Seraphim STORM is Coming October 7th, 2016!

Pardon my radio silence. If only I could claim that I had been busy fighting off hoards of the ravenous undead or, even crazier, writing 24/7 (though the latter wouldn't be so terrible, I must admit).

Without going into too much detail, I've been busy. Both with life stuff, with writing stuff, and also mass killing things across the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is Fallout 4. But now that I am here, I have a super special awesome announcement regarding the second installment to the Project SERAPHIM Series, Seraphim STORM...

Finally!

Originally it had not been my intention to wait this long. Again, due to life-related issues regarding my health and employment situation (I really do wish I could lay claim to be writing 24/7 - I really do!), I have hit a few bumps in the road.

I'm here now, though, and at long last pushing this baby out the door next Friday, October 7th, 2016!

That's right.

It's kinda ironic how the beginning events of STORM take place around 2 years after ASCENT, leaving one to wonder whether or not I had intended this long break or not. (Spoilers: I really, really didn't.)

Anyway, more news and updates will follow. In the meantime, feel free to take a look at my website for more information. Additionally, Project SERAPHIM has an official Wiki now, for those who could use some catching up on the series and learn some additional bits of trivia that you probably most likely don't know about!

NEW RELEASE: What the Thunder Said

“Who is the third that walks always beside you?

When I count, there are only you and I together;

But when I look ahead up the white road,

There is always another one walking beside you.”

It begins with you. 

Here in what is known as the last safest haven in the world, where the dome of Ashwater protects the border of the city and millions of people within. In all of your twenty-nine years of living, it has been too long since you’ve seen so many unarmed people, casually moving on the iridescent streets. This place is a marvel to all of those who witness it. 

You’ve been here before, yet you don’t belong here. 

The only reason you exist is because you were summoned back home by your enforcer. You are a soldier, and you do what you are told. It’s what good soldiers do — what they are told. This is why you don’t question your enforcer why he had sent you to this place, where you had been born. Instead, you broaden your shoulders and carry yourself on like this is the last day you will ever die. 

Or must you live, instead? You have never been good with idioms, and it’s a flaw in which your enforcer has goaded you quite often. 

It is a lively city, if nothing else. Much livelier than you recall, with its spectacular glow of blues and greens and whites. You know you will never see another place like Ashwater. But you are not here to dawdle or take in the sights. 

Like any other day you repeat, like a reoccurring dream — you are here because it’s just another mission. If you fail, all these people, the ones carrying about their daily lives in blissful ignorance, will die.

It is downtown, in the heart of the city. You must be there now. 

After all, you’ve not much time.

Purchase a paperback and/or Kindle copy of

What the Thunder Said, a prequel novel

to the Project Seraphim series,

on Amazon!

Project SERAPHIM Prequel Cover Reveal

Been a while since you’ve seen one of these kinds of updates, huh?

Well, it’s happening. I’ve got a cover up for the prequel novel for Project SERAPHIM, which takes place 18 years prior to the events of the first novel, Seraphim ASCENT. It delves into the lives of certain characters in their youths and the event known as the First Cataclysm.

More updates will come. But in the meantime, take a look at the new pretty cover!

The cover reveal for the second Seraphim book, Seraphim STORM, should be coming soon!

Departed: Audiobook Release!

There may have been something I’ve neglected to mention, and that’s the announcement of my first ever audiobook release!

In terms of length and time, I figured that Departed would make a perfect candidate for testing those waters. It’s something I’ve seriously been considering since I bumped into a writer at the Portland Book Festival this summer, and he introduced the whole audiobook concept to me and just how simple the whole process really is.

For a first project, Salzman was great and easy to work with and, in my opinion, managed go above and beyond to bring the piece to life. From the emotional ticks to the little effects added in, it’s a very fun listen. I would recommend checking out his other works as well!

The Departed audiobook can be purchased on Audible, Amazon, and eventually on iTunes for $6.08 to $6.95! (And FREE if you have a membership on Audible.)

Also, if you do purchase a copy and listen (it is only an hour and a half long), please take the time to leave a review and/or rate on Goodreads. It would be much appreciated. :)

 

NEW RELEASE: Departed (A Dead Man Does Tell Tales)

About time that I do another one of these, huh?

Anyway, this is my official announcement of the release of my novelette, Departed!

Completely separate from the science fiction series, PROJECT SERAPHIM, this paranormal/historical piece is about a man whose body is found in a field, only he’s not quite dead. Over time, he discovers that not only is he seemingly unable to die from fatal injuries, he also seems to possess strange abilities that allow him to feel and experience the lives of others around him.

It’s not a very good predicament to find yourself in, in colonial America.

(I also promise that amnesiacs will no longer be a reoccurring theme in my future works. Seriously.)

