Caleb Fast's Blog, page 6
October 22, 2020
ARC Books By Caleb Fast
Here’s where I provide my fans to check out my books before anyone else has the chance to read them.
If you love science fiction, reviewing brand new books, and reading stuff for free, then this might just be the place for you!
Reviews, especially early on, can make or break a book’s success. Without enough reviews, books fail. Failed books lead to unfinished series which makes everyone sad. 
October 21, 2020
Newsletter: Limit of Infinity Happenings 28.08.20
Sent Out: 28.09.2020 to 472 fans.
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28 August 2020Happy Friday!
As promised, I pushed super hard and I got book six of The Battle for Allegra finished in time for my birthday!!! (Sorry it took me so long)
Think of the new release as a birthday gift from me to you!
Newsletter: Limit of Infinity Happenings 11.09.20
Sent Out: 11.09.2020 to 486 fans.
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11 September 20209/11I may be very young, but I still remember when the Twin Towers fell.
I was all of three years old at the time, but I still have the images of the towers burning etched into my mind forever.
I remember the fear.
I remember wonder.
I was lost.
Even 19 years later, I still can relive those moments, it is as if time has no effect on them.
I can still remember hearing the news and fearing for my dad who was working in Downtown Portland at the time. I was scared that he would be next. That some evil person was going to bomb him too.
As has been the cry of every tragedy, we will “Never Forget” what happened on this fateful day all those years ago.
(Thanks for bearing with me through my little tribute!)Writer Update!
Alright, long story.
So, I live in Oregon,
and for those of you who watch the news, you know that isn’t great. We’ve got wildfires out of the wazoo. What’s worse is that I live just outside of Portland. Conveniently, I live on the side of Portland closest to the fires.
The smoke is thick, the skies are orange and red, and people are scared.
Things aren’t really going too well.
I actually just finished helping my sister to evacuate her own home because the fires are racing toward it.
All that to say, bear with me if my next book takes a little longer to release! Something about the end of the world tends to put a hamper on things. Hahaha
Also, I’m fine at the moment, don’t worry, I’m not dead yet!
Short Story!
Speaking of not dead yet, our friends on Galatia are still alive and kicking as well!
Accolade
Chapter Sixteen – Part Two
West of Paradise, Galatia
Rolland coughs as a thick smoke hits him the moment that he bursts through the final bush into the clearing that he had been camping in the night before. Ahead of him, fires are burning wildly and the forms of quite a few hybrids lie dead. Several of the hybrids look like they had been caught in explosions while others were mowed down with bullets. The ground underfoot is thick with bloodied mud from the slain creatures.
Just a few paces away, one of the hybrids is gorging itself on the flesh of another hybrid. Without hesitating, Rolland dispatches the beast with three well-aimed shots to its back. The hybrid crumbles to the ground without much of a struggle and Rolland nods approvingly at his work. He knew how to kill hybrids, it was one of the few things that he had had to teach himself, his father had shown him just about everything else that he knew.
“Rolls!” Astrid calls from her perch in a nearby tree.
Rolland waits a moment as Astrid shoots at an unseen target before he asks, “What happened?”
“Hybrids came out at first light,” Astrid answers as she scans her surroundings for any additional hostiles that hadn’t been cut down. She frowns when she doesn’t see anything and she then continues, “One of Maverick’s people sounded the alarm. Everyone split up from there.”
“Why’d they split up?” Rolland asks, concerned. Smaller groups were a lot easier for the hybrids to pick off.
Astrid quickly shimmies down her tree and she replies as she works her way down, “Some of Maverick’s people made a run for it when the hybrids blitzed the camp. Maverick then sent some of his people after them while the rest of his people stuck around to put down the remaining hybrids.”
“Oh,” Rolland breathes. Splitting into small groups was one thing, they could actually defend themselves from hybrids, albeit not as well as one large one. Single people making a run for it on the other hand was as good as a death sentence. Being as capable of hunters as they were, hybrids could make quick work of lone targets.
“Rolland?” Haley asks, drawing Rolland away from his worries.
Looking over to Haley, Rolland sees the concern in her eyes. Her emotions quickly become his and he hesitantly asks, “What?”
“What about Flin?”
“He probably made it home by now,”
“It’s a long trip though.”
“These hybrids didn’t come from the northwest though,” Astrid offers, “So they couldn’t have gotten him.”
“But he’s never been good with directions,” Rolland maintains as his heart sinks. If he had just kept his cool, then he wouldn’t have sent Flin off on his own all those hours ago.
“We stuck markers on the paths, only an idiot could have gotten lost,” Astrid shakes her head, “Now, we’ve got more urgent matters to attend to right now, so snap out of it. We gotta worry about the here and now, that’s what we can change. We can’t change the past.”
“Fine,” Rolland gives in. He didn’t like the idea of forgetting about Flin, but Astrid was right. Right now, everyone depended on him and he couldn’t let them down.
“We need to find everyone,” Haley adds with a nod as she slowly looks around their clearing.
Rolland joins Haley in the survey and he can’t help but feel discouraged. A knot forms in his gut and he catches his breath when he realizes that the sounds of fighting are coming from seemingly every direction. There was no knowing where he should start.
Likely seeing that Rolland is unsure of where to start, Astrid announces, “Maverick and a few others took off to the north, Nick and Julius went east with a small group, and a lot of the other guys went south.”
“And where’s Warren?” Rolland asks.
“I don’t know,” Astrid shrugs, “He’s probably around here somewhere though. You know how he is.”
“There one second, gone the next,” Haley nods knowingly. Warren had a history of stealthily sneaking around and disappearing all the time.
“So, what’s the plan, Rolls?” Astrid finally asks.
“I don’t know Ash,” Rolland admits, “Maybe we should go after the Domers that went south. Warren, Nick, and Julius know how to handle themselves, and I bet Maverick does too.”
Nodding, Haley picks up her pack after finding it nearby and she urges, “Alright, let’s get moving then!”
Astrid glances over to Rolland and gives him a look that says how they shouldn’t bring Haley along since she would only slow them down. Noting the logic in her thinking, Rolland inquires, “Shouldn’t someone stay behind in case anyone comes back to the camp?”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Haley shakes her head. She had clearly seen through Rolland’s ruse. Adjusting her pack, Haley continues, “Let’s go, time is of the essence.”
“You heard her,” Astrid nods, giving in a lot faster than Rolland would have liked her to. She starts off after Haley who is already blazing a new trail to the south.
“I guess we’re moving then,” Rolland whispers to himself as he quickly finds his own gear and then closes the distance between him and the girls. He stops at the edge of camp and looks back to it wistfully. Sighing, Rolland asks himself, “Why couldn’t this just be an easy day?”
Yep, I just left you on another cliffhanger. I hope this one isn’t as bad though. (Sorry if it is!)
Stay tuned for Chapter Eighteen!
…And if you’ve missed any chapters of this story, feel free to check them out on my website.
Newsletter: Limit of Infinity Happenings 09.10.20
Sent Out: 09.10.2020 to 532 fans.
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9 October 2020Happy Aloha Friday!
As promised, I’ve got some great book news!
Read on below…
Writer Update!
I recently finished the rough draft for The Limit of Infinity Book Four!
Yes, you read that right, Renaissance, Escapade, and Overcomer finally have a book to follow them!
SPOILER ALERT:
I had but one mission in writing Book Four and that was to get our heroes off of Strehim. So, you can bet that they make some strides toward that!
Newsletter: Limit of Infinity Happenings 25.09.20
Sent Out: 25.09.2020 to 510 fans.
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25 September 2020Happy Friday everyone, I hope all is well.
October 17, 2020
Newsletter: Book Four Release (Preorder Deal)
14 October 2020
As promised! Your deals. 🙂
Writer Update!
Nothing to see here, move along! 😛
Your Deals Await,
I have two deals running right now!
Wayward: Long Way from Home
Launch Deal:
Grab it for just 99 cents!
I will be raising the price to $4.99 once the book is released, so order it now!
The book is slated to be released on the 22, so you don’t have too long to wait.
This book will never be this cheap again, so this is your chance to score it! 🙂
Here are links to the four countries that most of you are from:
US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L56BFM3
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L56BFM3
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08L56BFM3
AU https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08L56BFM3
As I said in Friday’s email, this is the fourth novel in The Limit of Infinity Series. So, after about ten months, you finally have the next book in the series! The next one should be coming out sooner than that, sorry about the delay with this one!
Wayward is just shy of 53,000 words and I think it wraps things up very nicely. I considered going on, but I couldn’t bring myself to back when I finished writing it. No, the Coalition wasn’t completely obliterated, like we might hope, but Clive, Trix, and Richardson finally are getting some reprieve by the end. I will be writing a few short stories soon to tell the story of what happens between Wayward and book Five of The Limit of Infinity (there is currently a time gap and several unanswered questions/things that I’ll make reference to). These stories will initially be FREE to all of you, but you’ll enjoy them more if you read the rest of the series first! 🙂
Escapade: A Price to Be Paid
Kindle Countdown Deal!
In honor of Wayward’s release, I’ve also cut down Escapade’s price. So, if you haven’t picked it up yet, this is your chance! 🙂
Sadly, this is only available to the US and UK. 🙁 Sorry to everyone else.
US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZ9L7L5
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RZ9L7L5
(You might recognize that the ship at the center of this cover is the same one on Wayward’s! Spoiler Alert: They are the same ship.)
PRIME DAY DEAL!
Kindle Unlimited
I just found out that Amazon has a 3 MONTH free trial for Kindle Unlimited. That’s three months of free books! You can read all the books you want for free, seriously!
I don’t have the exact link, but it IS legit.
All you have to do is Google “Kindle Unlimited Prime Day” and it should be the top option.
Please be sure to download my books first if you decide you’re up to this deal! 😀
Note: Amazon has a slew of rules for this and it looks like it’s only for first-time subscribers to KU. I can’t promise that you’ll be eligible.
Also Note: This deal was running when I sent this out, I don’t know when it ends.
Thank you for exploring the future with me!
-Caleb Fast
Stay safe and stay awesome!
Newsletter: Book Four Release (Preorder Deal)
October 15, 2020
New Book Release! Wayward: Long Way from Home (The Limit of Infinity Book Four)
After many months of writing and editing, I can finally say that The Limit of Infinity Book Four is finally done!!!
Yes, you can finally find out what happened after book three.
For those of you who were waiting and are all too ready to preorder it, here’s the link! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L56BFM3
Preorder Wayward Now!
From The Amazon Page:
As if things weren’t bad enough already, they just got worse.
How much worse?
The Chariwoman, Virus, ratted out Clive and the rest of Eagle Fleet to the Coalition. Long story short, that means the Coalition is sending in a battle fleet to deal with Clive and his wayward rebels.
Can our heroes lead the way to victory? Or will they find themselves enslaved or killed?
Will they ever make it off of Strehim?
Wayward is the fourth book in the action-packed The Limit of Infinity Sci-Fi Epic. Delve into this fascinating universe that is full of thrilling science fiction action. Join Trix Callaghan, Clive Ranger, and Richardson as they fight back against the Coalition, the Galactic Empire everyone dreads. Partake in the final days of the civil war that has divided the galaxy for generations.
All the Space Marines who put their lives on the lines as Space Fleets battled in the heavens would roll in their graves if they saw what the Coalition was doing in the not-so-far future of 2290.
This is the Sci-Fi military fiction book you’ve been wanting. If you loved Jude Watson’s Last of the Jedi series, Dune, or Stargate, you’re sure to love Wayward: Long Way From Home. It’s time we see this dystopian government topple!
Preorder Wayward: Long Way From Home Today!
From The Author!
I took a special pleasure in writing Wayward, I think it was one of the easiest books to write that I’ve written so far! So much of what happened just seemed to happen naturally–I didn’t have to force things along at all.
Wayward ended up being just under 53,000 words, which does make it the shortest book in The Limit of Infinity series by about 2,000 words. However, that doesn’t mean that a lot of stuff didn’t happen!
I ended up cutting it off shorter than I wanted simply because the book ended so well! I just kept writing so many different chapter starts and it felt so wrong! I finally decided to allow our heroes a little bit of reprieve.
…However, that isn’t saying that they weren’t left with some pretty big issues!
Book Five of the series should be coming out before too long and it’s on my list of priorities. In addition to that project, I will also be working on the next book of The Battle for Allegra and a few side stories that will fill in a gap that is left between this book (Wayward) and whatever The Limit of Infinity Book Five ends up being called. This will be from the POV of characters other than Clive, Trix, Storm, and Richardson,
AND
It will bring in a character or two from The Battle for Allegra. Yep. I said it. We’ve got ourselves a tie-in!
So, sit tight and those will be released before too long!
August 26, 2020
Book Release!
At long last, The Battle for Allegra Episode Six is finished!
Cover for the newly released book: The Battle for Allegra: Sanctuary. Copyright Caleb Fast 2020For those of you who can’t wait another moment, here’s the link! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GQ52LC7 …And a button!
BUY SANCTUARY NOW!!!
From the Amazon Page:
Wars have a way of dragging on, and sometimes you need a safe harbor.
A Sanctuary, if you will.
Having reclaimed the stolen mech, Firefly, Matthew is now concerned with saving Marie.
After all, she saved him. He’s bound by honor to do the same in return.
With the twins Alois and Louise at his side, Matthew reasons that the odds are stacked in his favor.
Problem is, they aren’t.
Join Matthew as he fights to save Allegra!
Sanctuary is the third book in the short story military sci-fi series The Battle for Allegra. Dive into this thrilling story that is filled with all sorts of sci-fi warfare. If you love reading about ordinary people getting thrown into extraordinary circumstances, alien invasions, and space marine mechs, then Sanctuary is the book for you!
This is the sci-fi novella you’ve been waiting for. If you loved Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, SG-1, or Star Wars then you’re sure to love The Battle for Allegra: The Hunt.
***
The Battle of Allegra is intended to be read in order! Each episode (which will be at least 10,000 words long) tells more of the story. Join in and read them today to see what befalls both Matthew and an entire planet which are both thrust into war they didn’t ask for.
Sanctuary clocks in at 18,000 words, making it the longest episode to date. It’s nearly twice as long as the usual book!
From the back cover:
YOU CAN ONLY FIGHT SO LONG.
After just three long Allegran days on the
frontlines, Matthew is spent. He can’t help
but feel like he is turning his back on
everything that once defined him.
When Matthew and the twins return to the
Bulwark, they are met with a devastating
sight.
Everything is on fire.
Will Matthew still be able to save Marie?
Is she even alive?
From the Author!
I know this one took a lot longer than expected, but I’m back on the writing horse now!
I came out of the gate swinging on this one too!
The Battle for Allegra: Sanctuary, is the longest book in the series so far! Clocking in at over 18,000 words, it is nearly two episodes long!
Why did I do such a thing?
Two reasons. One, I like my readers! I wanted to give you a little more in this book to show my appreciation to those of you who have been anxiously awaiting its release. The second reason is that this plane was a little hard to land. I could have left you on a big cliffhanger (which no one likes), or I could have wrapped things up a lot faster than they should have been, or (this is the option I went for) I could write a longer book to land the plane right.
And I landed this proverbial plane pretty well, if I say so myself.
I got to resolve some issues that I was having with where things were going and how rough Matthew was having it at the end. But, you will have to read the book to find out what I did for Matthew to make his life a little easier and make the name “Sanctuary” make sense!
So, buy the book now! Find out what happened!
ORDER SANCTUARY TODAY!
P.S. Book seven is well in the works! It won’t take nearly so long to get this one done.
August 4, 2020
My History as a Writer
I’ve been writing for my entire life.
Alright, not my whole life, but most of it. Prior to being able to spell, I told stories through pictures that I would draw. Smiling broadly, I would tell myself a complete story over the course of dozens of hours of drawing.
