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!

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.

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.”