Adventure Beyond the Stars – Written for Readers Who Want More

Author: Malcom

  • McReynolds, Sekmet, and Stoker

    McReynolds, Sekmet, and Stoker

    Judge McReynolds, Sekmet, Aero Warship Olympia, Seals, Endeavor iced over, the I&GN, Knebworth House, Edward & Henrietta, Lucy, Van Helsing, and Abraham Stoker, Pembroke, Irish Saints, and Drawing rooms. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Arlington Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

    The first supporting character for Palestine’s Ghosts – County Judge Z. A. McReynolds. He was the historical County Judge of Anderson County up until mid-February of 1894. He was also the county clerk for more than a decade before becoming County Judge, giving him an encyclopedic knowledge of county documents. When weird things start happening in the woods west of Palestine around a house that everyone, including him, remembers and doesn’t show up in any records, he writes Walter and Eleanor to start the book. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Judge_Z._A._McReynolds

    I decided to create an image of the second scene in Palestine’s Ghosts. That meant I needed to create a favorite place on Endeavor for Walter and Eleanor to read, a favorite settee https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Endeavour an image for Sekmet (her first appearance is in Riddle of the Sphinx), and put it all together for them to read Judge McReynolds letter. Sekmet won’t only be a little girl in Palestine’s Ghosts. She will also appear as several different adult incarnations. Some of the possibilities are in the featured image.

    I was looking for a journal for Eleanor to read, and Scientific American was an obvious choice. Looking at the articles for the December 23rd edition, I found an article about The New American War Ship Olympia. Given the situation at the end of 1893 – that obviously became an article about The New American War Aeroship Olympia. That’s how Commodore Perry’s flagship for the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish American war (a war that won’t happen in the Greshamverse) became the Aero War Ship Olympia, which may show up over another battlefield in the United States in 1900…

    I also have a stone as a central McGuffin for the story. By the start of the book, it has had three iterations. The earliest was going to be a Celtic inscription in Ogham. The next was an inscription by Merlin in Old Irish. The next was added by an anonymous friar prior to 1894. The last is added by the Greshams to finalize the seal at the end of the book. The first try had the AI messing up the inscriptions, so I went back through and kept a much closer eye on each step. I got better results and changed the stone’s backstory a little at the same time. Explaining too much might provide too many spoilers – read Palestine’s Ghosts for this knowledge…

    I looked up the weather in Palestine during January of 1894. I found out  that it was unseasonably mild most of the month, but there was an ice storm with a low of 4 degrees Fahrenheit near the end of the month. It fit so well with my story, I just moved the start earlier by a week.

    I also discovered that in 1894, the Palestine train yard was owned by International-Great Northern Railroad, not to be confused with the predecessor of the modern BNSF, the Great Northern Railway between St Paul and Seattle.

    I finally got the story for Weird the First—Goth Galore to crystalize. I even got the Artificial Idiot to put together an outline of sufficient worth that I can use it to keep organized. The finished story will only mostly follow it, of course, because ChatGPT isn’t even a good hack author.

    Because of where Weird the First is set, I needed to get pictures of Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Henrietta Lowe (Eleanor’s biological parents) when they met around 1859.

    I also needed to get a picture of supper with Walter, Eleanor, Lord and Lady Lytton, Lucy Westenra and her mother, and Dr. Van Helsing. If you don’t have a fairly good idea what “Weird the First” is about—you need to read more Gothic Horror classics, or at least watch the movies… This does show one of the reasons I only use AI images for inspiration—Lucy looks way too healthy in this picture.

    As is often the case, in the course of writing, the characters changed. This time it was researching the staff for Knebworth House that made me realize that having Sekmet as Eleanor’s Lady’s Maid didn’t make 19th Century Aristocratic English sense. At 17, Eleanor had outgrown a governess, but didn’t really rate her own maid—and needed some older supervision. Companions filled that role. They were usually somewhat older than their charges, often from lower down the aristocratic order (or at least the wealth ladder) and they served unmarried young ladies as chaperone, confidant, friend, and (somewhat) wiser sounding board. They could be with a young lady in any setting, but didn’t have to be with them always. It opens up so many more story options. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Goth_Galore

    A new minor character. Mr. Alistair Pembroke, butler of Knebworth House for 29 years as of the time of the story. He might end up being pretty interesting.

    I found a way to explain and expand on the Old Irish inscription of the seal. Merlin consulted with St. Finnian of Clonard on the seal and entrusted Finnian with the White Book. St. Finnian, known as the Teacher of the Saints of Ireland, passed parts of the lore down to two of his students, St. Columba and St. Brendan the Navigator. Just a little more texture behind everything else.

    I’ve always wondered why they were called “drawing rooms” when they didn’t seem to have anything to do with art. The reason is that after dinner, the expected next step was for the women to withdraw from the dining room and be drawn into a different room—the drawing room. Amazing how obvious things are—once you understand them…

    Incoming Powers is the last Martian Phoenix chapter until Palestine’s Ghosts is completed. Word Count is 53,447 in 13 chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Palestine’s Ghosts chapters this week:
    Prologue
    Chapter 1
    Weird The First I

    Word Count is 10,900 in 3 chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    June Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebook, 629 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book off Amazon, 8 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 192 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 5 in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 5 in-person. Selene Unchained sold 5 in-person, 2 ebooks off Amazon. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 83 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 3 in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas sold 5 in-person.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,065 in Steampunk Fiction, #7,239 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #11,911 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #499 in Steampunk Fiction, #881 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #1,954 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #1,418 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,495 Steampunk Fiction, #3,693 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,726 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,763 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,469 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,355 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,477 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,568 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,702 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,793 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #18,730 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Cons, War, and Promoted Ghosts

    Cons, War, and Promoted Ghosts

    Side Quest Con report, Aerosphere voyages, Countess Golden Scales, War of the Worlds, Rubber Tires, Ghost’s got promoted. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Richardson Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

    I had my first Con experience selling books. Revenue was more than booth fee, but when you take into account cost of books, I lost money. Maybe not if several of the people who said they’d get the audio or ebook end up purchasing (or at least getting it on their membership). I also checked out the Texas Book Lovers Con Sunday. That looks like a good one to try out, I’ll be keeping a weather eye on when they have it in 2027. I also looked at Cowtown Comic Fest. I talked to most of the authors there and none of them had a super show. I think comic-centered cons might not be good for unillustrated books. Even if the genre overlaps, the difference in format may not. I’m also doing an update for all my covers and will be releasing a hardcover option when that is done.

    Did a little more work on the Aerosphere setting. This might be something someone says: “We sail for the Princeps Mining Ironholm in the morning. We’ll hug the coast of the landshard to Lastpeak Point, then sail south through the Lassiter Aether Reefs for a week.”

    I needed more detail on the third Countess that reports to Viscountess Peacock. This is the woman that keeps the Defiance Merchant Exchange running. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Countess_Golden_Scales_Beneath_Morning_Light In the picture she is ringing the great bell that opens and closes trading on the floor of the Exchange. Like the whole exchange, it makes the New York Stock Exchange look rather provincial. I wonder if the Texas Stock Exchange will ever get a trading floor and, if so, will it be bigger and grander than the NYSE floor?

    I think after Ghosts of Palestine I’ll do the rewrite of The War of the Worlds. I don’t plan to make much change, just enough that it makes sense for H. G. Wells to have written this version in the Greshamverse in 1894. I also plan to write a companion volume that will be the story of the Deep Martians attacking the New Martian Empire at its capital in Burnished Towers. With Walter & Eleanor in the Ozarks potentially being up to three novels, that means I’ve added 2-5 novels to the list without completing one…

    Rubber tires are really old; apparently there were omnibuses and autowagons running around on solid rubber tires on a fairly regular basis in 1891. But pneumatic rubber tires were just getting popular for bicycles. When Beulah sees pneumatic rubber tires on Martian ground vehicles, it is something she wasn’t expecting…

    I got to looking at the progress on Martian Phoenix and how long I have before I need to have Palestine’s Ghosts done – I may not make the deadline. That said, I’ll finish the Incoming Powers chapter and lay Martian Phoenix aside until Palestine’s Ghosts is done. We’ll see.

    Martian Phoenix chapters this week:
    Incoming Powers – progress

    Word Count is 52,130 in 12+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,736 in Steampunk Fiction, #6,143 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #10,488 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #665 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #715 in Steampunk Fiction, and #1,975 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #1,151 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,238 Steampunk Fiction, #3,131 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,474 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,537 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,954 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,002 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,118 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,811 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,627 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,683 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #18,681 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Join Me At Side Quest Con!

    Join Me At Side Quest Con!

    Come visit me at my first books-only event Side Quest Con where you can see all the bookmarks (4 additional this week). More hero pictures, Colonel Sir Frederick Vansittart, Martian Airships, and Walter & Eleanor in the Ozarks. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Side Quest Con Friday or Saturday.

    Four more bookmarks. I think that is all for right now. When Martian Phoenix drops, I’ll add Beulah, Nasir, Juan, and Dolores.

    I put together bookmarks for Beraht and Hala, so they got hero pictures and a revised couples picture.

    Since Major Regdar was one of those bookmarks, I created a hero picture for him. I wish I’d done it sooner. He feels more real in my mind now than he used to.

    Ima was the last of the four. She got a definitave hero picture as well. She also is my stand-in for what I’ve learned about our constitution. I recently heard that it was the oldest foundational document still in effect. In other words, all the governments that have a constitution that defines their structure, instead of a body of traditions and legal precedents, are younger than the United States under the Constitution. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people-citizens-voters in the United States don’t really know what the Constitution really says or have a clue one about what the framers of the constitution meant when they wrote it.

    Just for fun, I used the hero portraits to put together another version of Celestial Accord cover. I think it came out pretty cool. Not sure if I want to redo all the elements. Maybe I’ll just ask Getcovers to redo the cover set.

    Frederick Vansittart has been mentioned in some of my stories since he is the man that raised Eleanor, although most everyone is convinced that he was not her biological father. He’s going to show up as a supporting character in Martian Phoenix and probably later on as well, so I figured I needed to flesh him out some more to keep from writing myself into a corner. Good thing I did, I didn’t have a good appreciation for the role the Vansittart family had in British society and foreign service in the 18th and 19th centuries and had a rather thinly characterized idea of Lt. Frederick Vansittart. That is no longer the case for Colonel Sir Frederick Vansittart, Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath (KCB), Her Britannic Majesty’s Chief Envoy to the Martian Empire. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Frederick_Vansittart

    I also needed an airship for Sir Frederick to travel to Seven Canals on. So I came up with a design lore entry and picture of his airship. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Airships_of_Mars

    Deborah and I are planning to go to Branson, Missouri for our Anniversary. Since I don’t get out of the area much, I decided to look and see if there might be opportunities for a Walter & Eleanor story there. Of course the first step was to review all the current plans for Walter & Eleanor stories:

    With a little brainstorming help for the Artificial Idiot/Intelligence I have a list of ten places to visit and about a dozen potential ideas for Walter & Eleanor stories in the Ozarks.

    Just a little progress on Martian Phoenix chapters this week:
    Gathering Storm – progress, although it is getting really long.

    Word Count is 47,882 in 11+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,487 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,267 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #9,256 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #216 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #257 in Steampunk Fiction, and #656 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #729 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #833 Steampunk Fiction, #2,209 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,251 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,339 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,455 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #334 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #401 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,096 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,586 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,621 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #18,570 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Bookmarks, Collectables, and the Aerosphere

    Bookmarks, Collectables, and the Aerosphere

    Details about Defiance Exchange, sneak peek at the bookmarks, collectable character dossiers, new hero images and a sneak peek at the Aerosphere. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No books available this weekend – We are at the Parker County Peach Festival trying to keep up with selling all the peach jams.

