Tag Archives: space pirates

A Visit from Santa

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate! If you celebrate another winter holiday, I hope it’s wonderful. At the very least, I hope you’re having a pleasant Saturday! As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, I have discounted many of the books Hadrosaur Productions has listed with Smashwords for their annual end-of-year sale. To really show my appreciation to my readers, I’m offering the first books of three of my series absolutely free for the duration of the sale. If you’re already a fan, this is a great opportunity to try out a new series. If you’ve already read these books and love them, why not give one to a friend? Read on to find the books I’m offering for free through January 1, 2023.

Firebrandt’s Legacy

Firebrandt’s Legacy is the first book of my Space Pirates’ Legacy series.

In the novel, Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back!

Midwest Book Review says, “A grand space opera filled with high adventure from cover to cover, Firebrandt’s Legacy is highly recommended.”

Get the book for free at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/916916. The coupon SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires

Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires is the first book of my Scarlet Order Vampires series. What’s more, it’s the series I’m currently working on. I’m approaching the half-way point on my novel Ordeal of the Scarlet Order and hope to release it in 2023.

Three vampires. Three lives. Three stories intertwined.

Bearing the guilt of destroying the holiest of books after becoming a vampire, the Dragon, Lord Desmond searches the world for lost knowledge, but instead, discovers truth in love.

Born a slave in Ancient Greece, Alexandra craves freedom above all else, until a vampire sets her free, and then, she must pay the highest price of all … her human soul.

An assassin who lives in the shadows, Roquelaure is cloaked even from himself, until he discovers the power of friendship and loyalty.

Three vampires, traveling the world by moonlight—one woman and two men who forge a bond made in love and blood. Together they form a band of mercenaries called the Scarlet Order, and recruit others who are like them. Their mission is to protect kings and emperors against marauders, invaders, and rogue vampires as the world descends into the chaos of the Dark Ages.

Marita Wowod Crandle, author of New Orleans Vampires—History and Legend calls the novel, “A journey into the time of lords, battles, sailing the seas, and vampires. A wonderful escape into historical adventure.”

Get Dragon’s Fall for free until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1025606. Coupon code SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Owl Dance

Owl Dance is the first book in my Clockwork Legion Steampunk series.

The year is 1876 and Sheriff Ramon Morales of Socorro, New Mexico meets a beguiling woman named Fatemeh Karimi of Persia, escaping oppression in her homeland. When an ancient lifeform called Legion comes to Earth, they are pulled into a series of events that will change the history of the world as we know it. In their journeys, Ramon and Fatemeh encounter mad inventors, dangerous outlaws and pirates. Their resources are Ramon’s fast draw and Fatemeh’s uncanny ability to communicate with owls. The question is, will that be enough to save them when a fleet of dirigibles from Czarist Russia invades the United States?

Richard Harland, author of Wordshaker and Liberator says, “Owl Dance has everything. Airships, owl-ornithopters, a clockwork wolf, a multiple alien entity, a fast-shooting sheriff, a Russian plot to conquer America, and a very sexy, eco-aware, Bahá’í Persian healer-woman – I mean everything! Heaps of fun!”

Get Owl Dance free until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1116949. Discount code SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

A Deal on the Space Pirates’ Legacy

The annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale is underway. It gets its name because where I live in the northern hemisphere, readers are loading up their e-readers for great beach reading and vacations. In the southern hemisphere, it’s the middle of winter and people are spending time in a warm and cozy place reading. All of Hadrosaur’s titles are available at deep discounts this month and I’ll be highlighting them all month long here at the Web Journal. If you’re looking for a specific title, you don’t have to wait for me to highlight it, just visit https://www.hadrosaur.com/bookstore.php and click on the book you’re interested in. On its page is a link to Smashwords if its available there. The coupon codes for these discounts are automatically applied at checkout. One of the things I love about Smashwords is that they provide ebooks in all popular formats and they’re DRM free, so you can download them to your favorite device.

I have a special treat for you this year. Since the space pirates’ legacy series is now complete, I’m offering every book in the series for just 99 cents! That means you can get the whole series for about the price of one book at regular price! That’s definitely a steal worthy of space pirates!

Firebrandt’s Legacy

In Firebrandt’s Legacy, Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back!

Midwest Book Review says, “A grand space opera filled with high adventure from cover to cover, Firebrandt’s Legacy is highly recommended.”

