Deal of the Day

Today only, you can download my Tales of Interstellar Space for just $1.60 from DriveThruFiction. Download it now at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/313297

Taurin Tales is this weekend's featured book

Every weekend, Nomadic Delirium Press is featuring a book of the weekend, which is being discounted by 25% at Smashwords. This weekend's book is Taurin Tales, which I edited.

Taurin Tales is a shared world anthology featuring some of the top names in small press science fiction. The Taurins were created by science fiction writer, editor, and game designer J Alan Erwine. Once he had created them, he invited some of his favorite writers to play in the universe, and further flesh out these new aliens. Thus was born Taurin Tales.
The stories in this collection cover a large aspect of Taurin life…grand space adventures, small character studies, the tackling of difficult social issues, the past and the future of the Taurins.
Included in this collection, you’ll find David Lee Summers, D. Moonfire, Ian Brazee-Cannon, Tyree Campbell, Anna Paradox, Laura Givens, and Rick Novy. 

Order today for just $2.99 from Smashwords at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/472428

Another featured book of the weekend

 

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

As work progresses on our third RPG, let’s go back to our very first RPG, and still our most successful title, Ephemeris.

The year is 2185. The human race has gone to the stars, and found that they’re not alone. Local space is teeming with civilizations, some hostile, some friendly, and some indifferent. This is the universe of Ephemeris.

Ephemeris is a game of galactic trade and galactic conquest; of inter-species conflict and cooperation. Ephemeris is a science fiction role playing game. Here you will be able to take on the role of your favorite alien species and your favorite class. You will be able to trade, fight, negotiate, conquer, whatever you’d like to do with your fellow players. You can play the role of an Althani Trader, or maybe an Arbonix Cyber Wizard, or maybe even a Human Nanist. You can create a party made up entirely of one species and set out to upset the trade routes of a rival species. Or maybe you want to create a party with a variety of species that preys upon the trading routes of the various civilizations. Or maybe you want to explore the ancient ruins on long dead planets, ruins that clearly show that there were other species roaming the spaceways in the past…but where are they now? You can fight in great wars, negotiate grand peace treaties, and explore sections of the galaxy that no sentient has ever explored. Or maybe your party has joined with one of the interplanetary corporations; corporations whose motives are never entirely clear. These are just some of the possibilities open to you.
The universe of Ephemeris is yours to do with as you please. What you now hold in your hands are the basic guidelines for the games. Here you’ll find the races, classes, abilities, skills, weapons, and ships that allow you to create your own Ephemeris universe.

Now, step inside for the greatest science fiction adventure you’ve ever been on…

Now available at Smashwords for 25% off ($3.74) at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83508

 

More 25% off titles

 From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

For the next few days, DriveThruRPG is having a 25% off sale on a selection of their titles, which includes some of ours. You can order and download them at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805

This includes my new Ephemeris RPG choose your own adventure story, One More Good Trade.

 

Save 25% on some of my titles

I'm not quite sure how DriveThruFiction selected the titles for their latest sale, but some (not all) of my titles are available for 25% off at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/16618

You'll have to do some searching, but there are some great deals...like individual stories for 74 cents and the first four Solar Federation stories available as a bundle for just $3.

Happy shopping.

Rocks on the Other Side

For the post-apocalyptic RPG I'm creating, I'm considering the title Rocks on the Other Side. I'm not sure if many people will get this reference...I'm also not sure that it really jumps off the page, making people want to buy it. I think it's a great title for a story, but I'm not sure it's a great title for a game.

Thoughts?

Featured Book of the Weekend

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

If we’re going to start a featured book of the weekend, then we might as well start with where it all started for us…Seedlings on the Solar Winds by J Alan Erwine.

America as a fascist state, soldiers driven to terrorism, insane computers, insane humans, insane aliens, these are just some of the things waiting for readers in the pages of this new short story collection from prize winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine.

Available for 25% off at Smashwords this weekend only: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16551

 

If you read on Apple

I know that many of you buy your e-books through iBooks, so I thought I'd post a link to make it easier for you to buy some of my books... https://books.apple.com/us/author/j-alan-erwine/id380447524#see-all/books

Christmas in July at DriveThruFiction

Christmas in July has arrived at DriveThruFiction. You can save 25% off of my titles, this even includes the individual short stories. This sale ends soon, so shop today at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/16618

The Complete Ephemeris Bundle

 From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

We've combined all of the Ephemeris titles into one bundle. It features all of the large collections like The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica, and such, but it leaves off the individual titles that are included in those larger collections, so that it's easier for you to get everything without having to try to figure out what's in each collection...and the best part, it's all available for only $40.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/364674



Post-apocalyptic RPG

For a while now, I've been toying with the idea of creating a new post-apocalyptic RPG. I have tons of ideas, but I'm curious to hear what people might want to see in a new RPG, and what kinds of things they think have been done to death.

Please feel free to comment and debate...politely...

 

A taste of Fight or Flight

 Robert Jenkins cowered in the corner of the disheveled building, sweat pouring from every pore. His grungy clothes were even dirtier than normal as he desperately tried to catch his breath. The patrol had almost caught him, and he knew what would happen. If he was lucky, a life in a Rocky Mountain States of America prison, but if the patrol had been too busy, or didn’t feel like following the “rules,” he’d be just another dead kid from the Wastelands left on the side of a street in Campo, Colorado.

