J Alan Erwine is a prize winning SF writer. He is also an SF editor, and the co-designer of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game. He is also the creator of the Rocks on the Other Side RPG, as well as the Battle for Turtle Island RPG.
That's how much progress I've made on the new novel. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself, but I've never had a novel go as smoothly as this one is so far. I'm really enjoying the book and the characters. This is also the first time that I've written a novel in which all of the scenes are told from the perspective of one character. Hell, a lot of my short stories are told from multiple perspectives, so this has been an adventure, but so far it's a fun adventure.
Hopefully I'll have this in the hands of my readers by the end of the year, but you never know what life might throw at me...
Joseph was born the son of a goatherd chieftain, destined to do nothing more than lead a small band of goatherds, Joseph quickly becomes disillusioned with his tribe and his life, and when his young wife and child die, Joseph leaves his people behind, having no idea what Yahovah has planned for him. Joseph meets his new wife, Yasmen, and with the help of an ancient man who only calls himself the Elder Rishni, Joseph becomes the leader of a new group of people, a group that grows in numbers and strength, and eventually grows powerful enough to possibly challenge the mighty Indo-Aryan armies and their mighty leader, the Kzer…possibly…
This week's free story is the first of my Solar Federation stories, "Mission Unknown." Download it for free at https://books2read.com/u/mq98DO. All I ask is that you please review the story if you like. Reviews are the bread and butter for lesser known authors like myself!
The Solar Federation Series is a new series of stories by prize-winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine. The series will explore a future federation that spans the solar system, and this is the first story in the series. In Mission Unknown, Captain Jamieson and his crew are sent on a mission that only he knows the true meaning of. Worrying about sabotage and crew revolt, the Captain tries to keep the mission a secret for as long as possible, but what happens when the crew discovers the true nature of their mission, and what could happen if they fail…or if they succeed?
All of the Divided States of America stories are on sale at DriveThruFiction for half off, that means you can download my stories for as little as 50 cents. You can't beat that. If you like good political science fiction, then this sale is for you. Below are links to all of my stories in the collection.
Richard hated being a corporate drone, but what else was there to be in Corprotopia? After losing his girlfriend to the government, Richard struggled with just surviving, but when he learns a deep secret, a secret of resistance, he suddenly finds a reason for his life…or does he?
Captain Christopher Chases Crows knows that something horribly evil is going on in the Wastelands, but can he convince his government to get involved, and is getting involved even the right thing to do? Morality and law aren’t always the same things, but in the Wastelands, there are times when neither exists.
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.
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.
The Green States of America is a fairly peaceful nation, but not everyone is happy with the current government, and when armed terrorists take over the congressional building, it’s up to Speaker of the Month Robert Nesmith to fight back for his nation, but what does he have to use against armed militants? Only his words.
For a limited time, all Divided States of America titles are available for half off at DriveThruFiction.
July is the month that we celebrate our freedoms in America, but with our country changing as it is, what will our future hold? The Divided States of America looks at our nation divided into various nation-states. Is this a future we could be facing?
Do you really want to be a writer? It’s a serious question that anyone thinking about entering the field of writing should ask. In this collection of essays, prize-winning science fiction author and editor J Alan Erwine uses his usual wit and sarcasm to educate and entertain potential writers as they start their journeys. You won’t find essays about plot or character development here, but instead, you’ll find 17 essays that talk about the business of writing. Erwine uses his more than a quarter of a century of experience to talk about the submission process, and more importantly, what to do with your writing and career after you’ve started selling. Do You Really Want To Be a Writer? is a great source of information for the new writer as well as the experienced writer.
The wait is over! Goatherds & Gods by James B. Baker and J Alan Erwine is now available!
