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All Things in Time – New Release

My latest release is now available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple, and elsewhere.

I’m somewhat ashamed of my lack of productivity. Last year (2021) was mainly devoted to worrying about external issues: politics, the Covid-19 virus, society in general, and so on. The best I can say for the whole year was that I learned if you watch too much news, you’re likely to be too depressed to write. When NANO month rolled around, I decided to participate but not to actually sign up. As a result, I wrote All Things in Time in 30 days.

Lest that sound like a lot to you, it only involved writing about 3,000 words per day. That’s approximately the average length of one of my chapters, so it’s not a terribly difficult task.

Well, not difficult if the book is flowing well. I know when I’ve got a good thing going. It’s when the characters tell me what they’re going to do. That means I’ve developed their characters successfully. It’s fun when they do things I hadn’t planned initially. (and, no, I’m not crazy…I think:-)

So, back to the point. All Things in Time was based on the relationship between Kathleen and Cadeyrin’s son Cole and Lola, the Deinonychus chick. If you haven’t read All the Moments in Forever, the idea of intelligent deinonychus (raptor dinosaurs for those of you who also didn’t watch Jurassic Park — and yes, I know those cinema monsters were roughly based on Utah Raptors, but they were somewhat closer to deinonychus size — might sound strange. But, my rationale is if some Amazon Gray parrots have a vocabulary of over 1000 words that they can use appropriately, and some do, then perhaps a prehistoric raptor might have had enough cognitive ability to learn to speak.

The problem with such a rationale is when you once adopt it; it becomes a license to carry it to extremes. Lolita (Lola’s mother) was the first to learn to speak, and she has a distinct personality with a wicked sense of humor. While she uses shortened and often non-grammatical English, her daughter Lola makes her best effort to use correct English. Her reasons are complex. 1. She grew up with Cole as her close companion, and 2. English is her native tongue.

Still, she is a deinonychus, a killer raptor weighing about 110 lbs with the ability to kill prey many times her body weight. Her problem is that she is so close emotionally to Cole that she cannot envision having a mate of her type. On the other side of the equation, Cole admits that he is close to Lola, even that he loves her, but his feelings are tempered by his knowledge that he needs a human female to raise a family. Lola knows that also, and it causes her a tremendous amount of grief.

She repeatedly tries to find a way to cope with the problem, but nothing works. Meanwhile, Cole, off at college in the future, meets a beautiful but narcissistic and sadistically twisted girl. Devonette has a long string of male conquests that she has destroyed on social media, and she sets her sights on Cole. She finds his somewhat exceptional strength and high maturity level irresistible and eventually falls for him…as much as she can.

The story is complicated by the intrusion of the time-traveling Sasquatch elder (first seen in Time Enough to Live). He takes pity on Lola and imparts the Sasquatch method of time-travel through the astral realm. As her first act, she tracks Cole in the future and realizes she has competition for his affection. She is nearly caught in a vast on-going time storm, but the Sasquatch saves her, cautioning her to avoid that area in her travels.

The complication is that Devonette’s father, a multi-billionaire of dubious origin, wants Cole’s mother, Kathleen’s time equation. At his insistence, Devonette sets Cole up for capture with the idea that his mother will give up the equation and other assets for his freedom. This act of betrayal leads to a complex web of actions in which all the characters are entangled. But I’m not going to spoil the story for you.

The underlying message is that external form need not define and constrict true love. Does this sound like it might be a little risky? Well, maybe, but since gender dysphoria is a “thing” in our society, why not species dysphoria?

Given that idea, my challenge was how to write an adult-level novel and circle around Lola’s problem until a successful resolution develops. The restriction was how to keep that resolution within the realm of acceptable actions. My solution became apparent to me as the story developed. It only required a certain amount of death and heartbreak for my characters. In retrospect, I believe if they were asked, the answer would be: “It was worth it.”

The book is available on all ebook outlets and in paperback (if you ask at your local bookstore–it should eventually be available on Zon).

Here’s the blurb for the story:

TRUE LOVE IS PRECIOUS…

But, what if the two lovers cannot possibly make their relationship work?

The two grew up together. Each often knows what the other is thinking. They get along perfectly. Unfortunately, they belong to different sentient species. There is no chance for them as a couple.

Each needs a mate of their own species, but finding a suitable life partner can be problematic. There will almost always be missteps, sometimes even fatal mistakes.

There is no such thing as an impossibility in the infinity of years available throughout eternity. The laws of probability imply that given enough time, any event, no matter how improbable, has a chance of happening.

The ability to jump through time and space can make things easier or more difficult. It also attracts those who will kill to get the secret for themselves.

When all of infinity is available to search for a mate, will it be necessary to go beyond death to find success?

This is the fifth story in the Time-Equation Series.

Namaste,

Eric Martell

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New Release: All Things in Time

The fifth novel in the Time Equation Series!

TRUE LOVE IS PRECIOUS
But, what if the two lovers cannot possibly make their relationship work?
The two grew up together. Each often knows what the other is thinking. They get along perfectly. Unfortunately, they belong to different sentient species. There is no chance for them as a couple.
Each needs a mate of their own species, but finding a suitable life partner can be problematic. There will almost always be missteps, sometimes even fatal mistakes.
There is no such thing as an impossibility in the infinity of years available throughout eternity. The laws of probability imply that given enough time, any event, no matter how improbable, has a chance of happening.
The ability to jump through time and space can make things easier or more difficult. It also attracts those who will kill to get the secret for themselves.
When all of infinity is available to search for a mate, will it be necessary to go beyond death to find success?

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Dustfall wins FAPA President’s Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Pat Stanford, Immediate Past President

Florida Authors and Publishers Association

President’s Book Awards Program

850-519-3745

pat.stanford@myfapa.org

www.myFAPA.org

Florida Author Receives National Recognition

Lake Buena Vista, FL (7/31/2021) – The Annual 2021 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s BookAwards recognized Dustfall by E. S. Martell, in the category of Adult Science Fiction, as a medal winner.

Hosted by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, this prestigious national award is open to books published between 2019 and 2021. The judges for this national competition are librarians, educators, and publishing professionals.

“The FAPA President’s Book Award exists to promote excellence in the publishing industry by recognizing talented contemporary authors who put both heart and soul into their work. FAPA is proud to be a champion of authors and publishers going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect,” said Pat Stanford, Past President of FAPA.

Dustfall is an Adult Science Fiction novel, published by Second Initiative Press, which has an apocalyptic setting. Here is a brief description:

Interstellar dust is falling all over Earth, and humans are mutating into monsters. Raf can barely get enough food, and finding romance is the last thing in his mind. Then she shows up, and life suddenly isn’t worth living without her.

Now he wants her, she wants him, and the mutants want both of them – to eat!

The alien dust has begun to free the monsters hidden in Earth’s life forms, but will the two survive when the deadliest creature appears?

“We are proud to announce this year’s winners who truly embody the excellence this award was created to celebrate. Their works are representative of creative storytelling, bold concepts, and innovative ideas which make the President’s Book Awards so well respected by librarians and those in the publishing industry. We salute all of our winners for their fine work.” said FAPA’s President, Renee Garrison.

The Florida Authors and Publishers Association is an organization for authors, publishers, illustrators, editors, printers, and other professionals involved in the publishing industry. It focuses on providing the highest quality of information, resources, and professional development to members and others interested in the writing and publishing profession.

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Dustfall selected as Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Awards 2021 Finalist

2021 FAPA Finalist!

What an excellent way to start an otherwise hot and possibly dull Saturday! I just received notice that Dustfall was selected as a finalist for this year in Adult Science Fiction. It remains to be seen which place it will take. But reaching the finals is an accomplishment by itself, given the quality of the competition.