Get the book for 99 cents at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/916916

The Pirates of Sufiro

The Pirates of Sufiro is the story of a planet and its people—of Ellison Firebrandt the pirate captain living in exile; of Espedie Raton, a man from the streets of Earth looking to make a fresh start for himself and his wife on a new world; of Peter Stone, the geologist who discovers a fortune and will do anything to keep it; and of the lawman, Edmund Ray Swan who travels to Sufiro seeking the quiet life but finds a dark secret. It is the story of privateers, farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and soldiers—all caught up in dramatic events and violent conflicts that will shape the destiny of our galaxy.

Jane Lindskold, author of the Firekeeper saga says, “In The Pirates of Sufiro Firebrandt faces challenges that press even his courageous heart and clever mind to the limit, as well as testing the loyalty of those he loves and trusts most deeply. This dynamic generational saga provides enough twists and turns to satisfy the most devoted space opera fan.”

Get the book for just 99 cents at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1031018

Children of the Old Stars

In Children of the Old Stars, an implacable alien intelligence called the Cluster has arrived in the galaxy and dissects almost every star ship it encounters. Grandson of an infamous space pirate, Commander John Mark Ellis is disgraced and booted out of the space service when he fails to save a merchant ship from the Cluster. Even so, Ellis believes he holds the key to communicating with the invader. His mother, Suki Firebrandt Ellis, is a historian who believes the galaxy’s leaders are withholding information about the Cluster. Clyde McClintlock believes the Cluster is God incarnate and provides the path to salvation. G’Liat is an alien warrior who hopes to protect his people from the Cluster. All together, they set out to stop the Cluster’s reign of destruction.

S. Derrickson Moore of the Las Cruces Sun-News says, “Children of the Old Stars presents an engrossing vision of the future…David Lee Summers has created a fascinating, imaginative, and very entertaining cast of characters and worlds.”

Get the third book of the Space Pirates’ Legacy series for just 99 cents at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1079569

Heirs of the New Earth

In Heirs of the New Earth, the Earth itself has gone silent. John Mark Ellis and the crew of the Sanson are sent to investigate. When they arrive, they find vast alien machines known as Clusters in orbit. Fearing the worst, they land and discover that the once overcrowded, polluted Earth has become a paradise of sorts. The problem is over half the population is dead or missing and the planet’s leaders don’t seem to care. As Ellis works to unravel the mystery, sudden gravitational shifts from the galaxy’s center indicate something even worse is in the offing. Can Ellis save the galaxy from the heirs of the new Earth?

Author, editor, and publisher Mark Anthony Brennan says, “This is a well-crafted and thoughtful piece of science fiction. Highly recommended.”

Get the final book in the Space Pirates’ Legacy for just 99 cents at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1132231

A Gift for the Holidays

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate! If you celebrate another winter holiday, I hope it’s wonderful. At the very least, I hope you’re having a pleasant Saturday! As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, I have discounted all of the books Hadrosaur Productions has listed with Smashwords for their annual end-of-year sale. To really show my appreciation to my readers, I’m offering the first books of three of my series absolutely free for the duration of the sale. If you’re already a fan, this is a great opportunity to try out a new series. If you’ve already read these books and love them, why not give one to a friend? Read on to find the books I’m offering for free through January 1, 2022.

Firebrandt’s Legacy is the first book of my Space Pirates’ Legacy series.

Firebrandt’s Legacy

In the novel, Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back!

Midwest Book Review says, “A grand space opera filled with high adventure from cover to cover, Firebrandt’s Legacy is highly recommended.”

Get the book for free at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/916916. The coupon SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires is the first book of my Scarlet Order Vampires series.

Dragon’s Fall

Three vampires. Three lives. Three stories intertwined.

Bearing the guilt of destroying the holiest of books after becoming a vampire, the Dragon, Lord Desmond searches the world for lost knowledge, but instead, discovers truth in love.

Born a slave in Ancient Greece, Alexandra craves freedom above all else, until a vampire sets her free, and then, she must pay the highest price of all … her human soul.

An assassin who lives in the shadows, Roquelaure is cloaked even from himself, until he discovers the power of friendship and loyalty.

Three vampires, traveling the world by moonlight—one woman and two men who forge a bond made in love and blood. Together they form a band of mercenaries called the Scarlet Order, and recruit others who are like them. Their mission is to protect kings and emperors against marauders, invaders, and rogue vampires as the world descends into the chaos of the Dark Ages.

Marita Wowod Crandle, author of New Orleans Vampires—History and Legend calls the novel, “A journey into the time of lords, battles, sailing the seas, and vampires. A wonderful escape into historical adventure.”

Get Dragon’s Fall for free until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1025606. Coupon code SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Owl Dance is the first book in my Clockwork Legion Steampunk series.

Owl Dance

The year is 1876 and Sheriff Ramon Morales of Socorro, New Mexico meets a beguiling woman named Fatemeh Karimi of Persia, escaping oppression in her homeland. When an ancient lifeform called Legion comes to Earth, they are pulled into a series of events that will change the history of the world as we know it. In their journeys, Ramon and Fatemeh encounter mad inventors, dangerous outlaws and pirates. Their resources are Ramon’s fast draw and Fatemeh’s uncanny ability to communicate with owls. The question is, will that be enough to save them when a fleet of dirigibles from Czarist Russia invades the United States?

Richard Harland, author of Wordshaker and Liberator says, “Owl Dance has everything. Airships, owl-ornithopters, a clockwork wolf, a multiple alien entity, a fast-shooting sheriff, a Russian plot to conquer America, and a very sexy, eco-aware, Bahá’í Persian healer-woman – I mean everything! Heaps of fun!”

Get Owl Dance free until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1116949. Discount code SW100 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Already read these, or just want to browse for something different? Every single Hadrosaur Productions ebook at Smashwords is on sale through January 1, 2022. Find the complete listing at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/davidleesummers.

The Black Sable

In recent months, I’ve been enjoying Zenescope Publishing’s Van Helsing series which tells the story of Liesel Van Helsing, inventor and daughter of Dracula’s famous nemesis. Like many comic companies, Zenescope features a large common universe with characters who meet and interact. While learning more about their universe, I came across their space pirate character, the Black Sable. As someone who has written his share of space pirates as well as vampires, I decided to check this out.

Zenescope has been making a name for itself by creating a set of strong women characters. Most of these women are the type who kick ass now and ask questions later. The Black Sable is no exception to this. Set one century in the future, we find that humankind has developed a star drive and colonized much of the galaxy. They’ve also bumped up against the Mer, a race of vicious shark-like people. Humans have come out on top so far, but the Mer want to reclaim their place as the dominant species. The shark people are one of many ways we see that although this is a space saga, this pirate yarn is modeled strongly on tales from the golden age of piracy.

The story opens when Sable’s ship, the Fury, attacks a cargo transport only to discover the ship is hauling alien slaves. Sable refuses to make money off of slaves and frees them. As a result, they go back to a safe harbor to see if they can learn about any new sources of plunder. Sable runs across an old acquaintance named Blake who has a line on Korvarian Fuel Cells, which are, apparently quite valuable and should be an easy score. The two make plans to find these fuel cells. This immediately takes them into the middle of the conflict between the humans and the Mer. Not only that, but another pirate, Captain Blood, has also gotten word about the Korvarian fuel cells.

Over the course of the story, we learn that Sable herself was born a slave and has a deep connection to Captain Blood that she’s not aware of. I liked the fact that Sable is written as a pirate with something of a moral compass. The story is written primarily as swashbuckling adventure and doesn’t delve very deep into character motivations or the politics of the struggle between the Mer and humans and the corporation that’s also involved. Still, there’s enough there that the story kept me turning pages. Given that the story features nautical-inspired space pirates, they get bonus points for giving us a battle with a space kraken.

I had fun seeing some parallels between The Black Sable and my own Space Pirates’ Legacy series. Like Sable, Ellison Firebrandt is a pirate with a moral compass. Although he’s not born a slave, he does run up against slavery in The Pirates of Sufiro. A large, red, alien investigator named Officer Stanas reminds me a bit of my Rd’dyggian characters Arepno and G’Liat. Even the space kraken brought to mind the implacable alien threat of the Cluster in my novels. You can, of course, learn more about the Space Pirates’ Legacy series at: http://davidleesummers.com/books.html#pirate_legacy

The Black Sable was published in 2018 and it’s not clear how this story could feed into their bigger fantasy universe which is largely set in the present day. Still, it was such a fun ride that I hope they haven’t given up on this story and will produce another arc, or at least a one-shot, down the road. You can pick up a copy of the graphic novel at: https://zenescope.com/products/the-black-sable-graphic-novel

Space Pirates at a Steal

The annual Smashwords End of Year Sale is underway. Many of Hadrosaur’s titles are available at deep discounts and I’ll be highlighting them over the course of the sale here at the Web Journal. The coupon codes for these discounts are automatically applied at checkout. One of the things I love about Smashwords is that they provide ebooks in all popular formats and they’re DRM free, so you can download them to your favorite device or gift them to friends without worrying about what e-reader they prefer. If you are shopping for those last-minute gifts, just click “Give as a Gift” when you visit the Smashwords links!