    I needed a place for the principals of Phoenix to meet with factors. The entrance and grand trading hall of the Defiance Exchange. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Defiance_Exchange Eat your heart out New York Stock Exchange…

    I kind of got side-tracked making some handout marketing pieces for Cons. The first two are the front and back of the free bookmark that encourages people to check out the Books & Series page. The second two are the front and back of the free bookmark that encourages people to sign up for the Secret Knowledge transmission. I also started putting together The Greshamverse Character Dossiers. These are collectable character dossiers that are free with a purchase.

    The first Character Dossier is for Walter. I upgraded his default character image in the process.

    I did the same with Nikola. Actually I didn’t have a lore image for Nikola. I think he looks amazingly like Benidict Cumberbatch.

    Also upgraded the lore image for Elisha. He actually has two, one as General Al-Selene and one as President Al-Selene.

    I finally came up with a definitive sword for the Selenite Sword of State. Essentially it is what a katana might look like if designed for modern materials. With some leukos crystals, of course…

    Mirim also got an upgrade. Hers was mostly just making the image far higher resolution.

    Sales at the 4th of July market were super slow this year, so Isaac and I talked some about the setting for one of the substories of Palestine’s Ghosts. It is a vast aerosphere sea with islands floating in it. They are in proportion to the crust, mantle, and core of Earth, so a few habitable islands, a bunch of islands made of almost pure metals – mostly nickel-iron, and even more islands made of the strange minerals that make up the mantle. In this setting, those mantle islands serve the same purpose for aetheric life that coral reefs serve for ocean life. And, given the shear size of the place… Let’s just stay that humans are not at the top of the food chain.

    Just a little progress on Martian Phoenix chapters this week:
    Gathering Storm – progress  

    Word Count is 43,518 in 11+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    June Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebook, 629 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book off Amazon, 8 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 192 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 5 in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 5 in-person. Selene Unchained sold 5 in-person, 2 ebooks off Amazon. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 83 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 3 in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas sold 5 in-person.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,191 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,267 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #7,758 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #658 in Steampunk Fiction, #705 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #2,275 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #798 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #902 Steampunk Fiction, #2,548 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #794 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #899 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,538 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #717 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #823 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,305 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,535 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,542 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #18,486 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Covers, Cons, and Sartorial Strategy

    Covers, Cons, and Sartorial Strategy

    What was the Ladies’ Mile, Galveston dry goods stores, sartorial strategy, a visit to Mistress Beauty Woven Into Destiny, Texas Horror Lit Fest, Side Quest Con, the four leading couples and the graphic they’re on, Countess Diligence Smoothing the Way, Martian Phoenix progress, Sales Report for June and status on all the books. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Granbury 4th of July Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

    I needed to know where the ladies of Galveston would go to shop when they made their yearly pilgramage to New York to get the latest fashions before they filtered to the regular people out west. I found out about the Ladies’ Mile, a district in New York that included such names as Tiffany’s and Lord & Taylor – even I’ve heard of those…

    I also needed a dry goods store in Galveston. Some of the candidates: Bonat Bros. Dry Goods (2516 Market), HJ Wilshusen Dry Goods and Notions Store (12th & Market), Christian Henck Dry Goods (1502 Winnie, 3.5 blocks north from Gresham Castle), John Boddeker Dry Goods (1121 Broadway, 2.5 blocks east). There were also a number of Dry Goods stores on Market Street.

    Scarlet’s pentultimate deployment of sartorial strategy—say that five times fast…

    Since I’m writing Chapter 11, I have final versions of the dresses designed by Mistress Beauty Woven Into Destiny. These are the ones Beulah tried on, but not the one that was designed just for her… That also prompted a redesign of the notional cover. This also means I can quit torturing Beulah – yes, she finally gets hit with a big enough clue stick to start growing up instead. That whack really feels bad when it happens, but it is an example of a blessing that comes through tears…

    Visited the Texas Horror Lit Fest Saturday. I’ll definitely want to attend as an author next year. I also found a couple of other events I put on my radar—or is that wirar (wireless acquisition and ranging)? That includes Side Quest Con in North Richland Hills in July, Ama-con in Amarillo in August, The Muses of Storytelling Texas Author Con in Haltom City in September, Plot Twist Book Festival in Longview in May, and Galaxy Con Oklahoma City in May. I might get into Side Quest Con – at least I was able to still fill out the vendor application. I also filled out an interest application for Plot Twist Book Festival. I’ll need to stay on top of everything.