Joseph was born the son of a goatherd chieftain, destined to do nothing more than lead a small band of goatherds, Joseph quickly becomes disillusioned with his tribe and his life, and when his young wife and child die, Joseph leaves his people behind, having no idea what Yahovah has planned for him. Joseph meets his new wife, Yasmen, and with the help of an ancient man who only calls himself the Elder Rishni, Joseph becomes the leader of a new group of people, a group that grows in numbers and strength, and eventually grows powerful enough to possibly challenge the mighty Indo-Aryan armies and their mighty leader, the Kzer…possibly…
The two star review currently listed on Amazon is for the old version of this book. We have contacted Amazon to remove the review, but Amazon does whatever it wants, so they probably won't. Unfortunately, that review also feeds to other retailers, so this book has already been handicapped before it's even released, so if you read it, and you enjoy it, please review it! Thanks!
Continuing on with some free science fiction. This week you can download my short story, "Danger on the Spectrum" at no cost by going to https://books2read.com/u/mdYrLy. Again, all I ask is that if you enjoy the story, please review it, as this is the best way for writers to grow their readership.
Richard doesn't see the world like most people, and for the most part, he'd like to avoid people as much as he can, but once he reaches Foster's Planet, he finds that even with a small population, he has to interact with people more than he'd like…and he also finds that the thing that makes him so different from everyone else might be the only thing that can save everyone on the planet…
If you're a science fiction fan, then you've most likely read The Stars Like Dust by Isaac Asimov. If you haven't, then you're missing an important part of science fiction. Yes, the story seems a bit dated, and maybe the writing is too, but then again, this was written more than 70 years ago. I certainly hope my writing holds up this well in 70 years!
If you've never read the book, then I'd suggest skipping this post because I'm going to reveal an important plot element as I try to make a point.
Still here? Ok, here we go. Throughout the book, the characters continually make reference to a document from Old Earth that will help save their civilization. A document that can overthrow the tyrants that now rule just beyond the Horsehead Nebula. What is this document? The US Constitution.
How ironic that 70 years ago, this document was viewed as something that could save humanity, and now we have politicians that are willing to bend and even destroy the Constitution for their own personal gains. Where did we go wrong America?
It makes me wonder if we're viewing the beginning of the fall of the American Empire. This country has been deteriorating for a while, and over the last couple of decades, that decline has seemed to increase. Just once in my life I'd like to be able to vote for a presidential candidate instead of voting against someone. None of these politicians represent what made America great.
The Constitution, and our politics in general, once meant something, but not anymore...
Joseph was born the son of a goatherd chieftain, destined to do nothing more than lead a small band of goatherds, Joseph quickly becomes disillusioned with his tribe and his life, and when his young wife and child die, Joseph leaves his people behind, having no idea what Yahovah has planned for him.
Joseph meets his new wife, Yasmen, and with the help of an ancient man who only calls himself the Elder Rishni, Joseph becomes the leader of a new group of people, a group that grows in numbers and strength, and eventually grows powerful enough to possibly challenge the mighty Indo-Aryan armies and their mighty leader, the Kzer…possibly…
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…
For the next few weeks, I'm going to be making some of my stories available for free. All I ask is that if you download the story, and you enjoy it, please leave a review. Next to actually purchasing an author's work, reviews are the best way to help the writers you enjoy.
Ereven is on the run. Having abandoned the dictatorial governor of Ganymede, he now finds himself pushed and pulled in directions he doesn't want to go as he tries to flee the brutal hands of the governor. Where will he go? The inner solar system seems to be the only choice, but does he have any chance of getting there? He's never had choices, and now that he does, every one of them seems to lead to death, imprisonment, or both…
Mental illness is very common in our society, but it's also very misunderstood. Many view those with mental illnesses as being weak, but there is a great deal of strength in those that must battle their own minds on a regular basis. Disharmony of the Spheres focuses on characters with mental illnesses that are still able to be successful. They may not completely overcome their illnesses, but they are able to beat them back and succeed. In this volume, you will find the fiction of Ian Brazee Cannon, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, MH Bonham, David Lee Summers, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Kate Runnels, Michael Morgan, L.J. Bonham, Carol Hightshoe, Francis W. Alexander, and Terrie Leigh Relf. This book is dedicated to all of the science fiction fans and writers that must battle their own personal demons every day, and half of all of the profits from this book will go to The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Organization, a group that battles teen suicide.
