Tag Archives: promotion

2025: A Year in Review

2025

© James Pyles

Looking back on 2025 and my publication history, here’s what has presented itself. Frankly, I expected two more anthologies featuring my short stories to have come out this year, but both have been delayed.

To start off with, I had four drabbles published in the Starry Eyed Press anthology Drabbles: First Contact, tales of exactly 100 words long, describing humanity’s first contact with aliens (the images above aren’t presented in publication order).

Then there is my first actual (short) novel Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure. This was previously published in installments on the now defunct Amazon Vella but it was always intended to become its own novel. Old school space opera based on a 1950s TV show. A lot of fun. You should read it.

Continue reading →

Kickstarter for “Ruins: A Space Opera Anthology”

ruins

Promotional image for the anthology “Ruins.”

Across the vast expanse of space and time lie the remnants of civilizations that reached for the stars—and vanished. Silent cities carved into asteroids. Derelict megastructures drifting between galaxies. Temples buried beneath the red sands of dead worlds.

This book contains 13 bold tales of humanity’s encounters with these cosmic ruins.

That’s how the narrative for the Kickstarter for “Ruins: A Space Opera Anthology” begins.

Just to be clear:

Continue reading →

The Based Books for Male Readers is Live NOW!

based book sale

Image taken from the “Based Book Sale” substack.

The Based Books For Male Readers (I’m sure some women would enjoy them, too) is live starting today, Wednesday, July 30th through August 5th.

Tons and tons of digital books, all priced from 99 cents down to FREE are available for download from Amazon.

Here’s part of the blurb:

Whether you’re a father, a fighter, a builder, or just a man looking for stories that resonate with who you are and what you face, the Based Book Sale delivers. This is where you’ll find battle-tested wisdom, thrilling adventures, dangerous ideas, and the kind of timeless values that modern publishing tries to suppress. In a literary world flooded with sensitivity readers, diversity checklist characters, and sanitized stories, this sale is a direct challenge to the decline. We offer books that speak to masculine virtues, moral struggles, and heroic ideals.

All of the books are presented in a linear list, which means the substack page is really, really long. At the bottom, you may find your list is truncated, but there should be a button or link to expand the page so you can see every thing.

The sale is supposed to contain two of my books, but one has been left off. I’m looking into that.

Continue reading →

Out of the Chrysalis

crystals

PHOTO PROMPT © Marie Gail Stratford

The crystals surrounded and penetrated me. It didn’t hurt, but I did experience the horrifying feeling of my very identity being drained away.

The corporations sold the government the idea that instead of changing the climate, they could change human beings to adapt to the rising temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide.

They told us it worked. They never said what it cost. The people behind “the change” were isolated from the crystals in underground bunkers. That wasn’t going to help them.

We did change. When we emerged from our chrysalis, we were far too deadly for them to control.

Continue reading →

Coming in December 2025…

far futures

Cover art for “Far Futures: Book Four”

My short story “Awash on Titan’s Shores” has been accepted into this anthology. Marketing won’t officially start until October for publication in December.

I haven’t even started editing the story with the publisher yet. All I’ll say is the anthology requires the story be set on or around Saturn’s moon Titan and military SciFi was acceptable.

Here’s a little taste:

Continue reading →

Podcast Promoting “Shoot the Devil 3: Martyr’s Miitia” This Friday

promo podcast

Promotional image for the “Shoot the Devil: Martyr’s Militia” podcast.

UPDATE – February 1, 2025: Here’s the public link for you to view the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/live/qIGZAddSpk4

I’ve been promoting the anthology Shoot the Devil 3: Martyr’s Militia for a number of weeks now. It features my short story “The Book of Names.”

The anthology is on sale at Amazon through this weekend (February 1 and 2) for only 99 cents. Great time to buy (and read and of course, review).

A nearly-immortal man who is currently known as Griffin has been searching for the letters and syllables that make up the Name, the one word that will banish evil from the Earth and bring a lasting peace.

He is pursued by a seemingly inexhaustible horde of demons known as “Legion” who want to stop him. Along the way, Griffin has collected the Book of Names, which includes the appellations of many demons. To say a demon’s name in its presence will destroy it.

However, on the threshold of achieving the final letters, Griffin is stopped, not only by Legion but by a woman who may hold the secret to completing his quest. Will she help him or aid his enemies, thus dooming all of humankind?

Continue reading →

“Far Futures Book Three – Deep Space” is Available Now!

far futures 3

Cover art for the Blue Planet Pres anthology “Far Futures 3”

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

It’s here.

My science fiction short story “Confluence” is now available in the Blue Planet Press anthology Far Futures Book Three – Deep Space.

The Amazon blurb says:

In Far Futures Three, some of the talented and rising authors in science fiction from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia, have offered their diverse visions of life in deep space. Stories of broken generations ships and malfunctioning holograms. AI enhanced humans fleeing the solar system. Alien abductees taken light-years away. A NASA spacecraft highjacked in a perilous first contact scenario. Pirates and scavengers and more.

Here’s a small sample:

Continue reading →

Promoting “Galactic Treks” and “Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure”

promo

Promotional image for my recent work.

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

I used a recent Starry Eyed Press newsletter to craft the composite image you see above. I’m sure you can tell this is all about self-promotion. When you’re an indie author, you are also your own marketing department.

My novelette “The Aliens” is now published in the Starry Eyed Press anthology Galactic Treks: Short Stories. This is brand new and I’m one of five featured authors.

“The Aliens is an old school science fiction tale about a starship, the rise of a new and uncertain second officer, and after 200 years of space exploration, the very first contact with an intelligent, space traveling race. Will this signal disaster for humanity or a bold new step into the final frontier?

Continue reading →

UPDATE: How to Read (like and comment on) the Serial “Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure”

Tom and Joan

Promotional image for the television show “Tom Corbett, Space Cadet” with Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett and Patricia Ferris as Dr. Joan Dale.

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

I know I just announced my space opera serial Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure last week, but I wanted to give everyone an update.

To test the Kindle Vella platform for the story, I clicked the Follow button. So now I’m “following.” It didn’t ask me to sign up or for any money. I didn’t get any email announcements or anything. However, when I clicked the URL to the serial today (as I write this), I saw that episode 2: Flight to Freedom had been published yesterday (Saturday, April 13th).

I clicked on it expecting to get a “pay me” notice, but instead, I got the second chapter. The first chapter’s still there as well. I clicked on the second chapter and it was immediately available to read.

So far, I’m doing all this on my home computer rather than a tablet or phone but please stand by.

There are two IMPORTANT things to know if you read these stories:

Continue reading →

2022: A Very Brief Summary

2022

© James Pyles

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

As you can see, compared to 2021 and before, my productivity this past year has waned considerably, at least of you count actual, published short stories and novelettes. Of course, I had two of those novelettes published in the same year by the same publisher for the 224-verse. Most of the other short stories, except for the one I have featured in “Shoot the Devil” were published the previous Spring.

So what have I been doing?

Continue reading →