My other two FAPA award winners are Cyberwitch in 2018 and Pirates of the Asteroids in 2020. Both stories are ones that I’m pleased with, and both incorporate unique ideas into their plot. Cyberwitch takes a severely damaged woman through an astounding transformation via AI-enhanced nanobots, and introduces genetic chimeras and AI-bio-mech creatures, leading to a world where technology is indistinguishable from pure magic. Pirates is the story of a somewhat exceptional physics student who arrives in the asteroid belt just in time for a new war for independence. He finds himself suddenly thrust into a leading role with all the benefits and problems anyone could want or hope to avoid.


Dustfall takes a single premise: The Earth has passed into an interstellar dust cloud that drops mRNA-like particles on the surface. Much of Earth’s life has died or mutated into deadly monsters as a result. What can a young man, focused solely on survival and avoiding being eaten, do, but fall in love with the first ‘normal’ girl he has met in years? He wants her enough to risk the unknown. She isn’t immediately sure but makes up her mind when they meet for a second time. Then the mutants show up, and they want both of them. Now, it’s run, fight, or die!


If you read one of my books, please take a moment to provide a review. Marketing is always tricky, and reviews help a lot. Amazon makes it easy, but you could drop me an email at this site if you read it elsewhere.


Thanks greatly!
Namaste,

Eric

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Dustfall

CAN THEY SURVIVE IN A WORLD RUINED BY INTERSTELLAR DUST?


The Earth has moved into the path of an interstellar dust cloud. Particles containing biologically active molecules similar to mRNA have covered the world.
Many humans have died from the dust’s effects. Others have mutated into animal-like creatures that hunger for flesh. A very few seem to be immune to the genetic changes.
Society had changed before the dust cloud’s arrival, creating a new elite class. After the dust began to fall, superficial differences between unchanged humans have little meaning.
What happens when a lower-caste boy meets a high-caste girl in the middle of a dustfall, and there is an immediate attraction between them?
Will they survive? Even prosper? Or, will they find that they too have been changed by the dust?
The alien mRNA frees the hidden monsters in Earth’s life. Many are dangerous, but the deadliest creature remains to be determined.

Newly Released! Now available on Kindle.

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New Cover Reveal

I’ve just sent a manuscript to my editor and it should be ready for release next month.

Here’s the cover reveal and story description. I warn you that it’s not for the faint of heart. The story has monsters, sex, violence, monster kiling, more sex, more monster killing, and a final twist that will leave the reader wondering what might happen next.

CAN THEY SURVIVE IN A WORLD RUINED BY INTERSTELLAR DUST?

The Earth has moved into the path of an interstellar dust cloud. Particles containing biologically active molecules similar to mRNA have covered the world. Many humans have died from the dust’s effects. Others have mutated into animal-like creatures that hunger for flesh. A very few seem to be immune to the genetic changes.

Society had changed before the dust cloud’s arrival, creating a new elite class. After the dust began to fall, superficial differences between unchanged humans have little meaning. What happens when a lower-caste boy meets a high-caste girl in the middle of a dustfall, and there is an immediate attraction between them? Will they survive? Even prosper? Or, will they find that they too have been changed by the dust?

The alien mRNA frees the hidden monsters in Earth’s life. The deadliest creature remains to be determined.

Watch for the release — coming soon!

Namaste!

Eric

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New Time Equation Novel Just Released

I’ve been pretty busy with the writing thingy lately, but now I’m well into my next apocalyptic story Dustfall. It can be described as Boy meets Girl after most humans are mutated by an interstellar dust cloud that contains mRNA. It’s still evolving, so that’s all I’ll say.

After a slow period (writing doesn’t always flow easily), I finished the 4th Time Equation Novel continuing the story of Kathleen and Cadeyrin. Here’s the list of that series’ stories in sequence with their Amazon ASINs. You can find them all on Kindle with the ASINs, so I’m not providing links here.

B01BW17FM6 Heart of Fire Time of Ice (A Time Equation Novel Book 1)

B01IDRYB9W Paradox: On the Sharp Edge of the Blade – A Time Equation Novel Book 2)

B0718YMV3Z All the Moments in Forever (A Time Equation Novel Book 3)

B08FRT9BCT Time Enough to Live (A Time Equation Novel Book 4)

Time Enough to Live brings back the entire list of characters who now face a new problem. Here’s the description:

NO ONE WANTS TO DIE WITH ALL OF TIME AT THEIR CALL
Kathleen’s quantum physics research allowed her to develop a mathematical formula that gave her control of time-travel. Her Paleolithic hunter husband was given a primitive herbal formula by an old Sasquatch. After eating some of the red paste, he discovers a sudden feeling of wellbeing, more energy, and his numerous scars have been replaced with new, smooth skin.
Kathleen’s friends realize that the paste contains the secret of a greatly extended healthy lifespan, if not actual immortality. She takes Professor James Wolf back to the future for a physical and finds that the 90-year-old man now has the physique of a 50-year-old.
That information quickly leaks out setting up one of Kathleen’s greatest challenges to-date as a shadowy group along with elements of her own government do everything they can to possess the secret of long life.
They will stop at nothing in their quest, but Kathleen and Cadeyrin are creative in countering most of the threats. The question is, will they be able to withstand the full might of the forces trying to steal their secret.
Only time will tell.

If you like time-travel mixed with romance, adventure, and odd characters – Try Lolita the talking deinonychus or an ancient Sasquatch with the secret of eternal life and the ability to travel in space-time . Plus, Kathleen Whitby, who has become a tour-de-force in her world along with her prehistoric husband, Cadeyrin – you might enjoy this series. A lot of readers have.

A brief warning – for those who are sensitive to violence, inter-tribal war, hunting, etc. These books are written to be as realistic as possible on the character side. The science, of course, is speculative, however I contacted world-renowned physics researcher Fred Alan Wolf for his input on the time-travel aspect. The anthropology aspect is based on the Solutrean hypothesis. It’s been discounted by some academics for various reasons that I’m not sure are compelling, but there are a number of points on which I think it makes perfect sense. On the romance aspect, it’s a slow burn in the first novel. Kathleen’s personality is insecure and she absolutely must feel that she has value to bring to the relationship before she commits.

Note – If you want to find out more about the Pleistocene, the ice-age world of the first story: Heart of Fire Time of Ice, you can find a series of posts on my author blog site describing my background research, animals, climate, language, and rational for the story. I initially included that information in the book, but a number of readers complained, so I moved it.

Namaste,

Eric

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Pirates of the Asteroids awarded Silver President’s Medal from FAPA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Pat Stanford, Committee Chairperson

Florida Authors and Publishers Association

President’s Book Awards Program

850-519-3745

pat.stanford@myfapa.org

www.myFAPA.org

Local Author Receives National Recognition

Lake Buena Vista, FL (8/1/2020) – The Annual 2020 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s BookAwards recognized Pirates of the Asteroids by Eric Martell, in the category of Adult Science Fiction, as a Silver medal winner. Eric Martell’s Cyber-Witch: The Origins of Magic was awarded the same prize in 2018.

Hosted by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, this prestigious national award is open to books published between 2018 and 2020. The judges for this national competition are librarians, educators, and publishing professionals.

“The FAPA President’s Book Award exists to promote excellence in the publishing industry by recognizing talented contemporary authors who put both heart and soul into their work. FAPA is proud to be a champion of authors and publishers going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect,” said Patti Jefferson, Past President of FAPA.

Pirates of the Asteroids is a science fiction story, published by Second Initiative Press, which tells the story of the inception of the asteroid belt community’s move for independence from a corrupt Earth government and sets up their struggle for freedom, detailedi in the follow up story: The Belter Revolution.

Due to CoVID-19, medalists were informed via email and a recorded presentation of the “ceremony”.

“We are proud to announce this year’s winners who truly embody the excellence this award was created to celebrate. Their works are representative of creative storytelling, bold concepts, and innovative ideas which make the President’s Book Awards so well respected by librarians and those in the publishing industry. We salute all of our winners for their fine work.” said FAPA’s President, Pat Standford.

The Florida Authors & Publishers Association is an organization for authors, publishers, illustrators, editors, printers, and other professionals involved in the publishing industry. It focuses on providing the highest quality of information, resources, and professional development to members and others interested in the writing and publishing profession.

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Authors Are Either Good At Self-Motivation (or Crazy)

When you finally finish writing a book, you go through an entire gamut of emotions: Pride, Relief, Fear, Joy, but most of all, the feeling that you accomplished something quite difficult.
The main problem first-time authors encounter is that Pride of Accomplishment quickly morphs into Pride in the Product. What’s that mean? You begin to believe that the book you have written is the best, most well-written, most fascinating story that ever impacted a lucky reader’s imagination.
That feeling is probably the Crazy part. It’s crazy because you can reach a point where you cannot tolerate criticism. That can even extend to close friends and family. That’s the reason why authors are often dreaded guests at parties. They can turn into complete bores, expounding for hours on the beauty of their creation. Yuck!
Sound familiar? If you are an author, I can pretty much guarantee you suffered from this–at least a little. If not, you’re exceptional.
In an ideal world, readers’ responses will confirm the author’s feeling of pride. You know–5-star reviews, lots of sales, speaking tours that sell out, movie offers, lots of money…..Yeah, right:-(
In the real world, sales come slowly. Marketing is difficult, even if you have a great book, there are millions of others all competing for your prospective reader. How do you stand out? You wrote a book, which was hard, but now you have to be a marketer, too? WTH? If you’re like me, you just want to write another book.
I’ve written enough novels to have lost the exhilarating feeling when I type, “The End.” I like good reviews, but when sales come slowly, staying enthusiastic is a challenge.
Sometimes, however, you get another form of confirmation that you are doing a good job. I just got word from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association that my space opera novel, “Pirates of the Asteroids,” is a finalist for the 2020 President’s Award in the adult sci-fi category. Pirates is the first novel in The Belter Series — covering the early settlement of the asteroid belt and the beginning of the Belter society. The Belter Revolution is the follow-up novel that takes the characters farther along their course.
Will there be a third novel? Depends on sales. I like the characters, but I can’t justify writing stories that no one else enjoys. However, I think that anyone who enjoys military-related, dystopian-setting stories set in space, with a little romance, revenge, and great space battles, will enjoy these two.
BTW: They’re for sale on Kindle at $0.99 for the duration of the COVID mess. I lowered the prices of all my books to help self-isolating readers, and that includes my best selling “Heart of Fire Time of Ice” Time Equation Novel.
If you read one of my stories and like it, give me a review — preferably a good one, but be honest and review it as you think it deserves. Remember, you’re fighting author craziness.


Namaste,
Eric

Pirates of the Asteroids: The Belter Series Book 1

The Belter Revolution: The Belter Series Book 2

Heart of Fire Time of Ice: A Time Equation Novel Book 1 (1st of a series with the 4th book to be released in July)

Cyber-Witch: Cyber-Magic Series Book 1 – Previous FAPA President’s Award Winner (2017)

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Don’t tell anyone you’re an author. It’s a good way to lose friends…

My 1936 Royal Portable

Somebody asked me what it’s like to be a writer. I thought about it for a bit, then said, “It’s difficult to put it into words.”

Sometimes I get confused about why I keep writing. Between the agonizing labor required to bring forth a fully finished plot and going through all of the multiple steps to format it into a professional-quality book, there’s a lot of unrewarding work. Granted, I do still get a thrill out of typing “The End” when I’m finished with the manuscript, but that’s fleeting and no longer brings tears to my eyes the way it did for the first few books.

