The first chapter

Thursday, March 1st is the release date for my new novel, A Problem in Translation. If you'd like to read the first chapter, please feel free to go to... http://www.jalanerwine.com/translation.htm.

A Problem in Translation blurb

It's not finalized yet, but here's the blurb for the new book...

What is humanity to do when faced by aliens whose language is vague at best? What is humanity to do when faced by aliens that are worshipped or feared by almost every other species in the universe? What is humanity to do when faced by aliens that make decisions that seem completely illogical?

These are the questions that must be answered by Captain Shiro Takahashi and the crew of the Astrid, and failing to come up with the right answers could lead to the annihilation of humanity at the prehensile limbs of the Lemec.

Governing, but not governing, most of the nearby galaxy, the Lemec are a powerful species that no one really understands, and this is just how the Lemec want it. Captain Takahashi is trying to understand, but the Lemec try to block his actions at every turn. How can he ever hope to save humanity, and do the Lemec even care if humanity is saved?

The worst part about writing a book...

...is when the publisher asks you to help out with the back cover blurb.

I've never been good at sales, and trying to promote my own work is even harder. So, instead of writing the blurb, I'm procrastinating by writing about writing it...

Release date

We have a release date for my new novel, A Problem in Translation. It will be released on March 1st, 2012. That's not all that far off, so make sure you're saving those pennies. It will be available both as a trade paperback and an e-book.

This one isn't as dark as my first two novels, and would be more of what I would consider Space Opera, but with a twist. Hopefully you will all enjoy it once it's released.

And be sure to pay attention to my Facebook page, as I'll be doing some special giveaways in a little over a week.

January recap

Very light month of blogging. Hopefully I'll have more to say in the month to come.

Shouldn't be a surprise...

Progress Report

We have a cover

We have a cover

We're getting very close to the release of my third novel A Problem in Translation, and I'm very happy to say that we now have a cover for the new book.

Here it is...

Progress report

Work on the new game is really coming along. I'm very excited about this one, and I'm hoping it will be well received by the gaming world.

I recently sent a copy of the short story that was the inspiration for my new novel to the cover artist, Miss Laura Givens, so she and I can start bouncing some ideas around for the book cover. As the release date approaches, I'll be doing some giveaways through my Facebook account, so keep an eye open for those.

The "real" job has kept me quite busy, so I'm not making as much creative progress as I'd like...but we're getting there.

Shouldn't be a surprise...

...I've started work on the new role playing game. Any time an idea really grabs hold of me, I don't have much choice but to go with it. So, I am now in the process of creating a brand new RPG, and I'm making a ton of progress on it already. I'd say I'm half way through making my notes (other than historical notes), and I might actually start on the writing in the next couple of weeks.

Once I have everything put together, I'll be looking for play testers, so keep your eyes open if you're interested in trying the game out.

December recap

Ephemeris Holiday Specials

The Martian Wave as a bestseller

12 Days of Ephemeris Christmas

I don't understand parents

Thinking about a new RPG

2011 in review

2011 in review

This hasn't been the most productive year I've ever had. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the baby and the new job, but I did have a few publications.

The biggest was the release of my second novel, Red Moon Rising

I also had short stories published in Beyond Centauri, Aoife's Kiss, and A Taste of Armageddon. I also created several supplements for the Ephemeris RPG.

2012 is looking like it will be a more productive year. Alexis is starting to get a little more independent, so that will hopefully free up some time. Early in the year, we'll see the release of my third novel and I'm also hoping to create a brand new RPG this year.

Hope you all have a great and safe new year! See you next year!

Thinking about a new RPG

I've been playing with the idea of creating a new RPG. This one would be a fantasy game set during the colonization/conquest of America. It would contain a lot of the actual facts of that era, but in the game, magic would be real...opening up a lot of potential alternate histories.

Although I'm thinking about this, I'm not convinced that I actually want to do it. The game would take A LOT of work, and it would be very challenging. I'm not really sure if I can devote the time that I would need to such an endeavor. For my writing friends out there, it may be hard to believe, but I actually think creating an RPG is a lot harder than creating a novel. With a novel, you just have a few plot lines. With an RPG, you have to be able to consider as many plot lines as possible, because every player is different.

It's a thought...we'll see if it leads to anything...

I don't understand parents

Our kids spent the day with grandma today so that we could get some last minute Christmas stuff done. As we were leaving to pick them up, we saw two little girls walking down the sidewalk towards us. They were probably four and two. Both had coats on, but neither of them were zipped up. Neither of them were wearing shoes or socks.

For the record, the temperature here today was not much more than 20, and we just had a foot of snow, so these kids were walking on icy snow packed sidewalks...without shoes and socks!

