A book for your to-read list

If you're looking for a new book to add to your wish list, then I would strongly recommend Open Mic Night at the Nexus by Ian Brazee-Cannon.

Ian is possibly one of the most underrated authors in the genre, and definitely deserves more attention.

Pre-order the book today at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNNVY92Z

For years, Ian Brazee-Cannon has been subjecting his readers to his twisted view of the universe, and now Nomadic Delirium Press has gathered up a mere smattering, just a taste, a mere morsel, of some of those tales.
Journey into Ian’s mind…if you dare, and venture to other times and other places like none you have imagined, but make sure you’re buckled up because you have no idea where his imagination might take you…and we don’t think he really does either…

We Are Not All Right

If you're looking for a great collection of science fiction short stories, look no further than We Are Not All Right by Mike Morgan. 10 wonderful stories that will definitely keep you entertained.

Order today at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DMTPGL5D

Journey through 10 short stories of chaos, conflict, and confusion. In these worlds, giant spiders control household pests, stealth bombers reengineer the atmosphere, and foul horrors lurk beneath mind-altering trees.
You’ll be fine as long as you remember a few golden rules: Beware sales contracts offered by friendly environmental saviors, don’t ask what it took to build a towering wall along Texas’s southern border, and—whatever you do—don’t ask aliens whether they believe in God.
Chances are you’ll be fine. The gladiatrixes are highly unlikely to stab you (they haven’t killed anyone in forever), the trolls are only wiping out one major city today, and the nameless abomination inside that mountain-sized tomb is guaranteed to stay asleep (unless you insist on letting off a bunch of explosives).
Even if things go completely wrong, you can rest easy in the knowledge that an eternal spirit of compassion is ready and waiting to give you comfort… as your species dies out.
We’re all… all right… Aren’t we?

Insignificant

Are you looking for a great book? Are you looking for a plausible end of the world story? Are you looking for some great eco-fiction? Are you looking for a really good anti-fascist novel?

Well, if you're looking for a title that is all of these, I would strongly recommend Insignificant by Mike Morgan. Download it today at https://amzn.to/3ykIlNu

The year is 2127 and the Earth is dying, and nobody seems to notice or care. The United States, run by its single party system known as the Patriot Party refuses to allow any information about the environment out to its citizens, and the rest of the world follows along.
Those headaches everyone is getting, no, that’s not CO2 poisoning…take another pill you’ll feel better…
One man who is paying attention is Thiago Castillo. He had spent years trying to clean the oceans, but even that mission has failed. Now he’s turned his massive yacht into an air-tight ship that a few hundred people hope to live out the end of the world on, but the CIA has different plans, and they’ve sent one of their best case officers to find out what Castillo is up to, but what happens when that officer is exposed to the truth…the REAL truth, and not the Patriot truth?

Out of Hibernation

My first ever novelette is now available, Out of Hibernation is available from all of the usual sources.

Mars has moved to a new orbit, and no one can explain why. With the new orbit, the red planet begins to experience weather, and then bizarre geological events begin to happen.
Scientists argue back and forth about what’s going on, but the only thing they can say for certain is that Mars seems to be coming out of hibernation. Is it temporary? Is it permanent? Nobody knows, and what else might happen as the planet awakens?

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bsbww8

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/479923

Order from another vendor: https://books2read.com/u/mdwRLy

Books2Read

Have you checked out Books2Read yet? It's a great source for buying books. Lots of authors, and lots of store listings, so you have so many choices, you can't help but buy!

Check out my page at https://books2read.com/ap/8G6lQr/J-Alan-Erwine and you can even sign up to get notifications of my future publications.

 

Take another look at Rocks on the Other Side

The year was 2032. It will always be remembered as the year that the leaders of the world truly lost their minds. That was the year that they unleashed the massive nuclear arsenals they had been stockpiling. That was the year they tried to wipe out all life on Earth because of petty differences, differences that could have easily been overlooked if they would have just had open minds, but let’s face it, how often did the leaders of the world ever actually have open minds?
Now, two years later, civilization is gone, most of life on Earth is gone, but there are still pockets of humanity that try to eke out an existence. Some of the Earth’s flora and fauna have also survived the nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, now everyone is trying to survive, and that means that everyone else must be viewed as a potential enemy. Even worse, nuclear mutations have created horrible lifeforms. Some used to be human, some were animals, and some were plants, but now they’re horribly deformed, and incredibly dangerous. Not to mention the fact that there are pockets of radiation all over the world that threaten life that comes anywhere close to it.
And, of course, there’s no longer a need to worry about global climate change since the world is stuck in a perpetual nuclear winter, killing more and more of the life on Earth.
Radiation everywhere, almost constant cold and snow, mutated people, animals, and plants…this is the world that waits for you in Rocks on the Other Side. Do you dare venture into this world and try to survive?

