Tag: books

Castalia author Peter Grant, the author of the post-Civil War western Brings the Lightning, has just published a new book in his Maxwell Saga, Stoke the Flames Higher. We don’t publish this military SF series in ebook, although I’m pleased to announce that Castalia will be publishing all five books of the Maxwell Saga in print and audio, as well as all three books of Peter’s Laredo series, the third of which we will be publishing in ebook as well. Peter has posted an excerpt from the new book, and I can confirm that you don’t have to have read the four preceding volumes in order to pick up the story here.

Peter had considerable military experience in South Africa and it shows in his writing; he knows whereof he writes.

Also, Peter has reviewed the input of his readers regarding one of his next projects, and he has decided to proceed with the space detective story, which he apparently intends to bring to Castalia. I’m delighted to hear that, since, as QUANTUM MORTIS fans know, I’m rather partial to space detective stories myself. In the unlikely event he would like to situate it there, instead of in the Maxwell universe, he’ll certainly have my permission. But regardless, we’ll be more than happy to publish it. And yes, this is actually how we work, with our publishing decisions not only being made without our involvement, but sometimes without our knowledge.

In other book news, I experimented with Amazon’s new KDP paperback system yesterday, and a paperback version of On the Question of Free Trade was the result. I chose it because a) we were never going to get around to doing it via our normal system, and, b) it struck me as the sort of book you might want to give someone or carry around to use as a reference in an economics course. I have to confess, I was VERY disappointed to learn that the system is nothing more than an integrated version of the CreateSpace system, as I thought it was going to auto-generate a print layout from the Kindle file. I expect that’s what Amazon ultimately has in mind, but they certainly aren’t anywhere near there yet.

Since some of our authors will no doubt be curious about it, here are the pros and cons I observed.

PROS

• It’s pretty easy to use and the Cover Creator’s limitations should ensure that you can’t screw up the spine placement very easily.
• It’s fast. It takes about one week to get a published book up on Amazon through our usual system. This took only 12 hours. However, it doesn’t automatically connect to the Kindle edition any more automatically than non-KDP-published books, which is a little odd.
• The printing price is pretty good. $2.15 for a small book like that one, and eighty-five cents plus 1.2 cents per page for up to 828 pages.
• You can upload your own cover images and use them in a variety of ways in the Content Creator.
• It doesn’t cost anything and it’s integrated with KDP. This will take yet another chunk out of the mainstream publishers, and in combination with Kindle Unlimited, will probably cause the Big Five to shrink to four, and possibly three.
• Although you can’t just use the Kindle file, you can provide either a formatted PDF or an unformatted Word document for the text.
• They give you a free ISBN.

CONS

• The 40 percent slice that Amazon takes in addition to the print charge is pretty hefty. This will preclude most independent publishers from using it. We’ll probably use it for some books, like On War and some of our less popular books that aren’t even on the print production list, but it will never be our primary option.
• I’ve never heard anything good about the quality of the CreateSpace paperbacks and there is no reason to believe these will be any better. There was a reason we looked for a better alternative from the start. I’ll be very interested to know what people make of now On the Question of Free Trade turned out because I have absolutely no idea. So, please consider yourself warned in that regard.
• Distribution is limited to Amazon. CreateSpace tried to claim otherwise, which wasn’t really true, but Amazon isn’t even bothering to try. Amazon is the big dog, but it’s not the only market out there and an increasing percentage of our book sales are print books sold though other resellers. Although we still tend to think of ourselves as an epublisher, and barely half our books are even available in print editions, 40 percent of our sales are now in print.
• The ISBN is only good for use on Amazon.
• There is no way to identify the publisher or imprint.

Conclusion: absolutely great for self-publishers, of minor interest to authors with publishers, a potentially useful second option for low-margin independent publishers, and a complete nightmare for high-margin traditional publishers. I expect most successful authors are going to increasingly gravitate to the Peter Grant approach, and making publication decisions based on a series-by-series basis. As for me, I think I will use it to publish all of my collected WND columns in a two-volume paperback set, which will be useful for my own reference, if nothing else.

And finally, in case you missed it over the weekend, Back From the Dead by Rolf Nelson is finally available in paperback and hardcover editions. Don’t think you’ve seen the end of the book shilling either, because we have no less than FOUR (4) big announcements to make before Christmas.

Speaking of which, I would like 10 volunteer reviewers who are familiar with ATOB. If you’re a) interested in reviewing ASOS and b) you’ve already reviewed ATOB on Amazon, please send me an email with ASOS in the subject and a link to your review on Amazon.

Helton Strom is just a guy between contracts when he runs afoul of both planetary officialdom and space pirates. He is left with nothing but the clothes on his back, and not even a citizenship to his name. Is the ancient, broken-down military surplus starship and the young lady living aboard it the key to a bright future, or will his repairs and new mercenary friends reawaken the demons lurking in the ship’s murky and lethal past?

BACK FROM THE DEAD is the first book in The Stars Came Back series. It is a space western, the story of regular folks just trying stay alive, seeking work to earn money for repairs to get to the next job, with no shortage of action and adventure along the way. It is military sci-fi, featuring a company of mercenaries, spaceship combat, mortar and rifle combat, spear-and-shield battle, and post-traumatic stress disorder. And it is a philosophical investigation, pondering everything from the lessons of Achilles to how one stops a bar fight with earplugs.

BACK FROM THE DEAD is 346 pages and is available in both paperback and hardcover.

The space liner’s lounge is sparse and spare, dim with the faint, reddish light that indicates the night shift. A few round ports and several screens line the walls above solidly mounted furniture. Helton slouches at an angle, half-facing Art, an elderly businessman with a dazed expression on his face and a drink in his hand, looking absently out one of the larger viewing ports. His coat is in a heap on another chair, and his bag supports his feet. “By the time it was over, virtually all my assets were forfeited on the spot, I’d been stripped of citizenship, and searched by the Blue Gloves way more personally than I’d like. How?” He shakes his head slowly in disbelief. “How did we get here?”


“It could be worse,” the old man says quietly. “You are here, yes?”


Helton stares at him, incredulous. “Well, yeah, but–”


“Not in jail. Not in uniform.”


“They wouldn’t–”


“Still breathing.”


Comprehension dawns on Helton’s face. He takes a drink, then says, “But I don’t understand. Why?”


“They get a percentage of any fines or forfeitures they assess, as an ‘incentive’ to be attentive to the letter of the law. Likely you were put on a list some time ago, and this was just the easiest opportunity to make you go away. If they hadn’t gotten busy with that bomb on Level Eight, you might still be there.”


“Wha…? Bomb? Nobody said anything about a bomb.”


“The disturbance that called them away?”


“But that was some sort of transformer explosion in an electrical vault…”


Art looks as him with a slight shake of his head and a knowing, apologetic smile on his face. “Always buy a round trip ticket. Always have the appearance that you have good reason to come back, and no plans to do otherwise. Terrorist, separatists, false flag — makes no difference.”


“You…?”


“You are just now realizing what’s been going on these last months and years?”


Helton says, feebly, not even accepting his own excuse, “Been busy.”


“People have had to flee on a moment, packing light, for thousands of years. The warning signs of collapse are always the same. The debt. The scapegoats. The lies. The ‘temporary emergency measures.’ I cut it closer than I should have.” Art shrugs and takes a drink from his own glass. “My family is all safely away, and everything else shipped ahead for us by others.” A small, sympathetic smile crosses his wizened face. “It looks like you won’t be returning, either.”


Helton looks at him in disbelief, frowning, brows knit. Quietly, in shock, he says to himself, “Homeless.” He turns his gaze back to the port, staring blankly.


“You are lucky, though,” Art says.


“If this is lucky, I’d hate to see unlucky.”


“They picked you clean, but they let you leave.” He looks intensely at Helton. “Think. What do you have? Where are you going?”


He shrugs, waves to his coat and bag. “My sister’s.”


“And?”


Helton shakes his head, still not sure what Art is asking. Art taps his temple, then his chest. Then waves to the room around them, at the glass in Helton’s hand. Slowly, forcing himself to think positively, Helton taps his temple. “I have … useful skills … and knowledge.” He touches his chest. “I’m heading for family … who will welcome me. Work. I’m not sucking vacuum or” he holds up his glass, “dying of thirst in a desert. Better off than Odysseus meeting Nausicaä.”


A big smile spreads across the old man’s face. “A man of education.”


“Not enough. Didn’t see this coming.”


“It will serve you well. Never forget your assets, just because you acquired some new liabilities. Have faith in yourself, and you’ll be okay. God works in mysterious ways.”


Helton looks at Art silently for a long moment. He drains his glass, unconvinced.

Castalia author Peter Grant, of Brings the Lightning fame, is polling people about his next open project slot:

The book for the second quarter of 2017 is where I’m looking for your input.  I have the following possibilities, all of which are partially written or plotted out already.

• A heroic fantasy novel.  Sword and sorcery in the classic tradition, with good triumphing over evil (of course!).  The first draft of this novel is about 45% complete.

• Another fantasy novel, less in the ‘heroic’ tradition, but including sword and sorcery in a more formal military setting.  Think late Middle Ages or early Renaissance in a European-style country.  First draft is about 30% complete.

• A space detective novel, set in the Maxwell universe and tying in with the Maxwell Saga from time to time (i.e. characters from both series will get together).  First draft is about 30% complete.

• A mil-sci-fi novel set in the Maxwell universe, but with completely new characters.  The idea would be to establish a backstory from which the character might meet and/or work with Steve Maxwell in future books.  Plotted out, but not yet begun.

If you care to weigh in, you can do so at his blog.

Christmas has come early for John C. Wright fans, with the publication of the third and final book in THE GREEN KNIGHT’S SQUIRE trilogy, SWAN KNIGHT’S SWORD.


Gilberic Parzival Moth is a strange and lonely boy who has grown up without a father, raised by a single mother who moves from town to town in fear of something she will not name. His only friends are animals, with whom he has always been able to speak. And after surviving his bewildering encounter with the two kings of Elfland and their many strange and wonderful and terrible subjects, as chronicled in FEAST OF THE ELFS, Gilberic finds himself honor-bound to travel to a house of living death called the Green Chapel.

Accompanied only by his faithful dog and following the directions of a talking horse, Gilberic must go against his beloved mother’s wishes and go in search of the Green Knight, the mysterious giant who is said to dwell in the chapel, and whom he had previously beheaded. SWAN KNIGHT’S SWORD is the third and final book of THE GREEN KNIGHT’S SQUIRE, the first volume of MOTH & COBWEB, an astonishing new series about magical worlds of Day, Night, and Twilight by John C. Wright. 

John C. Wright is one of the living grandmasters of science fiction and the author of THE GOLDEN AGE, AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, and IRON CHAMBER OF MEMORY, to name just three of his exceptional books. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, for the Hugo Award, and his novel SOMEWHITHER won the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at Dragoncon.

SWAN KNIGHT’S SWORD is now available on Amazon for $4.99. It is 180 pages and DRM-free. It is old-school fantasy of the very best kind, more in the mode of Lord Dunsany, C.S. Lewis, and Lloyd Alexander than JRR Tolkien and GRR Martin.

THE GREEN KNIGHT’S SQUIRE trilogy is now complete.

• SWAN KNIGHT’S SON
• FEAST OF THE ELFS
• SWAN KNIGHT’S SWORD

The next trilogy will begin with the first book in the DARK AVENGER’S SIDEKICK, the fourth in the Moth & Cobweb series, DAUGHTER OF DANGER. THE GREEN KNIGHT’S SQUIRE will be available in omnibus paperback, hardcover, and audio editions next year.

If you’re kicking yourself for missing out on the Black Friday deal, don’t, because Amazon has another nice offer on the table:

▪ To use this promotion, you must enter “HOLIDAYBOOK” at checkout under the “Gift cards & promotional codes” section to receive $10 off any books purchase of $25 or more.

▪ This offer is valid on print books only. Excludes eBooks and Audiobooks, Book Rentals and Amazon Gift Cards.

▪ The promotion is valid for a limited time, on orders placed between November 24, 2016 at 12:01am EST and November 28, 2016 at 02:59am EST. Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel this offer at any time.

▪ Offer only applies to products sold and shipped by Amazon.com.

▪ Limit one promotional code per customer and account.

▪ Each code may be used only once and may not be combined with other offers.

▪ The maximum benefit you may receive from this offer is $10.

ELIGIBLE CASTALIA HOUSE EDITIONS:

• 4GW Handbook (PB)
• A History of Strategy (HC)
• Awake in the Night Land (HC)
• Brings the Lightning (HC, PB)
• Ctrl-Alt-Revolt! (HC, PB)
• Compost Everything (PB)
• Cuckservative (PB)
• Equality (HC)
• Iron Chamber of Memory (HC, PB)
• MAGA Mindset (HC, PB)
• Grow or Die (PB)
• SJWs Always Lie (PB)
• The Missionaries (HC, PB)
• There Will Be War Vols I and II (HC, counts as 2)
• The End of the World as We Knew It (HC, PB)
• The Nine Laws (HC, PB)
• Victoria (PB)

Today, Castalia House is pleased to announce a debut novel by J. Mulrooney, AN EQUATION OF ALMOST INFINITE COMPLEXITY.

When the devil moves in next door to Cooper Smith Cooper’s house, Cooper doesn’t know what to make of him at first. But when the unexpectedly neighborly Scratch helps the unemployed actuary find a job at a local insurance company with the help of some inside information into the activities of Death, Cooper decides the old devil might not be so bad after all. 


 The only problem, Cooper thinks, is how to conceal from his fellow actuaries his newfound ability to perfectly predict the time and place of people’s deaths. And then, there is also the small matter of the screams of his recently deceased neighbor coming from Scratch’s basement furnace to consider. 


 AN EQUATION OF ALMOST INFINITE COMPLEXITY is a sardonically funny debut novel from J. Mulrooney.

This was one of the first novels I signed to Castalia House, and it has been nearly two years in the making. The genre is a little hard to describe, as it has fantasy elements, satirical elements, and literary elements. I would put it somewhere between The Missionaries and Loki’s Child; it’s not quite as funny as the former, not anywhere nearly as pedal-to-the-metal insane as the latter. It is intelligent, witty, and has a peculiar sensibility all its own; there is, perhaps, just a little John Irving maple syrup flavor to it.

Our production editor loved this one and says it is his favorite of all the novels we’ve published to date. Regardless, it certainly has one of the best first lines since Larry Correia’s first Monster Hunter novel.

When the devil moved in next door, Cooper Smith Cooper had the same question everyone else did: how would it affect the property values?

It took a few false starts, but the third time proved to be the charm and we finally managed to get it done. I’m happy to be able to announce that SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought Police is now available in audiobook format.

The audiobook is narrated by Bob Allen, who did his customary bang-up job, and is 6 hours and 49 minutes long. You can listen to a sample there. If you’ve only read the Kindle version, you might be interested in picking up the paperback version, which is available too.

SJWAL has been Castalia’s bestseller for most of the last year, but that appears likely to change, as MAGA Mindset, by Mike Cernovich, is doing very well. Mike recently reported that the paperback contained an error, but just to be clear, that was only in the CreateSpace version that was out briefly before we managed to get our version into distribution. The kindle version, the paperbacks from us, and the new hardcover which is still in the process of being listed by Amazon, all contain the fixed version of the text.

Regardless, Mike is tearing it up again. He’d probably have #1, #2, and #3 in the category if the audiobook was available from Audible yet. Note that the Kindle price shown below is misleading; it is actually $7.99.

Speaking of promoting Mike Cernovich, the Indy King, Vaughn Heppner, who with BV Larson and soon-to-be Castalia author David VanDyke is one of the three big dogs of military science fiction, recommends Mike Cernovich’s GORILLA MINDSET as one of his three picks for Amazon’s Powered by INDIE:

“GORILLA MINDSET is an awesome read for those who want to learn how to control their thoughts and thereby their actions. Mike Cernovich is a straight shooter who tells it like it is. In today’s world, that is a welcome relief.”

If you liked GORILLA MINDSET, I can guarantee that you’re going to like MAGA MINDSET: Making YOU and America Great Again. Now in paperback from Castalia House.

Also, I recommend Vaughn Heppner’s books, particularly if you happen to be inclined towards men with large quantities of futuristic weaponry at their disposal completely failing to abide by Gene Roddenberry’s ideal of non-violent interaction and achieving one’s objectives through diplomacy, communication, and mutual understanding.