Third chapter of Xenes available for patrons at Patreon

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I am serializing several novel projects at Patreon, starting with a few free chapters to let readers and potential patrons know what I’m about. My latest offering, patrons only, is from Xenes, a science fiction adventure set centuries after the humans’ first attempt to colonize nearby space had failed. In the aftermath, humans and their genetically engineered “types” have broken into multiple antagonistic factions that have been kept in an uneasy peace by androgyne somatypes.

But now, recluse Sandalfon Kaffel, androgyne diplomatic officer Vani Matoyan, and the mysterious girl Meyna Jeyen find themselves in an unexpected battle that destroys Sandalfon’s new home planet and corners them between the politically zealous Threaders, strictly religious Bahrí, and philosophical Smoke Hatters.

Xenes was originally serialized at Fresh Pulp scifi magazine, but now has new content as I firm it up for publication as a novel.

This offering is for patrons. If you’d like to support my Patreon page, check out “Šatzrak,” available now!

Category: Fiction

Second chapter of Goodly Creatures up for patrons at Patreon

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I am serializing a couple of novel projects at Patreon: Xenes, a science fiction adventure novel, and Goodly Creatures, a gunpowder, age of sail fantasy about colonial ambition, with a large cast of characters. Humans from several civilizations to the west of the Apsamian Ocean have settled on the coasts of the vast and unexplored continent to the east, home to non-human races: the primordial giants and Peyri, and their mongrel  creations, hybrid peoples who dwell in the wilderness of the eastern continent.

A newly elevated lord, Julius Blake, seeks to enhance his station by securing his governor’s trade routes through a wilderness plagued by mongrel monsters. He is confronted by a bear-man, Grigarius, raised from a cub among humans by the governor of Johannia colony.

The rogue Raf Arland, condemned to indenture for his crimes in the Old World, navigates colonial society to find a way to better his low station. He is joined by an unlikely ally, a seasoned  sailor named Jefford Schank who is abandoned in the colonies by a brutal captain.

Lady Snow Bernes struggles to protect the ambitions of her father, the governor of the Royal Colony of Johannia, with the help of manservant Raymond Gamba.  She is torn between her loyalty to her father, her admiration for Lord  Blake, and her inexplicable attraction to Raf Arland. And, she has a magical secret that could determine the course of her schemes.

If you’re a patron, you can continue on to chapter two, ″The Shadow Trade.” Chapter one, “Kings Cove,” is available for free. If you like the story, consider becoming a patron so I can continue writing full-time.

Category: Fiction

Second chapter of Xenes available for patrons at Patreon

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I am serializing several novel projects at Patreon, starting with a few free chapters to let readers and potential patrons know what I’m about. My latest offering, patrons only, is from Xenes, a science fiction adventure set centuries after the humans’ first attempt to colonize nearby space had failed. In the aftermath, humans and their genetically engineered “types” have broken into multiple antagonistic factions that have been kept in an uneasy peace by androgyne somatypes.

But now, recluse Sandalfon Kaffel, androgyne diplomatic officer Vani Matoyan, and the mysterious girl Meyna Jeyen find themselves in an unexpected battle that destroys Sandalfon’s new home planet and corners them between the politically zealous Threaders, strictly religious Bahrí, and philosophical Smoke Hatters.

Xenes was originally serialized at Fresh Pulp scifi magazine, but now has new content as I firm it up for publication as a novel.

This offering is for patrons. If you’d like to support my Patreon page, check out “Pax Androgyna,” available now!

Category: About Me, Fiction

A Song of Dust and Rain – If Martin had set his epic in a fantasy United States

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It’s common knowledge that the continent of Westeros in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (adapted by HBO as Game of Thrones) is loosely based western Europe. I have often wondered how this world would be different if Westeros were based on an American rather than European model.

People often disagree on which kingdom represents what real-world land in western Europe. My general take, based on the series and Martin’s own words, is this: Continue reading

Category: Fiction

Find Your Own Light

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First free chapter of Goodly Creatures now up at Patreon

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I am serializing a couple of novel projects at Patreon, starting with a few free chapters to let readers and potential patrons know what I’m about. My second free offering is from Goodly Creatures, a gunpowder, age of sail fantasy about colonial ambition, with a large cast of characters. Humans from several civilizations to the west of the Apsamian Ocean have settled on the coasts of the vast and unexplored continent to the east, home to non-human races: the primordial giants and Peyri, and their mongrel  creations, hybrid peoples who dwell in the wilderness of the eastern continent.

A newly elevated lord, Julius Blake, seeks to enhance his station by securing his governor’s trade routes through a wilderness plagued by mongrel monsters. He is confronted by a bear-man, Grigarius, raised from a cub among humans by the governor of Johannia colony.

The rogue Raf Arland, condemned to indenture for his crimes in the Old World, navigates colonial society to find a way to better his low station. He is joined by an unlikely ally, a seasoned  sailor named Jefford Schank who is abandoned in the colonies by a brutal captain.

Lady Snow Bernes struggles to protect the ambitions of her father, the governor of the Royal Colony of Johannia, with the help of manservant Raymond Gamba.  She is torn between her loyalty to her father, her admiration for Lord  Blake, and her inexplicable attraction to Raf Arland. And, she has a magical secret that could determine the course of her schemes.

Take a glance at chapter one, ″Kings Cove.” And, if you like the story, consider becoming a patron so I can continue writing full-time.

Category: Fiction

First free chapter of Xenes now available at Patreon

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I am serializing several novel projects at Patreon, starting with a few free chapters to let readers and potential patrons know what I’m about. My second free offering is from Xenes, a science fiction adventure set centuries after the humans’ first attempt to colonize nearby space had failed. In the aftermath, humans and their genetically engineered “types” have broken into multiple antagonistic factions that have been kept in an uneasy peace by androgynes somatypes.

But now, recluse Sandalfon Kaffel, androgyne diplomatic officer Vani Matoyan, and the mysterious girl Meyna Jeyen find themselves in an unexpected battle that destroys Sandalfon’s new home planet and corners them between the politically zealous Threaders, strictly religious Bahrí, and philosophical Smoke Hatters.

Xenes was originally serialized at Fresh Pulp scifi magazine, but now has new content as I firm it up for publication as a novel.

Take a glance at chapter one, ″Break From Juggler.” And, if you like the story, consider becoming a patron so I can continue writing full-time.

Category: About Me, Fiction

The Course of Empire – What if Thomas Cole had been a fantasy author?

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In the mid-1830s, American painter Thomas Cole created five remarkable pieces detailed the rise and fall of an imaginary civilization, a series he called The Course of Empire: The Savage State, The Arcadian or Pastoral State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction, and Desolation. All five paintings are now, as far as I know, in the New York Gallery of Fine Arts, but I decided to also reimagine them as the front-to-back covers of a fantasy novel series, with the typical font play and some “Lorem ipsum” dropped in for back filler.

Please enjoy my rough draft covers for Thomas Cole’s imaginary fantasy pentalogy! Continue reading

Category: Elevator Pitch, Fiction

Visual Poetry – No Longer

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Category: Poetry

Seth America – A Hard Rock Symphony on the Tragedy of Slavery

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Yeah, I know that’s a heavy title. I only styled it that way because I took the song very seriously when I wrote it earlier this century. I wanted something mythic and epic, something that captured the intensely tragic nature of the relationship of two people tied together by slavery, in the sense of Booker T. Washington (who grew up within a mile of where I grew up in West Virginia) when he said, “You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.” Continue reading

Category: Music, My Two Cents | Tags: , ,