G.S. Jennsen's Blog, page 8
December 10, 2020
ECHO RIFT Release Date, Cover Reveal & Pre-Order
ECHO RIFT, Book Three in the Riven Worlds series, will be released on JANUARY 15, 2021. But you can pre-order it today at all major online retailers for a special pre-order price of $2.99 for 1 week only. The price will increase to $4.99 next Thursday, so grab it today (Note: Kobo is being slow about getting it up, but you should find it at the link below later today). You can also add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf here.
Who’s ready for a cover reveal?
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“Everything we have done from the start of this endeavor has been risky. Is the goal not worth any risk?”
In the aftermath of Namino’s liberation, everyone seeks a moment of peace to catch their breath and regroup. But the Rasu will not be waylaid for long, and peace soon becomes a race against time before the next onslaught.
Alex and Caleb search distant stars and the ruins of a dead civilization for a secret weapon that may hold the key to defeating an enemy who cannot be killed by conventional means. In the Dominion, Nika and Dashiel probe the mysteries of kyoseil in search of answers, but the Asterions’ bond with this ancient and enigmatic life proves more complicated than they ever realized.
“You act as if there are no consequences for your actions and no price for your foolish decisions. It is time to remind you that there is always a price to be paid.”
Formidable as they are, the Rasu are not the only foe seeking to destroy Concord. The Savrakaths have seen their cities leveled and fleets decimated by rebel Anaden forces. Now they marshal their last resources for a final vengeance-fueled strike—against the wrong enemy.
After a failed coup attempt, the Anaden leadership bickers and squabbles amongst themselves—until a ghost from the past returns, determined to finally unite his people. But those who have wielded unbridled power for millennia will not give it up so easily.
Yet amid the deadly battles and insurrections, struggles of faith, hope, friendship and love light the way forward, because winning is about more than just surviving.
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In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.
It took longer than I hoped, but the INVERSION audiobook is now available on Apple (as well as Amazon and Audible, of course). And as I talk about in this blog post, it is my intent that you'll have to wait so long for an audiobook again.
I hope you’re half as excited as I am about ECHO RIFT. I can’t wait to share it with you!
October 20, 2020
The INVERSION Audiobook is Here - Plus a Visual of Anaden History & a Video Chat
I’m so excited (and relieved) to share that the INVERSION audiobook is now available on Audible & Amazon (it should be available on Apple Books in the next day or two - when it is, you’ll find it HERE). Patient audiobook listeners, you can at last find out what happens to Miriam, to Malcolm, and to Marlee and all the Asterions trapped on Namino. Lots of other exciting goings-on, too, so get to listening. :)
If you missed it earlier, check out my blog post on how I plan to make sure you never have to wait this long for an audiobook from me again: Audiobooks, the Changing Face of Indie Publishing &…You're Tired of Waiting! (So Am I)
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Weren’t able to make my live hangout with fellow Forged From the Stars authors EJ Fisch and Tammy Salyer? Not a problem. You can now watch it at your leisure on YouTube HERE. We had a great time chatting and answering your questions - you can tell because we're all laughing in the screenshot. ;)
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Finally, I've recently gotten several questions about the order of events in Anaden history - with good reason, as that history is dribbled out to you in bits and pieces throughout the Resonant novels. But as all our players begin to converge once again, ancient events will continue to haunt the future. So I give you a Timeline of the major events in the Anaden Empire (and, to a lesser extent, the Asterion Dominion). View it in high resolution on the Amaranthe Wiki HERE.
The Anaden calendar is complicated with its Epoch system, so I've used a relative calendar, with Year 0, at the bottom right, equaling the start of...well, RELATIVITY. As you go to the left and up, you go back in time.
Let me know if anything isn't clear, or if you think I should have included something else! Oh, and it's free of *major* spoilers, so feel free to peruse it even if you aren't caught up (though depending on where you are, the events might not mean anything to you). And of course, you can see the spoiler-free Aurora Rhapsody timeline HERE.
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ECHO RIFT is coming along quite nicely, with well over 100K words in the bank and heavy editing underway. Look for a cover reveal and release date announcement soon!
September 13, 2020
Live Q&A/Hangout Next Sunday, Plus an Audiobook Update
I’m thrilled to announce that I will be joining SF/F authors EJ Fisch & Tammy Salyer for a video chat next Sunday, September 20th, 2020 at 5pm PDT/8pm EDT.
You can register to attend the event here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/live-hangoutqa-with-sci/register. **All registrants for the live event will receive a free ebook download of Forged From the Stars.** Register now and get your free book today.
