Daniel Ausema's Blog, page 17
November 10, 2015
Ecotones Kickstarter
A few days later than I'd intended coming to this, but the Kickstarter for this anthology is now live (and already approaching 50% funded). This is a really exciting project, with lots of great writers, so please check it out and consider reserving your copy (and even get copies of the earlier anthologies as well, if you wish!).As part of the campaign, there will be a variety of interviews/roundtable discussions of a sort posted at the anthology's page. You can check out the first of those today, "Can you describe an ecotone that has had personal significance for you?" (Ecotone being a literal or metaphorical borderland where two different places come together.) And keep following the blog all month for the rest of the questions.
We're also organizing an ad-hoc blog tour among us. So coming up I'll have a guest here, and at some point I will be a guest elsewhere as well.
All of which means, there's lots of cool stuff coming associated with the anthology. And lots of great rewards available in the Kickstarter!
November 2, 2015
"A Brotherhood of Beetles" released at last (ne pas deja vu?)
Eight and a half months ago, "A Brotherhood of Beetles" was all queued up for release. Everything in place, all editing, copy-editing, galley approval, etc. And I had a clear image in mind of what the coming year-plus of my writing life would be, with a new episode every three weeks, a few-month break before season three, and then the same.
Then Thursday night before its release, I got an odd email. The episode would not come out as scheduled the next morning. Had I done something wrong? There had been times when I'd unintentionally put off approving the galley later than I was supposed to, but that hadn't been the case this time. Was there some technical glitch? The email was oddly worded but only said I'd hear more the next day.
There had been some other issues with over-booking some of the later release dates, so I'd heard they might be pushing back the following episode by a week or two, so I just figured the most likely explanation was that someone had decided to juggle this release date as well. Strange to wait until the night before though...
What I never guessed was that I would wake up the next morning to learn on Facebook (even before my email had fully downloaded) that Musa was closing. Episode 5 would not come out, nor the rest of the series at all.
Yikes. A complete change from what I'd been planning around. And not only would the new episodes not come out, but the already published episodes would be pulled from online stores within a few weeks.
You likely know the rest, how I decided to self-publish what had come out as well as the rest of the series. Well, here we are at last with "A Brotherhood of Beetles" released (Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble). For the first time, readers have the chance to read it. And from here on out all the episodes are completely new, never before released.
If all had gone according to plan, all of Season Two would be released now, and we'd be getting close to launching Season Three at the end of this month. In some ways, though, I think this is better. I like the weekly release and the quicker schedule. It won't be all that long before we've caught up to where the series would have been from Musa, and by the end, Season Three will still wrap up before it would have. And there's so much story to tell yet, between now and the end.
Eight episodes remain in Season Two: Pursued. Thirteen episodes in Season Three. Won't you join me in this ambitious project?
Then Thursday night before its release, I got an odd email. The episode would not come out as scheduled the next morning. Had I done something wrong? There had been times when I'd unintentionally put off approving the galley later than I was supposed to, but that hadn't been the case this time. Was there some technical glitch? The email was oddly worded but only said I'd hear more the next day.
There had been some other issues with over-booking some of the later release dates, so I'd heard they might be pushing back the following episode by a week or two, so I just figured the most likely explanation was that someone had decided to juggle this release date as well. Strange to wait until the night before though...
What I never guessed was that I would wake up the next morning to learn on Facebook (even before my email had fully downloaded) that Musa was closing. Episode 5 would not come out, nor the rest of the series at all.
Yikes. A complete change from what I'd been planning around. And not only would the new episodes not come out, but the already published episodes would be pulled from online stores within a few weeks.
You likely know the rest, how I decided to self-publish what had come out as well as the rest of the series. Well, here we are at last with "A Brotherhood of Beetles" released (Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble). For the first time, readers have the chance to read it. And from here on out all the episodes are completely new, never before released.
