Damon Alan's Blog

Book 8 in the Dark Seas series is progressing, I wrote a chapter today where Sarah Dayson is finally getting to deliver some pain to the Hive, not just take the pain they send her way. I have an excerpt below.

In other news, my old dog, Jake, was put to sleep last Sunday, August 30th. My office is so quiet now. He was the best of dogs, loyal, intelligent, and kind to people.

In other other news, Book 3 of the Worlds at War series is in voice production, and should be out on Audible by the middle of next month. Then book 4 will likely go into production toward the end of the year.

In totally different news, it was 91 degrees at my house yesterday. Today it is 37 degrees and snowing. We’re having the earliest freeze on record. Technically it’s still summer, although the sound of my furnace running says otherwise.

In unrelated news, my 560SL is going into the shop for a repaint, a new interior, and a new soft top tomorrow. I’m excited about that, as I’ve had the car 10 years and have been waiting to restore it. Jake loved riding in it, but he was a slobbery mess. I wanted to wait until he was gone because I wouldn’t have felt right denying him his rides because of a restoration.

No more news. I’m fresh out.

‘Til next time.

_______________________________

Salphan gave her a quick kiss. “I’m going to make a list of those I want for my team. I want to make sure I have time to get them here and work out our own tactics.”

She looked at him, feeling her face fill with affection. “You do that. I’ll see you when my watch is over. Arrange dinner in between your schemes.”

“Schemes?” he said sarcastically, “I think not. More like the thoughts of a combat genius.”

Laughing, she pushed him toward the bridge hatch. “Get going, genius. I have actual work to do.”

As he left, she turned to the tactical screen once more.

Orphasi was a molten ball behind the shockwave. It would be hours before the wave went all the way around the planet and met on the other side. Would the destruction be so severe all that way?

She’d find out.

How deep did into the crust did the damage go? She assumed the Hive had underground complexes.

Did anything Hive still exist on that world? If their complexes weren’t turned to liquid, they probably succumbed to the concussive force. But she didn’t know.

An important question that needed to be resolved.

_______________________________

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Hi everyone. I’m very sorry for my absence.

2020 has been a very tough year for us all. A lot of experts are predicting a tough decade ahead. Financially. Socially. And then there is the pandemic.

Whatever your beliefs on it, I don’t want to get into a debate about it because like everything these days, it just creates strife and discord. I’ve pretty much reached my personal limit for that nonsense.

My mother died in early June. Something I thought would not impact me very hard because she was sick much of her life and made it to 73. But it did impact me. I’ve thought about her a lot in the last months. The indignities she suffered in early life and how that formed her into who she was. We didn’t always get along, but I got to see her in late May, spend a few days with her. The specter of death was shocking, seeing my strong mother reduced to a near skeleton and struggling with pain. She and I talked when she could, and we made our peace. I kissed her forehead, told her I loved her, and that I’d see her granddaughters raised to strong women like she’d been. That gave her satisfaction, and she told me she’d always known I would take care of my kids.

I have done nothing during her final sickness and since her death but a bit of work on the house and playing video games. It was a pathetic escape from this reality we find ourselves in this year, but to be honest I didn’t and don’t care. Many have alcohol, some have drugs, some sex addiction… I’m undoubtedly a video game addict. But during my thoughts of family, the fate of us all, and even thoughts of my dog as he lay next to me slowly fading (he’s a 15 year old Labrador) I needed a distraction.

Yesterday I put together the first 23 pages of my 8th book in the Dark Seas series into a submission to my critique group. Which I’ve missed greatly as we shut down for COVID-19 for a while. We’re going to be meeting on Zoom, discussing our materials, and getting back into the groove.

That should get me writing again. I have a series to finish and another to continue to see where it takes us.

The good news? Writing will still be an escape from this reality. And it’s honestly why I provide it to you, so that, for a bit, you might be somewhere else and see how another character solves their problems.

Again, I’m sorry. I haven’t cried about the loss of a family member since I was 8 and a much loved grandparent died. At 54 I’m not ashamed to say I wept fully for my mother. She deserved that much from her only child.

