Behold!
Should be out before the end of the week. More on it later.
Take care!
Category: Gunslinger Trilogy
First three chapters of Gunslinger to the Stars on InstaFreebie!
It is exactly one month before Gunslinger to the Stars goes live, but if you want to read the first three chapters, they are available right now on InstaFreebie.
If you’re unfamiliar with InstaFreebie, it’s a site where you can download free books by sharing your name and email with the author. Basically, you sign up for the author’s newsletter, and you get a copy of their book. You can browse by genre or author, too.
In addition to this giveaway, I’ll start posting short 300 word excerpts on my blog starting in about a week. I’m also going to publish a prequel short story in the next few days. And of course, you can pre-order Gunslinger to the Stars right now by following one of the links below!
New day job, new routine
So I just got a part-time day job with Monsanto, here in the Des Moines area. My brother-in-law works as a scientist there, so he was able to connect me with the right people. It’s basically a warehouse job, handling all the shipping and receiving as well as the inventory. The hours are perfect, the job is interesting, and the people are really awesome, so I think things are going to work out really well.
Of course, that means adjusting to a new daily routine, which is why I neglected this blog all last week. Writing takes priority, so I’ve been focused on that first. I’m currently working on a short story prequel to Gunslinger to the Stars, which should be done later today and up for you guys to read before the end of the month.
I’m really, really excited about Gunslinger to the Stars. I think it’s my best sci-fi adventure novel yet. It’s coming out right around the same time as Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which also looks really awesome. Think Guardians of the Galaxy meets Monster Hunter International, with a heaping dose of Firefly mixed in for good measure. That’s Gunslinger to the Stars.
Gunslinger to the Stars
$15.99eBook: free sale!Audiobook: $2.99 sale!
Sam Kletchka here, freelance gunslinger and interstellar privateer. This, my friends, is how I went from being stranded in the armpit of the galaxy to becoming the luckiest human being in the universe.
More info →Lots and lots of stuff going on, but it looks like things are finally settling into a new routine. I should have a lot more for you guys in the future.
Have a fantastic weekend, and thanks for reading!
GUNSLINGER TO THE STARS now up for pre-order!
Hi guys! Sorry to be out of the loop for a while. I have just made the pioneer trek of my ancestors, except in the wrong direction (from Utah to Iowa). Still getting settled in, but I should be more active from now on.
That said, I’m happy to report that Gunslinger to the Stars is now available for pre-order! It’s scheduled to release on May 19th, across all ebook platforms. For Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Smashwords, you can pre-order your copy now!
I’m super excited about this book. It’s my first novel since May 2016, and if it does well enough, I’d like to expand it into a trilogy. Either way, it’s definitely taken my writing in a new direction, and I think you’re really going to enjoy it. If I had to pitch it in one sentence, I’d say that it’s Monster Hunter International meets Guardians of the Galaxy.
Just a short post for now, but I’ll be sure to let you guys know what I’m up to as I get back into the swing of things. Thanks for reading!
Gunslinger to the Stars
Not long from now, in our own Milky Way…
Sam Kletchka here, freelance gunslinger and interstellar privateer. This, my friends, is how I went from being stranded in the armpit of the galaxy to becoming the luckiest human being in the universe.
About the Book
The name’s Sam Kletchka. Perhaps you’ve heard of me: captain of the Star Runner, military contractor for Earthfleet, and interstellar privateer. But before all that, I was a hired gun, freelancing across the galaxy one gunslinging job at a time.
This, my friends, is how I went from being stranded in the armpit of the galaxy to becoming the luckiest human being in the universe. Not that it was easy, of course. I’ve looked death in the face so often, he’s practically an old buddy of mine. But when all your worst enemies are immortal, that’s a buddy you want on your side.
Stay frosty, my friends. You never know what you’ll find at the next star.
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Thoughts on Genesis Earth
So I finished rereading Genesis Earth, in preparation for writing the sequel, and I have to say it was not what I expected.
It wasn’t disappointing. There were some annoying ticks that I noticed, like too many said bookisms or turns of phrase that I wouldn’t have written today. Also, the book was a little wordy or slow in parts, compared to my more recent writing. But those were relatively minor issues. The story was quite solid. I’d actually forgotten some of the plot twists, so it was fun to watch them unfold. A bit like reading the book for the first time.
But one thing above all else struck home: the person who wrote Genesis Earth is not the person I am today. I doubt that that person would have been able to write Gunslinger to the Stars. And if I were to go back and write Genesis Earth from scratch, it would be a completely different book in every meaningful way.
It’s bizarre. When you’re caught up in day-to-day life, you never really get a sense that you’re changing. And yet, the truth is that we’re always changing, hopefully for the best, but not always. It’s impossible to experience life and still remain unchanged.
I also got a sense of this when I finished the 2.0 draft for The Sword Keeper. Perhaps it was just me reliving my own memories from the times when I wrote it, but the first half of the book seemed very different from the second half. I wrote the first half while living abroad in Georgia, and the second half years later here in Utah.
There’s a couple of things I’ve taken away from this experience.
First, it’s not always a good idea to put a WIP on the back burner. By the time you come back to it, you may not be capable of writing it exactly the way you first envisioned it. Better to push through whatever’s blocking you and strike while the iron is hot.
Second, at anything you want to do well, it’s important to always strive to improve. Even when you’re at the top of your game (and I’m certainly not at the top of mine—not yet anyway), if you’re not always trying to do better, to learn and to grow, you’ll fall off really fast.
In reality, there is no “top,” because nothing is ever static. Improvement is a lifelong process, because the moment you stop improving is the moment you start getting worse.
One thing I really need to work on is writing every day. In the past, when I’ve been working on revisions, or prewriting, or getting a book ready for publication, I’ve slacked off on this. But the truth is that writing new words is the best way to sharpen your writing skills, and that writing every day is the best way to always keep them sharp. And there’s always something to write, even if it’s just a short story. If I could write a short story every week for a year…
So yeah, lots to think on. And I’ve got a few ideas for Edenfall as well. But first, before I move to Iowa next week, I need to get Gunslinger to the Stars ready for publication. Harder, better, faster, stronger—our work is never over!
Recovering…
This sinus infection has really been kicking my butt. I’m running at about 70% right now, which is better than last week, but still sub-optimal.
A lot of stuff is happening in the next couple of weeks. First, I got the edits back for Gunslinger to the Stars, which means that it should go up for pre-order sometime early next month. I’m also rereading Genesis Earth in preparation for writing book two, Edenfall. If things go well, that should be out by the end of the year.
At the same time, I’m moving out of my apartment soon, probably within two weeks. My landlady is selling her house, which means that the mother-in-law apartment where I’m currently living is not the best arrangement. Also, I just discovered some major mold issues. If it weren’t for this sinus infection, I’d already be in process of moving, but the illness has delayed things. Need to work out a plan.
Then there’s the half-foot of snow that just got dumped on us here in Utah. Joy.
Point is, it’s probably going to be a while before you hear from me again. I’ll try to keep you guys updated, but no guarantees. I’m still writing, though, and should have some more stuff coming out soon. Next month’s release will probably be another short story, since they’re easy to put out, but my next novel, Gunslinger to the Stars, will be available soon.
Another one done!
The Sword Keeper
It’s done! Draft 2.0 of The Sword Keeper is finished. Still need to run it by some test readers, but it’s looking very good for a release this year.
In other news, the power cable for my laptop decided to die. I’ll replace it eventually, but in the meantime, I’m going to try turning my phone into a writing device. Just got a K480 bluetooth keyboard and I’m excited to try it out. My phone is a device I’ve always got with me, so adapting it for writing could be really great.
I’m also going to try a new writing technique that should hopefully lead to cleaner (perhaps even publishable) first drafts. If it works, this could significantly increase my writing output. It involves cycling through yesterday’s words before writing any new ones, getting into the flow and making any changes as necessary. This is actually very close to how I used to write back in high school, before all those college English classes. I also get the sense that this is how Dean Wesley Smith writes.
All sorts of experimental new things going on with my next WIP, which is Edenfall. Yes, it’s time to complete the trilogy. But before I jump into it, I’m going to take some time to do some serious prewriting, in the hopes (again) of writing a clean first draft. Which, if it works, means that the book will be published that much sooner.
In the meantime, Gunslinger to the Stars is almost ready for publication. My editor is working on it now, the cover art is just about finished, and besides that all that’s really left is crafting the book description and metadata. If all goes well, it should be up for pre-order on iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, and Nook before the end of the month.
Also, new short story!
Nothing Found
What do you guys think?
Looking for some feedback here.
I was hoping to do something big and awesome for the cover, but the artist I wanted to do it was too booked, and I’ve been having a hard time finding anyone else who quite fits the bill. And then I realized that since this is the first book in a series, it might be better to do a low-budget cover and upgrade later if the book takes off.
Anyways, what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Feel it needs work? I’m really hoping to get this book up for pre-order in the next couple of weeks, and to do that I need a cover.
Not a bad start
So January’s almost over, and I have to say it’s not a bad start to the year. Things are going quite well, both on the writing and publishing end, and on the personal end as well.
Gunslinger to the Stars
First off, I finished draft 3.0 of Gunslinger to the Stars last week. The final draft came in at just under 52k words, which means that I managed to cut a healthy 27% of unnecessary wordage compared to the rough draft. That’s like upgrading from chuck roast to top sirloin, or 80/20 lean ground beef to 93/7 (except I actually prefer 85/15, but you get the point).
The Sci-Fi StoryBundle is doing quite well, enough that it may be a small windfall! That’s always encouraging, especially in today’s publishing climate. I should have some guest posts lined up soon from my fellow authors, which should be fun, so look out for that in the next few days. The bundle is only available for the next ten days, so if you haven’t picked it up yet, now is the time!
With Gunslinger to the Stars 3.0 finished, it’s time to move on to another WIP. The next one lined up is The Sword Keeper 2.0, which should be a lot of fun. This is my first epic fantasy novel, and there’s a bit that still has to be cleaned up, but I can legitimately say that this is one of the best things I’ve written so far. Really excited to get it out, hopfully later this year.
I also wrote a short story last week, and I’m not quite sure what to do with it. It’s so insanely political that it will probably get me blacklisted at half the magazines I submit it to. It’s also insanely short. I’ll probably clean it up a bit, see if I can add anything, and then go straight to self-publishing. Thank goodness that’s an option!
Lots more stuff happening this week. New free books, new release, new WIP, another short story in the works… 2017 is definitely off to a good start! And on that note, I’ll leave you with this awesome Pogo mix:
Plugging along with Gunslinger
Gunslinger to the Stars
So I’ve passed the 50% mark on Gunslinger to the Stars, which is kind of pathetic because I was hoping to finish it by today. Regardless, it WILL be finished soon, and when it is, it’s going straight to the editor.
Right now, I’m shooting for a publication date of May 15th. Things are on track to put it up for pre-order by the end of February, except I probably won’t put it up on Amazon until a month before it comes out (Amazon nerfs pre-orders for indies). Regardless, I am REALLY excited.
I’ve also got a super rough book description. Seriously, it took maybe twenty minutes and definitely needs some work. But if you’ve been following Gunslinger’s progress and are curious to see it, here it is. Feedback is definitely appreciated.
The name’s Sam Kletchka. Perhaps you’ve heard of me: captain of the Star Runner, military contractor for Earthfleet and interstellar privateer. But before all that, I was a hired gun, freelancing across the galaxy one gunslinging job at a time.
Perhaps you’ve also heard about the incident in the Gorinal Star Cluster. There’s a lot of things that the powers that be, especially the Immortals, don’t want you know. I’m here to set that record straight. When the jumpgate went dark, I was there, along with Jane Carter, my better half, Tarak, my telepathic copilot, and the empath shapeshifters of the Silver Diadem.
It was a tough scrape, but fortunately, I brought some friends: LOVE, my 1911 9mm; KINDNESS, my 2011 .45 ACP; MERCY, my Ruger .22 Charger Rimfire; FAITHFULNESS, my .300 AAC Blackout; RIGHTEOUSNESS, my .50 Beowulf; JUDGMENT, my M203 grenade launcher, PRESERVATION, my Mossberg 590A1; and TRUST, my 15″ Chainpure Kukhri. But the greatest of these is CHARITY, my alien-modified AR-15.
If you never want to leave your safe space, then stay down there on Earth. As for the rest of us, we’ll be chasing our destiny among the stars.
Yeah, that’s definitely not going to be the final version.
It’s interesting just how much this book has changed through the last two revisions. The story hasn’t changed at all, but it’s shed more than 20% of the words in the revision process and I’m not even finished with the third draft. When I told my roommate that I wanted to cut out a good 10k words this draft, he thought I’d have to cut out a character or something. Yet that hasn’t been the case.
It’s amazing how much you can improve a story by cutting out all the unnecessary words. It’s the difference between a small shot of deliciously thick hot chocolate, and a large mug that is far too watered down. I thought I had the main character’s voice down, but it didn’t really shine until I started aggressively cutting.
That’s the thing about measuring progress by word count. Sometimes, it’s not about how much you can write, but how much you can cut out.
Between now and May, I’m going to write a short story from Jane Carter’s point of view. It’ll be something of a prequel, and hopefully showcase a bit of her character. I’d also really like to write a short story from Tarak’s POV, but that’s going to take a bit more thinking through.
Lots of interesting story stuff going on behind the scenes. I’ll do my best to keep you guys updated on the blog!