Glynn Stewart's Blog, page 21
February 5, 2020
Raven’s Peace Audiobook Available for Preorder!
The Raven’s Peace audiobook is coming February 11th, and available for preorder now! This is the first book in the Peacekeepers of Sol series.
Ten thousand stars, once chained, taste freedom.
An eternal empire, once undefeated, falls to pieces.
An alliance, once united, now lacks a common foe.
War was hard enough.
Peace may be impossible.
For 17 years, Colonel Henry Wong and the United Planets Space Force have fought the Kenmiri Empire. They drove the alien overlords back from humanity’s borders into their own stars and found allies among the Kenmiri’s slaves and subjects.
Now the war is over. A great Gathering has been called of the allies who fought the war, but they only ever shared a common enemy. With the Kenmiri in retreat, a thousand new agendas are revealed.
The United Planets Alliance wants peace above all else. Their allies want everything from new homes to new empires – and all too many of them are prepared to do anything to achieve their goals!
You can preorder the Raven’s Peace audiobook now over on Audible.
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January 29, 2020
Conviction Q&A, Friday, Jan 31st at 3 PM EST!
Conviction, the first book in the Scattered Stars Universe, is out now! To celebrate, Glynn will be hosting a video Q&A on Facebook Live on January 31 at 3pm EST.
Whether you can make it to the live broadcast or you want to watch the later recording, submit your questions ahead of time by filling out this form.
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January 28, 2020
Conviction, the First Book in the Scattered Stars Universe Available Now!
The first book in Glynn’s new SCATTERED STARS UNIVERSE is available now! Conviction is an edge-of-your-seat military space opera about a squadron of starfighter pilots building a name for itself at the edge of civilized space. Between getting her ace military team to fit in among mercenaries, to being hunted down by old allies, Kira Demirci has her work cut out for her—if she can survive that long.
A starfighter squadron driven to desertion
Hunted by friends and enemies alike
With one final hope for a new beginning
The last reward Kira Demirci expected for heroism in a time of war was to spend the rest of her life dodging assassins—but when her government betrays her as part of their surrender, she and her comrades flee the star system of Apollo to the edge of civilized space.
The Syntactic Cluster is disorganized, disunified, and in desperate need of the nova fighters Kira smuggled out of Apollo with her. With an entire squadron supposed to follow in her wake, it falls to her to build a new home for her comrades.
But their enemy’s reach may be longer than her worst nightmares—and even her new friends may not be all that they appear…
You can get the book on Kindle or order a paperback copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more.
The post Conviction, the First Book in the Scattered Stars Universe Available Now! appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
January 24, 2020
ConFusion 2020 Round-up!
Travel in January is always a gamble. Glynn Stewart appeared at ConFusion 2020 in Novi, Michigan, and I joined him there along with the rest of the Faolan’s Pen publishing team. If you didn’t know, the team lives in three different cities across Canada, so that meant a lot of converging travel. Kate, Operations Manager is in Calgary, Alberta. Glynn and his partner (and CEO!) Jack are in Kitchener, and I’m way out on the East Coast of Canada in an awesome little port city called Halifax. As I have only been with the team a few months, this was the first time I was going to meet my coworkers in person.
The Faolan’s Pen Team. Left to Right: Robin, Jack, Glynn and Kate.Fortunately for all of us, the weather cooperated (for travel days at least!) Jack and Glynn made a short road trip over the border, while Kate and I met up in Toronto and boarded the same tiny plane to Detroit. Kate’s got a two hour time difference, plus a toddler, plus a longer flight, so as soon as I saw her I knew she was in desperate need of coffee. (Coffee and cats are things our team definitely has in common.)
The Convention
Glynn and Rachel Quinlan with the original of commissioned Starship’s Mage art.The Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel immediately felt friendly and intimate, with a good central bar/lobby area to socialize and mingle. Although I’m a veteran of several cons, this is the first time I experienced BarCon, which I learned is the term for meeting and mingling in the hotel bar.
After settling in, the team got together for a bit of planning, then explored the hotel, including the artist’s alley.
We knew artist Rachel Quinlan, who created the awesome Starship’s Mage art we had commissioned, would be there. Once Glynn saw she had the original with her, he had to pick it up. It’s going to have a place of honour in his office, no doubt! We also gave out this fabulous art on cards to readers throughout the weekend.
Independent Publishing Panel
Panels are definitely the name of the game at ConFusion. Glynn took part in two panels over the weekend. The first was Independent Publishing – The Next Step. Glynn was joined by Pablo Defendini (Fireside Magazine) and Phil Tucker (Author, The Path of Flames). The panel was moderated by Richard Shealy (freelance copyeditor).
