Where to begin, where to begin? There’s all sorts of cool stuff to share today. I guess I’ll start by fulfilling the fever dream of the three lonely masochists who begged for this; THE BRITTLE RIDERS: TRILOGY (Omnibus Edition). This is almost twelve hundred pages of dystopian fun. I’ll let the nice people over at Azoth Khem get you up to speed.

A brilliant man hosted a party. It was such a good party that it culminated in the death of all humanity. That story is boring and oft-told. This is not that story. This is the story of what happened next. The Brittle Riders, apocalypses are funny that way.

The Brittle Riders has been described as the book David Brin would have written had he come off a three day tequila bender and dropped acid. That’s some high praise right there.

Also, as far as I know, Mr. Brin neither drinks tequila nor drops acid.

Quibbles aside, The Brittle Riders was meant to be read front to back as one singular story. Unfortunately I threw too many words at a screen and Azoth Khem ended up having to cut it into three books. Now, it’s back together and being promoted to brick and mortar stores all over the English speaking patches of the globe. 

Also, thank you for your prayers for Azoth’s president, Nancy Chandler. She is now back among the living and looking to conquer the world.

There’s more, oh so much more, below.



Last week I sat down with Twitch legend, Instagram’s favorite daughter, and my old friend, Nakia Niteshade over on Spotify to talk about stuff. Her, wildly popular, podcast, SOME LIKE IT HOT, covers topics I normally have to keep to myself. So, instead of chatting about how much fun it is to edit the word “fuck” out of my young adult submissions, and it is sometimes, we talked about my takes on God, politics, our personal history, and then we talked about my writing.

But, because Nakia is who she is, and the show is called SOME LIKE IT HOT and not WHO LOVES BEIGE?,she ends the show with five, deeply personal –  slightly risque, questions. I’m not special, she does it every episode. It’s kind of the point of the thing. 

So, if you’re one of those people who think they need to know a hell of a lot more about me than they already do, she certainly learned something about me she’d never considered, here you go.

CLICK HERE to take a fun, hour long, deep dive into my squishy brain.

Still more below.


 

The nice people over at Nerdanatix have changed things up a bit and now post the #1 comic on it’s own thread and then list #’s 2 through 9. Even so, Hadithi Sambamba continues its dominance in the indie comic world with four titles represented in the top nine positions. Rankings are based on online reads, sales, and licenses.

To read any title, all of these are Rated “M” for Mature, just click on “Read Chapter” at the bottom of the page you’re at via each link.

#2 – Hybrid Zero: Cassandra and the Changeling Sword
96 year old dead woman is now a teenage shinobi on another Earth

#3 – Hybrid Zero: Juggernaut
The fun multiverse where sex is lauded, violence is taboo, and a family of assassins is our only hope

#5 – Hybrid Zero: Jungle Grrl
A nice girl works in a futuristic sex park with her best friend and a dinosaur clone

#6 – Legends Parallel
A man, his mom, and her lover have to save the multiverse

Still more below.



If you want to have some fun, and who doesn’t, CLICK HERE to follow along with Hybrid Zero’s Hashtag Bingo thread on Twitter. Each tweet features popular hashtags of the day, often blended into little stories, dedicated to promoting, or “mad pimping” if you will, the various aspects of the Hybrid Zero multiverse. It’s fun, occasionally profane, just as often profound, and always insightful.

Just one more below.



Lastly, the Legends Parallel graphic novel is here. For a mere twenty bucks, plus four-fifty (USD) shipping and handling, this one hundred page slab of awesomeness can be yours. It features all three issues of Legends Parallel, fan art, the original covers, without text, created by Alexander Malyshev, some behind the scenes stuff you’ll love, and a four page photo spread featuring Phystee “The Model” Brown. Phystee was kind enough let us use her image when we created the character Oshun. 

Take a gander at a sample of the shoot below, then send me all your money. Email me at BillMcSciFi@gmail.com to get options on how to send me  your, hard earned, cash. I offer many.

Thanks again for all your support and I’ll see you next week.

We’re having an amaze-balls week here in McSciFi-Land. Let’s just dive into the juicy stuff. Last Saturday I was informed I’d been selected as one of the Who’s Who of Emerging Writers. The nice people at Sweetycat Press, a nonprofit publisher, assemble lists of authors, collect bios, and then pare the list down until they’re satisfied. They don’t charge authors, nor do they allow any to promote themselves to the panel. Basically, you’re either accepted or not, you have no say in the process. 

And I like that. I can do nothing with the best of them. And to get global recognition for doing nothing is just the icing on the cake.

They will be releasing a book, containing the biographies of the 110 authors selected, on May 1 and I will post links when it’s live. They were aiming to select 200, but they wouldn’t add authors just to pad the totals. Of the accepted authors I have met since then I can honestly say they truly are global. And diverse as diverse can be. No one genre dominates the list, and some of the stuff I’ve been able to check out so far makes me wonder how I got in. There are some incredible talents here. 

The image below is a screenshot of the rules. You’ll note they exclude all self published authors. While I know some successful authors who self publish, I can also understand Sweetycat’s concerns. It’s hard to verify claims if a single person is controlling the narrative. 

Much more below.

In other exciting news, the primary distributor for the comics I write, Nerdanatix, has partnered with ICC Magazine, a happy zine that includes me as its Assistant Editor, to create an indie PR Juggernaut. Not to be confused with Hybrid Zero: Juggernaut. As Nerdanatix has grown it’s been able to add more brick and mortar stores while increasing its digital footprint. Meanwhile, ICC Magazine has been attracting bigger names, and garnering the attention of companies that have an international presence, while still remaining staunchly indie.. 

This is a great example of the right thing happening at the right time. Add in the fact that the entire partnership now has an exclusive printing company, Valor Printing, LLC., and they suddenly become the one stop shop for indie creators. Distribution, promotion, and printing all under one roof. Which has already brought costs down so, once again, I win for doing nothing.

This is not a bad trend as far as I’m concerned.

In the meantime, Hadithi Sambamba continues its dominance in the indie comic world with four titles represented in the top nine positions at Nerdanatix. Rankings are based on online reads, sales, and licenses.

To read any title, note all are NSFW, just click on “Read Chapter” at the bottom of the page you’re at via each link.

Legends Parallel
A man, his mom, and her lover have to save the multiverse

Hybrid Zero: Cassandra and the Changeling Sword
96 year old dead woman is now a teenage shinobi on another Earth

Hybrid Zero: Jungle Grrl
A nice girl works in a futuristic sex park with her best friend and a dinosaur clone

Hybrid Zero: Juggernaut
The fun multiverse where sex is lauded, violence is taboo, and a family of assassins is our only hope

Still more below.

Finally, Splice is in the final round of edits and should be made available to beta readers sometime next week. If you’d like to be one just email BillMcSciFi@gmail.com. Goptri of the Mists has been edited and beta read and is now being formatted. No easy task with that massive tome. Just formatting the appendix has been a multi-week task and isn’t 100% done yet. 

Seriously, I need to cut back on the caffeine. 

Also, if you have a spare prayer, please send it to Nancy Chandler, president of Azoth Khem Publishing. She’s been fighting some health issues, along with a botched surgery, and could use a little rainbow power to help her along. Or bourbon. She’ll gladly accept bourbon.

Other than that, the ongoing negotiations on a few fronts are still ongoing and I don’t see them wrapping up any time soon. That’s not a bad thing, everyone’s just being thorough. There are a lot of moving pieces and we’re tackling them one by one. 

Until next week, thank you all for your continued support. Without you I’d probably be pushing a broom and wearing a paper hat instead of sitting around without pants and getting paid to throw letters at a screen and pray for words.

I like this better.

Have a great week everyone!

Good Morning Everyone!

The Legends Parallel graphic novel has taken of a bit of a life of its own. Which makes this all fun. It also makes it a full one hundred pages as opposed to the ninety-six we planned. Above and beyond the high rez versions of the comics, fan art, concept art, and generally cool stuff, we’re adding a photo-shoot from Phystee “The Model” Brown, as opposed to Phystee “The Random Lady I met in Church” Brown like I originally wanted. Just kidding. By the way, it’s pronounced Feisty. And, for the record, I’ve known Phystee for a bit. I knew I wanted her, and no one else, to be a part of this. She’s been one of our biggest supporters, has become a true friend, and looks amazing naked.

If you don’t believe me, just check out this, mildly NSFW, video teaser for the graphic novel.

So, for these next four days, and for these four days only, you can pre-order your copy of the graphic novel for $20.00 (USD) and get free shipping anywhere in the U.S.,I might lose money on Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the rest, but it’s worth it. 

You’re worth it.

All you have to do is email me directly at BillMcSciFi@gmail.com, and I’ll shoot you an invoice, It’s that simple. Every order will be dropped shipped directly from Valor Printing so you’ll have your copy before the stores that carry us or anyone else. 

If you want it autographed, I can do that, it’ll just take a little more time.

More below.



Speaking of awesome comics, and Legends Parallel is an awesome comic if you missed the memo, all of the Hadithi Sambamba titles have been getting some serious love. Five of the top nine indie comics, as tabulated by Nerdanatix, belong to them. The rankings are based on a combination of views and sales.

You can check out each title, at your leisure, via the links below. I will say this, Hadithi Sambamba puts a lot of effort into getting some of the best artists around. Viewing their work on a phone doesn’t do it justice. Try and find a larger screen if you can.

To read any title, just click on “Chapter” at the bottom of the page you’re at via each link.

Legends Parallel
A man, his mom, and her lover have to save the multiverse

Savorzic
Transgender superhero in Russia

Hybrid Zero: Cassandra and the Changeling Sword
96 year old dead woman is now a teenage shinobi on another world

Ruh Roh Rangers
A, not safe for work, Scooby Doo parody

Hybrid Zero: Jungle Grrl
A nice girl works in a futuristic sex park with her best friend and a dinosaur clone

Hybrid Zero: Juggernaut
Juggernaut, where sex is lauded, violence is taboo, and a family of assassins is our only hope

More below.



I have several flaming bowling balls that I’m juggling, but the big one at the moment, SPLICE: The Novel, is at the editor’s office being edited. Since that’s what editors do, all is well.

The next big one on the list, GOPTRI OF THE MISTS, is also being edited by nice people who probably have created vudu dolls  in my honor. The brain bending prequel/sequel to THE BRITTLE RIDERS has been hailed by pre-readers, but is a nightmare to edit. It has to conform to the existing trilogy plus its own timeline, which is actually two, disparate, timelines, and eventually make sense when it’s all pieced together.

As a friend commented, it’s like a one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle when all the pieces are white.

I’m sorry doesn’t really cover what I owe the editors in this case.

But I do firmly believe it will be worth their effort. 

More below.

Thanks so much for all your support. If anyone is interested in being a featured creator in ICC Magazine, just shoot me an email and I’ll pass your info to the editor.The basic requirements are; (1), upcoming release; (2), press kit; (3), bio; and (4), a willingness to answer pointed questions like “What color socks make you feel sexy?”

As a quick FYI, negotiations are still ongoing for foreign distribution of the comics. Unlike many other indie creators, who tend to be insular crews, there are a lot of people involved here and all have to sign off on the final deal. 

That said, everyone’s still talking and hope springs eternal.

Have a wonderful week and I’ll see you next Tuesday.

The McMoFo at Mickey D’s.

A half pound of meat, slathered in whatever that sauce is they have, with a bucket of fries, no substitutions, and a Red Bull.

Okay, I’m being silly, but with good reason. Last week, Wednesday through Saturday, I went on an absolute tear and finished formatting SPLICE into a novel. The only problem with me doing that is I tend to forget to eat, bathe, or otherwise take care of myself. Suffice it to say, I hit the hay at 6:00 PM on Saturday and didn’t move until 6:00 AM on Sunday. 

So, I put it away for a couple of days, to clear my head, and will hit it again on Wednesday to start adding in all the little touches that make books worth reading. You know, whimsical things like adjectives, descriptions, object names …. the usual stuff.

Don’t go anywhere, there’s more cool stuff below.



Just because I wasn’t working on SPLICE doesn’t mean I stopped writing. No sirree bub, I threw letters at the screen and got some to form words for different reasons. ICC Magazine is screaming out of the gate in 2020 and has plans involving global domination. Or bourbon. Both if everything goes right.

Which means I got cut loose from my leash and tossed into the world with the sole mission to get interviews with famous indie creators. And, boy oh boy, did I hit pay dirt first try. 

Cara Nicole, a/k/a AZ Power Girl, is an  internationally renowned cosplayer, creator, colorist for some legendary comic brands, and much more. She also rescues doggies and likes tacos. Plus, and this made our editor happy, she shared some exclusive info with us that no one else will have.

Look for a lot more in ICC Magazine this year and beyond. 

Some amazing silliness below.



Now for a fun story.

A couple of weeks ago a group of young women, who band together under the moniker “Naughty Asians,” ran across Hybrid Zero (NSFW) and decided it was the coolest thing that was ever known as a cool thing. Partly due to Cyril’s Japanese influenced art, partly due to the salacious content, partly for the stories, and partly just because. Plus, the fact that Hybrid Zero is a multiverse where consensual sex is lauded, violence is taboo, and a family of assassins may be the future’s only hope, seems to fit their vibe.

One plot has a ninety-six year old woman trapped in the body of a teenage ninja who has a singing sword on an alternate Earth, and another takes place on a rebuilt Earth which has a sex park with dino clones. Really, there’s something for everyone.

So, they followed Cyril and me on Twitter, shared our posts, found old posts and shared them too, and just had themselves a wonderful time. Which has led the Twitter algorithm to go apoplectic and fill my feed with numerous other young, Japanese, women I should know. 

While not really something I need at this point in my life, I do have to admit that it’s all been great fun. The ladies are polite, funny, and love scifi. Plus, they are sending hundreds of new people to our page every day. You really can’t ask for more out of new fans.

More below.



I think that’s enough sexy time for everyone. I don’t want anyone to fall over, twitching in ecstasy. 

I have to admit that, while 2019 was fine, 2020 is shaping up to be Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. With an extra dollop of expialidocious.

Thanks for all your support and I’ll see you next week!

Welcome newbies!

Last week I shared some of my writing. Apparently many people did not realize you could just CLICK HERE to get free samples any time you wished. It also caught me off guard that there are people following along who haven’t actually read anything I wrote. I guess they just like the gear. 

To be fair, it is some pretty awesome gear.

Or, who knows, they could be newsletter groupies.

Since I’m currently in four anthologies, including a bestseller on Amazon, I figured I’d share snippets from each to whet your collective appetites.

Hank & Eddy: Bro Wars
#1 Best Seller on Amazon in 3 categories for four weeks
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The classic tale and an anthology of twists, retellings, and sequels

The blood splatter was exquisite. Some might say it was Jackson Pollock-esque. Not him, of course, he hated being compared to amateurs. Mere dabblers in paint. They would never understand true art. The intestines, laid magnificently about the room, heightened the breathtaking effect. The organs, formerly wasted on banal functions, were now delicately framed in the lighting and provided the shadowy burlesque the scene demanded.

No gallery on Earth had such a splendid display.

George – (originally “Breasts in Space”)
Just A Minor Malfunction…: issue #5 – November 2019

Any sense of personal pride had died when she’d taken Edgar as a client. Breasts in Space: The Mongolian Panties Affair had killed any glimmer of moral superiority. Along with her life as a respected editor and publisher. She was now an agent of Satan. Well, maybe not Satan, but certainly one of his more prolific demons.

She had published three critically-acclaimed, if poorly-read, literary magazines. She’d published Edgar on a bet. She’d claimed there were, despite varying popular trends, lows to which readers would not descend. That there were standards which still applied.

She’d been proven spectacularly wrong.

Vorbliss
Sci-Fi Lampoon Autumn 2019

Day fucking 4. Today the medicos said that I need extra care. The same goes for J’Hannz. He’s getting a cadet from the local military academy. Good for him. Me? I’m getting a nun from the local priory, Our Lady of Christ’s Mercy. They are some sort of Jesuit order that counts 4 humans among their members. I guess they are afraid of more cross contamination. 

That may have been a joke. I’m not sure. 

Either way, I get what they mean. Even so, a fucking nun? What the fuck am I going to talk about with a fucking nun? 

Hey Sister, ever been bar hopping on Jashey 3? Know any good porn sites? 

This is really going to suck.

Korzac: Nördicon of Dern
Planet Scumm Volume 1

Korzac: Nördicon of Dern, Most High Admiral of the Fleet of Reverential Destiny, Honorary Moon God of the Exalted Planet Cloorbius, Holder of the Scepter of Gloptium Prime, Wielder of the Sword of Infinite Cuts, Prime Mate of Nizbo, Progenitor of Hazna, Quizbo, and Yath, Prime Mate of Ilxhan, Progenitor of Ooklsa and Horth, Prime Mate of Unquin, Progenitor of Jaexx, Wongaloo, Hipth, Sarf, and Tronk, Secondary Mate of Kandok, Junhre, Lorpa, and Krad, sat hacking into his claw like a skiggling zak.

The Dernian armada needed him to be focused and, for the most part, he was. His Vice Admiral, Oxlis, was a fine mind in his own right and made sure Korzac stayed on top of his game. And he hadn’t become Nördicon by having bad game.

More below.

I can’t really share samples of my comic scripts. Eighty percent of them are nothing but directions to the artist, comments on the action needed, and then some dialogue. Useful and fascinating if you’re the artist. Not so much so for anyone else. It’s akin to seeing how sausage is made.

Not pretty.

That said, Hadithi Sambamba has some awesome news on two of its titles.

The graphic novel for Legends Parallel is now complete and with the printer.Twenty US dollars, plus shipping, gets you a copy of all ninety-six pages of coo coo coolness. If you thought quantum physics wasn’t violent, or sexy, enough, we fixed that.

Plus, and this is just more fun than you may be able to take, Cyril Brown is releasing the brain bending, NSFW, universe of Hybrid Zero online as a giant web comic.  You can read it for free and then, and you know you will do this, order a hard copy of the magazine sized masterpiece for your private collection. This is a comic only the internet would allow, until now.

Just email BillMcSciFi@gmail.com if you want to order anything and I’ll hook you up.

More below.

Okay, that’s enough for today. I wouldn’t want you to overdose on awesomeness. I’m not even sure if insurance covers such a thing. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

For those who’ve asked, yes, I’m still writing the novelized version of SPLICE. And, while I’ve been slaving away on that, they’ve been working  hard on attracting investors. Both aspects have been moving along well, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Thanks for sticking around.

See you next week!

Welcome Newbies!

It’s been a busy McWeek here in McSciFi land a/k/a The World’s Weirdest Amusement Park. Turning SPLICE: The Movie into SPLICE: The Novel has proved to be an interesting challenge. There are things which look amazing on screen but are excruciatingly dull to read. Contrariwise, there are delightful side roads you can wander in a book that would infuriate an audience. Of course, in SPLICE, those side roads are often bloody and dark. So that’s fun.

Anyway, since a few of you have asked if there was any way to get a preview of the book, the answer is yes, and I’m including a snippet here. I’ll provide author review copies, upon request, after it’s edited, which will be a couple of months from now. I need to finish writing before it can be edited.

Until then, welcome to the world of Lillian Goldsmith. Hotel owner, part time prostitute, and full time realist.

She treated herself to another shot and happened to glance up just in time to see two tough looking men carefully ascending the back stairs.

She grabbed her dime store binoculars and knew immediately they weren’t cops. Fine by her, she wasn’t a fan of the pigs anyway. A second look at their guns told her all she needed to know.

She was going to be shy one guest.

Oh well, they’d all paid in advance so no skin off her nose.

She saw two flashes in two sixteen and smiled. Robby Castelano thought he’d been slick, signing in as Tommy Hilfiger, but she’d recognized him from his numerous appearances on the real news. Word was he flipped.

Had. Past tense was clearly the correct tense now.

She watched the two men walk casually back down the stairs and smiled widely now. Clearly professionals, they weren’t going to bother her at all.

She glanced back up and saw they’d left the door open.

That was good news. 

Now she didn’t have to find the body. She could wait for the inevitable screams, call the cops, and play as innocent as a politician in the middle of a brothel.

“Why no, officer, how would I know what was happening here? I swear the schedule said ‘Youth Groups for Jesus.’”

Or.

“You mean he wasn’t the real Tommy Hilfiger? Well, he paid cash in advance and had ID. What was I supposed to do?”

You’re welcome. I’ll provide updates when I can but, for now, just be assured this bad boy is coming to life.

More below.



In other exciting news, GOPTRI OF THE MISTS is in the capable hands of Azoth Khem’s editing team. “What’s GOPTRI OF THE MISTS?”, you ask politely. Well, it’s a collection of notes I had left over from when I wrote THE BRITTLE RIDERS. While that series was set in North America, the events depicted were global. After all, you can’t write about the death of every man, woman, and child on the planet if you’re not using the whole planet.

Think of it this way, this book is the answer to the musical question no one asked; “What would happen if The Brittle Riders was set in India?” Unlike TBR, Goptri doesn’t change grammatical tenses based on the personal philosophies of the characters involved. Although, you have no idea how relieved I was people understood what I was doing and enjoyed it. Also, unlike TBR, there ‘s no defined hero, just a prominent, and lethal, villain.

Look, if you wanted normal you wouldn’t be following me. Here’s a snippet from GOPTRI OF THE MISTS to help you get by. Say hi to Rama Llandhaven, the undisputed Sovereign of Dravida.

As one of the four simian brands made by Rohta, he felt his Rumel brand was the most handsome. He slicked his facial hair, using a lightly scented pomade, and tightened his cravat. He walked down the hall, as he did after every breaklight, paid perfunctory – if insincere, homage at the various hallway shrines, and greeted his staff. He’d learned through many Suns of trial and error that treating the help with some semblance of respect garnered him more obsequious service than threats did. So, to get what he wanted, he was nice to the cretins.

He stepped out onto the balcony as an aide handed him his one new obsession, a cup of mint tea from the Shin-Sen, and smiled at the clear blue skies.  Grishma was his favorite season; clean and dry. While his staff worked to prepare the table for his first meal of the turn he nodded his appreciation to them as he suddenly felt something tweak his forehead. 

Then he felt the back of his head disappear.

Then he felt nothing at all.

Oh, yeah, a lot more individualized death in this than in TBR.

I mean, LOTS more.

More below.



Lastly, I’ll remind you that THE BRITTLE RIDERS is coming out as an omnibus edition. That means you can have 1200 pages of coo-coo coolness you can use to impress your friends, or bludgeon your enemies. Seriously, it will make a great weapon.

Since the release of Book 1 in 2016, this series has been on many adventures, led to more fascinating stories, and made my life kind of fun. Not many authors can say they got ripped off by Russian trolls and then ended up a wanted human in Russia for perverting their morals.Go ahead and read that again. I’ll wait.

The stuff they stole, and resold, didn’t meet their moral code, and that’s my fault.

Fuck Russia.

In the meantime, thanks for sticking around. I hope you have an amazing week full of unicorn farts and singing angels.

See you next week.