    Good News!!!! – I will be attending Side Quest Con in North Richland Hills July 17-18. It will be my first ‘Books Only’ festival/convention. Come by and visit!

    I needed some images for some marketing. While I was working on it, I realized that my stories tend to be carried by a couple: Walter & Eleanor, Elisha & Mirim, Nasir & Beulah, and Beraht & Hala. That wasn’t a conscious choice, but it makes sense. I believe marriage could be the second most important relationship in a person’s life, second only to their relationship with God. This setting was inspired, in part, by a Space 1889 campaign my wife and I played in. In fact, Walter & Eleanor are based on the characters we played in that setting. Now that I’m aware of it—I don’t think I’ll change it at all…

    It did end up taking all day to get this image. I don’t think I’ll need to change it any time soon, so I guess it was a good investment.

    Another minor character. Countess Diligence Smoothing the Way is the bureaucrat in charge of everything to do with the Defiance Canal Harbor. In Martian Phoenix, she operates as one of Viscountess Peacock’s primary Lieutenants to draw Phoenix into a permanent, subordinate, relationship with Seven Canals. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Countess_Diligence_Smoothing_the_Way

    Copies of all my stories will soon be found in the Azle Public Library, so if you’d like to read them without paying anything – there you go. https://www.cityofazle.org/203/Library

    Martian Phoenix chapters this week:
    Deciding Poorly – finished
    The Final Dress
    Gathering Storm – started  

    Word Count is 43,272 in 11+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    June Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebook, 629 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book off Amazon, 8 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 192 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 5 in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 5 in-person. Selene Unchained sold 5 in-person, 2 ebooks off Amazon. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 83 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 3 in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas sold 5 in-person.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #598 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,125 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #4,230 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #814 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #874 in Steampunk Fiction, and #2,371 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #1,498 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,950 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #5,030 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,406 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,693 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #4,436 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #2,096 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,123 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,319 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,433 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), #11,466 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #18,392 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Air Martian Squadrons

    Air Martian Squadrons

  • Phoenix, Previews, and a Burglar

    Phoenix, Previews, and a Burglar

    More website updates, Martian Phoenix progress, previews of future books, future monsters, another Scarlet dress, a Martian burglar, Faire of Champions, and squadron patches. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    I worked a lot on updating the website this week. As part of that, I have a “cover” for the John Graves Series.

    I also put together a cover for Wrath of Magi. I’m not sure I want to write it, but looking at the cover—maybe I will…

    I also put together concept covers for the other possible and planned Walter & Eleanor stories and Emory Upton in Mexico.

    Finally, a couple of potential series way in the future.

    I even put together an image to go with the “How to Read” section of the Books & Series Page. Does anyone know who the young man is?

    I made a new banner for my Facebook page. AI really makes it nice for those of us that aren’t good at visual arts.

    I took a break from Martian Phoenix and Website to do some world-building for a future novel. These are the results:
    https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Anthropoid_Apes
    https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Inkanyamba_Serpents
    https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Nandi_Bears
    https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Shetani
    https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Wolfmen

    I also put together a reference document to try and focus ChatGPT to build outlines and book openings that don’t need as extensive a modification. Honestly, I think following this made Antarctic Honeymoon better and will make Martian Phoenix and others better as well. I’m kind of afraid to check the books in Selene Reborn against this—I might not like the result…

    I didn’t realize just how high Kilimanjaro was. It sits on the Equator, but has arctic tundra and glaciers at the top and it takes days to acclimate and get over your high altitude sickness. I’m going to have to rethink the geography of Secrets of Kilimanjaro…

    A new dress for Scarlet, because “She was in another dress that strategically deployed its neckline, hem, skirt slits… it seemed every new dress demonstrated some other sartorial characteristic for that woman to marshal like an attacking general.”

