community goes a good neighbor and helpful.

In the aftermath, a lot of writers rallied around him, which is great, but I was reading a lot of the xeets and became aware of how isolated most indie authors to the right of Lenin were. The truth is, guys, that the aphorism is correct: the individualists fail to organize. Over and over and over again.

In a way, Indie is made for us, which is what I realized a mere five years after taking that path — look, I’m slow — because we can write whatever we want without being throttled by publishers (legitimately for once) worried about how strange our next book is, or whether it follows the current trends or the career path they envisioned for us.

But while we are more likely to jump with both feet into being individualistic and pursuing our own thing and thereby probably could sell more, we’re also really bad at forming groups and connections.

Look, Devon and I don’t need it that much — not really, though I’ll link both of us in the promo below because why not — Devon because he has a crack promo team, and I because I’ve been around enough most people have at least heard of me.

Oh, and the weird contest which I’m not even going to name, is not a thing really. They were barely a thing before, and I think this finished making their appeal even more… coff … selective.

However, the picture I got of write-side indie writers was that of dismal little hamsters hiding in the bigger, louder (they’re always gregarious okay?) groups of leftist indies, confused and not even figuring out how to make their books known without revealing their politics and being cancelled.

I’m sorry if that picture is insulting. It’s not meant to be. I spent most of my trad-pub career (until I was only being published by Baen) being a furtive hamster in a world of large, loud dinosaurs.

As with evolution, we know how that story ends. The hamsters won. (Well, tiny mammals anyway.) However it took an asteroid and a long, long time.

Fortunately for us, right now, there’s no reason it should take this long. Why? Because we don’t have to be where the dinos are. And I know synergistic promotion works. Years ago, I had friends who all echoed their releases. And that made a huge difference in sales.

So I posted on X asking anyone who wasn’t afraid to associate with the likes of us to send me a link to their book. As you can imagine, we got a few.

Since I’ve noticed more than about 10 books tend to get readers to glaze over and not buy, I’m going to keep it to 10 and do them in the evenings until they’re done… unless we get more.

Today’s is combined with the regular promo post, so you guys can have your vignettes.

TWO NOTES:

1- I’m not filtering these books as much as I do the ones on Sunday, where if I don’t like your face I reserve the right not to publicize you, if I don’t like your cover, I reserve the right not to publicize you, if your book strikes as wrong, I reserve the right not to publicize you.
In this case, I said the only condition was that you not be ashamed of associating with Devon and I and (of course) this blog. So I stand by that, and you know I’ll get some try-ons. That’s fine. THIS ONE TIME.

2- If you’re new to these promos, you know the people who show up here are also to the right of Lenin, or at least not afraid of being seen with us. Look them up, on X, and perhaps consider echoing their releases and bolstering them a bit. Whether you want to get cozy and form more of a community, it’s your call, not mine.

Okay, below is the regular heading/patter of the Sunday promo post. Note, that yes, I get a kickback from Amazon for these links. (It’s a lot of boring work to get them up, so I earn it. And it’s free for the writers.) And also that there’s an email address to send promo to in the future (if you’re new here.) There’s also a vignette challenge at the end.

Oh and no, I didn’t read all of these books. So, kindly exert the normal caution of dowloading a sample and reading before buying. Or not. It’s your choice.

It’s time to “give” money to people who DON’T hate us.

For the times, they are achanging….

Let’s go.

Book Promo (the normal weekly patter.)

If you wish to send us books for next week’s promo, please email to bookpimping at outlook dot com. If you feel a need to re-promo the same book do so no more than once every six months (unless you’re me or my relative. Deal.) One book per author per week. Amazon links only. Oh, yeah, by clicking through and buying (anything, actually) through one of the links below, you will at no cost to you be giving a portion of your purchase to support ATH through our associates number. A COMMISSION IS EARNED FROM EACH PURCHASE.*Note that I haven’t read most of these books (my reading is eclectic and “craving led”,) and apply the usual cautions to buying. I reserve the right not to run any submission, if cover, blurb or anything else made me decide not to, at my sole discretion.– SAH

FROM DEVON ERIKSEN: Theft of Fire: Orbital Space #1

At the frozen edge of the solar system lies a hidden treasure which could spell their fortune or their destruction—but only if they survive each other first.

Marcus Warnoc has a little problem. His asteroid mining ship—his inheritance, his livelihood, and his home—has been hijacked by a pint-sized corporate heiress with enough blackmail material to sink him for good, a secret mission she won’t tell him about, and enough courage to get them both killed. She may have him dead to rights, but if he doesn’t turn the tables on this spoiled Martian snob, he’ll be dead, period. He’s not giving up without a fight.

He has a plan.

