News 2

NEWS/EVENTS ARCHIVES

October 4, 2007

•New edition of Soldier of the Legion

A new edition of my first book in the Soldier series, Soldier of the Legion (Book 1), has just been published by BookLocker. Please see the PURCHASE section at left to order the book on-line. Book 2 in the series, The Black March, is also available from BookLocker. Book 3, Slave of the Legion, is on schedule for release in January 2008. I'm still looking around for an audio publisher to do audio recordings of Book 2 and subsequent books. I'll keep you informed!

August 24, 2007

•New articles in Futures

Please see the FUTURES section where I have added some new information on artificial life and cancer vaccines.

August 22, 2007

•Ordering Soldier of the Legion Audio Products

Please see the PURCHASE section at left for details on how to buy Soldier of the Legion audio products. The very popular Soldier CD audio products are now available on-line from Audible.com.

July 4, 2007

•Carved in Stone

Happy 4th of July! As we celebrate Independence Day, it's time to reflect on the meaning of the holiday. In Yorktown the Victory Monument is an imposing reminder of those brave men who dared impossible odds, took on an imperialist superpower, and fought on to total victory. Carved in stone at the base of the monument are these words:

THE PROVISIONAL ARTICLES OF PEACE CONCLUDED NOVEMBER 20 1782 AND THE DEFINITIVE TREATY OF PEACE CONCLUDED SEPTEMBER 3 1783 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND GEORGE III KING OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND

DECLARE

HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SAID UNITED STATES VIZ NEW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS BAY RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS CONNECTICUT NEW YORK NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA DELAWARE MARYLAND VIRGINIA NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA TO BE FREE SOVEREIGN AND INDEPENDENT STATES

June 26, 2007

•Futures

I have added a new section to this website entitled 'Futures.' Please click on it from the menu at left. This section was inspired by the increasingly rapid pace of scientific progress, and includes information on that subject. Please give it a look-see.

May 30, 2007

•Timberwolf Press has Closed

I've just learned from the CEO of Timberwolf Press that they have closed down permanently. This is a shame because they did a terrific job on my first book and the audio CD as well. The CEO Bill Armstrong has given me all rights to Soldier of the Legion. What this means for those who want to buy copies is you'd best not order from Timberwolf because they're not there any more. Please see PURCHASE at left for details on how to order the books.

May 28, 2007

•BaltiCon!

I spent most of the Memorial Day weekend at the BaltiCon SF Convention at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn. BaltiCon is a large con and is always interesting and fun. I passed out a lot of propaganda and made pretty good sales of Soldier of the Legion, both the book and audio versions, and The Black March as well. I got the impression that interest in the series is growing, since some of the buyers had already read (or listened to) Soldier and wanted the sequel, Black March. Several people mentioned the XM Radio broadcasts of Soldier as what had sparked their initial interest. Everyone who listened to those broadcasts said they liked the audio.

I was struck by how friendly everyone was and how complimentary they were about the series. I very much enjoyed meeting and chatting with all these folks, and I am happy that my books are of so much interest. It was fascinating to learn about the individual backgrounds of those of you who bought the book or audio, which included military service and even tours in Vietnam during the war. I'm always pleased when military vets tell me they like my stories, and anyone who served in Vietnam is like a blood brother to me. It's amazing how Vietnam changed us all, and how the mere mention of the place can bring a torrent of eerie images from the distant past, when we were all young and exploring strange new worlds. As one of you noted, we were different people when we returned.

Anyway I thank everyone who bought my books and stopped to chat, civilian or military, and I don't think I've ever met a finer group of ladies and gentlemen. I told everyone that Book III, Slave of the Legion, will be released in January 2008. If I can make people a little happier with these stories I believe that will be reward enough.

My thanks to those who organized BaltiCon, and a tip of the hat to Timothy Doyle, Tony Ruggiero and Tee Morris.

