Another book release thread (sci fi)

[JackQuest]

Finally got my next sci fi novel electronically published through Amazon/Kindle. Here is the thread to the book, you take it from there.

Thanks much for looking.

https://www.amazon.com/Nelf-Rings-Mervin-Miller-ebook/dp/B06Y1CF41V/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1491430282&sr=1-1&keywords=nelf+rings

[DerekP Houston]

Cool thanks for the heads up. Any plans for a printed version, e-reader typically hurt my eyes.

[MaryB]

I will give it a read when I finish the current book. Might take me a week to get to it. Since I grew up reading scifi I will leave a review for you! Heinlein("Friday" is a scary look at our current situation with corporations running the world) is hands down my favorite, Niven was good, as were many of the other 60's and 70's scifi writers.

[JackQuest]

Kindle does have an option to publish in paperback, trying to determine how popular this would really be.

Appreciate any and all reviews!

[runfiverun]

how's about a brief outline of the story?

[JackQuest]

Here is the 'inner cover' verbage.

New technology comes with new and unexpected hazards. In the not-too-distant future, humanity has developed a faster-than-light engine, and has begun to explore the first 200 light years in every direction from Sol.


Planets discovered and cataloged in the previous century are investigated using the new engine. Additional worlds in radical locations are discovered as the first and second waves of explorations are sent out from Earth. Some of the worlds are habitable by humans, and some of the worlds bear evidence of visitation in the distant past by a species the explorers call Nelf.


Nelf objects that remain on these worlds are impossible to understand and may or may not be functional. No signs exist to indicate the fate of the Nelf in the time between their last activity on these worlds and the arrival of humans.

[Catshooter]

Jack,

I see your Fleet of Man series 2 & 3, is there a 1? Is this latest book it?


Cat

[JackQuest]

Jack,

I see your Fleet of Man series 2 & 3, is there a 1? Is this latest book it?


Cat

Cat: Book 1 is here - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RU6Z264

Nelf Rings is a new story line completely stand-alone and unrelated to the Fleet of Man series.

[WickedColt]

Cat: Book 1 is here - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RU6Z264

Nelf Rings is a new story line completely stand-alone and unrelated to the Fleet of Man series.

It's pretty hectic for me but I am rated 227 (at the moment) out of all Amazon reviewers as I do a good bit of reviews and mine come with the "Top 500 Reviewer" badge. I'll try to sit down and read your book (I've got Kindle Unlimited)...it might just take a while.

Have you ever thought about making yours an audiobook? I listen to those during work and while doing reloads and such. I get so much more done and finish books in the process. Some voice actors will do the reading for a portion of the profits from the audiobooks. Also good for people with less than perfect eyesight.

I think it is AWESOME that you've published some works. It is on my bucket list!! Good luck! I hope your sales go well!

[JackQuest]

It's pretty hectic for me but I am rated 227 (at the moment) out of all Amazon reviewers as I do a good bit of reviews and mine come with the "Top 500 Reviewer" badge. I'll try to sit down and read your book (I've got Kindle Unlimited)...it might just take a while.

Have you ever thought about making yours an audiobook? I listen to those during work and while doing reloads and such. I get so much more done and finish books in the process. Some voice actors will do the reading for a portion of the profits from the audiobooks. Also good for people with less than perfect eyesight.

I think it is AWESOME that you've published some works. It is on my bucket list!! Good luck! I hope your sales go well!

Thanks for the feedback! Of course the best place for anyone to leave feedback is at Amazon to help others decide to buy or not buy any book.

Haven't gotten enough circulation yet to consider paperback release or audiobooks, but both are on the list.

[JackQuest]

Just a heads-up about Amazon; you can read 4 chapters for free if you click the text [Look Inside] above the cover art. Reposting the link and a screen grab of the 'hot' text.

https://www.amazon.com/Nelf-Rings-Mervin-Miller-ebook/dp/B06Y1CF41V/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1491430282&sr=1-1&keywords=nelf+rings

[MaryB]

Just started reading it, will be a week or so before I finish it because I only read an hour before bed(unless it is a book I have a hard time putting down)

[JackQuest]

Thank you, MaryB!