Today, as I look forward to the new year and the rerelease of the penultimate novel of the Space Pirates’ Legacy novels, I feature those novels in the series currently available along with the series prequel, The Solar Sea.

The Solar Sea

In The Solar Sea, whales around the world changed their songs the day scientists announced the discovery of powerful new particles around Saturn’s largest moon which could solve Earth’s energy needs. The Quinn Corporation rushes to build a solar sail space craft to unlock the secrets of these strange new particles. They gather the best and brightest to pilot the ship: Jonathan Jefferson, an aging astronaut known as the last man on Mars; Natalie Freeman, a distinguished Navy captain; Myra Lee, a biologist who believes the whales are communicating with Saturn; and John O’Connell, the technician who first discovered the particles. Charting the course is the mysterious Pilot who seems determined to keep secrets from the rest of the crew. Together they make a grand tour of the solar system and discover not only wonders but dangers beyond their imagination.

T. Jackson King, the author of Battlestar and Star Glory says, “This story follows the private space industry exploration of the Moon and becomes a kind of Voyage of the Beagle as the solar sail ship Aristarchus visits Mars, Jupiter, then Saturn and its giant moon Titan … Highly enjoyable read. Highly recommended.”

Get the book for $1.00 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/805692

Firebrandt’s Legacy

In Firebrandt’s Legacy, Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back!

Midwest Book Review says, “A grand space opera filled with high adventure from cover to cover, Firebrandt’s Legacy is highly recommended.”

Get the book for $1.00 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/916916

The Pirates of Sufiro

The Pirates of Sufiro is the story of a planet and its people—of Ellison Firebrandt the pirate captain living in exile; of Espedie Raton, a man from the streets of Earth looking to make a fresh start for himself and his wife on a new world; of Peter Stone, the geologist who discovers a fortune and will do anything to keep it; and of the lawman, Edmund Ray Swan who travels to Sufiro seeking the quiet life but finds a dark secret. It is the story of privateers, farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and soldiers—all caught up in dramatic events and violent conflicts that will shape the destiny of our galaxy.

Jane Lindskold, author of the Firekeeper Saga says, “When I first ‘met’ Ellison Firebrandt in Firebrandt’s Legacy, the last thing I even imagined was a future where our hero and his devoted crew did not immerse themselves in swashbuckling space battles with clever intrigues played out against challenging opponents within the dark reaches of outer space. Firebrandt’s creator, author David Lee Summers, was far more ambitious in the future he envisioned for his hero.

“In The Pirates of Sufiro Firebrandt faces challenges that press even his courageous heart and clever mind to the limit, as well as testing the loyalty of those he loves and trusts most deeply. This dynamic generational saga provides enough twists and turns to satisfy the most devoted space opera fan.”

The book is available for $1.00 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1031018

Building the Queen Emeraldas

When I finish a major writing project, I like to take a break and find something fun to do, like working on a hobby project. For the last year and a half, I’ve been engaged in a major rewrite of my novel The Pirates of Sufiro. The goal of the rewrite was to strengthen the novel as a whole and better position it as “book two” in my “Space Pirates’ Legacy Series.” Book one, Firebrandt’s Legacy, introduces readers to space pirate Ellison Firebrandt and develops his relationship with Suki Mori. Book two, tells what happens when they are marooned on a distant, alien world. Because this has been an intensive “from the ground up” rewrite, I decided a fun model-building project was in order and I thought it was appropriate to build the space ship of one of my other favorite fictional space pirates, Emeraldas from the manga of Leiji Matsumoto.

Emeraldas is a space pirate who fights for humanity. To her, the skull and crossbones symbolize her willingness to fight for humanity’s freedom until she herself becomes bones. She has been a character in many of the Captain Harlock manga and anime as well as the Galaxy Express 999 series about a train that traverses the stars. In most versions of Leiji Matsumoto’s universe, Emeraldas is romantically involved with Harlock’s best friend, Tochiro. In some versions they’re even married and have a child named Mayu. Her ship is known as the Queen Emeraldas.

