Hi all!
It’s official! I’ve committed to National Novel Writing Month 2019. Although for me it will be National Novella writing month!
Tag: Novella
New Novella in the works – The Last Gladiator
Explore an excerpt from my new novella “The Last Gladiator”
Hi all,
I wanted to share the first page excerpt from my latest novella, the Last Gladiator. Focusing on a much smaller part of the world, it details the story of Master Ilyensio Horatio, master of the Ludus Magnus, one of the last training compounds for human gladiators in an era when the mechagladiators are about to dominate the colliseum. C&C always appreciated, let me know what you think! The goal for this is roughly 10-12,000 words, as I’d love to start getting some more novellas out this year and next with the eventual goal of creating that print anthology to accompany the Steam Empire Chronicle series.
Continue reading “New Novella in the works – The Last Gladiator”
Novellas and the Self Published Author: Remix Part 1
I go back and revisit the idea of novellas, Part One! Check it out!
Part 1
About a year or so ago, I posted this article on Novellas and the self-published author. I’ve put the original article on the bottom of this post for your enjoyment. I’ve now published two novellas, one through my traditional self-publishing system, and one through a small publisher, to try and see which approach I like more. I figured it would be beneficial to share my new insights and thoughts.
Continue reading “Novellas and the Self Published Author: Remix Part 1”
Roma Aeronautica Out Today!
My new Novella, Roma Aeronautica, is out today! Click to get a quick synopsis and learn where to purchase this fast paced coming-of-age story.
Hi everyone! I hope your summer is going well, mine is so far, when it isn’t full of work! I am excited to announce that my new novella, Roma Aeronautica, is available for purchase on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble (and will be up on Smashwords for iPad owners/etc., as soon as possible!). Roma Aeronautica takes place in the same world as the Steam Empire Chronicles, and would be described as a character prequel.
Antioch Burns…
A sneak peek at Antioch Burns, my second novella coming out late 2013.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Its a tad bit too cold to go to the pool or even sunbathe where I am currently, but hopefully that will change by next weekend.
Unfortunately, for the people of Antioch in my next novel, this is not a good time to be in town. You see, the Mongolians have invaded….
Enjoy the tantalizing sneak peek at Antioch Burns, my 2nd novella that is still in the pipeline. I hope you like the tidbit.
Don’t forget that you can get both Brass Legionnaire AND Copper Centurion now! Both are available on Nook, Kindle, and all other devices
. Copper Centurion should be out on iTunes this weekend as well. If you like the novels, please rate and review them so that others can join the world of Romanpunk.
*and remember to wear sunscreen!*
Ciao!
The countryside flew by at a prodigious rate, the horses of the auxilia scouting unit eating up the leagues of rolling hills and farmland. The double score of men rode two abreast, sunlight shinning off their glittering scale armor. The detachment of horsemen sent up a thin cloud of dust from the dirt road as they crested a low rise, their leader reining in his steed. Decanus Orestus Flavian reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a map. He traced their route with his gloved finger.
“According to the merchant’s report, he saw the burning homes down this way. He also said there was a lot of easterner cavalry. Pah!” He laughed. “Probably one of those damnable tribal disputes lighting up again. Stupid civilian probably hasn’t ever seen a real eastern horseman in his life.” He quipped to his auxilia. Several of his men laughed. They had been together for some time. Flavian liked to say that he had been born in the saddle. Out here on the eastern border of the Imperial Roman Empire, the massed cavalry forces of the eastern Mongolian Khannates were the main threat, and the Romans had been forced to develop their forces in kind. Flavian was one of the original founders, boys picked from the riding stables of various major cities, given weapons and armor and sent to fight on horses not designed for the job. The fact that he survived the two years of brutal, no-holds-barred warfare spoke to his skill and tenacity. That he rose in rank to lead an auxilia detachment, the ground based eyes and ears of the Roman Army, spoke to his intelligence.
Using this intelligence now, Flavian guided his men off the dirt roadway, to better mask their dust cloud as they approached the supposed scene of the attack. They rode through the field, trampling the high crops with impunity. Finally, the horsemen crested a short rise, and the officer reined his men in.
“In the name of Jupiter…” Flavian’s jaw dropped, gaping at the sight laid out before him.
Using Reader Input in your Story Writing Process
I talk about what I’ve learned about including reader character creations into my novels, and an update on new characters in Antioch Burns!
Hi all,As many of you may know, I recently completed a Kickstarter program that helped me to fund a large portion of Copper Centurion’s cost. This go around, I offered a reward level that allowed the backer the option to create a character in my upcoming novel, Steam Empire Chronicles #3 – Iron Tribune.
However, I thought it would be easier – and better – to have the characters (or several of them) introduced through a novella – in this case, Antioch Burns. I’d like to share with you what I’ve discovered from my experiences.
- Communicate Early, and make your expectations clear – Of the four people who contributed that level of money, one gave me plenty of information, two gave me some, and one gave me very little information to go on. So I sent an email, then one, then two. Both times I set ‘deadlines’ for people to return information by for inclusion in the story.
Then I waited.. and waited..
You get the point. So I started out writing the novella, and to my surprise recently got a very large ‘info dump’ of information that will be extremely helpful in writing this particular character. But I did have to go back and rearrange some parts of the story – which was fine, I was just three pages in.
2. Accept the fact that people may not commit – Yes, even if people say they want to help, they may not. Oh well, nothing I can do.
3. Remember that every character you get is a blessing! Look at it this way, I don’t have to come up with a very detailed background for this character, nor a name (easier in some genres, harder with Roman background) – Also, I don’t have to come up with characteristics or habits, as someone has already done that for me. Indeed, I was able to start spinning the story in a direction I think I like.
4. In the end, it’s all about how well you spin the story – Just remember. In the end, you’re the boss!
By the way, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my novels Brass Legionnaire and Copper Centurion. I’m exceptionally proud of both of these novels, and they’ve reached #2 and #6 on the Steampunk Amazon Chart in the last week or so. In addition, Both novels have been consistently ranked top ten in multiple ebook categories (Greek and Roman, Myths, and Alternate history being a few).
Ciao!
New Short Story in the works
A new novella is in the works!
Hi all,
Just wanted to share some exciting information with you! In case you had missed it, I mentioned on my Facebook page that I was busy writing up a new idea for a novella set in the Steam Empire Chronicles world.
In fact, I’ve already started writing it.
“But didn’t you just finish a novel? Aren’t you going to take a break?”
Well yes, but I was honestly bored right now before the holidays, having just managed to finish up my last graduate work. Now that I am officially MORE educated than before, and making a nice, paltry sum of money more from the day job, I no longer need to worry about writing multiple papers on a weekly basis. Thus more free time.
Anywho, to get to the point. The new story will be called…
ROMA AERONAUTICA
Indeed, tremble in excitement oh vast ranks of readers! It shall be exciting, and will feature one of my personal favorite characters (along with many a reader, which makes me laugh), Captain Rufus Tiverii Alexandros, master and commander of the great ship H.M.A.S. Scioparto. But Roma Aeronautica will take place far before his forays into air legions and the events of the Brittenburg Rebellion and Nortland Expedition.
And I’ve already spilled too much! Be on the look out for more information, coming soon. Theoretically, I could get this novella (really more a glorified short story, I’m aiming for 15k words or less) done by February.
Time to get to work I suppose!
Ciao!
Modern Papyrus 