Somacow: The Spinward Fringe Resurrection Review

Geoff took the time to review Spinward Fringe Resurrection, the first book of that series. He and the other fellows at the Somacow Radio show (J and Ross), have already reviewed the First Light Chronicles series (Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port), and did a good, entertaining job of it.

With the Spinward Fringe series going strong, I'm glad to see that the guys are interested and that Geoff is continuing with the reviews. Apparently, Geoff is very happy to continue the reviews as well, give it a listen!

For the rest of the reviews you can check the links on the right (under Reviews and Interviews) and for more SomaCow as well as other radio shows on the network visit www.somacow.net

RL

Signed Copies of Omnibus on Ebay?

After being asked how to get a signed copy of Omnibus again (this is happening more and more), I had a conversation with a few friends who said; "try Ebay!"

As strange as it sounds (and it does sound strange), I thought I'd give it a go, since they take care of calculating shipping, providing a place to list it and auction details and such. [Here's the link]

This is really just a way for me to start experimenting, to find out what works and to help raise capitol so I can continue to do this and prove that a new(ish) independent author can actually work full time as a writer and afford more than a card board box and a strict diet of cat food.

I'm completely open to suggestions, however, and I'd like to hear from you about this idea or any others you have in mind.

For unsigned copies you can currently order from Lulu.com (the link is on the right hand side of the site), or wait until I'm finished setting up with Amazon.com, which will be sometime just before Christmas.

I hope this is a solution that works for a few people. If not, I'd love it if someone comes up with a better idea.

Again, thank you to everyone whose slowly making all this happen for me, I love my readers and anyone who has emailed me about the books can tell you I take their thoughts seriously and answer their (non-plot related), questions thoroughly. It's my pleasure to entertain you.

RL

SomaCow: The Spinward Fringe Resurrection Review Cometh!

The Sacred Cow has received copies of Spinward Fringe Resurrection and Awakening, the first two books in the Spinward Fringe Series. Geoff, J and Ross recently figured out where oh where the copies went and will (time permitting), review Spinward Fringe Resurrection this weekend.

More people who read the First Light Chronicles Omnibus are following through to the Spinward Fringe books every day, and I couldn't be happier. People are really enjoying the story I'm telling with both sets of books.

Knowing that I have something to offer in return for the guys at SomaCow entertaining me every Saturday is also a pleasure. Here's hoping Geoff and his cohorts (yes, I said cohorts), enjoy these books as much as The First Light Omnibus.

SomaCow aires live on Saturday between 1pm and 4pm here: somacow.com for the live video click on the UStreamTV link on the right hand side of the page. If you miss it they do post the three hours as one hour episodes later in the week, so check back.

See you on SomaCow's UStreamTV this Saturday!

RL

For more information on SomaCow and to check other shows on the SomaCow network check out www.somacow.net

Annoucing: Spinward Fringe Triton

This is the third volume in the Spinward Fringe series. I'll tell you a few things about this book while sparing the spoilers.

Triton is a longer book with more attention paid to a few characters you've seen but have remained out of the spotlight until now. As the third book in this new series it ties up a lot of loose ends from all the other books, including the First Light Chronicles.

Here there be answers! The First Light Chronicles and especially the Spinward Fringe series are written as a serialized television show in prose. The very nature of that kind of writing demands loose ends but that doesn't mean that I don't get to give you a set of satisfying endings. I'm happy with how these plotlines wrap up, and I'm working to make the entire book as entertaining and gripping as possible so when you're finished you want more. Not because there are a half dozen unanswered questions, but because the universe between the covers is so enjoyable you need more.

Here's the really important bit, the information I want everyone to carry away once you're finished reading this post: - Spinward Fringe is an unlimited series. - There will be more, in fact as I'm writing Triton I'm writing notes on Spinward Fringe Book IV and Spinward Fringe Book V. Like I said, think of this like a television series and the only people who can cancel it are the readers.

Every day more people are buying the First Light Chronicles Omnibus (That includes the Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port books). A lot of those same people are buying Spinward Fringe Resurrection and Awakening. That tells me that people need the third book, that they're entertained and that's where I get my buzz. There's nothing like knowing that someone's glued to your pages, especially when the story you're writing is such a pleasure to pen.

I'm enjoying writing Triton, I can't write the scenes fast enough and I've never been so invested in a story or the characters who are playing it out.

More on Triton coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy what's already available!

RL

Permanent Price Drop On eBooks With Lulu.com

People like DRM Free content. If you don't know what that means, I'll tell you. That means that after you download your .pdf eBook you can transfer the file between different computers, devices and whatever else you want to stick your file into, even a printer.

So, by using the store links to the right, you not only save $2.00 or more per eBook, but you can transfer the file to whatever you're reading it on or print it out for yourself.

What's prompted the price drop you ask? More people are buying the books! People are reading my work on their laptops, cellular phones, pda's and in print.

I thank you, if things keep picking up I'll be able to do this full time indefinitely. That's my dream, not to be rich, not to be famous, and certainly not to be massively published by some TOR or Bantam or ACE or whatever. I dream of making enough money to write full time, take care of myself and my family and maintain control of my work so no one can stop me from penning the stories I want to tell. I love entertaining you, but I want to do it my way.

So again; I thank you.

RL

Spinward Fringe: Awakening

Spinward Fringe Awakening is the second book in the unlimited science fiction series I'm writing. It continues where Resurrection left off and I have to say I've never written anything more fast paced, fun or challenging in my life.

