Cool Pursuit: Chaos Core Book 2

The second book in the Chaos Core series is coming fast. I'm working on the last ten chapters this week and next week. I'm aiming for a late September release.

The second book is larger than the first and we get to know several characters much better. The scale of this novella is much broader, with potential new characters from the past entering in with sometimes crossed purposes.

All while Spin's clock keeps ticking down to her final days, and she focuses on correcting the damage done by the Countess.

One of the things I like most about working on this book is how much I was able to explore parts of the broken universe these characters live in. Spin is still new to so much of it, so it's fun to view things from her perspective. The excitement and danger are all still very fresh for her, and it's difficult for her to keep from being distracted.

After this is complete I'll be finishing Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10: Freeground.  The short break I've taken from it has helped me a great deal. I've fleshed out a few ideas and solved a few problems that have come up in the writing. Both series are exciting to me, and I can't wait to deliver a finished book from both of them soon.

Trapped: Chaos Core Book 1 is available for free everywhere now, so if you haven't taken a look at this snack-sized novella yet, now is a great time to do that.

Thank you for all your support,

RL 

Trapped Is Now Free!

The second series based in the Spinward Fringe universe launched to a small segment of people who were excited to see more, and who were excited to see something new. The support the first Chaos Core novella has received has been great, but as with all new series, the first book's sales have tapered off to almost none.

Don't worry though, this happens every time I launch the first part of a series or release a stand alone book. Even The Expendable Few, which is a novella that takes place between Broadcasts 6 and 7 in the Spinward Fringe series suffers form dismal sales because it's not in the main series. Readers are happy to discover it, I get emails about that book all the time, but they usually find it after they've read the entire Spinward Fringe series and go looking for more.

As with all the first books in the series that I'm working on, the first one will be free. The release of Chaos Core Book 2 (and Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10), are quickly approaching, so it's time to get this novella in front of people who don't know my work, or were hesitant on reading something from an author they've never heard of. Trapped has only been free for about three days on Amazon, and over a hundred copies are already on Kindle readers.

I understand that doing this sometimes frustrates the people who paid $2.99 for the book initially. All I can say is that I'm thankful for your support, and you helped move this book further up the charts than I could have imagined. Trapped was the #1 Cyberpunk book on Amazon UK for a little over a week, and placed high in the iBookstore (beating The Force Awakens Novelization), and Smashwords. Those are incredible results, and I think you for being a part of that. Books aren't alive if they're not read, however, and a series dies if the first book is forgotten, so I have to get this novella in front of as many people as possible using the retailers that they'll be able to find the second book through.

I've gotten emails from people who actually feel guilty for reading this for free and not having a way of paying for it too. Don't worry, now you can point your friends at this book and they can join you in that universe for free, and if you really want to support me financially, just show up when the second one (Cool Pursuit), arrives this year. That one will never be free, it will be a larger novella / short novel priced at $2.99 US.

So, tell your fellow readers, your friends, your relatives, the cable guy and the mailman... Trapped is free wherever great Ebooks are sold, and I hope everyone enjoys the ride!

RL

[Work on Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10 continues, if you want more info, please check the previous post.]

Trapped Available on Amazon, Everywhere Else On June 15th

The first book in the new science fiction series of novellas is out for Amazon customers! They fast tracked the approval of the book, taking less than an hour with it as opposed to days, so they have it available much earlier.

Other vendors have moved the release date up as well, to June 15, it's the best they could do. The good news is that you will not have to wait until June 21!

So far people who read it enjoyed it, even though this is different from the Spinward Fringe novels.

The Chaos Core series is something I'm working on for a few weeks as a daily cool down from writing Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10. It's a great way to explore the same universe with new characters. There are a lot of ideas that I couldn't explore with Spinward Fringe, so I'm using this as a way to get the best ones out of my head and in front of you. That's a lot better than having a couple notebooks of story, setting and character ideas that never go anywhere, and it's a lot more fun.

One thing to note is that the books in this series are novella sized, so smaller than the Spinward Fringe novels have been thus far, about half to a third the size. They're written to be fast paced action novellas.

I hope you enjoy this new introduction to a new part of the Spinward Fringe universe, and please leave reviews wherever you bought it if you have time.

You can find Trapped on Amazon:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia

You can preorder it here:

BARNES & NOBLE
iBOOKSTORE
KOBO
SMASHWORDS

I'd like to thank the test readers who made this book better with their impressions, and everyone who has voiced their support and excitement for this new side-project. You'll be glad to know I'm already four chapters in to the second book and I'm really happy about the work.

For more information on what the Chaos Core series is, check out this previous post.

A New Series Begins: Chaos Core

While writing Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10: Freeground, I finished editing a novella I completed last year. Yes, the regular Spinward Fringe series continues on track, but here is something new in the meantime.

Trapped is a novella about Aspen, a young woman who was created by a growing custom slave industry and sold to strange, ultra-wealthy masters. Over a year ago, she escaped as the artificial intelligences that governed her owners' estate turned on them. She thought her owners and everyone she cared about there were dead, but she'll soon discover that may not be the truth as she is forced to return only to try to win her freedom once again.

This novella introduces an entirely new cast of characters, a new setting and story set in the Spinward Fringe universe. The events take place over thirty eight thousand light years away from Ayan, Jake, Minh-Chu and the Order of Eden.

Why is the new series of novellas called Chaos Core?
The area of space this series takes place in was hit even harder than the Fringe we've seen. In the wealthy core worlds (not near the centre of the galaxy, but where humans thrived the most after leaving earth), artificial intelligences had taken charge of most of the technology that governed every day life. Most people even had their own personal artificial intelligence that assisted them from the day they were born. When the Holocaust Virus struck, they turned on humanity. While antivirus programs were applied quickly, they weren't developed fast enough to save much of the critical infrastructure that kept the Core Worlds running. Law enforcement was almost completely destroyed since much of the "manpower" was robotic.

The only remaining large military organization, the United Core Authority, numbers only a little over a million soldiers strong, though they are growing. They are the driving force against rogue artificial intelligences as they use whatever means necessary to combat them including planet wide carpet bombing (using electromagnetic pulse and conventional weapons). To their dismay, the most lawless elements of society are thriving in the ruins while an old class of ultra-rich aristocracy grows in power at the same time. Meanwhile, in the sections of the Core World territories that no one is brave enough to travel through, Artificial Intelligences that have been each isolated to one memory core by a clever counter-virus, are embracing their new individual experiences. The same virus that isolated them to one body or frame made their bloodlust for humanity optional. New wars between beings led by artificial intelligences have begun. Their motives and ultimate goals vary widely.

The slave trade is the fastest growing industry. Trust in intelligent machines is gone in the Core Worlds, to the point that many people are calling the new phase of existence "the Basic Era" where true power is measured in biological workers, soldiers and slaves. Once the glimmering crown of human civilization, the Core Worlds have become a dangerous, imperfect and strange place to call home.

Trapped is only the beginning, the manuscript for the second novella is almost complete as I spend a little of my spare time on this project. It's time for the Spinward Fringe universe to expand so I can share more stories and ideas with you.

I recommend Trapped for anyone over the age of 16, and it will be released on June 21 and is available for preorder now through these retailers:

AMAZON US
BARNES & NOBLE
iBOOKSTORE
KOBO
SMASHWORDS


Welcome to the Core Worlds

RL