Month: November 2019

Happy Thanksgiving!

Max Misc ,

Hey readers! I’m getting this post ready beforehand, because when this hits, I’ll be at my brothers place for Thanksgiving, hopefully getting stuffed with Turkey and making a big old bowl of garlic mashed potatoes.

I hope all of you that have the chance are doing something similar and getting ready for a Thanksgiving dinner. This site has global reach and audience (I see those hits coming in from all over) so I know it won’t be everyone, but I hope wherever you are, you’re having a great time.

Lastly, Thanksgiving is a day when, traditionally, we’re supposed to express thanks for what we have. Some people pick something to declare thankfullness for. It can be anything, as long as you’re thankful for it.

So I’m going to say two things. The first is that I’m really thankful I got Jungle out this year. It was a colossal amount of work and a gargantuan effort … but it’s finally out. Colony has the sequel it waited so long to see.

Second, I’m thankful for those readers of this site that have stuck around, shared links, bought books, supported on Patreon, and otherwise interacted with this site in a way that keeps me from being homeless. It’s been a tight year this year, with the only way I’ve made it through quite a few months entirely because of income from my writing. So to all those of you that share these articles on Facebook or Reddit, or enjoy buying and sharing my books, or supporting on Patreon: I am extremely thankful for you guys. I have a roof over my head only because of that aid.

Thank you, and have a great thanksgiving.

And … since you’re here … What are you all thankful for this year?

Don’t Forget Books on Black Friday!

Max Books! , ,

Hey readers! Max here with a small note.

This Thursday is, for a good chunk of people, the Thanksgiving holiday. Me included! But right after it comes one of the biggest, most-hyped shopping days of the year: Black Friday. Or Black Thursday for a lot of places (seriously, Wal-mart is opening at 4 PM on Thursday? What madness is this?).

Anyway, as you wind down from your delicious turkey-induced coma and get ready to start your Christmas shopping, don’t forget about books! They make great Christmas gifts!

Is this a plug for you to think of my books this week while you start your Christmas shopping? Absolutely! It may not seem like much to you, but a gift purchase of one of my books matters a lot to me. And to whoever you give it to.

Plus, I do have a wide variety to peruse. Know someone who likes westerns? Get them Shadow of an Empire. Mystery with a sprinkle of horror or suspense? Dead Silver. Sci-Fi and space battles? Colony. Or Jungle if they already read that. Not a lot of time for reading or a varied interest? Unusual Events.

Fantasy? Shadow of an Empire or Dead Silver. Or Unusual Events. Science and alien worlds? Jungle. Love horses? Shadow of an Empire!

Books are a window into a world. When the last turkey leg has been consumed and the Christmas shopping starts … don’t forget about books for the readers (or would-be readers) in your life.

And if you’d start here, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Being a Better Writer: Detail Versus Audience

Max Being a Better Writer , , ,

Welcome back readers! It’s Monday again, and you know what that means! And if you didn’t, well … Check that title above!

That’s right, it’s time for another installment of Being a Better Writer! Now that the Jungle launch is past us—an event I’m sure some of you are tired of hearing about, but only because you haven’t read it yet—life can settle back down to normal. Until the next launch at least.

But seriously, guys, Jungle is out. There’s no good reason not to have picked up a copy yet! Unless you haven’t read Colony, in which case you’re really behind and what are you waiting for?

Also, don’t forget that the call is open currently for additional Being a Better Writer topics! If there’s something you’ve wanted to hear about that BaBW hasn’t covered, go leave a comment and you might see it covered in the future!

Okay, that’s the news out of the way. Let’s talk writing.

Today’s topic comes from a forum post I saw online. Specifically, from a forum dedicated to talking about Sci-Fi books. A new, would be writer hopped into the forum and asked what seemed like a pretty simple question, which I’ll paraphrase here:

When writing about technology in my Sci-Fi novel, like spaceships, is it important that readers get all the details of how it works and why? Or should I just offer a little bit of info, or almost none, and move on?

You readers want to take a stab at what answers this poor individual got? I’d almost bet that answers here would, statistically, line up with with those given on the forum.

See, this forum was Reddit. So anyone could either upvote or downvote answers that they felt were right or wrong (I mean, in theory it’s “upvote posts that contribute, and downvote ones that don’t” but everyone turns it into a vote anyway). Would you like to guess what the top two answers were?

