Tag Archives: Book

Author-itative

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Oh, you poor, poor fools that have the misfortune of living outside driving range of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and North Carolina. Why do I pity you? Well, for so many reasons, honestly, but mostly because you will be missing out on a GREAT event this Saturday.

Pshaw, you say! I have a lot of things going for me outside the Norfolk / Chesapeake / Virginia Beach area. Why, I have the life of the European bon vivant, you say. I’ve got the excitement of the Big Apple — I’ve got the coolness of the West Coast — I’ve got the great vistas of the Rocky Mountains!

Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful. Your protestations are but the last desperate gasp of the uninformed. You cry foul, but I know better, because I know about Authorfest.

Hampton Roads Authorfest, a kick-ass collection of 25 local-area authors with well over 100 books between them, books that excite, books that inform, books that stir the soul and the imagination. Books by authors who have both succeeded in the traditional publishing industry, and books by those who have struck out on their own and gone indie. Books of every genre from my own favorite (SCIENCE FICTION and all its varied sub-genres), to horror, thrillers, romance, mysteries, fantasy, young adult, crime, true crime, memoirs, humor, children’s books, travel books, and philosophy, etc. Books by such local luminaries as Chris Kennedy, Vanessa Barger, Lara Nance, Nancy Naigle, Tracy March, Malcom Massey, Dave Poyer, and Lynn Yvonne Moon. Books by authors you’ve loved for years, and books by authors you have yet to discover.

And what an event it’ll be! There’s the authors, of course, whom you’ll be able to stroll around, talk to, and connect with from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. And there will be books to browse, books to buy (for yourself or as a gift for the holidays), and prizes to win. And there will be seminars throughout the day, full of priceless guidance if you’d like to one day be a selling author yourself. They’ll cover the Children’s Book biz, Small Press Publishing, Indie Publishing, Book Trailers and Advertising, Writing for Young Adults, Steampunk Basics, and The Game of Love in Romance Writing. I myself don’t know if I’ll be able to resist the seminars, even though I’ll be sitting a table and trying to sell my own humble pair of books.

Should you happen to have the fortune of residing within the greater Hampton Roads area (and by this I mean if you left RIGHT NOW, you could legally and safely hit the Authorfest from a range of 4000 miles), you can totally attend the event — AND YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. We’ll be kicking things off at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach, at the 4100 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard, from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. It’ll be a blast and you owe yourself the opportunity to meet these authors and try out their wares.

Plus, BONUS!!!, I will be there in all my humble glory.

Honestly, how could you NOT show up now?

LAUNCH DAY!!! “A Sword Into Darkness” Is Here!

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After a long lead-up, the BIG DAY has finally arrived!  A Sword Into Darkness, the hard-science, military science fiction / space opera is up for sale, worldwide.  Is it a good read?  Well, I think it’s a damn good read (it certainly was a helluva lotta fun to write).  But don’t just take my word for it — listen to the blurbs and reviews already in:

“Solid adventure, intrigue and speculative space-tech, from a rising star in military science fiction.”— DAVID BRIN, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of ‘EXISTENCE,’ ‘THE POSTMAN,’ and ‘STARTIDE RISING’

Yes, that’s right . . . David Brin.  His Uplift novels were THE BEST when I was growing up.  I am beyond honored that he’s even read my pulpy science adventure.  Getting a blurb from him was completely unbelievable.

“There are brilliant first contact stories, great space combat stories, and amazing stories of technological discovery. Rarely do you find all three in the same novel. Remember the name Thomas A. Mays. You’re going to be seeing it on the bestseller list.”— JEFF EDWARDS, Award-winning author of ‘SEA OF SHADOWS,’ and ‘THE SEVENTH ANGEL’

Jeff is a buddy, but he’s practically been a bigger believer in this book than I was.  Without Jeff and Stealth Books, I’m not sure I’d ever have made it available through self/indie publishing.  And now?  Soooo glad I did.  He’s the one who got my book to David Brin and this next fine fellow:

“Sharply written, suspenseful and tightly plotted, A SWORD INTO DARKNESS reads like the best Tom Clancy novels, with a science fiction heart provided by Arthur C. Clark. Can’t wait to read more from Thomas Mays!”— GRAHAM BROWN, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of ‘ZERO HOUR,’ ‘BLACK RAIN,’ and ‘THE EDEN PROPHECY’

But, wait!  There’s more!

“A Sword Into Darkness is Thomas Mays’ debut novel, and it is a blockbuster! Kept me on the edge of my seat up til the end. And unlike so many other novels, when it promised a revelation of a dread secret at the end, it actually delivered. Puzzling occurrences make perfect logical sense as the reader learns more.  The action starts when astronomers notice something odd in-line with the star Delta Pavonis. Hilarity rapidly ensues.  But unlike so many other science fiction novels, Mr. Mays actually gets the science correct. This might have something to do with the fact that he has two degrees in physics and is an 18 year veteran of the US Navy, and has assisted with research into ballistic missile defense.  Recommended.” — WINCHELL CHUNG, guru of the Atomic Rockets site and writer’s resource.

Winchell/Nyrath is a great guy, whom (unfortunately) I’ve never met in real life.  We first became acquainted when I was on the SciFi-Meshes 3D art forums, and he critiqued my art from a very hard-science perspective.  I then followed him over to his masterful website Atomic Rockets, which is a FANTASTIC resource for any SF author or filmmaker who wants to move beyond Star Wars and Star Trek and actually get the science part of science fiction RIGHT.  He was gracious enough to read ASID, promote it on his site as a Seal-of-Approval winning story, aaaand gave me my very first Amazon.com review.  I can’t thank you enough, Winchell!

