Adventure Beyond the Stars – Written for Readers Who Want More

Author: Malcom

  • Viking Week

    Viking Week

    Name Changes, Ulfberht Blades, Eirik’s Council, Haldor Ironvoice. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    Saturday I’ll be at the Richardson Farmer’s Market. You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    I changed the name Chapter I & II in Weird the Fourth. I: Blackwyrm Mere and II: Frostbear Hall. I’ve also identified an… issue with my writing skills. I have a hard time writing short fiction. Originally Chapter II was going to be about 2k-3k words long and Weird 4 was going to have a rather generic Viking jarl, berserker, and skald. Eirik, Thorvald, and Haldor Ironvoice are anything but generic. That also means that Weird the Fourth is… growing…

    Thorvald, the champion of the Frostbears, carries the closest thing that real Vikings had to a magic sword – an Ulfberht blade. I decided that it would be the property of the clan and both badge of office and prestigious award for the champion. The best of the Ulfberht’s were made from crucible steel when such steel wasn’t made in Europe, so they would have been almost magical in comparison to the welded steel, or false damascene, swords of the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfberht_swords

    Eirik Frostbear holds a final council before the expected attack by Grendel. From left to right, Walter in his Viking outfit, Haldor Ironvoice, skald of the Frostbears, Gunnar, Master Carpenter, Eirik Frostbear, jarl, Sigrid, Eirik’s wife, Valdar, Eirik’s son and heir, Eleanor as a Viking, and Sekmet as a Valkyrie.

    A big piece of Weird the Fourth III: Beowulf is the realization by Haldor that his telling of the tale of Grendel’s coming to Heorot may have manifested Grendel to threaten Frostbear hall. He also determines to tell of the defeat of Grendel in an effort to mitigate against the threat.

    Progress this week:
    Weird the Fourth II: Frostbear Hall – finished
    Weird the Fourth III: Beowulf

    13,859 words this week. Word Count is 40,601 in 7 chapters of an estimated 70,000-80,000 in 19 chapters.

    Palestine’s Ghosts Vol I: The Impossible House is available now. It is the first half of the Palestine’s Ghosts story. It is #745 in Cosmic & Eldritch Horror (Books), #1,345 in Steampunk Fiction, and #5,076 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. No audiobook yet. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Lovecraftian Lore is available as a short novel. It isn’t ranked yet and doesn’t have any reviews. It is only on Kindle right now, available here. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #3,264 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,737 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,426 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,788 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #4,468 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #13,165 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,072 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,170 in Steampunk Fiction, and #5,848 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #621 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #624 in Steampunk Fiction, and #1,929 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews and eight ratings for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #357 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #434 Steampunk Fiction, #1,108 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review and three ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,478 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,580 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,310 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. One review and they didn’t like it much. One additional rating just as bad. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,645 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,757 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,756 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #4,047 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #8,862 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #9,664 in Colonization Science Fiction. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Adventure in Three Worlds

    Adventure in Three Worlds

    Lovecraftian Lore, Clio, Endeavor’s Telephone, Reality, Grendel, Pencils, Frostbears, Weird the Fifth. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No book events this weekend.

    Lovecraftian Lore is available as an ebook. I’m waiting until I have the cover design before printing the paper copies of the short novel. https://malcolmupton.com/book/04-lovecraftian-lore/

    I decided to make a better Hero Image of Clio and ended up with three different ones. I’m not sure which one I like more.

    A picture of Walter using the newly installed communication device on the bridge of Endeavor to call Judge McReynolds and invite him to supper.

    What is Reality? I want to leave the question of “Which story is the real world?” unresolved in Palestine’s Ghosts. That makes this real Secret Knowledge. Reality is our world. Walter & Eleanor belong in a story world of their own. Merlin and Camelot are another story world. The Vikings of this Weird are Vikings of modern-day RPGs and Comic stories. For Walter & Eleanor – theirs is the real world. To Merlin, his is. To the Vikings, theirs is the real world. None of them are precisely wrong. The Weird mashes stories together that should remain separate – creating unwanted story and even genre crossovers. All of this should be kept in mind, but shouldn’t take up story space unless it makes the adventure more entertaining.