I find the Queen Emeraldas an interesting design. It is a spaceship, but it resembles an airship with an old-fashioned sailing vessel as the gondola. The truly fascinating part of this is that such airships have become very common in steampunk art circles. I will note that in steampunk art, the ship is often so large, that I find it hard to believe the small gas bags above could lift the craft. If the Queen Emeraldas were an airship, it seems the ratio of sizes between the gas envelope and the ship would be much closer to correct.

One thing that was fun about this model was that it was lighted. I very much appreciated that my daughters have both taken enough Japanese to help me read the instructions that came with the kit. This allowed me to buy the recommended lights. Making a plastic model look good is a nice challenge and I enjoy painting them and making them look like they do in the show, but after several weeks of working at home, it was nice to actually wire up a small electronic project and have it work. Admittedly this is a simple project compared to those I work on at Kitt Peak, but it was still a chance to stay in practice.

If you’d like to read my novel The Pirates of Sufiro in its new version, you can learn all about it, read the first chapter, and find places to buy the novel at: http://davidleesummers.com/pirates_of_sufiro.html. As it turns out, the novel features both space vessels and airships!

The Pirates of Sufiro are Back!

I’m excited to announce the publication of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition of my very first novel, The Pirates of Sufiro. For the last year and a half, I’ve been going through the novel and giving it a complete makeover. My one guideline was that I didn’t want to change any events that would impact the sequels. This way, if you happen to pick up a used copy of one of the sequels, you won’t feel completely lost.

The Pirates of Sufiro

The Pirates of Sufiro is the story of a planet and its people—of Ellison Firebrandt the pirate captain living in exile; of Espedie Raton, a man from the streets of Earth looking to make a fresh start for himself and his wife on a new world; of Peter Stone, the geologist who discovers a fortune and will do anything to keep it; and of the lawman, Edmund Ray Swan who travels to Sufiro seeking the quiet life but finds a dark secret. It is the story of privateers, farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and soldiers—all caught up in dramatic events and violent conflicts that will shape the destiny of our galaxy.

Overall, the novel’s plot hasn’t changed significantly from earlier editions. I wanted the novel to tell the same story it always had. However, I have grown as a writer over the last twenty-five years and I knew I could tell the story more effectively. I hoped to make scenes come to life better and improve the tension and characterizations. What’s more, since the novel came out, I wrote a prequel called Firebrandt’s Legacy. This meant we knew more of Ellison Firebrandt’s crew and it didn’t seem right for them to simply disappear in this novel. We needed to know what happened to them and I folded that in. In the end, I estimate I added some 20,000 words to the novel.

As I neared the end of the process, author Jane Lindskold asked to take a look at the manuscript. She’s the author of the Firekeeper Saga and she’s written novels in the Honorverse with David Weber. She also used to be an English Professor. After she read the novel, we met and we had a valuable discussion about the novel which led to another draft. I really appreciate her insight and help.

She was also generous enough to write a blurb about the book. She wrote, “When I first ‘met’ Ellison Firebrandt in Firebrandt’s Legacy, the last thing I even imagined was a future where our hero and his devoted crew did not immerse themselves in swashbuckling space battles with clever intrigues played out against challenging opponents within the dark reaches of outer space. Firebrandt’s creator, author David Lee Summers, was far more ambitious in the future he envisioned for his hero.

“In The Pirates of Sufiro Firebrandt faces challenges that press even his courageous heart and clever mind to the limit, as well as testing the loyalty of those he loves and trusts most deeply. This dynamic generational saga provides enough twists and turns to satisfy the most devoted space opera fan.”

You can order The Pirates of Sufiro in print at:

You can order the ebook of The Pirates of Sufiro at:

And yes, if follow the Smashwords link, you will find the book is on sale for just $1.00. This is a great time to grab a copy!

Explore New Worlds from Home

In my last post, I mentioned how fortunate I am to have a fairly secure income during this difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are finding themselves unemployed or under employed. Fortunate as I am, it’s likely our family will also be affected by current events. I’m waiting to hear whether events I attend to promote my writing will be going forward. If not, this could result in a loss of sales for my books. What’s more, my wife performs bookkeeping duties for many small service-industry businesses. So far, these businesses have continued to operate, but some have had to limit their operations and depending on how long we’re asked to practice social distancing, may have to shut down for a time.

This crisis also comes at a time when my youngest daughter is preparing to graduate from high school and go to university. She’s been busy working on assignments at home, but we have had to defer a visit to her future school because of current events.

So far, my writing and editing work is keeping me busy, but I know this enforced period of isolation is hard on many people. That’s one of the reasons I’m participating in the “Authors Give Back” event at Smashwords. On Saturday, I shared two books I’m giving away for free. Because I do have family responsibilities, I can’t afford to give away all of my books, but I can offer deep discounts on two additional titles and give you a chance to explore the solar system and the galaxy in the process.

The first book I’m offering at 60% off the cover price is my novel The Solar Sea. In the novel, whales around the world changed their songs the day scientists announced the discovery of powerful new particles around Saturn’s largest moon which could solve Earth’s energy needs. The Quinn Corporation rushes to build a solar sail space craft to unlock the secrets of these strange new particles. They gather the best and brightest to pilot the ship: Jonathan Jefferson, an aging astronaut known as the last man on Mars; Natalie Freeman, a distinguished Navy captain; Myra Lee, a biologist who believes the whales are communicating with Saturn; and John O’Connell, the technician who first discovered the particles. Charting the course is the mysterious Pilot who seems determined to keep secrets from the rest of the crew. Together they make a grand tour of the solar system and discover not only wonders but dangers beyond their imagination.

In the novel, I use my experience as a professional astronomer to bring the solar system to life for the readers. You can get The Solar Sea for 60% off the cover price at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/805692

The second book I’m offering at a discount is Firebrandt’s Legacy. In this book, Ellison Firebrandt fights the good fight for Earth. Under a letter of marque, he raids the ships of Earth’s opponents, slowing down their progress and ability to compete with the home system. On the planet Epsilon Indi 2, he rescues a woman named Suki Mori from a drug lord, only to find she isn’t so happy about living a pirate’s life. However, when the captain finds a new engine that will make him the most successful pirate of all, Suki is the only one who can make it work. Now Firebrandt must find a way to keep his crew fed and his ship supplied while relying on a woman who barely trusts him and while every government in the galaxy hunts him to get the engine back!

This book sets the stage for The Pirates of Sufiro, which I’m working on right now, along with the rest of the Space Pirates’ Legacy series. In the opening chapter, Captain Firebrandt attacks a ship and discovers a whole cargo hold of … toilet paper. It’s just a small moment, but who knew that would be a thing? You can get Firebrandt’s Legacy for 60% off the cover price at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/916916

Why Pirates?

During a quiet moment at 2018’s MileHiCon, author Jane Lindskold and I sat down and had a nice conversation. In that conversation she asked why an apparently law-abiding, nice person like me would be interested in writing about pirates. After all, I’ve not only written about space pirates, but I’ve written about airship pirates in my steampunk fiction, and pirates have appeared in my vampire fiction. The drug traffickers in The Astronomer’s Crypt could also be seen as pirates of a sort. I have a two-part answer to the question. One part is related to story potential and the other is more personal.

To summarize the United Nations definition of piracy, it is a criminal act of violence, detention or depredation committed by the crew or passengers of a ship or aircraft directed against another ship or aircraft—or directed against a ship, aircraft, persons or property outside the jurisdiction of a country.  Apply that idea to any vessel that is either in space or operating on a distant world, and you open up tremendous story potential.

In fact, when I first wrote my novel, The Pirates of Sufiro, the working title was simply Sufiro. The novel really is about the history of a planet founded by pirates, the disaffected people who follow, and the unscrupulous people who find resources on the world they can exploit. I added “Pirates” to the title because the planet is not only founded by pirates, but those unscrupulous people who come later are committing acts of violence, detention and depredation against their fellows outside the jurisdiction of a country. In a very real way, they are even more piratical than the story’s avowed pirates.

On a more personal level, pirates stir the imagination despite the fact that they steal from others to make a living and often murder to do so. If you look into the history of piracy—particularly during piracy’s “golden age” of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—you find that discipline on military and legitimate trading vessels was brutal and crews were paid almost nothing. On pirate ships, the crews had more of a voice in how things were run and the booty was split more evenly.

