An Excerpt from "Return to the Wastelands?"

 

The day he surrendered to Captain Bryan Howard was supposed to be the best day of young Robert Jenkins’ life, and maybe it was, but something never felt quite right to him.

The young Captain, who had also once been a member of the Rose Clan, had taken him back to a mobile unit, and Robert couldn’t believe everything he saw. Wherever he looked, there were soldiers, and these weren’t like the gang members he was used to seeing; these people were heavily armed. Robert had seen a few military style weapons in the Wastelands, but nothing like what these people were carrying, and even though he got a few weird looks, everyone was nice to him once Captain Howard explained his situation.

“Go ahead,” Captain Howard had said, pointing at what he had called a tub that was now filled with steaming water and bubbles. Robert didn’t understand.

“You’ve never had a bath, have you?” the Captain asked.

“I’ve heard of them,” Robert said, “But, I’ve never seen anything like this…what am I supposed to do?”

“You take your clothes off, and you get in and soak. There’s more soap there and a wash cloth. You clean yourself, and then you get out and dry off, and there’s some clean clothes over there that you can put on.”

The idea of a clean body and clean clothes was odd to him. He’d taken numerous showers, but most of them had been very cold, so he’d gotten out as fast as he could, and he’d often washed his clothes in a sink before, but Robert could actually smell a fragrance coming from the clothes that were sitting next to the toilet.

“You can stay in as long as you want,” the Captain said with a smile.

Robert suddenly felt his stomach turn and he started to tremble. “Where will you be?” he cautiously asked.

“Outside,” the Captain said with sudden seriousness. “Look, kid, I know what you’ve been through. You’re safe here. No one is going to do what those people did to you.” With that, the Captain turned and left the bathroom. Robert eyed the tub. He stuck his hand in to the water and was thrilled by the feel of the hot soapy water on his skin. With a genuine smile, he quickly took his clothes off and got in the tub. He had no idea how long he was actually in the bath. He was sure it was at least half an hour, and maybe even an hour, but it was the best feeling he could ever remember…well, not as good of a feeling as kissing Leslie, but it still felt good, and for possibly the first time in his life, he was genuinely clean.

 Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X27VJ3N

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1140435 

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/392330/Return-to-the-Wastelands

 

30% off sale

For a limited time, you can download most of my stories and books for 30% off from DriveThruFiction. This includes short stories (for as little as 69 cents), short story collections, and novels. The sale ends on the 30th, so hurry and order now...

https://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/16618

Return to the Wastelands?

 

Robert Jenkins escaped The Wastelands, but he feels that the best part of him has been left in that horrible place. Now, with the help of unexpected friends, Robert has to decide if he goes back to save the love of his life, or enjoy his new life in The Rocky Mountain States of America.

 Order from Amazon

Order from Smashwords 

Order from DriveThruFiction

 

What People are Saying about The Divided States of America

 

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

The Dustbin by Tyree Campbell: Tyree Campbell is one of my favorite authors. Enjoyed this story for Nomadic Delirium’s “Divided States of America” series.

The Wall is Beautiful by Mike Morgan: Another good story from Mike Morgan.

What Lies in the Wastelands by Ian Brazee-Cannon: It’s incredible how the author is able to succinctly develop well-rounded characters and quite vividly describe the world they live in.

Can’t Go Home Again by Ian Brazee-Cannon: This is an excellent continuation of a minor character in his previous story. Looking forward to more in the series!

Fight or Flight by J Alan Erwine: I always enjoy reading anything by J Alan Erwine. Wish this one was longer. (Special note: A sequel is coming.)

Tested by Lorelei Suzanne: A very touching story about a Mother’s love for her daughter. Marvelous.

BKX: Tuskegee: This was a great quick read for anyone who is interested in science fiction of sorts. It can truly be expanded upon and made in to a full novel.

Check out the entire series at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HLWYBT9

 

GM's Day Sale

 

From the Nomadic Delirium Blog:

DriveThruRPG is currently running their annual GM's Day Sale, and you can save on Ephemeris and Battle for Turtle Island titles. So, now is a great time to stock up on titles you need. Go to https://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_gmsday.php?manufacturers_id=2805 and download everything you need today.

