Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Four novels for $10!

You can download all four of my novels for just $10 from DriveThruFiction at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/468859/

You get The Opium of the People, Red Moon Rising, A Problem in Translation, and my latest novel Echoes from the Deep. This is an opportunity you don't want to miss!


Monday, January 29, 2024

Have you had your fifth taste of the madness yet?

The fifth volume is here!
A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time. And if you're a Kindle Unlimited member, it's available for free at https://amzn.to/3Sho9lH


Saturday, January 27, 2024

A screenplay?

While going through some files last night, I found a screenplay I had started for A Problem in Translation. I remember starting it many years ago, and I thought I'd written something like five pages. I decided to take a look at it, and was surprised to find that it was actually 75 pages long and about half way done.

I realize that the odds of actually selling it would be very slim, but I'm still wondering if it might be fun to finish it. I only have about half a dozen projects going on...what's one more right?

If you'd like to read the book, please check it out at: https://amzn.to/42jDOWy


Friday, January 26, 2024

Two bestsellers at DriveThruFiction

Two of my titles are currently listed as bestsellers at DriveThruFiction. At the time I'm writing this, Do You Really Want to be a Writer? is listed at #27 and Echoes From the Deep is listed at #33. Check out the complete list at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/top_100.php.

This is the first time in quite a while that I've had two titles in their top 100. Let's see how high we can push both of them! And, of course, thanks for buying my stuff and supporting my writing!

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Echoes from the Deep is the Deal of the Day

My new novel, Echoes from the Deep is the deal of the day today at DriveThruFiction. You can download it for just $2at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842/.

The first human and dolphin colony team has arrived on Epsilon Eridani 2, a planet that was once inhabited by a highly advanced species that has gone extinct.

On this exciting new world, the humans have brought all of their typical problems with them, while the dolphins adjust quite easily to their new home.

All of this changes when bizarre events begin to happen to the colonists. Is the stress of a new colony causing unknown neuroses and psychoses to suddenly surface? Is there something in the atmosphere that the colonists didn’t know about? Or is there something else behind the bizarre occurrences?


Monday, January 22, 2024

An Echoes from the Deep excerpt

Prologue

From the journals of Eric Young

One of these days, something unfortunate is going to happen to our dear Governor Jornion, and I just hope I’m there to see it. Ever since our arrival on Epsilon Eridani 2, Jornion has been running this place like he’s some kind of dictator. I seem to remember him being chosen by the powers that had been on Earth, but then what did they know? That was more than fifty years ago. They may have killed themselves off while we were in hibernation. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me, even if we had been improving the species.

Suffice it to say, traveling ten light years hasn’t necessarily improved people, especially not Gov. Hendrik Jornion. Maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe it would be better to say that politicians haven’t changed, but I don’t really think anyone ever expected they would.

On the other hand, Phineas and the other dolphins seem to love their new environment. It’s been a year since our arrival, and they’ve already begun to reproduce, unlike the humans. I worry that we’re going to have to start pulling eggs and sperm from the labs to keep the human line going. This shouldn’t be necessary for the dolphins, except to add some genetic variation to the gene pool.

It's almost impossible to believe that I’m on a planet that once held intelligent life. Unfortunately, we really haven’t learned much of anything about that race yet. The archaeology team hasn’t found anything that I would consider of great importance at the first site, although I’m sure they’d disagree with my interpretation of their findings. The only thing we can say for certain is that the Eridanians were an amphibious species. Their coastal cities rest half in the oceans and half out, and it’s clear that they were designed this way because the structures are designed to climb down the coral-like reefs where they need to.

The Eridanians seemed to have had a special reverence for geometry, or maybe art, or maybe it was both. Their cities are laid out in geometric patterns, very few of which are squares or rectangles. In addition, the cities are symmetrical. It’s a truly awe-inspiring sight. There are also very few tall buildings, almost none more than seven stories tall. The city is also small, as are all of the Eridanian cities. Apparently, they had a small population that could live spread out, much as twenty-first century Earth had become after the plagues.

The idea of learning something about an alien race was one of my main reasons for wanting to leave Earth, never to return again. It was second only to my desire to protect the dolphins from the exploitation they might face at the hands of people like Jornion.

I guess that will have to be it for now. Someone’s knocking. I’m sure it’s going to be Nate Howahkan. We have to take the probe back out to the Silent Sea. I’ll write more about that later.

                                                                                                     Eric Young

                                                                                                     Chief Marine Biologist

                                                                                                     Epsilon Eridani 2

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3U70l6L

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842


Friday, January 19, 2024

Do you need some help with your writing career?

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

We have just the book for you... J Alan Erwine's Do You Really Want To Be a Writer?

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.

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OfhN5t

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1503357

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/466362/


A Taste of the Madness Vol. 5

The fifth volume is here! And remember, this title is free if you're a Kindle Unlimited member...

A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time.

