The Chronological Book Map v1

Here's a visual timeline of all my books in chronological order. If you ever wondered which books to read first, then here's the ultimate answer! I'll be making a more extensive list of books on the new website, which should be finished sometime  this year. 

RL

Everything I Released Is On Sale

I don't normally announce this sort of thing here, but Smashwords is having an end of year sale and I had to join in. All my books are discounted this week,(Until January 1). If you're missing something, want to look at my whole library, to see what's free today or would like DRM free backups of my books, now is the time. If you stop in, please add me as a favourite so you get notifications whenever a new book appears. There will be a few this year. :)

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/randolphlalonde

RL

Celebrating 10 Years and 1 Million Downloads of Spinward Fringe With a Summer Sale

I didn't think I'd get the chance to write this blog post when I set out on this journey. I started writing Spinward Fringe as a fun Space Opera adventure that I wanted to see but couldn't find. Science Fiction television shows were ending and being cancelled: Stargate SG-1, Atlantis, Universe, and Farscape were all either over or ending. Battlestar Galactica (Ronald D. Moore's reboot), ended in lacklustre fashion and the spinoff, Caprica, failed to live up to fans' hopes. Star Wars was hibernating for the most part, Star Trek was back in reruns and I'm pretty sure I'd seen everything at least five to ten times, and newcomers like Firefly didn't last.

It was a dark time for SciFi, and it wasn't the first time in my life when the force was weak with the serialized, space bound science fiction adventure sub-genre. Instead of weeping in front of more reruns or seeking out obscure box sets of more obscure series, I decided to try writing my own with the purpose of entertaining myself.

I wrote fantasy before that along with a little horror but took a couple years off after my first self publishing adventure in 2004. In 2008, starting on new years' eve, I dug into a Space Opera idea that I had been daydreaming about for a year. That became the First Light Chronicles, which was eventually collected into one volume and renamed Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins.
I released it in eBook form on a site made by a company in France called Mobipocket, unaware that Amazon already bought the company and was using the tech to develop the now dominant Kindle platform. A year later, I was firmly making a living and spreading my books out to Amazon, Smashwords and other retailers.

It's with gratitude and a little disbelief that I look back at the decade that followed. I've written and published twenty-two novels in that time, twenty-one of which can still be downloaded. Last year I verified that over a million copies of my books were downloaded legally with at least six times that number pirated (that's a gross underestimation).

Granted, many of those legally downloaded copies were free, but it's still a number I wouldn't have dreamed of hitting when I started out in 2004 with my first in-print self published novel, then started writing and releasing SciFi in eBook format.

Starting today, I'm celebrating ten years of successful self publishing. In that time that's all I've been doing to earn my living, and to kick it off I'm participating in the Smashwords Summer sale. All my books are on sale or free there now, and I invite you to take a look, leave comments on your favourite books, maybe follow me there as a favourite author if you like and be a part of it because they have been a part of my success. Here's a direct link to my page there.

I'm also having a poster made and updating most of the formatting for all my books while I correct errors throughout the series. The updates will be free for everyone, available through your dashboards wherever you purchased or downloaded them.

I'm wondering if you have any other ideas to celebrate this anniversary. Please, leave them in the comments, but don't forget the Smashwords Summer Sale, especially if you missed Highshield, Brightwill, Dark Arts, Spinward Fringe Broadcasts 6.5 or 10.5.

Thank you very much for reading and buying my books through the years. I hope I can do this for the rest of my life. I love creating this kind of entertainment, first for myself, then for you!

RL

Highshield Release Day!

Since I was a young teenager I wanted to write an epic fantasy novel. I wrote several unpublished books leading up to 2004's Fate Cycle Book I, and while I did see that as being worth publishing at the time, I would later become dissatisfied with the story I created there.

Brightwill was an attempt to tell a big story in a shorter book, one that suggested that the story could continue at the end, but had a whole tale told between those two covers. I'm still pretty happy with that novel, and am happy to offer it for free. In fact, the book that's released today, Highshield, takes place several years before Brightwill, and has some connective tissue with that book. There's even a cameo or two.

This year, I couldn't hold the ideas I had for an epic fantasy novel in anymore, I was working on something else, a much anticipated novel, but kept on getting distracted. So, I sat down and wrote Highshield. It's the beginning of a saga that I'll continue whether it sells 40 copies or 400,000 copies. It features character types I've never explored before, a world I've been dreaming about for twenty years or more, and the right story to start things off. A complete story.

The central story in this novel revolves around three special children, some of whom need to be transported across a politically divided land. They're all resurrected, and they all have a God or Goddess backing them from afar, trusting that their mortal followers will get the job done. That's what it's really about, spiritual, personal and physical journeys across a landscape.