Order: https://amzn.to/3UJMWlj

Who wants a free story?

My short story "Origins" is currently available for free from Smashwords. Download it at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/551493

Two men, who can't stand one another, sit down for what seems like innocuous drinks, but will their discussion forever change the future of humanity?

Is there an echo in here?

Yes, it is definitely one of the best lines from Star Wars The Bad Batch, but it's also a great way to talk about my new novel again. There is an echo available, and it's called Echoes from the Deep.

The first human and dolphin colony team has arrived on Epsilon Eridani 2, a planet that was once inhabited by a highly advanced species that has gone extinct.
On this exciting new world, the humans have brought all of their typical problems with them, while the dolphins adjust quite easily to their new home.
All of this changes when bizarre events begin to happen to the colonists. Is the stress of a new colony causing unknown neuroses and psychoses to suddenly surface? Is there something in the atmosphere that the colonists didn’t know about? Or is there something else behind the bizarre occurrences?

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uleZgp

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842/

Don't forget your fifth Taste of the Madness

The fifth volume is here!
A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time.

And Kindle Unlimited members can read it for free. So, download it today at https://amzn.to/3wk9vCU

The Rocks on the Other Side Gallery of Rogues

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Do you need a quick ally for your Rocks on the Other Side characters? Or maybe the game master needs to come up with a quick enemy, or the mayor of the local town. The Rocks on the Other Side Gallery of Rogues gives you 50 characters that can be quickly added to your game for whatever reason you might need.
Each listing gives the characters basic stats, their preferred weapon, and a brief description that can help you add them to your game, but feel free to adapt each of the characters to the needs of your campaign.

Order from DriveThruRPG: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/470359/

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV97B7MS

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1519579

Echoes from the Deep has been reviewed

It's a short review on Amazon, but it's always good to hear that you're a favorite author to somebody. Check out the review at https://amzn.to/3Us4277

Another Echoes from the Deep excerpt

Phineas found the waters to be warmer than he would have expected, but there was nothing strange below the boat, and there was no sign of the probe. He dove as far as he dared, but found nothing, not even a behemoth. Nothing. He began to re-surface when he heard the identity echo of Long Fins from above. He paused in his swim for a few seconds. Long Fins was his favorite female in the pod, and he couldn’t help but feel a slight arousal when he realized how proud she’d be of him if he could learn something. He decided to stay under a little longer.

He suddenly felt a strange sensation in his tail. It was the same sensation he felt when there was a behemoth nearby, or the same feeling he used to feel on Earth when there had been sharks nearby. He spun around, but sensed nothing. The feeling was still there however, so he sent off more intense echoes, but nothing came back to him.

Nothing came back to him! From the south, there were no echoes returning, but there was a reef not more than half a mile from him, but nothing returned. He swam in a quick circle and sent off another series of echoes. Nothing!

“Phineas, what is it?” The call was from Long Fins, but he didn’t respond. There was something to the south. He couldn’t see it or sense it, but he knew it was there. He couldn’t detect anything, and he knew that meant there had to be something there.

The water suddenly cooled to a temperature that he would have expected, so he sent off another series of echoes. This time, the echoes of the reef to the south came back to him. It was then that he realized that his lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. He shot to the surface, shaking his head violently once he was above the water, and gasping for air.

“Phineas, what did you see?” It was Eric’s voice being translated into Delphin that he was hearing.

“Nothing.”

“Did you detect anything?” Eric asked.

“No.” He had no idea why he was lying. He just knew he had to. Of course, it wasn’t really a lie. He hadn’t detected anything, not one damn thing.

Just then, Shark Lover swam up to the boat. Without thinking, Phineas lunged at him, dragging rows of teeth along the smaller dolphin’s dorsal fin. It made Phineas feel better.

“Phineas, stop!” It was Long Fins’ echoes.

Phineas just swam away from Shark Lover, away from the boat, away from the shore, away from the impossible lack of echoes he’d experienced. Phineas just swam.

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OvQd3P

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842/Echoes-From-the-Deep

A screenplay?

While going through some files last night, I found a screenplay I had started for A Problem in Translation. I remember starting it many years ago, and I thought I'd written something like five pages. I decided to take a look at it, and was surprised to find that it was actually 75 pages long and about half way done.

I realize that the odds of actually selling it would be very slim, but I'm still wondering if it might be fun to finish it. I only have about half a dozen projects going on...what's one more right?

If you'd like to read the book, please check it out at: https://amzn.to/42jDOWy

Two bestsellers at DriveThruFiction

Two of my titles are currently listed as bestsellers at DriveThruFiction. At the time I'm writing this, Do You Really Want to be a Writer? is listed at #27 and Echoes From the Deep is listed at #33. Check out the complete list at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/top_100.php.

