New Book by George Duncan

Murder. A shocking secret. A lurking evil. An edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller with a sci-fi twist by two veteran journalists. Special Feature: Choose your own ending to the story.

Harrison Danforth is just settling into his new job as the executive editor of The Dolphin Breeze in the coastal Florida town of Dolphin Beach, when a young pastor is murdered in his own church. Danforth doesn't trust the corrupt Seagrove County sheriff to handle traffic tickets, much less a murder. So Danforth, his psychologist girlfriend, Jill Hedley, and ace investigator Sam Waters set out to uncover the truth.

Their investigation will lead to a corrupt powerbroker, a minister who may have fallen in love with the world instead of his calling, and a sinister figure with ties to the occult. As the mystery deepens, Danforth and his friends must move quickly, because an evil lurks in the shadows...and is almost ready to strike.

George L. Duncan, a former reporter and now an editorial writer, is the acclaimed author of A Cold and Distant Memory, A Wine Red Silence, A Dark Orange Farewell, and Galaxy Gems. Bruce D. Henderson has been a newspaper journalist for more than 35 years, working as reporter, photographer, columnist, city editor, and, for almost 20 years, as a copyeditor in Daytona Beach, Florida.

~*~

Well, you just read the official blurb and doesn't the book sound exciting? Hoofbeats of the Devil is on my TBR list for sure. But I am a little biased, I know George from online having published a few of his "Spacehawk Adventures" at ResAliens.com as well as a humorous time-travel baseball tale titled, "Wait Until Last Year." You can read them yourself right here. You can also catch his "random (golf) shots about life, space, faith, politics, science fiction and, of course, golf" at his blog, End Times Tavern. In fact, I'll see you there shortly and maybe have an ale with you.

The Aedyn Chronicles by Alister McGrath

Discovered a blog post at Koinonia Blog (Fantasy meets Theology) about The Aedyn Chronicles (Zondervan, April 2010), a new fantasy series for children by renowned theologian, Alister McGrath. Here's a blurb from the publisher:

The land of Aedyn is a paradise beyond all imagining. But when this paradise falls, strangers from another world must be called to fight for the truth. Peter and Julia never suspected that a trip to their grandparents’ home in Oxford would contain anything out of the ordinary. But that was before Julia stumbled upon a mysterious garden that shone on moonless nights. It was no accident that she fell into the pool, pulling her brother along with her, but now they’re lost in a strange new world and they don’t know whom they can trust. Should they believe the mysterious, hooded lords? The ancient monk who appears only when least expected? Or the silent slaves who have a dark secret of their own? In a world inhabited by strange beasts and magical whisperings, two children called from another world will have to discover who they truly are, fighting desperate battles within themselves before they can lead the great revolution.

Sounds intriguing. I've read some of McGrath's books on apologetics and very much enjoy his writing style - he can communicate profound truths in an appealing and understandable manner. Like C. S. Lewis, McGrath can straddle the worlds of deep thinkers (see his interview with atheist Richard Dawkins here) to the person in the pew.

Micropublishing Trends

“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?” - The Beatles

Micropublishing Trends & Marketing Thoughts
by Lyn Perry

It seems everyone wants to be a paperback writer. Or at least an e-published author. And with the advent of web-based self-publishing tools like Lulu (for print-on-demand books) and Feedbooks (featuring a variety of electronic formats), anyone with a bit of talent and know-how can claim the title of published author.

This is not a bad thing...

Read the rest of this post at Gareth Powell's site (where I guest blogged just today! :)



As the author of this article I'm applying to it the Creative Commons License.

Book Review - White Tiger by Kylie Chan

Received a complimentary advance review copy of White Tiger by Kylie Chan, the first of an urban fantasy trilogy originally released in 2006/07 in Australia via HarperCollins Voyager.

Here's a description from Kylie's website: When 28-year-old Emma Donahoe becomes a nanny to John Chen’s daughter, Simone, she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic, and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in the mortal world.

Emma gradually realises that John Chen is no ordinary businessman and that nearly all the demons in hell would like to see him dead. John and his American bodyguard, Leo, begin to teach Emma their particular brand of martial arts and special defensive techniques...they also begin to realise that there is something that is different about Emma but exactly what it is, nobody can say.