Hanging tough

 

My Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery is still hanging tough on DriveThruFiction's bestsellers list. At this moment, it is sitting at #37 on the list. Have you downloaded your copy yet? Let's see if we can push this into the top ten!

Download today at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/388306

For the record, I believe this is the longest period of time that I've ever had a title on their bestsellers list. Let's see if we can make this one the Dark Side of the Moon of the science fiction world.

 

Smashwords Read an ebook week sale

 For the next week, you can save 25% off of many of my titles during the Smashwords Read an ebook week sale. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and start downloading some or all of my titles today!

Ephemeris Sale at DriveThruRPG

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

We’ve streamlined our Ephemeris titles to make it easier for you to get the titles you really want, and for a limited time, you can save 40% off of all of the Ephemeris titles. Finish your collection today at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2805

March Book of the Month

For the month of March, you can download my novel, A Problem in Translation, for just $1.50 from Smashwords.

Humanity's first contact with an alien species, the Lemec, is complicated by the fact that the aliens don't use an entirely verbal language...not only that, but the other aliens in their "domain" seem to worship the Lemec as some type of gods, and as they seem to anticipate every move that Captain Shiro Takahashi and his crew make, humanity begins to think that maybe the other aliens know something that they don't. 

Order today at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1010399

 

Do you like plays?

 

If you do like plays, then I invite you to read my one-act play Climbing the Hill with Sisyphus. This is not a genre piece, but rather a mainstream piece that I wrote when I was in college. I always liked the play, and I would love to see it performed at some point.

Eric is a teen with troubles, the biggest of which is his alcoholic father. This one-act play uses a split-stage, showing Eric talking to his therapist on one side of the stage, while we get to see flashbacks to the last couple of troubled years on the other side of the stage. 

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1084996

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095BZYVS5 

 

A bestseller at DriveThruFiction

As I type this, my Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery is currently ranked as the #13 bestseller at DriveThruFiction. Can we push it higher?

Buy it today at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/top_100.php

 

My Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery now in wide release

 

I originally released my Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery exclusively through Amazon, but now the e-book version is available from a wide variety of booksellers.

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1134741

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L59F9RZ

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/388306 

More sellers will be carrying it in the days to come.

The paperback and hardcover versions are still available from Amazon.

 

The Ephemeris Character Class Compendium

 From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Over the years, we’ve released individual supplements for each of the character classes in Ephemeris. Now we’ve combined all of those supplements into one book, which is available from all of the usual sources.

 Order from DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/388254

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TG29ZGP

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1134658 

 

Book of the Month reminder

 

Just a reminder, my collection, J Alan Erwine's Tales of the Earth and Moon is my book of the month for February. You can download the collection for just $1.50 from Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/641482

Seven stories from award winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine that explore the future of both the Earth and the Moon.
Stranded astronauts, intelligent dolphins being used by the government, a soldier struggling with orders he knows he shouldn’t have followed, lovers waiting for the end of the world, politics even dirtier than what we’re seeing in the modern world (maybe), a man resurrected because he wanted to see the future, but now feeling very much alone, and manipulation on the moon.
These are the stories that are waiting for you in this collection. 

 

Covid

 I've been away for a bit, as the whole family contracted COVID. The youngest came home on Friday the 28th not feeling good. By Sunday, Rebecca was feeling really bad, so on Monday the 31st, she had herself tested. We got the results the next day that she was positive, so we all went into quarantine.

I never got really sick. I felt like I had a head cold, but I had a fever that I just couldn't break and I felt exhausted all the time. Rebecca got quite sick, and there were a few times I thought she might need to be hospitalized. The kids were sick, but never really bad. I returned to work last Saturday and Rebecca returned today. We're both still feeling the effects. Once I start moving too much at work, I feel like I'm going to drop, so I guess it's a long recovery process.

I have returned, so you can expect me to start annoying you about sales and everything else very soon.

Book of the Month

 

For the entire month of February, you can download my Tales of the Earth and Moon for just $1.50 (usually it sells for $2.99) from Smashwords.