[MT Gianni]

I should have a review in a week or two. Wiring the house and the painters should finish this weekend.

[JackQuest]

Thank you, MT Gianni!

[MT Gianni]

My review is out under JohnDM . This is a great read even for one who is so so about Sci-Fi. I will look forward to what might happen to those exposed to X? traveling back and what that might bring.

[JackQuest]

MT Gianni:

Thank you for your kind words! Very glad you enjoyed the book! Further story telling is always percolating in the back of my mind!

[facetious]

My wife is a writer and has her stuff on Amazon. I don't know how thy do the print on demand thing, her publiser takes care of all that stuff. She sells mostly E- books but more and more are audiobooks. Good luck, it's harder than it looks to be a writer AND make money. I was hoping she would get rich so I could quit working, I'm still working. She has a new one coming out this year called "Broken Path".

Mite as well put a plug in for her wile I'm at it.



https://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Standing-Deer/e/B007DK99GQ

[JackQuest]

Bump Time:

Well, 4 and a half years have slipped away. I've finished another scifi novel and posted it to Amazon Kindle. In August Kindle apparently shifted over from .mobi format to .epub format. Getting used to the new layout - not all that different.

The book is: WISLOD 1 - Nyla & Scylla

WISLOD stands for What IS Left Of Deimos - a rocky body in synchronous orbit near the first ever Space Cable. WISLOD is the nexus of nearly all human activity on or above Mars. WISLOD contains a bar & grill, space docks, and a unique microgravity hotel, the Regency/Barsoom. Orbiting near WISLOD is Mars Habitat One, a cylindrical habitat home to most of the population of human Martians. (A modified O'Neill cylinder).

The novel introduces 2 Martian women as they graduate from school and begin building their adult lives, adapting to the human race expanding into the Solar System.

Here is the link to Kindle for the book. Word of Mouth is still the best advertising. If you have comments, both positive and negative, please post them here. If you like the story, let your friends know.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KTFD7B4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nyla+%26+scylla&qid=1635802594&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Jack Quest aka Merv Miller

[MrWolf]

I can't believe it has been four years already. I got your book when you first posted on this thread. Wow. Where does time go?

[JackQuest]

I can't believe it has been four years already. I got your book when you first posted on this thread. Wow. Where does time go?

MrWolf - yes, as we said on submarines, fun flies when you're doing time.

Earlier for previous book a synopsis was requested. Here is the lead in for the virtual inner cover of the book:

What is WISLOD

WISLOD is an acronym derived from “What IS Left Of Deimos”.

Construction of the first Space Cable (space elevator) in the Solar System requires relocation of the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. During those moves, the moons provide raw materials for construction.

The rubble pile remnant of Phobos is encased in the Counterweight, which exerts tension on the Space Cable.

The solid remnant of Deimos is parked in stationary orbit at the intersection of the Martian Space Cable and Mars synchronous orbit altitude.

During Space Cable assembly, WISLOD becomes the informal name for any and all of the various facilities, machine shops, administrative offices, and private enterprises carved into the remnant of Deimos. The Shuttle Dock and Space Dock provide conditions allowing safe transfer of personnel, hardware, and cargo between docked spaceships and Martian Habitat One.

Completion of the Space Cable ushers in fuel-economic exploration and development of the Martian surface. WISLOD becomes the hub of Martian commerce. With less than five percent of its volume in use, WISLOD orbits Mars, ready to support humanity’s expansion into the Outer Solar System.

The WISLOD Bar & Grill welcomes spacers, tourists, and resident Martians to mingle over fine drinks and Worlds Class dining in a microgravity environment.

WISLOD is host to the Regency/Barsoom, a 5-Star microgravity hotel unlike hotels in Low Earth Orbit, or the Earth-Moon Lagrange Habitats. Both the WISLOD Bar & Grill, and the Regency/Barsoom hotel share panoramic views of Mars unequaled anywhere in the Solar System.

WISLOD is the signature destination for tourists, scientists, engineers, and business people from the Inner System.

WISLOD is the jumping off point for Asteroid Belt exploration and development.

WISLOD is the nexus for a growing population of young Martians, writing their own chapters in Human History.

Welcome to WISLOD!

[MaryB]

Grabbed the kindle version! I have a couple books cued up ahead of it so will be a week or two before I get to it...

[JackQuest]

MaryB

Be truthful in any reviews and if you liked it let your friends know. Kindle's advertising process is a little on the complicated side for me, and I was trained on nuclear submarines, so go figure. Guess I'm getting old!

[jonp]

I'm the second book in on a 4 book series right now that is quite good. I'll be happy to download it and give it a review. Nice to see people on here writing books.

[Idaho45guy]

Congratulations! Even if it is four years too late...

I published my own murder/mystery on Amazon and it has gotten great reviews. Hoping to start on the next book in the series soon.

It's a great feeling to complete a novel and have it released, even though you never feel it is completely perfect. The local library has a copy available and has wanted to do a book signing event, but I would feel totally embarrassed to take on such an endeavor. I wrote the thing for fun and was mildly sauced for most of it.

[JackQuest]

Jonp - thanks, every little bit helps. The actual Fantasy and Sci Fi Facebook group I belong to has shown zero interest. Don't know who I p--sed off, but there you have it.

I'm particularly interested in whether people want the story to continue beyond this volume or give it the quiet thumbs down. Time will tell.

[JackQuest]

Idaho45guy

Yes, sitting and signing books would feel awkward. Being mildly sauced can also be framed as 'writing with a sufficiently liberated imagination'.

I tried paperback publishing and ended up buying back the rights to the book when the publisher went bust. Then I did what any good author would do - I rewrote and expanded the story. That is now titled "An Alien's Task" (also on Kindle).

Completing a novel for me leaves this curious feeling that something got left behind and it will catch up to me sometime in the future when I start writing more of that story line. I don't think a story is ever actually ended. It just have too many other things in the way. (A sequel to "Nelf Rings" is trapped on my hard drive. I think it might get needed attention soon.

[MaryB]

Jonp - thanks, every little bit helps. The actual Fantasy and Sci Fi Facebook group I belong to has shown zero interest. Don't know who I p--sed off, but there you have it.

I'm particularly interested in whether people want the story to continue beyond this volume or give it the quiet thumbs down. Time will tell.

Sometimes continuing a series can lead to strained reading... like the writer worked way to hard to continue it... Honor Harrington series has been that way in the last few books.

[Wayne Smith]

Finished it. Couple of comments - first, this is an intricately plotted novel that has many threads and not all of them are resolved. Clearly set up for a series. Second, characterizations are excellent. People you can believe, may want for a neighbor, or maybe not given the character. Probably under estimated the long term and comprehensive effects of PTSD, but that would take a textbook to delve into, so I understand why it was done. Very well written, the kind of book you don't want to put down. It is not an 'easy read' - life is not easy and neither is this book. The ending seemed a little hurried, like you didn't know exactly how to end it. If this is part of a series that I understand - if it is a stand alone then the ending and unresolved characters and themes are a problem. This is one of the better books I have read this year, perhaps the best. If you can maintain this level of writing - go for it. The series, I mean.

Mary, I agree about the Honor Harrington series. I haven't even looked for one of those books for the past three or four years.

[JackQuest]

Wayne: thanks for the kind words! Yes, this is the first part of a 3 book series. I am in the clean-up phase for the 2nd and 3rd books, and will post when they come up on Kindle.

If you have not read it, you might enjoy my novel "Nelf Rings" as well.

[Wayne Smith]

Hold It, it was the "Neff Rings" that I was reviewing! - are there more to that series? I'm gonna have to see if the local library carries your books!

