Impulse Power - Out Now In Paperback

Samhain's super-shiny space romance anthology IMPULSE POWER, featuring The Mythmakers by yours truly, is out now in paperback! The other two stories in this triple threat extravaganza are Metal Reign (by Nathalie Gray) and Hearts and Minds (by JC Hay). Tremendous stories by ace writers. All this was masterminded by editor and Firefly fangirl, Sasha Knight. The much-ogled cover is the work of intergalactic super-being Kanaxa (aka Nathalie Gray).

IMPULSE POWER is available here, or you can order it from Amazon if you like.

Light-speed isn't fast enough to outrun the heart.

November Writing Update!

This is by far the most hectic Nov/Dec I’ve had as a writer! Exciting but hectic. Anyone have a spare DeLorean with a flux capacitor handy...

I watched the Back to the Future trilogy on Blu-Ray the other day and it’s aged extremely well. The stories are so good and Marty and Doc are such a great quirky double-act, I never get tired of rewatching. It might be my favourite movie trilogy of all, and those nail-biting finales to parts 1 & 3—never bettered.

Sloane Taylor and I are gearing up for our blog/chat/interview tour for Claire de Lune, the erotic sci-fi mystery novel we co-wrote at Amber Quill Press (Amber Heat). It’s been such a unique project right from the start (both on and off the page), we’ve got plenty of material to share with you—male/female perspectives, blending genres, spicing up a romantic novel, the lunar beauty pageant, creating a sci-fi world. The release date for the eBook is Nov 28, and the paperback will follow some time in December.

And we’re so pleased with the book, Sloane and I are collaborating on a new erotic sci-fi romance novella, titled Dark Side of the Moon. It’s a prequel of sorts featuring one of the secondary characters from Claire de Lune. The outline already has us plotting like crazy. Check out Sloane’s website to sample her phenomenal writing style—now imagine that in a wild sci-fi setting! I have to think at beyond light-speed to keep up with her.

December 7 sees the paperback release of Impulse Power, Samhain’s space opera romance anthology featuring The Mythmakers by yours truly. My co-authors, Nathalie Gray (Metal Reign) and J.C. Hay (Hearts and Minds), are frighteningly good in this genre, and I remember being floored when my story was chosen last year. Apparently there were tons of submissions. Look out for Impulse Power, available from Samhain, Amazon, and all good bookstores, soon.

Edits are completed on my steampunk mystery at Carina Press. The Mysterious Lady Law (new title) went through several drafts before my lovely editor, Alyssa Davis and I perfected the story arc. It’s a tricky mystery, part Sherlock Holmes, part retro science fiction, and a lot of fun. I’m still waiting for the cover art, but I have a release date to announce... January 31, 2011. :doffs hat to Alyssa:

I submitted my latest romantic sci-fi novel to Samhain a few weeks ago and should be hearing back before too long. Sparks in Cosmic Dust is a huge, treasure-seeking adventure featuring five down-on-their-luck characters on a dangerous prospecting dig beyond the farthest deep space outpost. It’s loosely inspired by The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (the 1948 Bogart classic), and was a bitch to write. At 89,000 words, it’s by far the longest story I’ve written. I’ve absolutely no idea how it’s going to be received. I do know it showcases some of my best writing, for what that’s worth. Let’s hope I’m not the only one who thinks so!

Okay, this is me signing off.

Best,
Robert

Two Reviews for The Mythmakers

Mrs. Giggles tells it like it is, reviews my space opera novella The Mythmakers here:

http://www.mrsgiggles.com/ebooks/appleton_mythmakers.html

And here's another positive review for The Mythmakers from Two Lips Reviews.

The romance might not be bowling them over, but they're certainly digging the SF and the story's originality. Count me v happy.

Interested? Head on over to Samhain's bookstore and read the first chapter. I've also learned that Impulse Power, the paperback anthology featuring this and two other novellas, is to be released sometime in December. Not too shabby.

First Look at THE MYTHMAKERS!

As you can see, Samhain Publishing are pulling out all the stops for Impulse Power, their space opera anthology due for release in February 2010. The cover artist is Kanaxa, and she went truly stellar for this amazing tapestry of book covers. The three novellas are Hearts and Minds (by J.C. Hay), Metal Reign (by Nathalie Gray), and my own outer space adventure, The Mythmakers.

I've had great book covers before but these are just extraordinary! If the rest of the project turns out this well, Impulse Power will be the space opera book of next year, no question. Each novella is to be released as a separate eBook in Feb, before the paperback anthology later in 2010.

Here's an early blurb for The Mythmakers:

The last will and testament of a forgotten Earth...

For Captain Steffi Savannah and her crew of deep space smugglers, life has become little more than a dogged exercise in mere survival. Their latest disastrous heist ended with another dead crew member—and no place left to hide. She’s even finding it hard to dredge up any excitement over the giant, crippled ship that appears on their radar, even though it’s the salvage opportunity of a lifetime.

They find that it’s no ordinary alien vessel. It’s a ship of dreams, populated with the last remnants of Earth’s mythical creatures. Including the blond, built, mysterious Arne, one of a race blessed with extraordinary beauty—and few inhibitions. Though he won’t tell her exactly what he is, in his arms Steffi rediscovers something she thought she’d never feel again. Wonder, love…and hope.

It isn’t long, though, before the Royal guard tracks them down, and Steffi and her crew are faced with a terrible decision. Cut and run. Or risk everything to tow the ship and her precious cargo to safety.

Editing on The Mythmakers begins soon, and I have the lovely Sasha Knight overseeing this one. Can't wait!

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/