New book signings posted

I just updated my “Appearances” page with two new book signings.

On Saturday, September 24, 2011, I will return to the former campus of my alma mater, Taylor University Fort Wayne, for the Fort Wayne Celebrates event. This (hopefully) annual event is the replacement for my campus’ homecoming. My friends/fellow authors Nick Hayden, Natasha Hayden, Timothy Deal, and perhaps a few more will be present, signing and selling books at a booth in the event’s marketplace from 12PM-5PM. We’ll be there off and on while enjoying the many events going on that day, but please come see us. I will be selling and signing copies of Pandora’s Box, Destroyer, and the forthcoming The Day After.

Then Saturday, October 15, 2011, I will be signing copies of Destroyer at the North Webster Community Public Library from 10AM-12PM. I may also bring a few copies of the other aforementioned books.

Stay tuned for other news about book signings!

I read ‘Destroyer’ chapter on Derailed Trains of Thought podcast

My friends Nick Hayden and Timothy Deal featured me on their amazing podcast, “Derailed Trains of Thought,” again. Last November they interviewed me when Pandora’s Box was published. In their latest episode, I read chapter six of Destroyer in a segment called “A Bit of Story.” If you want to get a taste of the story before purchasing it on www.Lulu.com or www.Smashwords.com, check this out. You can also download the podcast from iTunes onto your iPod,  iPhone, or iPad.

While you’re there, please listen to previous episodes of the podcast. It’s quite good. Both Tim (one of the novella’s co-authors) and Nick have great insights into storytelling, and, I might add, awesome senses of humor. If you’re a creative person looking for a place to discuss ideas about the art and craft storytelling, go no further.

And when you comment, tell ’em Nate sent you.

‘Destroyer’ now available as an ebook!

It was a little more difficult to do than I expected, but Destroyer, my recently self-published novella co-written with Natasha Hayden and Timothy Deal, is now available as an ebook on www.Smashwords.com! Now you can download it and read it on your Kindle, iPhone, and other mobile devices. Just go here. You can also check out my Smashwords profile page (although it’s not much different from my profile here).

Be warned: I am still working out some bugs with the book’s formatting. So, if it looks a little odd in places, let me know, and I’ll try to iron it out. Thank, faithful readers!

Website Updates

I have made a few changes in order to streamline the website. The “Novellas” and “Novels” sections of the “Nathan’s Works” page have been combined into a single one labeled “Books.” I did this because I realized I’ll be published/self-publishing a variety of books of different kinds, including a short story collection with several friends, so this label made more sense.

‘Destroyer’ now available in print! (FINALLY!)

Cover art by Tyler Sowles

After fighting a long battle with Lulu.com‘s cover wizard program, I am ecstatic to announce that Destroyer has been self-published in print! This is a  novella I co-wrote with Natasha Hayden and Timothy Deal from 2008-2009 as part of a year-long “Pulp Fiction Project” we and our writer friends did. I chose to write a “monster story” (which, as one guy pointed out, meant I could write “everything from Frankenstein to Godzilla”) and spent three months writing part one (about 10,000 words). The goal was to have a 30,000 word  book by the end of the project. Then at our follow-up meetings throughout the year, we drew names from a hat, and that person wrote the next section of the story. Those fell to Natasha for part two and Timothy for part three.

I decided several months ago it was time for this to get published.

Destroyer tells the tale of a group of scientists and soldiers who create a giant cybernetic dragon to end a war, but the creature goes berserk and strands them in Moscow, one of the enemy capitals, and goes on a rampage.

I know that sounds like a B-movie plot, but I promise you it is closer to the movie Cloverfield, and it even has some shades of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It was, I will admit, inspired by a few Godzilla movies.

Regardless, it is available here on Lulu.com as a paperback and as a downloadable PDF. It will soon be available as an eBook on www.SmashWords.com, so you can take it anywhere on your mobile device.

Prepare yourself for some thrills and chills, readers!

Artwork Updates – ‘Destroyer’ and ‘The Delivery’

I have been hard at work customizing Tyler Sowles’ cover painting for Destroyer. Lulu.com‘s cover maker has proven a little more finicky than I originally expected, but I expect to have the kinks ironed out within a day or two. Stay tuned.

My primary reason for posting today is to announce that my brother Jarod has created yet another illustration for one of my short stories. This time it is for “The Delivery.” Here it is:

"The Delivery"
"Hopefully, Some Quick Repairs" by Jarod Marchand

It depicts the story’s hero, Mack, desperately trying to repair his steam tram so he can make his delivery on time. Jarod took the creative license of having it snow, but it does make sense. I’d tell you why, but that would spoil the story–so go read it, goshdarnit!

‘Destroyer’ cover art finished and revealed!

After a month of work (and a few short delays), the cover art for Destroyer, a pulpy science fiction novella I co-wrote with my writer friends Natasha Hayden and Timothy Deal, has been finished!

Take a gander:

The cover painting for 'Destroyer' by Tyler Sowles.

This cover painting was created by Tyler Sowles, who I found by placing an ad in the Godzilla fanzine, G-Fan. I highly recommend checking out Tyler’s website: www.thekillustrator.com. If you’re into monsters and/or superheroes, he has a lot of artwork related to those sorts of characters.

Destroyer tells the tale of a group of scientists and soldiers who create a giant cybernetic dragon to end a war, but the creature goes berserk and strands them in Moscow, one of the enemy capitals, and goes on a rampage.

The book will soon be available in print from www.Lulu.com and as an eBook from www.SmashWords.com. It will also be the latest “publication” from Novel Concept (more on that later).

Stay tuned for more updates.

I am attending a poetry reading (and possibly reading)

I should have mentioned this sooner, but I will be attending the Poetry Slam tonight from 7pm-9pm at Courthouse Coffee (East) in Warsaw, Indiana. It is a fundraiser for a food bank, I think, since “admission” is a food item donation. If they will let me, I plan to read a poem or two. I may also take a few copies of Pandora’s Box with me. The coffee house is located at 2858 Frontage Road in the shopping center near Elder-Beerman. I hope to see you there.

Please leave comments

Readers, I just wanted to remind you that you can leave comments. I like comments! But only a few of you seem to know you can leave comments on any post I write. I want more “real” comments. My filter keeps stopping all the spam I get, and it makes me miss getting feedback from you readers.

So, just so everyone knows, this is a WordPress site, and it has comments enabled. So long as you have an e-mail address, you’ll be able to leave comments. You don’t need to have an account with WordPress or anything like that.

Thanks for reading, True Believers!

A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe