According to the National Day Calendar, National Science Fiction Day was launched in 2011 and was meant to correspond with this being the birth date of legendary sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov—author of such renowned classics as the Foundation Trilogy and I, Robot—who was born in 1920. It’s a celebration, the NDC says, that “encourages reading or watching science fiction.”
Well, if you’re looking for some quality sci-fi to read on this special day, might we suggest an SWC Illustrated Classic?
A Princess of Mars, originally published in 1912, is the first in the “John Carter of Mars” ten-novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of the pulp-fiction jungle lord, Tarzan. Unlike Tarzan’s African adventures, Princess is the story of a post–Civil War era American who suddenly finds himself transported to the Red Planet, where he must constantly fight to stay alive against all sorts of alien threats—and where he falls in love with Dejah Thoris, the titular Martian princess. It served as the basis for Disney’s 2012 film adaptation, John Carter—a movie that didn’t deserve the poor treatment it got from the studio and is definitely worth checking out, if you’ve never seen it—and inspired works like Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, George Lucas’s Star Wars, and James Cameron’s Avatar.
The StarWarp Concepts edition of A Princess of Mars features six incredible illustrations by SWC artist supreme Eliseu Gouveia (Carmilla, Lorelei: Sects and the City), and a special introduction by Mars-fiction expert John Gosling, author of Waging the War of the Worlds.
A Princess of Marsis available in print and digital formats. Visit its product page for ordering information.
With yesterday being Christmas Day, and one of our ebook distributors, Smashwords, currently in the midst of its annual End of Year Sale, the timing couldn’t be better for those of you who either received a new e-reader as a Christmas or Hanukkah present, might receive one during Kwanzaa (which kicks off today), or already own one and are looking to add new books to your reading list.
Well, it just so happens that we have fantasy and dark urban fantasy e-books that would be perfect to add to your holiday reading list!
First off, there are the titles that form The Worlds of Richard C. White, from the bestselling fantasy and science fiction author of Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil and Star Trek SCE: Echoes of Coventry:
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is his popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which Rich takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, the book is so popular that it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
For a Few Gold Pieces More is a collection of fantasy short stories about a Rogue With No Name who travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure—and revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did). Think Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). It’s “entertaining, old-school sword and sorcery, in the tradition of [Fritz Lieber’s] Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser,” according to author Jim C. Hines of the Magic ex Libris book series, and we at SWC couldn’t agree more!
In the fantasy adventure novel Harbinger of Darkness, a thief named Perrin steals an extremely valuable—and magical—gem from the evil king ruling her home country. With thugs and fellow thieves and the king’s assassins hot on her trail, Perrin finds just staying alive is becoming a full-time occupation, which directly conflict with her secret life—and identity—as a humble bookseller’s daughter. It’s sword-swinging adventure at its finest!
And Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase is Rich’s collection of fantasy-noir, pulp-detective tales starring a private eye working the supernatural beat in the city of Calasia. From a sexy chanteuse who literally turns into a beast when the moon is full to a string of pearls that kills its owners, and from the ghost of a dead woman seeking justice to the Grim Reaper’s little girl seeking her stolen chicken, Theron Chase certainly has his hands full—of danger, death, and dames!
You can also obtain our Saga of Pandora Zwieback young adult novels, Blood Feud and Blood Reign—written by yours truly, Steven A. Roman. You know how popular young adult books are these days, don’t you?
Pan is a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets an immortal monster hunter named Annie that Pan discovers she’s never been ill—her so-called “monstervision” is actually a supernatural gift that allows her to see into Gothopolis, the not-so-mythical shadow world that exists right alongside the human world. You’ll find Pan battling her own brand of evil dead in the following titles:
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed novel is the beginning of Pan’s story, explaining how she, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father. It’s a character-driven action-fest that leads immediately into the second novel:
Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover!
So if you’re looking to break in that new e-reader by adding some awesome titlesto your digital bookshelves, visit each title’s product page—you can order from us, or follow the links there to our distributors, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and, of course Smashwords—and place your order today! Happy reading!
For those who might have missed the livestream, last night I joined the latest laid-back panel discussion on J.D. Calderon’s YouTube interview series Indy Comics Explained, on the latest installment of his ongoing panel-chat series “Talking Comics on a Sunday Night.” Its topic: “Are Editors and Editing Necessary for Indy Comics?”
J.D. and his cohosts, publisher Jaydee Rosario (Unstoppable Comics) and artist C. Michael Lanning, had on former Marvel Comics editor and writer Alin Silverwood (publisher of PopSkull Press) and Odyssey Comics publisher Marcus McNeal. And me, of course! (In case you didn’t know, I was a professional mainstream editor for over a decade, first as an editor at book packaging company Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and then as editor in chief of its ibooks, inc. publishing imprint.)
It was, as the saying goes, a spirited discussion involving what an editor is, their importance to a project, and what editors expect from writers; I tossed in an anecdote or two about working with both writers and fellow editors. Then we moved on to such topics as whether any of us would have taken a chance on publishing the original Eastman/Laird version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—either back in the b&w comic days of the 1980s or today—the ins and outs of working with letterers, and promoting the participants’ various Kickstarter campaigns.
So now you know the basics, but to get the full experience, head on over to the actual “Talking Comics on a Sunday Night” panel at Indy Comics Explained and see for yourself!
Hey, book lovers! Today’s the day when e-book distributor Smashwords (and its parent company, Draft2Digital) launches its annual End of Year Sale, during which you can purchase thousands of digital books at special prices! It runs from December 15 to January 1, 2023—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.
Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can get the following digital titles at 25% off:
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. A bonus feature is an exclusive interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons.
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is my young adult novel that’s perfect for lovers of dark urban fantasy. It introduces readers to Pandora Zwieback, a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets professional monster hunter Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin that Pan discovers she’s never been ill—her so-called “monstervision” is actually a supernatural gift that allows her to see into Gothopolis, the not-so-mythical shadow world that exists right alongside the human world. In Blood Feud, Pan, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father.
In Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2, Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. But whose side is going to emerge the victor remains to be seen…
For a Few Gold Pieces More is Rich White’s collection of linked fantasy short stories about a Rogue With No Name who travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure, romance—and revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did). Think Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly).
Harbinger of Darkness is Rich’s original fantasy-adventure novel in which a thief named Perrin steals an extremely valuable—and magical—gem from the evil king ruling her home country. With thugs and fellow thieves and the king’s assassins hot on her trail, Perrin finds just staying alive is becoming a full-time occupation, which directly conflict with her secret life—and identity—as a humble bookseller’s daughter. It’s sword-swinging adventure at its finest!
And Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase is Rich’s collection of fantasy-noir, pulp-detective tales starring a private eye working the supernatural beat in the city of Calasia. From a sexy chanteuse who literally turns into a beast when the moon is full to a string of pearls that kills its owners, and from the ghost of a dead woman seeking justice to the Grim Reaper’s little girl seeking her stolen chicken, Theron Chase certainly has his hands full—of danger, death, and dames!
Again, the Smashwords End of Year Sale runs December 15, 2022 to January 1, 2023, so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at Smashwords and start your holiday-reading shopping!
The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and among the presents being delivered by Santa will no doubt be a plethora of roleplaying games purchased by parents hoping to introduce their children to the joys of RPGing. And it just so happens that StarWarp Concepts has a book that’s perfect for budding gamemasters!
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (For a Few Gold Pieces More, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons.
What you’ll find in its pages is information that’s vital for just about any writer, especially when it comes to world building, and Rich shows you how to do it:
Avoiding the pitfalls of naming characters, regions, and countries
Applying the technique of “outside in” to develop and then refine ideas for your world
Creating a world your readers can relate to, regardless of its technological levels
Identify how to create backstories and conflict by observing how your world comes together
Adding details to make your story richer without overwhelming your readers
Identifying useful resources for research
From its first publication, the book has been a hit with not just fantasy writers, but role-playing gamers as well. When it debuted in October 2015 at the e-book distributor DriveThru Fiction and its sister sites DriveThru RPG and RPGNow, it immediately shot to the #1 position on all three as their top-selling title, and then remained for weeks as DriveThru Fiction’s #1 Hottest Nonfiction Book and #1 Hottest How-To for Writers! If you’re a writer or gamer, you might just want to check it out. In fact, it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
“I think Terra Incognito is a solid introduction to the subject of world building. The book succeeds in helping the aspiring writer in creating a skeletal framework for which to hang the moving parts required of a believable fictional setting.”—The Gaming Gang
Hey, comic and fiction fans! This coming Sunday night, December 18th, I’ll be making a return appearance to J.D. Calderon’s YouTube interview series Indy Comics Explained, on the latest installment of his ongoing panel-chat series “Talking Comics on a Sunday Night.”
(J.D., by the way, is the writer/creator of the fantasy series The Oswald Chronicles and the anthropomorphic fantasy comic series Tall Tails, both published through his Dream Weaver Press company. He’s also been a friend of mine since we met back in the 1990s’ days of the indie comics explosion.)
