Welcome, new folks!

Hi, there. If you've joined the mailing list recently, I want to make sure you get your free Frosthelm book, Traitors Unseen. If you haven't gotten it, you can get it free here (the site will ask you to sign up for this newsletter, which you're already getting) or here from Smashwords. It's also on Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. Please, enjoy with my compliments.

A writing update

I got a slow start this November on my annual month-long writing push, getting started on November 13th rather than the first of the month. That puts me more than halfway through, and I've made a lot of progress on my next sci-fi novel. It's grown from about 30,000 words to 52,000, and I still have a couple of weeks left to write. This story is set in the same far-future, space opera universe as Kenai and Daros, but where those were set on planets, this one is set on long-range military spacecraft on a mission to explore what happened to the vast majority of humanity when the jump gates all shut down 350 years ago. I'm having a lot of fun. The main character is a plucky engineer on the smaller of the two ships sent back into war-torn space.

I'm also deep into revisions on Best, the romance novel Sarah Estow and I are working on. We're in the third round of revisions now, getting ready to send it to our gaggle of early readers to see what they think. We finished the first draft of the book back in September, and we've been passing it back and forth since. I'm really, really enjoying this process - having a writing partner and alternating chapters and characters has been a blast.

A preview of my team's SPSFC entries

I put together introductions for all 25 of the books my judging team has for this year's SPSFC. This is the 5th running indie sci fi competition that I've entered twice, with Daros being a semifinalist in the first one and Kenai winning the whole thing in the 3rd. I judged last year and am judging again this year, which is a lot of fun. I also have Wick Welker, last year's winner, on my judging team, which is a lot of fun. The intros are in five parts, five books each, but you can see them and access them all from this page. There are a ton of fun books in there if you're an indie sci-fi fan.

Last Chance for The Expanding Universe 11

The sci-fi anthology I'm in will be unpublished as an ebook on December 13, so you have less than two weeks to pick up a copy. After that, the paperback will still be available, but the story rights revert to the authors. I'll see if I can find a good place to publish my story elsewhere, maybe in an anthology of my own stories, but if you want to get 600 pages of great sci fi, this is a bargain that has a time limit. There are some terrific stories in here of all kinds of different subgenres, although there's an emphasis on military sci-fi.

Some stories to try

I'm part of several author collectives, and we share each other's work to try to help all of us reach more readers. In many cases, the books we share are are free or discounted. Sometimes, they ask that you sign up for a newsletter like this one. Here are some new books I have to share this month (there are more than usual, so plenty of choices):

First, I have Red Storm by Bradley James, a free 58-page story about a mission gone wrong on Mars. This is a prequel to his series, so you'll get a good look at what all that is about.

Next, I have Worship the Image by Woodrow Bell. This is a free sample of a cyberpunk noir story, with a detective, shadowy AIs, and a bleak dystopian future on a world governed by corporations.

Next, I have Sentinals Origins by Helen Garraway. This is the new eighth book in Garraway's epic fantasy story of a world full of magic, military factions, monsters, and adventure.

Next, I have Wunderkind by Z.Z. Adams, a story about an Oxford student turned monster assassin in a dystopian future with monstrous alien invaders.

Next, I have a set of 13 sci fi and fantasy audiobooks, if listening is your preferred reading style.

Next, I have a big set of fantasy and sci fi books - over 130 of them - for you to explore.

Finally, I have a huge set of fantasy and sci-fi books that are free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, including four of mine. There are 75 books and series in all, so there's sure to be something that you'll enjoy.

Thanks

Thanks so much for signing up for my newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for upcoming books! I love hearing from people.

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave