New Audiobooks Cascading Your Way: Dragons in the Stars

The Rapture Effect was just a start. All of my Star Rigger novels are getting new audiobook recordings (with the exception of Eternity’s End, which already has a terrific recording). Just released: Dragons in the Stars. It’s a lovely recording, and is working its way into stores as we speak.

This project is, to put it mildly, a big deal on my end. No publisher is doing this for me (well, okay, I am as Starstream Publications). I commissioned Stefan Rudnicki and his partner, Gabrielle de Cuir, to record the books. They are two of the finest narrators in the business.

Why am I doing this, when there were already audiobooks available in Audible for these titles? Simple. I was not happy with the earlier narrations, which were produced by Audible many years ago, without input from me. They are now gone from the store, and in their place, I want the best possible versions for readers and listeners to enjoy. Stefan and Gabrielle have a wealth of experience in theater and music as well as audiobook recording, they are fans of the material, and working with them is a rewarding collaborative experience.

But Jeff, you say—isn’t this an expensive proposition? Yes. It is. You get what you pay for in this business, and I’m getting a lot. Am I crazy for doing it, when I probably won’t earn back the cost for years, and possibly not in my lifetime? Maybe. But I am fortunate to have some funds that make this possible, and I consider it an investment in the art and the stories. You could say it’s an investment in my permanent legacy to readers. These recordings will outlive me, and I hope that the audience will, also. I like to think they will help in a small way to make this world a more beautiful place.

Please check out Dragons in the Stars! The sequel, Dragon Rigger, will be along shortly.

The Rapture Effect Reborn

My novel The Rapture Effect, originally published some years ago, is now out in all-new clothes! I gave you a look at the new cover a few weeks ago, but here it is again:

The first print edition since the Tor hardcover and paperback
Buy at | Amazon |

An all-new narration for audiobook by Stefan Rudnicki
Buy at | Apple | Chirp | Spotify |
Discounted for a limited time!

New cover and interior reformatting for the ebook
Buy where you like | The Rapture Effect |

The ebook is available pretty much everywhere, the audiobook is gradually rolling out in various stores, and the print edition is available now from Amazon and will soon make it into other stores, as well.

In case you have no idea what this book is about, here’s the description:

War between the stars…

It was started by an AI. Few humans even knew there was a war at all. But now people are dying—and the AI wants it to stop. But a war is easier to start than to stop, and the computer can’t alter its course without outside help. When the Gnostic Control System searches for co-conspirators, it chooses its friends carefully.

  • Pali: a brooding public relations director.
  • Ramo: a flamboyant senso-dancer, who prefers a musical jamdam to serious conversation.
  • Sage: a systems designer for whom the AI rapture-field is realer than life.
  • And three of the alien Ell: Harybdartt, who would rather die with dignity than betray his people; Lingrhetta, who tries to unravel the meaning of human dance and music, pain and love; and Moramaharta, the binder, who must persuade his fellow decision-makers to risk everything for the sake of a fragile bridge of understanding across the stars.

A thought-provoking novel from the award-winning author of Eternity’s End and The Chaos Chronicles, and recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for science fiction writing.

“A lively dance of ideas… well-worth the trip ticket.” —Roger Zelazny

Hint: Any of these editions could be an excellent gift for the holidays!

Spiffy New Editions for The Rapture Effect

I’ve been working on a new print edition of The Rapture Effect—the first print release since the original Tor publication. Following The Infinity Link, The Rapture Effect was my second long novel, about an interstellar war being waged by an AI, which now wants to find a way to stop it. The new print version is nearly ready, along with a reformatted ebook edition. Even better, principal recording has wrapped on a new audiobook—narrated by Stefan Rudnicki. This should really rev your engines. The old audiobook currently in the Audible store is not at all what it should have been, and it will soon be going away. The new version will get wide distribution.

To celebrate all this, I hereby present a brand-new cover*, with wonderful graphics magic by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. She found a way to weave a whole new fabric from a collection of images I sent her way. I hope you like it. Yes, this is a cover reveal!

All this should be breaking free in the next few weeks. Check back for updates.

*BTW, I love the old cover, with art by David Mattingly. But it’s had a good, long run, and its sales mojo has sort of run out of steam. It will be retired with honors.

A New Look for The Infinity Link

The Infinity Link was my first BIG book, and by big, I mean big in size, as well as ambition and scope. It was my first hardcover, in a handsome edition from Bluejay Books in 1984, and reprinted in mass market paperback by Tor a year later. Both editions featured a gorgeous wraparound cover painting by David Mattingly, and that same cover, thanks to the generosity of the artist, has been gracing my Starstream Publications ebook edition since 2015. I still love it—I have a huge, framed poster of the Tor paperback rendering. The novel itself is one that I’m still very proud to have written. Here’s the cover blurb:

Mysterious travelers…impossible love…

The year is 2034, and at the Sandaran Research Center, a young woman named Mozy participates in a cyberlink experiment via tachyon beam. So intimate is the connection that she falls hopelessly in love with her distant partner, David Kadin, a man she has met only through the link. Upon learning that the project is to be terminated—and wanting desperately to fulfill her dreams—Mozy makes a daring decision.

Her choice catapults her into a flight of astounding discovery—one that puts her squarely in the path of a potential war, communication with the whales of Earth, and secret first contact with visitors from the stars. Are the aliens enemies or friends? No one knows, and now it may fall to this young woman alone to discover the truth. Caught in a telepathic link with the Talenki voyagers, Mozy’s personal odyssey becomes entwined with the fate of all of Humanity.

Combining visionary speculation with passionate human characters, The Infinity Link is an epic work of transcendent science fiction and an exploration into the very nature of humanity. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity’s End and recipient of the Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award for science fiction writing.

Times change, and the original cover now seems of a different era. So as I prepared the book for its first new print edition in many years, I decided it was time for a new cover. My designer (Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff) and I worked long and hard on it, to get the look that I wanted. And here it is!

That’s the look of the ebook edition, as well as the trade paperback newly available on Amazon, and soon to be available everywhere. The images are by Kran Kanthawong and Branislav Ostojic via Dreamstime; Maya combined and merged and tweaked and created the type layout. The print version gave us fits, because it turned out to be really hard to get the vibrancy of that blue rendered in the Amazon KDP print-on-demand process. We never fully succeeded. The print edition looks good, I think, but it doesn’t jump off the paper in quite the same way the ebook jumps out of the glowing screen.

For those who are fond of the older version, copies of the original, first-edition hardcover are still available—autographed—through my Etsy shop. (A great gift idea for the upcoming holidays?)

New Edition: Eternity’s End!

I’m pleased to let the world know that Eternity’s End is back in print—and by print, I mean treebook, paper! For this new edition, I have arranged for the use of the cover painting created by Stephen Youll for the original Tor hardcover and paperback. This time, it’s paired with great type design by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. It’s a big book, too—very hefty. I’m extremely pleased with the way this came out.

Eternity's End_print cover
Click image for a better look.

This cover design will very soon be applied to the ebook, as well.

I did the interior layout myself, using Vellum software, which I thought did a really snazzy job.

You can get it right now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online. Soon, elsewhere.

Neptune Crossing Completes the Set!

Neptune Crossing - paperback

With this brand-new print edition of Neptune Crossing, the complete set of The Chaos Chronicles (to date) is available in matched format and design. The previous edition was in a 6×9 inch trim size, while for the rest of the series, I chose 5.5×8.5 inch trim. I chose the smaller size because it feels better to hold in the hand (according to my crack test team), is easier to slip into a bag or backpack, and (I felt) looks a little more professional.

Choosing a trim size is a trade-off, because the cost of printing is based on the number of pages, not on the size of the pages. So a smaller trim size means more pages, and therefore higher cost to print, and naturally, higher sticker price. But the difference was only a dollar or two per book, and I decided it was worth it.

But that’s not the only change. The interior is completely reset, using a font called Merriweather for the main text, which I first used with The Reefs of Time. I find it attractive and readable, and also fairly compact, which helps to minimize the page count in my long tales.

On top of that, my crack cover designer, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, redid the titles and byline with a beveled look suggestive of embossed designs, used by most publishers on books they really want to sell. And I’ll admit it! I really want the books to sell! (But you knew that, right?)

Anyway, I’m pleased, and I hope you are, too. I’ve been noodling over the question of how I might sell autographed complete sets online, which I would like to do. (Without the administrative headache of sales tax across different states, etc.) Anyone out there have a good idea?

Neptune Crossing in paperback: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

 

Sunborn Blazes into the Audiobookosphere!

I told you recently about a new print edition for Sunborn. Now I’ve got an audiobook you just have to have! This fourth volume of The Chaos Chronicles is billowing into the stores, with narration by the incomparable Stefan Rudnicki.

Right now you can get it here:

Apple | Nook | GooglePlay | Kobo | Scribd | eStories

It’ll be in lots more stores soon, including Audible and Amazon. Also Overdrive, so you’ll be able to ask your public library to order it. (Not yet. But they can order the first three books.)

For completists, here’s a list of all my books currently in audio format.

Sunborn audiobook cover

Listen to SAMPLE

 

New Editions: The Infinite Sea

The next phase of my w/o/r/l/d/ c/o/n/q/u/e/s/t/ “Return to Print” campaign is complete! A new paperback edition of The Infinite Sea is now out, with the same knockout cover art by Chris Howard that appears on the ebook. It’s available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and any store (or library!) that cares to order it from Ingram. It’s quite a handsome edition, if I do say so myself. Like Strange Attractors before it, it’s in a companion trim format with The Reefs of Time / Crucible of Time.

The audiobook, with narration by Stefan Rudnicki, is also complete and hot in the distribution pipeline. Barring unforeseen difficulties, it should be showing up in online audiobook stores in the next week or two!

The Infinite Sea audiobook cover

Strange Attractors in Audiobook!

Strange Attractors audiobook cover art

At last! Strange Attractors is now out in audiobook, narrated by the amazing Stefan Rudnicki! This has been a long time coming, and it’s a superb recording from the studios of Skyboat Media.

This took a different route to publication from my earlier audiobooks. I published it through Findaway Voices under the Starstream Publications / Book View Café imprint. It will be available through innumerable outlets, including iTunes, Audible, Overdrive, Hoopla, and many more. Right now it’s migrating through the distribution system. Here’s where it’s available, right this very minute, that I know of:

iTunes | Google Play | Kobo | Scribd | Beek | eStories

Others coming soon!