If all had gone according to plan, all of Season Two would be released now, and we'd be getting close to launching Season Three at the end of this month. In some ways, though, I think this is better. I like the weekly release and the quicker schedule. It won't be all that long before we've caught up to where the series would have been from Musa, and by the end, Season Three will still wrap up before it would have. And there's so much story to tell yet, between now and the end.
Eight episodes remain in Season Two: Pursued. Thirteen episodes in Season Three. Won't you join me in this ambitious project?
November 1, 2015
99-cent November
I was approached a bit ago by Milo James Fowler with the idea of participating in a month-long promotion where a bunch of writers would be discounting a title (or more) to $0.99 for November. Sounds like a great idea to me, so my novelette "The Spire Singers" is now discounted to 99 cents. Get this Kafkaesque look at the Spire City from a very different perspective to what we see in the main series...and you know you want this amazing art from Worlds Beyond Art on your Kindle (/Kindle app) anyway. Now's your chance!And please be sure to check out the full listing of 99 cent offerings over on Milo's site. Some excellent writers in there, with a great deal.
What's more, one good discount deserves another, right? Well, Spire City, Season One: Infected will also be on sale this month. For the month of November, you can get the entire first season for only $2.99 US. Don't wait!
October 26, 2015
Ecotones Anthology: Cover Art
As the Ecotones Anthology gears up for its November Kickstarter, the project is now revealing its quite stunning full cover:
Also note that the anthology has a Twitter account, which you can follow for updates, @Ecotones_Ebook. Please do so!
Also note that the anthology has a Twitter account, which you can follow for updates, @Ecotones_Ebook. Please do so!
October 21, 2015
Poem published in Grievous Angel
This week I'm thrilled to have a new poem of mine in Grievous Angel, "A Poem Sent Back Across Time-Space (a Ghazal)." As the editor mentions, the ghazal is a poetic form with a long tradition, though not a very prominent one in the English language. When I was writing this, I found a number of different approaches to adapting the form for English, so this mixes and matches some of those, and I did my best to keep it true to the spirit of how the form has been used in other languages.
One thing you'll note, if you're well versed in the form, is that it does not incorporate my name into the final couplet, as tradition would have it. ...Or does it? You may have to go to a name origins resource to see it. Whether that's worth the bother or not, give the poem itself a read and check out the other poem it shares a page with, "Eye-Witness, the Bronx" by Simon Williams.
Any day is made better by reading a good poem.
One thing you'll note, if you're well versed in the form, is that it does not incorporate my name into the final couplet, as tradition would have it. ...Or does it? You may have to go to a name origins resource to see it. Whether that's worth the bother or not, give the poem itself a read and check out the other poem it shares a page with, "Eye-Witness, the Bronx" by Simon Williams.
Any day is made better by reading a good poem.
October 13, 2015
It's new reader week for Spire City!
Are you new to Spire City? Maybe you've followed me here from the Wyrm's Gauntlet forums. Or from my guest post on the BTSE blog later this week. Or who knows what other twisting path you took to get here to these brambles.
Or maybe you've been vaguely aware of Spire City for a while but haven't quite gotten around to joining in.
Either way, this is a great week for you! For the next week, if you subscribe to Season Two: Pursued at the regular price of $8 US, I'll send you Season One completely free. Get a chance to catch up, and then you'll be able to stay right with us as the season two episodes are released. Episode 2, "Williver's Mistake," has just been released yesterday, so you still have time to join us.
Check out the Spire City tab if you want to know more about the series and how it works. Or simply subscribe now.
Or maybe you've been vaguely aware of Spire City for a while but haven't quite gotten around to joining in.
Either way, this is a great week for you! For the next week, if you subscribe to Season Two: Pursued at the regular price of $8 US, I'll send you Season One completely free. Get a chance to catch up, and then you'll be able to stay right with us as the season two episodes are released. Episode 2, "Williver's Mistake," has just been released yesterday, so you still have time to join us.
Check out the Spire City tab if you want to know more about the series and how it works. Or simply subscribe now.
