Patrick O'Sullivan's Blog, page 2

Quite Possibly Alien – Available Now

One human. Six legs. All hero.

Merchant Academy grad Ciarán mac Diarmuid wants to do well by doing good. But when he rescues a mysterious stranger from foreign assassins no respectable merchant captain will hire him.

On a superluminal mission of epic proportions. 

Now Ciarán must apprentice himself to the black sheep of the powerful nic Cartaí clan, a young woman who is almost certainly a pirate, aboard a sentient starship that is almost certainly insane, on a mission that will almost certainly get both him and his cat killed.

Across a galaxy more dangerous than anyone imagines.

Ciarán has no idea he has been chosen. Any competent human may win a merchant’s license. And any interstellar vessel will do. But it will take more than two legs and a pair of opposable thumbs to liberate the galaxy and see justice done.

It will take the heart of a tiger. And of the champion who walks beside her.

Support Your Local Bookstore

The print book is available everywhere in the universe. Your local bookseller can order Quite Possibly Alien from Ingram using ISBN 9781625600202.

Available in Kindle eBook, Kindle Unlimited, and print.

Available Now

Kindle UnlimitedBarnes and Noble

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Irish Short Stories

I have several Irish short stories now available on Kindle Unlimited (Amazon’s read-all-you-want subscription service).

These stories will be there until June 18th, 2020. So if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber read them fast before they’re gone.

One is a historical crime story set during a bleak time in Irish history.

The other is a romantic story that could have happened yesterday, or maybe even tomorrow.

The Best Man is a previously unpublished story and not available anywhere else.

Take a look.

UPDATE: While these stories aren’t in Kindle Unlimited anymore they are now available everywhere fine stories are sold.

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World War II Short Stories

I have several World War II short stories now available on Kindle Unlimited (Amazon’s read-all-you-want subscription service).

These stories will be there until June 18th, 2020. So if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber read them fast before they’re gone.

All of the stories are a bit of a departure for me.

One is a jungle adventure story that Publisher’s Weekly called “a delightful World War II romp.”

One is a New York detective story that fans of Mickey Spillane may like.

And one is a historical crime story so romantic there ought to be a law against it.

Take a look.

UPDATE: While these stories aren’t in Kindle Unlimited anymore they are now available everywhere fine stories are sold.

Learn MoreLearn MoreLearn More

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Police Shoot Me/Beat Me with Crowbar

And I thanked them.

Last night I was shot in the face by a detective and hammered upside the head by a captain of police. It was all in good fun, part of the Citizen’s Police Academy, a six-week program put on by our local sheriff’s office.

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I decided to make one for 2019. This year, I vowed, I would examine any opinion I held which seemed to have little or no basis in fact, and take steps to prove or disprove it.

For example, I am an iPad hater but my wife swears by them, and thinks that I don’t know what I’m talking about. The new iPads are great. Grow up.

So I got an iPad Pro to see for myself, and my longstanding prejudice is proving mostly true. (Astropad and Luna Display may well change my mind, but it’s too early to tell.)

Same for the Apple watch. Hate it. Think it’s stupid. Except everyone I know that has one swears by it. Evangelizes for it. Now I have one, even though I haven’t worn a watch in more than 30 years. Time is not my master.

Again, the jury is out. It’s meh. But I just realized I’m wearing it now, as I type, leading me to wonder.

What do you call a dog that puts on its own leash?

You get the idea. I have strong opinions, mostly about technology, but about other things too. I’m taking action to examine those opinions, to see for myself, to arm myself with facts. With arguments I know are true. Not handed down, but experienced. First-hand.

And that leads me to getting shot in the face with a Simunition round and beaten about the head and neck with a rubber crowbar.

I signed up for the Citizen’s Police Academy program for several reasons:

Because knowing about real police equipment and procedures would help make the details in my writing more informed, and thus more believable.

Because I wanted to get to know the people behind the badges; to learn how they think, what motivates them, what scares them. Again to help my writing by making it more faithful to life. I want my lies to depict truth.

And because I don’t like the police.

Why? Because. I just don’t. It’s one more of those unexamined opinions I hold, partly based on past experience, partly based on the opinions of people I respect, partly based on stuff I see and hear; in the news, on the internet, down at the crack house (kidding).

And my conclusion so far, after three weeks of a six-week course?

I may have been mistaken.

Update

I’m writing this in June, so I’ve had some time to think.

And I’ve concluded that the Citizen’s Police Academy really did change my mind about the police. At least the police in my home town, anyway.

I hate admitting it when I’m wrong.

But in this case it turns out I was, and I’m actually pretty happy about that.

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My Droptop Writing Office

I’m interested in everything about writers and writing, and like a lot of writers, enjoy seeing pictures of other writer’s spaces, from George Bernard Shaw’s rotating garden hut, to Kipling’s Edwardian man cave, to Mark Twain’s breezy gazebo and cozy billiards room.

I have often wondered what it would be like to have such a distinctive space in which to work.

I no longer wonder, thanks to the unexpected remodeling help of Hurricane Irma.

When the evacuation order was given I was already out of town. My family wasn’t, and had to prep and leave in relative haste. The cats didn’t enjoy the hours-long car ride but everyone made it out safely.

Getting back in was another story.

We were kept from returning for many days after the storm. This was absolutely the right thing to do for safety but it also meant that properties were left open to the elements and essential cleanup delayed.

It was unseasonably hot, and rain-soaked sheetrock had days to dry and bake onto whatever lay underneath. Everything perishable perished, and rotted in place before being hauled to the curb, a curb I could now see and smell, not only through the window, but by sighting and scenting along the rafters.

We were very lucky; our home was still standing. There were entire neighborhoods leveled, and families that returned to find a vacant lot where their home once stood. There are many businesses that haven’t yet re-opened, in part because of storm damage, but largely because their employees have moved to the mainland, found new jobs, and won’t be coming back.

Faced with major repairs, I had to make a decision. I didn’t feel that I could write, run a business, interact with others in person and on line, and deal with a major reconstruction project simultaneously.

Something had to give, and it did.

If you weren’t buying a story, fastening on a tool belt, or brandishing a roofing nailer I probably haven’t spoken to or written you in over a year. And if, in that time, you came here expecting news you left disappointed.

We’re nearly back to normal now. Concrete spalling repairs remain to be done. Landscaping as well, along with a few smaller projects that are important but not urgent.

Over the next few weeks I’ll fill you in. There are a couple stories published in anthologies that I haven’t mentioned yet, upcoming opportunities for us to meet up in person in the US and Ireland, and more.

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Maddy Dune’s First and Only Spelling Bee

My short story, “Maddy Dune’s First and Only Spelling Bee” won a first prize in the Writers of the Future contest. Later it was published as a standalone story.

You can  still get a copy of the short story from all the usual places. However, the full text of the short story is now available for free simply by reading the preview of Flame in Shadow available here.

The Maddy Dune short story is the first chapter of the novel. The novel that takes off where the short story ends.

Here’s the cover for the standalone short story:

And the blurb:

A dozen of the best young spellcasters in the land. The heir to the throne, determined to beat them all. And Maddy Dune, a half-human enchanter who’ll settle for getting through the competition without killing anyone.

This story was first published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 27.

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“The Lamplighter Legacy” Now Available

A while ago my short story, “The Lamplighter Legacy” won the grand prize in the James Patrick Baen Memorial Writing Contest sponsored by Baen Books and the National Space Society. There are details about the contest in previous posts if you’re interested.

This story is still available to read for free at Baen Books here:

http://www.baen.com/Lamplighter_Legacy.asp

It’s also now available as a standalone ebook download from the usual suspects.

Here’s the cover:

And the blurb:

When high school student Ernesto Suarez wins the Lamplighter Prize for Best Amateur Space Blog he finds himself thrust into the heart of a hidden conspiracy that will forever change the course of human space exploration.

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