I’ve posted a new Human Destiny novelette, “Roanoke,” to the Free Articles and Fiction section of this blog.
“Roanoke” is a story about the fate of the first human outpost on Mars, after things go very badly wrong back on Earth, and then some unexpected visitors arrive. My patrons got to see this story about a year and a half ago, but now it’s available for free to everyone. Enjoy!
I’ve posted a new short story, “Encounter in the Dawn,” to the Free Articles and Fiction section of this blog.
“Encounter in the Dawn” is an excerpt from a piece of fan-fiction I wrote back in the 2012-2014 timeframe. It’s completely separate from the fan-fiction’s source material, however, and works as an original stand-alone vignette. Consider it an experiment in writing well-researched historical fiction, without any speculative elements at all.
My Human Destiny novella, “In the House of War,” is now available from several outlets, notably Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books, with more on the way. The cover blurb:
Two hundred years ago, humanity was conquered by the alien Khedai. The aliens brought peace and prosperity, at the cost of human freedom. Some of us embrace the alien empire, others resent it, but no one can escape from it. We are forced to live in a cage the size of the world, watching others travel to the stars while we are confined to the Earth.
Aminata Ndoye is one of the few humans who have ever earned a place as an officer aboard an alien starship. On her first deep-space assignment, she finds herself in the middle of a war, fighting to preserve Khedai sovereignty over the vassal species of their empire. Unfortunately, it may not be the enemy that brings her career to an abrupt and violent end . . .
“In the House of War” is a space-opera novella, about 19,200 words in length.
This is a new direction in self-publishing for me. Until now, I’ve published exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. For a number of reasons, that’s been less than satisfactory, so this novella was published using the Draft2Digital service for layout, ebook conversion, and publication. Doing it this way means I can’t claim the higher royalties and some of the promotion techniques available via Kindle Unlimited . . . but there are some advantages in return. We’ll see how it goes.
For now, here are the requisite links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09H58KT86
Everywhere Else: https://books2read.com/u/4Dxz8r
“In the House of War” is only available as an ebook for now, but I have some hope that by working with Draft2Digital, I’ll be able to start releasing audiobooks and paperbacks before long.
My patrons saw a final draft of “In the House of War” in August, and as of today my patrons at the $2 level and up have received free copies of the ebook files.
Kindle Vella apparently went live earlier today, even earlier than I expected. Which means the first episodes of Second Dawn, my space-opera serialized novel, are available for reading through the Kindle app.
The book’s blurb: “Katerina was an innocent archaeologist, happily at work on a colony world, when pirates attacked her work site. Only the timely intervention of a merchant ship’s crew enabled her to escape. Now she’s fallen into a world of diplomats, mercenaries, and spies, working to solve interstellar mysteries with the fate of empires at stake. Will she be a pawn in the game, or will she become one of the players?”
Here’s a link to the live book: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Dawn/dp/B0995FPP1Y
Which, of course, means it’s even more important for me to get more chapters written ASAP. In the meantime, reads and reviews are welcome.
Just a quick note to announce that I’ve released a first partial rough draft of the Human Destiny setting bible (and potential Cortex Prime sourcebook) to my patrons.
The Human Destiny setting is my primary space-opera universe, which has had a few short pieces published and is under continuing development.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out earlier Human Destiny posts from this blog. You might also sign up for my Patreon, which will get you updated material from this and my other projects on a (more or less) monthly basis.
I’ve posted a new short story, “A Prince of Tanȗr,” to the Free Articles and Fiction section of this blog.
“A Prince of Tanȗr” is the first story I’ve written in the setting described in my article, “Building a Better Barsoom.” It may be my first attempt at writing a bit of planetary romance, but it probably won’t be the last.
“A Prince of Tanȗr” will also be released to my patrons, free of charge.
I’ve posted a new short story, “Fragment,” to the Free Articles and Fiction section of this blog.
“Fragment” is an odd little story, dressed up as a short scholarly article in the discipline of Assyriology, possibly appearing in a peer-reviewed journal from some other line of history.
“Fragment” will also be released to my patrons, free of charge.
My debut novel, The Curse of Steel, has been available on Amazon since early October. As of this morning, the novel has been launched on Reedsy Discovery – you can visit its launch page at:
https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/the-curse-of-steel-john-alleyn
Reedsy Discovery is a website where independent authors can promote their work, and readers can learn a little about new books before deciding which ones to invest in. Well worth a visit.
In fact, you can help me by visiting the launch page. There, you can read the first chapter of the story, check out its first formal review (five stars!), and upvote the novel. Enough upvotes, and the novel will get further promotion via Reedsy’s newsletter.
Meanwhile, the book is available for sale (Kindle e-book only for the moment, I’m afraid) at:
I’ll admit to being rather proud of my first novel-length venture into original fiction; I hope you’ll enjoy it as well.
I’ve posted a new version of “Safe Haven,” one of my oldest short stories, to the Free Articles and Fiction section.
“Safe Haven” is a tale set soon after the Trojan War, in a world that isn’t quite the same as the one familiar to us from the poems of Homer. Aside from the links on the Free Articles and Fiction page and in the sidebar, here’s a direct link as well.
“Safe Haven” will also be released to my patrons, free of charge.
As of this evening, The Curse of Steel is available as an e-book for Amazon Kindle. Here’s a link to the book’s page on Amazon US, but it’s also available on all of the overseas Amazon sites.
The catalog description:
A woman who shares the blood of the gods. A cursed sword that has ruined kingdoms.
In a single fateful day, Krava the Swift learns of her divine ancestry and gains possession of a weapon of formidable power. Suddenly raised to prominence among her Iron Age tribe, at first she enjoys her new life as a god-touched hero. She quickly learns that a hero’s life may be glorious but it’s also complicated – and possibly quite short.
Krava and her friends soon find themselves caught up in a deadly game of gods and kings. If she refuses to be a pawn, she may be forced to become a queen . . . or a curse upon all her people.
Time for some celebration: this is my first original published novel, after twenty-plus years of being a freelance writer. Hopefully not my last!
My patrons at the $2 level and up will soon be getting a code for a free copy in email.