October 11, 2015
Final hours to get the reduced price on a Spire City subscription
Only a few hours remain to get your release-week price of $5 US on a subscription. You're not too late by any means to enjoy the story—I've processed a couple more in the past few days—so you can easily read episode 1 and be caught up by the time episode 2 comes out tomorrow. I've you've been wondering, wavering, considering, though, then sign up now before the price goes back up to normal!
October 8, 2015
Stormdancer Review
Someone who'd been part of Musa back in the day was asking around for reviewers for this new release, Stormdancer by Joshua Pantalleresco. It's narrative poetry, a science fictional story told all in verse. That sounded unique enough to pique my interest, so I said sure.
At the outset, let me say that I haven't read a lot of long poetry of this sort, except for older works that I read back in college. I love poetry, but I tend to prefer the shorter varieties, and works that emphasis rhythm and sound and elusive meanings more than straightforward narrative. So this was something new for me, a chance to dip into a different storytelling style.
Stormdancer begins with one narrator telling about something new that has begun and the small group of people he feels some sort of protective sense for: "this isn't just my story anymore / walking back to my own, I grow nervous / will they like the world I created?"
After two brief sections with him that ends with his disappearance, the poem switches to a new narrator. Kristen is one of that small group he'd gathered, and she now tells her story of chasing after the original narrator, trying to find where he's gone and rescue him if need be.
The journey, and the world itself, is full of mystery. There are science-fictional details in the background, while the more immediate details have a stronger fantasy feel. Bipedal dragons rule this world and keep most humans in complacent slavery. The original narrator, apparently, had set this group of three free from the dragons, so they are newly aware of things they never noticed before and see their own world with a mixture of fear and naiveté.
And so this is ultimately a story of coming of age. Kristen learns her own strength, now that she can't rely only on her liberator. The group learns how to take charge and how to work together, with the first narrator's absence always weighing on their actions. Each of them has strengths and abilities that no one guessed when the story first began.
The story reads quickly and smoothly. As poetry, it doesn't have a lot of the pyrotechnics I most enjoy...and yet it creates its own strengths through its free verse rhythm. The narrators, especially Kristen once she's our focus, evoke the sense of wonder and fear and desperation that they feel in this new-to-them world. It is a poetry, I suspect, that even readers who usually dislike poetry would enjoy. The line breaks and quick action only serve to propel the story along, not slow a disliking-poetry reader down.
If there's a complaint I have, I think it comes down to the fact that this is a sequel to an earlier work, The Watcher. Teasing out the clues in this work, I assume that work involved the initial narrator here breaking this group free from the dragons and setting them up for this new life. That history hangs over this story, leaving some of the details vague and some unexplained. I personally don't mind not knowing every such detail and enjoyed the chance to figure out what their background is. Even so, I think this could have done a better jump introducing readers to the people and the world, giving us a stronger image of what's going on and what's at stake.
All told, this is a strong story of a desperate search for a missing figure of authority, with all the layers of Jungian depth that implies. Of people stepping out from both the stern control of the dragons and the parental control of the Watcher to their own strengths and abilities. As long-form poetry, I appreciate its attempt to do something less common, to create its world and its narrator's internal conflicts through a fluid and rhythmic poetry.
The Storm is here...
About Stormdancer:
Days after the events featured in The Watcher, the Watcher is taken hostage by a dragon, leaving Kristen, Will and Nicki alone in a strange new world. With no choice but to try and rescue their friend, Kristen and the others must travel through ancient cities, forgotten burial grounds, and eventually into the heart of the great storm.
Faced with the unknown, will they be able to traverse the storms that stand before them as well as ones within their own hearts?
Book Details:
Title: Stormdancer (Sequel to The Watcher)
Author Name: Joshua Pantalleresco
Genre(s): Poetry, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Tags: Poetry, Epic, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, science-fiction, dragons
Length: Approx. 104 pages
E-book: 978-0-9947490-4-8
Paperback: 978-0-9947490-3-1
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)
Appropriate for all ages from Young Adult to Adult.
Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, and Reviews:
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/blog-tour-schedule-stormdancer-sequel.html
Read an Excerpt:
STORMS WITHIN
he randisappearing into the nightleaving us all alone
we tried to follow himbut were unsure of the trees and trailswe went slowly
we knew something had happenedwhen we found his blades in the forestblackened and alone
he had comelike a force of naturewrecking our livesin the name of freedomfreedom from what?
the hollow embers and ashes we foundI didn't build themthose ruins were his storynot minenever mine
I...was happyyeah, I was happyis there something wrong with that?
my parents loved meI didn't care about anything else
the dragons were bastardsbut I understood the gamethe moves that could be made
with one flick of a bladehe changed all thatshattered the illusion with a roar of rebellion
now my life is herein this forestnow he had vanished into the nightleaving me abandoned
leaving everything in shambles!
Purchase Links:
Amazon
http://amzn.to/1jjBlnY
Mirror World Publishing
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/stormdancer-e-book
Meet the Author:
Joshua Pantalleresco writes stuff. It's even on his business card. This is a succinct way of saying that in addition to writing poetry, he also does interviews, columns, comics, prose and anything possible with the written word. When he isn't writing, he's playing with podcasts, filming stuff, fiddling with alternative medicine, travelling, talking to people and pretending he is a rockstar. Stormdancer is his second book through Mirror World Publishing. He lives in Calgary.
At the outset, let me say that I haven't read a lot of long poetry of this sort, except for older works that I read back in college. I love poetry, but I tend to prefer the shorter varieties, and works that emphasis rhythm and sound and elusive meanings more than straightforward narrative. So this was something new for me, a chance to dip into a different storytelling style.
Stormdancer begins with one narrator telling about something new that has begun and the small group of people he feels some sort of protective sense for: "this isn't just my story anymore / walking back to my own, I grow nervous / will they like the world I created?"
After two brief sections with him that ends with his disappearance, the poem switches to a new narrator. Kristen is one of that small group he'd gathered, and she now tells her story of chasing after the original narrator, trying to find where he's gone and rescue him if need be.
The journey, and the world itself, is full of mystery. There are science-fictional details in the background, while the more immediate details have a stronger fantasy feel. Bipedal dragons rule this world and keep most humans in complacent slavery. The original narrator, apparently, had set this group of three free from the dragons, so they are newly aware of things they never noticed before and see their own world with a mixture of fear and naiveté.
And so this is ultimately a story of coming of age. Kristen learns her own strength, now that she can't rely only on her liberator. The group learns how to take charge and how to work together, with the first narrator's absence always weighing on their actions. Each of them has strengths and abilities that no one guessed when the story first began.
The story reads quickly and smoothly. As poetry, it doesn't have a lot of the pyrotechnics I most enjoy...and yet it creates its own strengths through its free verse rhythm. The narrators, especially Kristen once she's our focus, evoke the sense of wonder and fear and desperation that they feel in this new-to-them world. It is a poetry, I suspect, that even readers who usually dislike poetry would enjoy. The line breaks and quick action only serve to propel the story along, not slow a disliking-poetry reader down.
If there's a complaint I have, I think it comes down to the fact that this is a sequel to an earlier work, The Watcher. Teasing out the clues in this work, I assume that work involved the initial narrator here breaking this group free from the dragons and setting them up for this new life. That history hangs over this story, leaving some of the details vague and some unexplained. I personally don't mind not knowing every such detail and enjoyed the chance to figure out what their background is. Even so, I think this could have done a better jump introducing readers to the people and the world, giving us a stronger image of what's going on and what's at stake.
All told, this is a strong story of a desperate search for a missing figure of authority, with all the layers of Jungian depth that implies. Of people stepping out from both the stern control of the dragons and the parental control of the Watcher to their own strengths and abilities. As long-form poetry, I appreciate its attempt to do something less common, to create its world and its narrator's internal conflicts through a fluid and rhythmic poetry.
