My Novel “Our Legacy, The Stars” Got a Five-Star Review

tom corbett

Cover art for my book “Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure.”

I’ve plastered this all over social media so I might as well say it on my blog as well. My space opera novel Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure has received its first five-star review on both Amazon and goodreads.

As many of you know, this novel was originally presented on Amazon Vella as a 16-episode series, much like the old magazine and movie serials of the past. Classic speculative and adventure fiction, everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan” and “John Carter of Mars” as well as Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” stories were originally serialized in magazines (no, I don’t hold myself up to those masters at all, I’m just making the point).

In the movie serials of the 1930s and 40s, science fiction adventures from Flash Gordon to Buck Rogers were presented in theaters a chapter per week, bringing audiences back again and again to see how the hero or heroine was saved from the latest cliffhanger.

Tom Corbett: Space Cadet was a child of that era, specifically the early to mid-1950s. He’s also appeared in everything from books to comic books and now, finally, has emerged into our 21st century, updated for the science, backstories, and characterization.

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Read “Olivia Comes Home” Now at SciFanSat

11

Cover art for SciFanSat issue 11

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

Issue 11 of SciFanSat featuring my short story is now available. Read the current issue in viewer, as a PDF, or an ePub.

Although my name isn’t mentioned o the cover or the main page, I did get a nice email this morning listing the seventeen published authors as:

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My Short Story “The Tenth Second” Has Been Accepted for Publication in the “Tick Tock” Anthology

james pyles

Promotional image for the Black Hare Press anthology “Tick Tock” featuring me and my short story “The Tenth Second”

My short story “The Tenth Second” has been accepted for the Black Hare Press time travel anthology Tick Tock. The tales were to be 500 words long, which isn’t a lot of room to tell a full story, and they accepted multiple submissions. My other submission “The Weapon” wasn’t accepted, but you can’t win them all.

Just signed the contract online.

Here’s a sample:

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The “Mars” Anthology Featuring “The Three Billion Year Love” is Available Now!

mars

Promotional image for the Mars Planetary Anthology by Tuscany Bay Books

I just saw the announcement on Richard Paolinelli’s blog that the Tuscany Bay Books “Planetary Anthology Series: Mars” is now available for purchase on Amazon!

It features my short story “The Three Billion Year Love”. This is a huge thrill for me, not only because it’s one of my older stories and near and dear to my heart, but it was the first tale I wrote after actress Carrie Fisher‘s death and is (informally) dedicated to her.

This is the second edition to the “Mars” and anthology, and mine was one of two stories chosen to be added, which is also quite an honor.

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“Spring Into SciFi: 2020 Edition” Available for Pre-Order Now!

© James Pyles

Just got the email update from Cloaked Press that the digital copy of “Spring Into SciFi 2020” is available for pre-order now at Amazon. The ebook will be downloaded to your kindle device on April 3, 2020.

My science fiction short story “The Colonists” appears within its pages, and I’m incredibly thrilled.

Now for an offer:

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My Science Fiction Short Story “Buried in the Sands of Time” Accepted for Publication!

retro

Promotional announcement for the Zombie Pirate Publishing anthology, “Raygun Retro”

I can finally announce this and I’m thrilled to do it. My retro science fiction short story “Buried in the Sands of Time” has been accepted for publication in the Zombie Pirate Publishing anthology Raygun Retro: A Science Fiction Anthology.

Here’s the formal announcement from ZPP’s Facebook page:

Congratulations to all of the successful authors for RAYGUN RETRO: A Science Fiction Anthology. Thank you to everyone who submitted, you made it a difficult choice.

Preorder your Raygun Retro Ebook now for half price at the link above.

Available in paperback May 1, 2020.

I’m especially thrilled, because I’ve tried to submit various earlier versions of this tale under the title “Arabia Terra” for nearly two years, and it’s been repeatedly rejected. The final version is a major retooling of the concept which, in this case, is (in my humble opinion) the perfect missive for retro science fiction that pays homage to SciFi movies, TV shows, and novels from the 1950s and 60s, plus illustrates what might happen if the past collided with the future.

Here’s a brief sample. Keep in mind, the final and edited version may read slightly differently:

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Planetary Anthologies “Mars” and “Sol” Available for Pre-Order Now!

sol

Promotional image for the Sol planetary anthology

Fantastic, and totally unanticipated news. As I’ve previously mentioned HERE and HERE, my short stories “The Three Billion Year Love” and “The Pleiades Dilemma” are being published in the Planetary Anthologies “Mars” and “Sol” respectively.

I just found out that the entire Planetary series is available for pre-order now at Amazon.

Sure, “Mars” won’t be available for download to your Kindle device until August 18, 2020, but you can reserve your very own copy by pre-ordering it from Amazon right now.

And while you won’t be able to get your (virtual) hands on a digital copy of “Sol” until November 10, 2020, you can also immediately pre-order it by clicking the link.

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Updated Publishing Schedule for the “Planetary Anthology Series”

sol

Promotional cover image for the Sol planetary anthology

A few days ago, I made an announcement about two of my short stories being featured in the Tuscany Bay Books Planetary Anthology Series. I came upon an updated publishing schedule for each volume in this collection and thought I’d share:

  1. : PLUTO: https://amazon.com/dp/B081S745L7
  2. : LUNA: https://amazon.com/Planetary-Anthology-Luna-Tuscany-Bays-ebook/dp/B08462M5W8
  3. : URANUS (March 3, 2020): https://amazon.com/gp/product/B084GXDBJK
  4. : Mercury – April 14, 2020
  5. : Venus – May 26, 2020
  6. : Earth – July 7, 2020
  7. : Mars – Aug. 18, 2020 – Features my short story “The Three Billion Year Love”
  8. : Jupiter – Sep. 21, 2020
  9. : Sol – Nov. 10, 2020 – Features my short story “The Pleiades Dilemma”
  10. : Neptune – Dec. 22, 2020
  11. : Saturn – Feb. 2, 2021

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Second Short Story Accepted For Publication in 2020

Oumuamua

Artist’s interpretation of interstellar asteroid 1I/’Oumuamua. [M. Kornmesser/ESO]

I got a “blast from the past” email last night that I didn’t expect in my wildest dreams. I’ve just signed the contract and submitted it, but don’t have permission to discuss the details yet. The image at the top is supposed to be sort of a clue, but there’s no way anyone (except those few in the know) could correctly interpret it.

However, it does mean my “mystery story” is the second short story acceptance for 2020, which, of course, thrills me to no end.

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Cover Art for “Spring Into SciFi 2020”

spring 2020

Proposed cover art for the Cloaked Press anthology “Spring Into SciFi 2020”

As you know, I recently announced that my short story “The Colonists” was accepted for publication in the Cloaked Press science fiction anthology “Spring Into SciFi 2020.”

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