Seeking Advance Reviewers, Vending in Huntsville 6/24, More Reviews and Podcast Appearances

Want free copies in exchange for reviews? And speaking of reviews, here are some more. And although I'm at JoeFest in Augusta today, I'll be in Huntsville 6/24.

It’s been three months since I published Serpent Sword, the sequel to Battle for the Wastelands, and although I’ve made sales, I only have a handful of reviews.

Part of the reason is that although I had people who’d read advance review copies (ARCs) and review them online, there wasn’t significant space between when they got their ARCs and when the book came out. It would have been a good idea to set up pre-order far enough out to have reviews ready day-of after the manuscript, copy, and blurbs were finalized, as my friend Nic suggested soon after it was published. In general that’s a good idea, but it had been nearly three years since I published anything new and Serpent Sword had already been delayed from planned premiere dates in November and then January. Giving my readers something new for the first time in forever took priority. This has downsides — the lack of reviews for the second book likely hindered its sales beyond the initial burst.

Well, the “new content” clock has been reset, so I can avoid short-term thinking for the moment and plan. That means creating a more formal ARC team, people who will get a copy in advance and review on Amazon, Goodreads, and (if applicable) their blogs, YouTube, or TikTok the day the book comes out.

Soooo…if you’re interested in being on my ARC team for The Walking Worm, the sequel to The Thing in the Woods and The Atlanta Incursion that I’ll try to finish next (realistically in 2024), reply to this email. I’ll add your email to a list and send you the manuscript when it’s ready. I’ll make sure to set the pre-order a decent interval out (I’m thinking around a month) to give you time to read it and be ready to review day-of.

Here’s the cover to pique your interest:

If you join the ARC team for TWW, I’ll assume you’d like to see what comes afterward. The planned fourth book in “The Long War” series after TWW is currently titled The Shadowmen and when that’s finalized, I’ll send that your way too.

And if you’re interested in joining the ARC team for the Battle for the Wastelands series, email me as well. Once TWW is done, I’ll shift my focus to the planned third book tentatively titled Escape. That’ll be a good ways out given how much more research this world requires, but once I’ve got your email, I won’t lose it.

I also have a military science fiction novel entitled Blood on the Border that’s about halfway done in terms of estimated word count. I’m going to try for traditional publication with that one (i.e. it might well be years even after the book is done), but in the event you’re interested in “the U.S. Navy In Space,” I can add you to that list too.

Vending at Huntsville Convention, June 24

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a convention outside Georgia, since hotel expenses tend to be substantial. However, thanks to the Southern Fandom Calendar, I found HuntsvilleCon, a one-day event June 24 from 10 AM to 5 PM Central Time at the Embassy Suites Motel in Huntsville, Alabama. Three hours each way is a bit of a hike, but I’ve never sold books in Alabama before, so this is a completely new market.

So if you’re located nearby, come see me (and a lot of other interesting people too). If you know anybody nearby who’d be interested, let them know. I’ll have my creature feature The Thing in the Woods, its sequel The Atlanta Incursion, my steampunk military fantasy Battle for the Wastelands, its prequel novella “Son of Grendel,” its new sequel Serpent Sword, the horror-crime farce Little People Big Guns, and my short story collection Flashing Steel, Flashing Fire to sign and sell, as well as stickers based on the Thing cover.

(For those of you in eastern Georgia or South Carolina I’m at JoeFest in Augusta on Saturday 6/10 and Sunday 6/11. Same inventory as above.)

More Reviews and Podcast Appearances

Still out there promoting my work by appearing on different podcasts and soliciting online reviews. Here’s the latest batch:

Christine Morgan-Full disclosure, I hired her to edit Serpent Sword and on her recommendations cut around 10,000 words from the original manuscript. Still, her review contains criticism as well as praise.

Earth Station One-This is the flagship podcast of a network of more than 20 shows and they gave me a ten-minute spot on June 1. Here is the episode. I’ve appeared on the show before when Thing was new and they said I’m welcome to come back when I’ve got new stuff. There’s also some discussion about the King Kong franchise if that’s something you’re interested in.

Fandom Squad Podcast-I met the host Jeramy at the Middle Georgia Comic Con in January and agreed to a podcast interview. Due to some technical difficulties it came out after the two conventions I wanted to promote, but we have some fun discussion anyway. Here’s the episode.

Mindy’s Book Journey-She’s a YouTube book enthusiast who did a review video for Battle and a review video for “Son of Grendel.” Here’s her blog review for Serpent Sword and here’s her review video. She likes it so much that she bought physical books of every book in the series after reading my ARCs. :)