EJ, Tammy & I will chat about our inspirations, SF/F heroes, favorite wines, how many cats is too many, and anything else YOU want to know. Have a question for us? (a) once you’ve registered, you can post your questions ahead of time using the “Ask A Question” button here; (b) you can send me an email with your questions; or (c) you can catch us off-guard and try to stump us by springing your questions on us live during the hangout.
We can't wait to see you there!
Audiobook listeners: thank you so much for completing the survey in the last newsletter; your answers are a great help to me as I shape the future of my audiobook distribution. Speaking of, I’ve got a new blog post for you today talking about the Inversion audiobook and exactly what I plan to do to make sure you don’t have to wait so long for new audiobooks in the future. Give it a read: Audiobooks, the Changing Face of Indie Publishing &…You’re Tired of Waiting! (So Am I).
Did you enjoy getting a glimpse into Nika’s history and the birth of a rebellion in CHRYSALIS? Help more people find this wonderful Infinite Expanse anthology by dropping a quick review on Amazon, or let me know what you thought of the story!
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Audiobooks, the Changing Face of Indie Publishing &…You're Tired of Waiting! (So Am I)
Where the Heck is My Audiobook, Jennsen??
Let’s start by addressing the ‘80s-style neon pink elephant in the room: where the heck is the Inversion audiobook? What a great question.
Pyper finished recording at the beginning of August, and we are both so anxious to get it to you. And thanks to a boatload of horrible, terrible, no-good cliffhangers at the end of Continuum ;), I suspect you’re anxious to get it. Unfortunately, much like Continuum before it, it’s currently locked up somewhere in the deep, dark depths of ACX’s (the production company) internal systems. Or possibly it’s been boxed up and filed away in a giant warehouse next to the Ark of the Covenant.
To make a long, sad story short, around the first of the year a confluence of several events (Covid-19, a new audiobook get-rich-quick scheme overloading ACX’s servers, several mysterious, dark forces at work, etc.) conspired to double and even triple the amount of time it takes ACX to review, package and distribute an audiobook. Two weeks became two months or longer. The system ground to a halt. Nine months later, little about the situation has improved.
I don’t care for this state of affairs. Neither do you. Neither does Pyper. So, what are going to do about it?
When it comes to the Inversion audiobook, unfortunately, there’s little to nothing we can do. Based on ACX’s updated guidelines, it should be available by the end of September, and I truly hope that’s the case. But I aim to make certain the situation is very different for the next book, Echo Rift.
The History
First, indulge me a quick story. Let’s hop into the Wayback Machine and set it for 6.5 years ago. In my own personal moonshot, I rolled all the dice and published a not-so-little book called Starshine. It took off like mad (if you’re curious about those delightful details, see “A Singular Day”), and almost immediately, I started getting requests for an audiobook version. Now, I am not a native audiobook listener, and I knew almost nothing about that market. Did people mean like the self-help books-on-tape our parents listened to in the car?
But being an indie author means always learning new systems and skills, so I quickly educated myself. Audiobooks are not particularly friendly to indie publishing due to the specialized production and packaging required, but ACX (a subsidiary of Audible) had recently opened up audiobook production to indie authors. Yay! Except…producing an audiobook is also expensive. For good reason, as it takes a narrator around a hundred hours of work to produce a 15-hour audiobook, and their skill is a rarefied one.
Now, I made some nice money from Starshine in those initial months, but there were credit card bills to pay. A lot of them. (See this blog post.) At the time, I simply couldn’t afford the large front-end financial investment.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, namesake of a certain colony you might be familiar with, said that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Well, as luck would have it, ACX had just introduced a new way to compensate narrators: in return for no up-front payment, the author and the narrator would split the royalties earned 50/50. Fantastic! Except…if the audiobook flopped, the narrator didn’t get paid for their hard work. Naturally, most narrators were reluctant to take that risk. So ACX brought out a carrot: for certain books they judged likely to be successful, they would pay the narrator a stipend if they accepted a royalty share arrangement. ACX judged Starshine to be one of said books, and a generous stipend was attached to the production. This is how I met Pyper Down, and a beautiful working relationship was born.
Just one tiny little caveat: a royalty share arrangement required 7-year exclusivity with ACX, who distributes only to Audible and iTunes. At the time, it seemed an easy price to pay. After all, Audible & iTunes were the only games in Audiobook Town. What else would I have done with the audiobook, anyway?