    Since Chapter 4: The Missing Ingredient is done now, I put together the outline for Viking Invasion. I think this is going to be fun to write. Should be fun to read as well. We’ll have to see if I can do better with words than ChatGPT can do with its banks of servers and LLM training… So far, much better…
    Chapter I: The Northmen’s World
    Chapter II: Blackwyrm Mere
    Chapter III: Beowulf
    Chapter IV: Grendel
    Chapter V: Myrddyn
    Chapter VI: The First Seal

    Walter has been doing a lot of writing in his notebook in Palestine’s Ghosts. What has he been using? Ballpoint pens are still being developed and fountain pens leak, splotch, and may not work when you are trying to take notes in the bowels of machinery, at the snowline of a mountain, or in the depths of a jungle. So he has leans on the same technology the Soviet space program used while NASA was developing a million-dollar space pen. A pencil. After all, by 1894, pencil manufacturers had been mixing graphite with clay and firing it to get consistent pencil leads of a specified hardness for almost a century. In the picture are pencils common in the US along with a 19th century pencil sharpener and the sharpener’s box.

    A new location for the Lore collection—Frostbear Great Hall. Two rows of enormous columns marched the length of the building, each fashioned from the trunk of a single great tree. Between them stretched a broad central hall, unobstructed by lesser supports, while narrower aisles ran along the walls. Above, an extraordinary network of timber beams rose toward the steep roof. Great queen-post trusses spanned the space between the columns, their paired vertical posts, diagonal braces, and horizontal beams joined by an intricate arrangement of mortises, tenons, wedges, and hardwood pegs. Longitudinal timbers bound the trusses together, creating a structure that seemed at once impossibly massive and remarkably graceful. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Frostbear_Great_Hall

    I have a clearer idea of what Weird the Fifth will be like. Current chapter list:
    Weird the Fifth I: The Unicorn
    Weird the Fifth II: The Once and Future King
    Weird the Fifth III: The Dragon
    Weird the Fifth IV: The Blackwyrm
    Weird the Fifth V: The Wizard
    Weird the Fifth VI: The Unicorn Door

    Progress this week:
    Weird The Third VI: Choose the Right Door – finished
    Chapter 4: The Missing Ingredient
    Weird the Fourth I: The Northmen’s World
    Weird the Fourth II: Blackwyrm Mere – started

    Word Count is 26,742 in 6 chapters of an estimated 70,000-80,000 in 19 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. Sep/Oct Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebooks, 1,000 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 2 paper books off Amazon. Celestial Accord sold 1 paper book in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book in-person. Selene Unchained had 398 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 1 book in-person.

    Lovecraftian Lore is available as a short novel. It isn’t ranked yet and doesn’t have any reviews. It is only on Kindle right now, available here. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #3,139 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,585 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,241 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,758 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #4,415 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #12,987 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,762 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,897 in Steampunk Fiction, and #5,107 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #709 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #792 in Steampunk Fiction, and #2,272 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews and eight ratings for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #1,469 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,492 Steampunk Fiction, #4,333 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review and three ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,318 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,432 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,910 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. One review and they didn’t like it much. One additional rating just as bad. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,509 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,633 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,429 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #3,488 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #7,806 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #8,779 in Colonization Science Fiction. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Physical Lovecraftian Lore

    Physical Lovecraftian Lore

    Bookcovers, GIMP, Sekmet, Keeper of the First Fire, and an Ice Storm. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No book events this weekend.

    It looks like Lovecraftian Lore will be a full novel, 40,000+ words. So it’s cover will probably be for paper as well as ebook. I’m going to try my hand at designing it myself this time. But that means learning a whole new set of skills. I’m going to keep trying to do this with GIMP, but if I don’t have a breakthrough pretty quick, I may just give in and have it designed by GetCovers instead.

    I finally took the time to create a reference image for Sekmet as a little girl. It took an amazingly long time. The AI tools kept wanting to make her dress look like an adult woman’s fitted bodice or give her both lion ears and human ears… or both.

