short stuff

As a Sequel to a Recent Post: One Kay for The Flood Circle

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The Flood Circle reached one thousand copies sold (counting Amazon sales only) as of yesterday, 11/29. The Iron Gate hit this same milestone on in early November, so copies of TFC have moved a little faster.

I’m sure that’s because of the cumulative effect of promoting the previous book.

And while reviews of The Iron Gate have been terrific, I was concerned that some readers would have been dissatisfied with the plot and would just quietly stop buying. That doesn’t seem to be happening.

::dabs brow with hanky::

Also, I’ve posted a note on Twitter about the order of the stories in the Twenty Palaces series. Here it is

With luck, that embed won’t be a dead link in two weeks.

Anyway, the reading order is the order on the front page of my website. The only exception is the novelette “The Homemade Mask”, which is included with my short fiction collection. It comes after Circle of Enemies but before The Twisted Path.

“The Homemade Mask” isn’t what I’d call “essential” to the series as a whole, but if you’d like to read a story told (partially) from the POV of a predator, that’s the place to go.

I’ve also dropped, for a short time, the price of the first book in the series to 99 cents. At this point, there isn’t a lot of promotional stuff left for me to do, unless I start buying ads or whatever, and that has been a decidedly mixed bag for me. I mean, I have basically one social media platform that I use with any regularity, and there’s only so many times I can tell the same group of followers that I have a new novel out.

Which is why I ask once again that, if you haven’t already, please post reviews on your online spaces, on the sites where you bought the book, and even in face-to-face encounters in the real world, assuming that still happens.

Finally, I’m currently at work on my next book, which I’ve mentioned before will be a stand alone. The story and tone are coming together slowly, but I knew this new project would be challenging, and a new challenge is just what I need.

My Books On Sale (and other authors’ too, I guess)

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Kidding! There are lots of great books to grab here.

Background: Evil Hat is clearing up some warehouse space, so all of their fiction is only $2 (plus shipping) for who-knows-how-long. Plus, every paper copy you buy gets you the ebook for free.

If you haven’t read KING KHAN, my “Spirit of the Century” game tie-in novel, now is your chance. It’s pulp fiction set in the thirties about an unusual hero summoned to Hollywood by a message, written in his own handwriting, tied to a time-traveling arrow. (Also, he’s unusual because he’s a super smart gorilla.)

Also available is an anthology I appeared in, called DON’T READ THIS BOOK, featuring short fiction set in the game “Don’t Lose Your Mind” about people trapped in a nightmare reality, whose lucid dreaming can control the world around them.

But hey, why did I mention those works without including a link? Because if you only looked at my works, you’d miss the books by Chuck Wendig, C.E. Murphy, and many many other great authors.

Here’s the full list. Treat yourself to something fun.

Anthology Walk The Fire 2 is out

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I have a story in Walk the Fire 2, edited by author and podcaster John Mierau, which is now available. It’s a rare story (for me) since it’s set in the diiiiiiiiissstaaaannt fuuuuuuuuutuurrre. I’d call it a science fiction story, but it’s a shared world anthology based on the conceit that special bonfires allow limitless teleportation. Calling it science fantasy suggests there are buckles being swashed, so I think I’ll call it un-science fiction (which makes it very like most of the stuff being published as sf, but never mind).

You can listen to the first story of anthology 1 if you’re an audiobook-phile.

Sorry, Amazon-haters and pbook lovers, but right now it’s Kindle-only. Hopefully, it’ll be available elsewhere at some point in the fuuuuuuuuutuurrre. Update: alternate way to get the book!