Can’t wait until October 31 to read my book? Well, now you can get a sneak peek! I have just posted the book’s prologue on Pandora’s Box page. Check it out!
All posts by Nathan Marchand
‘PANDORA’S BOX’ COVER ART REVEALED!
After months of waiting, the moment has finally arrived–the unveiling of my first novel’s cover art! I spent much of last week corresponding with Mr. Hades, the editor at Absolute XPress, on the artwork. He passed all my comments onto the new cover artist, Tomislav Tikulin, and by the end of the week, we had THIS:
It was amazing and a bit surreal to see this gorgeous artwork with my name on it. I’m sure holding a copy of the book will be like an out-of-body experience, in that case.
I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Tikulin. This cover is amazing!
Be sure to check out the book’s page on this site for more info about it.
What do you all think of the cover, readers?
‘Pandora’s Box’ Cover Art by the End of the Week
Absolute XPress, which is publishing my novel, Pandora’s Box, sent me the rough sketch for the cover art Sunday. I looked it over and e-mailed them my comments. They responded a few hours later by telling me the comments would be passed on to the artist (who, sadly, isn’t Malcolm “I-have-the-coolest-name-ever” McClintock now), and the final version would be done by the end of the week.
I wish I could show you all the rough sketch, but I’m not allowed to. Sorry. You’ll have to wait for the final version.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am!
New Short Story – ‘The Hammer’
I’ve posted another short story for your enjoyment. It is called “The Hammer.” I wrote it in my college fiction writing class during my junior year. It was intended to be submitted to the monthly “Story Starter” contest in Writers’ Digest. The “starter” for that month was “The game was over…” The story also had to be under 1,500 words.
FYI: The title comes from the main character’s surname, which is Hebrew for “the hammer.” It was inspired by Jewish historical figure, Judah Maccaebus.
Like “Baptized in Fire,” this was an experiment using elements of a science fiction universe that was germinating in my mind at the time. This one, however, had more elements of that universe. The main character, a young officer in this, would be the captain of a military starship in the universe I was conceiving; the alien robots would still be the primary antagonists; and the war would still be going on. Essentially, this is flashback to one of the things that made this character who he is later.
Despite all that, I am not happy with the story. I feel it should be longer, perhaps written better (I was still a developing artist back then).
Enough talk! Go read the story!
‘Pandora’s Box’ PDF Edited and Submitted
I finished editing the PDF file of Pandora’s Box and sent it in to Absolute XPress to make the changes. The cover art is still forthcoming. However, I did find out the name of the cover artist who is making it: Malcolm McClintock. How cool does that name sound? It sounds like the name of a hero in a book (I may have to use it somewhere). For some reason, I picture someone with that name hanging out with Indiana Jones.
Keep coming back for more updates!
Update on “Pandora’s Box”
Over the weekend, I received a PDF of my novel, Pandora’s Box, as it will appear once it is printed. I will be reading it to make sure the layout is good and every possible error has been caught. Once this is done, it goes to the printing press.
I hope to post the book’s prologue soon. I just need to see if the plug-in I downloaded will allow me to embed PDF files without the risk of someone downloading it. I’ll also be posting the cover art once I see it and get a JPEG of it.
New Short Story Posted
It’s a bit late (I had a busy weekend), but I’ve posted a new short story, as promised. It’s entitled “All Our Passions.” It’s a satirical flash fiction I wrote a few weeks ago for a short story contest my writer friend Nick Hayden had on his website’s Facebook page. The condition for the contest was to write a 600-word story where all the descriptions of the characters appearances and feelings were told entirely in the dialogue. I hope you enjoy it.
All Our Passions
All Our Passions
By Nathan Marchand
“I’m still here, my darling. I just dozed off a little.”
“Then maybe you should take a break. You’ve been there for hours.”
“Oh, hello nurse. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I moonlight as a ninja.”
“Heh-heh. No, I can’t leave my Joseph. I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up from this coma.”
“How romantic! I hope he appreciates having such a vigilant wife.”
“Trust me, he does.”
“Just don’t squeeze his hand too hard. I’d hate to put it in a caste after he wakes up.”
“I think he’ll be fine. He has strong hands.”
“I’ll go get you some coffee.”
“Thank you.”
…
“It’s me, your blonde goddess Mercedes, my love. I’m the only one here now. I know that Corvette was your favorite car, but it was totaled in your accident. The police are still trying to figure out what caused it. I know you’d never do anything to wreck it. You loved it almost as much as you loved me. I promise Daddy will buy you a new one when—”
“Get away from him!”
“Jeffrey! What’s wrong with you?”
“Get away from my twin brother, dirty whore!”