The Rocky Mountain States were supposed to be so great, at least that’s what he’d heard, but what he had seen so far in Campo, abandoned buildings, dust, and high winds, reminded him a lot of Boise City in what used to be Oklahoma, but that had been long before Robert had been born. Now Boise City was just a series of ruins run by various gangs. His, the Rose Clan, had sent him to Colorado. He was supposed to make his way to Springfield, where he was supposed to steal some resources. That had been the plan, anyway. That had been when there were four of them. Jackson got fried in an electric fence while crossing the border. Evans was shot dead by some random hunter who thought he was a dear, or some shit like that. And Billings got hit by a truck just outside of Campo. They hadn’t seen any traffic since they’d entered Colorado, so Billings had thought it would be safe to walk down the middle of what had been Highway 287…maybe it was still called that in Colorado. In what used to be Oklahoma, it was just called The Road, a place where the gangs could try to take out the occasional truck going between the Rocky Mountain States and Texas, and those were few and far between.

Billings had been walking down the middle of the Highway when the truck came out of nowhere and took him out at 200 miles per hour. Now Robert was left alone to complete a mission that would probably require at least two of them, but if he returned to the Rose Clan empty handed, Jim Bob, the head of his clan would probably have him killed.

“Talk about lose-lose,” he mumbled to himself, and then quickly put his hand over his mouth as he heard a noise outside the “door.” The boarded over relic of a door had offered no resistance to his entering, and he’d hoped that he’d put everything back into place so that no one would notice that there might be someone inside.

But now the movement had stopped right outside of the door. Robert thought he could hear breathing, but maybe it was just his own.

Read More at:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1093708

DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/363823

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993ZZNHF

 

A very different writing experience

 I recently finished the rough draft for an Ephemeris RPG choose your own adventure story. This was a very different writing experience for me. In order to write something like this, you have to be able to maintain multiple plot lines, and remember what you've said about your characters in one line that you might need to say in another because you can't just assume that your reader knows what you're talking about.

When you're writing a traditional story, you're able to plant a piece of information about your character, and assuming your reader isn't skipping parts of the story, they'll know about it...but in a choose your own adventure, an important character trait that is mentioned in plot line A may be important in plot line B, but you have to mention it again. Overall, it was a challenging experience, but I really enjoyed writing the story.

Look for it to be released by Nomadic Delirium Press sometime in the next couple of months...

Fight or Flight

 

I have a new story set in The Divided States of America called Fight or Flight.

Robert grew up in The Wastelands, where kids are forced to grow up fast, or they die. Now as a member of The Rose Clan, Robert finds himself on his first mission outside of The Wastelands…a raid into The Rocky Mountain States of America, but nothing has gone as planned, and now he finds himself on the verge of death…but he’s been there many times before, and maybe death isn’t as bad as going back to The Wastelands.

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1093708

 Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/363823

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993ZZNHF

And the photo was taken by my amazingly talented photographer daughter, Juliah!

 

Don't forget the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale

 It's very hot where I am, so I know staying inside and reading is a wonderful thing, so how about picking up a few of my e-books from Smashwords during their annual Summer/Winter sale. You can save up to 50% off of a number of my titles...stories, novels, collections, anthologies, a one-act play, you name it, you can order it now at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine

Problems with my webhost

 The site that hosts my website has recently made changes that only allow users to use templates. I code my own site, as you can probably tell since it's not really professional, but it's easy for me to make changes, so I like doing it that way. As a result of their changes, I can't update my site. I'm currently looking into whether or not I want to start using one of their templates, or move my site. Both are a pain, and I don't have a lot of time...but I'll keep you updated.

The Solar Federation Stories 1-4 Bundle

 

You can now get the first four stories of my Solar Federation series for just $3.00 from DriveThruFiction at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/362962

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale

 Through July 1st, Smashwords is running their annual Summer/Winter sale. This is a great chance to save on ebooks, and many of mine are listed at up to 50% off, so check out the sale today at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine 

One Night at Sharon's

 

Sharon's is the most popular bar in all of the Solar Federation, and the owner, Sharon, has become the most popular character in the Solar Federation series. Now, take a look at one night in her bar. You'll see some familiar faces and you'll learn more about Sharon and her trusty dog, Sonny.

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1090588

 Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/361718

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097NV2K9N 

Mainstream fiction

 Many years ago, back when I was in college, I have to admit that I dabbled...not in drugs, or anything like that, but I dabbled in writing mainstream fiction. It's nowhere near as fun as writing science fiction, but I had some ideas that fit better into mainstream fiction, so why not try it?

I've slowly been finding those stories, and I've started publishing them as individual stories. There's even a one-act play that I wrote. If this is something you think you might be interested in reading, please feel free to check them out at:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine

https://www.amazon.com/J-Alan-Erwine/e/B0035AMA0A

There are still a few more stories I need to find, but hopefully I'll have them published in the next couple of months. For now, please feel free to enjoy these.