Miranda Foxgrove has the opportunity of a lifetime almost within her grasp if she can reach it. Her stolen spacecraft came with a stubborn, resourceful captain who refuses to cooperate—but he’s one of the few men alive who can snatch an unimaginable treasure from beneath the muzzles of countless railguns. And if this foulmouthed Belter thug doesn’t want to cooperate, she’ll find a way to force him. She’s come too far to give up now.

She has a plan.

They’re about to find out that a plan is a list of things that won’t happen.

Order Devon Eriksen’s Theft of Fire: Orbital Space #1 today!

FROM MARY CATELLI: Dragon Slayer

The dragon must die. It haunts the land and strikes with fire and death without warning.

Prince Baudouin knows the perils, and how other knights have perish. Still, he is confident that he can slay the dragon. All he has to do is forge through the burnt wasteland about its mountain, and slay it.

All.

FROM MACKEY CHANDLER: Family Law

People love easily. Look at most of your relatives or coworkers. How lovable are they? Really? Yet most have mates and children. The vast majority are still invited to family gatherings and their relatives will speak to them.

Many have pets to which they are devoted. Some even call them their fur-babies. Is your dog or cat or parakeet property or family? Not in law but in your heart? Can a pet really love you back? Or is it a different affection? Are you not kind to those who feed and shelter you? But what if your dog could talk back? Would your cat speak to you kindly?

How much more complicated might it be if we meet really intelligent species not human? How would we treat these ‘people’ in feathers or fur? Perhaps a more difficult question is: How would they treat us? Are we that lovable?

When society and the law decide these sort of questions must be answered it is usually because someone disapproves of your choices. Today it may be a cat named in a will or a contest for custody of a dog. People are usually happy living the way they want until conflict is forced upon them.

What if the furry fellow in question has his own law? And is quite articulate in explaining his choices. Can a Human adopt such an alien? Can such an intelligent alien adopt a human? Should they?

Of course if the furry alien in question is smart enough to fly spaceships, and happens to be similar in size and disposition to a mature Grizzly bear, wisdom calls for a certain delicacy in telling him no…

The “April” series of books works from an earlier time toward merging with the “Family Law” series.

FROM COLIN GLASSLEY: The Cure of All Disease (Mark DeSilva Adventure)

July 21, 2021 – World-wide pandemic is raging. Mark DeSilva is on a vacation, for the first time in more than a year, with a beautiful marine biologist who goes by the name Neon.

The vacation is over almost before it starts. Mark is given a new assignment: steal the laptop computer of a dead Chinese scientist. Soon Mark and Neon are on the run from Chinese Triads and Russian mercenaries; directed by one of the richest men on Earth.

The entire world is locked down but that isn’t stopping the criminals who are chasing after them. Does the laptop contain the cure for the pandemic? Or something far more sinister.

FROM J. M. ANJEWIERDEN: Mech Bunny

Humans won the war against the Blues, thanks in large part to the neural link they stole from the aliens. Few people can use it properly, though, and anyone with the right kind of brain gets conscripted immediately — even ordinary high school kids.
All Sophie wanted to do was be a dancer. She definitely hadn’t planned on piloting a sixty-foot ANGEL mech with only a cranky rabbit mechanic to talk to, or fighting the genetically engineered foxes and wolves that had turned on the humans once the aliens were gone.
She’s lost count of the battlefields she’s seen, but this next one is the worst yet. Ordered to defend a crucial forward operating base on a volcanic planet, forces are stretched thin, so she’ll have only infantry and artillery support, no other ANGELs.
One girl, one rabbit, and one giant robot up against creatures designed to be relentless soldiers.
Creatures who have mechs of their own.
Great.

FROM S. KIRK PIERZCHALA: Echoes Through Distant Glass: Beyond Cascadia: One

When cyber security defender Owen Dylan MacIntyre is forced from behind his computer screen to investigate a potential terror threat to the Pacific Northwest, he gets more than he bargains for when he crosses paths with the unpredictable and tragic figure of Tomás Chen-Diaz and the latter’s brother, the enigmatic Francisco.

A wealthy global plutocrat, Francisco is also a brilliant amateur biotech scientist with many powerful associates and a few dark family secrets—secrets he’s ready to kill over to keep hidden.

Drawn into Chen-Diaz’ web of international conspiracies, MacIntyre finds his skills tested to the limit as he’s trapped in a world where science and technology invade the most sacred realms of the human heart and soul…a world where he’ll confront some uncomfortable truths about himself…

…if he survives.

Book One of the Beyond Cascadia series, Echoes Through Distant Glass deftly weaves timeless themes of humanity and a range of relevant geo-political and bioethics issues into a memorable cyberpunk techno thriller drama. The vivid prose, haunting imagery and unforgettable characters will linger with the reader long after the thought-provoking and emotional conclusion.

