Gregeration X Newsletter February 5, 2022

My Musings

First things first. There’s something to celebrate! It’s something pretty minor, but for me, I think its a milestone worth mentioning. Since mid-December, I’ve had either a sale (or sales) and/or Kindle Unlimited page reads every day except one! I just wanted to say “Thank you!” to all of you that read this newsletter, buy or read my books, and support this new author in any way you can. Thank you so much.

Have you ever heard of a fluffernutter? I hadn’t, at least until I started reading the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson. When I discovered it, The Expeditionary Force series quickly became my favorite series to listen to (I used to have a long commute). Anyhow, back in September 2020, I had created a blog post mentioning the series and my family’s adventure making the favorite snack of the main character. I created the post as an experiment with blogging and Amazon affiliate links before I had any books published or even a newsletter started, but it was a fun post and thought it would be great to share again this week. If Craig Alanson’s series or fluffernutters are something that interest you, please give this post a read.

FYI…There are affiliate links on the page fluffernutter page, so if you click on a link and buy something, I will earn a small commission. Enjoy!

Fluffernutter Fun–I don’t have any affiliation with Craig Alanson other than I really enjoy his books.

Question of the Week

I’d love to hear from you about what other writers you enjoy and what are some of your current (or all time) favorite books are. Eventually, I’ll create a more formal survey, but for now I’m just conducting some informal research. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback if you’re willing to share.

Mechhaven Missives

Last week I wrapped up my first edit pass of On Darkhaven Forged. I’ve sent the story to a few beta readers to get their feedback. I’m still looking for a couple more beta readers, so if you’re interested, please see the beta reader section below.
I’ll begin my second round of edits this weekend. There’s still plenty of work to be done to fine tune everything, but I’m pretty happy with the progress of this book compared to where Pax Machina and Mechs and Machinations were a similar point.
I started plotting Book 4 this week. I’ll switch between plotting Book 4 and editing Book 3 until Book 3 is sent to the editor and I start writing Book 4.
A fun piece of news! I’ll be meeting with cover artist, Jeff Brown this coming week to start the process of designing a cover for Book 4! Always an exciting time!

Beta Readers

I can use a few more beta readers to help me make Mechhaven Book 3: On Darkhaven Forged the best Mechhaven book yet! I’m looking for readers who’ve finished and enjoyed Pax Machina and Mechs and Machinations. If you’ve read Duel of Destiny and Unexpected Contact, that’s a bonus (but not required). On Darkhaven Forged hasn’t been to my editor yet, so it is a work in progress. I’m looking for constructive feedback on the story as a whole. However, if you want to point out something specific in the text, you can do that too.

I’ll be using a program called Story Origin where you’ll sign up, read the story, and leave chapter by chapter feedback. In order to review and incorporate your feedback, I will need this process to be completed by February 25th.

Beta Reader Sign Up!

Featured Promotions

I have featured promotions this week from E.L. Strife, Shane Shepherd, and James Murdo. These authors are sharing my books with their newsletter subscribers, so please take a look and support them if you can!

Catalyst: Colonization meets Cyberpunk – A Novella (Dead Cell Book 1) by E.L. Strife

Revni Crasher, an unlicensed cybernetic prosthetics tech, is one of the infected, harboring the symbiotic, alien lifeform known as Chromata. The Thyterion Empire will stop at nothing to see New Earth cleansed. Cures they created to rid First and Second Wave of Chromata caused sicknesses that required amputations. Cybernetic prosthetics became commonplace among the survivors deemed Chromatans.

Revni learned how to fix her arm from her father. She isn’t supposed to repair without a World Technical Franchise certification. As a junker who scraps metal and parts to survive in the modern Thyterion regime, she—like many others—can’t afford the cert or the parts despite her own needs.

When soldiers come after her older brother, Revni must face the depth of Thyterion corruption she discovers alone. First Wave colonists achieved harmony with New Earth and the native Chromata.
Third Wave wants eradication. They’ll stop at nothing to get their way.

Discovering Your Neighbor by Shane Shepherd

Baldwin Tavares is called up by the Admiral Pitch to join in their expedition to the planet Allende 1-b, also known as Neighbor. Baldwin and his team were requested for their very specific skill set, as they are the best in their individual fields. Eager to be part of something bigger than himself, Baldwin, aka Win, convinces his team to go on the expedition. They aim to find some remnants left behind of the once inhabited planet Neighbor in the hopes of studying and preserving whatever knowledge about them that they find. Win begins to realize the expedition to Allende 1-B is not entirely scientific. He suspects the Pacific Ocean World Mining Organization, or POMO, have sunk deep into the pockets of the ship’s commanding officers, with the hopes of mining Allende 1-B for its rich mineral reserves as soon as they arrive. As such he immediately starts investigating the ship to confirm his suspicions. When Win finds out he was right, he races to convince the crew against any mining expeditions before it’s too late. However, little does he know something even more pressing will require his attention before he even gets the chance to tell anyone.

Siouca Remembers by James Murdo

Siouca is a member of the advanced Wanderer civilisation. What does Siouca want? The quest to unlock the secrets of interstellar travel leads a Roranian crew on an epic journey across space. Saved by a dying machine-lect, stranded in a failing ship, faced with an ultimate choice. Were they too eager in their attempts to reach the stars? The fractious Primals are the ancient, all-powerful rulers of the Creatites. Their origins are shrouded in mystery although Storytellers recite their legends. Tallic has recently been granted special abilities by the Barrier Primal that most other Creatites could only dream of, although he has an unexpected encounter with an intruder that changes everything. What secrets have the Primals kept hidden since time began? Nurilm resides within a decaying temple. One day, she chances upon forbidden knowledge about an enigmatic entity called the ‘Collector’, and an unthinkable battle waged long ago in which the Primals were united. What does it all mean? And how is it all connected? One thing is for certain. Siouca is coming.

Group Promotion

Here’s a group promotion with some really interesting looking books that are part of Kindle Unlimited. Please take a look and support these authors if you can!