M. Pax's Blog, page 31
May 1, 2022
May the 4th Be With You Special! Buy 1 Story, Get 1 FREE! #scifibooks #booklovers #scifi
To celebrate May the 4th, you get 2 FREE stories with purchase of The Tumbas.
only 99c!
The Tumbas: Inside a dome called the Pearl, Rett is selected to be the next tumba master. To keep civilization from ruin, she must bond with her hatchlings and the tumbas must accept her. Triumph is a heartbeat away when the tumbas’ feral ancestors crash in through the dome and kill her golden herd. Can she bond with the wild ones? Or is her dusty red world doomed?
Small Graces: Grace’s pod crash lands on an alien world. She meets an alien race with shriveled arms and learns something that appears like nothing can make a huge difference.
The Other Side: Nena, and everyone on the space colony, has been locked away for 20 years, quarantined against a deadly alien pathogen. Today, the door clicks open. She stands in front of it, hesitating to go outside.
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April 30, 2022
#MPaxDimension Report: The Afterworlds, cats, gardening, and astronomy #scifi
Four months down in 2022. We had more snow in April than we did all winter.
Despite the schizophrenic weather, the garden is coming to life. I experimented with winter sowing and many of the seeds are sprouting. Some are not, but I’m trying to be patient. Patience is not my strong suit, however.
Our cat, Sarge, really wanted a playmate. So, Luna joined our family a week ago. I did not name her, despite the name being a good fit for me. She’s an older cat, but so is Sarge. She’s still hissing at him, though.
We started going into the office one day a week. This is a new job for me, so it was like the first day. I prefer working at home, but it was nice to meet some of my coworkers in person.
Pine Mountain Observatory will be opening for two weeks a month this summer. I plan on volunteering at least once. I need a stargazing fix. The orientation is in mid-May. It will be nice to see people I’ve volunteered with for years again.
The Afterworlds, Backworlds Book 9, is now 62,000 words. I’m happy with the progress and should be moving into the editing phase by end of August. Maybe sooner.
I’m also helping to organize an anthology. There are still open slots if you’d like a publishing credit. The theme is spring and fantasy. If you’re interested in some exposure with other published authors, let me know. You can email me at mpax at mpaxauthor dot com
My brain is percolating future stories. But first, I’m going to finish all the series I’ve started. Afterworlds is the last book in the Backworlds series (for now). Then in order, I will complete Rifters, Space Squad 51, and Hetty Locklear.
I have other plans for ramping up my author life and business, so be sure to stay tuned!
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April 25, 2022
#SciFi Worth Reading: All Systems Red #BookReview
Robot stories aren’t usually my thing, but All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells changed my mind.
Murderbot was easy to identify with and to root for. It just wants to be left in peace to watch TV but is forced to figure out what it wants. The clients it is contracted to watch over end up in a pickle, and Murderbot decides to help.
Murderbot can ignore its programming and surprises itself by continuing to assist its humans.
The story stirs up all sorts of questions. What is life? If it can think and feel, does it have rights? Mostly, what will Murderbot do now?
I’m so curious, I ordered the second book. Yup, it was that good. There was suspense and action, and I got to spend some time on an alien planet. All pluses for me.
I would recommend this book, however, t’s a short one. It doesn’t take long to devour it. It’s also a pricey series.
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
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April 18, 2022
The Mandalorian: #SciFi #Streaming #Review
If I see Darth Vader’s helmet when looking at a mountain, does that mean I’ve watched too much Star Wars? Is there such a thing?
At any rate, The Mandalorian is an excellent series. Warning: it’s hard to watch just one. The story kept unfolding, and I was eager to see where it went.
The series takes place about 10 years after Return of the Jedi, and looks at the Star Wars universe from a different angle. It’s a bit grittier, a bit darker. I like that. There’s no Darth Vader, of course. He’s quite dead, but the Mandalorian visits familiar planets and some familiar characters pop in now and then. Plus, the baby Yoda character is really adorable. Who doesn’t want one?
The Star Wars universe is vast and filled with thousands of stories. This series put out by Disney is a great way to explore one of them. The ending of season 2 had me cheering. There will be a season 3, and I have to wonder where the story will go next. I will for sure watch.
