Things to do in the Dark

The world works in mysterious ways. Coincidences abound and are just frequent enough to make naturally suspicious people like me wonder about the nature of free will and conspiracy theories about supreme overloads controlling out actions. Or maybe that’s just the science fiction writer in me.

Whatever the case, I disassembled my large saltwater aquarium last weekend after running it for a year and a half. The reasons behind this move were many, but no fish, coral, or invertebrates were harmed by this action. One of my chief complaints of my setup was the nature of the sump tank plumbing I built. During power outages, in particular, bad things can happen very quickly that would cause the system to overflow and flood my living room.

Sunday I took the tank down. Monday night we had a power outage that lasted roughly an hour. Now is that simply good luck and timing, or evidence of some nefarious mastermind pushing buttons on a computer simulation that we’re all unwittingly part of?

To continue to power outage story, I saved my work on my laptop and shut it down. It’s a laptop with a battery, what’s the big deal, right? Well I went all American and supersized this laptop – as a result I get around 45 minutes out of a full battery charge. And yes, the battery is operating just fine. Then I rushed to shut down my desktop before the UPS it ran off of died, and finally I had to shut my server down in the basement for the same reason.

So there I am, sitting in the living room with my kids freaking out because they’re bored without TV, computers, or other electronic excitement to keep them busy. My wife remains glued to her Kindle reading my book, Vitalis, and using the light attached to her Kindle case. I had to check on her, I wasn’t sure she realized we’d even lost power!

Seeing my wife on her Kindle provoked an idea. The kids were terrorizing the dog and, given the gloomy lighting caused by a serious rainstorm, risking life and limb with their antics. I pointed out that the iPad and the Kindle Fire were fully charged. Zoom! Off they went, craving their electronic fix. For the record they’re six and three, but the devices are loaded with games to keep them happy whenever we need a digital babysitter (long car rides, appointments at doctor’s offices, etc.).

But these portable godsends aren’t just for kids! As evidence I point to my wife reading her ebook. Heck, if I’d have had another device I might have done the same. Instead it gave me yet one more reason why ebooks are great and on any e-reader with a backlight (or a battery operated front light) they are every bit as useful as a vintage print book.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

The Grass Really Is Greener Over Here

The only problem – most of the grass in Las Vegas is artificial. Today’s the first full day of my vacation here in Vegas and I’m doing a great job of enjoying myself. I have every intention of keeping that up and forgetting all about my day job while I’m here, but the writing sticks with me.

To that point, I’ve got a promo campaign going right now centered around my Vitalis series. It just started on the 22nd of September and it’s ramping up slowly. One cool thing the marketing gurus I’m working with came up with was a very snazzy press release for the book. In the interest of ‘there’s no such thing as too much exposure’, I’m pasting it into this blog to share just how cool it is. And please note that I had several inappropriate jokes about being exposed in Sin City that I removed before finally posting this.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Penny Sansevieri, CEO

penny@amarketingexpert.com

(858) 560-0121

 

     Popular Sci-Fi Series Now Available In One Collection

Christmas has come early for Sci-Fi fans with seven books packaged into a single edition.

 

(WARREN, OH) Due to popular demand, author Jason Halstead has released the Vitalis Omnibus edition to include the first seven Vitalis stories in one edition.

 

In Vitalis Omnibus, Part I of the Vitalis series, Mysterious blackouts left Kira with precious few memories of events in her life, never mind those worth sharing. Somewhere in those blank spots she acquired skills – skills she was hard pressed to explain. But those skills got her a job as the new navigator for the Rented Mule, a transport ship that plied the Rim Systems at the very edge of human civilization.

When their ship is set upon by pirates Kira’s skills allow her and the crew to escape, only to find themselves stranded in deep space with only one chance for survival, an undiscovered planet teeming with life that is light years beyond the borders of the Terran Coalition of Systems.

Forced to crash land, the crew of the Rented Mule learns immediately that the key to surviving on Vitalis is a closely guarded secret. Vitalis has a way of getting inside the mind, body, and soul of a person and once it’s got them, it doesn’t let them go.

 

“This book (series) keeps you riveted from the beginning to the end. What people really appreciate is a hero who takes what is given them and excels in spite of everything. Because of our present sedate society we need heroes today more than ever. This series takes you from your dull every day life and lets you experience something which keeps you blood flowing, at least for a little while. When finished I felt saddened that I needed to wait to experience more. This series takes you into a life that most of us would give anything to live.” – Amazon reviewer

 

And Halstead continues to deliver – when readers are done with Part I they can purchase newly released Part II, Vitalis: Resurrection via Amazon.

 

Learn more at www.booksbyjason.com.

 

Title: Vitalis Omnibus

Author: Jason Halstead

Published: 2012

ASIN: B0089MZ09M

Publisher: Novel Concept Publishing LLC

 

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

What Really Happened on Vitalis

For those not familiar, Vitalis is a world I created in a futuristic science fiction series. It starts out with a crew on a space transport that have a run in with some inter-stellar salvage experts (read: pirates, matey). Things don’t go so well for any of them and the long and short of it is a new world is discovered outside of the Terran Coalition of Systems (aka known space). Sounds pretty cool, right?

I thought so to, and I released them one part after another. The average length was 20,000 words to 30,000 words and I priced them dirt cheap at $.99. Seven parts in all and sales skyrocketed earlier this year. I had a couple of months with over 5,000 sales for the series and people emailed me and tweeted me and Facebooked me to tell me they love them. Life was good!

Then a handful of people took it upon themselves to get upset with the length of the books. They spent $.99 for something hey liked – something they admit sucked them in – and they were pissed off about it. So they wrote essentially the same review on each book and gave them all a rating of 1. This sunk the series practically overnight. The positive feedback to me was great, but since it wasn’t placed on Amazon on the books themselves, it didn’t do any good. Instead the haters down-rated the stories into the abyss. The lower the rating the less interest Amazon’s algorithms have in it – and the less it’s shown to potential buyers. Thus you see the power of reviews and the power of readers.

All those blog posts and other times when I’ve told people how important reviews are to authors like me? Yeah, I meant it. This entire series and a substantial portion of my financial ability to write new stuff has been sabotaged. It had nothing to do with greed on my part, it had to do with getting new stories in people’s hands as quickly as possible. The pricing of $.99 each was actually detrimental to me, rather than a pricing scheme. And the Vitalis Omnibus, which contains all 7 of the stories is longer than the vast majority of published novels out there and half the price – so no, I’m not trying to screw anybody over financially. As a matter of fact, I kind of feel like the exact opposite has happened because of this.

Whining aside, I’ve taken Vitalis parts 2 – 7 off sale. Yep, they aren’t out there anymore. I left New Beginnings up because it’s free and how can you bitch about free? My desire is for people to check it out and enjoy it as a sample of what’s in the Vitalis Omnibus, then they can go and buy that. Sometime next month I plan to release Vitalis: Resurrection, the novel in the Vitalis series. For the record I said novel, not novella, not novelette, and not short story.

My friends and loyal readers, I thank you all for the support an for continuing to read my books. I also beseech you to remember my story when you read a book (no matter who the author is) and please leave a review and a positive rating. Who knows, you might just be helping them make sure their kids can get into college.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

The Best of the Best

The Olympics started and it’s been a distraction. I think it’s distracting for more people than just me – I’ve noticed a minor slump in sales, especially in the UK where they’re being hosted. It’ll even out over time, I’m sure. I’m not writing this to whine about sales though, I’m pondering the Olympics and what they’ve come to mean (to me, at least).

Just this morning I had to log on to www.nbcolympics.com in order to watch one of my favorite sports: weight lifting. They don’t seem interested in televising it, which I find very disappointing. Instead we get to watch dozens of people ride bicycles around in circles in the rain. No thanks. I’ve never been much for bicycling, sorry to say. Anyhow, the weightlifting from this morning was the B group of women’s snatch and clean and jerk events, in the 53kg weight class (117 pounds). It’s safe to classify these girls as petite or scrawny, depending on their height. In spite of that, there were some damned impressive lifts that took place. My personal favorite, Julia Rohdes from Germany, had an 85kg snatch and a 108kg clean and jerk (193kg total, 4th place overall so far). For my fellow Americans that means she lifted 187lbs and 238 pounds from the ground to above her head. That’s a clean and jerk over twice her body weight! As another point of reference I’ve done a far less skillful clean and jerk of up to 235 pounds once in my life. I don’t train the movement but nonetheless this tiny woman was able to lift more weight than I could AND she only took 4th place. And she’s cute – yet more proof that lifting weights does not make women bulky, fat, ugly, or otherwise scary.

There was another woman from Venezuela with a really long name that irritated me. She made a lot of noise and did a lot of shouting while she psyched herself up to lift. Nothing wrong with that, it just bugged me. In spite of that, when she got under the weight I found myself pulling for her, just like I did every other lifter that was competing. I can’t help it, I’ve competed in far smaller venues (powerlifting, not Olympic lifting) I know how hard it is and I know what it feels like to achieve a hard lift when it really matters.

I’m anxious to watch more of the weightlifting to see what happens. The super heavy weights are able to lift some amazing weights but to be honest most of those guys and gals don’t impress me as much. Oh they still impress me, but I admire the people in the lighter classes below SHW more because they have to balance maintaining their weight while optimizing their strength.

Are there drugs for these people doing practically super-human things? Hell yes there are. Sure, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) tests for drug use but the athletes have ways of getting around that. Also these drugs won’t make the average person able to achieve the same things. It takes a person with the right mix of genetics and dedication to make these feats of strength, skill, strategy, and balance possible. They deserve a lot more than just a footnote in the history of the Olympics, in my opinion.

And what commentary on the Olympics would be complete without discussing Michael Phelps. Personally, I was pleased to see him take 4th place in his first event. I’ll admit, I’ve been suckered by the media into being irritated with his attitude and lack of training discipline. Seeing Lochte take the gold made it that much better for me. That brings into question how I view the Olympics from a patriotic point of view.

Of course I want the USA to win every event, plain and simple. Then when I watch them and see how individuals are performing. In individual events, I tend to favor the competitor who’s got the best attitude and puts the most heart into it. A team event, like volleyball or basketball, I stick more by my country, but for the individual sports I’m much more inclined to rooting for the people that I feel deserve it.

Speaking of volleyball, that first round team USA win in the women’s volleyball was nerve wracking! Korea’s Kim something-something is lethal! Great game though, and how awesome is it that the US has a player named Destiny Hooker? There, I’ve mixed enough immaturity in now, I’m off for some family time and hopefully later on today working on chapter 7 of Vitalis – Resurrection!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

A Different Kind of Resurrection

The worst part about the title of this blog post is that I’m not going to go into details. Those would be spoilers, you see, and I just can’t have that! I will share that Resurrection is the title of part 8 in my Vitalis series. I will also say that Vitalis – Resurrection is slated at being longer than the previous seven parts. I might even opt to go for a full novel length story, rather than a novella.

Another reason I won’t go into details is because I’m not quite sure how it’s all going to play out. I’m two chapters into it and they’re practically writing themselves, but that doesn’t mean I know what’s going to happen in chapter 3 yet. So far I’ve got a full loaded troop transport hurtling towards Vitalis at speeds greater than anything seen previously in the Terran Coalition of Systems. Unfortunately for the Marines thawing out from their hibernation sleep, there’s a really big rogue asteroid floating in their flight path…

And in chapter two Elsa, the second in command of Treetown, runs across a new kind of hybrid. A hybrid, for those unfamiliar with the Vitalian take on the term, is the result of the queen of a species of Vitalian creatures dubbed spitters that inserts her eggs into the abdomen of a human host. The chemicals released leave the hosts lethargic and extraordinarily stoned while the eggs acquire DNA from the hosts to allow them to fertilize and mature. Then they hatch and begin to eat the hosts from the inside out. It ain’t pretty. And what’s different about the new type of hybrid that they haven’t seen before? Well all of the former hybrids had male hosts, thus the hybrids were male. The new one Elsa encounters just so happens to have breasts – and we’re not talking man-boobs.

So what’s the big deal? As anyone who’s read the series knows, the hybrids are close enough to humans that they’re able to breed with them. If it sounds gross that’s because it is. Scary too. The offspring are more intelligent and in a poorly lit alley very hard to tell from a pure blooded human, whereas the hybrids can only pass as human from a distance. From the perspective of physical menace the hybrids are more dangerous – no one’s sure just how dangerous their offspring are (yet). Now imagine a female hybrid that’s able to mate with her own sub-species. A rapid gestation period and high probability of multiple births makes for a race of dangerous and amoral creatures. Hmm, maybe it’s a good thing there’s a company of Marines about to crash into the planet?

Of course Resurrection can’t be just about that – there are too many characters and too many subplots to wrap it up that neatly! What about the Terran Coalition Systems ships orbiting Vitalis that are building the jump station to allow FTL travel between systems? Or Fiona, the newly crowned Matriarch of a tribe of hybrids that has to find ways to thwart every attempt Klous makes to steal the hybrids allegiance? Tarn, Captain Sharp, Jeremy, and the rest of the residents of Treetown have their own stories and lives to unfold. Not to mention poor Eric. What will he do now that Kira’s been gone for over six months and everyone has written the former huntress off?

In the meantime how about some reviews – I love writing and want to keep doing it but without reviews my books don’t make their way up on the Amazon lists for people to see and buy. For my books Amazon requires 20 words, a title / subject, and a 5 star rating. Okay, 4 star will do too.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

I Love it When a Story Comes Together

I gave up smoking cigars years ago, but if it helps the title of this post, feel free to imagine me with one in hand. If you have no idea where that image comes from…um, never mind, I’m just showing my age.

The point of the post is that I’ve decided to honor the requests of so many negative reviewers regarding my Vitalis series. Every one of them states they really enjoyed the story but they grew frustrated with the length of the individual stories – or lack thereof. They felt they were only chapters in a larger story. Sorry folks, that just ain’t the way of it! A chapter is generally less than 5000 words, although I’ve seen them grow to a rare 10,000 on occasion (e.g. my Voidhawk novel has multiple 10k+ chapters, but it’s basically an omnibus of Voidhawk adventures). The Vitalis stories are all well over 10k words, and even over 20k in some instances.

Now that I’m done defending myself, let me move on to the point of this. The Vitalis Omnibus book has just been released on Amazon and Smashwords! Barnes and Noble soon to follow. I’ll have the links up on my website tomorrow sometime (if not sooner). Until then, look below for a direct link to it if you’re interested. The appeal to this book over the others is that it’s cheaper than buying all 7 of the existing books. Outside of that, it’s just a combination of the first seven stories. My recommendation, for those not familiar with Vitalis, is to drop $.99 on the first book (New Beginnings) to see if you like it. Then if you do, buy the omnibus and you’re still saving money or buying all 7 of the individual stories. Did I mention it’s available in print too? Yeah, pretty cool, isn’t it? See below for the print links.

Oh, and not to worry, I’ve many more planned – I just haven’t gotten to writing them yet.

Until then, here’s the cover and the links!

Amazon

Amazon UK

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble 

Vitalis Omnibus in print!

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Matriarch Has Me Up Early On A Weekend

Technically my daughter woke me up way too early this Saturday morning. But if she hadn’t I’d probably have woken up on my own soon anyhow – I’m excited about an early release of my latest Vitalis book: Matriarch. Unfortunately the caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet so I’m having a heck of a time coming up with anything witty to say to try and sway the massed to rush out and check it out. I will say that some extremely unexpected things happened in this one – unexpected even to me. The characters spoke to me and then Vitalis itself guided me a few times. Sometimes the world overrode the characters, much to their dismay.

As for a message hidden within the science fiction, I like to think Matriarch shows the characters struggling to improve themselves and searching for what matters most to them, all the while learning to accept what fate has in store for them and making the best out of it. In short, the same sort of thing we all have to deal with. The Vitalis characters just get to do it on a very cool, if a bit hostile, planet.

Here’s the blurb for it! Now it’s time for me to get working on the next chapter of Betrayal’s Hands to post for the weekend. Enjoy!

Vitalis possesses deadly beauty and unlimited possibilities. In order to survive both the human survivors must learn to put their differences aside.

In their darkest hour since they crash landed on the planet the unlikely colonists are faced with a choice: will salvation come from the Terran Coalition ships in orbit or by embracing the natural evolution of Vitalis?

Matriarch on Amazon

Matriarch on Amazon UK

Matriarch on Smashwords

Matriarch on Barnes and Noble

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

Science Fiction turned Real

There’s nothing more rewarding for me than when a story I’m writing does something completely unexpected. Oh sure, I’m the one writing it so I’m still coming up with the ideas and doing the writing, but some of the things that happen come out of left field. I’ve had this happen with several stories I’ve written, but most recently and most severely it’s happened with my Vitalis series.

I won’t share any spoilers, but I will say that I’ve started each story with an idea of what I want to happen. The way I write I don’t usually go into it with too much more than that. As I’m writing I’ll plot out some general thoughts of things I’d like to occur, but I don’t force them to happen. I follow the story as it unfolds, allowing the characters to speak to me and tell me where they’d like to go. With Vitalis it’s even worse – not only do the characters have ambitions and goals, but the world has a life of its own as well! And quite often the plans of Vitalis and the people trapped on it are at odds with one another.

The title of this article references that. It’s not about traveling light years through space to find a planet all set up for human life. Sure, that’ll probably come in time but that’s been predicted for hundreds if not thousands of years. Instead readers of my Vitalis books you’ll note how the world seems to have more and more of its own spirit or life to it. Given what’s been happening to me as I write them, it’s hard to argue the “reality” factor. If the placebo effect of many home remedies and supplements can offer real statistical benefits, then how can I argue there’s not a touch of reality in fiction as well?

So anyhow, Vitalis – Evolution has been out since the first of this month. I’m still planning on the next book being released on June 1st, Matriarch. The rough draft is finished, editing and cover art have commenced. Like Evolution, Matriarch surprised me several times along the way. Even some of my more devious scenes I had planned were manipulated by the voices. The end result, I have to say, left me stunned and impressed.

Unfortunately, Matriarch comes at a time allowing me a break from Vitalis. Not a long one, but I have other books that need to be written. Other characters that are demanding a chance to wrest control of my fingers away from me. I’m plugging away on the next Voidhawk book right now and it’s been a lot of fun so far. I love leaving a series then coming back to it after a while – it reminds me of how much I missed the friends I left behind. I suppose it’s not so different from reading the next book in a series in that respect – another chance to spend time with people who have become important to me. Sure, they’re fictional, but I try not to get hung up on details…

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

The Evolution of Lucky Number 20

Mord of that damned word play, I’m afraid. “Evolution” is the title of the book I released today. Vitalis part 6, Evolution, is available at Amazon, Smashwords, and in a matter of days Barnes and Noble, Sony, and other retailers. I mentioned the number 20 because Vitalis: Evolution is my 20th published book. Why is it lucky? That’s an easy one – I’m doing something I love and the interest and feedback I’m getting my readers tells me they love it too. How much luckier can I get than that?

Speaking of Vitalis and good things, each book in the series is ranked on multiple bestselling lists on Amazon (with the exception of Evolution, but that was just released so it’s not there yet). The overall ranking for each one is near the top of the overall charts as well. That, to me, is incredible. I can’t begin to thank all the readers out there who have helped propel this series and my other books along the way. I try though. Just ask any of the readers who’ve sent me feedback, even when they’ve got an issue with something.

Just the other day I had a reader send me an email thanking me for coming up with Vitalis and sharing both his thoughts and a few questions. He’d been hesitant to write, fearing it wouldn’t be received or bothered with. I was his first attempt at ever contacting a writer. I replied as soon as I could (the next morning), letting him know that he was important to me and that I appreciated his feedback very much. I answered his questions and shared some fun trivia about Vitalis that isn’t found in the books. He was ecstatic at my quick response. To my fellow writers out there I encourage you to treat your readers with as much respect as I do. After all, without them all the talent in the world doesn’t do us a bit of good.

But enough about me! Back to Vitalis. I should warn the fans of the series there’s a lot going on in book six.  It’s longer than most of the others and there’s a good reason for it, it’s got some amazing things taking place in it.  Amazing and, by the time you finish it you’re going to ask yourself, “Holy ^$#@! Did he really just go there?” Yes I did, and there’s plenty more of that to come in book seven (which I expect to release on June 1st). Until then, here’s the blurb, cover, and links for Vitalis: Evolution!

When a highly adaptive native species merges human DNA with its own, the results are enough to threaten the existence of everything in its path. The small colony of human survivors has to decide how they’ll deal with the newest menace Vitalis has pitted against them.

 Fear turns to terror when the residents of Treetown learn that the new breed isn’t trying to destroy them, it’s stealing them away in the dark of the night and exposing them to horrors so terrifying madness is the only escape.

Vitalis – Evolution on Amazon

Vitalis – Evolution on Amazon UK

Vitalis on Smashwords

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.

More Cover Art Research

As promised, my saga of cover art research continues. In this part I unveil the new cover for New Beginnings, Vitalis book 1. It’s a hell of a lot prettier than the original – but don’t believe me just because you should, believe me because I show you and prove it!

The old cover:

Original Cover for New Beginnings

New Cover:

New cover for New Beginnings

The moral of the story? Well there isn’t one yet, but I’m willing to wager there’s not a soul reading this who won’t agree that I stand a far better chance of attracting interest and generating a sale. Plus it just makes you wonder what happened? Did she survive that crash? Did she cause that crash? Is that skinny girl really tough enough to do either? There may be a few other questions the picture prompts but I won’t cover them here. So my fellow writers, perfect your craft and edit your work until you’re sick of it, then spend just as much time on making sure you’re cover art is top shelf quality.

And now since I’ve proven myself right in this regard, clearly you should do everything I tell you – for example, Jason says go and buy his books then tell your friends, family, and the guy on the street to do the same.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com