The panel description set up the conversation quite well:
In music, successful independent musicians created multimillion dollar empires and labels often built around just their own work. We’re starting to see independent authors do the same thing. Many independent authors make the leap to full time and wonder what comes after that. Successful indie writers gather to discuss what they did, whether they think it worked, and speculate on what would work now.
Independent Publishing: The Next Steps Panelists
The conversation started with advice about what to do before making the leap to full-time. Phil and Glynn talked about the classic advice to save six months’ worth of expenses before quitting a day job. Phil was all for it, pointing out that it can be hard to judge whether the success you find with your first few books is going to continue, and you need a fallback plan. Glynn agreed that it’s excellent advice, but said that it’s not advice he personally used. His approach was to carefully assess his existing success across multiple series, and using his background in financial analysis, determine that the risk was more than worth it. Then the conversation turned to writing rates, marketing strategies and planning how much you as an author can sustainably write, or as Phil put it, “[not] plot[ting] out the future based on your max capacity.”
You can read the full live-tweet thread here:
Panel starting @ConFusionMI! @glynnstewart is on the panel, joined by @pablod, @pwtucker. Moderated by @SheckyX. The panel is called Independent Publishing – The Next Step. #ConFusionSF
— FP Publishing (@faolanspen) January 17, 2020
Interstellar Nations and Warfare Panel
On Saturday, Glynn moderated a dynamic and lively panel called Interstellar Nations and Warfare: Space Opera Worldbuilding. The panel description:
Space Opera often features grand interstellar empires, and, of course, equally grand interstellar battles. But both empires and space battles are swimming upstream against economics, politics, and good ol’ fashioned physics. In the face of these scientific realities, how do we weave empires and space battles into our worldbuilding in a satisfying way?
The panel featured authors Jenn Lyons and Maquel A. Jacob, and literary reviewer and engineer, Karen Burnham. The conversation covered everything from how to create conflict in a post-scarcity economy, when to rely on real science and when to make things up, and what elements of world-building destroys immersion for the reader. The panelists also talked about fusing magic or near-magic into the setting (à la Starship’s Mage) and the effect that has on the world.
The prevailing advice from all the panelists was internal consistency and believability were important to creating a cohesive and believable universe – and to consider what the ramifications of technology would have on other parts of your world(s). All in all, it was a really great discussion. I’ve been a lover of SF since I was a kid, so the insight into how much thought goes into building a world.
You can see the whole live tweet thread here:
Good morning #ConFusionSF day two! @glynnstewart is about to start a panel called Interstellar Nations and Warfare: Space Opera Worldbuilding.
Joining him: @jennlyonsauthor, @SpiralGalaxy,@MaquelAJ1
— FP Publishing (@faolanspen) January 18, 2020
Glynn’s New Sci-Fi Series
After the panel, Glynn had one last commitment, which was to give attendees a taste of Conviction! Attendees of the con were the first other than our beta readers and Patreon supporters to hear how this exciting new series kicks off. If you want to read it yourself, it’s available now! It’s also got a really dynamic and cinematic cover of awesome starfighters and kickass ladies. What more do you need?
Wrap-Up
After that, and an experience getting to and from dinner on the last night (don’t ask) it was time to say goodbye and head towards our respective homes. We left feeling positive and pretty certain we’d be back next year!
Other highlights:
The whole Faolan’s Pen team had lots of opportunities to meet and mingle with indie and traditionally published authors. As we all work in fairly solitary conditions, it was a much-needed infusion of energy!
We hosted a reader meet-up at the hotel bar. Thanks to everyone who came out to say hi!
We brought 20 free copies of Starship’s Mage that disappeared pretty darned quickly.
We all became fans of Panera Bread. Seriously. We went there twice. We would have gone more often but we only discovered them on the second to last day. Panera, come to Canada, please!
If you didn’t make it out this year, we hope to see you next time!
The post ConFusion 2020 Round-up! appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
January 14, 2020
Conviction, the First Book in the Scattered Stars Universe Now Available for Preorder
Conviction, book 1 of Scattered Stars: Conviction series, will be released on January 28th. The title is available for preorder now through Amazon!
Click here to place your preorder for the first book in this exciting new starfighter series!
Here’s the cover copy:
A starfighter squadron driven to desertion
Hunted by friends and enemies alike
With one final hope for a new beginning
The last reward Kira Demirci expected for heroism in a time of war was to spend the rest of her life dodging assassins—but when her government betrays her as part of their surrender, she and her comrades flee the star system of Apollo to the edge of civilized space.
The Syntactic Cluster is disorganized, disunified, and in desperate need of the nova fighters Kira smuggled out of Apollo with her. With an entire squadron supposed to follow in her wake, it falls to her to build a new home for her comrades.
But their enemy’s reach may be longer than her worst nightmares—and even her new friends may not be all that they appear…
The post Conviction, the First Book in the Scattered Stars Universe Now Available for Preorder appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
January 10, 2020
Starfighter Space Adventure, Conviction, Coming to Patreon Soon! Look at this Amazing Cover!
Conviction, the first book in the Scattered Stars Universe, is almost here to kick off the decade right! This starfighter space adventure kicks off the Scattered Stars: Conviction series with lightspeed nova fighters, new battle tech and tactics, and a complex mess of space politics.
If you join us on Patreon, you can have access to this new title next week! Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for the book to launch on Amazon on January 28, 2020.
Still deciding if you should back us on Patreon? Maybe you want to see the cover copy:
A starfighter squadron driven to desertion
Hunted by friends and enemies alike
With one final hope for a new beginning
The last reward Kira Demirci expected for heroism in a time of war was to spend the rest of her life dodging assassins—but when her government betrays her as part of their surrender, she and her comrades flee the star system of Apollo to the edge of civilized space.
The Syntactic Cluster is disorganized, disunified, and in desperate need of the nova fighters Kira smuggled out of Apollo with her. With an entire squadron supposed to follow in her wake, it falls to her to build a new home for her comrades.
But their enemy’s reach may be longer than her worst nightmares—and even her new friends may not be all that they appear…
Get a closer look at the cover here. Preorder links will be available next week. If you want to see that preorder link first, make sure to sign up for the mailing list.
The post Starfighter Space Adventure, Conviction, Coming to Patreon Soon! Look at this Amazing Cover! appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
January 9, 2020
Glynn Interviewed by The Spoke Online
Recently, Glynn and Jack had a conversation with Caleb Burney of Spoke Online about how how he manages to be so prolific, his philosophy behind his universes – and how Dungeons and Dragons made him a better storyteller.
“This is a genre that I loved, that I loved the tropes of, I loved the style and the feel and the stories that could be told there, and I didn’t like the stories that were being told. And apparently a whole bunch of other people were looking for that slightly different take as well. So we sold a whole bunch of books and here we are.”
The post Glynn Interviewed by The Spoke Online appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
January 7, 2020
Glynn at ConFusion 2020, Jan 16-19!
Glynn and the Faolan’s Pen team are attending ConFusion 2020 in Detroit, MI! The con takes place from January 16-19 at the Sheraton Novi Hotel.
While there, Glynn will be taking part in panels, and we’ll also be hosting a reader meet up!
Independent Publishing – The Next Step
Friday, January 17, 4 PM
Manitou Room
In music, successful independent musicians created multimillion dollar empires and labels often built around just their own work. We’re starting to see independent authors do the same thing. Many independent authors make the leap to full time and wonder what comes after that. Successful indie writers gather to discuss what they did, whether they think it worked, and speculate on what would work now.
Panelists: Richard Shealy (M), Pablo Defendini, Glynn Stewart
Glynn Stewart Reader Meet Up
Friday, January 17, 7 PM – 8 PM
Sheraton Detroit NoVI – NoVI Craft House
Come meet Glynn and the Faolan’s Pen team! Note you don’t have to be attending ConFusion to come.
Interstellar Nations and Warfare: Space Opera Worldbuilding
Saturday, January 18, 11:00 AM
Manitou Room
Space Opera often features grand interstellar empires, and, of course, equally grand interstellar battles. But both empires and space battles are swimming upstream against economics, politics, and good ol’ fashioned physics. In the face of these scientific realities, how do we weave empires and space battles into our worldbuilding in a satisfying way?
Panelists: Glynn Stewart (M), Jenn Lyons, Karen Burnham, Maquel A. Jacob
Reading: Glynn Stewart, Dyrk Ashton, Dan Stout
Saturday, January 18, 2:00 PM
Saugatuck Room
Glynn will be reading from Conviction, the first book in the brand-new Shattered Stars universe (releasing January 28!)
The post Glynn at ConFusion 2020, Jan 16-19! appeared first on Glynn Stewart.
December 24, 2019
Starship’s Mage Mountain of Mars Cover Reveal
Thank you so much for playing along with our Exile series Spacemas advent quote calendar!
On the last day of Spacemas, Glynn Stewart gave to me…
A Mountain of Mars cover reveal!
It’s that a wonderful cover? Jeff Brown did a fantastic job, yet again.
Remember, you can be of the first to read Mountain of Mars in March by becoming a patron of the Glynn Stewart Patreon. If you want to hear about when the books will be released, hop onto the Mailing List (which includes a chance to win paperbacks every novel release!).
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December 23, 2019
2019 Roundup – I DIDN’T DIE
That headline is necessary after last year