“How dare you barge in and talk to me like that! I’m his wife!”
“Stop lying! I know about your plot.”
“What plot?”
“Don’t play innocent with me! The man lying on that bed isn’t Joseph—I’m Joseph!”
“You’re insane!”
“Am I?”
“Yes. You were always jealous I married your brother and not you.”
“You drugged me at our wedding reception, and then had my twin brother take my place.”
“I’d never do such a thing!”
“You treacherous slut! I know Jeffrey stole you from me and the two of you conspired to have him take my place and have me put away in some loony bin.”
“I love him, Jeffrey. I’d—”
“STOP CALLING ME THAT! I’M JOSEPH! I’M THE MAN YOU MARRIED!”
“No, you’re not! The man I married is lying there after nearly dying in a car accident.”
“Haha. Who do you think caused it?”
“What?”
“I cut the car’s break line so it’d look like an accident. If I couldn’t have you, neither would he!”
“You bastard! I’m calling the nurse.”
“No, you won’t!”
“Let go of me!”
“Shut up, bitch!”
“Ahh! Ow!”
“Did you like having sense smacked into you?”
“Someone will hear this and call security!”
“Not with this chair barricading the door. Even then, it’s your word against mine.”
“Idiot! Joseph, Jeffrey, whoever is in that bed may be in a coma, but he’s heard everything. He’ll know what you did and tell everyone!”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Don’t you touch him!”
“Out of my way!”
“Ahhh!”
“Once I pull this plug, I’ll finish what I started.”
“No! Please—”
BEEEEEEP!
***
Jeffrey shot from his bed, gasping.
“Are you okay, Jeffrey?” asked his wife, who was sitting in bed next to him. “You’re as pale as a ghost and sweating like a pig.”
“Mercedes…I…”
“Was it Jeffrey or Joseph who pulled the plug?” interrupted a TV announcer. “Did Mercedes really plot to run away with her husband’s brother? Find out tomorrow on All Our Passions.”
“It’s weird watching this show because two characters have the same names as us.”
“What are you watching?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I turned on the cable TV. It was tuned to the Soap Opera Network. I’m sorry if it woke you. I thought I’d turned it down enough. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Trust me.”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“No, but I wish I had.”
I’m Not Quite Dead Yet
Long time, no update, huh? Not much has been going on. The publisher is still working on the layout and cover for Pandora’s Box. I do realize that I should probably post some stories or poems, which I will do at the end of the week. That should give you all something to look forward to.
In the meantime, subscribe to my site’s RSS feed and tell your friends about this site!
Tagline Contest Winner
It wasn’t easy picking a winner for the Tagline Contest. I received many creative, funny, and downright cool entries. I had to pick the one that best described me and my website. But after careful consideration, I have made up my mind.
And the winner is…
::drum roll::
Natasha Hayden with, “A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe.”
Her tagline will be added to my site, and she will receive a free autographed copy of my first novel, “Pandora’s Box,” when it is published.
But since many of the entries were so good, I have decided to list the “Honorable Mentions,” all of which I will use on the pages of my website, so be sure to go back and explore the site to find them.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Nick Hayden: “Down the wormhole…”
Keith Osmun: “Author, world-builder, and available bachelor.”
Amanda Luedeke: “Let there be legends.” (This sounds so awesome, I may use it as a title for a story).
Jeremy Sheer: “Where every entrance is a new destination.”
Sean Smuts: “Here there be stories.”
Now I will give out some Stan Lee-style “No-Prize” awards for the remaining entries.
MOST LIKELY TO APPEAR ON MY BUSINESS CARD
Bridgette Oakes: “Author, world-builder, pioneer.” (And I promise it will be on my business cards).
THE “WHAT-THE-HECK?!” AWARD
Christopher Michael Carson: ” The world is better without war and destruction in our lives.” (Seriously, dude, what does that have to do with my website?)
NERDIEST TAGLINE
A tie between…
Van Tilburg: “Bazinga!” (a line from CBS’s “Big Bang Theory”)
Sean Smuts: “Never tell me the odds…I already beat them.” (Funny, though you apparently missed the rule that said there was limit one entry per person. Were you submitting one for your wife, Becky?)
THE “COULD-HAVE-BEEN-HONORABLE-MENTIONS-IF-I-HAD-MORE-ROOM” AWARD (These may be used on my website, too)
A tie between…
Zach VanHuisen: “A plethora of galaxies beyond mere imagining.”
Laura Brooks: “Dive into the unexplainable, indescribable, world of Nate.”
Sarah Marchand: “A man with a pen and the heart to back it up.”
Thank you all so much for your participation! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!