Seven stories from award winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine that explore the future of both the Earth and the Moon.
Stranded astronauts, intelligent dolphins being used by the government, a soldier struggling with orders he knows he shouldn’t have followed, lovers waiting for the end of the world, politics even dirtier than what we’re seeing in the modern world (maybe), a man resurrected because he wanted to see the future, but now feeling very much alone, and manipulation on the moon.
These are the stories that are waiting for you in this collection. 

Download it today at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/641482

Final Book of the Weekend

 From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

We’ve come to the final book of the weekend, and this weekend, we’re offering J Alan Erwine’s One More Good Trade for just $2.24.

Download it today at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1095949

Your name is Anthony Jones. You’re a Human free Trader. Your ship is called The Longest Night, and you have two crewmates, Tora-no, a four-armed Althani Soldier and Creeoona, a Tulmath Cyber Wizard. Three adventures lie open to you, which one will you pick, and what will happen along the way? You get to decide what happens in this story, as you pick your way through various plot twists.

 

You're running out of time...

 

You're almost out of time to download my Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery for free from Amazon. Don't wait, or you'll run out of time. Download it today at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L59F9RZ

New Year, New Game sale

 

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:
DriveThruRPG is having a sale on core rulebooks, and you can save LOTS of money on the Ephemeris RPG, The Ephemeris Omnibus, and The Battle for Turtle Island. They are going for very low prices. How low? $1.99, $7.78, and 99 cents respectively.

So, if you're looking for a new game, now's the time to start playing. Go to https://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_newyear.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_0_44298#selectpub, and start playing today.

 

Book of the Weekend for Jan. 7th-10th

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:

Now that the Smashword’s End of the Year sale is over, we’re going to get back to our last couple of weekend specials.

This weekend’s book is The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica. You can download the entire volume for 25% off, which translates into $14.99 at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1080614

Are you ready to embark on your largest Ephemeris adventure ever?
Now, in one massive tome, all 61 sectors of the Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica. Explore Colonized Space, Near Space, Unexplored Space, and Deep Space all from one book.
The settings and the adventures are as expansive as the galaxy itself.

 

Free ebook

 

For a limited time, you can download my Tales of Space Exploration and Discovery for free from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L59F9RZ

For decades, J Alan Erwine has been writing stories about space exploration and discovery...now all of those stories are gathered into one massive tome. Travel the far reaches of space, or explore the solar system with him. Some of the stories are dark, some are optimistic, but all of them are uniquely his.
This collection also features the first four stories in Erwine's Solar Federation Series.

 

Patreon

Please keep in mind as we go into a new year that you can still support my work at  Patreon by going to https://www.patreon.com/jalanerwine

 

January Special at Gumroad

 During the month of January, you can get five of my stories for just $3. You get one of my Divided States of America stories, Frozen Ambitions, you also get one of my Solar Federation stories, Greenie. In addition, you get three of my other stories...Entropy, Hunted, and Seas of Red.

All five of these stories are only $3 at https://jalanerwine.gumroad.com/l/hqeuq

 

Don't forget

You have through New Years to download many of my titles for up to 50% off from Smashwords. Head over to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and start reading today.

Thanks!

Smashwords End of the Year Sale

Smashwords has announced their end of the year sale, and you can download a variety of my titles for up to 50% off, so hurry over to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and download a bunch of my titles to keep you occupied during the holidays.

Two deals to keep in mind

 

A couple of deals you might want to keep in mind...

You can get five of my short stories for just $3 at Gumroad. You get "It's in the Water," "Mission Unknown," "On the Word of Ancients," "Lost in the Dark," and "The Least Practical of Jokes." Download them today at https://jalanerwine.gumroad.com/l/loWkE

And if you're an Amazon Unlimited member, you can read "One More Good Trade" for free at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FYHCNBN

 

Special deal at Gumroad

During the month of December, I'm running a special on Gumroad...you can download five of my stories for just $3.

In this package, you get "It's in the Water," my first Divided States of America story, "Mission Unknown," my first Solar Federation story, "On the Word of Ancients," "Lost in the Dark," and "The Least Practical of Jokes." Basically, that's five stories for the price of 3, and that deals on available through Gumroad.

So, download all five stories today at https://jalanerwine.gumroad.com/l/loWkE

And be sure to follow me while you're there, for future special deals that will only be available for followers.