The moment I learned how to form letters and parse together words I began writing the stories I used to draw. With time, those stories became chapters of books. I just kept adding more and more stories as time went on because it was my passion.
Time went on and I filled up plenty of notebooks and scribbled on more than a few odd pieces of paper. For one reason or another, I kept just about all of these and I am now piecing them together to formulate into the books I am writing now.
In short, I love writing and I intend to do it until I die.
…Which should be a long time from now, since I’m just 21 right now!
Why Do I Write?
In short? I love it.
I love writing because it allows me to see a story that has yet to exist in the real world. I get to tell a tale that is unlike every other one out there while still having similarities to others. It’s strange to see something like that, but it’s a great feeling.
I like to write stories that may start out bad, but end with a happily ever after of sorts. (Yeah, that might be a bit of a spoiler alert.) I do not believe that stories can end with suffering because all things can and do work together for good.
Some peoples’ stories may end poorly, but the broader story cannot. It will not. Goodness always wins in any worthwhile tale. That’s why we are conditioned with stories early on that finish with “and they all lived happily ever after.” With a positive ending, I hope to inspire my readers to overcome nay obstacle.
This is why I write science fiction. By writing about the future I write about what is to come. I am not rehashing an ancient tale, I am telling a new one. I am showing my readers a world that can be better and brighter than ours is today.
In my opinion, that is the duty of an author. We serve to empower and inspire, anything short of that is stealing from our readers. I want to show my readers that no matter how dark a story gets, good can come from it.
How Do I Write?
It wasn’t until I heard from several of my readers that I realized one of the big ways I write. For me, it just sort of happened.
As it turns out, I tell a lot of my stories through emotion.
At first, I was shocked to hear this. Why? Well, most people would say that I am a very unemotional person. People only see me when I’m happy because that’s what I am. I don’t let myself get and stay sad because I’ve been there and done that.
But, those dark emotions are never fully gone. I draw them out of the deepest of my wells of emotion and I spill them out on my page. I’ve lost people very close to me, friends and family alike. My best friend committed suicide. I’ve been cheated. Lied to. Attacked. Had my life threatened far too many times. I’ve gone hungry, I’ve gone without food for many days on end. I’ve shivered high on a mountain searching for lost hikers. I’ve sweat gallons as I worked to the bone in near-boiling heat.
And then I write. As I write, my characters end up facing most of the things I have faced. Thanks to my experience I can draw that out and shed some light on what they are going through in ways that few others can. I can drag my readers through the most painful gravel of emotions to get them to feel exactly what I felt all those years ago.
And I’ve heard time and time again how much they liked it.
Beyond the emotions, I try to pull up images of where my characters are and where they are going. As it turns out, this is not my current strong suit, like emotions are, but I like to think I do alright! As I write today I am doing all I can to expand on writing better for telling my readers about where they are reading.
I also spend plenty of time plotting where my characters will be going. I also plot out lots of other stories in order to save time down the road so I can publish even more books.
When I’m not doing that, I plot out world-building things. I think about the different cultures and sub-cultures of the societies I build. I lay out a complex history of all the people groups I can. I build family trees and backstories to both my main characters and some of the least written about characters.
What Am I Writing Now?
Right now I am struggling through Book Four of The Limit of Infinity.
No, I am not hung up on plot, I’m hung up on the emotions.
It pains me deeply to write certain parts and it can be harder than anything to force myself back through some of my darkest days. There are memories I pull back up that have woken me up at night in a cold sweat. Memories that cause my heart to skip a beat as terror grips the breath right out of my chest. Writing can be grueling and it isn’t because of writer’s block!
I’m also working on a few other books, including a completely unrelated children’s book that I am really enjoying. Book six of The Battle for Allegra and also Accolade are both getting worked on as I go too. I like having quite a few books going at once as I write, and I also read about a half dozen books at a time too! I’m just crazy like that though, I don’t recommend doing that if it sounds too daunting!
Thanks for the read, I hope y’all enjoyed it! Please be sure to drop a comment below with your thoughts on this!
