Announcement: Get to the Choppa!

It's an auspicious day!

I'm proud to announce that the official Armada Wars full web site is now up and running.

ArmadaWars.com

You'll notice the new site has its own blog (called "News" in the main menu), and you might well wonder what use two blogs are. Here are my thoughts on that:

Although it is branded as the Armada Wars blog, I've used this blog here for quite a lot of posts about my experiences as a new author, and writing posts advising other writers who are publishing virgins. I'll continue to do that here.

There will be some minor re-branding, but this will become the RCV blog, carrying articles and pointers relating to the writing experience.

All blog posts about the Armadaverse will now appear on the ArmadaWars.com news page.

Old posts relating to the Armadaverse will remain here; for posterity, for link validity, and for the sake of Google's sanity.

And yes... there is already new news on the new news page. Go. Go now.

There are Many Ways to Read

Just as a little follow-up to my previous post about the Kindle App, this post is about the various ways there are to read the Armada Wars books.

First things first: all the books released so far have not one but two paperback versions. Each one has a standard paperback, and a cheaper 'compressed' paperback, which has a smaller text size and therefore a lower page count.

To find the paperback version of the book you want, just look on the Kindle version's Amazon product page for the link to alternate versions. Or search for the title in books only.

Newcomers to Kindle might not realise it, but depending on where you live there is more to the Kindle store than simply "buying" an eBook and downloading it to your device. Amazon have put a couple of different methods in place for customers to get access to the books they want to read without having to make a one-off purchase.

• Kindle Unlimited,
• Kindle Owner's Lending Library / Amazon Prime.

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle Unlimited could be viewed as the eBook equivalent of Amazon Instant Video. You just pay a monthly fee, and you have unlimited access to eligible Kindle eBook titles.

What makes an eBook eligible? It's a choice made by the author/publisher. They have to flick a switch at the back-end to decide if the eBook will be included in the Unlimited library.

Eligible eBooks have a second button next to the "Buy Now" button, which says "Read for $0.00 with Kindle Unlimited".

Kindle Owner's Lending Library

The Lending Library is for Amazon Prime customers. If you have a current Prime membership, you can borrow eligible eBooks as frequently as once a month. As with Kindle Unlimited, it's up to the author/publisher to enable their eBooks to be borrowed.

Eligible eBooks will have the Prime logo displayed on the product page.

Don't worry about authors missing out on royalties if you borrow instead of buy. Both Kindle Unlimited and KOLL remunerate authors on a "per page read" basis.

All the Armada Wars books published on the Amazon Kindle platform are (and will be) eligible for both Kindle Unlimited, and KOLL.

"The Ravening Deep" — Cover Art Revealed!

Feast your eyes upon it: the front cover of the upcoming Armadaverse instalment, The Ravening Deep...

Donation Made: Save the Children campaign for the Nepal Quake

You might remember that back at the start of May, in the wake of the disastrous Nepal earthquake, I pledged all of the May/June author profits from the Armadaverse to the Save the Children relief campaign.

That donation has now been made.

It's sod's law of course that May and June were the slowest sales months so far this year for the Armada Wars books on the Kindle store. The paperback sales were surprisingly healthy by comparison to previous months (although still in single digits most months; I don't think my target audience likes paper very much.)

Towards the end of June I went to the length of promoting List of the Dead with a double-pronged attack: a Kindle Countdown discount on that book, with a giveaway of Steal from the Devil to get people interested.

Obviously many, many more people downloaded a free copy of Devil than bought a discounted copy of List, but I am fairly certain from looking at the monthly and daily trends that this tactic meant there were more sales than there would have been without the offers. Which meant a larger donation for Save the Children!

The total profits that would have gone into my pocket came to just under £50 GBP, which is not very much at all but it will still save lives. I rounded it up of course, from my own money. Because I am a UK citizen there is also an additional 25% whacked on top of that through the "Gift Aid" tax relief system, so the campaign will actually receive £62.50.

I look forward to the day when regular sales are good enough that I can donate much larger sums!

The effects of the quake have still not gone away, even though the world's reporters appear to have done. If you wish to make your own donation, you'll find the option on this Save the Children donation page.

May/June Profits to go to Nepal - Save the Children

Unless you have been visiting another world recently, you will know that an earthquake struck Nepal on 25th April 2015.

More than 7,000 people are known to have been killed, and there are potentially many more yet to be located.

The legacy of this quake is that there are now thousands of people in need of urgent medical attention, food, clothing, and shelter. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed by the quake.

Nepal is one of Asia's poorest countries by GDP, and it is no slur to say that they are struggling with the aftermath of this disaster.

To try and help in any way possible, all of the author profits generated by the Armada Wars universe in May and June will go to Save the Children's campaign for the victims of the Nepal quake.

If you wish to donate to the appeal, but not buy into the Armada Wars brand, you can make a direct donation on the Save the Children Nepal Earthquake Appeal page.

"I Dream of Damastion" — New Details!

The upcoming novella which will serve as an expansion episode for The Ravening Deep has now been named.

I Dream of Damastion will be a first person story, taking place in a claustrophobic environment where the stakes are high and the threat is difficult to see.

It will feature a previously unseen main character, and a dangerous villain we have met before.

Another Scam to Avoid...

You may remember that I posted an article a while ago about a site claiming to allow downloads of a pirate copy of List of the Dead, before I had even finished writing it.

Thanks to Google Alerts, which I use to notify me automatically when people write about the Armada Wars universe, I have now identified another scam. This one is similar but much more sophisticated.

Google Alerts found what it thought was a genuine link (now removed), to a site called fire-italia.org. When you click the link, it takes you through a series of redirects (one page forwarding you to another page on a different server) until you land on what appears to be a discussion forum. In this case, the topic under discussion was Steal from the Devil, and the thread starter said they were looking to download it cheaply.

That was my first clue, since it's only $2.99 (£2) on Kindle anyway.

Announced: Armada Wars Novella 1

Those of you following me on Twitter may have spotted this bit of news appearing quite sneakily a few days ago.

If you've got as far as List of the Dead you will know that in the current story various Imperial ships and facilities have gone silent. You can probably guess at why that is happening, given the other events in the novels, but might feel that you'd like to see it first hand (so to speak).

This first novella — one of a handful which will expand and enhance the Great War of the Shaeld story arc — will be released fairly quickly after The Ravening Deep becomes available. My intention for the novellas is to add extra dimensions to the overall story without interrupting the flow of the narrative with irrelevancies. This particular episode will deal with some of the mechanics of the ongoing invasion.

Without wanting to drop any spoilers, I can confirm that it will follow a previously unseen character aboard an Imperial starship.

Keep an eye out on the blog and social media for a title announcement!

"The Ravening Deep" Teasers

Just before the release of List of the Dead, I posted an announcement for the title of the next book in this series, The Ravening Deep.

You may remember that at the time I did not provide any plot details, for fear of dropping spoilers about the major events which occurred at the end of List of the Dead.

Well... enough time has now passed!

Let's have some teasers...

• Euryce Eilentes will be the flashback character in this volume, and as was strongly hinted at in List she will be coming into her own in major ways.
• As far as the dreadships go, the heavy defeat suffered by the Empire at the end of List prefaces what is coming next.
• The story unfolding on Guathelia, which so far has occupied only the prologues and epilogues, will collide with the main narrative.
• Maber Castigon will also collide with the main story, in a way you might not expect.
• You will hear more from Voice and The Emptiness, and also see more of Earth.

Deep is the middle volume of this five-part story, and it will very much be the Empire Strikes Back of the series. Dark days are ahead for our plucky protagonists!

Worlds Will Fall.

Launched: "List of the Dead", Armada Wars Book 2

Book 2 of the current Armada Wars story, List of the Dead, is now available in both print and Kindle eBook formats.

The release was brought forwards from 21st December 2014 to 19th December 2014, due to an overwhelming demand for answers!

The story which began in Steal from the Devil continues, with some questions being answered and new, tantalising mysteries being brought into the light.

You can find direct links to the Kindle and print versions for all regions on the book's dedicated information page.

Fear the Deep.

Updated: "Steal from the Devil" Second Edition

While writing List of the Dead, I learned a few things about writing fiction which were all news to me. They are little twiddly bits which don't typically get taught at school, and which are generally only of interest to editors. But every one of them is something which works to improve the structure and flow of text. Some are typographic (like proper use of the em-dash), some are to do with breaking and closing dialogue, and so on.

So I have gone back over Steal from the Devil with a fine-toothed comb, and applied what I have learned. The difference — I think — is subtle but effective.

While I was at it, I also weeded out some split infinitives. I say 'some'... turns out that when I looked for them specifically, there were a lot. A few sentences and bits of dialogue have been restructured for clarity.

Plot is not affected, and perhaps the only really significant change is in the first chapter. Because a minority of readers found it 'choppy' and 'disjointed' (real words from real reviews), I have de-chopped and re-jointed it. The Hammer's emergence from the wormhole now runs straight into the passage which introduces Captain Aker Santani, and the passage in which we see Caden's dream now runs directly into him waking up and contacting Rendir Throam.

All in all, I think it's a much better read. Had I not rushed so much to get it out last December it is probably the text I would have ended up with.

The paperback has been updated to the second edition, and new Kindle customers will get it automatically since it's now live on the Kindle store. Existing customers on Kindle need to visit their "Manage your Content and Devices" page on Amazon to get the updated file (it's easy).

Announced: "The Ravening Deep", Armada Wars Book 3

With the launch of List of the Dead coming up in just under a month, it's time to officially announce the third book in the current five-book story!

The title of book three was sneaked onto Goodreads (and this very blog) a few months ago, but for those of you who missed that the title will be The Ravening Deep.

Because there is a major plot event at the end of List of the Dead, and a major event for some main characters, I am not going to share any story details for The Ravening Deep just yet. So let's just say things will be going downhill for our plucky protagonists! Darkness awaits.

The eagle-eyed amongst you might notice the release date for TRD is 21st September 2015. Who can wait a whole year, right?

Worlds Will Fall.

A Progressive Learning Experience

This is a blog post with two purposes, and one that I have been thinking about writing for a couple of months now. It's partly for the fans of the new universe I've apparently unleashed, to tell them what to expect next, and partly for other independent writers who are either headed towards their first release, or thinking about how to get on with their next book.

Announced: "List of the Dead", Armada Wars Book 2

Work is now underway on volume two of Armada Wars, entitled List of the Dead, the first sequel to Steal from the Devil and the second episode in this five-part story arc. This volume is expected to weigh in at somewhere in the region of 100,000 to 120,000 words.

Elm Caden will retain the main protagonist role, however in volume two it will be Rendir Throam's past that has the spotlight pointed at it in the form of flashbacks. That will no doubt be an interesting ride for everyone.

Initially, the main dilemma Caden and his team will face is whether to chase after the Rasas suspected of provoking the Combine-Viskr war, or to hunt down Maber Castigon before he can assassinate any more Imperial Shards.

Some of the characters from the periphery of Steal from the Devil will come into their own, and a few more pivotal characters will be introduced.

We will see the aftermath of the attack on Lophrit, learn a tantalising fragment more of what is happening on Guathelia, and be plunged head first into the explosive fall-out from Operation Seawall.

And everything else is super duper top secret :)

Feel free to post questions in the comments section, and I'll answer those that won't invoke spoilers.

Fear the Deep.

Ruling the Universe

One of the things that really annoys me about modern science fiction — and I mean on the screen, as well as in books — is the constant reliance on trite clichés. So, in developing the Armada Wars universe, I have taken the time to set down ground rules that will prevent me from falling into the same traps.

In this blog post, we'll take a look at some of the principles that help shape the worlds, situations, technology, and people in the books. Read on to discover some of the rules of the universe!

Launched: "Steal from the Devil", Armada Wars Book 1

Steal from the Devil was launched on the Kindle platform on 20th December 2013, marking the beginning of the Armada Wars universe.

The novel is the opening to the first five-part story arc, and introduces some of the key people, planets, and concepts.

All alone at the edge of human territory, a clandestine Imperial facility has suddenly fallen silent, and operative Elm Caden has been tasked by the Empress herself to find out why. Haunted by his past, in a series of unprecedented and increasingly unnerving episodes, Caden wants and expects a straightforward mission with a simple conclusion. What he finds is a woman whose mind is missing.

As the evidence of a hostile incursion mounts, and the Imperial Combine begins to mobilise a massive retaliatory strike against a neighbouring power, Caden and his companions discover a web of intrigue which becomes steadily more disturbing. One thing is clear: the threat is very real, very dangerous, and it has its origins somewhere in the Deep Shadows. Out there, in the darkness between the bright arms of the galaxy, something subversive and malignant is preparing for a conflict capable of changing the face of the entire Milky Way.

Driven by its personable characters and heart-thumping battle scenes, and eschewing the traditional clichés of science fiction, Steal from the Devil imparts a sense of believable events unfolding in a realistic universe. After all, in a galaxy with billions of stars, sometimes reality is stranger — and more terrifying — than any fiction...

Fill the Silence. Light the Dark.

 

"Steal from the Devil" is available on all the regional Kindle store fronts. You can find all regional links on the official web site.