They were “Yes, give us the details about the ship and tech so we know about it” and “No, we don’t need that detail! Just tell us there’s a ship and move on, we don’t need anything else.”

Uh-oh.

Continue reading →

Being a Better Writer Topic Call!

Max Misc ,

Hey readers! It’s time! Being a Better Writer is building a new topic list, so while you can, get what you’d like to hear about on it!

That’s right, it’s a topic call! While I get back to work on Axtara (coming along nicely) and watch the first few reviews for Jungle roll in (all positive so far!), I can’t forget that Being a Better Writer, as always, runs every Monday (barring the rare exception) and so will be back after this weekend!

So then … what do you, the readers, want to hear about? What writing topics would you like to see covered? Post what you’d like to hear about in the comments below!

Continue reading →

Jungle is Out!

Max Books! ,

Jungle Cover

I mean, really, what else is there to say? It’s here. After three years, the sequel to Colony so many asked for has finally arrived.

So go ahead! Snag your copy! It’s here at last! Ready to read! And … most of you are already gone.

Well, those of you that are left might be wondering what the fuss is if you’ve not read Colony. Well, good news for you too. Colony‘s last price-drop went into effect last week, so you can grab a copy for just $3.99.

I’d say more, but most of you are already reading. So keep doing that, folks. Enjoy. You’ve waited long enough.

Reddit AMA for Jungle!

Max Books! , , ,

UPDATE: The AMA is now over. Thanks everyone who came by and participated. And word has hit that in some places where today is now tomorrow, Jungle is already rolling out! Enjoy your copies!

Yeah, there may not be a Being a Better Writer article this week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick my mind for writing advice! That’s right, with Jungle releasing tomorrow, it’s time for a Reddit AMA!

AMA stands for “Ask Me Anything,” and that’s just what’s happening! In a few seconds, the Reddit AMA will go live here at this link, and you can hop on in and ask me whatever you’d like! Though I can’t promise any spoilers for Jungle.

So hit the link up above or the picture proof down below, and start asking!

Jungle AMA

 

Also, if you’re a $5 Patreon Supporter, the e-mail box of the account you signed up for Patreon with will be getting a special gift soon! Keep your eyes open!

The Countdown (A News Post)

Max Books! , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three Days to Jungle

Jungle CoverThree days, people. Not counting today, since it’s halfway gone for most already. Three. Days.

And then Jungle drops.

I mean … what else do I even say? At this point, it’s just waiting to see what happens. Watch the pre-orders tick up for those folks that want it ASAP, and then see what day-one sales look like. Wait for reviews to roll in. See what all of you make of the biggest Sci-Fi adventure I’ve ever pumped out.

No pressure, right?

Seriously though, it’s all over but the waiting, now. In three days, those of you that pre-ordered will have a copy in your hands, be it on your phone, tablet, laptop, kindle, or whatever other device you’ve decided to use for reading it. And it should probably be a device, too. At 457,000 words, an actual print copy of Jungle would probably weigh something like six or seven pounds. Good luck holding that one-handed.

Three days. It’s finally happening. Just so you guys know, work on Colony, the first book in this set, started five years ago, in late 2014. Colony released two years later, in 2016, and work on Jungle started almost immediately afterward. So the grand total of these two books? Five years of work and effort.

In three days you’ll all get to see where that’s led us, as well as the series’ starring trio of Jake, Anna, and Sweets.

While we wait for that release, if you’ve already locked in your pre-order and before we get to the rest of the news, I’d like to do a bit of an informal survey among you readers: Who’s your favorite of the three, and what do you expect is coming for them in Jungle? Got any theories?

While you ruminate on that, hit the jump for some more news!

Continue reading →

Jungle Releases in One Week

Max Books! , , , , , , ,

One week, readers. One. Week!

We are one week away from the release of my biggest book ever, and the sequel to Colony. It’s almost here. All you readers are about to get your hands on Jungle. Are you ready?

You should be. Jungle sees the return of Jake, Anna, and Sweets after their mission to Pisces. You know, the one where everything went crazy? Well, certain folks back on Earth aren’t too happy with how the trio handled things. Not happy at all.

You can pre-order Jungle now to make sure you’ve got your copy right as they start releasing next Tuesday. Just click that cover! But if you’ve already secured your copy, hit the jump past the cover and synopsis for another early preview!

Jungle Cover

Jake, Anna, and Sweets are back in the long-awaited sequel to Colony!

Fresh off their mission to Pisces, the trio is looking forward to a well-deserved rest, and better yet, a fat paycheck after everything that occurred on the alien world. But all that comes to a crashing halt when they’re waylaid above Earth by their employer and find themselves with an extended contract, sending them right back out into space.

Worse yet, their trio has been split to best handle their new assignments. Jake and Anna find themselves attached to a scientific expedition, tasked as security escorts keeping the expedition safe as they investigate a new potential colony world thriving with a vast, vibrant jungle. Meanwhile, Sweets has been assigned aboard an UNSEC military vessel, tracking down the source of a pervasive cyberattack against their hardware.

But as both teams get to work, it’s clear that there may be more to their respective missions than they were led to believe. The cyberattacks are brazen and powerful, but simplistic and utterly untraceable. The alien world’s ecology defies logic and sense, puzzling the expedition team.

And above it all, the ripples of events on Pisces continue to spread through the galaxy …

Hit the jump for a third and final preview!

Continue reading →

Being a Better Writer: Cathartic Characters and Wish Fulfillment

Max Being a Better Writer , , , , ,

All right, readers! Welcome back after another weekend! It’s time for Being a Better Writer once more, and this week we’ve got an interesting topic that I’ve been muddling over in my mind for a while. So it’s a bit of an interesting one.

There will be a call at the end, too, so make sure you read down to there if you’re curious what that means, or know what that means and are brimming with ideas!

Jungle CoverBut really quick, before we get into today’s post, just a reminder: We’re only a day and a week out from Jungle! That’s right, folks, it drops next Tuesday! We’re eight days away! Eight days from finding out what comes next after Colony! Eight days from … well, that’d be spoiling things. But hey, we’re eight days out, and you can still pre-order your copy today so that when the moment arrives, you’re reading ASAP! You can just click that cover over there to go right to Amazon and reserve your copy, or you can click this link instead!

Seriously guys, you don’t want to miss this one. Colony scraped the surface of things. Jungle? It’s … Well, you don’t want to miss it. Take it from the Alpha and Beta readers who worked on it, or the lucky few who got advance copies to look at: Jungle is wild.

Look for at least one more preview here on the site (or in advance on Patreon for supporters) before the book launches next week, but get ready! If you liked the first one, this one will be right up your alley.

Okay, enough plugging. Just go pre-order a copy, and let’s talk about today’s topic: cathartic characters and wish fulfillment.

Continue reading →

Shifting Gears

Max Books!, Misc , , ,

So, I’ve had a lot of people ask me the same question over the last few weeks, especially as work on Jungle wound down and slowed. Sometimes their wording is a bit different, sometimes it’s the same. But all of it boils down to one simple concept: Now what?

It’s not hard to see where that question is coming from. Finishing up a project like Jungle (now available for pre-order, just plugging that now) is kind of like reaching the top of a titanic mountain. First comes elation, then wonder at the grandeur … But eventually, as you sit there looking around, the question does arise in your mind of “Now what?”

Well, maybe I can answer that for the many people who’ve asked or have been wondering but haven’t quite gotten the curiosity to ask yet. Now what?

Well, I know what. Even if I’ve asked myself the question before. This morning, when I woke up, it hit me that Jungle was, for all intents and purpose, DONE. All that’s left is to upload the final file. And make a last-minute paranoia check that yes, it is done.

But … that doesn’t mean that I’ll be sitting around wondering what to do next. I already know what I’m doing next. I’ll be starting work on Axtara – Banking and Finance again. Which means once this post is done, I’ll be rereading what’s been written so far to catch myself up and then I’ll be working on getting that draft finished. Plus, I’d really like to do another chapter of Stranded, and then there’s Fireteam Freelance to start, which will be my next big project. After that, Starforge, and then …

Point is, I know what I have to do next. Writing, like other jobs, is a form of work. Which means no sooner do you get something done than you know there’s going to be something else to do. There’s always more to do.

But … if I’m honest, that’s not really what people are asking. Okay, some of them are. Some of them genuinely are shocked that writers plan ahead. Probably because they’re in that sector of writing experience where they believe that writing comes from a “muse” and once the project is over, that muse is gone.

Most people know that’s not true though, and that writing is work. So they’re not asking “Now what?” in the sense of “What will you do next?” Rather, they’re asking something that’s a bit more on-point. They’re asking “How will you do next?”

Continue reading →