Today, I woke up to fantastic news. Boltguns and Duct Tape was sitting at the top of two Amazon book categories with a shiny orange Best Seller flag. This is an achievement I don’t take for granted and also hope each new release will achieve. It is certainly not a sure thing. Even more, to get these two weeks after release is welcome social proof that the story is resonating well with readers. Yay!
The Spaceship Mechanic series is a shift in writing toward adventure and character progression, with less emphasis on military type action. Don’t misread that, though. I’ve enjoyed writing mil. science fiction and you’ll see more of it from me, it’s just fun to get back to something akin to Privateer Tales and then find that my readers have been waiting for these stories!
And now to the inside scoop. Boltguns and Duct Tape takes place about 70 years before the first Junkyard Pirate, but … there are several characters who show up in both series. I won’t list them all, because I don’t want to ruin any fun surprises, but I think it’s fair to mention that our favorite Beltigersk has a prominent place in both series. We also make it to Xandarj’s Dralli Station where we run into a very young character who you will also recognize by name if not by action. Running jokes like references to a favorite type of meal bar and the occasional spat with broken septic systems pop up from time to time. I love these easter eggs and get enough emails when you all find them that I find your joy of discovery extremely entertaining.
I’m about 65% through the rough draft of Jump Drives and Coffee Stains and am pushing hard to get this out to you as quickly as possible. If you haven’t had a chance to grab your copy of Boltguns and Duct Tape yet, now is a great time to do that. Reviews are always very welcome and just as much, I love it when you reach out by email or Facebook. We’ve built a wonderful community of science fiction adventurers and I appreciate being part of it.
Next time, we’ll dig into Philo’s new, favorite drink, complete with recipe, but, of course, that’s another story, entirely.