You don’t need beer to watch The Mandalorian, unless you want one. It’s not boring, and it kept me watching the screen instead of doing something else. If you haven’t seen it yet and love science fiction, I recommend it. It’s streaming on Disney.
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April 11, 2022
It’s Raining Books! #scifi #fantasy April ebook Freebies and Steals.
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April 7, 2022
Not of this Earth Bookshop Special: Alien Double Feature only 50c! #scifibooks #scifi
Two great stories about alien worlds. It’s a sci-fi double feature!
Use coupon code GNWD2NXIU4 for 50% off. Two great stories for only 50c all of April.
Wings of the Guiding Suns / Sita is born to be the emissary between dragonkind and a world on the verge of doom. If she saves the people about to become extinct, she will join her fellow dragons sailing on the solar strands. If she fails, her life will end the moment the dying world does. The choice is simple: leave and live. Yet, the people resist and time is running out.
Aftermath / Noret’s world is destroyed by an attack on the moon. It sends the city tumbling and kills thousands. Among the dead is her bonded, whom she cannot survive without. Her kind has never known violence, but an act of war must be answered. What will be her reply?
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April 3, 2022
Monsters are Real, No Fooling! Get Your Fill in April for only #99c ! #fantasybooks #steampunk
The Rifters Box Collection Books 1-3 is on sale for 99c all of April!
After being laid off from her glamorous editing job in New York City, and then robbed on the subway, Daelin Long moves in with her sister to get back on her feet. Small town Oregon is more than Daelin imagined. She discovers Settler, Oregon, has more secrets than any New York City block. Strange lights shine in the woods at night. A ghost works in the library with Daelin. Daelin’s sister is missing, and the bigwig in town is from 1888. On top of it all, monsters are regular visitors.
Ebook available at all retailers
Buy direct from me and get 25% off all purchases. Use coupon code 4XCZKXTR2W / Referral Bonus: When you refer any purchased product to a friend who becomes customer, you both get 10% off.
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March 31, 2022
Untethered Realms is accepting short story submissions for #Fantasy in Bloom
Untethered Realms is seeking short fantasy stories (3,000 to 10,000 words) with the theme of spring.
Fantasy in Bloom will feature several speculative fiction authors, including some of our UR authors. It’s the first anthology in the Seasons of Untethered Realms series.
You can be a first-time author or a veteran. We welcome all kinds of fantasy. While we cannot pay any participating writers, the anthology is a wonderful way to get exposure. Our previous series, Elements of Untethered Realms, does well in that regard.
There is no deadline. We will close when we are full.
If you are accepted, you will receive an invitation to write stories for upcoming anthologies in the Seasons series. Along with this spring edition, we will have summer, autumn, and winter with different themes like sci-fi, paranormal, and steampunk/cyberpunk/hopepunk/solarpunk.
Please submit your stories to Christine Rains at christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com. Put Fantasy in Bloom Submission in the subject heading and attach the story to the email as a doc, docx, or rtf file. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. You can email Christine, contact me on Twitter @mpax1, or on our Facebook page.
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#MPaxDimension Report: Exploring New Worlds
Wow! March whizzes by… Hope the month treated you well. The weather has been going back and forth between summer and winter here. I’m planning fun new things for the future… more exciting book launches, new print versions, and I’ll be finishing up each of my series. I’m currently working on the last book in the Backworlds series, and then I will move on to completing the Rifters series.
The Psychic Astronomy Shoppe: My critique group had stuff to say about the ending two scenes, which resulted in an edit. At 22K, it’s complete. The submission date has been extended. I plan on writing 3 more stories in this world.
The Afterworlds, Backworlds Book 9: The word count rises to 42.5K. It would have been higher if I hadn’t erased 2 chapters and written them over. There wasn’t anything terribly wrong with them. I just thought I could do better and make them more exciting. So, I did. I’ll share the cover with you soon!
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March 28, 2022
Weird and Wild #Oregon : Flowers in the Desert #NaturePhotography
It’s nice to take a road less taken into the quiet and wonder this planet has to offer. From the road, it may all look uniform and bland, but if you take a turn and a stop to really experience a place, you can find unexpected pleasures. One of the most beautiful things about a place with no other people is the quiet. When it’s so quiet, you can hear the Earth hum, well, that’s special.
This little water hole had flowers growing in the water. Neat!
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