We asked them where their parents were, and they just kept saying they'd gone night night. Neither of them spoke English very well (we're thinking they might have been Russian,) so it was hard to understand much of what they said. They kept walking because the oldest said they couldn't talk to us. We got in our car and followed them for a couple of blocks. At this point, we pretty much decided that this was beyond insane, so we called 911. Eventually the police showed up and took them into custody. They were very scared of the fact that they were going to have to go with the police, but the fact that we were all trying to help them warm up, and obviously trying to do what was best for them seemed to relax them a little.

I seriously have to wonder what these kids' parents were thinking. It's possible that something had happened to their parents, but we really don't know, and if the parents really were just sleeping, who sleeps while their young kids wander out of the house? I can barely even sleep when our kids are up and moving...

I don't know what happened to the kids, and I would actually like to know. I also really want to know what the parents could have been thinking.

12 Days of Ephemeris Christmas

We're going to be having special sales all through the 12 days of Christmas. We'll be offering a different PDF e-book each day for a buck through DriveThruRPG.

Here are the days, the titles, and the links you'll need to use on those days:
14th: the core rulebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=46749

15th: The Derelict Ship of the Ancients http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=14719

16th: Ephemeris: Critters and Pests http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=39990

17th: Mission of Trade, or Mission of Mercy http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=39893

18th: The Ephemeris Book of First Level Characters http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=11412

19th: Necessity's Call http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=18582

20th: The Scientist's Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=14554

21st: The Law Enforcer's Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=66296

22nd: The Althani Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=31824

23rd: The Arbonix Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=39405

24th: The Culthan Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=12482

25th: The Human Sourcebook http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=44103


Remember, each offer is only good for one day, and each book is only $1.

The Martian Wave as a bestseller

The Martian Wave Vol. 2, which I edited, made it onto the bestsellers list at Sam's Dot Publishing for November. It came in at #4. You can check out the complete list at http://sdpbookstore.com/bestsellers.htm.

Ephemeris holiday specials

We've set up some special holiday bundles at DriveThruRPG for those of you that play, or want to play the Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game. Both of the bundles feature the following titles: Critters & Pests, Expanded Ephemeris Equipment List, Necessity's Call, Derelict Ship of the Ancients, Book of Tables, and the Species Compendium. The only difference in the two bundles is that one features the core rulebook and the other does not. They list for $18 and $15 respectively.

Without the core rulebook: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86042

With the core rulebook: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86038

November recap

Happy birthday Alexis!

Nothing to sell

Some stuff to write

Cyber Monday sales

Cyber Monday sales

A couple of Cyber Monday sales have kicked off that feature some of my work. You can find the Ephemeris Cyber Monday Bundle at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=96365. This include the Ephemeris core rulebook, Critters and Pest, the Expanded Ephemeris Equipment List, Mission of Trade, or Mission of Mercy, The Derelict Ship of the Ancients, the Book of 1st Level Characters, the Book of Tables, and the Species Compendium. All of this is available for just $17.50...a huge savings, but only through Cyber Monday.

Another Cyber Monday sale you might be interested in is the Cyber Monday Nomadic Delirium Press Fiction Bundle, which can be found at http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product_info.php?products_id=65958. This bundle features four Nomadic Delirium Press e-books, including three of mine, all for the low price of $4.00. This one is also only good through the end of Cyber Monday, so order right away.

Some stuff to write

I just finished reading through a big stack of fragments I've written over the last decade or so. There is definitely some stuff to work with in that stack. Of course, I have no idea where I was going with some of the best of them, but I'll figure out something to do with them.

At least it looks like I'll have some stuff to work on now that I'm starting to find time to write again.

Nothing to sell

With the sale of my most recent novel, I've come to the shocking revelation that I have no fiction to submit. Granted there are some stories from before I actually had a career, but those are locked away in a box in a dark corner of a closet, never to see the light of day again.

I guess I need to get my writing muscles back in shape and start cranking out some new material. I have a few short story ideas I might work on, and I also have a novel that's only about a third done, so that should give me enough to do for a while...

Happy birthday Alexis!

Today is my youngest daughter's first birthday. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year. It's also hard to believe all of the changes we've seen in her. She's gone from being completely helpless to becoming a functional human being. It's absolutely amazing.

Since the older two are "technically" my step-daughters, I missed out on all the wonderful things that babies do. I love coming home from work and seeing her smile at me, waiting for me to pick her up, or seeing the big grin on her face when she first wakes up in the morning. I'm proud of every achievement she's ever had, even the smallest of them, because they're all huge to her.

I'm just very happy and proud to say that I'm now the father of a one year old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEXIS!!!!