But life goes on. And now so will the stories.

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A new book released this month. The Depths of Aerth. It’s already selling well on Amazon, and I’m hoping to have the next three books, including this one, on Audible by the end of the year.

This is the best month I’ve had for sales by far. 200 straight sales, and 100,000+ Kindle Unlimited page reads for all of my books summed together this month.

What’s planned for the future?

Next is book 8 in the Dark Seas series. Then we’ll flip to book 5 in the Worlds at War series. Then back to book 9 for the Dark Seas, and that will conclude that series. That will then be my 15th novel.

I’m posting a concept cover for book 5 in the Worlds at War series, currently titled The Dark of Knight. I haven’t done the cover for book 8 of the Dark Seas series yet, because I’ve changed my concept a bit and the old cover I made won’t work. I even changed the title, the name of this one will be The Hammer Falls.

Other than that, it’s the same old thing. Family, friends, winter weather in Colorado, cooking, video games, and hanging out with some of my favorite authors every few weeks.

So February has been good. A record sales month with four days to go. And I’ll raise a glass to March being even better.

And to all of you, my readers, I’ll raise a glass as well. You’re spectacular, and the conversations I have with you on Facebook on my author page are something I truly love. If I become big, and trust me, that’s the plan, I’ll be right there talking to you, listening to you, answering your emails, and admiring your ingenuity as you point out my mistakes, give me tips on making things better, and discuss history and science with me. Thank you for all of that.

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So over the holidays I might have been bad at keeping up the blog. Okay, I’m always bad. But eventually I remember and get back to it. The good news? A lot has happened.

The Depths of Aerth is in editing and will be released by mid-Febraury at the latest. The cover is done. The file is with Amazon. They know it’s coming. Let’s consider that one in the book.

It’s been too long, and I apologize.

Here’s what’s been keeping me busy:

1. The Depths of Aerth is 4 chapters from being complete. It’s been a pleasure to write, and I have been deep in it for a while now. I expect release to be in January.

2. The audiobook for The Dragons of Dunkirk is completed! Yes!!!! I have paid the narrator, ACX (Audible) has marked it as complete and they are in final review of the audio which should take no longer than December 9th to complete. It’s all done on my end, I’m just waiting for them.

3. House stuff. Home ownership is expensive and hard. Durrrr. I knew that, but I bought the one I’m in with my wife anyway. Keeps me hopping.

4. Holidays. Buying for 3 teen girls… well, one 20 year old and 2 teens, is harder than you’d think. But I’m slowly getting them things to make them smile on Christmas morning.

1 and 2 are really what’s taking so much time, and this isn’t the complete list. The Anvil of Dust and Stars is getting a rewrite as I’ve run it through my critique group and they’ve helped make it better. It was my first book, after all, and I’ve learned much since writing it.

Hopefully I’ll post more, but it might not be a thing until after January 2nd. Because, as you all know, life is busy.

The post Woah! Too long appeared first on Dark Seas - Damon Alan's Author Page.

Facebook is now saying it’s a publisher, when before it was saying it was a platform. The disingenuous behavior of Zuckity-Zuck and his team of slippery as snot lawyers is something the American public should not be tolerating.

It is definitely one or the other. If it’s a publisher, it has 1st Amendment rights and can censor the speech on its site. Fair enough. But if it’s a publisher then it becomes legally responsible for the content of the material on its site. So it needs to A) Pay me royalties for every read of the material I’ve put in place on their site, and B) Be sued every time speech that violates the rights of others is hosted on their site.

So let’s say Zuckity-Zuck is wrong, and Facebook really is a platform. Now they have the public square concept working for them. By that I mean that courts have actually adjudicated the matter, and say that although malls are privately owned, they are offered as public gathering places so the 1st Amendment is protected there. That said, mall owners are not responsible if someone walks through with a sign that offends everyone under the sun. See the difference?