Onward to the Future
*climbs out of the Wayback Machine and stretches*
Today, Audible and iTunes are most decidedly not the only games in Audiobook Town. Nook, Kobo and Google Play are selling audiobooks directly. A company called Findaway has taken ACX’s model and exploded it, producing audiobooks and distributing them everywhere, including libraries (libraries have always lent audiobooks, but until recently only the physical versions).
This is great news for all of us. More markets means new audiences, greater pricing flexibility (with ACX I have zero control over pricing) and more options in how you listen to audiobooks. Benefits all around.
That 7-year exclusivity isn’t looking too hot anymore, though, is it? Starshine will exit exclusivity next spring, and the rest of the books will gradually follow. As they do, I intend to distribute the audiobooks everywhere—but you don’t really care about that. You already have all the previous audiobooks.
So what about Echo Rift? Well, we’re going to do things a little differently this time. Echo Rift will never be exclusive with ACX. As soon as Pyper is finished recording, the audio files will be uploaded directly to Nook, Kobo, Google Play, Findaway and ACX.
findaway retailers
One of the coolest features Findaway offers is an “authors direct” store, where you purchase the audiobook directly from me (using Findaway’s infrastructure). You download a Findaway mobile app that works similar to the Audible app, and you listen just like you always have. Even better, I’ll get to set the price; it’ll definitely be lower than the price Audible charges, which means a lower cost for you as well as a higher portion of the proceeds for Pyper and myself. Everybody wins. I anticipate that the Echo Rift audiobook should be available for direct purchase within 2 weeks after Pyper finishes recording.
I’m also looking into starting a Patreon for the express purpose of providing even faster access to new audiobooks. There’s no app, so you’ll have to listen in your browser, but for a thoroughly reasonable price, you should be able to do so within 2-3 days after Pyper finishes recording.
In the weeks that follow the initial release, the audiobook will become available at numerous retailers—including, yes, Audible. How long it takes to get there will still be up to ACX, but if you’re an Audible devotee, you’ll always be able to get my audiobooks there. Eventually. :/
There are bound to be some bumps in the road, particularly with the first release. I ask for your understanding and your feedback—let me know what’s working and what isn’t!
For me, being an indie author has always been, first and foremost, about control. Come what may, for good or ill, through screw-ups and successes, everything about my books is up to me. The words, the formatting, the cover, the blurb, the price, where they’re available, the marketing and promotions, and so on. Until recently, audiobooks presented a necessary exception, but going forward, I’ll be able to take a lot of that control back (I happily, of course, cede Pyper’s notable talent to her and her alone).
Retaking the reins makes me happy, and I’m betting that if it means you get new audiobooks faster and cheaper, it’ll make you happy, too.
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August 24, 2020
Surprise! A New Amaranthe Short Story Is Available Today
I'm thrilled to announce the release of BEYOND THE STARS: INFINITE EXPANSE, a collection of space opera short stories from eleven of today's hottest indie sci-fi authors and rising stars. It's available at a special release price of $0.99 for one week only, so grab it while it’s cheap:
AMAZON US
AMAZON INTL
Infinite Expanse includes a brand new short story from me, titled "Chrysalis." Here's the official teaser:
In the cutting-edge laboratories of Asterion Prime, a new manner of life emerges: sentient artificial intelligence. But when the government responds by trying to shut down the AIs before they have a chance to flourish, one woman realizes she must do whatever it takes to protect this still fragile new life, no matter the consequences.
But that's just for the uninitiated.:) If you've read Exin Ex Machina, you know how the SAI Rebellion ended - but what about how it began? See Nika back when she was still an Anaden named Nicolette Hinotori. Meet her brother, Loshi, who we learned about in Continuum (he's quite a character; now that I've written him, I'm really sorry he's no longer around). With special guest appearances by: Maris Debray (then Idoni), KIR, Steven Olivaw, Magnus Forchelle and Corradeo Praesidis. See them all in CHRYSALIS!
I'm happy to announce that FORGED FROM THE STARS is once again available. If you're new here, you might not have seen this awesome collection with the kick-ass cover before.
SOME WOMEN ARE CONSUMED BY THE FIRE. SOME BECOME THE FIRE.
An elite operative. A war-hardened soldier. A daring explorer. One strikes from the shadows to protect a deadly secret. One strives to reclaim what was taken from her. One searches the void for the answers denied her.
Their stories are their own, but they share a gritty determination to fight for what they believe in and an unwavering conviction that they can and will do whatever is necessary to save themselves, those they hold dear and, if worse comes to worst (as it always does), civilization itself.
