J.K. Ullrich's Blog, page 15

Summer Reading: Start the “Syzygy” Series for Free this Weekend

Next week brings the summer solstice, official calendar start to the season. Whether you prefer books by the pool or under the air conditioning, I’m offering a free addition to your summer reading list. Transient Phenomena, the first installment of my Syzygy hexalogy, will be free to download on Amazon Kindle this weekend. Fans of science fiction, … Continue reading Summer Reading: Start the “Syzygy” Series for Free this Weekend

Polishing the Bones: What Home Remodeling Taught Me About Story Revision

After months of paint, plywood, and plaster dust, we’ve almost finished the renovations on our first house! Home wasn’t the only thing I’ve been remodeling: while sawdust swirled, I also revised Syzygy IV: Escape Velocity, which publishes on June 27. Rearranging words on a page may be less visibly messy than installing cabinets and putting … Continue reading Polishing the Bones: What Home Remodeling Taught Me About Story Revision

“Syzygy Pt IV: Escape Velocity” Book Release Date

Indie authorship often seems to disdain the niceties of Newtonian physics. Why do I sometimes struggle to write a word during a lazy three-day weekend, but scratch out two pages before a 7AM meeting? How did I complete the draft of Syzygy Part IV more quickly than any of its predecessors, but take three months … Continue reading “Syzygy Pt IV: Escape Velocity” Book Release Date

Sci-Fi’s Glass Ceiling: A Guest Post Every Fan Should Read

Fantasy author Intisar Khanani featured a great guest post on her website this week, in which SFF author Anela Deen examines the challenges female sci-fi writers face in creative circles. The incisive piece really hit home for me. Although compelled to respond, I don’t have a Disqus account and my remarks are unreasonably lengthy for website comments, so … Continue reading Sci-Fi’s Glass Ceiling: A Guest Post Every Fan Should Read

Recent Reads: “Deviation”, by A. Deen

Short airplane flights are a mixed blessing. On one hand, I only have to endure an hour or two of having my kneecaps crushed (civilization is just not built for tall people). But it also doesn’t enable me to get much work done. Typically I use the captive time to force some writing, but on a … Continue reading Recent Reads: “Deviation”, by A. Deen

Now on Nook: Me!

Two years ago this week, I published my debut novel Blue Karma. Hard to believe I’ve been at this indie author gig for that much time already (or that little time, depending on how I look at it)! The anniversary makes a perfect kickoff for my platform expansion. That’s right, I’m expanding distribution to include Barnes … Continue reading Now on Nook: Me!

Recent Reads: “American Gods”, by Neil Gaiman

Did the three norns, spinning our fates at the foot of Yggdrasil, ordain that I finally got around to reading Neil Gaiman’s American Gods mere weeks before the television adaptation premiered? It had languished on my to-read list for years, but an unusual confluence of events–remembering the title after spotting another Gaiman novel on sale, … Continue reading Recent Reads: “American Gods”, by Neil Gaiman

Aliens and Wine: Forays into Flash Fiction

I made my first attempt at flash fiction today, and the result combines aliens and wine. (Would you believe I wrote it completely sober?) This one might require some explanation…. With the manuscript of Syzygy Pt IV: Escape Velocity resting, I have some rare time to pursue other writing projects. So I browsed the internet for short story competitions … Continue reading Aliens and Wine: Forays into Flash Fiction

Earth Day, without Earth? Envision it with a Free Ebook This Weekend.

Isn’t every day Earth Day? We don’t have any days on Mars or the newly discovered exoplanet orbiting dwarf star LHS 1140 (yet). Astronauts had a few days on the moon in the 1960s and 70s, but for most of the seven billion humans in the universe, the only days we have are Earth days. … Continue reading Earth Day, without Earth? Envision it with a Free Ebook This Weekend.

World Water Day Book Giveaway: Mission Accomplished!

  Thanks to everyone who promoted or participated in my World Water Day book giveaway yesterday. I surpassed my goal of 100 copies, so I’m thrilled to honor my promise of donating $100 to water.org! To all who downloaded Blue Karma, happy reading! If you enjoy the book, I hope you’ll consider posting a review on Amazon, … Continue reading World Water Day Book Giveaway: Mission Accomplished!