Sometimes you need to challenge yourself. Whether you are playing sports, performing music, or writing books, there will come a time when you feel the need to push yourself to the limit and see what you can do under impossible circumstances. After all, the best science fiction and fantasy stories are about intrepid heroes overcoming extraordinary odds, right? Why should things be any different for the people creating these stories? That’s why, at the same time each year, thousands of authors from across the globe come together for a literary sprint called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. I’m proud to say we’ve selected some of the very best NaNo stories to present to you in The Sci-Fi/Fantasy NaNo Bundle. This pay-what-you-want bundle will run from May 14th through May 28th, and we think you’ll love what we’ve found!
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is an event in which authors around the world take it upon themselves to produce a 50,000 word novel entirely within the month of November. From concept to completion in just thirty days! It is a massive undertaking, forcing writers to power through writer’s block, carve precious minutes out of their day for writing, and wring every last drop of creativity out of their brains. Many authors don’t succeed but, astoundingly, some authors do. As I was preparing to take my own plunge into last year’s NaNoWriMo, I contacted StoryBundle and together we came up with an idea. We would put a call out to any authors who conquered NaNoWriMo and produced a one-month novel in the sci-fi or fantasy genre. If you had a polished, perfected NaNo project that you wanted to share with the world, we wanted to see it. All submissions would be read and considered, and best of those submitted to the contest would be bundled up and offered to the public in their very own mini-bundle. The response was great, and picking the winners was difficult, but in the end I selected three wonderful authors to join me in the bundle.
Terah Edun offered up the third book in her Courtlight Series, Sworn to Conflict. I was immediately impressed by the depth of the setting and the quality of the characterization. She has crafted a sprawling world filled with fascinating people, and before I’d read five pages I knew not only that I would need to know more of this story, but that StoryBundle readers would as well. That’s why I was thrilled when Terah agreed to offer not just her contest entry, but the two books preceding it.
R.M. Prioleau’s Firebrand was another great entry. From my first glimpse at the cover I knew I was going to enjoy this one, and sure enough I soon found myself devouring page after page of wonderful storytelling about a boy with a healthy appetite for knowledge and an unhealthy obsession with flame. It is a great tale of growth, education, and family. Like Terah’s submission, Firebrand is part of a series, and once you’ve read about the adventures of Kaijin Sora, you’ll be burning for the rest of the Pyromancer’s Trilogy.
Our final winner is Ashes by Erin Cofran, the story of a nameless mage on an important but mysterious journey. Though this book is part of a series, as I read through the story and enjoyed the unique world and complex relationships, I felt sure there were volumes of backstory. Imagine my surprise when I found that this was the first in the series. Piecing together the motivations of the characters and the details of their world is great fun, but the best part are the twists and turns as the story unfolds.
Filling out the bundle are my own stories, two NaNoWriMo projects from two separate years. Last year’s project is a steampunk adventure called Free-Wrench. It follows a young engineer named Nita as she journeys into a world of airships and scoundrels in search of a cure for her ailing mother’s disease. From the year before we’ve got the oddball superhero novel The Other Eight, the tale of a world where there are plenty of heroes who aren’t terribly super. Heroic hopefuls like Nonsensica, Non Sequitur, and Afterthought compete with other metahumans for a coveted spot on the US Army’s official superhero team in what begins as a top secret project and ends as a reality show. – Joseph Lallo
The initial titles in the bundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $10, you’ll get another two books:
And as a special bonus for all newsletter subscribers (only valid during this bundle):
The Bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com.It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for each book, but after the two weeks are over, the bundle is gone forever!
It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, Twitter us at @storybundle, Like us on Facebook, and Plus us on Google Plus. For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com.