This is the first time in quite a while that I've had two titles in their top 100. Let's see how high we can push both of them! And, of course, thanks for buying my stuff and supporting my writing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echoes from the Deep is the Deal of the Day

My new novel, Echoes from the Deep is the deal of the day today at DriveThruFiction. You can download it for just $2at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842/.

The first human and dolphin colony team has arrived on Epsilon Eridani 2, a planet that was once inhabited by a highly advanced species that has gone extinct.

On this exciting new world, the humans have brought all of their typical problems with them, while the dolphins adjust quite easily to their new home.

All of this changes when bizarre events begin to happen to the colonists. Is the stress of a new colony causing unknown neuroses and psychoses to suddenly surface? Is there something in the atmosphere that the colonists didn’t know about? Or is there something else behind the bizarre occurrences?

An Echoes from the Deep excerpt

Prologue

From the journals of Eric Young

One of these days, something unfortunate is going to happen to our dear Governor Jornion, and I just hope I’m there to see it. Ever since our arrival on Epsilon Eridani 2, Jornion has been running this place like he’s some kind of dictator. I seem to remember him being chosen by the powers that had been on Earth, but then what did they know? That was more than fifty years ago. They may have killed themselves off while we were in hibernation. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me, even if we had been improving the species.

Suffice it to say, traveling ten light years hasn’t necessarily improved people, especially not Gov. Hendrik Jornion. Maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe it would be better to say that politicians haven’t changed, but I don’t really think anyone ever expected they would.

On the other hand, Phineas and the other dolphins seem to love their new environment. It’s been a year since our arrival, and they’ve already begun to reproduce, unlike the humans. I worry that we’re going to have to start pulling eggs and sperm from the labs to keep the human line going. This shouldn’t be necessary for the dolphins, except to add some genetic variation to the gene pool.

It's almost impossible to believe that I’m on a planet that once held intelligent life. Unfortunately, we really haven’t learned much of anything about that race yet. The archaeology team hasn’t found anything that I would consider of great importance at the first site, although I’m sure they’d disagree with my interpretation of their findings. The only thing we can say for certain is that the Eridanians were an amphibious species. Their coastal cities rest half in the oceans and half out, and it’s clear that they were designed this way because the structures are designed to climb down the coral-like reefs where they need to.

The Eridanians seemed to have had a special reverence for geometry, or maybe art, or maybe it was both. Their cities are laid out in geometric patterns, very few of which are squares or rectangles. In addition, the cities are symmetrical. It’s a truly awe-inspiring sight. There are also very few tall buildings, almost none more than seven stories tall. The city is also small, as are all of the Eridanian cities. Apparently, they had a small population that could live spread out, much as twenty-first century Earth had become after the plagues.

The idea of learning something about an alien race was one of my main reasons for wanting to leave Earth, never to return again. It was second only to my desire to protect the dolphins from the exploitation they might face at the hands of people like Jornion.

I guess that will have to be it for now. Someone’s knocking. I’m sure it’s going to be Nate Howahkan. We have to take the probe back out to the Silent Sea. I’ll write more about that later.

                                                                                                     Eric Young

                                                                                                     Chief Marine Biologist

                                                                                                     Epsilon Eridani 2

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3U70l6L

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842

A Taste of the Madness Vol. 5

The fifth volume is here! And remember, this title is free if you're a Kindle Unlimited member...

A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time.

Order today at https://amzn.to/48Zo0dz

Echoes from the Deep

My latest novel, Echoes from the Deep is now available.

The first human and dolphin colony team has arrived on Epsilon Eridani 2, a planet that was once inhabited by a highly advanced species that has gone extinct.
On this exciting new world, the humans have brought all of their typical problems with them, while the dolphins adjust quite easily to their new home.
All of this changes when bizarre events begin to happen to the colonists. Is the stress of a new colony causing unknown neuroses and psychoses to suddenly surface? Is there something in the atmosphere that the colonists didn’t know about? Or is there something else behind the bizarre occurrences?

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3U70l6L

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842

Last chance to get A Taste of the Madness Vol. 4

There's less than a week left to download A Taste of the Madness Vol. 4, and remember, if you're a Kindle Unlimited member, the download is free.

Download it while you still can at https://amzn.to/3SpgjYR

A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time.

New Year, New Game sale

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

It's time for the annual New Year, New Game sale at DriveThruRPG. You can save on the core rulebooks for all three of our games...Rocks on the Other Side, The Battle for Turtle Island, and Ephemeris. Head over to https://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_newyear.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_0_44298#selectpub and you can be playing a new game immediately!!!