FROM GREGORY MICHAEL: Chloe’s Kingdom: The Koin Vault Heist

Chloe Espinoza is a wild-haired petty thief aboard the Kingdom, a drifting city spaceship. Once rich but now poor, Chloe is determined to break free from the Honeycombs and return to her life in the Gardens. Only one problem: she hardly has enough koin for a burrito, making a lavish apartment seem as distant as the stars. All that might change, however, when Chloe is offered a heist that could make her unimaginably rich. But she can’t break into the impenetrable Koin Vault alone…

A young mastermind who can’t let go of her past.

A mathematical genius in desperate need of koin.

A privileged kid from the Gardens with a debt to pay.

A bartender who’s serving revenge.

A mischievous raccoon with a bottomless appetite.

A battered soul who’s been wronged by the council.

Gone are the days of stealing snacks. Chloe’s crew is aiming for the ultimate prize: the Koin Vault. Their plan? To rob the Treasury and bring down the corrupt council. But in a game where the stakes are jail or death, every move could be their last.

A thrilling Young Adult Science Fiction Heist novel set in the unforgiving void of outer space, perfect for fans of ‘Six of Crows’ by Leigh Bardugo and ‘Artemis’ by Andy Weir.

FROM ROB HOBART: The Sword of Amatsu (Empire of the Sun and Moon Book 1)

For four centuries, the Empire of the Sun and Moon has been torn apart by war as its samurai Clans fight for the empty throne of the Emperors. The Gray Wolf Clan is one of only six Clans remaining, but faces a deadly threat from the more powerful and ruthless Jade Dragon Clan. Yet the greatest threat to the Empire is not the bloody ambitions of its samurai. The shadowy followers of the Cult of the Mask, worshippers of foreign demons, burrow through the Empire’s society like worms in rotten meat, growing in power year by year. As battles rage and conspiracies fester, the fate of the Empire will turn on the actions of a handful of samurai. The young lord Ookami Akira, trained by monks to be a master of war but desperately ignorant of the Empire’s civilization, must learn to be the ruler of the Gray Wolf Clan or he and his people will perish. Kuroi Kaede, a naïve girl forced into an unwilling marriage to Akira, must master the courts if she is to survive. The lowly magistrate Kobayashi Mitsui is the only one in the Empire who recognizes the true scale of the threat from the Cult of the Mask. And the murderous wandering swordsman Kenji may hold the fate of all in his blood-stained hands…

FROM JARED N. MICHAUD: The Vale of Mysteries (The Epimyth)

“If They succeed in eradicating the deep myths, that act obliterates our identity and reduces us to nothing more than chattel.”

Nate Brightstar, a sojourner in the universe of Energematrice6, has already defeated an enemy the rest of the Aurora galaxy thought invincible. Neither that nor piercing the Vale of Mysteries can stop reality from dropping trouble on him-from either the Aurora galaxy or the troubled Milky Way.

It turns out, the battle against lies and false history may be harder than fighting physical enemies, especially as it becomes obvious that somebody powerful still has it out for him. Even more important, how can Nate come to terms with his identity when the present keeps slapping him in the face with what he used to be…or perhaps still is. Nate faces the most difficult question of his life:

“What reason could there be for one such as him?”

BECAUSE HE ONLY HAS PAPERBACK: He sent this link where you can read a sample.

FROM SARAH D’ALMEIDA (eh!): Death of a Musketeer (The Musketeer’s Mysteries Book 1)

When D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis discover the corpse of a beautiful woman who looks like the Queen of France, they vow to see that justice is done. They do not know that their investigation will widen from murder to intrigue to conspiracy, bring them the renewed enmity of Cardinal Richelieu and shake their fate in humanity. Through duels and doubts, they pursue the truth, even when their search brings them to the sphere of King Louis XIII himself and makes them confront secrets best forgotten.

THE REST OF YOU AREN’T FORGOTTEN! I’ll continue with promo posts tomorrow night, Tuesday night, and so on. (And for future ones I’m not giving space to Devon and I ;) ) Ten at a time! We’ll get there.

Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.

So what’s a vignette? You might know them as flash fiction, or even just sketches. We will provide a prompt each Sunday that you can use directly (including it in your work) or just as an inspiration. You, in turn, will write about 50 words (yes, we are going for short shorts! Not even a Drabble 100 words, just half that!). Then post it! For an additional challenge, you can aim to make it exactly 50 words, if you like.

We recommend that if you have an original vignette, you post that as a new reply. If you are commenting on someone’s vignette, then post that as a reply to the vignette. Comments — this is writing practice, so comments should be aimed at helping someone be a better writer, not at crushing them. And since these are likely to be drafts, don’t jump up and down too hard on typos and grammar.

If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Your writing prompt this week is: PURRING.