Since I didn't have time to read this novel (and am not extremely well-versed in urban fantasy), I gave it to a friend of mine named Cathy who enjoys this genre. She writes:

White Tiger is the first in a series of books filled with Chinese philosophy and culture. The author brings mythological gods to human form while weaving a story steeped in Asian sword-slinging action. The story is centered on a western nanny trained to become a demon slayer. Mild romance combined with good character development keeps you reading, though mostly out of curiosity as to what happens next...but perhaps not enough to make you want to buy the second book. The copy I received was not yet ready for western publication as it had many grammatical errors* but nothing a good editor couldn't fix.

Thanks, Cathy, for giving us your initial impression. For other reviews, visit:

• AS if! - "Australian Specfic in focus."
• That Chick That Reads
• January Magazine
• Open Book Society and The Straits Times

* Note: The advance review copy I received came from Angry Robot Books which was going to release the The Dark Heavens Trilogy in the US/Canada. However, ARB just announced they've left HarperCollins UK and are now part of Osprey Publishing Group. Here's the Press Release and FAQ for those who are interested. BTW, the image to the right is the HarperCollins Voyager cover while the top book cover is no longer.

ResAliens Print Issue #3 Coming Soon!

Cover art by Brad Foster of Jabberwocky Graphix.

ResAliens Issue 2 Has Arrived!

Now available at ResAliens Storefront...



Only $7.00 plus shipping. Purchase your copy today!

The Chronicles of the Sithining

The Chronicles of the Sithining
by Michael W. Garza

Airious finds himself an unlikely hero as a devastating disease called the Sithining forever changes his world. When he discovers that the Sithining is far from the local plague it is thought to be, the truth will not only change Airious’ life forever but possibly the fate of the entire world. In Volume I, Race Against Time, Airious is forced to embrace his hero’s role when he is chosen by a holy relic, the Blade of Light, as its first wielder in over three hundred years. But is he up for the challenge?

In Volume II, Stains of War, we follow Airious and the Champions of the Blade of Light as they fight to free the city of Karthol from the clutches of the Priests of the True Faith in the hope of uniting all the races of Preyll against the black army of Azuel.

Into the Abyss, Volume III in the Chronicles of the Sithining, follows the remaining Champions of the Blade of Light as they risk their lives to journey into the depths of the abyss in the hope that Airious can fulfill his destiny and save the soul of a fallen friend.

All three volumes are available now at the ResAliens' Amazon Storefront. For more information on this high fantasy adventure series by Michael W. Garza, visit The Sithining.

Michael W. Garza is a writer from southern California. By day he works in the national security field as an Acquisition Security Program Manager. With the little free time he has he focuses on his family and his love of writing fantasy, science fiction & horror.

You can read two of his science fiction short stories for free at ResAliens.com. "Red Horizon" is a Martian mystery piece, while "Return to Sender" is a humorous take on accepted scientific knowledge. In fact, John Ottinger III favorably reviews this story (among others) at Grasping for the Wind. "Return to Sender" was chosen by ResAliens Press to appear in the first issue of their new print zine, which can be purchased here.

P&E Readers Poll Results Are Official

The Results Are In!

A little pat on the back to ResAliens Zine on our 2nd place win in the Fiction Zine Category of the 2009 Preditors & Editors Annual Readers Poll. Official results for all categories are here.

But even more exciting is that two of our author's stories made the Top 10 in the SFF Short Story Category. Congratulations to T. W. Ambrose on taking the #1 spot with his story, "The Pilgrimage." And tying for 9th was T. M. Hunter's story, "Redemption." You can read these stories for free online, but also look for them (along with a whole fistful of stories) in a special "flash fiction" issue of ResAliens Print Zine coming later this year!

Here are the results by category (so you know my artwork is legit! lol):
+ Fiction Magazine
+ Short Story - Science Fiction & Fantasy
Thanks to all who voted...or who read the zine and thought about voting!

Review of POW!erful Tales

My review of editor Michael Lea's collection of super human fiction, POW!erful Tales, is up at TangentOnline.com. Here's my opening take:

I have to admit at the outset that I’m not a super huge fan of superhuman stories, but I do like well told speculative adventures, which is what this anthology boils down to. And for the most part, the stories contained in POW!erful Tales, edited by Michael C. Lea, are fairly well told fictions featuring superheroes and super villains battling it out in and over Beta City, “the hero capital of the world.”

The setting of Beta City (on the shores of a post-cataclysmic Lake Erie) is important as it serves as a unifying thread for a collection of (for the most part) disparate stories written by thirteen different authors. Lea did a fairly good job tying them together with a running narrative that grouped thematically similar adventures into four sections. He even referred back to some of the characters and situations in his climactic story, “Uncreation Myth.” The overall project was maybe a bit ambitious as the groupings were somewhat forced, but I have to admit it was fresh and creative and did serve to set this anthology apart from the various other hero fiction collections out there.

After a fictional introduction by Lea that seeks to offer the reader some rationale for the increased hero activity in and around Beta City, the dossier is opened and we are invited to judge for ourselves the origins of the sensational happenings as well as the “menaces catalogued” there.

Read my reviews on all 15 stories included in this collection. And if this is your type of lit, then I'd give it a recommended thumbs up, a 6.5 out of 10.

New Mash Up - Zombies Meet War of the Worlds

Catching the latest "mash-up" trend (you've heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, right?), author Eric S. Brown takes fans of horror on another literary thrill ride, mashing together zombies and H.G. Wells' classic into The War of the Worlds Plus Blood, Guts, and Zombies (from Coscom Entertainment).

Although I haven't read it myself (and I'm not that into the subgenre, my only zombie stories are benign humor pieces at Bewildering Stories, lol - read "The Hunt Hunt" and "Scary Moments"), it's actually gotten quite a bit of buzz. Here are some links:

+ Ian Randal Strock's review at SFScope
+ Interview at Horror Fiction Review
+ Interview at Fear and Trembling
+ Interview at Associated Content

Eric is also the author of a number of other zombie-related works including, Season of Rot and World War of the Dead. If this is your thing, check him out! Just make sure you haven't eaten recently.

Spec Fic Graphic Novels

I admit up front - I am not too conversant with the genre of epic comics and/or the world of graphic novels. It's a fascinating and visually interesting medium, I am just not familiar enough with what makes a particular product a success. So I've enjoyed reading a few reviews lately, having discovered that January is, in fact, comic book appreciation month!

Now, I have read Gareth Hinds' Beowulf and was quite impressed with its faithfulness to the original epic, even though it is necessarily a minimalist rendering. Of course, most of us should be familiar with Maus: A Survivors Tale, the seminal work (and holocaust autobiography) of Art Spiegelman. But other than a handful of other stories (like Batman: The Dark Knight and The Watchmen from the 1980s), I'd be hard-pressed to name many more.

That's why I try to keep abreast of the projects by the group of writers I've come to know via the forums I frequent. I discover new gems all the time, including an S&S comic called The Marsh God by Bruce Durham and illustrated by Michael "Mikos" Mikolajczyk (and published by Cyberwizard Productions). You can purchase a copy for only $10 at comiXpress. At one of my favorite haunts, SFReader.com, I've had the opportunity to meet and interact with some great folks like Bruce. In fact, The Marsh God is actually an adaptation of Durham's short story by the same name and published in 2005 at Flashing Swords magazine.

So while I 'don't know much 'bout graph-ology' (sing along if you know the words), I'm learning, thanks to some new friends on the web. Thanks, people, and keep up the great work. I look forward to discovering more gems out there.

Give-Away Contest for Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

Free Book! Free Book!

In conjunction with author Hugh Howey and our sister-like zine, Abandoned Towers, we are giving away TWO COPIES of Hugh's popular first novel (signed!), MOLLY FYDE AND THE PARSONA RESCUE.

How do you win your copy? Follow the clues!
1) Read the interview (see link below).
2) Download the various portions of the book.
3) Answer the questions!
See how easy that is? So let's get started...

In a featured interview at Abandoned Towers, Hugh writes:

My first novel, Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue, was published in 2009 by NorLightsPress.com. It begins the saga of a young woman as she sets out to recover her father’s old spaceship. During her adventures, she’s joined by a band of alien misfits and runaways that find in each other what none of them truly had before: a family. The novel is packed with adventure, romance, fantastical settings, mystery, and some light philosophy/social satire. Reviewers (including Lyn Perry's review at SFReader.com) have been effusive with their praise: PARSONA RESCUE has already made at least three “Best Of” lists for 2009. The other book I have out is just now being released. It’s the highly anticipated sequel, Molly Fyde and the Land of Light. It should be available by the end of January, 2010.

So what do you do now?
FIRST, DOWNLOAD PART 1 of Hugh's science fiction novel to get started.
THEN, GO HERE to finish the interview and look for a link to PART 2.
FINALLY, Hugh has posted PART 3 of this contest on his website. Look for the questions that you'll need to answer, then send your responses to Hugh to enter the drawing.

A random drawing will determine the 2 winners. So what's in it for you if you lose? Get this! All entries will receive a 50% off coupon code for the digital version of Howey's sequel, Molly Fyde and the Land of Light. Best wishes on your quest. Let the contest begin!

What are you doing here still reading? Get going!

Just Reviewed Old Man Scratch by Rio Youers

Canadian author Rio Youers has written a short novella (I'd call it a novelet at just over 15k words) that touches on themes of love, loss, grief, and revenge. It's a frank and humorously realistic tale (with a speculative element) titled Old Man Scratch and recently released by PS Publishing in the UK.

Look for my review at Tangent Online. Also, read some of these reviews from:
+ Amy Dodge at Mass Movement Magazine
+ Andrew Monge at Horror Drive-In
+ Dan Reilly at Horror World Book Reviews
+ SFRevu
+ And this interview at Monster Librarian

UPDATE Jan 16, 2010: My review is now up at Tangent Online. Check it out. Here's my one sentence summary:

"Old Man Scratch" is not a complex tale, but it is a nicely developed one. It is a slightly speculative but immanently human story of love, hate, relationships, frustration, and revenge.

In other words, I recommend you discover Rio if you haven't already.

Preditors And Editors Readers Poll

Your Attention Please.

Now through Jan 14 the annual "Preditors & Editors Readers Poll" is open and Residential Aliens has been nominated in the fiction ezine category. Also, your host (that's me, Lyn Perry) is listed in ezine editors category.

And finally, two short stories we've published at RA have been nominated in the SF short story category. You can vote for either:
+ "Redemption" by T. M. Hunter (Nov 2009)
+ "The Pilgrimage" by T. W. Ambrose (Aug 2009)

Please take a moment to show your support. Scroll down in each category and click on us to vote. You'll need to enter your name and email, then you'll get a confirmation email to respond to in order to validate your vote (to avoid ballot stuffing). But the effort is worth it! :) Thank you!

New in Print - ResAliens Issue 1

Own Your Copy Today!
Only $7 from ResAliens Press


Subscribe to ResAliens – the Print Zine!
A Bimonthly Publication with the Premier Issue Just Released on January 1, 2010!

For US$25, you’ll receive...
+ One year subscription (6 issues) to ResAliens.
+ Every two months, you’ll receive your personal copy in the mail.
+ Each issue will showcase an original color cover with over 60 pages of stories and features.
+ You’ll be introduced to exciting new writers as well as find familiar veterans from a wide variety of speculative genres.

How to Subscribe...
To request a subscription form (send no money now), please email me, Lyn Perry, at lyn @ resaliens.com. Please type SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Not ready to make a commitment? Just buy one copy for now. Individual issues are available now for US$7 at our ResAliens Storefront.

Issue #1 Has Arrived...
In this premier, I am proud to bring together six authors who will pilot us on a science fiction journey to outerspace. You’ll be transported from the asteroid belt in our own solar system to the far reaches of the galaxy and back again. You’ll encounter mystery, miracles, suspense, surprise, and even a bit of humor.

In fact, here’s the ToC.
+ "Of All Things, Seen and Unseen" by Fred Warren
+ "A Measure of the Depth" by R. E. Diaz
+ "Harry and the Underworld" by Patrick G. Cox
+ "Learning the Ropes" by Dan Devine
+ "Return to Sender" by Michael W. Garza
+ "Venus Theotókos" by John Farrell

Issue #2 is fantasy themed, and packed with stories from writers like Megan Arkenberg, Alice Roelke, and Erin M. Kinch ready to take the stage. In fact, let me just give you the ToC.

+ "The Matter of Dalgatto – A Tale of Ezekiel Tanner" by David M. Pitchford
+ "Servant of Fate" by Megan Arkenberg
+ "Blood and Brothers" by Alice Roelke
+ "The Bee Stone" by Jasmine Giacomo
+ "The Bukler of Big Swaash" by Josef J. Hoskins
+ "The Sorcerer’s Wife" by Erin M. Kinch
+ "Gram’s Gift" by Steve Goble

In the Coming Months...
Issue #3 will feature aliens – both the good kind and the, um, not so good kind. Issue #4 feels more slip-stream at the moment, full of modern speculative tales. #5 is dark fantasy. Or #4 might be dark fantasy, who knows? My tachyon signal from the future is intermittent. But you get the idea.

We’re in for a wild ride! Thank you for considering purchasing your round trip ticket “to the seven stars” with ResAliens. May it be one of many adventures we take together.

UPDATE: Here's a nice short review of Issue 1 from one of our authors, Fred Warren.