So, if you like techno-thrillers, adventure tales, sci-fi, hard science fiction, military sci-fi, alien invasions, space navies, or space operas, A Sword Into Darkness is the tale for you.  And to get you to buy it TODAY (so you can be cooler than all your buddies), we’ve got a bunch of Launch Day deals:

Buy the trade paperback on CREATESPACE, and use the coupon code AGS4XF9L and you’ll get 20% off the list price!  Valid Launch Day only — coupon expires Saturday, Feb 1st, at 0800 Eastern.

Buy the trade paperback on AMAZON,  and get the KINDLE E-book version for half-price.  Or if you just want the Kindle version, and you’re an Amazon Prime member with a Kindle device, you can borrow ASID for FREE from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Whatcha waitin’ ’round heah fo’?  Go!

ASID Full Cover 3c

Ooooh, My God . . . .

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After posting the umpteenth tiny tweak to my cover on Createspace for the upcoming / potential Stealth Books edition of A Sword Into Darkness (assuming Baen does not buy it), I checked in at Lousy Book Covers for my daily dose of schadenfreude.

I was unprepared for the magnificence I would behold.

Gird yourself for the boldest artistic and authorial vision that has ever been put in print.

http://lousybookcovers.com/?p=6224

I salute you, K. R. Columbus!

Pimping it Forward

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So, if you’ve looked around, you may have noticed my link to John Scalzi’s blog, The Whatever. Now, agree with him politically or no, you have to give him credit for his accomplishments as a SF author and pro-blogger.  I enjoy it, and I urge you to enjoy it daily as well (right after visiting The Improbable Author, of course).

One of my favorite features of his is The Big Idea guest posts, in which he invites authors to come down and plug The Big Idea behind their latest book.  A great feature and one that has led me to discover a bunch of new authors (some I loved, some I was more “meh” over).

I’m gonna steal the hell outta that feature.  (Strictly as an homage of course, attorneys for the Scalzi estate.)

Now, where John Scalzi invites primarily traditionally published authors to blog about their baby, since I’m about to enter the micro-indie / self-publishing market myself, I thought I would focus upon that side of things.  Do I have the readership to justify plugging other indie’s books?  Not yet, but it’s growing and free press never hurts.  Don’t some other sites already do this?  I’m sure they do, but I’m Tom Mays and I’m awesome and therefore automatically better (as well as very, very humble don-cha-know).  Do I have some mercenary ulterior motive in this?  Abso-freakin’-lutely.  I hope to garner relationships and readerships with this feature that can only help spread the word about A Sword Into Darkness when it launches here in October from Stealth Books (assuming it is not delayed for a bigger deal from Baen Books).

Therefore, if you are a micro-indie / self-pubbed SF / Fantasy / Military / Adventure author, drop me a contact request in the comments below or e-mail me at amaysingstories@gmail.com.  I’ll be looking for about 5-10 paragraphs about you, your book, how you came up with your idea, and your journey to publication.  Posting schedule depends on inputs, but I’ll probably favor works coming out soon or released recently vice stuff that’s been out there for a year or more.  And I’ll hope for a quid pro quo amongst your own readerships and contacts for ASID once it’s released (I think there’s enough room in the marketplace for all of us, and — as a Naval type — believe a rising tide lifts all boats).

So, who’s up for a little pimpin’?

The Question Has Been Put

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So, stupid man that I am, I’ve sent a query to Baen Books regarding the current status of my on-hold manuscript for A Sword Into Darkness.  In the last two years (first submitted it in August 2011) it has gone from submitted to the Baen Slushpile, pulled out of the Baen Slush into a group of 40 books requiring further consideration, then to a group of 15 books, then 9 books, and now who knows.  Baen has a lot of stuff on their plate and I have nothing but respect for them and the situation they are in, working through whether or not to take a gamble on an unknown author or not.

But on a personal level, it’s maddening.  The manuscript is not accepted or rejected — just in Limbo — and like the souls stuck in Limbo, it’s not Heaven nor Hell, it’s just . . . blah.  Kinda there, not sucking, but not great either.  Indeterminate.  Frustrating.  Lame.

The work over the last couple of weeks on the self-publishing / Stealth Books imprint route has been exciting and productive, however.  I’ve got a proof-ready copy of the physical novel ready to ship, with a kick-ass cover and a professionally formatted interior (all thanks to the guidance and ministrations of Jeff Edwards).  It’s been awesome working on it with Jeff, but he fully knows and understands that I would throw a 100% of it aside if Baen or another traditional house only would say “yes.”

I should have an answer or more questions soon.  I’m quite nervous right now.

ASID Full Cover 2 Desktop

Attention On Deck!

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At ease, at ease. Everyone please sit down.

Welcome to the Improbable Author, my own blog about writing, life, entertainment, books, movies, and family. If you know me, it’s good to see you again — visit often and tell all your friends. If you are new, then please stay a while, read the short stories and chapters I’ve posted here, try out the Radio Play, browse the posts — and then visit often and tell all your friends.

I know writing blogs are a dime a dozen, but I hope you find something special in mine that brings you back. When I’m not working my day-and-night career in the Navy (henceforth known as The Job) or doing whatever She Who Must Be Obeyed tells me (I love you, sweetie!), then I try to be writing.

I’ve had some success with my short stories, chiefly due to the mentoring found on the Baen’s Bar forum. My main focus now is on novel publication, for either my completed military science fiction manuscript A Sword Into Darkness or my in-progress young adult urban fantasy Echomancer. I’ll have more about all of them in future posts.

So, browse around, follow the blog, and most of all — Happy Reading!!