Don’t Stop at Book One

Dec27

On Saturday, I offered the first book from three different series for free. The second book in each of those series is available for 75% through January 1 off as part of the Smashwords End of Year sale. 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 a friend, just click “Give as a Gift” when you visit the Smashwords links!

The Pirates of Sufiro

The second book of my Space Pirates’ Legacy series is 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 99 cents at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1031018. The coupon code SEY75 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Vampires of the Scarlet Order

Vampires of the Scarlet Order is the second novel in my Scarlet Order vampires series. As I mentioned last time, book three will be out in 2023. If you haven’t read this series, this is a great opportunity to catch up before the new book comes out.

A new generation of vampires embarks on a quest to save humanity.

Opening a forgotten crypt during a military exercise, Dr. Jane Heckman is made a vampire and begins a journey to unlock the secret origins of her new kindred.

Elsewhere, solitary vampire Marcella DuBois emerges from the shadows and uncovers a government plot to create vampire-like super soldiers.

Daniel McKee, a vampire working as an astronomer, moves to a new town where he’s adopted by a family, only to have government agents strip those he loves away from him.

All three vampires discover the government is dabbling in technologies so advanced they’ll tap into realms and dimensions they don’t understand. To save humans and vampires alike, Jane, Marcella, and Daniel must seek out the legendary master vampire Desmond, Lord Draco and encourage him to resurrect his band of mercenaries, the Scarlet Order.

Buy Vampires of the Scarlet Order for just 99 cents until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1038560. The discount code SEY75 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Lightning Wolves

Lightning Wolves is the second novel in the Clockwork Legion series.

It’s 1877. Russians have invaded the Pacific Northwest and are advancing into California. New weapons have proven ineffective or dangerously unstable and the one man who can help has disappeared into Apache Country, hunting ghosts. A healer and a former sheriff lead a band into the heart of the invasion to determine what makes the Russian forces so unstoppable while a young inventor attempts to unleash the power of the lightning wolves.

Deby Fredericks, author of the Minstrels of Skaythe series says: “The Old West as we wish it had been. Full of adventure and crazy inventions but with some honesty about the prejudices and mores of the day. This is as much alternate history as adventure tale, with an ethnically diverse cast fighting battles that never were. Appearances by a few historical figures, like Geromino, add spice. There’s a poignant undercurrent on how inventions meant to lift humanity up can draw us into the same old quagmire of ambition and greed, plus an intriguing alien race trying to find its way through First Contact with humans. Nicely done.”

Get Lightning Wolves for 99 cents until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1119716. Coupon code SEY75 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Arthur: King of Britain

Oct25

Earlier this year, I discovered Caliber Publishing’s updates of L. Frank Baum’s Oz and H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Caliber Publishing had also published a comic book adaptation of the King Arthur story in the early 1990s. Unlike Oz and War of the Worlds, which were effectively continuations of their respective tales, Caliber’s Arthur: King of Britain is a straightforward adaptation of the Arthur story as it appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. This adaptation is written and features black and white artwork by Michael Fraley, who started his career as a newspaper sketch artist, but soon moved into graphic design and honed his writing skills to the point of earning a regular newspaper tech column.

Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain is an important work. Written circa 1136 AD, Geoffrey’s work endeavors to combine aspects of Arthurian folklore and the fragmentary bits of history that suggest Arthur was a real figure into a single narrative of Arthur’s life. Later, more famous versions of the King Arthur story, such as Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur are arguably built on Geoffrey’s framework. Geoffrey’s version tells the story of how Merlin helped Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon take the form of Gorlois of Cornwall, to seduce Gorlois’ wife, Igerne. From that union, Arthur is born. He would go on to be trained as a knight and assume the throne upon the death of his father.

According to Geoffrey, Arthur goes on to unite the British people to confront the Saxon invaders who have begun to take over much of Britain. Once the Saxons are defeated, Arthur marries Guinevere and then begins a series of military campaigns in the lands surrounding Britain. When Roman envoys come to Arthur to demand tribute, Arthur decides to use the forces he’s assembled from the British Isles and Western Europe to conquer Rome itself. He leaves Britain in the care of his nephew, Modred. While on the Roman campaign, Arthur learns that Modred has married Guinevere and claimed the throne of Britain for himself, setting up the final tragic battle at Camlan.

Fraley’s comic adaptation includes notes about the story, which I found interesting. He points out that Geoffrey would have been steeped in Biblical tradition and he tells a story that eschews the more magical aspects of Celtic lore in favor of a story that reads like it could have been part of the Bible. The giants in the History of the Kings of Britain resemble Goliath more than Ysbaddaden Chief Giant of the Celtic Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen. Fraley also suggests that Arthur’s conquest of Rome may have been inspired by Geoffrey’s desire to give Arthur a story as epic as Charlemagne’s. Fraley talks about this European quest moving into the background of later stories. I’ve long suspected that later writers, who didn’t see a Roman conquest by Britain in any other history and who wanted to tell a moral tale, transformed much of that quest into the quest for the Holy Grail.

I thought Fraley’s book Arthur: King of Britain was a good adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth. The black and white art supported the story well and his notes gave me new insight into the story. If you’re a fan of comics and Arthurian legend, you can find the five-issue series collected as a graphic novel in both digital and print formats at Amazon.

When I wrote my novel, Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires, I planned to set part of the story in Arthurian times right from the beginning. I decided to use Geoffrey’s version of the story as my template for my story’s background. You can learn more about Dragon’s Fall at: http://davidleesummers.com/dragons_fall.html

Geoffrey’s version of the Arthur story has also influenced my science fiction. His version of Arthur’s final battle with Modred, inspired the final confrontation between Manuel Raton and Mary Hill in my novel The Pirates of Sufiro. There’s a reason the strategic pass where the novel’s climactic scene happens is called Camlan. You can learn more about The Pirates of Sufiro at: http://davidleesummers.com/pirates_of_sufiro.html

Finally, if you’re interested in those early Welsh Arthurian folktales, I recorded my own retelling of Culhwch and Olwen. You can learn more here: http://davidleesummers.com/cando.html

A Deal on the Space Pirates’ Legacy

Jul2

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!

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

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

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

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

All Dozen Novels in Print

May31

With last week’s publication of Owl Riders, all twelve of my novels are now in print and available for purchase. To celebrate, I’m having a special on the first and second novels of my series. Read on for more details.

Now, It may seem strange that this news comes three years after I released my dozenth novel, Firebrandt’s Legacy. The reason this happened is that in 2018, the rights to my Space Pirates’ Legacy novels reverted to me from the publisher and all three of the novels that follow Firebrandt’s Legacy were out of print when that novel was released. Then in 2020, before all those novels were back in print, my publisher released the publishing rights of my novels The Astronomer’s Crypt and my Scarlet Order Vampire novels. Because that release happened around the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I actually was able to release new editions of those three novels fairly quickly. Last year, I negotiated the release of my Clockwork Legion steampunk series. So those novels were out of print when the last of the Space Pirates’ Legacy novels became available again. So, with the release of Owl Riders, everything is available at the same time.

To celebrate all dozen novels being in print at the same time, I am making a special offer via Smashwords. The first ebook in each of my series is 75% off the cover price for the first week of June. The second ebook in each series is 50% off for the first week of June. This is a great time to jump into my novels if you haven’t read them, or to try a new series, if you’ve only tried one or two of my series.

So, here’s a little about each series:

The Space Pirates’ Legacy Series

The Space Pirates’ Legacy series tells the story of how Captain Ellison Firebrandt and his descendants shape the future of the Earth and the galaxy by creating a colony on a new world and their struggle with one of the universe’s most ancient life forms. Click the button below to go to the series and explore it in more detail.

Space Pirates’ Legacy at Smashwords

The Scarlet Order Vampires Series

Founded in 1067, the Scarlet Order is a band of vampire mercenaries led by Desmond, Lord Draco. Before he became a vampire, Draco was in the line of succession for the British throne. After becoming a vampire, he sought redemption and ultimately found the best way he could survive was to help those kings and princes whose causes he believed in. Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires chronicles the formation of the Scarlet Order. In Vampires of the Scarlet Order, the United States government has started a program to create super soldiers, so they don’t have to rely on vampires any more. Unfortunately, this means they are tampering with powers far beyond their understanding. Click the button below to learn more about the series.

The Scarlet Order Vampires at Smashwords

The Clockwork Legion Series

The Clockwork Legion series tells the story of how a well meaning alien came to Earth in 1876 and unwittingly unleashed the Russian invasion of the United States. In the aftermath came a world of wonders where airships and ornithopters rule the skies, lightning guns pose a serious threat, and Native Americans control powerful battle wagons that challenge the United States Army. In the heart of it all is a small town sheriff who wants to be a diplomat and the woman he loves who wants to heal the world. Click the button below to take advantage of the special on the first two novels of the series.

The Clockwork Legion Series at Smashwords

Space Pirates’ Legacy Complete

Feb15

In May 2017, the rights to my “Old Star Saga” novels reverted to me. Upon getting the rights back, I decided to add a new first novel, revise and update the existing novels, and rebrand the series as “The Space Pirates’ Legacy.” After almost five years, this project is finally complete. Today, I’m proud to announce the release of book four, Heirs of the New Earth.

The Earth 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?

I wrote The Pirates of Sufiro in 1993 while living in Tucson, Arizona. Once I finished, I knew I wanted to write a sequel, and perhaps turn the series into a trilogy. The novel ends with John Mark Ellis, grandson of space pirate Ellison Firebrandt, wanting to pursue a mystery. An alien intelligence called the Cluster had invaded the galaxy. At the end of The Pirates of Sufiro, Ellis had no idea whether the Cluster was a ship or a life form in its own right. He knew the Cluster was dangerous and it destroyed starships, but he had no idea whether the danger was intentional or accidental. If the Cluster was a life form in its own right, could it understand that human ships were vessels with intelligent beings aboard? I knew Ellis would want to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Around the same time as I started thinking about the sequel, a team of observers were at the Mayall telescope using the Infrared Imager we had at the time to take images of the center of the galaxy. During that run, I watched as they captured the deepest image of the galactic core taken to that point. Since then, we’ve taken even deeper and more stunning images, but I was still mind-blown. I remember discussing what one would find at the center of the galaxy with the astronomers in the control room. We talked about the black hole in the center of the galaxy.

As we spoke, an image flashed to my mind. I imaged John Mark Ellis aboard an old-fashioned sailing ship at the center of the galaxy. I knew the rest of the series would tell of the story of how Ellis ended up on that sailing ship in that place. All I knew at the time was that somehow the Cluster was involved. Laura Givens’ cover art for the new edition, captures the image I’d conjured perfectly and I hope it makes you wonder how he got there. And this image isn’t a red herring. Not only does it reflect an image I had way back in 1993, it depicts an important scene from the heart of the novel.

The novel has just gone live in print and ebook formats and will start wending its way through the distribution chain soon. That said, you can pick up the print edition of the novel today at Amazon.com. The ebook is available in Kindle format at Amazon.com. It’s also available in a wide variety of additional formats at Smashwords.com. As always, you can find all the retailers I know who are carrying the book on the book’s page at my site: http://davidleesummers.com/heirs_new_earth.html

Continue to the Second Book

Dec28

The second book of my Space Pirates’ Legacy series is The Pirates of Sufiro.

The book is available for $1.00 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1031018. The coupon code SEY75 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Vampires of the Scarlet Order is the second novel in my Scarlet Order vampires series.

A new generation of vampires embarks on a quest to save humanity.

