Posts Tagged ‘Mirror Universe’

Star Trek Mirror Universe eBooks on sale in April

A new month means a new Star Trek eBooks promotion. This month’s featured deal is the Mirror Universe books!  There are five titles on sale for $0.99 each during the month of April. Here they are in original publication order:
 
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Glass Empires
 
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances
 
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire
 
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Shards and Shadows
 
Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Rise Like Lions
 
If you haven’t read these before, there are a few things you should know.
 
First, they were written to sync with the depiction of the Mirror Universe as it had been shown through the end of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series, and to coordinate with the ongoing Star Trek literary continuity. Some recent changes to canon on Star Trek: Discovery won’t jibe with these books.
 
Second, The Sorrows of Empire is a greatly expanded and revised version of my original short novel in the first anthology, Glass Empires. For the novel version I nearly doubled the length of the book and made a number of changes and edits to improve upon the original.
 
Third, I contributed to all of these volumes.
In the second anthology, Obsidian Alliances, I wrote the DS9 short novel Saturn’s Children under the pseudonym Sarah Shaw. My short story “For Want of a Nail“ concludes the short-story anthology Shards and Shadows.
 
Fourth (and finally), the events of The Sorrows of Empire, Saturn’s Children, “For Want…”, and Rise Like Lions all have continuity links to my other Star Trek novels (especially my Section 31 books and my TNG trilogy Cold Equations), so get ready to spot some Easter eggs!
 
 

The Remainders of the Day

Over the last two days, I have received two letters from my publisher (via my agents) informing me that two of my backlist Star Trek titles are scheduled to be remaindered. Although they will not technically go out of print (thanks to eBooks and the overpriced Limbo that is print-on-demand), they are about to become much more difficult to acquire in mass-market paperback format.

warpathThe earlier of the two titles scheduled for the pulp machine is my 2007 Deep Space Nine novel Warpath. This book helped set the stage for some of my subsequent work in the Mirror Universe setting, and it was a story I wrote during a tumultuous time in my life. Although this novel is steeped in serialized continuity (and therefore not a good jumping-on point for new readers), there is still much in it of which I’m proud.

riselikelionsThe second tome slated for a one-way trip to Pulptown is my tale of the Mirror Universe revolution, Rise Like Lions. This is the novel that earned the UnrealitySF “Best Story of the Year” award in 2011 and spent two months on the Locus Bestsellers list in early 2012. It represents the culmination of multiple story arcs I had set into motion in the Mirror Universe, and it will serve as the setup for my upcoming Section 31 novel, Disavowed, coming in November 2014.

One of the perks of being an author is that when one’s books are scheduled to be remaindered, one is often given the opportunity to purchase the remaining copies of the work at a significant discount. And in this case I am sorely tempted.

The catch is that remaindered titles are sold only in cartons of 48 copies each. This makes it a slightly costly proposition even with the major savings Simon & Schuster has offered me. Another concern is that I really have nowhere to store that many surplus copies of books that, historically, have seen little demand through my online store. I hate to let them fade away into that good night without a struggle, but I’m not sure I can justify the cost of stockpiling them, either.

Decisions, decisions.

Interview on 2012writersALIVE

This afternoon at roughly 2:30pm EDT, I spoke for half and hour with host John Byk of the 2012writersALIVE podcast about my new Cold Equations trilogy, my writing process, and my feelings regarding collaboration. We hung up the phone at 3pm — and half an hour later, the interview was live. That’s some fast turnaround!

Anyway, I had fun chatting with John, so give the interview a listen.

(P.S. — I apologize for the fact that I sound like I’m shouting from the far end of a tunnel. Next time I grant an interview by phone, I’ll use my land line instead of my cell phone.)

 

My Award Is Here!

Miracle of miracles, my spiffy clear-acrylic Story of the Year Award for my novel Rise Like Lions arrived today in one piece from across the Atlantic Ocean. Getting a decent photo of it has been a challenge because its mirror-like surface and transparent material defy most attempts at flash photography, but I managed to snap this one by putting a sheet of blue construction paper behind it:

My thanks once again to all those who nominated and voted for my novel in this year’s fan-run poll of favorite media tie-in fiction, and to the fine folks at Unreality-SF.net who administrated the poll and bequeathed unto me this lovely trophy for my ego shelf.

Star Trek Vanguard Podcasts

At long last, the promised Star Trek Vanguard Authors’ Roundtable Podcast is live and available for download and streaming playback thanks to John S. Drew and Keith R.A. DeCandido at The Chronic Rift.

This roughly hour-long discussion brings together the Vanguard series’ original editor, Marco Palmieri, myself, and fellow authors and creative partners Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. We answer questions submitted by fans, covering everything from the saga’s inception to its finale.

We also announce the winners of the Star Trek Vanguard autographed book sets — congratulations to Johnny Blues and Nick Fisher — as well as the special-prize recipient, Rick Mackey, who receives a limited-edition lenticular poster of the cover art from the series’ first novel, Harbinger.

Another special treat is my April 17, 2012, 90-minute audio interview with Timewarp and Nydra at TrekRadio.net, and which is now available via the Trek Radio On Demand page. We discussed not only Star Trek Vanguard but also my recent Mirror Universe novel Rise Like Lions, my upcoming trilogy Cold Equations, and the writing life in general.

PLUS! COMING UP ON MONDAY, APRIL 23 from 3PM–5PM, I will be back on Trek Radio with a very special presentation: The Music of Star Trek Vanguard. I will be sharing not only commentary but also complete musical tracks that were either mentioned in the text of the novels or that inspired specific events, characters, and the master arc of the series itself. This promises to be a unique glimpse into both my creative process and the backstory of the saga.

Chat w/me April 17 on TrekRadio.net

Newsflash, Sports Fans!

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, from 4PM-5PM ET (1PM-2PM PT), I will be chatting live via Skype with hosts Timewarp-DJ & Nydra at TrekRadio.net about my recent Star Trek novels Storming Heaven and Rise Like Lions, my drinking habits, random things that piss me off, and what new projects I have coming up.

Tune in to listen, and tweet your questions to the hosts at @TrekRadio before tomorrow’s interview. The interview will probably also be available for download or streaming playback after we’re done, so check back for that link if you miss tomorrow’s show.

In other podcast news, stay tuned for an update on when the Vanguard Authors’ Roundtable Podcast will go live courtesy of the folks at The Chronic Rift, and I’ll have news soon about a special music-related Vanguard streaming podcast that’s currently in the works.

Rise Like Lions voted “Story of the Year”

I’m thrilled to be able to announce that my Star Trek Mirror Universe novel Rise Like Lions has been named Story of the Year in this years “Top of the Pulps” fan-nominated and fan-voted poll on Unreality-SF.net. This is my second time winning the Unreality-SF.net poll. (My first was in 2008, for my novel Star Trek Destiny, Book I: Gods of Night.)

This year’s contest was no cakewalk; my book was up against some tough competition. As I wrote in my acceptance statement:

I felt honored to see my work nominated by readers, especially among titles by other such enormously talented authors. To be completely honest, I didn’t expect it to win; I anticipated the award would go to Christopher L. Bennett’s brilliant Watching the Clock, Kirsten Beyer’s superlative Children of the Storm, or James Luceno’s runaway bestseller Darth Plagueis. I am deeply flattered to see my work recognized in this manner, and I’m grateful to everyone at Unreality-SF.net who helped organize and administrate the voting.

At any rate, to all who nominated and voted for Rise Like Lions, I thank you, and I hope my work continues to entertain you and excite your imaginations for years to come.