Adventure Beyond the Stars – Written for Readers Who Want More

Tag: Update

  • Honeymoon, Mars, and Seven Canals

    Honeymoon, Mars, and Seven Canals

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas morning and early afternoon on Saturday and Sunday at Germanfest in Muenster, Texas.

    I finished the Antarctic Honeymoon rewrite. I’m much happier with this version. That will teach me to lean to heavily on AI to do my writing. It probably took me almost twice as long as if I’d just done the writing up front and gotten AI and beta readers to polish it afterward…

    Phoenix will need to carry more trade goods than just leukos crystals, so I did a little work on that. Came up with a whole list of other things, but developed most of the detail around the luxury goods Phoenix will carry—after all, those are the ones the High Martian nobles will want, and the rules about excess consumption don’t apply to them near as much. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix_Spec_Cargo

    I needed to know what the Martian Canals were like in more detail. They are between 20-60 miles wide, 50,000-70,000 miles in total length, and comprise 1-4.5 million square miles. This was after I did some checking on the AI – the AI wanted the canals to be almost twice that wide… https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Martian_Canals

    I also decided to put more detail into the Political Situation on Mars since Graves arrived in Intrepid in 1870. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Political_Situation_on_Mars_(1891)

    I did some more work detailing significant points in Beulah’s development over the course of Phoenix. Since I did that work, I needed to do similar work on Beulah’s foil, Scarlet, as well. I think this is a lot clearer and hits better now.

    I did some more work on how Seven Canals looks and such. Details are here: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Seven_Canals

    Isaac saw a great visual of a lightning cannon. I’m pretty sure this will be part of the inspiration for how it finally looks.

    Here is another minor character – Duchess of Trade, Her Grace Sunlight Playing Upon Still Waters. Duchess Waters for short. She may never show up on the page of a book, but that is what Secret Knowledge is all about… https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Duchess_Sunlight_Playing_Upon_Still_Waters

    I also needed a way for the higher nobility of Seven Canals to get around. After all, you wouldn’t expect a Viscountess to walk… https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Lift_Palanquins

    Viscountess Peacock needs a palace and I’m trying to make this as visually powerful as possible. There’s a location lore entry for the palace https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Palace_of_the_Flow_That_Refuses_the_Desert

    Work has started on Martian Phoenix. Chapters this week:
    Seven Canals
    A Proper Dinner

    Word Count is 7,123 in two chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Advertising: I ran a price countdown campaign the last couple of weeks. Between April 9-22, I sold 4 books for $11.64 in revenue. Since I spent $107.80 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…

    Artemis Rising is #182 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #630 in Alternate History, and #1,073 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. Six 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. #496 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #639 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,709 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 #498 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #647 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,722 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 #6,978 in Colonization Science Fiction, #10,394 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #13,016 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. (Thank you Michele!) If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Honeymoon, Antarctic Treaty, and Dresses

    Honeymoon, Antarctic Treaty, and Dresses

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Keller Crawfish Krawl Saturday.

    Cataract surgery made it difficult for me to read the computer—so no blog post or email last week.

    Mostly worked on the re-write of the end of Antarctic Honeymoon. I think it is much better, and my beta readers agree. I only have the Epilogue to rewrite and I’ll be done—probably just in time for the rewrites from Sandra on Selene Unchained.

    The SS Great Eastern, launched in 1858, was 692 feet long and 18,900 tons. Even decades later (1891) it was spoken of as the largest ship ever built.

    In the 1890s, Buffalo, New York was the world center of grain elevators. Buffalo harbor on Lake Erie had individual elevators that could handle 1-2+ million bushels each. The massive timber crib structures of earlier in the century were transitioning to iron and steel systems with steam-powered conveyors. It was the grain-handling capital of the world at the time.

    Chicago was one of the largest lumber markets in the world in the 1890s, the largest in North America. Galveston was the largest import/export hubs for Gulf Coast timber and the Caribbean trade.

    Silviculture is the science and practice of growing, managing, and cultivating forests. Basically agronomy for trees. It was practiced in Germany and France in the 1890s.

    The Antarctic Treaty that set Antarctica apart from the usual scramble for land and resources set aside Antarctica as a place of peaceful scientific research only. It banned military bases, weapons testing, and fortification. It said it would be open to all nations, encourages cooperation between instillations, and requires sharing of data and results. The original treaty froze all claims and forbade sovereignty enforcement and allowed for inspection to ensure compliance. Subsequent agreements also severely restricted mining and other resource exploitation. I figure that is a bridge too far for the Great Powers of the late 19th century, but the Vulcan nations might have been willing to have a similar treaty.

