Pete Aldin's Blog, page 6

New Cover Art

G’day. I was excited to commission Alexandre Rito to create new covers for the ENVOYS series … and even more excited when the first concept came back. It’s below.

The cover for ASSURED is probably a month away, but I’m looking forward to what Alexandre comes up with there.

To get the new cover on your Kindle ebook, google some articles or walk-throughs on updating the ebook versions on your device. (Worth it, because a lot of authors and publishers do update their books from time to t...

Chasing Hell: the (short) story behind the story

“Chasing Hell” goes live today. This book is my contribution to the PEACEMAKER series within the hugely popular Four Horsemen Universe.

You’ll notice by the cover that many of the intelligent species in this universe resemble Earth animals — a point that’s often milked for both conflict and humour because humans refer to Zuul (pictured) as dogs, and Zuparti (pictured) as weasels. To learn more about the universe and the series, you can check out GalNet, the publishers’ online wiki.

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Deadly Sins of World Building (3 & 4)

A post in which I continue reflecting on the main points in Charlie Jane Anders‘s stellar article (found here), and compare my recent novel Eventide to her main points.

Sin 3) Creating fictional versions of real-life human ethnic groups, that never go beyond one dimension

Anders writes, “Really, you should make sure that any cultural or ethnic group you create has multiple dimensions and a sense that its members have their own subjectivity, and a believable culture. Whether it’s the cultur...

New Book!

Hey, hey, need some space opera escapism? I got your space opera escapism right here!

The first installment in my Envoys Trilogy is now live at Amazon and Blurb. Check this page for links.

The Envoys trilogy will roll out over the next 12 months. Book Two is almost finished. From there, it goes to beta readers, then my editor and proofreader before (I hope!) publication in February.

Go check out THIRD CONTACT. Ive had great feedback so far. Lots of action. And a badass female soldier I think...

Enter the $400 Dog Days of Summer Giveaway!

Would you like to win one of (2) $200 Amazon eGift Cards?

Here’s your chance to win big from The Kindle Book Review — one of the interwebs’ most popularbona fide sites for Reader Giveaways .

Some of the delicious and discounted books on offer

Just click the link below and enter the Dog Days of Summer August Giveaway. It’s easy & fun. If you love reading (and you’d like the chance to win one of those eGift Cards), enter now. Plenty of discounted (some free!) books on offer too!

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The Deadly Sins of World Building (reflections on Sins 1 & 2)

Thus begins a series of posts in which I reflect on the main points in Charlie Jane Anders’ excellent world building article (found here).

My intention is to compare my recent novel Eventide to those main points. Her ideas are an important set of ‘whetstones’ against which spec fic authors can and should measure aspects of their projects. Let’s dive in.

Sin 1) Not thinking about basic infrastructure

This is about colouring the world and making it credible. Anders asks, “Who takes away ...

Five Great First Contact Novels

You may know one of the stories on this list, but I’d be surprised if you knew more than that. (Comment if you did!)

Fluency. The recent movie The Arrival reminded me of this novel (which came out years before it). A clever blend of science fiction, romance and character development in the outer reaches of our solar system as a ship arrives that doesn’t speak English… 8/10
(I read the ebook).

Collision Course (Robert Silverberg). A quick read by today’s standards (my early 70s edition...

Five Fantastic Scifi Series of Yesteryear

Recently I rediscovered the mid-2000s version of Battlestar Galactica. Not only did it reboot some nostalgia for older TV shows, but it reignited my appreciation for how good they were in the decades before streaming services. Here’s my five of the shows I was once in love with … and for good reason.

EARTH 2

One of those amazing TV shows (like Timeless and Jericho) cut short well before its time. Earth 2 featured a seriously good cast (Tim Curry as the sneaky bad guy, for heaven’s sakes!!)...

Book Review: Stillhouse Lake

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When you pick up a thriller, you hope hope hope that it will have the following: strong plotting, believable dialogue and character choices, rich settings, and please God tight pacing. Stillhouse Lake has all three in spades.

The premis is an interesting one, and Caine delivers on it. From early on, you are inserted into “Gwen’s” head and her predicament. Hounded by haters and by the reach of her serial killer husband from his death row...

The Problem of Puns in Fantasy Fiction

It’s a tough one, this. You’re reading a fabulous fantasy novel and the author rips out a zinger, a pun, a marvellous piece of word play. It’s charming. It’s funny. It’s rich with imagery. And then it hits you: “But this isn’t Earth, and these characters aren’t speaking English.”

The joke wouldn’t work. The pun wouldn’t work. We normally give writers a pass on this one. But should we? I dunno.

Here. Let me make up an example of the kind of thing I mean:

As Rolluf got up from his seat at the...