Phase Three Pre-orders

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been working on a new stand-alone novel, and trialling a new distribution model to accompany it.

Phase Three is a science-fiction story that explores a near-future Earth and the implications of our emergent technologies through the eyes of four unique characters. It’s still in draft form, so the blurb is currently a little vague to avoid spoilers, but here goes:

Cover-PhaseThree-DraftThe world has an addiction. Augmenting reality – augmenting ourselves – averted a looming energy crisis, but it has become something more than that. “Overnight equality,” promises the slogan, and what’s a decade or two between advertisers?

We redefined what it means to be human, then bought our own bullshit retail.

But the physical world still exists, however much we stare into the infinite. People yet remain, living outside the reality bubbles we create. And so do the consequences of our inattention.

Three individuals, each a casualty of flawed implementation, face intimate, inconsequential decisions in pursuit of their goals. Then there’s Gordon, who simply wants to escape his past without being killed.

And their actions could unravel the world. Or save it.

Sound good? Want more? Well, you can read a sample chapter and meet the characters at the link below. Better yet, you can pre-order a copy (or three) and help bring Phase Three to life.

Read and support here: www.inkshares.com/books/phase-three-2584

You can also read my interview with The Warbler, a book review blog that’s also worth checking out, which touches on the background of Phase Three and my reasons for choosing to trial the Inkshares model.

The Warbler interview here: www.thewarblerbooks.com/featured-author-peter-ravlich/

So far so good

I’ve achieved a few little milestones since my last post:

  1. Published the electronic omnibus edition of The Fallen Shepherd Saga.
  2. Revised the series title, since the characters demanded a sequel – the continuing series will be called The Fallen Mythos.
  3. Started typesetting the paperback edition, and scheduled time to complete this over the next couple of weeks.
  4. Started rewriting the sequel novel.
  5. I haven’t started any new (non-work) projects. This is a pretty major achievement for me (which is probably a sad commentary on my writing process), so I’m comfortable counting something that didn’t happen as a milestone.

I’ve also been using Twitter prompts to write at least one short poem each week, which I’ve found useful for keeping the language alive while sticking to a single main project.

One month on, having a few defined constraints seems to be working well, and I’m increasingly optimistic about this approach.

That’s about it for the month… back to the re-write.

On Holy Ground

Fallen-Shepherd-Saga-On-Holy-Ground-120wI’m really excited to announce the conclusion to the Fallen Shepherd Saga, On Holy Ground.

It’s written, beta-read, edited and waiting on a couple of administrative details to go live… Hopefully by the beginning of next week. The blurb is one of those details, so I’ll leave you in suspense until then!

Now available on Amazon for $2.99 USD – link.

I’m also preparing a combined anthology version of the Saga, which will include an expansion to Holier Than Thou, but that will be a few weeks out.

Update 6/05/15On Holy Ground is now in the publishing queue, and will be live in a few hours’ time! Here’s the blurb, while you wait:

“Lead me not into temptation.” It’s a petition, not a guarantee. And some temptations run deep.

The war is begun, and Rome is on the move. Something is stalking the hunters, and Antonio appears to be their most wanted. It should be flattering, given the circumstances, but they had to get personal about it.

With an ancient evil in play, Antonio must choose between the people he loves and his very soul. And he just might take the world with him.

Book: Holy Smoke

Fallen-Shepherd-Saga-Holy-Smoke120wI’m really pleased to announce the release of Holy Smoke, Part two of The Fallen Shepherd Saga. The ebook is available now at $1.99 here.

Antonio has nothing against killing. Well, there is that whole “thou shalt not” thing, but he’s confident that only applies to humans. Mostly confident.

Being shot at is something different, though. It shows a distinct lack of professional courtesy, especially when you’re left with too many suspects and too little Kevlar. Tony’s bridges still smoulder, but a bullet is one hell of an incentive to start rebuilding.

Part two of The Fallen Shepherd Saga, a serial story. Holy Smoke can be read as a stand-alone volume, but is best read after Holier Than Thou.

Holy Smoke update

So, in between fits of excitement, I’ve been working on Holy Smoke (part two of The Fallen Shepherd Saga) and I’ve just finished the developmental edit. In non-publishing speak, that means it’s almost ready to go: it’s heading back to my beta readers to make sure I haven’t made any (more) mistakes, and the cover is being designed. I have a couple of other projects to work on this week, but I’ve already started writing Book 3, and I’m really happy with the way the saga is coming together.

Update: Holy Smoke will be released on September 20th (PST), and is available for pre-order now here!

Edit: If this post makes no sense, you probably need to start with Holier Than Thou, a standalone short story and the introduction to this serial.