Free Stuff

The Last Call of Christmas Eve

Max Books!, Writing Samples , , , , ,

Merry Christmas readers! It’s Christmas Eve here, which is the traditional time in my family to start opening gifts from friends and family. So, as some of you already know, I thought this year I’d give you all a gift in the form of a Christmas story.

A Jacob Rocke Christmas story. That’s right: set in the Unusuals Universe.

Is it weird? Of course it is. And it’s also a bit rough about the edges (it hasn’t seen any formal editing yet, but give me a break, I only finished it Friday). But hey, it’s a free Jacob Rocke story, and that’s a pretty sweet.

Later this’ll make it to More Unusual Events, but for now? Merry Christmas, guys. Enjoy.

Continue reading →

Incoming Sale!

Max Books! , , , , , ,

Readers, I am now officially back! Back at posting (Patreon post about fishing coming fast!), back at editing (Colony is aiming at an October release, so time to get my work in gear), and back home (Ah, computer desk, how I have missed you). The trip home occurred almost without a single hitch … and that lone hitch was an inexplicable case of my luggage somehow teleporting on ahead of me and arriving a full twelve hours before I did (I suspect a secret shadow flight that my bag was placed on by mistake, perhaps serving Unusuals).Yes, everything is as it should be.

Well, except for one thing: No matter how I try to spin it, I still did lose roughly three weeks of editing time on Colony with this trip. Which is a little harsh. I could have had the second Alpha done by now. That’s a delay on my end, and a delay for you readers anxiously waiting on your end.

Now granted, I did make a nice paycheck while I was up there. But that doesn’t really give anything to you guys for waiting patiently over those few weeks. So I figure, why not mitigate that a little?

So boom, sale. Starting Monday, September 5th, my entire collection is going to be discounted. All of it. That’s right, even the new stuff. What can you expect?

Well, for starters, One Drink, my first book, will be completely free MondayOne Drink Cover, September 12th through Friday, September 9th (which is all the further Amazon will let me make it free). One Drink introduced readers to Jacob Rocke, the Unusuals Universe, and a strange case involving a vengeful, ghostly wolf. As my first-published, it’s not exactly the most impressive thing I’ve ever written by a long shot (it’s only got 4 stars on Amazon and Goodreads) … but it is a fun, quick read that gives a good idea of what’s to come, and like I said, it’s going to be free.

Of course, a free book is all well and good, but One Drink has been free before. If you’ve already read that one and are looking for a longer, more in-depth read, then I’ve got good news for you: The sequel, Dead Silver, is going to be half-off for this entire upcoming week. From Monday, September 5th to Monday, September 12th (again, Amazon limits how long I can have a book on sale) you’ll be able to pick up Dead Silver at 51% off. Yup, normally $5.99, Dead Silver is going to be $2.99.

Continue reading →

Unusual Events Giveaway! (Now Closed — Winners Forthcoming)

Max Books! , , , , ,

Unusual EventsHey there! You! Yes you! Would you like to win a free copy of the short story collection Unusual Events? Of course you would! If not, but you still love the excitement of entering things, well … you could always hand it over to someone else who would!

So, why would I ask? Because I’ve got a copy to give away! And someone is going to get it! Pretty straightforward, pretty simple. Name in a hat sort of stuff.

Okay, maybe not quite so simple. After all, for me to pull a name from a hat, there need to be names in the hat for me to blindly grasp for, and that’s where you, reader, come in. See, in order to give a copy of Unusual Events away, I need two things: An entry to draw from said hat (note: blind drawing may not actually be from a hat), and an e-mail address (to giveaway the book to).

So, here’s what we’re going to do. If you wish to enter the giveaway, then simply leave a comment below (which will require you put in an e-mail address  I can see) saying something to the effect of “I want to enter the giveaway!” That will give you one name in the metaphorical hat.

Would you like to receive a second entry? Then share this giveaway post via one of the share buttons at the bottom on Facebook, Twitter, or the like (and make sure you mention that you shared it in your comment, because this I can’t see outside of the total number of shares, so honor system). That’ll give you a second entry.

How about a third? Yes, I’m allowing you to get up to three entries for this one! All you have to do is in your comment, answer this question in its entirety: If you could share a one-hour lunch with any character (and yes, I mean any) I’ve ever written, who would it be, where would you eat, what would you talk about, and why? Tell us all about it! That’ll get you a third entry! (Oh, and, as always, keep the event civil. Nothing innapropriate. That’ll get your post deleted. Sorry)

And if you’ve never read anything of mine, you can always head over either my sample page, Amazon page, or elsewhere with my writing (try links) to get some samples).

Get your entries in now, because once Midnight PST hits, this contest is closed forever! Then, all the entrants names will be put in a hat, the winner drawn, and a lucky winner will get a copy of Unusual Events all for themselves (and if I get enough entrants, I may just go ahead and add a few more prizes, so the more the merrier!)

So … clock’s ticking! Enter below!

Last Day to Sale!

Max Books!, Misc , , , , , ,

Time will tell if that title, spoken aloud, is only cleverer in my head.

