Christmas books!

On December 11, 2015December 11, 2015 By Luther M. SilerIn Reading1 Comment

Know someone who would love an autographed science fiction book for Christmas? Did you know you can order autographed books directly from me?

(There’s two weeks until Christmas. Order by a week from today– let’s call that the 18th– to come closest to ensuring pre-Christmas delivery. I make no guarantees on timing one way or another.)

The books are priced a bit cheaper than you can get them on Amazon, shipping and handling are $4. If you want them shipped faster than that or shipped outside the lower 48, email me and we’ll work something out. Make sure to include who you want the books made out to and if there’s a special note you’d like included.

Sale goes until I run out of stuff to send. SKYLIGHTS and SANCTUM are not in danger of a sell-out but I only have a handful of copies of BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES. MALUMBA is not included in this because I have no copies on hand and can’t get more from CreateSpace in time for Christmas; if you don’t particularly care about the Christmas part, again, email me.

SKYLIGHTS: $12.00 USD

THE SANCTUM OF THE SPHERE: $12.00 USD

SKYLIGHTS and SANCTUM: $20.00 USD

THE BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES, VOL. 1: $7.00 USD

Because I know some of y’all got e-readers for Christmas

On December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 By Luther M. SilerIn Writing1 Comment

Yesterday ended with a massive allergy attack– fun!– so I’m kinda lethargic today. But not too lethargic to pimp my books:

Both of these are links to PayHip, which means that the money goes directly to me without any intermediary other than hosting fees. Benevolence Archives is listed as “Free+,” meaning you can have it for free or you can pay what you like. The books are available as ePub files. If you’d prefer to buy from Amazon, you can get Benevolence Archives for $2.99 here, and Skylights for $4.99 here.

(And, while I’m at it, a reminder that I’m also published in the 2014 World Unknown Review, available for a mere ninety-nine of your Americapennies from Amazon here.)

Descriptions follow:

The Benevolence Archives: Troll evictions! Dwarf pirates! Daring rescues! Angry gods! Impossible technology! Oversized bars! Pissed-off ogres! Disrespectful spaceships! All this and a mild disregard for proper wound treatment!

THE BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES, VOL. 1 is a novella-length collection of six short stories set in a common universe. Combining elements of space opera-style science fiction and high fantasy, THE BENEVOLENCE ARCHIVES tell the adventures of Brazel, Rhundi, and Grond, a gnome/halfogre team of smugglers.

THE PLANET IT’S FARTHEST FROM: A simple job in a saloon goes poorly for Brazel.
THE CLOSET: Brazel and Grond are hired to teach someone why gambling can be a bad idea.
YANK: Dwarven pirates. ‘Nuff said.
REMEMBER: Brazel and Grond are hired by one of the galaxy’s most powerful people for a suspiciously easy job.
THE CONTRACT: Rhundi tries to get through a simple business negotiation without anyone being shot.
THE SIGIL: Brazel and Grond encounter something horrifying on a frozen rock in the middle of nowhere.

SKYLIGHTS: August 15, 2022: the Tycho, the most advanced interplanetary craft ever designed by the human race, launches from Earth on an expedition to Mars. The Tycho carries four passengers, soon to be the most famous people in human history.

February 19, 2023: The Tycho loses all communication with Earth while orbiting Mars. After weeks of determined attempts to reestablish contact, the Tycho is declared lost.

2027: Journalist Gabriel Southern receives a message from a mysterious caller: “Mars.” Ezekiel ben Zahav isn’t talking, but he wants Southern to accompany him for something– and he’s dangling enough money under his nose to make any amount of hardship worth it.

SKYLIGHTS is the story of the second human expedition to Mars, sent to find out what happened to the first.

Merry Christmas, y’all

On December 25, 2014December 25, 2014 By Luther M. SilerIn Parenting4 Comments

Generally, today is the lowest-traffic day of the year, which means I will either not be on much after right now or be posting every ten minutes since you’re not around to be annoyed by it. We’ll see!

Also, the boy let us sleep in until 8:30 and didn’t notice there were presents under the tree until we pointed it out; I assume that will never happen again.

In which my wife calls my bluff

On July 4, 2013July 4, 2013 By Luther M. SilerIn Uncategorized3 Comments

black_pearl__pineapple__wheel_bigger_size_003 I haven’t mentioned it in this space yet, but I have a ukulele. I can’t actually play it. It’s not quite accurate to say that I have no musical talent– I can look at a piece of music and passably hum a reasonable approximation of what it should sound like, but without being able to name any of the actual notes and it’ll probably be off-key. The last time I actually played an instrument was in sixth grade, I think, and other than being able to belt out the Indiana University fight song on my trombone at the drop of a hat I was neither terribly interested or very good.

I have a ukulele because I find the sound of the thing pleasant and it was inexpensive to buy. The uke’s so easy that you can literally pick the thing up and, assuming it’s tuned properly (oh: I can tune my ukulele) you can just strum it and come up with something that sounds at least a little bit like real music even if you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. I can do that. At various points I have made noises about how I really ought to take a lesson or two and learn how to actually play this stupid little thing, but in the same sense that people say they ought to skydive sometime. (Which I also ought to do.)

Also: my birthday is tomorrow.

Yesterday my wife walked into the living room, handed me an envelope, and said “Happy Birthday!”

A gift certificate for four private ukulele lessons. With, presumably, some sort of actual musician.

Well, shit.

Part of me is really looking forward to this and the rest of me is looking forward to the blog post I’ll write with my nose and tongue once my instructor cuts my fingers off to keep me from coming near an instrument ever again. Apparently their uke guy is heading out of town in August to go to some fancy-schmancy music school somewhere (please god don’t let him be a high school student) and so I have to get all of my lessons in in July and the early part of August– fine with me, as I know I won’t have the time or inclination for it once school starts.

So y’all have that to look forward to now.