Joseph was born the son of a goatherd chieftain, destined to do nothing more than lead a small band of goatherds, Joseph quickly becomes disillusioned with his tribe and his life, and when his young wife and child die, Joseph leaves his people behind, having no idea what Yahovah has planned for him. Joseph meets his new wife, Yasmen, and with the help of an ancient man who only calls himself the Elder Rishni, Joseph becomes the leader of a new group of people, a group that grows in numbers and strength, and eventually grows powerful enough to possibly challenge the mighty Indo-Aryan armies and their mighty leader, the Kzer…possibly…
Now that I've spent more than a year re-writing James Baker's novel Goatherds & Gods, what do I do next? No, I'm not going to Disneyland. I've started a new novel. This one will be a science fiction novel, kind of like what you'd expect from me, but it's quite different than my other SF novels. You'll all probably get to learn a lot more about it in a year or so...yeah, novel writing takes a long time!
While you're waiting for my next novel, go ahead and pre-order Goatherds & Gods, and you can start reading it on July 1st.
More than a quarter of a century ago, an editor by the name of Jim Baker published my very first story. He then turned me into an editor, and we worked together for years before he passed away. When he did leave us, I became the owner of his works, both complete and incomplete. One of his novels, Goatherds & Gods was a great story in my opinion, although it lacked proper execution. As a result, I never rereleased this book.
As my skills have, hopefully, improved over the years, I finally felt that I had the ability to turn the book into what it should be, and so a little over a year ago, I began rewriting the book. Most of Jim's original writing is still there, I just hopefully improved on it.
So, without further ado, I give you...
The e-book version of Goatherds & Gods by James B. Baker and J Alan Erwine is available for pre-order, and will be released on July 1st. The print version will be available at the same time.
Joseph was born the son of a goatherd chieftain, destined to do nothing more than lead a small band of goatherds, Joseph quickly becomes disillusioned with his tribe and his life, and when his young wife and child die, Joseph leaves his people behind, having no idea what Yahovah has planned for him.
Joseph meets his new wife, Yasmen, and with the help of an ancient man who only calls himself the Elder Rishni, Joseph becomes the leader of a new group of people, a group that grows in numbers and strength, and eventually grows powerful enough to possibly challenge the mighty Indo-Aryan armies and their mighty leader, the Kzer…possibly…
Over the years, I edited several magazines, and now the issues that I edited for Nomadic Delirium Press are available in three different collections...
For six years, Nomadic Delirium Press published The Martian Wave. This was a magazine that focused on short stories and poems about the exploration and colonization of space, with a special focus on stories about our solar system. Now, all six issues have been gathered into one boxed set for a very low price.
For nearly seven years, Nomadic Delirium Press published the long running science fiction and fantasy magazine, The Fifth Di... Now all 25 issues are available in this one massive tome.
The magazines Environmental Holocaust and Mundanities were short-lived magazines at Nomadic Delirium Press, but we are still very proud of them, and we hope to someday bring them back, but for now you can enjoy the single issue of Environmental Holocaust and the two issues of Mundanities in this one issue. Environmental Holocaust was a magazine focusing on possible futures where global climate change continues on unchecked. Mundanities was the zine of mundane science fiction, and focused on science fiction that was completely believable based on modern science.
Book and story sales seem to swing back and forth, but RPG sales always seem to be consistent. May saw Rocks on the Other Side once again take over the top selling title for me.
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?
I have, what I think is a great idea for a Star Wars novel. They only problem with that is that you can't just write a Star Wars novel. If I wanted to pursue this idea seriously, I would have to draw up an entire outline for the book, write the first few chapters, and then wave some kind of magic wand to land an agent who could present the idea and hopefully sell it for me.
I'm not sure if it would really be worth it, but unfortunately, the idea just won't leave me alone...
