Winter is going

Feb 24, 2022 10:56 am

Raymund Eich

Science fiction and fantasy - from Middle America to the ends of the Universe

Spring is (almost) here

Hi ,

Raymund Eich here. I hope 2022 is off to a great start for you.

I'm pretty happy with mine...

Publishing News

Invasion 2132

The False Flag War | Book 2

A powerful alien ship. Heading to Earth. Intent unknown.

Bad: mission control lost contact with the interstellar explorers on Concordia.

Worse: mission control detects an unknown ship leaving the Alpha Centauri system. Heading to Earth at relativistic speeds. Driven by engines more potent than anything humans ever built. Silent about its purpose. Its crew unknown.

Leclerc, head of mission control, knows what he must do. If the ship comes to conquer or destroy Earth, the planet has only one chance. Its rival factions must set aside their cold war. They must turn their weapons of mass destruction to the common good. They must come together to prepare a mutual, desperate defense.

But powerful alien technology tempts insiders of both factions. Instead of peace through cooperation, some seek peace through conquest. Leclerc must do more than find common ground with his former foes. He must face the lust for power of shadowy figures on his own side.

The fate of the world hinges on what one man does… and what he discovers about the crew of the alien ship.

Preorder now! Ebook $4.99, trade paperback $15.99 (ISBN 9781952220104).

Of course, Book 1 of the False Flag War, Exploration 2127, is in bookstores now.

Patently Curious

I've read thousands of patents in my career. Some are more memorable than others.

A lot of people get the idea that a patent would make them an overnight millionaire. It doesn't work that way. A patent only gives you the right to exclude others from making or using your invention. In other words, it gives you a monopoly. But if no one wants your invention, a monopoly on something with zero sales is worth $0. Or if your patent is poorly written, the thing people really want might be just outside your monopoly. A million sales times a 0% royalty is also worth $0.

Worse, patents aren't free. Let's say your buddy the patent agent will donate his time to prepare and file the patent application as a favor to you. (And though I'm glad you're part of my Readers Club, the answer is no). Governments still have to get their pound of flesh, in filing fees, search fees, fees for you wasting their time, and fees to get your allowed application to become an official, monopoly-bestowing patent.

Even then the fees don't stop. In the US, three times over the next dozen years after getting their patent, patent owners have to pay a four-figure fee to keep the patent alive. They call this a "maintenance fee," though it doesn't cost anywhere near four figures to not delete a patent from its registry. In most other countries, it's worse: a fee to keep the patent alive comes due every year.

Which is a long-winded way to say, for individual inventors, patents can be a gamble. Not that there's anything wrong with that, so long as you walk into the situation with your eyes open.

Which is what I fear was not the case for the owner of a US patent that came up when I searched for patents with the phrase "Super Bowl" in the claims. From what I gleaned from the title and the claims, it somehow combines GPS mapping and online gambling. For his sake, I hope he can prove me wrong. I'll let you know this time next year, after he pays (or doesn't) the first maintenance fee.

From the Vault

Azureseas: Cantrell's War

"This book was a true joy to read." - Matthew W. Seniff, Goodreads

Glad you had fun reading it, Matthew! I had a lot of fun writing this one.

My subconscious stirred together alien anthropology, like C.J. Cherryh or forgotten classic short novels from the 1970s; themes of subtropical corruption out of mystery/thrillers by John D. MacDonald; a dose of everyman hero and low-tech, but not stupid, aliens out of Poul Anderson; and my upbringing in the Missouri Ozarks, hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, growing up with boys who became men like Ross Cantrell. All these strands came together and gave me a story of an ordinary man who does extraordinary things to right a wrong he didn't know he committed until too late.

In a war of lies, the greatest weapon is truth.

Azureseas

A world of sandy beaches under a yellow-orange sun. Human developers could turn it into the next great tourist world of the Consortia... except for its large, dangerous native animals.

Ross Cantrell joined the animal control mission on Azureseas to earn the money he needed to marry and start a life together with his girlfriend. Dirty work, but necessary to keep people safe. Like plinking tree cats back home.

Then Ross discovers the truth about the planet's "animals."

Cantrell's War

His former plans no longer matter. Against high-tech soldiers, illicit brain-hackers, and the billionaires backing them both, he puts everything at risk. Money. Love. Even his own life.

All to do the right thing for humans and aliens alike.

Looking back

This is one of my few novels to feature aliens.
So far.
This one came out of a writing prompt. I was given the first line, more or less ("He stood on the beach, ocean in front of him, village behind, and he did not look back.") Ten minutes and two hundred words later, I had the broad themes of this novel in place.
My favorite high school teacher, for geometry, trig, and physics, was Mr. Cantrell.
You can pronounce Ross's last name however you want. "CANT-rell" is fine, but the more common pronunciation in the Missouri Ozarks is "can-TRELL."

Azureseas: Cantrell's War is available in ebook ($2.99), trade paperback ($16.99), and audiobook (about $20-25) as of this writing. All prices USD. Click below to learn more and buy now.

Learn more! Plus bookstore links!

Other books you might like

Emergence (Book One of the Dark Tide Trilogy)

by Dayne Edmondson

If Invasion 2132 leaves you looking for more space opera, here's one for you. Alien invasions, secret conspiracies, full speed across the galaxy. It's the first in a complete trilogy and it's free for a limited time. Click HERE for bookstore links.

Before I go, one last thing: are my emails giving you what you want? If they aren't, email me at newsletter@raymundeich.com or take a short online survey to tell me what you'd like to hear more about.

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I'll be back in a couple of months with more news. And I'll bring you a special bulletin when publishing news breaks.

Happy reading!

Raymund Eich

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