    Alexander Herrmann aka Herrmann the Great was a Victorian Stage Magician whose peak fame was the 1870s-1890s, just before Harry Houdini became a big name. What is this important—because it is the name of a wand wielder that Walter and Eleanor would be familiar with.

    I got a little sidetracked with the next book, Martin Phoenix. I do have a much clearer idea of a couple of the characters, however. This is Miss Scarlet and her patron, Contessa Peacock. If pictures are worth a thousand words – the three at the top of the page are about 4% of Martian Phoenix…

    One of the significant scenes in Martian Phoenix involves Beulah going to a Martian dress shop to try on dresses. I used the opportunity to practice a little more with AI image generation and came up with a montage of her experience.

    Advertising: 4 sales so far in April. 1 paper and 3 ebook. $29.96 in revenue. $146.90 ad costs. I’m going to try a price countdown for Artemis Rising ebook and see what that does.

    Artemis Rising is #97 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #297 in Alternate History, and #576 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. Six 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. #269 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #323 in Steampunk Fiction, #783 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 #272 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #327 in Steampunk Fiction, #789 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 #6,823 in Colonization Science Fiction, #10,282 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #12,841 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    If you want to get early access to chapters in the current book, write a nice review for one of the current novels on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Audiobook, Honeymoon, Phoenix

    Audiobook, Honeymoon, Phoenix

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Downtown Arlington Farmer’s Market Saturday or Canton Trade Days on Friday or Sunday.

    Spent several days listening to the audiobook of Forging the Chain Breakers. A few line-edits resulted and I submitted the new ebook for review. It came back and I’m working on a final listen on the audiobook before release.

    Big news on Antarctic Honeymoon. After feedback from my beta readers, this morning I decided to completely rewrite the last several chapters of the book. I’m trying to get the Forging audiobook done first, but aside from what I did previously on Martian Phoenix, that story will be set aside for a while until I have a better version of the last chapters of Antarctic Honeymoon. I do have an almost-finished book cover.

    Started work on background for Martian Phoenix. This will be a lot more work than previous books. The Selene Reborn series didn’t have other books to constrain things, so the Moon was fairly free-form and I could detail it as I went along. This will be on Mars—there is a lot more detail there, more people, more area, more complex history, more opportunities for stories, more ideas for stories, more opportunity to make a mistake that breaks the context needed for something in the future. So… I started with detailing some of the characters from Earth instead…

    First step is Beulah’s mentor in courtship and marriage, Tia Dolores. She has a full character bible entry now. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Dolores_Carrillo_Iturriaga

    I also want Beulah to have a significant transformational arc. To do that, I want her to have a starting point rooted in popular sentimental literature of the 19th Century (what we would call romance novels today). So here is her starting point https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Beulah%27s_Romantic_Theology – sounds a lot like the misconceptions around love we have today – including the “I can redeem him if I love him enough” misconception that traps so many women into abusive relationships. This is her full lore entry: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Beulah_Gresham

    That meant I needed a lore entry for Nasir as well. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Nasir_Al-Selene

    Now I need to start fleshing out Mars. So I started with the lore entry for Martian society overall: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Martian_Lore Then started working on the pieces. I put together a lore entry for the Air Martians: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Air_Martian_Organization_and_Culture, the Canal Martians: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Canal_Martian_Political_Structures_and_Governance

    Advertising: 13 sales in March. $54.79 in revenue. $175.45 ad costs. Need to do some work on that for April

    Artemis Rising is #484 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,546 in Alternate History, and #2,470 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. Six 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. #1,006 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,117 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,799 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 #1,113 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,266 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,098 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. The audiobook will be delayed while I finish Antarctic Honeymoon. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,609 in Colonization Science Fiction, #10,025 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #12,490 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

  • Palestine, Book Log, and Honeymoon is Over…

    Palestine, Book Log, and Honeymoon is Over…

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Downtown Arlington Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    I had someone suggest a story for their place – so Alvarado County Texas will get a Walter & Eleanor story. I’m thinking of calling it the Palestine Incident…

    I got my ideas for stories organized. Prequel ideas include a series in the War in Heaven, a book or series about the Euro-American war (with General Emory Upton), and a book or series about John Graves—leader of the first expedition to Mars and later Warlord of the new Martian Empire. Definite books on the list for writing (at least working titles): Antarctic Honeymoon, Secrets of Kilimanjaro, Martian Phoenix, Wrath of Magi, Riddle of the Sphinx, Return to Mars, Martian Clue, Venusian Ratanaba, Saharan Atlantis, Palestine’s Ghosts, Floating Cities of Venus, Dwarves of Mercury, The Texas-Martian War, Lt Gresham. Martian Clue may start a branch of Countess Scarlet Flowers at Dawn and her mystery solving career on Mars. The Texas-Martian War is Book 1 of the War of the Worlds. Lt Gresham would be book 1 of a Horatio Hornblower-type series following Walter Gresham III set during the Earth-Mars war, after the Earth starts building the aetheric warships to take the battle to Mars. That’s 14 books for sure. At my current rate, that will keep me busy until the end of 2029—without any of the prequels, follow-ons, or side series. I guess that may keep me out of trouble.