Today, in the 21st century, we find ourselves in a world where companies monitor our e-mails and website usage. People can be fired for saying the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. In point of fact, the corporate world of today has nothing on the day when you could be flogged to within an inch of your life for a perceived insult. Still, the idea of setting out to sea or the stars with no one watching your every move and not having to watch your every word does have a certain appeal.

In Leiji Matsumoto’s famous Captain Harlock anime series and manga, the titular pirate captain fights under the skull and crossbones flag because it’s a symbol that one should fight to the death for freedom and that one shouldn’t be subject to corrupt and decadent governments. I wrote The Pirates of Sufiro before I got to know Harlock as any more than a cameo character in Galaxy Express 999, but the idea does capture some of what I tried to capture in my novel.

As it turns out, The Pirates of Sufiro was the first novel I ever wrote and I think it’s fair to say the idea was more ambitious than my skills were ready for almost twenty-five years ago. I’ve been spending much of the last year revising The Pirates of Sufiro for a new edition. I think I’ve made it much better, but I’m in the process of taking a good hard look and deciding whether or not I’ve succeeded in making it the book I want it to be. Much of that is making sure the characters are true to themselves as they developed in the books I wrote after Pirates.

You can help me in my quest to make The Pirates of Sufiro the book it should be by joining my Patreon campaign. My fix-up novel Firebrandt’s Legacy may be read in its entirety. Also, you can read the last published edition of The Pirates of Sufiro and the draft as it stands now. It’s likely there will be even one more draft before the book is published. Once it is published, I’ll give download codes for all the novels in the Space Pirates’ Legacy universe that are in print: The Solar Sea, Firebrandt’s Legacy, and The Pirates of Sufiro. Of course, I love to hear feedback from my patrons and it’s a great way to weigh in on what you think of the books. You can become a patron for just $1.00 a month. To learn more, click the button below. It’s time for some piracy!

Literary Cosplay

Before the term “cosplay” came into common use, I always loved Halloween as one of the times I could create a costume and become someone else for a day. Nowadays, pop culture conventions also provide a fun excuse to dress up. Of course, most people who dress up for conventions make costumes based on their favorite television shows, movies, or comic books. A creator has already designed the costume and it’s up to the fan to make their own version. Likewise, most commercial Halloween costumes are also based on these same mass media heroes. However, novels can also be a great source of costume ideas and they often provide a wide latitude of ways to interpret characters. This can be especially useful if you’re looking for materials you can grab from a thrift store or something you can create with some simple make-up effects.

I have been known to dress up in outfits inspired by my novels. Back in 1993, I went to a Halloween party dressed as a Rd’dyggian (pronounced Red-dye-chian) from my Space Pirates’ Legacy novels. The Rd’dyggians are aliens with orange skin and a purple mustache-like array of tentacles under their noses. On top of that, they like to wear long, flowing robes. I was able to create a version using some face paint, hair dye, and some odds and ends from the closet. I didn’t match the Rd’dyggians from my novels perfectly, but I was close enough that my friends who had read the novels understood what I was supposed to be. Those who hadn’t read the novels still understood that I was some kind of alien.

I will note that when I first got into science fiction fandom, costume contests were a big part of conventions. You can still find contests, but an important element several years ago was that most of the people who dressed up created costumes based on favorite novels they’d read, rather than favorite visual media. This allowed them a lot of creativity in how they interpreted their costumes. These days, most of the literary-inspired costumes I see are at steampunk conventions.

As a steampunk author, I often dress up for the conventions I attend. It’s rare that I dress up as a specific character from my novels, but I do like to wear clothing like I describe in my novels. Here I am from an event last week, where I went to Ruidoso to speak about my Clockwork Legion Novels to the Fortuitous Book Club. The club at the recommendation of my dear friend, Margo McKee, read my novel Owl Dance. What’s more, Ruidoso is in Lincoln County, the heart of Billy the Kid Country. So, while I didn’t dress as a specific character from the novels, I did put on an outfit that said Wild West steampunk. Most of the outfit is just western wear, which is easy to find in New Mexico, but topped up with a pair of goggles and a cool steampunk looking watch. Of course, my outfit also evokes the feeling of the old Wild Wild West television series starring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, which was one of the inspirations for my series.

If you’re looking for an original costume this Halloween, or want to find something new and unique for a pop culture or science fiction convention, I encourage you to look no further than the pages of your favorite novel. See what it inspires you to create. If you want to look at my novels for inspiration, click the links below to learn more about the series: