Cameron Cooper's Blog, page 11
March 4, 2023
Book 1 of the Iron Hammer series is being serialized on Barnes & Noble this month
Throughout March, Barnes & Noble are running chapters of Galactic Thunder, which is book 1 of the Iron Hammer series.
You can find the serial here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/readouts/serial-reads/
Cam
March 2, 2023
Space Is Big. Really Big — Space Opera Bundle by SFWA
SFWA used to be the Science Fiction Writers of America…but the organization has grown so much, and its membership wraps the globe, so recently, the organization changed its name to The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
But they kept the acronym.
They do a lot of marketing and promotion for science fiction and fantasy and their most recent project is a space opera story bundle. Space is Big. Really Big launched yesterday and closes on March 23rd.
The bundle is only available on StoryBundle.
And I’m in it.
SFWA picked up Hammer and Crucible for inclusion, as they were looking for space empires that were, well, vast. 
The other SF novels in the bundle also feature story worlds that stretch across a lot of light years.
For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
The Empyrean by Katherine FranklinShadows of Mars by I.O. AdlerHometown Space Pirate by C.G. HarrisHammer and Crucible by Cameron CooperIf you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all four of the regular books, plus ELEVEN more books for a total of 15!
The Venus Cycle Omnibus by Ryan T. McFaddenThe Signal Out of Space by Mike Jack StoumbosGoodbye to the Sun by Jonathan NevairRedshift Rendezvous by John E. StithSounding Dark by Jo GrahamSkylark in the Fog by Helyna L. CloveRedspace Rising by Brian TrentRattle Man by E.H. GaskinsBrain For Rent (Hardly Used) by D.M. PrudenPrimary Inversion by Catherine AsaroMemory and Metaphor by Andrea MonticueCheck out the bundle here: https://storybundle.com/space
Cam
February 27, 2023
20% Off Everything, 4 Days Only
And the monthly 20% off Everything sale at Stories Rule Press is back again.
Here’s the details:
The sale runs for four days, starting today, and ending at midnight MST on March 2nd.The coupon (below) will discount whatever you put in the basket by 20%.You can use the coupon as often as you want in the four days.You can also share the coupon with other readers.Nothing is excluded. That means series boxed sets, books already discounted, and pre-orders will all be discounted, too.There is no limit to how many items you can add to your basket.To take advantage of the sale, head over to Stories Rule Press’s book store here. On this page, you can sort and filter by popularity, genre, price, author and more.
Add the books you want to buy to the basket.
When you’re ready to check out, click on the basket item at the top right of the page to go to your shopping basket.
If you’re new to the store, you’ll be asked to set up your payment details. If you’ve shopped with SRP before, you’ll need to log in.
On the checkout page, add the coupon code to the coupon box. The software will instantly discount your order by 20%.
Then you can pay and download all your new books from BookFunnel, either using the links that BookFunnel will email to you, or by going directly to https://My.Bookfunnel.com, where the books will have already been added to your personal library.
And the coupon code for this month is: APNEUD2C
Enjoy!
Cam
February 16, 2023
Doomsday Clock reset to 90 Seconds to Midnight, and free books from Baen
It’s not the most reassuring news out there, lately. The Doomsday Clock was reset this year to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest the world has ever been to global disaster.
Most of the reset was prompted by the Russia/Ukraine war, but the growing environmental emergency has also weighed in.
For a history of the clock’s settings, check this page.
—
Baen Books have released a bunch of free titles for February. The traditional publisher is known for its highly branded SF and Fantasy (you can spot a Baen cover from a long way away).
Check out the February selection here.
Cheers,
Cam
February 9, 2023
A Fully-Funded Kickstarter to Check Out
Fellow SRP author Tracy Cooper-Posey launched a Kickstarter for her latest historical romance series on February 6th and funded within 12 hours.
That means that everyone gets the books and goodies they backed, and now the campaign is working toward the first stretch goal (which is two series boxed sets).
If you like historical romance, this is definitely a project to check out. Details here.
Enjoy,
Cam.
February 2, 2023
I’m a semi-finalist in the SPSFC!!
For many years now, indie publishing fantasy authors have had an amazing annual contest; the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off., run by Mark Lawrence. It’s hugely popular — the latest contest reached it’s maximum number of entries (300) in only 9 hours!
But straight SF isn’t allowed in the contest, so Hugh Howey, a couple of years ago, launched a science fiction version.; The Self-Published Science Fiction Contest.