My last appearance was back in October, when I was promoting the ultimately successful Kickstarter campaign for Piko Interactive’s The Legend of Calamity Jane: Box-Set DVD and Comic, which includes The Legend of Calamity Jane: The Devil Herself, the one-shot comic I’m collaborating on with artist/colorist Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City and the Saga of Pandora Zwieback comics) for Piko’s Virtual Comics imprint.
This time around, the subject will be editing (in comics and otherwise), and considering my background as a comic and book editor for the past three decades, J.D. asked me to join him and former Marvel Comics editor and writer Gary Barnum—who writes under the pen name Alin Silverwood—for a discussion. No doubt at some point it’ll turn into a collection of trench-warfare stories about our harrowing experiences working with comic creators.
So, be sure to tune in December 18th for “Talking Comics on a Sunday Night”!
Hey, book lovers! Today marks the twelfth annual Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day.
Founded in 2010 by author Jessica Milchman, the event, held on the first Saturday in December, “is about instilling a love of bookstores in children so that they will value and support this most precious of resources as they go on to enter and create communities of their own” (according to its website).
Kids + reading + brick-and-mortar bookstores? Always a great combination!
For more information, including a map of the bookstores that are celebrating with events of their own, visit the TYCBD site.
According to the calendar site Happy Days 365, Red Planet Day “honors the launch of the spacecraft Mariner 4, a robotic interplanetary probe on 28th November 1964 by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In the eight months it was on its journey, the Mariner 4 became the 1st spacecraft to fly by Mars successfully. It also gave the world the first close-up pictures of Mars.”
Of course, these days Mars is on the minds of a lot of people, now that NASA has taken the first steps toward having astronauts return to the Moon with the launch this month of the Artemis unmanned spacecraft that’s currently orbiting our rocky satellite. Because what’s the next goal for humanity venturing back into space? Exploring Mars, of course! Hey, if Matt Damon can do it with a bunch of pooptatoes and an Abba playlist, why not?
So how can you celebrate this special day? Well, we recommend reading a book about the red planet!
A Princess of Mars, originally published in 1912, is the first in the “John Carter of Mars” ten-novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of the pulp-fiction jungle lord, Tarzan. Unlike Tarzan’s African adventures, Princess is the story of a post–Civil War era American who suddenly finds himself transported to the Red Planet, where he must constantly fight to stay alive against all sorts of alien threats—and where he falls in love with Dejah Thoris, the titular Martian princess. It served as the basis for Disney’s 2012 film adaptation, John Carter—a movie that didn’t deserve the poor treatment it got from the studio and is definitely worth checking out, if you’ve never seen it—and inspired a century’s worth of SF works, including Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and James Cameron’s Avatar (whose second installment is about to hit theaters).
The StarWarp Concepts edition—available in both print and digital formats—features six incredible illustrations by SWC artist supreme Eliseu Gouveia (Carmilla, Lorelei: Sects and the City), and a special introduction by Mars-fiction expert John Gosling, author of Waging the War of the Worlds. Here’s the back-cover synopsis:
Captain John Carter thought his days as a fighter were over. The South had lost the Civil War, and as a soldier now without a battle to fight or a cause to believe in, he journeyed west in search of a new life.
But not even Carter could have expected that his new life would begin with his death in the Arizona desert, and his inexplicable arrival on the barren plains of the planet Mars. Or that he would find love in the eyes of the beauteous Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium.
A prisoner of the giant, green-skinned warrior race called the Tharks, Dejah Thoris is meant to be used as a pawn in the ongoing war between the Tharks and her people, the red Martians—unless the gentleman from Virginia takes sword in hand to free her…and thus unite a divided world.
Once more, John Carter has a cause to fight for—and this time, a love to win, as well….
A Princess of Mars is available in print and digital formats. Visit its product page for ordering information.
The Christmas shopping season has officially kicked into overdrive this weekend, with the arrival of Black Friday here in the United States and Cyber Monday coming in three days. Black Friday is an annual retail event, when stores discount prices to generate sales for holiday shopping; Cyber Monday is when online retailers do the same.
E-book distributor DriveThru Fiction—along with its sister sites DriveThru Comics and DriveThru RPG—has joined in on the fun with its annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend Sale, during which you can purchase a ton of digital books and comics at special prices. It runs from now through Monday, November 28—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.
Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can take advantage of some sweet discounts while the sale’s running.
Among the offerings this year, DriveThru has discounted Richard C. White’s bestselling guide for gamers and writers, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, his pirate-fantasy comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special and fantasy-adventure story collection For a Few Gold Pieces More, and our digital reprint of Delos Lovelace’s 1932 novelization of the classic horror movie King Kong.
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