Opening a forgotten crypt during a military exercise, Dr. Jane Heckman is made a vampire and begins a journey to unlock the secret origins of her new kindred.

Elsewhere, solitary vampire Marcella DuBois emerges from the shadows and uncovers a government plot to create vampire-like super soldiers.

Daniel McKee, a vampire working as an astronomer, moves to a new town where he’s adopted by a family, only to have government agents strip those he loves away from him.

Buy Vampires of the Scarlet Order for just $1.00 until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1038560. The discount code SEY75 should be applied automatically at checkout.

Lightning Wolves is the second novel in the Clockwork Legion series. I’m currently releasing new editions of this series. Look for the third novel, The Brazen Shark, to be re-released in early 2022.

Get Lightning Wolves for $1.00 until January 1 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1119716. Coupon code SEY75 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. Find the complete listing at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/davidleesummers.

The Martian Chronicles

Oct12

Last month, I received an ad from Big Finish productions saying that their production of The Martian Chronicles would be going out of print soon. This audio production starred Derek Jacobi and Hayley Atwell whose performances I love. What’s more, Big Finish offered the production at a very nice clearance price, so I picked it up. It turns out the production was a dramatization of three stories that comprise what might be called the “Captain Wilder arc” in Bradbury’s famous collection along with one other story. The stories dramatized were “—And the Moon Be Still as Bright,” “The Off Season,” “The Long Years,” and “The Million-Year Picnic.” The production proved quite good and it made me want to go back and re-read The Martian Chronicles in its entirety. My only regret is that I discovered the production so near the end of its production run, I can’t steer you to it to listen for yourselves.

The Martian Chronicles is a classic example of a “fix-up” novel. It’s a batch of short stories, related by their setting on Mars and follow a rough narrative arc. The narrative arc describes the exploration of Mars by humans, how the Martians resisted human colonization, how humans prevailed and began to settle and ultimately how conflict back on Earth caused most humans to abandon the red planet. Unlike most novels, we don’t really follow one set of characters through these stories. Each story is its own independent narrative. The exception is the Wilder arc. Captain Wilder and members of his crew turn up in three of the stories. In the audio production, Derek Jacobi plays the good captain and we effectively see an abridged version of the full collection’s narrative arc through his eyes.

I first read The Martian Chronicles in high school. Soon after reading the book, I was fortunate enough to meet Ray Bradbury and he signed my copy. It was fun to look back in the book and see the chapters attributed to the distant future of 1999 and the early 2000s. When Bradbury signed my book in 1983, those years were still just enough in the future to make me wonder if the adventures could happen. When I re-read the book, I decided to get an ebook copy, so I could keep my signed copy in the best possible shape. I was surprised to learn that Bradbury and his publisher had actually revised the book after I read it. Those first missions were moved from 1999 to 2030. A story was removed and two more were added.

At first, I was disappointed that the ebook I picked up wasn’t identical to the version of The Martian Chronicles I’d first read back in the 1980s. But after a little bit, I decided to give this new version a try. After all, I’ve been working on a cycle of revising some of my first novels, some of which started life as fix-ups, to make them better. I did enjoy my read and I learned that the dramatizations weren’t slavish adaptations of Bradbury’s words. They interpreted the material and breathed new life into it, letting me see Bradbury’s words in a new light, which is something good drama can and should accomplish.

I was also surprised and delighted to discover ways The Martian Chronicles influenced my first novel, The Pirates of Sufiro. The first chapters of Pirates were written as short stories and the narrative arc I created to weave them together told the story of a colony’s rise and how human nature almost brought it crashing down again. I’ve never mastered Bradbury’s talent for beautiful prose, but I see how his love of his youth and family story helped me to take inspiration from my own youth and the stories of my own family when weaving a story set far from Earth. I learned to take the issues that concerned me and weave them into a new story. I was also fascinated to see that when Bradbury felt a part of his original vision was no longer fresh and new, he was willing to update it. If you’d like to learn more about The Pirates of Sufiro, the story I started dreaming up in the years after I met Ray Bradbury, visit http://davidleesummers.com/pirates_of_sufiro.html

The Space Pirates’ Legacy on Sale

Jul3

I have a special treat for you this year. Since I released The Pirates of Sufiro one year ago, and since I released Children of the Old Stars last month, I’m making the first book in the series, Firebrandt’s Legacy, free this month. So get over to Smashwords to download your copy if you don’t already own it! The other two books are only 99 cents and $1.99 respectively, so you can get the whole series to-date for less than $3.00.

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

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

Get the third book of the Space Pirates’ Legacy series for just $1.99 at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1079569

Children of the Old Stars – Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Jun12

I am excited to announce that the twentieth anniversary edition of my novel Children of the Old Stars has just been released. This is the third novel in my Space Pirates’ Legacy series. In the novel just before this, an implacable alien intelligence called the Cluster arrived in the galaxy and began literally dissecting space ships. In an effort to stop the Cluster, the Confederation of Homeworlds united all the fleets and started building new ships, but a civil war on the galaxy’s key mining facility had slowed construction to a halt. Commander John Mark Ellis had been dispatched to get the scoop on the civil war and stop it if he could so mining the mineral, Erdonium, would resume. While at Sufiro, the Cluster appeared and Ellis had an experience which made him think he communicate with it.

Now, in the second novel, Ellis is on his way home after a successful mission when he’s called in to rescue a ship threatened by the Cluster. He tries to communicate with the Cluster and seems to succeed. The only problem is that from the crew’s perspective, he fainted on the bridge of his ship and the distressed ship is destroyed. Ellis is booted out of the service, but feels compelled to find a way to stop the Cluster. He seeks help from an alien warrior named G’Liat. The warrior suggests there might be a conspiracy regarding the Cluster that involves the galaxy’s most ancient lifeforms, the Titans. Ellis sends his mother, a renowned historian, to learn what she can about that. In the meantime, the leader of one of Sufiro’s armies also thinks he can communicate with the Cluster, but Clyde McClintlock has convinced himself the Cluster is nothing less than God incarnate.

Kate Hill, author of The Chieftain’s Bride said, “In Children of the Old Stars, David Lee Summers has created a wonderful mix of characters and a gripping plot. From the aliens to the whales of Earth, who now communicate with people, each character seems to come to life from the moment they enter the story.”

I love it when characters do their best to do the right thing even when they face insurmountable odds. I also love it when characters learn something about themselves while involved in such a quest. I gave Ellis a chance to grow and learn in this novel. Although Ellis is not a space pirate like his grandfather, we see Ellis come to embrace the legacy his grandfather left for him. Like The Pirates of Sufiro, I spent time revising this novel for the new edition. The plot is largely the same as it was in earlier editions, but I took more time to define G’Liat’s beliefs so he could convey them better to Ellis in the pages of the book. I fixed a lot of awkward moments in the dialog and action and did my best to improve the novel’s overall consistency.

You can order the ebook edition of Children of the Old Stars at the following places:

You can order the print edition of Children of the Old Stars at:

Space Pirates’ Legacy Update, March 2021

Mar16

This month marks the third anniversary of the re-release of The Solar Sea, which is the prequel to my Space Pirates’ Legacy series. I’m also nearing completion of updates to Children of the Old Stars, which is book three of the series in its current incarnation. I thought this was a good moment to take stock of where I am in this project and look ahead at what’s left to accomplish.

The Space Pirates’ Legacy series was originally released by LBF Books as the Old Star/New Earth series. The series consisted of The Pirates of Sufiro, Children of the Old Stars, and Heirs of the New Earth. The series title was something quickly cobbled together from the last two books. My publisher billed The Solar Sea as book four of the series. However, as I mentioned before, it’s more a prequel to the series and a standalone story. It’s been released as such in its current incarnation.

After the books of the Old Star/New Earth series had been released, I wrote several short stories about pirate captain Ellison Firebrandt and his crew before they are stranded on the planet Sufiro. I decided to put those stories together with new material and, once the rights to the other books in the series reverted to me, I decided Firebrandt’s Legacy was a logical, new first book in the series. I also decided to give the series a catchier name. Long before I came up with the name “The Space Pirates’ Legacy” series, I’d been referring to the Old Star/New Earth series as my legacy series because it was my first series published. Thing is, there actually is a space ship called the Legacy in these books and it has a prominent role in three of the four novels. What’s more, as you might imagine with books called “Children” and “Heirs” these are books about the heirs to the original space pirates. Space Pirates’ Legacy suddenly seemed like a good fit.

Back in May 2020, Lynn Moorer of the radio show “All About Books” interviewed me about the new first book in the series. In this universe, most ships have to jump to speeds greater than light at gravitational nodal points near stars. An important element of Firebrandt’s Legacy is how pirate captain Ellison Firebrandt lays his hands on a special kind of engine that allows him to jump to speeds faster than light without jump points. In her interview, Lynn asked me about the drives and how they work, plus she had me read some excerpts from the novel. The interview is archived on the Las Cruces Community Radio site at: https://www.lccommunityradio.org/archives/all-about-books-david-lee-summers9615141

I assembled Firebrandt’s Legacy with the help of my Patreon supporters. Each month, I shared one of the stories from the novel along with some commentary about how it fit in the story arc I was assembling, then shared the finished, polished chapter. Overall, I ended up with a book that pleased me. Once the novel was finished, I took my Patreon supporters on a deep dive as I tore my novel The Pirates of Sufiro apart and put it back together again. I shared each chapter as it originally appeared along with commentary about the chapter, then I shared the revised chapter. The Pirates of Sufiro was the first novel I ever wrote and it took quite a bit of work to bring it up to the standard of Firebrandt’s Legacy. Still, I think I succeeded and I believe The Pirates of Sufiro now works as a strong follow-up to Firebrandt’s Legacy.

Lynn Moorer interviewed me about The Pirates of Sufiro last month. This time, her interview focused on both the characters and the gadgets the characters used. She had me read three excerpts from the novel. You can listen to this new interview at: https://www.lccommunityradio.org/archives/all-about-books-david-lee-summers8108468

About a year ago, as I was wrapping up the first pass of The Pirates of Sufiro with my Patreon subscribers, I re-read the last two novels of the series. I didn’t feel those novels needed as much work as Pirates, but they still needed some work. In Children of the Old Stars, Ellison Firebrandt’s grandson, John Mark Ellis goes on a quest and seeks help from a warrior named Arepno. I felt like Arepno’s teachings needed to be fleshed out. The novel’s quest involves understanding an alien called the Cluster. Children of the Old Stars was probably my most “seat of the pants” novel. I didn’t outline. I didn’t work out exactly what the Cluster was beforehand, I just started writing until I came to what I thought was a satisfactory conclusion to the quest, which then created bigger problems and lead us into the final novel of the series. Looking back at it, I realized I needed more hints in Children of the Old Stars about what the Cluster really was.

At this point, I expect to wrap up Children of the Old Stars by early May. Once it’s complete, I’ll set a release date and format the novel for publication. I’ll give it one more proofread to assure that it’s still internally consistent. The novel should be out by this summer. Once that’s finished, I’ll turn my attention the final novel in the series, Heirs of the New Earth. This final novel doesn’t need as much work as the others in the series. I’m not certain yet whether I’ll give it the same “deep dive” as the other novels in the series. What I do know is that my patrons at Patreon will get the first look at the new edition and I’ll be discussing the process of its creation with them. If you’d like to join us, you can sign on at https://www.patreon.com/davidleesummers

David Lee Summers’ Web Journal

Science Fiction, Fantasy, and More!

Tag Archives: The Pirates of Sufiro