Order today at https://amzn.to/48Zo0dz


Thursday, January 18, 2024

Echoes from the Deep

My latest novel, Echoes from the Deep is now available.

The first human and dolphin colony team has arrived on Epsilon Eridani 2, a planet that was once inhabited by a highly advanced species that has gone extinct.
On this exciting new world, the humans have brought all of their typical problems with them, while the dolphins adjust quite easily to their new home.
All of this changes when bizarre events begin to happen to the colonists. Is the stress of a new colony causing unknown neuroses and psychoses to suddenly surface? Is there something in the atmosphere that the colonists didn’t know about? Or is there something else behind the bizarre occurrences?

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3U70l6L

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1509505

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/467842


Friday, January 12, 2024

#19 on the bestseller's list

My newest title, Do You Really Want To Be a Writer? is at #19 on the DriveThruFiction bestseller's list at the moment. Obviously this number can change, but I hope all of the writers and writer wannabes will help push that number higher. Check it out at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/top_100.php.

If you're not familiar with this title, here's the description for you:

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.


Last chance to get A Taste of the Madness Vol. 4

There's less than a week left to download A Taste of the Madness Vol. 4, and remember, if you're a Kindle Unlimited member, the download is free.

Download it while you still can at https://amzn.to/3SpgjYR

A collection of six previously published short stories, that are available only for a limited time. Travel to distant planets and travel to different mad visions that prize-winning sf author J Alan Erwine has come up with, but beware, you can never be sure where his weird mind might take you.
Again, this collection is only available for a very limited time.


Thursday, January 11, 2024

New Year, New Game sale

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

It's time for the annual New Year, New Game sale at DriveThruRPG. You can save on the core rulebooks for all three of our games...Rocks on the Other Side, The Battle for Turtle Island, and Ephemeris. Head over to https://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_newyear.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_0_44298#selectpub and you can be playing a new game immediately!!!


Do You Really Want To Be a Writer? is the deal of the day

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

You can pick up our latest release, Do You Really Want To Be a Writer? for just $1.50 from DriveThruFiction today only by downloading the book at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/466362

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.


Saturday, January 06, 2024

The contents of Do You Really Want To Be a Writer?

Are you interested in what you might find in my new non-fiction collection of essays on writing, Do You Really Want To Be a Writer? Here’s a complete listing:
  • Why Hasn’t My Story Sold?
  • How Do I Revise?
  • Finding the Right Market
  • What To Do With a Rejection Letter
  • Somebody Wants to Buy Your Story, What Now?
  • Reuse, Recycle
  • Expanding Your Short Story into a Novel
  • Using Social Media
  • Marketing Your Fiction, and Yourself
  • How to Survive Bad Reviews
  • Maintaining Your Sanity as a Writer
  • Creating a Short Story Collection
  • Writing for Anthologies
  • Writing Shared World Stories
  • Collaborations
  • Self-Publishing
  • Writing Science Fiction

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OfhN5t

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1503357

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/466362/


Friday, January 05, 2024

A website update

With my first non-fiction book having just been released, and with a new novel coming very soon, and having recently published my 70th short story, I figured it was well past time to update my website. I've streamlined it, and tried to make it easy to navigate by mostly getting rid of much of the "fluff" that used to be on it. The site doesn't have all kinds of bells and whistles...it's a very simple design because I'd rather spend my time writing than doing web design, but please feel free to check it out at http://www.jalanerwine.com.

 

Do You Really Want To Be a Writer?

New from Nomadic Delirium Press!

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.

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OfhN5t

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1503357


Thursday, January 04, 2024

December Bestseller

The bestseller for December, traditionally a slow month for book sales (I guess people don't read much anymore), was The Divided States of America Vol. 1.

No one can say with any reasonable certainty when the United States of America began to fall apart. Many point to the presidential election of 2016, but most believe the breakup started long before this. Now, in the year 2110, the former United States is made up of 13 nation-states and The Wastelands. Some of the nation-states have prospered under self-rule, while others have declined. Some nation-states are very accepting of outsiders, while others trust no one…sometimes not even their fellow citizens. There is chaos in some places, and order in others…sometimes too much order.

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aDCmlz

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/899361

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/253968


Saturday, December 23, 2023

Seasons greetings

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season, no matter what holidays you celebrate, or even if you don't celebrate. I hope everyone gets to spend time with their family, friends, and loved ones, and everyone stays safe.

Friday, December 22, 2023

The Smashwords sale is still going on

You still have until the end of the year to save up to 50% on my longer titles at Smashwords. Head over to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and start downloading today.


Saturday, December 16, 2023

70 stories

I've been doing some organizing today, and in the process, I ended up counting the number of stories I've had published. Obviously I need to pay more attention. I thought I recently crossed the 60 story mark, but "Green Grievances" was actually my 70th story. That's a lot of words...

And if you'd like to read that 70th story, download it at https://amzn.to/46WQS4M