More dream attacks

People who have been reading this blog for a while might remember that a quack of a surgeon put me on neurontin a while back to deal with the chronic pain I suffer from.  The drug did nothing to help with the pain, but it did leave me with some nasty side effects.  I eventually weaned myself off of the crap, and decided to just deal with the pain.
One of the side effects that I suffered from was something that I started calling dream attacks.  In these dream attacks, I would have one bad dream or nightmare after another, most of them involving the death of a loved one.  They would go on an on all night, waking me up over and over again, and leaving me feeling completely exhausted and depressed in the morning.
Unfortunately, this is a side effect that has never entirely gone away.  I still suffer from these damn things every once in a while.  It's a horrible feeling laying in bed for eight hours a night dreaming about nothing other than the death of your loved ones.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if your doctor is ever considering putting you on this medication, please, please, please give it some serious thought.  I would not wish these feelings on anyone.

Starting the new job today

Tonight I start my new part time "real" job.  It's definitely going to help having a second income, as we are most definitely struggling financially...still trying to pay the over $1000 we owe for Lex's surgery is just a start.
Although the money will be nice, working again will have its challenges.  Rebecca and I already have very little time together, and this is going to cut into that to a great degree, as we have to work opposite schedules.  I'm certainly going to miss the extra time I've had with her and the kids.
It will also be difficult for me to keep up the writing, editing, and game design schedule I've had going, as pretty much every free second I've had has been devoted to that.
Like I always say, sleep is over rated, I'll just have to sleep less to keep up my productivity...

You're almost out of time to save on a number of my titles

There are a lot of sales going on in July, and many of my titles have been available at discount, but those sales are almost over, so you're almost out of time.
All of the Nomadic Delirium e-books (which includes a lot that I've written and edited) are available for 25% off from Smashwords.  Go to: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium
Nomadic Delirium also has all of the Ephemeris titles available for 30% off...many of these are ones that I've written.  You can find them at: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop
DriveThruRPG and DriveThruFiction have a Christmas in July sale, which includes a lot of my titles.  You can find these at: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=2805 or http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=2805
The Genre Mall also has e-books at 10% off, and several of those are mine as well.  Go to: http://jalanerwine.com/thegenremall/shop/ and use coupon code "new" at checkout.
They all end on the 31st, so order now...and of course, order often!!!

Time is running out to help Taurin Tales

There's not much time left to help raise money for Taurin Tales.  This is going to be a great collection, and I'd really love to be able to get this out to readers in September.  If you'd like to help, you can go to Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales, or you can help out by going to Indiegogo at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/taurin-tales.
Thanks ahead of time for all of your support.

Christmas in July

The folks at DriveThruRPG and DriveThruFiction are having a Christmas in July sale, and all of the Nomadic Delirium Press titles are 25% off. This is all of our Ephemeris RPG titles and all of our fiction titles.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=2805
http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=2805

The Genre Mall is back!

The Genre Mall is back!!! For years, The Genre Mall was one of the best places on the net to find small press speculative fiction titles. It's now back as an outlet for e-book titles. There are currently publications from two publishers up on the site, and I already have five more committed to sending me their works as they have time. For the moment, until the financial situation at Casa de Erwine improves, I'm hosting the mall on my own website, but that will change in the future.
If you're a reader, go get yourself an e-book... http://jalanerwine.com/thegenremall/shop/!

The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sectors 26 & 27

The exploration of “Unexplored Space” continues with Sectors 26 & 27.  You’ll find a few colonies in this tome, but you’ll also find lots of planets waiting to be explored, and planets that were once colonized, but no longer are.
There are more machine culture colonies that have been abandoned; some of which may have treasures beyond imagination left on them.  Abandoned and destroyed colonies of an ancient culture  known as the Glikth are here to be explored.  Plus there are the usual mysteries that can be found where no one has been in centuries.
You can order this new supplement from Nomadic Delirium Press at: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/ephemeris-encyclopedia-galactica-sectors-twenty-six-twenty-seven/.  Order before July 31st, and it's 30% off...like all of the other Ephemeris titles
or you can order it from DriveThruRPG at: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/132040/The-Ephemeris-Encyclopedia-Galactica-Sectors-TwentySix--TwentySeven

A reprint of Sad Grey Eyes on Tharsis

My short story, "Sad Grey Eyes on Tharsis" has been reprinted in the new issue of Outposts of Beyond from Alban Lake Publishing.
http://store.albanlake.com/product/outposts-of-beyond-july-2014

Nomadic Delirium sales

There are a couple of sales going on at Nomadic Delirium Press this month.  Here are the details for both of them:
All of our e-books are on sale at Smashwords for 25% off for the entire month of July.  Go to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium and order today.
This includes our latest release, The Martian Wave: 2014, plus all of our novels, zines, anthologies, and RPG products.
Order now…order often…

The end of July marks the five year anniversary of the release of the Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game.  To celebrate, we’re putting all of the Ephemeris products on sale for 30% off through our website.
Now’s the time to stock up on all of those supplements you’ve wanted, and if you haven’t started playing the game…there’s no better time: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop

The Martian Wave: 2014 is finally here!

The Martian Wave: 2014 is finally here!
The Martian Wave features stories about the exploration and colonization of space, with special emphasis on our solar system. In this issue, you’ll find alien microbes and aliens that are like nothing you’ve ever imagined. You’ll be taken to icy worlds, and the sands of Mars. You’ll even get a look at Earth trying to regain its place in the stars.
The volcanoes of Io and the deep dark of space are also waiting for readers. Many stories paint a possibly grim future for humanity, but others are truly optimistic. No matter the tone, all of the stories and poems in this issue capture the adventurous spirit that make Humanity what it is.
Step inside, and be transported to places you’ve never imagined…maybe even places you never could imagine.
You can order the print or pdf e-book from us at: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-martian-wave-2014
You can order the e-book in a variety of formats at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/436463
You can order the print or Nook version from Barnes & Noble at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-martian-wave-j-alan-erwine/1119477692?ean=2940045933223
You can order the print (and soon you’ll be able to order the Kindle version from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0980170389

June recap

Back to work...
New Ephemeris titles in print
1000th blog post
Taurin Tales Kickstarter
Who are the Taurins?
The Ephemeris website
The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sectors 24 & 25
Last night's presentation at DASFA
New Taurin Tales Kickstarter rewards

New Taurin Tales Kickstarter rewards

We've added new rewards for the Taurin Tales Kickstarter.  We're planning on doing a Taurin Tales 2 collection, and you have a chance to have your name adapted for a main character, or you can suggest a plot line for the next collection.  These are just some of the new options.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales

Last night's presentation at DASFA

Last night, I, along with Ian Brazee-Cannon and Laura Givens, did a presentation about Taurin Tales for the Denver Area Science Fiction Association.  We talked about what we had created so far, answered questions about the book, and then had a long discussion about what people might like to see in Taurin Tales 2, which will be an open anthology that we will start reading for later this year.
I got a lot of ideas, and had a lot of fun.  It's always a good time to hang out with people that don't always view the world the way every day people do...people who love science and science fiction with a passion.
Something else that came up is that people would like to have a chance to be incorporated into Taurin Tales 2 in some way, so we've added Kickstarter rewards that will allow your name to be adapted by one of the authors into Taurin...and we've added a few other Kickstarter rewards.  Please check them out at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales, and help us out.  We really want to get this book out on September 1st.

The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sectors 24 & 25

The exploration of "Unexplored Space" continues with Sectors 24 & 25.  You'll find a few colonies in this tome, but you'll also find lots of planets waiting to be explored, and planets that were once colonized, but no longer are.
There are more machine culture colonies that have been abandoned, and civilizations that have died, plus worlds that are screaming out to be explored, with dangers that characters can't even begin to imagine.
Order from us: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-ephemeris-encyclopedia-galactica-sectors-twenty-four-twenty-five/
Order from DriveThruRPG: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/131278/The-Ephemeris-Encyclopedia-Galactica-Sectors-TwentyFour--TwentyFive

The Ephemeris website

Nomadic Delirium Press has updated the Ephemeris portion of their website.  They've listed all of the titles that are currently available for the game, and there are a lot of them.  They've also put in purchase links to a variety of vendors.
The site can be found at http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/ephemeris/main.htm.
Although not all of the supplements were written by me, most of them were, and seeing them all listed like this is kind of overwhelming.  I knew that I'd written a lot of supplements for the game, but I guess I never realized just how many.  If I had to make a guess, I'd say it's over half a million, and there will be another eleven thousand coming out later this week.
That's enough for now.  I guess I have more supplements to write...

Who are the Taurins?

