To celebrate the second anniversary of Imposter Messiah the Kindle Edition will be on sale for just $0.99 starting March 7th continuing through March 14th. If you don’t already have a copy, now is the time to get one!
So, 2020. I think that pretty much sums up everyone’s experience with this year. From Corona virus, to the hurricanes, to the economic crash, to everyone’s favorite, murder hornets, it has been a hell of a year.
As I am sure that many of you are aware, there is a theory out there that our universe is actually a computer simulation running on some higher beings computer. To me this always sounded more like a philosophical exercise than a real possibility. But, as a gamer myself this year has convince me that the theory is true. What gamer hasn’t gotten board while playing a Sim game and decided to see what calamities you can call cause to your creations. Who didn’t enjoy calling in Godzilla in the old SimCity games and letting him run rampant in your city, what gamer hasn’t let Gandhi unleash his nuclear lust in Civilizations, or removed a door to lock your Sim in a dark basement. You wrap those all up together and it sure sounds like 2020 to me. So yes, we’ve answered the question of is there a God. Unfortunately, he is a teenager playing a video game in his bedroom and is bored with us.
On a serious note, I hope you are all doing okay out there. While my 2020 has not been as bad as some, no major health issues or Covid losses, it has not been an easy one. It started with being told that my job of 10 years was being eliminated. My company later decided they didn’t want to lose me so they offered me a role in a different department, that I had zero experience in, and at a very significant pay cut. I appreciate what the company did for me, don’t get me wrong, and let’s face it, the job market sucks right now, but I went from a director in an IT consulting division to managing a billing team. Talk about a culture shock and learning curve all rolled into one, I am just now starting to get my head above water again.
Then, you know, Covid and lock-downs occurred. The lock-downs are really ok with me. As an anti-social person with a small measure of social anxiety my day to day life wasn’t effected much. It did give me much better reasons to turn down social engagements though, which I always appreciate. Unfortunately, that also meant that my kids were doing virtual learning. Oh the things we forget. The virtual learning platform that our school district decided to employ relies mostly on videos and on-line lessons. This means that for a majority of their classes the kids don’t have a teacher to direct questions too. So I have been relearning Junior high algebra and High school poetry again. Oh the fun times we’ve had.
In short, 2020 has sucked, God is probably a bored kid at a computer, and why can’t x solve its own problems? Well, I am going to try to update this blog more often going forward, maybe in a less rambly format. In the meantime, read more, worry less, and don’t forget to vote.
Audiobook narrator extraordinaire TJ Clark, and narrator of Imposter Messiah, recently did an interview with author D. Wallace Peach about the narration process and all of the pieces that go into it. It is a great read and any aspiring authors or readers looking to learn more about the behind the scenes processes should check it out.
I am very excited to announce that the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America selected Imposter Messiah as part of their new Time Travelers’ Bundle.
This is the first time that the SFWA opened the doors to non-members to submit their books for inclusion, and I am honored to have been chosen to participate in this excellent collection of books. As many of your are aware Imposter Messiah is my first book and the first in a series, so to be selected on my first outing is quite the thrill. By now, I am sure, you are thinking to yourself that this is all well and good, but what you waiting for. Let us at those sweet, sweet eBooks. So without further ado here is the official information:
THE SFWA TIME TRAVEL BUNDLE
A Matter of Time Bundle – Curated by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
What better way to forget about the present than by exploring the past and future? Ever since H.G. Wells turned the dials on his famous machine, time travel has been a staple of science fiction, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s A Matter of Time StoryBundle continues this rich tradition by presenting fourteen temporally vibrant novels by both bestselling authors and rising stars.
SFWA is an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting science fiction and fantasy writers in the United States and elsewhere. The A Matter of Time bundle was curated by SFWA members to showcase the incredible range of thought-provoking stories that can be explored through the conceit of time travel, from adventures in the distant past to the far future.
And the bundle also includes Blue Apocalypse, the first book in a new series by New York Times bestselling author Craig Martelle, Time Trap by USA Today Bestselling author Jill Cooper, and Nairobi Jack by Monique Martin, among many others. The A Matter of Time bundle will run for three weeks only. This is a terrific way to sample a wide variety of stories and discover great new writers!
For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.
- Jurassic Jail – Time Wars Book 1 by William Alan Webb
- Einstein’s Secret by Irving Belateche
- Jaydium by Deborah J. Ross
- Blue Apocalypse – End Days Book 1 by E.E. Isherwood and Craig Martelle
- Marking Time – Immortal Descendants Book 1 by April White
If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular books, plus NINE more!
- The Continuum by Wendy Nikel
- The Syndicate – Timewaves Series Book 1 by Sophie Davis
- The Redemption of Michael Hollister by Shawn Inmon
- The Lights of Time by Paul Ian Cross
- Nairobi Jack by Monique Martin
- Imposter Messiah by M.W. Davis
- Time Trap by Jill Cooper
- Supernova – The Commons Book 1 by Jessica Marting
- Millennium Crash by James Litherland
This bundle is available only for a limited time via https://storybundle.com/timetravel. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books!
It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America!
Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.
I have been playing Minecraft off and on for almost a decade now. I have always enjoyed the lego-esque creativity it offers, the hours of shared time playing with my kids, and the fact that it is just a good game.
So recently, between my day job and a case of not being exactly sure what my characters are going to do next, I have been in a holding pattern on writing the next part of book 2.
I decided to help me realize what needed to happen next in the book, I needed to stop thinking about it. So, I dove back into Minecraft. Playing in the most recently released version I realized that they had added quite a bit in the last couple releases that could aid in it being a story telling device.
With that in mind I decided to try and tell a new ONLE story with Minecraft. What resulted was Camelot: ONLE a Minecraft Story. The stories stars you as a rookie ARC agent sent on a mission to recover artifacts related to King Arthur, including the legendary Excalibur. You travel from the Neg Point to Viking Norway, Mongolia, and of course, Camelot. Those who complete the missions will receive a link to a special preview of the next book. Working title Roanoke: It’s ONLE book two.
You can download a copy of the Minecraft story at https://www.planetminecraft.com/project/camelot-onle-a-minecraft-story/
For those of you out there that don’t have time to sit down with a good book, or if you just enjoy listening to books more. Whatever the reason, I have good news for you. Imposter Messiah is now available on Audible and Amazon as an Audiobook. The wonderful TJ Clark brings the story to life with his amazing voice work. Listen to a sample from the book:
Be sure to pick up a copy today from one of the links below!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RL891LC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_bAY0CbHDMR4WF
We are giving away three signed paperback copies of Imposter Messiah. All you need to do to enter is head to https://mailchi.mp/a30b7c723316/giveaway and subscribe to our mailing list to be entered. You have until May 31st to enter!
Probably the primary thing that got me hooked back on the written word, was ironically audiobooks. Back when I was on the road every week for work, spending all my time in airports, on the road, or in hotels I was desperate for entertainment and mental stimulation. Now this was before chromecasts and firesticks had hit the market, and Netflix couldn’t easily be saved to your mobile devices. As much as I love music, terrestrial and satellite radio can get repetitive, and Spotify was in its infancy. So I thought I would give audiobooks a shot, I was quickly sucked in.
The hours spent driving or meandering the airports were much less boring now. I eventually got a kindle so I could spend all of my down time consuming books in one form or another. I would read classic sci-fi on the e-reader and the new releases on audiobook. As time went on I started driving a lot more for work so spending ten plus hours on the road with the voice work of Wil Wheaton, RC Bray, Ray Porter, and many others made the time, ok not exactly fly by, but it was definitely more enjoyable.
So this has been a long rambling way to say that recording for the Imposter Messiah audiobook is underway. I am trilled to be working with the amazing TJ Clark to bring the agents of ONLE, as well as the rest of the cast of characters from the book to life. Listening through the first few chapters of what TJ recorded gave me chills. This process has cemented that I had actually made something here, it wasn’t just some daydream or fantasy that I had written a book. There was a real freaking book and audiobook, how cool is that!
