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Enjoy the story of a down-on-her-luck gas station night manager who rapidly finds out things can get worse. A lot worse. Full of quirky characters, humor, an unfolding mystery, and harrowing action, Got Trouble has earned a 4.6/5 average rating from 189 readers on Amazon, making it one of my top-rated books.

Some indie sci fi reviews

We've been hard at work reading books for the 5th annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. This year, I'm leading a judging team. Our reviews and picks for the contest are here if you'd like to check them out. We just entered the semifinal round, so there are only ten books left, narrowed down from well over a hundred at the start.

Writing news

We're gearing up for the release of Best, on June 30. If you'd like to preorder, you can do so here. It will be available as an ebook and paperback on release day, but you can preorder the ebook now. We're starting to get some advance reviews on NetGalley, where about 40 people have downloaded a prerelease copy to review. I haven't tried doing pre-release reviews before, so this is new, but NetGalley is a place that even the big traditional publishers use. We'll see if it's worth it for the attention and early ratings. So far, so good.

I'm also really excited to announce an anthology of sci fi and fantasy short stories that I'm part of. This is coming out through Kickstarter (the campaign isn't live yet, but you can still mark yourself as interested for later), and you'll get a new story each day in December in addition to the ebook or even a hardback if you like. It's being run by two friends, Mike and Ro, whose YouTube show Bald and Balding I've been on a few times, and there are 36 authors currently signed up to be part of it.

My story for the anthology is done, and I've even commissioned some chapter art for it from a guy named Jesus Da Silva. He did a great job, and I'm really happy with it.

One I get back from my 35th college reunion this weekend, I'm going to try to finish up my sci fi novel, the next one in the world where Daros and Kenai are set. This one's a little different - it starts on a Patrol vessel on a long-range exploration mission. I've got over 50,000 words done, so it's at least halfway finished. Still working on a title, but I really like the main character, who's a jump drive engineer. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

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:

First, I have Frosting and Foul Play by Diana Freel. This is a small town murder mystery with a baker as the amateur sleuth. Free for Kindle Unlimited users, and part of a series.

Next, I have Izzy's Dilemma by Robert Pais, a young-adult science fiction story about a world where eye color controls destiny. This is a free book, very highly rated on Amazon.

Next, I have The Last Everything by Frank Kennedy, a military science fiction book about a doomed kid. Part of an enormous series.

Next, I have Perilous Quest by Adrian Murphy. This is a free short story that's a prequel to Murphy's longer military sci-fi series, about a search near an abandoned military base gone wrong.

Next, I have Ashes to Calling by Rowan Ashborne. This is a post-apocalyptic epic fantasy story with magic and swords and destiny and Light and silence and all that good stuff.

Finally, I have a bunch of indie fantasy that's free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers - 27 books in all!

Thanks

Thanks so much for being part of my newsletter community! Grab your free Got Trouble today and start your summer off right (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, in which case winter can start off right too).

May the Bloodmother watch over you - 

Dave