April 22, 2007

•RavenCon

I'm just back from RavenCon in Richmond, VA. This was a very enjoyable three-day SF con at the Double Tree Hotel by the Richmond Airport. It was a first-class hotel and a first-class con. My friends Michael Pederson and Tony Ruggiero were the powers behind this con and it all worked out fine. I was in the dealer's room most of the time, but I also sat on two panels about Military SF and Hard SF. Those were both well attended. I had the privilege of sitting by Guest of Honor Robert Sawyer on the Hard SF panel. He is Mr. Hard SF and he is a gentlemen and a scholar, as the phrase goes. He was nice enough to drop by my dealer's table later to chat. My thanks to everyone who bought copies of Soldier of the Legion and The Black March. If you have time after reading the book (or listening to the CD), please send feedback to me via this site. I'm always open to comments from readers. RavenCon's website: http://www.ravencon.com/

RavenCon's security was in the hands of Lord Vader's 501st Legion. These folks are misunderstood. They are kind to widows and orphans but stern with evildoers who try to sneak into the dealer's room early.

February 27, 2007

•SheVaCon

I attended the SheVaCon Science fiction convention in Roanoke, VA, on February 23-25 at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood Hotel. It was my first time at SheVaCon but there were plenty of familiar faces there. My thanks to everyone who bought copies of Soldier of the Legion and The Black March. I spent most of my time in the Dealers Room so I missed some of the fun but had a great time anyway. SheVaCon's website: http://www.shevacon.org/

February 12, 2007

•Balticon Podcast Audio Interview

During last May's Balticon I was interviewed for their Podcast and it recently went on-line. It was a fun interview and so I've put in a link under Interviews (left). Please click and enjoy!

•The Future - Slave of the Legion

Just so everyone will know I am serious about publishing this entire series in a timely manner, I'd like you to know the status of Slave of the Legion, the third book in the series. Slave is now in the editing process. I plan to release it in early 2008. By "early" I mean January. Assuming that sales are good for The Black March, which has just been released, you can depend on reading the third book early next year.

In Slave of the Legion, the survivors of Squad Beta march blindly but willingly into the bloody crucible of combat, protecting the people of ConFree from the Omni horde with their own bodies and souls. Will anyone survive? It seems unlikely, but Thinker knows that as long as a single trooper remains alive, the squad will keep on fighting. He knows he is a slave of the Legion, but as events unfold he realizes his only loyalty is to his own squad.

•The Black March - Reviews

The first review is in for The Black March. Please click on Reviews - The Black March at left. We expect more reviews soon.

January 22, 2007

•The Black March

The Black March - An Apology and a Promise

I know fans of Soldier of the Legion have been waiting, far too long, for the sequel. The Black March is now available for purchase. Let me repeat that; it feels so good: The Black March is now available for purchase! The reason that it is now available is that I decided to stop waiting patiently for events to transpire that were out of my control, and to take direct action instead. As a result, The Black March can now be ordered directly on-line from my new publisher, as well as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and the other usual places. I'd recommend buying from the publisher for now as I'm not sure how long the books will take to find their way to Amazon, etc. Please click on http://www.booklocker.com/books/2771.html My apologies that it took so long.

And here's the promise: the third volume will follow the second, and the fourth volume will follow the third, and the fifth volume will follow the fourth, and the sixth volume will follow the fifth, and you're not going to have to wait years between books. As long as there is demonstrated reader interest in these stories I am going to continue to put them in print. It's not a matter of writing them – the whole series is already written.

The Black March is an exciting, intense human interest action-adventure science fiction story. Please see OVERVIEW – BLACK MARCH for a quick description.

•Marscon

I attended Marscon 2007 in Williamsburg, my home town, from January 19 to 21 at the Holiday Inn Patriot hotel. My new book, The Black March, arrived from the publisher just in time for MarsCon. I had a ball at MarsCon, which is my favorite Con of all time. I'd like to thank all the fans who snapped up copies of the new book and new readers who bought Soldier of the Legion as well. It was great seeing all my old friends again. My thanks to the MarsCon folks for another great convention. MarsCon's home page is http://homepage.mac.com/desmarais.org/marscon