Something Monstrous This Way Comes...

Back in 2012, I was asked if I was interested in writing a short story for a multi-author anthology for a new publishing company named Mechanoid Press, that company being the brainchild of James Palmer with Jim Beard sitting in with a very kewl idea. The premise captured my imagination right away: in the build up to the Cold War, instead of nuclear armaments becoming the premiere mass weapon of destruction as an adjunct to conventional warfare tactics, giant kaiju-type monsters found all over the world become the major players in the arms race. Hell yeah! I always loved those romping-stomping mammoth monster movies as a kid. So I signed on immediately. The stories were spread out from the 1930s to the 1980s, with each of us authors given a specific decade to write for. I drew the late 60s stopping at around 1970. Had a ton of fun writing that story and did my share of research for it too. The first MONSTER EARTH book became a reality the following January. 

Now on the left above is the original cover, and on the right is the updated one. Both are really good, but I give the edge to the one on the right, with the Jeff Hayes battle scene. The contents are essentially the same. No matter which version you got, if you love stories with honking big monsters and scenes of destruction, but also with humanity having to deal with them at its core, this book was a winner through and through. 

In 2014, BETRAYAL ON MONSTER EARTH debuted. Some new authors were involved, and some from the first book returned. Though Your's Truly  was not involved this time, this is another winner. This one fills in the era from 1985 t0 1995. With DNA from a previously undiscovered dead monster with a unique genetic structure, it's now possible to 'create' new monsters in lab-type settings. But there is an underground organization that is basically part of a cult that decides to 'give away' some of that DNA to other countries to even the odds for their own reasons. They are't being altruistic; these people have an agenda...

Above again is a montage of old and new covers. I have to give the newer cover on the right my vote for excitement and composition. 

Well folks, there's a new Monster Earth book in the works: WAR ON MONSTER EARTH. This is the final book of the series, and yes, I will be involved again. I've turned in a story proposal, which has been accepted, and started work on my tale. The premise this time is there are some alien objects that have landed in remote locations all over the earth, and they are hatching. What is coming out of them is devastating, and it's going to take a coalition of earth-born monsters and humanity to defeat—if  they can. Each of us authors has chosen a predetermined setting and certain creatures to involve. Again though, the human element is the heart of the story with a backdrop of incredibly destructive monster battles in exotic locales. And that's as much as I can tell you about this, other than this time we have a Kickstarter fundraiser to get this book off the ground. I hope you will consider at least a small contribution, and please feel free to share that info around the 'net. 

There are some specific add-on bonuses for your pledge level. I hope you will at least consider a small contribution—none are too small. The other books in the series have proved to be quite popular even long after they were released, so I have no doubt this one will be as well. It helps keep small publishing companies like Mechanoid Press alive and able to bring you the kind of adventurous fiction the 'Big 6' publishers wouldn't even consider, because you the reader don't belong to some large targeted marketing group. It also helps keep books affordable. Writers love to write, artists love to create illustrations or covers, but we all have to eat and pay our bills. Artists need to be paid, while writers down at this level mostly depend on royalties, and you don't get those if a project gets cancelled because there just isn't the funding available to put something out on the market. Meanwhile your hard work just sits until you can find another market for it. There's also a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes of putting a book together as well: editing, setup for print, and promotion. That all takes time and to do well, some cold, hard cash. You wouldn't expect your plumber, hairdresser, or doctor to work for free only for the love of what she or he does. We can't afford that either.

So please, do consider at least a small contribution, and if you can't manage that, how about sharing the news with others who might be interested? Never underestimate the power of the internet and especially social media to get the word out. Everyone online has a unique circle of friends, family, and other contacts that might be interested. They all have people they know too. That's how we spread the word about what we do, and you can help us that way as well.

Like the other authors involved in this book, writing is my passion, as well as my carefully chosen late life career. There's nothing simple about it, it's an art form that takes a lifetime to learn and perfect. Now that I'm 63, my family is raised, and I'm partially disabled with moderately severe osteoarthritis and some eyesight lost to stubborn glaucoma, I'm more housebound these days than the average person in my age bracket. I've had to give up a lot of things I used to do that I can't manage anymore, but fortunately, not  writing, which I've increasingly turned to. I'm totally passionate about it, and I get some work in every chance I have. Writing has gotten me through a lot of rough times, and given me something to focus on when I could be fretting about what else can go wrong in my life.

I've managed all through this pandemic without losing my mind over what's happening 'out there' because I was able to keep my thoughts busy creating worlds of my own. But I'd also love to make it a more lucrative way of spending my time, and that means the folks I write for have to recover their expenses before they can think to pay me anything. Many indie authors, editors, and publishers also work outside the home, a lot of them have family obligations and bills just like the rest of us. So they squeeze this stuff in whereever possible because it's a labor of love. We want to bring you alternative fiction at a reasonable price so you have more choices than whatever the latest big market analysis says is hot. Nobody is getting wealthy, but we'd at least like to see some sort of remuneration for what we do. You can't expect that if you don't break even.

So do contribute if you possibly can, and/or share our good news wherever you know folks will see it. Once you have a copy of a book, please read it and leave a review so that other potential buyers can judge if this is something they might like as well. And thank you in advance for at least taking the time to read through all this. I work hard at what I do, and I'm proud of what I produce,  so knowing someone cares enough to wade through a blog post about coming attractions tells me I do have fans out there. It just makes the frustrating days that much easier to deal with.

Always writing onward,

~NANCY