The rough draft of Highshield was published twice weekly on my Patreon page, but this release is different. It's been edited multiple times, new sections have been written, other sections have been re-written, and there's a Guide to the people, and places in the book along with some extra history. This release is very special to me.

I hope you enjoy it while I'm busy working on Spinward Fringe, which will start putting releases out as early as next month. Watch this space this Sunday for more news on that.

For now, here's where you can find Highshield:

Smashwords
Amazon (Paperback is also available here)
Apple iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Many other book stores are carrying it as well. If your library supports Ebooks, they may be able to order it in for you for a discounted price. Thank you to the people who support me no matter what I'm writing, this is becoming a great year thanks to you.

RL 

Highshield Book I Release Date

The final release date for Highshield is September 21, 2017. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy that spans decades. In Book I Rendiran, a young priest to a Goddess who has proven her existence to her followers, must take responsibility for a child who is resurrected to become a great paladin.

He finds that trustworthy people are difficult to find as he has to make a journey with a young boy, Tadrin, across the countryside amidst political and religious upheaval.
If matters weren't already complicated enough, he has to face the undead and zealots from enemy religions who want to sacrifice his charge to their own Gods.

Highshield takes place in the same world as the award winning novel Brightwill, and examines a different side of the universe introduced there.

The ebook and printed version contain an extensive Appendix as well as the final edit of a book enjoyed by many on Patreon, where readers were able to choose the fate of a main character, comment on the developing story and see the rough version months before the final release. An important preview chapter from Book II is also included.

Preorders are available through:

The Apple iBookstore
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
The Kobo Bookstore

RL

Please note that many Patreon subscribers will receive the Ebook version for free, you know who you are!

[On September 6, 2017, the Patreon site and this blog will become completely dedicated to Spinward Fringe and the books that will be arriving before year's end. Watch the Patreon Site for the most up to date info.]

Highshield Chapter 30 (The Fairy Tale Version) Is Up!

Highshield Chapter 30 is up! There are two different versions of this chapter, and this is the first of the two, the Fairy Tale version. I'll be posting the other version tomorrow or Friday, then looking to you to choose which version makes it into the final revision of the book.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/13127105

[For everyone who is waiting for news on Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11: Revenge, it's coming. I'm still well ahead of my goal to have this book out within a year of the release of the last, so please be patient.]

RL

Highshield Heats Up!

Highshield Chapter 27 is up! I'll let the picture speak for this installment. Highshield Chapter 27 is up! https://www.patreon.com/posts/12707467

If you haven't been reading and would like to catch up or start from the beginning, here's a link to the index: https://www.patreon.com/posts/highshield-and-11398692

RL

Highshield Book I Release Date and Cover

The cover for Highshield Book I has been chosen, and preorders are open! The epic story continues on Patreon for free, but if you want the more refined version of the tale, or to have it on your device, that's going to be possible soon.

For more details, check out the spot on the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/11713987

Highshield Chapter 18 Is Up!

Highshield Chapter 18 is up! This story has gone longer than I expected, with more depth than was planned, but I hope everyone is enjoying the journey. Please post comments if you have them, I would like to hear your thoughts.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/highshield-xviii-11614875

The cover for the first complete edition will be coming sometime in the next week or so. I'll be putting some extra design work in it since I've decided on a more powerful looking design. A preorder date will follow some time after that, but for now you can read the chapters as they're released for free on Patreon!

RL

Highshield Chapter 17 With a Handy Index!

It's Saturday! That means there's a new chapter of Highshield! Enjoy! https://www.patreon.com/posts/11553404

Click on the Index link at the top of the post if you need more info or have to start at a different chapter.

-RL

Highshield Continues, Catch Up On All Fourteen Chapters!

The latest chapter of Highshield is up! If you aren't up to date, use the index at the top of the post to get to the last chapter you read, or to start at the beginning. There's Highshield and Spinward Fringe news coming this weekend too, so keep your eyes open!

The entire serial is free, and I encourage discussion and comments, especially on the comment thread linked in the index.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/11351165

Highshield Is Up To Chapter 9, and It's Free!

Highshield, that serial fantasy series I've been putting out every week, is growing and it's free for everyone.

In fact, Chapter IX is out now!

There's an index at the top for anyone who hasn't started reading this serial Fantasy series! https://www.patreon.com/posts/highshield-ix-10671756

Patreon Done My Way...

There's a huge update on the Patreon site. The first thing you'll notice is that every post and item there is now freely available to everyone.

Check it out!

RL

On The Podcast: Spinward Fringe TV and Movie Rights Are Back In Hand

The new podcast is live. We didn't have time to get all your questions, but there is an awful lot of explaining. Thanks to Luke for going with me on this auditory trip!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/8826686

RL