I can’t wait to share the audiobook with all of you and the world. For now though I was just too excited to keep the news to myself. So coming soon to Audible is:
I am, of course, talking about Orville vs. Star Trek: Discovery. One is an amazing continuation of over 50 years of a Sci-Fi series that inspires millions to strive for a better tomorrow, push the boundaries of science and technology, and enjoy really good tv science fiction. The other one is Star Trek: Discovery.
Ok, now that I have the cliche comparison bit out of the way if you haven’t watched the Orville two-parter Identity then stop here and go watch it.
Identity is setup and crafted to act as Orville’s answer to the TNG classic The Best of Both Worlds and it performed wonderfully. The space battles are on par with the battle at Wolf-359, although Orville could use a little more variety in its starship design. This season of Orville continues to use the classic formula of the issue of the week that human kind of tomorrow has managed to overcome. The music, the sets, the lighting, everything about Orville screams to Seth MacFarlane’s love of Star Trek and I love it.
Meanwhile, over in Discovery land we have landed somewhere between the mirror universe and DS9 with the story telling of the first season of Voyager (my personal least favorite.) We continue to try to make holographic ship controls with a super advance propulsion system that has never before been mentioned in the history of Star Trek fit into a world that is 10 years prior to TOS. This season has shown some increased understanding of what it means to be Star Trek with bringing Pike on board to be the acting captain but its insistence on shoving Section 31 and the Emperor looks to destroy any goodwill gained by Pike. Don’t get me started on whatever those aliens they call Klingons are and can they please turn on some lights on the ship, I mean damn, did they forget to pay the electric bill.
That’s enough on this topic for now. I don’t know why, beyond general hatred for MacFarlane, the Orville gets such a beat down from the critics. From a fan of TNG and generally all things Star Trek, I highly recommend it.
People who make music have always amazed me. I have wanted to be one of them for as long as I can remember. Alas, I do not have a lick of musical talent nor the patience to overcome the lack of talent. Over the years I have tried to learn five or six different instruments. From guitar to bass to trombone to ukulele and everything in between. These people that can pick up any instrument and just start playing seem like gods to me. They are usually long haired, smelly, hippie gods, but gods none the less. In my daily life I listen to music probably six to eight hours a day. You kids out there may not think that is much; but as an adult with a wife, kids, and a full time job, doing anything from six to eight hours a day could be deemed excessive.
To me, I don’t feel that my brain is functioning right if there is no music in the background, it sets the pace, the mood for whatever I am working on. Character development or storytelling? Put on alt-country or acoustic punk, something with soul and strings that tells a story. Action scenes, 70s British punk or 80s/90s skate punk. World building? Classic Jazz. Spreadsheets for my day job? Just about anything to keep the brain from locking up. Financial Models or Work Orders? That needs a little faster mood. Maybe some red dirt country. Project Plans? Folk. There is a genre for everything, and if you are ever in doubt put on David Bowie, he can solve anything.
As I write this I am listening to Spotify’s Your Discover Weekly channel and have heard songs from The Lawrence Arms, John Hiatt, and the Reverend Horton Heat to name a few. So how did I get on this topic? A few weeks ago, I was reading in bed and had music on in the background. My wife came in and asked how I was able to read with music playing. Now, I was fast approaching sleep, so I made nothing of it at the time, but it stuck in the back of my brain. In the past few weeks I’ve noticed that she almost never listens to music. Some of my observations, cooking: she had NPR news playing on the Alexa. Cleaning: she had an audiobook on. Reading: silence, she had no background noise going at all. Help me, I am pretty sure I married an alien. She claims she likes music, but whenever she puts something on it’s either classic rock or a pop station. Classic rock is ok at times, but Pop? That is exactly what an alien spy would do, pick the most bland and generic genre possible to appeal to the masses, insidious.
I’m only joking about the alien part, however, that would explain a lot… Really, I don’t get how people can be ok without background noise of some kind. I know I tell my kids that I need quiet, but quiet means they aren’t yelling. True silence only seems to encourage my brain to bring up topics we are better off without discussing or reliving.
How about you readers? What are your music habits? What music inspires you?