FORGED FROM THE STARS brings you the first books in three exciting, original space opera adventure series, Ziva Payvan, Spectras Arise, and Aurora Rising. These epic tales feature empires that stretch across the vastness of space, suspenseful action as new worlds are discovered and old ones destroyed, thrilling interstellar warfare and deadly conspiracies that promise to reshape galaxies.
At the heart of the storm stand three women: Ziva Payvan. Aly Erikson. Alexis Solovy. Forged from the stars, in the face of overwhelming odds they will bend those stars to their will—or die trying.
Pick it up for only $0.99 through the end of the month:
FORGED RETAILERS
If you're an audiobook listener, I want to apologize for you not already having the INVERSION audiobook in your ears. Pyper Down has finished recording, and it's now in the production company's hands. The problem is, much like with Continuum, they're taking too long. I'll have more to say soon about why it's taking so long and what I plan to do to ensure future audiobooks get to you faster.
You can help me with that by completing a super-quick survey about how you get and listen to your audiobooks. Thanks in advance!
TAKE THE SURVEY
Oh! I almost forgot (not really). You know that poll for the Best Sci-Fi Book of 2020 (So Far) that I shared with you in the last newsletter? Thanks to all you amazing people, INVERSION WON!! And it wasn't even close. As the blog post says: "Jennsen’s mastery of her craft has earned a loyal and passionate fanbase, and they turned out to support Inversion in record numbers, casting nearly a third of over 1000 votes for the entry." You can read more about all the Top 10 finalists here: Top 10 Sci-Fi Books of 2020 (So Far). You have my most heartfelt and giddy thanks.
July 31, 2020
The Best Sci-Fi Book of 2020 (So Far)? INVERSION’s Been Nominated
I hope everyone is enjoying INVERSION very much. I’m excited to share the news that Inversion has been chosen as one of the Top 10 Books of 2020 (so far) by Discover Sci-Fi. Can it win the #1 spot? Only if you go vote! So if you loved Inversion and are so inclined, click the link and cast a quick vote for it. You have my thanks! VOTE HERE
(P.S.: If you haven’t read it yet, go grab it from your favorite retailer here.)
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In other news, Inversion paperbacks are now in stock. If you’d like a personalized, signed paperback of Inversion (or any of my books), you can get it here: Web Store.
Finally, let’s all wish the new Mars rover Perseverance and it’s little helicopter buddy, Ingenuity, the best of luck as they begin their 7-month journey to the red planet. Once there, they will join Curiosity and InSight in working to uncover Mars’ secrets and prepare the way for human exploration.
Image by Mike Seeley (https://twitter.com/Mike_Seeley/status/1288812959322591237).
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July 13, 2020
INVERSION Is Here
I’m thrilled to announce that INVERSION (Riven Worlds Book Two, Amaranthe #15) is now available at all major online retailers. Get it, read it and unhang all those terrible cliffhangers from Continuum. ;)
If you pre-ordered the ebook, it should be waiting for you right now on your ereader device or app. If not, today is the last day to grab it for a special release price of $2.99, so don’t dally.
You can get the paperback from Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s website, and it will be added to additional retailers in the coming weeks - find them all here. Audiobook listeners, you’ll be happy to learn that Pyper Down has already recorded over 30% of the audiobook, and it should be in your ears come August.
Nothing has prepared humanity for an enemy on the scale of the Rasu. Now, after a devastating defeat no one saw coming, the dream of victory has become a battle for survival.
Concord, with its vaunted indestructible warships and dimension-bending weapons, has been knocked back on its heels. A stunning loss in the Battle of Namino has left its best and brightest leaders scattered, trapped or thought lost. The Rasu press their advantage, laying siege to Namino and cutting it off from the rest of civilization.
For Miriam Solovy, a coup attempt by Anaden rebels and a flaring conflict with the militaristic Savrakaths are the least of her concerns. After blowing up the Concord flagship to prevent its capture by the Rasu, she is awakened in a new body and expected to don the mantle of leadership once again. But how can she lead Concord in the fight against the Rasu when humanity doesn’t trust regenesis and she no longer trusts herself?
For Caleb Marano, nothing matters more than family. When his niece is trapped behind enemy lines, he turns his back on the peaceful sentient planet he shares a consciousness with in order to rescue her. If he hopes to succeed, he must become the killer he once was, even if it costs him everything.
For Alex Solovy and Nika Kirumase, however, the crucible of two deadly intergalactic conflicts has taught them that survival is not enough. Together they will cross every line and break every rule to accomplish the impossible, end the siege of Namino and take the fight directly to the enemy.