300 SF books are judged by teams of reviewers and move through an initial screening, where many of the 300 get dropped, a quarter final round, then semi-finals, then finals. A single winner emerges at the end.
The winning novel and author get nothing but bragging rights (but wow, they’re seriously impressive bragging rights!).
For readers, though, this is a great place to find vetted, excellent SF, plus read some super thoughtful and thorough reviews (or watch them), to help you figure out the good stuff. I’ve already picked up a half dozen books that I wouldn’t have otherwise bought, just because the reviewers raved about them.
And even better: Hammer and Crucible has made it thorugh to the semi-finals. Reviewer Josefine of the “Dragons in Space” review team gave it a great review, which you can find here. (She also just released a video announcing her favourite books for 2022 and Hammer and Crucible is one of only two SF books she listed.)
I honestly didn’t expect the book to get this far. Space Opera is often looked down upon by the more literary end of the Science Fiction genre. And I certainly don’t expect to get into the finals, because I’ve read some of the books in the semis and fully expect them to go through, instead.
But we’ll see. I got this far, so who knows?
You can find details and pick up a copy of Hammer and Crucible, which is book 1 of the Imperial Hammer series, here on Stories Rule Press, or at your favourite retail store (links to other stores are on SRP, too). It’s currently discounted by well over 50% in ebook.
Cheers,
Cam
January 30, 2023
This Month’s 20% Off Sale has Started!
As usual, the Stories Rule Press sale runs for the last two days of the month + the first two days of the month, and gives you 20% off absolutely every story available in the bookstore, including already discounted books, boxed sets, pre-orders, the lot.
The coupon will only work on Stories Rule Press.The coupon expires at midnight MST on February 2nd.You can use the coupon as many times as you like between now and expiry.You can pass the coupon code on to friends and other book lovers.There is no upper limit to how many books you buy with the discount. If the book is in your shopping basket, it will be discounted.To take advantage of the sale, head over to Stories Rule Press and start browsing here: https://storiesrulepress.com/shop/.
D72M2UD8 is the coupon code. Copy this and add it to the coupon box when you checkout.
And enjoy!
Cam
January 19, 2023
It’s Really Not About the Walkers (The Walking Dead)
(The Walking Dead)
My partner and I just started watching The Walking Dead from the beginning, for the first time.
I know, I know. Season 11 and the series finale wrapped up late last year. We are behind even more than usual on this one, because for years we actively resisted watching it.
Why?
ZombiesPost ApocalypseZombies and post apocalypse tend to go hand in hand, but not always.
I don’t like zombies. I don’t like zombie stories. Most of the time, they’re far too gruesome for my tastes. Brain- and flesh-eating zombies opens up a story to all sorts of “cool” gross-out moments, and The Walking Dead does deliver its fair share. (I admit, I close my eyes for those moments.)
As for post-apocalypse: It’s technically science fiction, so it’s in my wheelhouse, but there’s been so much PA put out lately that I’m pretty sick of it. Most PA evolves into dystopia, too — also not one of my favourite sub-genres.
Have you spotted the pattern? Zombies, PA and dystopia are all downer genres. I write space opera, which is nearly always positive and upbeat, even if the upbeat is just the ending.
I had no intention of watching The Walking Dead, but a relative was raving about the series finale, and also happened to mention that after the first season the zombies — sorry, the walkers — are most often just a background complication to further ruin the lives of the ensemble cast, and that most of the series is really about the people, their relationships to each other and how they grow throughout the series.
My story-teller brain was intrigued. I’ve heard people raving about the series over the years. I saw people give up social engagements in order to watch the next episode, or rush home to watch it now the episode had dropped.
In addition, the series was created by Frank Darabont (based upon books and comics) and he was the original show runner. As Darabont’s Shawshank Redemption is on my top ten movies of all time list, that was a positive for The Walking Dead. Darabont wrote the first few episodes, too.
So we tentatively sat down to watch the first episode. Which ended up being not too bad — although the hero shooting a child (a zombie child, I hasten to qualify) in the face really sets the tone for the whole series. It’s a warning we took to heart.
We watched a couple more episodes…which turned into watching it every night. We’re up to season 7 now, which is uber hard to watch (if you’re familiar with the series, you know why). We’re not likely to quit until we find out what happens to everyone.