The Storm is here...
About Stormdancer:
Days after the events featured in The Watcher, the Watcher is taken hostage by a dragon, leaving Kristen, Will and Nicki alone in a strange new world. With no choice but to try and rescue their friend, Kristen and the others must travel through ancient cities, forgotten burial grounds, and eventually into the heart of the great storm.
Faced with the unknown, will they be able to traverse the storms that stand before them as well as ones within their own hearts?
Book Details:
Title: Stormdancer (Sequel to The Watcher)
Author Name: Joshua Pantalleresco
Genre(s): Poetry, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Tags: Poetry, Epic, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, science-fiction, dragons
Length: Approx. 104 pages
E-book: 978-0-9947490-4-8
Paperback: 978-0-9947490-3-1
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)
Appropriate for all ages from Young Adult to Adult.
Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, and Reviews:
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/blog-tour-schedule-stormdancer-sequel.html
Read an Excerpt:
STORMS WITHIN
he randisappearing into the nightleaving us all alone
we tried to follow himbut were unsure of the trees and trailswe went slowly
we knew something had happenedwhen we found his blades in the forestblackened and alone
he had comelike a force of naturewrecking our livesin the name of freedomfreedom from what?
the hollow embers and ashes we foundI didn't build themthose ruins were his storynot minenever mine
I...was happyyeah, I was happyis there something wrong with that?
my parents loved meI didn't care about anything else
the dragons were bastardsbut I understood the gamethe moves that could be made
with one flick of a bladehe changed all thatshattered the illusion with a roar of rebellion
now my life is herein this forestnow he had vanished into the nightleaving me abandoned
leaving everything in shambles!
Purchase Links:
Amazon
http://amzn.to/1jjBlnY
Mirror World Publishing
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/stormdancer-e-book
Meet the Author:
Joshua Pantalleresco writes stuff. It's even on his business card. This is a succinct way of saying that in addition to writing poetry, he also does interviews, columns, comics, prose and anything possible with the written word. When he isn't writing, he's playing with podcasts, filming stuff, fiddling with alternative medicine, travelling, talking to people and pretending he is a rockstar. Stormdancer is his second book through Mirror World Publishing. He lives in Calgary.
October 7, 2015
Ecotones Anthology!
Very excited to be in this forthcoming anthology, Ecotones. Check out that Table of Contents! I'm thrilled to be appearing alongside such great writers, and I'm very proud of the story I have in it as well, "Seeds From a Hurricane Torn." They've had some good success with their past anthos as well, with award nominations and at least one story that later became a novel, which will be coming out soon from Angry Robot Books. So stay tuned for the Kickstarter and (whether it meets its goal or not) for publication in December.
October 5, 2015
Season Two: Pursued
Season Two begins today!
It was almost a year ago when we were at this same point, except with Musa publishing Season Two and with three (long) weeks between every episode. Now...Musa is no more, and I'm the one behind the scenes* getting files ready and all that. By the end of this month, episode 4 will be out, and we'll be ready at last to move on to the episodes that never came out before.
So strap yourself in, subscribe if you haven't yet, and be ready for the higher stakes, deeper tragedy, and even greater resistance against Orgood and his supporters, who hold all the power. The infections continue to spread (some of my favorite characters first make appearances here, though of course Chels remains the central focus) and to claim victims (alas), and Orgood steps up his efforts to eliminate Spire City's downtrodden.
I have decided to keep the early bird special going for one more week, to celebrate the first episode's premiere. So check the Spire City tab for more info on how to subscribe.
***
*Not that I am the only one, by any means. Many thanks go to my editor Damien Walters Grintalis, who has continued as freelance editor after Musa's shutdown. Also to Kelly Shorten of KMD Web Designs for the excellent cover art. And to Dianna L. Gunn, who is continuing the wonderful work she did for me with Musa to help with promotions.