If you like historical pieces mixed with paranormal elements and a dabble of romance, feel free to check it out! It’s currently up for pre-order, but will be released this Friday. Currently it is a Kindle Exclusive, but I may consider publishing hard copies someday if I think that a short novelette such as this may be worth it.

On a more personal note, Departed was something that I had originally wrote years ago in college. Like PROJECT SERAPHIM, it was another piece that I decided to return and revamp. It was a lot of fun writing this, as I got to do a lot of research on 1600s America while putting my current knowledge to use. I’m passionate about history, and I’ve always wanted to write more about immortals.

Additionally, the characters of Departed also happen to be part of an even bigger project that I plan to work on someday, called Days be Done. I may work on that sometime on the sidelines of Seraphim in the near future.

Book Formatting Hell

When I first published Seraphim Ascent almost a year ago, I had always been convinced that editing would always be the bane of my existence.

I was wrong.

It’s formatting. Formatting is what has flipped my sanity upside-down.

I am now convinced that if there is a Hell, and should I ever be sentenced down to it, I will be spending the rest of eternity doing nothing but formatting manuscripts. Not writing. Not editing. Just hours upon hours of fighting with page breaks and headers and footers popping up on the wrong pages. Forever.

In spite of my agony, however, I did manage to get the hang of it. I realized that I am not be the only one to experience this level or self-imposed torture. In fact, there are no doubt others out there who share my pain, and have no time or patience to spend several hours staring at a computer screen, scrolling down every page to make sure everything is utterly perfect.

Which is why I have decided that, starting today, I will be offering my services for doing book formatting for other writers as well.

So if you’re one of those poor sods who want to be spared a world of pain, check out my rates and consider me to bear the suffering for you.

I’m all self-sacrificing like that.

Crowdfunding Campaign #2

So I just started another crowdfunding campaign. My last one wasn’t very successful, and it may be partially due to the way Gofundme works in that you’re practically transparent until you’ve hit a certain milestone of donations.

I don’t like begging. It’s my least favorite thing to do. I’d been raised with the mentality that asking for help is a sign of weakness, and admitting that weakness makes you a lesser person. But the way I see it, I’m not begging for handouts. I’m raising awareness of my creative efforts by rewarding people for their generosity with something in return.

In the indie world, I’ve been told that you don’t really start reeling in a profit until you’ve at least hit your third book. I’m almost done with Seraphim Storm, the second installment of the PROJECT SERAPHIM series. Additionally, I have a prequel novel lined up, as well as other short stories and novellas that I would like to see the light of day sometime in the near future.

No one ever said it was going to be easy, and I had no illusions in my mind that it would be. Despite being a writer, I’m not particularly well-spoken, and I’m only just learning about my new-found confidence in my abilities.

Are there days where I want to just say “fuckit” and throw in the towel? Of course. It’s normal to have those moments of so-called weaknesses. But life is short, and I can’t waste it away with the regret of never following my dreams, doing the thing I love.

That said, if you have any time or money to spare, drop a few dollars into my crowdfunding page on IndieGogo. If you don't cash, then spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or anything in the crazy social media world.

Every little bit helps. :)

SERAPHIM ASCENT is Now Available!

SERAPHIM ASCENT: Book One of a new
post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror series
by R. R. Washburn

→ Paperback ↔ Amazon ↔ Smashwords ↔ Barnes & Noble ↔ Kobo ↔ Apple ←

 

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Well, it’s finally here. It’s been several years in the making, has gone through various drafts, edits, and rewrites. But now I’m slapping it up and marching onwards to the completion of Book Two.

Seraphim Ascent has gone through a variety of transformations over the years. It once started off as a very video game-inspired novel back when I first wrote it in high school. In college it shifted from an action/shooter-esque style to a tale of what has become to be about conspiracies, mind control, mutations, plagues, war, and ultimately about identity. Not just for Rey, but for a bunch of characters trying to find their place.

Originally this series was intended to be a standalone novel, with the first two drafts capped at about 360,000 words. I like big books so at the time I didn’t see anything amiss until people pointed out to me just how insane that would be to print for a first novel. By the second and third drafts I’d planned to write a duology, but by the time I was writing what has now become Seraphim Storm, I felt like I was cheating a lot of the characters’ out of their full potential. Storylines I wanted to explore were constrained by the idea that I probably shouldn’t write about 360,000 word novel, which risked a lot of character arcs I wanted to explore.

But I’m the boss. It’s my story, and I can make it go however the hell I want.

So it became a trilogy, and then a series when I started planning out plotlines for a fourth novel.

At this point, I make no such commitments to numbers to say how long this crazy story will go on. It’s a start, and that’s all I care about.

As Rey would put it, “The only certainty is going forward.”