I remember reading a writing commentary by Robert Asimov where he was commenting on his Foundation series where he expressed his amazement that it sold. Three whole books, he wrote, where nothing happens! You are not guilty of that!

BTW - I looked at your location. East edge of which bell curve?

[JackQuest]

Wayne:

Thought I replied to your post, guess I did something wrong. East edge of the dumb as a box of rocks Bell Curve.

If you liked the format of Nelf Rings you should like "WISLOD 1 - Nyla & Scylla". Books 2 and 3 are in the finishing stages. I read some of Asimov's works - slow and dull. Could never understand why everyone thought they were great. I really like reading Jack Vance. His Planet of Adventure books (which is a terrible title for the series) are some of his best but also almost unknown. I'd like to see Peter Jackson or the guy doing Dune to make a 4 part miniseries out of it. And I like Larry Niven, particularly The Mote in God's Eye.

Anyhow, thanks for the review. And pass along your reviews to your friends. Word of mouth is great.

[MrWolf]

Actually had lunch with Isacc Asimov as he was the speaker at our graduation and I was in charge of paying him. I ended up drinking more than I should have but he was interesting from what I remember. Should have gotten him to sign my copy of I Robot, but was young and dumb.

[Wayne Smith]

You might look up H. Beam Piper - was a very good writer (Fuzzy series, time line series) but thought himself a failure and committed suicide.

I hoped you continued the Neff Rings series since you left so many threads unresolved. I read the first of your first series but thought the idea of a civilization that could manipulate genetics and clone but did not understand the XY chromosome somewhat disingenuous.

[MaryB]

Wayne:

Thought I replied to your post, guess I did something wrong. East edge of the dumb as a box of rocks Bell Curve.

If you liked the format of Nelf Rings you should like "WISLOD 1 - Nyla & Scylla". Books 2 and 3 are in the finishing stages. I read some of Asimov's works - slow and dull. Could never understand why everyone thought they were great. I really like reading Jack Vance. His Planet of Adventure books (which is a terrible title for the series) are some of his best but also almost unknown. I'd like to see Peter Jackson or the guy doing Dune to make a 4 part miniseries out of it. And I like Larry Niven, particularly The Mote in God's Eye.

Anyhow, thanks for the review. And pass along your reviews to your friends. Word of mouth is great.

Niven's Ringworld series was excellent reading also!

[JackQuest]

Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper is a great book, particularly for the younger reader. However, his short story Omnilingual is perhaps one of the best stories of a possible Mars, now long gone with human "aresologists" digging up their cities submerged in sand. It's about "cracking the code" on ancient Martian texts. I believe both are available thru the Gutenberg Project.

[Wayne Smith]

Do you know the story of Ring World? Niven published it, writing based on Dyson's sphere which made Dyson a famous name in some circles. Next SiFi convention there was a group of scientists with signs and chanting "Ringworld is unstable, Ringworld is unstable". Larry Niven sat down with them and, they were right! So he published Ringworld Engineers!

[JackQuest]

Have read Ringworld series several times. The characters are a little on the "cartoony" side for development, but that has to go to the future when being or not being at the top of the food chain is forgotten.

Rather liked The Mote in God's Eye more as the Moties (primary aliens) are probably in the top 3 species in Science Fiction. Top of the list is Tweel by Stanley Weinbaum, written in the 1930s, then the Moties and after that I'm not sure. For a 3rd alien I think Niven's puppeteers come close. Most aliens in written fiction are just the same "human in foam rubber" that Star Trek aliens are on TV. Boring and predictable because they aren't aliens, they are humans in silly suits. Just my opinion. Same goes for AI from Hollywood. A human "soul" trapped on a circuit board.

I tried very hard to make the Nelf (Xxnnff) leave behind incomprehensible but possible technology. Things that humans accidentally activate because we really are better at breaking things than at making things.

BTW: Asimov was supposed to have liked the Tweel character very much.