BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS Online Serial Adventure!

Go straight to Blackthorn: Spires of Mars

Folks may recall I mentioned some upcoming writing projects. One of them is the twice-weekly online novel described below. SPIRES OF MARS is an experiment to see whether Parodyverse-style multi-part regular chapters can develop an audience for this particular SF adventure series.

It’ll be around 28 chapters long, maybe 65-70,000 words (it started out planned as 18 chapters and 30,000 words but you know the problems I have with keeping to limits like that), and the style and texture shouldn’t be unfamiliar to folks who read my work here. It even has a troubled heroine guaranteed to get on the list of Vizh’s preferred female characters, romantic bits for Yo, funny bits for the Shoggoth, and superheroey-action the boys! Oh, and a hero that Hatty will approve and a villain that I approve!

There’s also an e-mail box so folks can effectively feedback to a “letters page”. I’d really like some responses, especially if they’re able to generate conversation. I’m not responsible for how that’s moderated though. Or if people want to reply on this board I’m sure that would be allowed.

No prior reading homework is required, so just plunge on in. But first you’d better read the official press release and stuff; and here’s a link to an interview I did about it as The Nocturne Travel Agency.

"Spires of Mars" cover by none other than Visionary!

Proceed.

IW

Continuing the Adventures of the Award-Winning New Pulp Warrior and his Allies!

A young man desperate to save his sister from the raiders who kidnapped her into slavery… An ancient undead released after half a millennium… Four sorcerous First Men who will kill half a world to keep their darkest secret… And three champions who will stand for Mars against horror and tyranny—or die trying!

Award-winning author I.A Watson’ online novel set in the futuristic Martian world of BLACKTHORN offers readers a serial adventure in the tradition of old-time pulps, showcasing the vibrant characters and lush settings of this popular and successful series.

Join Earth General John Blackthorn, Princess Aria of Mars, Oglok the Mock-Man and an ever-expanding cast of rebels, monsters, magicians, and villains as the mystery of the ancient Harmony Spires is explored. Following on from BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS and meshing with the upcoming BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS novel, also by Watson, this stand-alone full-length serial adventure offers a glimpse of a future where magic and technology are one and humanity must face its ultimate challenge.

“This serial adventure gives readers everything they could ask for,” says White Rocket Books Publisher Van Allen Plexico. “An award-winning character, written by an award-winning writer—and set in the fantastic world of post-apocalyptic Mars. It’s an absolute grand slam!”

Jump in on the ground floor at www.whiterocketbooks.com/blackthorn with Chapter 1: “A Night in the Deadlands.” A desperate young man must cross the wasteland where everything dies – but nothing stays dead!

Tune in for new chapters every Monday and Thursday!

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats. White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Editor Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

Find new instalments of the series and links to buy copies of the original THUNDER ON MARS anthology by visiting http://www.whiterocketbooks.com/

For a list of all I.A. Watson’s recent published works go to I.A. Watson: Writer and Storyteller

I'm not sure I understand part of this - is this an actual book, or online-only, or are the online portions samples to promote a book?

THE SPIRES OF MARS is the third volume in an ongoing series of SG/fantasy novels and anthologies from White Rocket books.

However, since the second such volume, DYNASTY OF MARS, will be in the shops and e-shops in the next few weeks, it was decided to try an experiment in marketing. The entire stand-alone third book (which slots in just before the final parts of volumes one and two in continuity) will go out free online in Parodyverse-style episodes, probably about 28 of them over 14 weeks.

Sometime after that, maybe towards Christmas, there'll be collected Kindle and paperback versions of SPIRES which might include some extras and will almost certainly include some obsessive proofreading corrections from me. We're trying to coax a cover from our preferred artist for this, if we can tear him away from drawing damned ponies for ten minutes.

So the twice-weekly story can be read and hopefully enjoyed in full but episodically at
www.whiterocketbooks/blackthorn (the link to the chapters is easy to find once you're through the traffic-counting gateway). Prior reading of previous volumes in not neccessary.

As for the entertaining Nocturne interview, the list of projects published and forthcoming again leaves me wondering how you find time to sleep. Love the idea of the Babel mystery. It sounds like a real mind-bender. How far along are you with that?

> As for the entertaining Nocturne interview, the list of projects published and forthcoming again leaves me wondering how you find time to sleep. Love the idea of the Babel mystery. It sounds like a real mind-bender. How far along are you with that?

I've given up sleeping except in the daytime.

The Babel story is one I started to write a couple of years back before I was pulled away to other things. If I recall the first line was something like:

Nimrod the Hunter turned suddenly and kicked his high priest into the fire pit.

Anyway, that's now fourth on my to-write list, after:

* Robin Hood and the Tower of London - short promotional story
* Robin Hood and the Black Monk - short promotional story
* An article on magic fire in the Marvel Universe

Depending on their length, the Robin Hood stuff might just end up as an anthology with the existing Robin Hood and the Slavers of Whitby and possibly including the upcoming Robin Hood comic book story.

Other things on the writing list, in no particular order, are:

* Proofing and revising the novel "Sir Mumphrey Wilton and the Lost City of Mystery"

* Completing the novel "Vinnie De Soth and the [title to be decided]" - 70,000 words in; this might accidentally go on to be a trilogy!

* Completing the novel "St George and the Dragon" - 55,000 words in

* Completing a couple of short stories to complete a collection of short stories by me on ladies of mythology. The two already "in the can" are The Flower Maiden and Cinderella. The two to do are the part-finished Hesione (a Trojan princess) and the unstarted Lilith.

* Additional story material for the Spires of Mars eventual collected book edition.

* Additional story material for a mooted Robin Hood trilogy deluxe omnibus adition

* Completing a short story featuring a classic literary character for a multi-writer anthology.

* Finishing the Parodyverse Christmas story I started last Christmas.

In the can and awaiting publishers to, well, publish are:

* Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars - due before the end of the month, they say
* A Sinbad anthology including a 15,000 word story by me
* Robin Hood: Freedom's Outlaw - conclusion to the trilogy, promised by end of year
* Blackthorn: Spires of Mars - sometime after the online series ends, with additional material
* Four other anthologies that await either cover art or stories from other contributors; some of these might take years

And then, sleep.

By the way, may I quote your correspondence in the Blackthorn Website Letters Page?

Sounds like a sensible time-saving tip.







That sentence is almost a Richard Brautigan story in its own right.




By all means.

>* Proofing and revising the novel "Sir Mumphrey Wilton and the Lost City of Mystery"

It's about bloody time!

Will this one also be unavailable in Aus though?

I suppose that would depend on the Test Match results.