    The reason for the reference image is I wanted to create this image for Weird The Third V: The Oldest Story. That is Keeper of the First Fire. Yes, another Keeper, and he is specifically a keeper of stories…

    I also decided to make this image for Weird The Third IV: The Broken Seal. Yes – it takes place in modern day… kind of. In an ice storm, that makes the movie Groundhog Day look like a Romantic Comedy…

    Progress this week:
    Weird The Third IV: The Broken Seal – finished
    Weird The Third V: The Oldest Story
    Weird The Third VI: Choose the Right Door – started

    Word Count is 10,704 in 3 chapters of an estimated 70,000-80,000 in 16 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. Sep/Oct Sales: Artemis Rising sold 1 ebooks, 1,000 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 2 paper books off Amazon. Celestial Accord sold 1 paper book in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 1 paper book in-person. Selene Unchained had 398 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 1 book in-person.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #2,984 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,388 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,997 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,731 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #4,347 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #12,793 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,534 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,672 in Steampunk Fiction, and #4,533 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #248 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #300 in Steampunk Fiction, and #884 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews and eight ratings for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #1,340 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,358 Steampunk Fiction, #4,064 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review and three ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #905 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,044 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,968 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. One review and they didn’t like it much. One additional rating just as bad. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,357 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,481 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,101 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #2,999 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #6,945 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #8,065 in Colonization Science Fiction. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Halcyon House and Such

    Halcyon House and Such

    Chainsaws, Halcyon House, and Pot-bellied Stoves. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    This weekend I’ll be at two locations with books: Friday and Sunday at Octoberfest Southlake, and Saturday at Huffines Harvest Fest in Richardson. You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas.

    In Weird The Third IV: The Broken Seal, they encounter John who is carrying a chainsaw. Can you image how hard it is for Walter to classify such a strange machine?

    I finally settled on where Walter & Eleanor’s Galveston house would be and what it will be called. Since it is intended to be a town-house and Lionsgate Ranch/Estate will be their primary residence, it doesn’t and is never intended to compete with Gresham Castle. It is still a very impressive house. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Halcyon_House

    Another small piece of interesting scenery – the potbelly stove. Walter recognizes it as similar to the ones on trains and in train stations because those are some of the places they showed up frequently in the 1890’s. More information here: https://goodtimestove.com/potbelly-stoves/

    Progress this week:
    Weird The Third IV: The Broken Seal – progress

    Word Count is 5,290 in 1 chapter of an estimated 70,000-80,000 in 16 chapters.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #2,731 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,100 in Steampunk Fiction, #4,557 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,676 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #4,228 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #12,534 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,240 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,416 in Steampunk Fiction, and #3,897 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #497 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #547 in Steampunk Fiction, and #1,663 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews and eight ratings for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #1,157 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,183 Steampunk Fiction, #3,710 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review and three ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #905 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,044 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,968 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. One review and they didn’t like it much. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,138 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,304 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,639 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here Mirim’s First Christmas is #2,468 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #6,059 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #7,224 in Colonization Science Fiction. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Palestine’s Ghosts Early Release

    Palestine’s Ghosts Early Release

    Early release of Palestine’s Ghosts—kind of, two volumes, line edits is all this week. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No signings this weekend.

    Since Palestine’s Ghosts is already standard novel length and is only half done. I’ve decided to publish it in two volumes. Not divided into books in a miniseries, but one book in two volumes. I’m thinking of ending volume 1 at the end of Wrong Palestine and releasing it on October 31 or so. I’m also thinking of having some release celebrations at some bookstores. Too bad Palestine doesn’t have an independent bookstore.

    In preparation for submitting the manuscript for Palestine’s Ghosts Vol I, I did some grammar clean-up for Goth Galore and High Adventure – those ebooks are updated now as well.

    Progress this week:
    Finished Vol 1. Word Count 88,017, 17 chapters.
    Weird The Third III: Wrong Palestine – finished

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #2,355 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,694 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,964 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,508 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #4,047 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #11,842 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #645 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #735 in Steampunk Fiction, and #2,144 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #968 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,059 in Steampunk Fiction, and #3,120 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews and eight ratings for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #687 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #830 Steampunk Fiction, #2,212 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review and three ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #984 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,139 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,159 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. One review and they didn’t like it much. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #940 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,106 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,039 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #1,524 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads, #4,240 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #4,473 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Funnel Cakes and Dark Libraries

    Funnel Cakes and Dark Libraries

    Dark Library, writing progress, and Funnel Cakes this week. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Granbury Octoberfest Celebration at the Granbury Square on Saturday or Sunday. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet are moving through the interior of the Impossible House. Actually, the corridor they are in long ago exceeded the dimensions of the house. This is one of the doors they looked through without entering. After all, there was a portal made of dark stone with arcane sigils on it and you could see Saturn from up close through it. And something vast and Old and evil. Walter documented the coat of arms on the door just in case he needed to recognize it sometime in the future. You have to ask yourself. Am I in the habit of planting Easter eggs that don’t pay off in the book they’re planted in?

    Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet visit a version of the 2026 Dogwood Festival in Palestine Texas. Sekmet catches the scent of funnel cakes and hears that you can get them with chocolate. After declaring “I need one” the next quest is for funnel cake. Can you imagine Walter’s response when he learns how much they cost?

    I tore my feet up with more blisters than I’ve ever had at one time, but it gave me more writing time, progress this week:
    Weird The Third III: Wrong Palestine – progress

    Word Count is 85,807 in 15+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. Aug/Sep Sales: Artemis Rising sold 2 ebooks, 1,477 pages on Kindle Unlimited, 2 paper books off Amazon, and 7 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 1 ebook, 157 pages on Kindle Unlimited, 3 paper books off Amazon, and 4 in-person. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 1 ebook, 181 pages on Kindle Unlimited, 1 paper book off Amazon, and 3 in-person. Selene Unchained sold 1 ebook, 126 pages on Kindle Unlimited, 1 paper book off Amazon, and 3 in-person. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 2 books in-person.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #2,121 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,425 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,592 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,508 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #3,876 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #11,313 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,798 in Steampunk Fiction, #10,287 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #15,273 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #175 in Steampunk Fiction, #197 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #631 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #687 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #830 Steampunk Fiction, #2,212 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #690 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #840 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,215 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #680 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #835 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,185 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #632 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #1,744 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads, and #2,151 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Gresham Institute of Science and Technology

    Gresham Institute of Science and Technology

    Spooky Spectacle report, dissected puzzles, Tea Cakes, academic institutions and the Little Rock Bible. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No author appearance this weekend.

    Spooky Spectacle was a disappointment in sales at the show, but most of the books improved their sales rank, so there may have been some significant Kindle and/or Audible sales after the show. Something improved the ranking.

    After their visit to Visita de San Miguel Arcángel, Sekmet observes that they have the edges, but not the center of a dissected puzzle. You see, in 1894, they weren’t called “jigsaw puzzles” yet, because the jigsaw was too new. They also didn’t have the peg and notch arrangement that modern puzzles have. They did have pictures, or often maps, called “dissected puzzles” – like the pictured ones about Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show pictured.

    Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet have a discussion in The Corridor That Wasn’t about what they might find behind various doors. Sekmet and Eleanor decide a room full of tea cakes would be nice and Walter has a difficult time being the stern father figure, especially after Sekmet invokes his favorite type of tea cake. (Hint: it has pecans…)

    I wanted George Washington Carver to do his Agronomy and Extension work in Galveston instead of Tuskegee. That meant I needed an academic institute for him to work at – The Gresham Institute of Science and Technology. That meant I had to detail Crystal Keep University, Crystal Keep Holdings, Booker T. Washington, and the replacement for the Tuskegee Institute – The Arkansas Institute of Applied Science. Since it was at the University of Arkansas, I needed to detail that. Since the University of Arkansas had four founding colleges, I had to detail those: The College of Nations, Little Rock College of Medicine, Iron Legion Military Academy, and Arkansas Baptist College. The Arkansas Baptist College had to be founded by a Baptist organization, so I had to detail the American Baptist Convention. As those two were detailed, it became obvious that a Seminary was needed, so the American Baptist Theological Seminary was detailed. And since the Arkansas Baptist College and Seminary both took on an approach to missions that included translating the Bible into the people’s vernacular, it became obvious that they would translate the Bible into late 19th Century American English, hence the Little Rock Bible. And all of that is secret knowledge behind bits and pieces in the stories.

    The new job is really eating into my writing and the Universities project didn’t help, progress this week:
    Weird The Third I: The House of Doors – finished
    Weird The Third II: The Corridor That Wasn’t – progress

    Word Count is 70,260 65,096 in 15+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. July/Aug Sales: Artemis Rising sold 6 ebooks, 776 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 3 paper books off Amazon, 1 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 1 ebook and 599 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 1 ebook, and 735 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Selene Unchained sold 1 ebook, and 523 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 1 book in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas had no sales. Surprisingly, Goth Galore sold 1 ebook.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #1,755 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,014 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,087 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,337 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #3,541 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #10,219 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,673 in Steampunk Fiction, #9,721 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #14,705 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #240 in Steampunk Fiction, #281 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #759 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #509 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #573 Steampunk Fiction, #1,671 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #535 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #636 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,744 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #514 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #613 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,676 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,920 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #12,306 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,758 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Spooky Spectacle This Weekend

    Spooky Spectacle This Weekend

    Visit me at Spooky Spectacle, busy with non-book life this week, a new character. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Spooky Spectacle at the Lake Granbury Conference Center on Saturday or Sunday. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    Another supporting character. This shaman is on a spirit walk (hence no need for translation bands or anything). Yes those are diamonds. Honestly, this is going to take several books before all the Easter eggs are revealed…

    My video didn’t make the cut for voting, but it did get me to learn how to make them. It also gave me a video ad I put on Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon. I’m not sure why it hasn’t shown up on Amazon…

    I’ve started a temporary job as a political canvasser. That will eat up most of my time between now and November 3. I will keep everyone informed of progress, however.

    Between the video and a new job, not much progress this week:
    Weird The Third I: The House of Doors – progress

    Word Count is 65,096 in 14+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. July/Aug Sales: Artemis Rising sold 6 ebooks, 776 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 3 paper books off Amazon, 1 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 1 ebook and 599 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 1 ebook, and 735 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Selene Unchained sold 1 ebook, and 523 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 1 book in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas had no sales. Surprisingly, Goth Galore sold 1 ebook.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #1,516 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,715 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,662 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,155 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #3,201 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #9,141 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,542 in Steampunk Fiction, #9,127 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #14,014 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #379 in Steampunk Fiction, #479 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #1,566 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #1,101 Steampunk Fiction, #1,270 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,674 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #1,102 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,377 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #3,955 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,138 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,445 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #4,117 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,871 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #12,179 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,597 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Video Ad 1

    Video Ad 1

    First video created, Spooky Spectacle, Austin 1894, Gov Hogg & Ima, Visita de San Miguel Arcangel, Sekmet Valkyrie, the Impossible House revealed, Eleanor’s pistols, Chekov’s Exits, Visual reference cards, Artemis’ cockpit, Steam Traction Engine, First Hangar, Tesla bench test, Selenite Tunnel, Zafir, Freeze Cannon, Moonblossom arch, Selenite Vacuum Suit, Selenite Utility Carrier, Tunnel 16 Entrance, Transit Tube System, Hardcovers. All this week’s and last week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Downtown Arlington Farmer’s Market on Saturday. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    Spooky Spectacle is coming soon – come visit me in Granbury for this event.
    Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/2451040095383878 and Sunday: https://www.facebook.com/events/1061766609963267

    Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet flew to Austin to consult with the Texas State Geologist. Landing Endeavor in the middle of Austin would be a bad idea, so Walter contacted Gen. Mabry of the Texas Guard to use the parade field at the brand new Camp Mabry northwest of Austin. It was only 18 months old at the time, but was already raising money for expansion by staging mock battles for people in the summer – hence the grandstands. When they took the carriage into town, the passed the main building for the fairly new University of Texas on its 40 acre campus. They ended up at the new Capitol building, completed only 6 years previously.

    While I was researching the Texas Geologic Survey and Texas State Geologist Edwin Dumble, I discovered that the Texas Geologic Survey had been partially defunded in 1893 and completely defunded in 1894. That led to trying to find out why. It appears that when Texas Governor Jim Hogg was trying to deal with reduced revenues due to the Panic of 1893, he was convinced by some of his advisors to stop wasting money on unnecessary luxuries like scientific inquiry – including the Texas Geologic Survey. Governor Hogg later told geologists that cutting spending for the Survey was one of his most regretted decisions. And yes, his only daughter was named ‘Ima’. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg She would have been 8 going on 9 when the Selenites visited Galveston. I wonder what a meeting between the child Ima Hogg and the adult Ima Wenizasdautr would be like…

    I needed a location and some background for the scene that convinced Walter & Co to enter the Impossible House. Before everything was said and done, I had a little information for the chapter, more information for the rest of the book, and a lot more information that may never come out. Note: There are definitely spoilers in the link, and they might not all be spoilers for Palestine’s Ghosts, but if you want to know: https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Visita_de_San_Miguel_Arc%C3%A1ngel

    I may be writing myself into something of a corner. I really need to be careful, because I do want to write the story where Walter and Eleanor are Vikings and Sekmet is a Valkyrie…

    The time has come for Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet to enter the Impossible House. Of course it isn’t as easy to describe their entry into the Impossible House if I don’t have a clear idea of what the place looks like. So I got ChatGPT to find me some period-appropriate floor plans and picked this one. Got a colorized version for Saturday morning when they arrive, and three versions of how it might look on a spooky night.

