As I talk this week about expanding the Palladia Series into a trilogy, City of the Invaders is available for FREE in a group giveaway. Until the end of the month, you can catch it along with 50 other sci-fi, fantasy, YA, and dystopian books in the May Fantasy Giveaway promotion. This really is a steal for loading up on some great free books. Just subscribe to author's newsletters. City of the Invaders is #1 in the Palladia Series and I've highlighted the series throughout this month, so this is a perfect time to get started on it! Just follow this link.
If the link doesn't work (it works for already-subscribed addresses about half the time) use this instead for a direct download. But only for my book. Be sure to check out all the others at the link above. . . . . It took a while for Consuela to really make the switch to the Palladia world. After all, transplanting a story from one genre to another can be a bit of a shock and the readers picking up these characters need to get used to seeing them in a high-tech world instead of the Italian coastal scenes of the beta version. But the underlying types of people shown do belong to Invaders’ world of criminals and city-states, because riff-raff and politics, as I mentioned earlier this month, are vital to Consuela. And after the story settled in for a bit, I started to think about doing another Palladia book. But I didn’t until I was sure the transition was working. What would the third book be about? It would have to be something that built on both Invaders and Consuela. And in any case, assuming these two books did go together, maybe the story ended there. Now, of course, that the world is settled on action-adventure and crime, with a dash of politics, a bunch of new characters have popped out of lurk spots like the riff-raff they are. You’d think that after two books detailing shady dealings, educated subcultures mingling with crime lords who run everything, and a bit of backstabbing and subterfuge, we had seen all the criminal types anyone would ever need to. But no, there are plenty more. One of the hallmark traits of Palladia is that there really are a LOT of people who participate in this lifestyle. Perhaps more of them than are strictly needed, which creates many of the problems in this future society. But they certainly do exist. The third book, title still pending, is currently being planned to include some of the outer-space colonies mentioned in the earlier books, but never visited—especially Alphea (Mars.) The Alpheans have a mysterious and very high-tech colony. But I want to include some of the Palladian types like the EC as well, in the form of a young lady who is a bit of a clueless fan of Alphean culture and finds herself befriending a well-off Alphean family who aren’t quite what they seem. (Well, they are what they seem to be, namely rich and Alphean, with two young people among them she becomes good friends with. But there’s more to them than that.) And of course, there’s a criminal heist going on with a mismatched team of squabbling hustlers, including a young orphan who definitely has a mind of her own and seems to have forgotten she’s only thirteen. Since it’s Palladia, there will be plenty of opportunities to shoot people or steal their money. Or maybe both. 😉 And there will be more updates. Before I go into the five focus characters in Consuela, the second Palladia book, you should know there's a flash sale of $0.99 fantasy books going on this week only. It lasts May 4-10 and includes over 30 books in high fantasy, urban fantasy, general fantasy, and a bit of sci-fi. This is a good bundle for anyone who likes fantasy and it has an excellent lineup of books. To check it out (who knows, maybe you'll find something discounted that you've had your eye on!) follow this link.
. . . . . Consuela was originally brainstormed as a historical story but turned into a sci-fi book instead—a slightly rambling adventure set in the future. Its thread of humorous moments might seem a deviation from a genre that always takes the issues it explores very seriously. But part of dystopian’s magic is that tales of a near-future world easily become so pertinent, as if that future was already present to a degree. There's really nothing quite like this unique genre. And if a hypothetical future society has such a tangible reality, then we must feel it's a place we could potentially live. Consuela, in addition to exploring a bit more about daily life in the future—which, of course, is why it’s here—has a stronger political plot than Invaders. Politics are very important to the story. If there ever comes a future society that has a bad government and is mostly filled with crime, it’s likely to have some pretty busy relationships springing from that bad government. Plus, the abundance of criminals in Palladia means people who make laws are likely to be friends with people who break them. Illogical, yes. But it certainly adds to the fun. 😉 So for the five central characters of Consuela: Miss Plummer is very intelligent and from an educated group of people. She’s always been one of the elite if not one of the politically powerful. But for no explained reason, in old age, she’s become quite restless and adventurous. She crosses social conventions, national borders, and an old friend to wind up in jail. She believes she is invincible, although the jury (literally in this case) doesn’t seem to agree with her. Consuela is an ordinary girl trying to make a living. Like 90% of people in Palladia, she’s from a criminal background and it’s easy for a girl with basically no family or friends to get stepped on. But Consuela never does and has always made it through. She’s aware it’s unusual for someone like Miss Plummer to hire her, but a job is a job—give or take a number of extra schemes that unfold along the way. Mr. Lazeemboi is a former crony of Miss Plummer’s. Although technically part of the EC, he cares far more about money and socializing than about his roots. He has lived in nearby Belaria for many years and envisions himself and his children as social climbers among the wealthy there. It also appears that he doesn’t view himself as Miss Plummer’s friend anymore. Mocha is Mr. Lazeemboi’s opportunistic daughter. While she appears a bit spoiled and annoying, she’s also a feminist who is hailed as a famous author in spite of being just a teenager. Miss Plummer’s young friend Rena is a big fan of Mocha’s and is dying to meet her and exchange thoughts about books. However, Mocha doesn’t comport herself well under emergencies and eventually falls off the map. Nesya’s real name isn’t known. He is from the “technical” class, who are skilled with technology and metal. He is a person of strong opinions, fiercely defensive of what he believes in, and attaches himself to Miss Plummer’s group in order to engage in friendly debate with her about their cultural differences. Consuela calls him “Nesya,” the Invader word for friend, and the name sticks even after his romance with Rena makes it clear they ought to learn his real name. And there will be more updates. Right now I'm part of an all-genre sales bundle for April. All books are $2.99 or less. The sale even includes non-fiction and it's a grab bag of interesting books that might not appear in other, more specialized genre promotions. There are many gems in here, including more cross-genre or unusual books. It’s a very entertaining bundle! My book is Consuela and it is priced at $1.99. There's no pressure to buy (although all the authors would love it if you did) and it’s a great way to find samples of the books on retailers, and scout out authors you'd like to bookmark or follow. Follow this link!
. . . . . My next book will be an anthology of shorts—a couple of funny fairy-tale stories, some screenplays satirizing popular entertainment, and an adventure novella about homeschooled kids, called “Movies at the Beach,” which never made it into any other publication. All but one of these have not been published before, though a few were linked as files in blog posts years ago and circulated among friends. (My blog was a very informal affair back then!) The little pieces are roughly middle-grade or younger YA, and just good clean fun. I would think if I was very fortunate they might remind you of the mixture of zany humor and strong emotion in L.M Montgomery’s Chronicles of Avonlea. After this book, I have three ideas for the future. I'm just not yet settled on the publicaton order. The first is another historical project, this time set in Scotland. When I found all the stuff I’m putting in the upcoming anthology. I also realized I had many uncompleted, rather crunchy story bits drifting around in manuscript form. These little drafts never went anywhere because they lacked a final element. Something about them just wasn’t coming together. But the Scottish setting (which is a really neat one to work with) gives them the missing piece, which is a strong location in which to place the new story that is exploding on a sudden tangent out of those old scattered bits. I’ve been up in the air about whether to do a third Palladia book. (To turn City of the Invaders and Consuela into a trilogy.) These two stories were written very close together—6 to 7 years ago. A third book would be written years after the others and my life and audience have changed so much this book might not have consistency. However, the main pro for the idea is that trilogies have a finality that two stories just don’t provide AND that authors do sometimes work on a book in their series much later. These books usually have a different “feeling” to them, but that’s not necessarily bad. So we’ll see. The third idea is for a Christian fantasy book, for adults. I’ve tried the “Christian” genre label with some of my books before, but they are now happily settling into other genres. One of the reasons several of them lost this label is that they were for young audiences. Many readers of the Christian genre want to read about flawed characters and spiritual themes in books for adults. Writing this genre or reading it does not make you more or less Christian. Many Christians prefer mainstream fiction and those who write Christian fiction want it to be meaningful to non-Christians too. It’s about a particular type of story. And I’ve always wanted to broaden and find the characters in that story. And there will be more updates. |
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