Monthly Archives: January 2018

January 24, 2018 · 5:30 pm

SUET the Card Game is funded! Check it out!

If you’ll recall, one of my oldest friends, John LeMaire, did a Kickstarter a while back for his game, SUET the Card Game. That didn’t get funded, but he’s made some changes to his business model and, lo and behold, this time it worked! So now that you know you’ll get a high-quality family game if you back it, I’m inviting you to give it some consideration.

You can read all about the game here in this handy guest post, but here’s the quick synopsis:

SUET is a card game where you play the role of an evil genius trying to gain entry into the Society of Ultimate Evil and Terror. The Society has declared that the first genius to construct their own unique doomsday device and blackmail the world will be allowed to join. You will play cards not only to help construct and defend your doomsday device, but also to thwart the efforts of your competitors on your quest to become a member of SUET.

Fun, right? This game has been demoed at a number of gaming conventions over the past few years, and it’s ready for prime time. I’ve already backed it, and I hope you’ll give it a go. Here’s the Kickstarter link. Go forth!

#SFWApro

Politics is inseparable from science fiction and fantasy

So today, on that outrage machine known as Twitter, I saw that there’s a new consortium of science fiction and fantasy writers out looking for members, going so far as to dive into the mentions of an established author to get her to sign on. (No, I was not invited – and I’m really fine with that.)

Putting aside this very mild breach of Twitter etiquette, this group’s stated goal is to create an inclusive organization for all genre creators that steers away from “non-SF/F issues” and does not get bogged down in divisiveness over race, creed and politics.

When a respected agent chimed in with the belief that all art is political, the group’s Twitter scribe responded by saying that such an opinion was a “cancer” on science fiction and fantasy.

OK, full stop. Wut? No. (Rant ahead. You have been warned.) Continue reading →

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Filed under Books, Politics, Publishing, Rant, Writing

January 10, 2018 · 5:30 pm

MJ-12: Endgame available for pre-order

The third MAJESTIC-12 novel, MJ-12: Endgame, is out September 4, but if you really like to plan ahead, you can pre-order it today at any number of fine sites. And to whet your appetite for this next chapter in the story of our Variant spies, here’s a brand-new description:

Josef Stalin is dead. In the aftermath, the Soviet Union is thrown into crisis, giving former secret police chief Laverentiy Beria exactly the opening he needs. Beria’s plan is to secretly place his country’s Variants―ordinary people mysteriously embued with strange, superhuman powers―into the very highest levels of leadership, where he can use them to stage a government coup and seize control of the USSR.

America’s response comes from its intelligence communities, including the American Variants recruited for the top-secret MAJESTIC-12 program, who are suddenly thrown into their most dangerous and important assignment yet. From the halls of the Kremlin to the battlefields of Korea, superpowered covert agents face off to determine the future of the planet―a future their very existence may ultimately threaten.

Yes, we’ve fast-forwarded to 1953. It’s not that there isn’t great stories to tell between 1949 and 1953, of course, but rather this seemed like a natural way to close out this trilogy. (And yes, we’re closing it out. I mean, it’s called Endgame for a reason!) Of course, I never say never — there could be great stories ahead for MAJESTIC-12. But for now, I feel this is a good place to leave things be.

As of right now, Endgame is in the capable hands of my editor, Cory Allyn, and while we don’t have a cover yet, I’m very certain it’ll continue along the same theme. So we’re pretty much on track for September, which is exciting.

And now, here are your pre-order links, if you’re so inclined! (No links yet for Kobo or Google Play, but when I see ’em, I’ll post ’em.) As always, I encourage you to buy local and/or support independent bookstores whenever possible, because they’re awesome. And if you’re low on funds, put in a request at your local library, because libraries are awesome too.

MJ-12: Endgame: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | iTunes

#SFWApro

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Filed under Books, Publishing, Writing

Tagged as MAJESTIC-12, MJ-12: Endgame

January 8, 2018 · 5:30 pm

A visit to Amazon Books

The Garden State Plaza is the mall in my area. It’s a gargantuan cathedral to retail excess, chock full of boutiques and anchor stores and really expensive crap most normal people could never afford. I mean, I’m not dropping a grand on a watch, y’all. Or a suit. Or anything, really.

Since the Borders chain went out of business in late 2010, this massive mall didn’t have a bookstore. There are a couple Barnes & Nobles in the area, and a few indies, but not at this joint. At least, not until Amazon opened up a brick-and-mortar outlet a little while ago.

Now, I most certainly urge folks to buy my books from local independent retailers, but let’s face it — Amazon is Amazon. They have something like half the print book market and two-thirds of the e-book market in their pocket. As an author, Amazon’s been good to me. So on a recent trip to said mall — I have a 13-year-old daughter, so the mall is a thing — we stopped in at Amazon Books, holiday gift card in hand.

Here are my impressions.

Continue reading →