    Whovians will recognize that there is a difference between something being bigger on the inside and something being smaller on the outside. The Impossible house is that way. Maybe…

    By the time of Palestine’s Ghosts, Eleanor has been in too many situations and seen too much… stuff to go around unarmed. She is still a lady, however, and doesn’t do the whole Annie Oakley thing. Instead, she carries a .32 caliber Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless Revolver (developed early) for everyday carry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Safety_Hammerless It fits in a pocket Argos specifically makes in her dresses to hold it. For expeditions where she might need a firearm, she carries a Colt Model M. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1903_Pocket_Hammerless It is also a .32 caliber, but has a 8-round detachable box magazine. She normally carries it in a shoulder holster under her coat with three loaded magazines in holsters on the other side. Of course Argos ensures that both the holster and the coat are designed so that her firearms don’t detract from her lady-like appearance.

    Some of you may be familiar with the idea of “Chekov’s gun” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun In Weird the Third, we actually have two instances of Chekov’s exit. And… I don’t think I’ll explain any more – Spoilers…

    I’m working on a video ad for Artemis Rising. Part of the reason is that I’m competing in an AI video ad competition. Part of it is that I have access to an AI marketplace that gives me access to a bunch of stuff. I might even end up redoing the narration on my books and using AI voices since I’m not confident in my ability to do them myself. As part of the work on the ad, I needed high quality reference cards on Walter, Eleanor, and Nikola.

    I also needed a reference image for Artemis.

    And these went into the reference image of Artemis’ cockpit.

    So in the 1890’s Case Manufacturing made a lot of steam-powered traction engines. But Lee Ironworks in Galveston made boilers, steam machinery, and such. There is no reason they couldn’t have made a steam traction engine for Gresham Steamship Co.

    I needed an image of First Hangar in Texas City on the morning of Artemis’ launch on her first trip to the Moon. It is surprising how much work went into this set of images, and they likely will only be used for about 5 seconds or so.

    Tesla testing his drive pod will also show up in the ad.

    I’ll also need the Selenite Tunnel where Artemis was repaired.

    It wouldn’t be a good ad for Artemis Rising without Zafir. I must admit, he came out more creepy than I expected.

    And I will probably even get to put the Freeze Cannon into the ad.

    These are a couple of images from the agricultural cavern of Tunnel 16 Entrance Community.

    Another element I needed for the ad was the vacuum suits the Selenites use. I even considered how to make them “off the rack” and able to fit women’s anatomy into the chest area.

    I also made a set of references for the utility vehicle that Eli had. I finally have a reference image of the lunar all-metal wheels. If I use it consistently, that should help the AI keep from getting confused.

    Tunnel 16 Entrance. The first significant location on the Moon. I had to create the crater wall, scale it, get an entrance and then spent hours getting the Artificial Idiot to put the entrance in correctly. But it is there now.

    I needed the cars, station, and tunnels of the Transit Tube system. These are basically what I was thinking of, although they came out a bit brighter and lighter. Which isn’t a bad thing.

    I finally got the video ad finished Tuesday night. I had 2 hours to spare and just shy of 17% of my AI credits left. Not quite the last minute and last credit, but pretty close. I haven’t had to learn so much so fast in a long time. Now we’ll just have to see how well people like it. https://malcolmupton.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Artemis-Ad-1-v9.mov It will be on the Artemis Rising page on Amazon by the end of the week. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3K149ZQ

    I did get the updated covers and hardback versions of some of the books done. Probably by the end of the week hardback versions of all these will be available on Amazon.

    Artemis Rising: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7H71FQ
    Celestial Accord: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7H18MS
    Forging the Chain Breakers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7CPHPY
    Selene Unchained: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7PKN6J

    Some progress last week on Palestine’s Ghosts before I dived into Video creation and editing:
    3: Capital Answers – finished
    Weird The Third I: The House of Doors – started

    Word Count is 63,367 in 14+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #1,236 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,421 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,259 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #1,962 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #2,904 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #8,120 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,373 in Steampunk Fiction, #8,454 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #13,178 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #543 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #606 in Steampunk Fiction, and #1,799 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #632 Steampunk Fiction, #1,110 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,601 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #631 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,204 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,600 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #639 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,241 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,625 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,862 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #12,118 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,495 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • High Adventure Novelette Published

