Vincent Trigili's Blog, page 10
July 12, 2014
July 12th Updates and News
Hey everyone! It is time for one of my seemingly random updates on the series and things unrelated to it! There is much to be excited about; that is if you are the kind of person that gets excited by random posts from eccentric authors.
By now you have surely noticed the Robby comics. I hope you are enjoying them. Please let me know either in the comments below, or on our Facebook page what you think of them. I have a couple-few years worth of them and I will continue to post them if you all are enjoying them, or at least do not hate them.
I have also started another section called book reviews. These are not book reviews in the strictest sense, as I will only post reviews for books I like. That means they are more of “Vincent’s Reading Recommendations”, but that is to long of a title for a nice web page layout, so I am calling them “Book Reviews” instead. I have put some up that I have written in the past just so that the section has content to get started with.
The Sac’a’rith: Rebirth is going well. I am about twenty thousand words into it, which if this book is about the same length as prior books makes it about 20% done. I have also started book eight which will be another new story arch for the Lost Tales universe. I have about three thousand words of that one done, but it will be mothballed for a while.
Keep an eye on the Wiki! My wife has started updating it. The information it will need editing and updating, but at least it is growing again! Organization of it will drift over time as we figure out how best to put the information in there. Keep in mind if you have not read all the current books there are significant spoilers in it. Enter at your own discretion.
Finally, I wanted to let you know about two upcoming anthologies I am in. The first is a flash fiction anthology that has 101 independent authors represented in it. It will be free and contain 101 short stories. I have a story about Dusty in it, and it will probably come out late in the fall. More as that develops. The second one is a science fiction anthology that will feature longer works (some closer to novella length), and there will be another Lost Tales story in it. I am not aloud to say more than that yet.
So there you have it, all the news I felt fit to type this morning! Please remember to spread the word about the series! Thanks!
July 6, 2014
Robby Episode 5
Episode 5 – Festival of Lights
Originally Released on June 26th, 2005
The idea behind this one is just simply an observation: as the the nation grows, light pollution spreads, and truly dark places are getting harder and harder to find and get to. One has to wonder how long it will be before all the black areas are removed from the light pollution maps of the United States. Non-astronomers are obsessed with lighting everything up, so it is only a matter of time…
Click on comic to make it larger
June 30, 2014
Pennsylvania by Michael Bunker
As an avid reader myself, who would lay in bed reading all day long if that was a realistic option, I am often searching for fun books to read. I am looking for books that are optimistic and clean. I only have limited time for reading, so I have gotten very picky over the years. I avoid horror, romance, and so on. I simply do not want to waste my meager reading time with books that are not to my taste. Recently I went out looking for a new book to read and despite being struck by lightning, I grabbed a book called Pennsylvania.
Michael Bunker’s novel, Pennsylvania, is what he calls Amish Science Fiction. To the best of my limited knowledge, it is the only work that falls into that genre in existence. Really you should not still be reading this review. Let me repeat, it is Amish Science Fiction. Can you not see how awe inspiring of a combination that is? Well read on then.
The book tells the story of a man named Jed (no, he did not find any bubbling crude) who simply wants to move to the new Amish lands on a new planet that was discovered. Before he even gets to the spaceport for the ride he is swept up in a massive war among the English, and learns that the world he thinks exists is not what it seems. Jed is forced against his will to play out a part between warring fractions of Englishers.
The story is light, and what I will for now on call Amish-Clean. It is safe to read to any age group that can handle the reality of death and bad people doing bad things. The book was edited well enough that I did not notice any errors, but as my readers know I am a poor judge of that.
The story pacing was balanced, with few slow parts and even fewer high-speed parts. I really found the dive into the Amish culture to be interesting, as I know very little about them. Jed was likable and easy to root for as he tries to survive his trip through the English world.
If I was to suggest improvements to this story I would say that Mr. Bunker spent a bit too much time developing how to raise a barn (and some other similar things), and that Jed was a bit to smart to be believed. Jed adapts very quickly to using and mastering technology. With out giving any spoilers, Jed makes the transition from an eighteen-year-old Amish farm boy to technological mastermind too easy and fast. He just feels a bit too perfect and too well rounded.
Overall the story was a fun read and I will be watching for the sequel. If you want to know about the lightning strike I mentioned, like my page on Facebook and ask. Either way, definitely drop by your favorite retailer and pick up a copy.
Links:
Buy Pennsylvania at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JMNI8Q4
– He also is offering the first part for free: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C79B08I
Micheal Bunkers Website: http://www.michaelbunker.com/
His Newsletter: http://michaelbunker.com/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/offgrid
June 28, 2014
Robby Episode 4
Originally Released on June 19th, 2005
GOTO scopes were a hot issue at that time, as many feel they promote stupid users. In Robby’s case though a GOTO scope was definitely needed; he needs all the help he can get! I had wanted to show the scope pounding Robby in, but the medium we are using does not really lend itself well to action, so instead I just created a single frame that hopefully gave the idea of what was happening.
For those who track this kind of thing, you will note that M42 on June 19, 2005 was in fact below the horizon, at least at my location in the southeast section of the United States of America.
Click on comic to make it larger
June 20, 2014
Robby The Astrodude
I used to run a major astronomy forum and I made these comics at that time. I roughed out the comic and gave it to Kristi who then hand drew the artwork in pieces, I then scanned, cleaned up and assembled them in Photoshop and finally added the text. I ended up giving up on it after a couple years because it took many hours each week to make one comic. I recently posted a few of them to our Facebook page and have gotten positive feed back, so I decide I would add them to this site.