    Amazingly enough, I don’t have a good image of Juan Castillo. I decided to fix that before I made an image of Quiet Footfalls getting caught in the act. I also thought a set of handcuffs would be appropriate. https://museum.west-midlands.police.uk/learn/games/can-you-identify-the-objects/darby-handcuffs/

    I’m considering participating in the Faire of Champions as a vendor. https://www.faireofchampions.com/ If I do, I’ll probably be writing a book inspired by the Faire https://malcolmupton.com/book/palestines-ghosts/

    Martian Phoenix chapters this week:
    Decisions – finished
    Open Doors
    Deciding Poorly – started

    Word Count is 35,838 in 9+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,184 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,099 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #7,704 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #345 in Steampunk Fiction, #374 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #1,080 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #1,204 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,875 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #4,187 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,100 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,473 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,866 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,879 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,901 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,872 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,372 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), #11,396 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #18,291 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Audiobook, Master Tomorrow, Website update

    Audiobook, Master Tomorrow, Website update

    Selene Unchained Audiobook is finished, a new minor character, Scarlet has another dress, and the website is being reworked. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    Selene Unchained Audiobook is finished. You can get it here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Audiobook/B0DMW12HDR

    Another new minor character. He is an opportunity for me to communicate what a good approach to sales and such is, assuming I can keep a close enough eye on ChatGPTs hallucinations about sales…

    Scarlet’s arc in Martian Phoenix jumped from danger to max confrontation with no intermediate steps, so I re-wrote one of the scenes to have an intermediate step.

    I’ve been having a ton of trouble with the Nrdly template for my website – so I’m in the process of ditching it. That means a lot of work on updating the website this week.

    A little progress on Martian Phoenix. Since it is back in previous chapters (and not finished yet), I don’t have a new word count and such.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,951 in Steampunk Fiction, #6,837 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #11,294 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #535 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #552 in Steampunk Fiction, and #1,686 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #1,738 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,846 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,540 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,215 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,291 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,298 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,604 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,624 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,247 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #11,278 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,298 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #18,260 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Steampunk, OODA, and Cons

    Steampunk, OODA, and Cons

    I’m at a family reunion this weekend, so unless you’re one of my siblings, nieces, or nephews – no books available this weekend.

    I created several pieces of marketing collateral (signs) for Steampunk Galveston. It also included a picture of Endeavor.

    One of the most useful models I’ve even found on decision making is Col. John Boyd’s OODA Loop. In many ways, it can explain the success or failure of competitions or conflicts better than almost anything else. For example: during the Vietnam war, many significant decisions had to cycle through Washington D.C. before action could be taken on the battlefield. Both because those decision makers tended to be civilian bureaucrats instead of military officers, and Washington was literally on the other side of the world (11-12 hours difference), often US actions were too late to be meaningful. During the various conflicts in the Middle East in the last several decades, one of the first aims of US forces was to damage the ability of central dictators to coordinate with their forces. At the same time, civilian authority in Washington has tended to provide strategic direction, and leave tactical decision in theater. The OODA loop for US forces could often cycle several times before the Dictator could get word back to troops that were no longer in anything resembling the same situation. All that to say, Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action may show up in chapter titles—and now you know the secret behind those choices…

    I went to the Galveston Steampunk Festival. Sold Jam and Books. Revenue was so-so. Jam sales sucked. Book sales were several times better than any other event. I think If I have 2 more titles, I’ll be ready to go to cons with books alone. I’ve decided to try out the following at least:
    http://www.fencon.org/
    https://guides.mysapl.org/popmadness
    https://www.comicpalooza.com/
    https://soonercon.com/
    https://www.texasbookloverscon.com/
    https://rebelscumconventions.com/
    https://www.san-japan.org/
    https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpodallas/
    https://armadillocon.org/
    https://www.p-con.us/
    https://texasbookfestival.org/
    Let me know if you can think of others I should try. It is looking unlikely that I’ll get into any of these this year…

    One of the problems with ChatGPT is that it does its most useful work when cornered like a rat in a trap. One of the ways to do that is be very detailed about the considerations for anything it does (assess chapters, outlines, etc.). I added some more rules about, specifically, what Dolores believes a good wife looks like. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Counsel_on_the_Worthy_Wife

    Another minor character and image only available to those who have access to Secret Knowledge. This is Countess Swallows. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Countess_Swallows_Returning_at_Twilight

    Selene Unchained Audiobook is about half way reviewed. It should be released sometime next week.

    I made a little progress on Martian Phoenix, but it was mostly in outline and realignment of previous scenes with where I’m going next in the story.

    A little progress on Martian Phoenix. Chapters this week:
    Observation and Orientation – finished
    Decisions – started

    Word Count is 25,248 in 7+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Advertising: Between May 1-20, I sold 1 ebook for $4.99 in revenue. Since I spent $42.46 on advertising, I’m still upside-down there. Still, every book sold is the chance of getting another review, the more reviews the better the chance of making sales, the more sales the closer I get to break-even…

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,508 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,752 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #9,677 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #635 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,051 in Alternate History, and #3,066 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #1,272 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,515 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,672 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #591 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #693 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,920 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,122 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,244 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,296 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. Audiobook should be finished next week. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #7,628 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,003 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #13,986 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Just for grins-this is the list of books currently written, in progress, planned, or conceptualized.

    Selene Reborn Series

    Walter & Eleanor Stories

    • Antarctic Honeymoon on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible
    • Secrets of Kilimanjaro forthcoming
    • Riddle of the Sphinx forthcoming
    • Return to Mars forthcoming
    • Martian Clue forthcoming
    • Venusian Ratanaba forthcoming
    • Saharan Atlantis forthcoming
    • Palestine’s Ghosts forthcoming
    • Floating Cities of Venus forthcoming
    • Dwarves of Mercury forthcoming

    John Graves on Mars stories

    • John Graves and the Queen of Burnished Towers forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Sky Kingdoms forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Four Canals War forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Crown of Mars forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Hidden City forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Lords Below possible

    Other stand-alone stories

    The War of the Worlds series

    • The Texas-Martian War forthcoming

    Walter 3 in the Space Navy series

    • Lt Gresham forthcoming

    War in Heaven series – possible

  • John Graves, Swords, and Audiobooks

    John Graves, Swords, and Audiobooks

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Steampunk Galveston Saturday.

    Spent a lot of time this week on line editing and finalizing the audio book for Antarctic Honeymoon. I finished the first pass. That means the audiobook is live. I might do another pass, but I’m fairly sure it wouldn’t find anything significant. The audiobook is available here.

    I was thinking about some things and decided to figure out, specifically, what Elisha’s sword looked like. I need to do a lot more work before any of this would be canon – but ChatGPT did have some interesting ideas…

    I’m really considering taking a break from Walter and Eleanor and writing some books that are more romance-slanted since they tend to sell more. I can also do some background on Mars at the same time. Very tentatively, I have the following six books planned:

    Book 1: John Graves and the Queen of Burnished Towers – John Graves leads the Intrepid Expedition to Mars in 1870. Begins his relationship with the Queen of Burnished Towers.

    Book 2: John Graves and the Sky Kingdoms – John Graves and/or Mike Powell among the Air Martians.

    Book 3: John Graves and the Four Canals War – The war that began the expansion of Burnished Towers into the new Empire of Mars

    Book 4: John Graves and the Crown of Mars – Continuation of the war, emergence of the empire

    Book 5: John Graves and the Hidden City – Discovery of the ruins of a Martian City that was not beholden to the Deep Martians

    Book 6: John Graves and the Lords Below – Discovery of the Deep Martians and part of their network of control.

    I made a little progress on Martian Phoenix, but it was mostly in outline and realignment of previous scenes with where I’m going next in the story. Word Count is 19,281 in six+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is out, but no rank yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #328 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,183 in Alternate History, and #1,978 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising (thank you Emily!). More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #944 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,145 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,813 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,309 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,598 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,762 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction (not sure how that happened). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #392 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #497 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,413 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. Audiobook is coming soon. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #7,356 in Colonization Science Fiction, #10,823 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #13,722 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.