Anyway, as of writing this, there is currently fourteen hours left before the anniversary MEGA-Sale event ends, meaning you’ve only got that long to pick up a copy of Unusual Events, Dead Silver, or One Drink at a discount. After midnight tonight, they go back to their normal prices.

You can still buy them at those prices, of course. And you’ll still get a kicking read out of them. You’ll just have to pay an ordinary price, rather than a temporary celebration price.

And in case you’ve missed it, here are the direct details: for the remaining fourteen hours, Unusual Events is 25% off, Dead Silver is 50% off, and One Drink is free.

Grab ’em while you can.

Anniversary MEGA-Sale!

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

WHOA! Unusual Things has been on the web for one year this Wednesday! Which means sweet things for this week’s collection of posts, like a Reddit AMA this Wednesday to mark the one-year date!

But you saw MEGA-Sale and clicked this right? So a MEGA-Sale (yes, I’m going to keep capitalizing this like it’s the 90s) you shall receive! On everything. For the entire week. Over 320,000 words (1100 pages) worth of fiction.

That’s right, all through this week, starting today (Monday) through Friday, every single thing I’ve published is on sale. Starting at 25% off, and jumping all the way down to free. Had your eye on Dead Silver? Been waiting to snatch up a copy of Unusual Events? Now’s the time.

Hop on over to my Amazon.com page to check them all out at once (note, however, that due to a strange, and in my opinion dumb, quirk, that page does not show sales, you have to click each book to see the sale). Or, if you’re so inclined, use the Books page here on Unusual Things!

The clock is ticking, so grab ’em fast!

LTUE Flash Fiction – Green Apocalypse

Max Writing Samples , , ,

Hey there, readers!

 

So LTUE 2016 is still going on, but the other day in a panel I had a wonderful idea for a piece of flash fiction inspired by—of all things—the apocalypse! I couldn’t resist typing it over the last hour or so, and now I offer the whole thing to you for a bit of fun. It’s a whole, complete story—though much, much shorter than what I usually write.

Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and as expected, this story is copyright 2016 Max Florschutz. All rights reserved, please do not reprint, reproduce, or copy. Etc, etc, basically this is mine, for my use. If you want to share it, please link.

Continue reading →

Sneak Peek: SUPER MODEL

Max Books! , , , , ,

I am exhausted. I’ve spent the last few days touching up and editing the alpha copies of all the stories from Unusual Events, but as I was going over the last of them tonight, a thought struck me. I’ve talked a lot about what Unusual Events is, and mentioned what’s in it, but never, not yet, save to Patreon Supporters (who get their own, special, early looks), have I shown off anything.

That needs to change. It’s time to get a taste of what you’ll be reading before long!

So, with that in mind, here’s a sneak peek at a few paragraphs from SUPER MODEL, one of the stories from the upcoming Unusual Events! Enjoy!

Continue reading →

A Sneak Peek at Unusual Events

Max Books! , , , ,

So after today’s well spent day of writing (~4,800 words so far today), I thought I’d give you guys a freebie. Who want’s a quick look at an excerpt from one of the upcoming stories in Unusual Events?

You? Yeah, I thought you did.

But first, just a reminder to go vote for the July Patreon reward if you haven’t already! And then pledge on Patreon if you want to see it!

Now, that said, let’s give you guys a little preview. This is from the short story Ripper (working title), and, like most of the other stories in Unusual Events, it’s part of one of my existing universes. Except you’ve not actually seen this one yet.

That’s right. Ripper is in fact the first real taste many of you are going to get of Shadow of an Empire, a fantasy western that I’ve been dropping little hints about for a short time. It could be considered an introduction to that universe, but let me tell you, those who read Unusual Events and Shadow of an Empire both are going to get a nifty insight into Shadow. Nothing required to enjoy it, of course, but this is sort of like a precursor/side story to the story happening in Shadow.

Right, I’m sure you’re all getting tired of my rambling at this point. Here’s an early, pre-alpha look inside the mind of someone you definitely don’t want to meet in person. Or know.

Continue reading →

Why I’m Waiting for Another Outpost 2

Max Gaming , , ,

So earlier this week, I mentioned something that to some of you, probably came off as unusual (har-de-har-har, right?). I was talking about E3, and mentioned that my hopes for an Outpost 2 successor hadn’t been met. Now, I should mention that I didn’t expect any sort of successor to Outpost 2 to be announced—after all, the original game was never that popular, and the developer that produced it is long since gone. That’s why you can freely grab a copy of Outpost 2 and play it: it’s abandonware. Abandonware that, while fun, does display a game that’s rough around the edges.

But I’m still playing it from time to time, despite the sheer brutality and often random cruelty the game deposits on me. I’m not kidding about that difficulty, btw, this game sometimes feels like a roguelike in that it just decides to randomly crush you for no reason other than you finally got a break. I had one game where after several attempts to dodge a lava flow, I successfully relocated my base to a mineral rich area, started to fend off attackers from a rival colony … and then watched as everything I’d ever built was leveled by an earthquake. Should have built more disaster relief centers, I guess.

And yet, every so often I go back to it, for one simple, strange reason: there is nothing like it, nor has been, since the game was released.

Continue reading →