I will repost them in order from time to time. I do not know how often yet, I will work that out as we go. But first to catch this site up to the Facebook page, here are the first three episodes. You can click on them to make them bigger if they are to small for you to read:
Episode 1 – 05/29/2005
Episode 2 – 06/05/2005
Episode 3 – 06/12/2005
June 15, 2014
Some Questions For My Readers
I have a quick easy survey that I would love if you could take a couple minutes and fill out. I’ll be sending a request about it via email on monday also, but you can fill it out right. Thanks!
Please click the link below to be taken to Survey Monkey for the questions:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VDGZQZ7
Thanks!
June 14, 2014
Spectra’s Gambit is out!
Spectra’s Gambit appears to be live in all major ebook stores as of right now. Barnes and Noble has yet to upload the cover, but it appears you can at least buy the book there now. That should be cleared up soon. You can find the all the buy links on Spectra’s Gambit’s page on this site.
As I mentioned on Facebook, I completely spaced making the paperback edition! I have been working all morning formatting the files, building the cover and getting everything set up. I sent up the first files to the printer for review just a few minutes ago. Assuming they pass review I should be ordering the proof on Monday or Tuesday. Assuming that goes well the paper back should be ready for sale a week from Monday.
Just as a teaser, here is a preview of what the cover will look like:
Also, two of you have already posted reviews for Spectra’s Gambit on Amazon. Thank you very much! One reader wrote and told me he shared Spectra’s Gambit to the Google+ communities he is part of. That definitely deserves a huge gold star! Thanks!
Work on volume seven is going well. I have the first five chapters written. Right now I am playing with “The Sac’a’rith: Rebirth” for the title. Time will tell if it sticks or not.
Finally, please do not forget that bundle, The Lost Tales of Power: Volume 1-3, goes on sale next week for $1.99. Please help me spread the word about this sale and let see if we can get it on any of the top 100 lists. Even if it is just for an hour, that would be cool. Thanks!
June 10, 2014
Spectra’s Gambit and an Upcoming Sale!
Spectra’s Gambit is going live! It should soon start showing up for pre-order in various stores around the net. As of the time I am writing this, Kobo has it live for preorder, as does Smashwords. I suspect that Apple will not actually get the pre-order up in time, and I am really just hoping they have it up by the official release date. Amazon does not allow me to do pre-orders, so they will not have the book till the official release date. It will be live on Google Play for preorder soon, likely in the next 48-72 hours.
The official release day is FRIDAY JUNE 13th! Yes, that makes two Friday the 13th releases back to back! I am hoping to get volume seven out around December 13th (not a promise, merely a desire at this point), but sadly it will not be a Friday this year.
In other news I have another new release coming soon, probably some time in the next few weeks. I will be releasing the second bundle, which will include the full text of volumes 4,5, and 6. Just like the first bundle it will include a brief introduction to each story, and be priced below the cost of buying all three books separately.
One last piece of news. Starting June 15th, I will be putting the first bundle on sale for just $1.99 for the entire week. I will be paying for some advertising for the sale in my first-ever serious attempt at marketing. Please help spread the word of the sale; it would be a great time for new readers to join the family!
One final note, if you have read the books and not published any reviews in the store where you bought them, please do! Advertisers, promoters and others watch reviews and having as few as I do (especially on the first bundle, which only currently has 2 and really needs at least 10) limits the options open to me to do marketing. Thanks!
June 7, 2014
Spectra’s Gambit is back from the editor!
Last night the file came in from our editor with her edits. It always amazes me what she finds in the book for editing. It will take me quite a bit of time to work through all her edits, but I am still shooting for Friday, June 20th as the official launch date.
Now, keep in mind this book as already gone through a dozen pre-readers and several editing passes by both my wife and I before we sent it off for professional editing. Some of my pre-readers have told me the book was well edited before it even reached them. I have said in the past that when Elaine gets a hold of the story she makes it virtually drip with red ink. Here is an example of what I mean:
Every page is like that; some are even redder. So as you can see I have my work cut out for me. I will go through every single edit, one by one and accept or reject them. Based on past experience, I would say 90% of the edits I will accept, another 5-7% I will make a different change then she suggested, and reject what is left.
Most of the changes are easy stuff, things like overused phrases or choosing the wrong word, but she did find a few story issues that are going to be much more work to fix.
I am grateful to have her on the team, and I think her professionalism really shines out in the final product. So enough stalling… back to work for me!
May 26, 2014
Indie Book Rebels Podcast
Hey everyone! So yesterday I was wasting time checking various places on the Internet for random things and stumbled across a new podcast that was looking for authors to interview. No one had been chosen to be interviewed yet and in a moment of foolishness, I was like “sure, I’ll do it!”We had some false starts and tech difficulties, but eventually the show started and I got to experience my first interview as an author. I think I did somewhat okay, but you will have to be the judge of that. I am linking it below, but before you listen I have a couple things to say about it.
First I state in the interview that I ran the “largest astronomy forum on the Internet.” Well, that is NOT true. Not sure why I said that. The forum I ran was very large and active, but places like Astronony.com easily surpassed me. Sorry about that!
Second, the first 1 minute and 21 seconds of the recording can be skipped; it was from when we were having trouble. At 7 minutes and 20 seconds the interviewer says one curse. Other than that it is safe for listening at work or with children around.
My part starts around 10 minutes and 25 seconds and runs all the way to the end. The entire show is about an hour long, and my phone for whatever reason was not the clearest. Ah well. So much for the first run! Anyways, here you go:
What do you think?