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In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.
June 29, 2020
Two Weeks Until INVERSION Arrives
INVERSION is almost here! I can’t wait to get it in your hands. The book will be released on July 13, 2020, but you can pre-order it today at a special pre-release price of $2.99:
Learn more about Inversion here. More great news: Pyper Down started recording the audiobook this weekend! Look for the audiobook a little later this summer. Also, I’ve released a couple of teaser excerpts in the last few weeks. I’ve shared one below, and you can see the rest as I release them here (warning: if you’re not caught up, the teaser quotes may contain spoilers for any and all earlier books).
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June 2, 2020
INVERSION Cover Reveal + Pre-Order Today
INVERSION, Book Two in the Riven Worlds series, will be released on JULY 13, 2020. But you can pre-order it today at all major online retailers for a special pre-order price of $2.99. The price will increase to $4.99 after release, so grab it today. You can also add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf here.
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Nothing has prepared humanity for an enemy on the scale of the Rasu. Now, after a devastating defeat no one saw coming, the dream of victory has become a battle for survival.
Concord, with its vaunted indestructible warships and dimension-bending weapons, has been knocked back on its heels. A stunning loss in the Battle of Namino has left its best and brightest leaders scattered, trapped or thought lost. The Rasu press their advantage, laying siege to Namino and cutting it off from the rest of civilization.
For Miriam Solovy, a coup attempt by Anaden rebels and a flaring conflict with the militaristic Savrakaths are the least of her concerns. After blowing up the Concord flagship to prevent its capture by the Rasu, she is awakened in a new body and expected to don the mantle of leadership once again. But how can she lead Concord in the fight against the Rasu when humanity doesn’t trust regenesis and she no longer trusts herself?
For Caleb Marano, nothing matters more than family. When his niece is trapped behind enemy lines, he turns his back on the peaceful sentient planet he shares a consciousness with in order to rescue her. If he hopes to succeed, he must become the killer he once was, even if it costs him everything.
For Alex Solovy and Nika Kirumase, however, the crucible of two deadly intergalactic conflicts has taught them that survival is not enough. Together they will cross every line and break every rule to accomplish the impossible, end the siege of Namino and take the fight directly to the enemy.
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In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.
April 20, 2020
Inversion Sneak Peek + A Huge Sci-Fi Sale
I hope this post finds you healthy and safe in this strange, surreal time. I’m enormously grateful to be able to report that for me, not too much about my daily life has changed, except that my husband is working from home (which has honestly been awesome), and my groceries are delivered to my door (which is nice, if not my preference).
But I know for many of you, this lockdown hasn’t been easy or comfortable, and I want to give you a small treat today—a reward for hanging in there and not murdering your family and pets or burning down your neighborhood. I can't get the next book into your hands any faster, but I can give you a little glimpse at it—so here are two excerpts from my upcoming novel, INVERSION:
CAVEAT: The excerpts contain some pretty major spoilers for CONTINUUM, so if you haven’t finished reading it yet, save this email for later.
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EXCERPT 1:
A Savrakath in military field attire stopped in front of Malcolm’s cell with a hiss. “You are awake. We thought you might die. A surprise that Humans are so frail and fragile.”
“I might still die if you don’t treat this wound. It’s infected.”
“Infection is good for the soul. It tests the body. Strengthens it, if it can pass the trial.”
“Well, I’m not Savrakath, so I’d as soon skip the trial. I’m also no good to you dead. A little antiseptic would go a long way toward keeping me alive.”
The Savrakath sniffed the air. “Prove your worth to us. Give us the name and location of an important but soft Concord target, and we will treat your wounds.”
Prove your worth to us. They didn’t know who he was? Because he’d been on the assault team like a complete moron,* they must have assumed he was just a ground-pounder.
His presence here, in their custody, gave them more valuable leverage in the conflict with Concord than any hordes of intel he could (but never would) provide, but they didn’t know what they had.
An image of Mia flashed into his mind, stunning in a white silk robe, her long raven hair whipping around her face on the balcony of the suite they’d rented for their unofficial anniversary three months earlier. The urge to utter a meager few words overwhelmed him, and only his Marine training stilled his tongue. Provide his name and rank, and he’d become a high-stakes bargaining chip—and also the best-treated prisoner housed in whatever gulag this was. His wound would be treated post-haste, because the Savrakaths would no longer risk him dying.
But Concord would need to weaken their position in the conflict to trade for him, and he couldn’t allow that to happen. Duty and honor before self. Semper fidelis.