The only difference between writing heaven and writing hell is that your books are popular in the former. The pain and labor involved are the same in both locations. I sometimes think that editors, while they are essential, are a form of lesser demon. If an editor was shown a lamp, they’d want to change the lightbulb, even if it was working. They’d replace it, then break the replacement, install an LED bulb, then finally remove that and question why the lamp was necessary in the first place. Seriously, though, I love my editor. She’s excellent and helps make my books far more readable.

The process is more expensive than you might think. Cover art, interior formatting, copyright, ISBN, and editing eats up a considerable amount of money. Unfortunately, sales are more and more challenging to come by, mostly because there is so very much competition. How does a reader find my book or any book he or she wants to read? Some are poorly done with lots of errors, others are poorly written, although a certain percent are quite well done. I aspire to create books in that last category.

It’s said that everyone has a book in them. I wonder if that is meant literally, and if so, where the book is stored. Most of the body doesn’t seem to have any spare space. Getting the book out is a different matter. I was educated to write scientific research and I thought I knew how to write. It’s not all that easy, though. It takes lots of practice. The best way to get better is to keep writing. I keep telling myself that my next book will be perfect. There’s a story in the publishing world about a company that decided to publish a perfect book. It was edited hundreds of times until everyone agreed that it could be no better. Once it was printed and hit the bookstores, someone noticed that the title had a misspelled word. As I said, it’s not that easy.

But, how does a reader find a book out of the millions on Kindle, for example? The key is marketing, and that is the responsibility of the author.

Once the book is finished and uploaded to Kindle for ebook distribution and Ingram for print copies, I belatedly start thinking I should do some of this marketing stuff. I’d much rather be writing another book, of course, but I still make an effort to get the news out.

It got so bad that when I saw an old friend at a party for the first time in several years, I told him I was writing books. When he asked if I’d sold anything, I responded that I’d sold my house, my car, and all of my possessions. I don’t think he got it. He wandered off, and I later saw him pointing at me while talking to the host. I don’t know what was said, but I haven’t been asked back.

I guess whether you’re happy or not in your writing career depends on how you define success. What do I mean by that? I have it on good authority that one of the most successful authors–one who writes things that invariably make people react emotionally, cry, curse, howl, and scream in anger–is the guy who writes error messages for Microsoft.

I like it when readers comment that they loved my characters and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen in one of my books. That’s a thrill, but it doesn’t pay the bills. The fact that some readers do leave reviews helps, though. A series of excellent reviews give a book some credibility so that a potential reader who is searching for a new read might be tempted to pick the one with better reviews.

Then there are the service providers. Those are companies that exist solely to “help” authors sell books. It’s easy to spend far more than the book will ever bring in, so one has to be careful here. Fortunately, I’ve already had a good education along those lines, having taken lots of courses on real estate during my life. Ultimately, you just have to get out there and do things yourself. That’s the most important lesson.

My books do sell, and many readers have left reviews, a few have hated the stories, but most like them, so I feel happy about that. I’m also pleased with my initial decision to publish as an independent. Indie publishing has become mainstream now. There are still traditional publishers, but unless you’re already a success, your chances there are minimal. If Moses were alive now, he’d show up with the Ten Commandments, but he’d spend the next five years trying to get them published. Unless, that is, he did it himself. Then he’d have to go through the entire marketing thing to get people to read them.

At the moment, I’m two chapters from writing “The End” in my latest story, and this little screed has taken some of the time that I should have been using to tie up my work-in-progress. I guess I’ll call this a marketing effort so I can justify my effort.

Namaste,
Eric

BTW. I’ve never written a word on the Royal. I keep it to remind myself how hard it used to be in the pre-digital age. Can you imagine? Spell check used to mean paging through a heavy dictionary:-)