What I like about the series: It doesn’t pull punches. Main characters die (which is more realistic than the principal actors all coming through unscathed). Major characters make shitty choices and have to face some dire consequences. And running through the whole series is the “family” thread that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, sporting a damn fine southern accent) keeps clinging to as one of the few things that will save everyone from turning into conscience-free killers.
So far, the storylines have managed to surprise me a few times — which is not half-bad, because most of the time I am way ahead of the scriptwriters.
Even if zombies and PA isn’t your thing, if you like solid character stories, you might actually enjoy The Walking Dead. And this month, the final season drops on NetFlix, too.
But given how far behind the bell curve we are on this, you’ve probably seen the whole series already.
If you haven’t, enjoy.
Cam
December 30, 2022
This month’s 20% off Everything Sale has Started
As promised and hinted at in the last few days, the 20% off Everything sale is here.
Here’s this month’s coupon code:
C5EGXASW
The coupon will discount everything in your shopping basket by 20% when you apply it to the promotion code window as you check out.
The coupon will only work at the Stories Rule Press store.
You can use the coupon as often as you want, until it expires at midnight MST on January 2nd.
You can also share the coupon with other readers.
Everything in the store is eligible, including boxed sets, books on pre-order, anthologies, books that are already discounted. Everything.
To take advantage of the discount, head over to the Stories Rule Press bookstore and start browsing.
And enjoy!
Cam
December 22, 2022
Andor – Star Wars Grows Up (Finally)
As usual, I’m bringing up the rear when it comes to reacting to a current TV series. That’s because I wait until the season is done, then watch it. This allows me to inhale the season as quickly as possible, should I feel the need to binge.
It’s rare for me to want to gulp down a season. But Andor was an exception. I was absorbed and delighted by the writing and character development. And the acting was superb, too.
I’ve read a lot of reviews about the show that rave about it being a series for adults, and have to agree with this. Star Wars movies and TV series, to date, have been very black and white, and simplistic in who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Andor was not at all simplistic. It was, in actual fact, damned fine fiction. No one was all good or all bad. Everyone had flaws and human foibles.
And no characters had to behave in strange ways that didn’t match their character just to ensure a spectacular action scene could take place. Everyone in the show behaved in ways that were true to their character, but because they were flawed and human, they managed to get into trouble, anyway.
Plus, the major characters changed, over the course of the season. This is a sure sign the writers have been allowed to do their jobs. In particular, of course, the entire series is a showcase of how Cassian Andor moves from being a survivor indifferent to anyone else’s issues, to become a full member of the Rebellion, which leads him directly to the events in Rogue One.
I could go on a lot longer about the great writing and acting.
Instead, though, I wanted to point out another positive and intriguing aspect of the show that I really appreciated.
Right from the beginning of the franchise’s history, with the original Star Wars movie (and no, I won’t call it “A New Hope” because that wasn’t the name of the movie I saw in 1978), the Empire was painted as black, evil, wicked.
Darth Vader was the personification of that evil, and had everyone cringing, including the iron-spined Leia.
Luke has a line in the movie (and I’m paraphrasing from memory); “Listen, I can’t get involved. I’ve got work to do. It’s not that I like the Empire. I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. It’s all such a long way from here.”
Why did he hate the Empire so much?
That’s a yawning, unanswered question that threads throughout most of the Star Wars franchise. Everyone hates the Empire, but no movie or series really shows why the Empire is so hated.
Until Andor.
I wasn’t aware of this missing explanation until I got deeper into the season. Andor shows normal people (no future Jedis or secret daughters of emperors) going about their lives and trying to survive despite the Empire’s very heavy-handed repression and retribution.
And the people working for the Empire believed they were doing the right thing. They weren’t Palpatine-type cliches chuckling and rubbing their hands with glee while the little people squirmed. They were human, just like everyone they were treading upon. They were focused upon their careers, getting ahead. Or, to put it another way; they were scrambling to survive, too.
In Andor, you get to see why everyone hates the Empire, which very neatly back-fills and props up some of the more superficial movies and series in the franchise.
Star Wars has been around since 1977. It’s the reason I got into writing fiction (I wanted more of it.) Everyone who has been a fan of the franchise since then has grown up and grown (or are growing) old. It seems appropriate that the stories become more sophisticated and realistic, to cater to the tastes of an aging, loyal audience.
I’m very much looking forward to the second season of Andor, which was announced last month. I only hope there is more fully developed story-telling like Andor yet to come.
Cam