I worked it like it was three hundred pages only the ideas, scenes and dialog fit in about two hundred. Reduced down to a smaller font size to save paper, it comes out to about one hundred forty pages, and after doing my last editorial sweep on it I have to say even I had a lot of fun reading it.

Now it's with my Editor, whose critical eye and a nose that can smell bad cheese like a fart in a car will not spare me if anything is out of line or a little hokey. It's this kind of safety net that most authors can't live without, and I'm greatful. I honestly don't think she'll find any problems with this book, however, and after the final edit, it looks like this book will be out before September seventh.

Talk about a quick roll out. I started the first science fiction novel, Freeground, on January 1, 2008, and here we are almost nine months later with four novels ready to read and a fifth due out in just another couple of weeks. I have to say I'm pleased with the stories I'm telling, with the reception I'm getting and with the tales that have not yet been told.

Thanks to everyone for their support, there's so much more to come.

RL

Spinward Fringe Resurrection: Selling in Europe!

On August 1, 2008, I launched all the EBooks currently available with over 30 different electronic retailers, so people all across the globe could purchase the First Light Chronicles and Fate Cycle: Dead of Winter.

That didn't really result in much, which is fine, since I didn't expect an immediate reaction. Some of these retailers take a little while to list the books and it takes some time for people to realize they're there.

Then I launched Spinward Fringe with the same retailers (commonly called Etailers in some circles). It's been less than a week and I'm proud to announce that it's selling. Not "I was just on Oprah's book club" selling, but copies are being read, a solid number of copies.

I just got an email from a reader in Budapest saying; "...started reading and did not put it down until I was finished. Am bying all other books on ur list."

Broken english aside, I see this as a massively good review. If the momentum continues to build I might actually be able to make a lving at this before 2010. Here's hoping. If that were to happen all my readers (and they are starting to increase in number), would have more literature to look forward to on a regular basis.

Thank you to everyone who has been watching, reading, and investing in my success. I really do appreciate your time and money.

I aim to entertain.

RL

The next book: Spinward Fringe Awakening, is well on it's way and I'm immensely pleased with how it's turning out so far.

Spinward Fringe: Resurrection Is Released!

It's here. I love this book, my editor loves this book, and as I've said before my solitary test reader has finished it and started over from the beginning three times now.

This series will have a long future. It's an unlimited series unlike it's predecessor. Here's the synopsis for the first of the lot!

Captain Jacob Valance has no memory of his past.
Left on a strange ship in an unfamiliar sector of the galaxy, he was forced to begin a new life.
Years pass and through great hardship he's earned
a reputation as a man who can recover lost property,
hunt down hardened criminals and go where others fear to tread.
All the while he's been searching for clues to his past
and looking for a better method of making his way through the galaxy for himself and his ragtag crew.
The Spinward Fringe series follows the three volumes
of the First Light books, continuing the adventures
of characters connected to Freeground Station.

I'm proud to present this to everyone who has read the First Light Chronicles and even to anyone who hasn't. I suggest reading the books preceding this, but you don't absolutely have to. They are only back story after all. Thank you to everyone with an interest, I promise you won't be disappointed with the taste between the pages.

If you look to the right of this posting you'll see it's available as a download for $2.99 or in trade paperback for $9.99 US.

I aim to entertain.

RL

P.S.
The next book: Spinward Fringe Awakening is well on it's way to completion and the third is in late planning stages with some parts already penned.

DIGG

Spinward Fringe: Resurrection

I've been relatively tight lipped about the latest book: Spinward Fringe: Ressurection, but after my editor has gone through it I'm very proud to announce that this book has gotten a big thumbs up.

This book features several of the same characters as the First Light Chronicles and DOES answer questions left wide open by that series. I'll warn you that it doesn't answer them all, however, it would take a lot more time to get to them all. That's something I'm continuing do with Spinward Fringe: Awakening.

This is a darker, more character oriented book. I feel I've really delivered my first real Space Opera Adventure Novella. After hearing my only other test reader tell me she finished it then started over at page 1 to read it again I was positively floored. I'm overjoyed that I took this new turn with the style of the book, this a more personal story, where there are fewer characters who each have a much more significant impact on the plot line. It shows, my Editor and the test reader both found themselves investing personally in one or two of the characters.

I was honestly worried this book would never see the light of day because it is so different, each character has a lot more to worry about and there are personal problems between them. Suffice it to say, out of all the science fiction I've written this year this book was by far the most enjoyable to pen. That made the fear of experimentation and change far more acute, however, and everyone is in line with thinking it paid off. I think this is a fantastic first foot forward into a new series that isn't limited to a set of three books or six books or whatever.

We're into true serialization and my plot lines will no longer be limited by how many books I can write in the series. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that there won't be endings to different plot lines. My definition of an ending doesn't match that of Hollywood or Disney classics, however. When there's an ending for a character or plot line it's generally more like an explosion or head on collision. There are a number of those in this series already and I'm only 100 pages into Spinward Fringe: Awakening, the second book in the series.

I'm also continuing to think of this as the base for a television or web series. I love the episodic format and am enjoying the challenge of putting new, quality material out on a regular basis.

Keep your eyes on that right hand side of this page as I do my final pass with my Editor's notes and make the book available for sale. I'm very excited to hear what everyone has to say about this book.

RL