    With Aira on Caproni Island and the place full of dinosaurs, none of the contingencies set up with the US Department of Interior will work. I definitely do not want to put all the boring details in a book, so instead, I created a location bible entry with all the details. If you are interested, check them out. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Caproni_Island_Chartered_Scientific_Reserve

    Now that Walter & Eleanor’s Antarctic Honeymoon is over (or at least the story of it is written), I did something different – I got suggestions from ChatGPT about what the cover should be. The result was a new picture for Walter & Eleanor (Expedition Mode), a picture to use as an idea for my cover designer, and a cover mock-up.

    I did set up the order for Antarctic Honeymoon’s cover. I can’t wait to see what that will look like.

    Advertising: 0 sales in the past 14 days, although there was $29.88 in sales. I think that is from Kindle Unlimited pages. Looks like I need to do a sale on Artemis Rising.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is done. Chapters this week:
    The Reserve – completed
    Terms of Stewardship
    Epilogue

    Word count is 72,919. Aim was 71,000-78,000. Also added Dramatis Personae (additional 358 words).

    Began work on the first pass of Forging the Chain Breakers Audiobook. Chapters this week:
    Prologue: Sinister Success
    1: To Business
    2: Gresham Steamship Company – started

    Artemis Rising is #448 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,496 in Alternate History, and #2,319 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. Six 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. #823 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #926 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,349 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 #917 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,012 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,587 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. The audiobook will be delayed while I finish Antarctic Honeymoon. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,607 in Colonization Science Fiction, #9,926 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #12,368 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

  • Raptors, Editing, and the Enclosure

    Raptors, Editing, and the Enclosure

    You can get autographed copies of all three released books in Selene Reborn (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers) or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Dogwood Festival in Palestine, TX Saturday only.

    By Fred Wierum - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63257507

    Needed another opponent for Antarctic Honeymoon. This is it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinonychus Thing is, none of the dromasaurid dinosaurs were known in 1891 – and everyone thought dinosaurs were lizards, not closely related enough to birds to have feathers…

    Manuscript and Dramatis Personae for the final book in Selene Reborn, Selene Unchained, was sent to the editor Monday. That is a little early, but maybe it will get back a little early as well.

    Needed a new location bible entry. There are details—way more than will ever fit in a book—about the Aetherwood Research Station on Caproni Island. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Aetherwood_Research_Station if you are interested—warning, there are likely spoilers…

    Advertising: 5 sales in the past 14 days. Artemis Rising just isn’t selling at full price yet. When I get five reviews for Celestial Accord, I’ll add that.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is progressing. Chapters this week:
    Clash of Titans – finished
    Pack in the Mist
    In the Waning Light
    The Enclosure
    Reserve for the Future – started

    Word count is 67,048. Aim is 71,000-78,000. Last chapter and Epilogue are all that’s left

    Artemis Rising is #251 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #897 in Alternate History, and #1,430 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. Six 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. #609 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #691 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,892 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 #598 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #684 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,852 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. The audiobook will be delayed while I finish Antarctic Honeymoon. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,545 in Colonization Science Fiction, #9,826 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #12,272 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    If you want to get early access to chapters in the current book, write a nice review for one of the current novels on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Pictures, Aetherwood, and Ginkgos

    Pictures, Aetherwood, and Ginkgos

    You can get autographed copies of Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Walnut Springs Rattlesnake Roundup Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

    I spent more time than I probably should have getting better pictures of Eleanor, Walter & Eleanor, Walter and Eleanor for their wedding, and the Antarctic Honeymoon cover mockup.

    I also took time to nail down liftwood/aetherwood details. If you’re interested, you can learn more here: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Aetherwood

    One of the distinctive types of trees on Caproni Island are Ginkgo trees. Today, we know that one species of ginkgo – ginkgo biloba – is still extent. In 1891 – the entire family was thought to be extinct, only being rediscovered as a ‘living fossil’ in 1896. I also looked for fossil animals that were known in 1891. Unfortunately, the giant crocodiles, Titanoboa, and even giant turtles are all 21st century discoveries. I do have terrorbird fossils from the 1870’s…

    The advertising is beginning to work. Sold 5 Artemis Rising Books in the last week. That’s 10 since the ads started. It is costing me more than I’m making, so I put the e-book price back to $4.99. We’ll see what impact that has. I’ll probably do a sale in conjunction to the release of Forging the Chain Breakers.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is progressing. Chapters this week:
    The Silver Spire – completed
    Alligatormen – Started

    Word count is 47,414. Aim is 71,000-78,000.

    Artemis Rising is #450 in Alternate History Science Fiction (books), #580 in Space Exploration Science Fiction eBooks, and #699 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks. 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. Five customer reviews. 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 isn’t ranked yet. 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.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    Celestial Accord copy-edit is available now. The Audible AI audiobook is also available.

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Selene Reborn and Honeymoon Progress

    Selene Reborn and Honeymoon Progress

    Blog Post

    The box set images for Selene Reborn are done – what do you think?

    You can get autographed copies of Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, or Mirim’s First Christmas at Canton First Monday Trade Days Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is finished! I reset release for March 13. Hopefully I’ll have copies for Granbury Founder’s Day.

    Editing Forging the Chain Breakers meant there were some additional threads to resolve, or at least address, in Selene Unchained. I think I have those done and it will be headed to Sandra for editing this time next month. Maybe the series will be complete by the time we go to the Galveston Steampunk Festival.

    The advertising is beginning to work. Sold one ebook of Artemis Rising in February. That was only 3% of the royalties I earned, however. The other 97% were from Kindle Unlimited readers. That also doesn’t count books sold at markets.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is progressing. Chapters this week:
    Lost Island – completed
    The Silver Spire – started

    Word count is 43,171. Aim is 71,000-78,000.

    Artemis Rising is #259 in Steampunk Fiction, #621 in Alternate History, and #189 in Steampunk Science Fiction. 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. Five customer reviews. 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 isn’t ranked yet. 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.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    Celestial Accord copy-edit is available now. The Audible AI audiobook is also available.

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Islands, Endeavor, and Forging

    Islands, Endeavor, and Forging

    You can get autographed copies of Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, or Mirim’s First Christmas at the Granbury Winter Wrap-up Market Saturday.

    One location for Antarctic Honeymoon is one of the few islands near Antarctica that was known in 1891. Peter I Island, named after Tsar Peter I and discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen on January 21, 1821.

    Also got a lot more detail about liftwood island. I have this entry from the original Earth discoverer. Probably won’t use it in the books.
    From the Journal of Giovanni Caproni, 1721

    (Translated from the Italian)

    The fifth day of September in the Year of Our Lord 1721, in a latitude most inhospitable and far south beyond the accustomed commerce of ships, we encountered a marvel that no chart had foretold.

    Toward the second bell of the afternoon watch, while the sea lay iron-gray and restless beneath a sky of low and sullen cloud, a bank of vapor rose before us unlike the common fogs of these waters. It did not drift nor thin as others do, but stood as if rooted in place, ascending straight upward in a white and breathing wall. The air near it grew strangely temperate. I removed my gloves and found the wind no longer cut the skin as before.

    Believing we had come upon a shoal or hidden reef, I ordered the helm eased and our speed reduced. Yet as we advanced, the mist parted in tatters and revealed a mass of stone so abrupt and prodigious that the men fell silent.

    It was an island, if island it may be called, formed not as other lands are formed, but as though a great massif of black rock had been thrust upward from the sea entire. The outer face rose sheer from the water to a height I judge no less than one thousand feet. No beach, no slope, no indentation offered entry. The waves struck and shattered below, and the spray fell back without gaining purchase.

    We stood off and circled at a cautious distance, though the fog clung close about the heights and obscured much of the summit. Once, when the fog broke entirely for a brief and providential moment, I beheld at the very heart of the island a slender spire, pale and gleaming, rising above the hidden summit. It shone not like snow nor like polished marble, but with a luster more akin to silver, though brighter and of more curious aspect. It pierced the mist as a needle through cloth and vanished again as the cloud closed.

    The air about the island was warmer by several degrees than the surrounding sea. Our instruments, such as they are, confirmed what the skin already knew. Rain fell within the fog though no storm was present above us. The wind behaved most peculiarly, as though pressing against an unseen boundary and sliding along it.

    We made a full circuit of the island, seeking a breach in the encircling wall. None presented itself. The stone ran unbroken and stern. The sea floor near its base dropped away sharply, and we dared not approach too near lest the currents seize us.