Facebook wants to basically have their cake and eat it too, which doesn’t work. I see why they want that, but either they’re a public square or they’re a publisher. They need to firmly come down on one side or the other, and be forced by courts to stick with it.

If they’re a publisher, I eagerly await my check. At this point, since they didn’t negotiate up front for my material, I await my $1 million dollar royalty check.

If they’re a platform, I expect to receive a check for having my 1st Amendment rights violated repeatedly as I’ve expressed my views.

Either way, pay up Zuckity-Zuck.

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Finally, release day for Reality’s Veil is here. I love that title, btw, and the book makes very clear where it comes from. You can get it on Amazon, and only Amazon. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read it there. Or buy it on Kindle or in print.

Reality’s Veil on Amazon.

The official release date is August 29th, and it’s up for preorder until then.

Book 7 is in the books! Two more to go. But not until Odd Space is done, and probably after The Depths of Aerth, book 4 in the Worlds at War series is done.

The post Oh sweet release! appeared first on Dark Seas - Damon Alan's Author Page.

I’ve been working on art for later covers in the Worlds at War series. So far I have a tank I want to put on the cover of Book 5, you can see if you can figure out why a German VK20.01 would be relevant to the story.

In addition I’ve started working on characters. I am buying model shots off www.depositphotos.com and modifying them as I like to fit the image I have of the character. Well, by ‘shots’, I mean a few shots, like three, and by ‘them’ I mean one so far.

I have a model shot for Irsu. I have another shot, but haven’t decided if I like it for the character yet.

Regardless, it’s a pretty fun exercise, and now when I write the characters I can get a feel for what they look like. Yes, I know in the book Cylethe doesn’t wear a lot of clothing. But I can hardly go around posting that sort of thing. So here she is. ^^^^

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Today is release day for The Men of War. Book 3 in the Worlds at War Series, it’s been a while coming, I know. I confess, at times I wonder if writing is something I should be better organized with. Currently I have two series going, and ideas for more. I have a book called Odd Space that I am writing, it’s along the lines of Hitchhikers Guide meets a superhero origins story.

I don’t need to make excuses; you can expect me to release when I can. Another book is coming up ‘soon’, but I’ve learned better than to give dates. It’s with my editor right now. When she is finished, I’ll do final edits and release it. Book 7 in the Dark Seas Series, titled Reality’s Veil.

After that two more books in the Dark Seas Series, and an unknown number in the WWII Fantasy, but I will limit myself to the one series. Only after that’s done will I write the prequel book(s) for Dark Seas. Also a second Serum novel, and potentially the Blood series. That’s a series I want to write about different ways mankind might come to the apocalypse and fictional accounts of those events.

Thank you for being readers, I will keep delivering, but on a schedule? Nah. That just ain’t me. Just like, apparently, religiously dedicating myself to regular blog posts isn’t me.

The Men of War

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It’s been too long since I added a post. Totally my fault. I’ve had a busy life recently, and the winter here in Colorado went on WAY TOO LONG.

But it’s nice now and I’ve been driving in my 560SL, working in the yard, repairing small house issues, and, of course, writing.

OH, and I went to Denver Pop Culture Con. I’m not sure if it’s the change in name, loss of some vendors, or what, but the Con wasn’t as wonderful as it’s been in years past. My wife and I did, however, get fighting lightsabers so that was fun. We haven’t gone at it with vigor, we’re saving that for the first real disagreement we have.

But the title says there is a new book coming, right?

It’s not lying. Releasing July 2nd, just in time for the coming long weekend. At least I hope most of you have long weekends. The Men of War is being set up on Amazon even as I type this. Soon it will be ready and you’ll get access to yet another segment in the Worlds at War series.

I just reread all six of the Dark Seas series books. I’m pretty proud of them, if I do say so myself. The good news is that I have book 7 on my shelf in proof format, and now that I’ve stepped away from it for a while I should have an impartial opinion when I read it and prepare it for publication.

I don’t think that will take too long. But for now, The Men of War will have to do.

The Men of War on Amazon

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