    High Adventure Novelette Published

    High Adventure Novelette published, The Walter and Eleanor Adventures, Aerokraken, Giant Amazon, Rapiers and Jians, Palestine’s Ghosts preorder, Texas Geological Survey. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    You can get autographed copies of all four books in Selene Reborn Series (Artemis Rising, Celestial Accord, Forging the Chain Breakers, Selene Unchained), Antarctic Honeymoon, and Mirim’s First Christmas at Downtown Arlington Farmer’s Market on Saturday. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    Weird The Second: High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. Its title is High Adventure: A Walter & Eleanor Swashbuckling Tale https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGGYD48X There is also a series page for the Walter & Eleanor stories. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGHPWCKX

    One of the challenges the crew of Endeavor faces during Weird The Second. An aerokraken…

    Jin Tao’s stronghold bristles with Dragon-Slayer Cannons, at least on the eye side approaches. But they need at least one Dragon-Slayer that can traverse enough to take care of aetheric monsters that come out of the storm. The answer is the Grand Dragon-Slayer. Of course the Endeavor Crew call it the Giant Amazon because it can shoot and, like the Amazon’s of ancient Greek legend, it only has one bazoomba… https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Dragon-Slayer

    The High Adventure Weird is an Aerosphere/Pirate/Swashbuckling adventure, but it also has a nice leavening of wuxia in it (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). So of course we have rapier’s and Chinese jian’s as weapons…

    I’ve decided to put Palestine’s Ghosts up for preorder. I don’t have a final cover, or even an idea of the final cover and I’m more than three Weirds away from having a manuscript, but if I’m going to continue releasing the novellas/novelettes independently, having the link to the overall book will be a good idea. I’m also far enough along to put together a cover for the High Adventure Novelette. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGCMWF8W

    I needed a geologist for the chapter between Weird the Second and Weird the Third. Once more using actual history whenever possible made for a much better story. If I’d been writing in a completely made-up world, I would have had some geologist show up in town, possibly associated with the railroad, to explain the stone of the seal from Weird the Second. Instead I found two real people to fill that role. John R. Hearne was actually a druggist in 1890’s Palestine. He was also a pillar of the community as his election as mayor proved. Since 19th century druggists had to be pretty good chemists, and were familiar with minerals, making him a knowledgeable amateur geologist isn’t much of a stretch. And then there is Edwin Theodore Dumble. The actual head of the Texas Geological Survey during the time of Palestine’s Ghosts. He’d actually led a geologic survey of the Palestine area not long before and was very familiar with the geology there. And there are even political shenanigans going on with the Texas Geological Survey during 1894 to add a little spice.

    I’ve signed up for another event. Texas Book Lovers Con Plot Tryst in the Quakertown Civic Center in Denton. Actually, I’ll probably be on the covered patio behind the civic center – but in March, that shouldn’t be a problem. https://malcolmupton.com/events/

    North Texas Indie Bookstore Crawl visits this week:
    Monkey & Dog Bookstore, Fort Worth
    Recluse Books, Fort Worth
    A House With Books, Keller
    The Dock Bookstore, Fort Worth
    Lucky Dog Books, Oak Cliff
    Whose Books, Oak Cliff
    Blush Bookstore, Oak Cliff
    The Wild Detectives, Oak Cliff

    Good progress this week on Palestine’s Ghosts. Chapters this week:
    Weird The Second II: Through the Impossible Storm – finished
    Weird The Second III: Raiding the Tollbooth
    Weird The Second IV: Sphere of Worlds
    Weird The Second V: Advance to the Rear
    3: Capital Answers – started

    Word Count is 52,987 in 12+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. July/Aug Sales: Artemis Rising sold 6 ebooks, 776 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 3 paper books off Amazon, 1 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 1 ebook and 599 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 1 ebook, and 735 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Selene Unchained sold 1 ebook, and 523 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 1 book in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas had no sales. Surprisingly, Goth Galore sold 1 ebook.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #1,604 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #2,335 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #6,204 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,903 in Steampunk Fiction, #6,725 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #11,177 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #340 in Steampunk Fiction, #446 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #1,336 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is in #521 Steampunk Fiction, #544 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,659 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #604 in Steampunk Fiction, #807 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,358 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #621 in Steampunk Fiction, #810 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,424 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,783 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #12,001 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,253 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.