    I confess to a sensation, most difficult to describe, that this place was not merely remote but withheld. Not hidden by chance, nor neglected by navigation, but veiled as though by intention. The men murmured of enchantments and ancient fortresses, and I rebuked them, though in truth my own mind was not free of wonder.

    We took its measure as best we could through mist and uncertainty, though I place little trust in such reckoning under these conditions. Having found no means of landing and our stores not suited to prolonged experiment in these hostile waters, I resolved to record its position carefully and to leave it for another season, should Providence permit.

    If this island endures where I have seen it, it stands as a fortress of nature—or of some art beyond nature—set at the edge of the world. Should future mariners read this account, let them approach with caution and with patience, for it does not readily reveal its secrets.

    — G. Caproni

    Came up with a character bible entry for Ethan Estrada. He’ll be a frequent supporting cast member.

    Got a reply from Trinity Episcopal. The sanctuary holds 450 people comfortably. I think I’ll leave the attendance at 300 – that’s 2/3 full. I also put together a wedding photo of Walter and Eleanor.

    Got a picture of Endeavor. This is the final.

    Antarctic Honeymoon progress got put on hold due to working on integrating feedback from my editor, Sandra, on Forging the Chain Breakers – that is done now, however. She should be able to let me know early next week if I fixed enough.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is progressing. Chapters this week:
    Lost Island – progress

    Word count is 40,940. Aim is 71,000-78,000.

    Artemis Rising is #1,362 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,550 in Alternate History, and #4,721 in Alternate History Science Fiction. 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. Five customer reviews. I still need more so other readers can find it, but I may start promoting with these five – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. 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.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    Celestial Accord copy-edit is available now. The Audible AI audiobook is also available.

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.

  • Forging to Editor!

    Forging to Editor!

    Artemis Rising is #3,826 in Space Exploration Science Fiction ebooks, #3,785 in Alternate History Science Fiction, and #5,797 in First Contact Science Fiction. 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. Five customer reviews now (thanks Rick). I still need a more so other readers can find it, but I may start promoting with these five – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get 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.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    Sandra (my editor) had a slot open up early so Forging the Chain Breakers is now in her hands. Whoo Hoo!

    I used Audible AI to do a complete audio read of Artemis Rising. A number of minor fixes resulted and now I’m going through again. Hopefully after these minor fixes, I’ll be able to get a clean audio recording I’m happy enough with to publish as an audiobook. Went through another time, and got a new cover – Updated Artemis Rising with AI Audiobook is now live. If you listen to it, please leave me a review here.

    I’ve heard some complaints about how small the print in the current books are, so I increased the size of the print significantly. Artemis Rising will be the first book to be released with the new, larger print.

    Started the same process using AI to do a line-edit of Celestial Accord.

    I also got title pages for Forging the Chain Breakers and Selene Unchained.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is started. It is a stand-alone Walter & Eleanor story taking place the same time as the first chapters of Selene Unchained. Chapters this week:
    Preface
    Uncertainty and Change

  • Progress – Multiple titles

    Progress – Multiple titles

    Still problems uploading graphics. Maybe next week.

    Artemis Rising is #4,674 in Space Exploration Science Fiction ebooks, #4,763 in Alternate History Science Fiction, and #6,863 in First Contact Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. Four customer reviews now, but I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord isn’t ranked yet. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get 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.

    You can get autographed copies of both books at the Richardson Farmer’s Market Saturday.

    Mirim’s First Christmas is live. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. I’m still working on getting free versions to be available on my website.

    I was able to get ChatGPT to come up with pictures for Limees and Argos. They are too cartoonish, but at least they are centauroids instead of bipedal robots.

    Selene Unchained is written. Isaac is still going through making polish suggestions, but it is essentially ready for Sandra.

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    The Beginning of the End
    The Breathless Pause
    Assault on Manufactory Station
    Fire and Fog
    The Palace
    The Last Accounting
    A Council Without Thrones
    Epilogue: Galveston Aeroport

    Selene Unchained final word count is 83,237, not counting Dramatis Personae (1,343 words).

    I also have the cover for Selene Unchained almost finished – It took a while to get the right model for Selene, but I think we nailed it.

    I’ve started trying to get ChatGPT to do a line edit of Artemis Rising. It’s possible, but takes a lot of preparation, otherwise ChatGPT gets lost in the size of the manuscript.

    Since I have time, I decided to do a line edit of Forging the Chain Breakers. I think it will be easier for Sandra to edit a cleaner manuscript and it may do some of the developmental editing ahead of time.

    If you want to get early access to Book 3 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising or Celestial Accord on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.