As we've mentioned, we're running a Kickstarter for an anthology called Taurin Tales, which brings up the question, exactly who are the aliens in Taurin Tales?  Below is the description I gave to the authors for them to start creating their stories.
Please support the Kickstarter at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales
The Taurins are six limbed creatures with greyish-green skin that resembles that of a lizard, although they have a layer of fur on their back that can range through most colors. The Taurins back limbs are four toed and act completely as feet. Their middle limbs have digits that have one joint each. They normally use these limbs for walking, but they can use them to carry items if they need to, although these limbs tend to have the dexterity of a one year old human child. The Taurins front limbs have four digits, each of which has four joints, giving them outstanding dexterity.
Taurins have five eyes. They have two on the front of their heads that give them stereoscopic vision. They also have one eye on each side of their head, and one on the back of their head. Their front eyes are able to see into the near-infrared, but their other eyes are completely color blind, and they can only see about 100 yards before things become too blurry for them. The Taurins have two ears that are actually set in their head, instead of protruding like human ears. Their range of hearing is about 20% greater on each extreme than a human’s hearing. Taurins have sensory glands that cover their body that give them a sense of smell, but it’s only about half as good as a humans. Their mouth has three layers of razor sharp teeth, and although the Taurins are omnivorous, they prefer a carnivore’s diet.
The Taurins wear clothing that covers the majority of their bodies. The clothing is usually worn for comfort and ease of use, but there are times when the Taurins like to dress up.
From a technological standpoint, the Taurins are slightly ahead of Humanity. They have interplanetary travel, but they don’t yet have interstellar travel. So far they’ve colonized their home planet’s two largest moons, and although they’ve explored the third moon, they’ve found it to be too small to colonize. They also have limited research colonies on the two planets closest to their homeworld.
There are three major nations on their planet, nations that manage to cooperate, but only about as well as the US does with China or Russia. Although there are “racial” differences among the different Taurins, there is actually very little racism, although there is a group of Taurins that have light green fur on their backs that have been exploited as slaves for centuries, and although slavery no longer exists, these Taurins are often looked down upon by the other Taurins.

Taurin Tales Kickstarter

Nomadic Delirium Press is going to be publishing a new shared world anthology, and we're hoping to publish it in September.  The book will be called Taurin Tales, and here are some of the details...

Taurin Tales is a shared world anthology featuring some of the top names in small press science fiction.

Taurin Tales is a shared world anthology about an alien species called the Taurins.  The concept was designed by science fiction writer, editor, and game designer J Alan Erwine.  From there he invited several writers to contribute, and together they formed Taurin Tales.
The authors in the collection will be David Lee Summers, Maggie Bonham, Rick Novy, Ian Brazee-Cannon, Laura Givens, Dylan Moonfire, and Anna Paradox.
Most of the stories have already been delivered, and we're shooting for a September 1st, 2014 release date.
Please help us out by supporting our kickstarter at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1521750492/taurin-tales

1000th blog post

This is my 1000th post on this blog.  I feel like I should have something profound to say in this moment, but I don't, so I'll open this up to questions.  If you'd like to know anything, feel free to ask.
All I ask is that you please post the questions at jalanerwine.blogspot.com, as this blog feeds all over the internet, and I don't often visit some of the places it goes...

New Ephemeris titles in print

Nomadic Delirium Press has released two new Ephemeris titles in print.  You can now get The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Near Space at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/129004/The-Ephemeris-Encyclopedia-Galactica-Near-Space?manufacturers_id=2805, or you can get The Ephemeris Species Compendium of Deep Space Species  at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/130262/The-Ephemeris-Species-Compendium-of-Deep-Space-Species?manufacturers_id=2805.
Near Space gives you:
The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Near Space looks at the sectors of space that are near to Colonized Space, but that haven’t been completely explored yet.
You’ll find colonies that have been set up by some of the six sentient species, and you’ll find worlds that will make good colonies.  You’ll also find things that you might not expect…civilizations that have fallen, weird intrusions of hyperspace, and signs of intelligence that still might be out there.  This and more awaits players and game masters in The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Near Space.
A useful tool for both players and game masters, this supplement will help take your Ephemeris game to the next level.
And the new species compendium gives you:
In the Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica volumes about Unexplored Space, you were introduced to five new species that live out in Deep Space, an area of space more than two hundred light years from Earth.  Now you can learn all about these species…
The Alexans: Small explorers that mostly want to be left alone
The Ernya: An aggressive species that wants to conquer
The Julahmo: The Beaten Ones, as they’re known…victims of countless wars with the Ernya
The Khruntha: The grand conquerors of Deep Space, a species so violent that they make the Ernya look tame
The Lomisians: The Librarians of the galaxy, a peaceful species that wants to learn everything they can, but that has been forced into war over and over again.
Learn about all five of the species: their languages, their points of view, their variant species, and the special classes that are only available to them.

Back to work...

With the insane medical bills starting to roll in, and with some other financial disasters that have hit us, it looks like I'm going to have to go back to work...at least part time.  This is far from what we were planning, since Rebecca and I already have almost no time together.  Now we'll almost never see each other, except when we're sleeping.
And sleep will have to be cut back on, at least from my part, since I still want to try to keep writing, editing, and game designing as much as I can.
Things were working out really well with me working at home, except for the financial aspects, so now life has once again turned itself upside down for us.
Needless to say, neither of us are happy about this...