1. And I’m pretty sure none of them include fornicating elves or cursing dragons.

    Ha, ha, ha, ha! 😀

    This story sees Rick Macey travelling to the Phillipines

    Well there’s a dratted spoiler for you. 😛 You see, it could have been the case that perhaps Macey dies at the end of Eternity Falls. I suppose that doesn’t happen!

    By the way, we’ll very likely feature an interview with author Kirk Outerbridge next month.

  2. I figured the fact that the series is called “Rick Macey Cyberthrillers” would be the spoiler for that. 😉

    Besides I think the bigger spoiler for that book was …*gets tackled by elite MLP agents and dragged off in a gag and straight-jacket*

    • Ha ha! … Though methinks Jeff Gerke would like to know where those elite MLP agents have been all this time. …

      • C.L. Dyck says:

        (polishes fingernails on flak jacket) *ahem* Yep, ACFW was a great networking opportunity…I’ll have Stu back to you as soon as the mindwipe’s done.

      • This does make me wonder how one goes about talking about a sequel without necessarily spoiling the prior book for people. That’s been something I’ve thought a lot about when trying to think of ways to talk about the in-progress sequel to Starfire.

        • C.L. Dyck says:

          I think that to the extent that your back cover copy and reviews cover the first one, you could likely feel safe doing so with the sequel. I mean obviously that stuff’s already out there.

          What I’ve seen writers do is focus on the unique angles of each book in the series. Plus, you can say things in a summary fashion without giving anything away except what you choose. If you say “Karey Or” it’ll only mean what you say it does, unless a person’s already read the first book. Your storyworld gives you that advantage.

  3. Oh boy, I don’t want to know what books contain the elves and dragons you’re talking about lol. I just love that MLP celebrates my birthday every year by releasing excellent speculative novels 😛

  4. And just wait until y’all see the brand-spanking new MLP web site Stu is doing. You’re going to LOVE it. Really amps up MLP’s status in the publishing world and makes it an excellent showcase of top-notch publisher web sites….not that I’m biased or anything. 🙂

    Now, we just need a TON of prayer that the roll-out can be timed to coincide with the book releases Thursday night at midnight.

  5. Christian says:

    The Sending sounds really interesting. Are there some sample pages to read? I think sample pages are necessary to sell a novel online. They give you some idea of the writing style, quality and content of the novel, which is key to picking up a book and choosing to read it or not. Thanks

  6. Ken Rolph says:

    “the Philippines’ efforts to join the Islamic Alliance of Oceania.”

    This could be slighly complicated by the fact that the Philippines is not actually in Oceania. I can’t even begin to imagine how you could get an Islamic Alliance here. Neither Australia nor New Zealand would seem to be in line for mass conversion. New Guinea, Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia are more likely to fall under Chinese influence.

    This sort of thing really puts me off. Probably written by some ignorant septic who thinks he lives on “the continent” and offshore is Hawaii and, oh a bunch of other stuff, all jumbled up together. Still, I suppose if you can do alternate history you should be able to alternate geography.

    • Things may have changed somewhat by the 2080s, which is when the novels are set.

      • Kirk Outerbridge says:

        Hi Ken,

        I’m the ignorant septic who wrote the book. 🙂

        I’d encourage you to still give the book a try despite your reservations. Hopefully the revelations there will help put things into perspective. The world setting is some years in the future where the boundaries of Oceania have shifted based on geopolitics rather than geographics.

        Hope you’ll give it a try!

        ~Kirk

        PS

        I actually don’t consider myself living on “the continent” as I’m a Bermudian 🙂

        • Ken Rolph says:

          This is an interesting situation. As writers we choose our words, our characters, our plots, our settings with care. Not only for the surface meanings, but for the web of associations, implications, connotations, resonances, etc that they come with. Wrting/reading is a two ended process. Unexpectedly you have offered your work to someone whose resonances, etc, are different to what you might have imagined.

          The economy of writing/reading is a kind of gift exchange. The reader offers a willing suspension of disbelief in exchange for the writer offering a certain plausibility. I didn’t get this in either case.

          To say you are from Bermuda is possible the worst option. It is plonked in the ocean between the old and new empires. It can quite innocently claim to be free of any imperial political pretensions. Yet I’m sure it shares the hemispherist cultural assumption of superiority. After all, it’s Western Civilisation up there, able to redefine the lesser breeds in faraway places according to a geopolitical whim.

          Now, given this exchange, I might read the book if I came across it in the normal course of everyday life. Sadly, with entirely impure motives. But Marcher Lord Press books don’t seem to arrive at either my libraries or bookshops. I would have to go out of my way to actually lay hands on a copy. With over 300 books on the Bookshelf of the Unread, I try to restrict additions.

          I’ve asked around some Australian and New Zealand email lists among people I know who are MLP book readers. Maybe there’s be a spare copy arond somewhere.

  7. Kirk Outerbridge says:

    Ken

    I hope you find it.

    Kirk

What do you think?