G’day, eh. Welcome to my blog. I’m the author of the Corps of Discovery series (not the ghost author), so if you enjoy speculative fiction, you’ve come to the right place. Never having blogged, this should be interesting. I don’t post much, or often, but I’ll occasionally throw something out there, so stay tuned.
Cute photo below. I think it reflects the second book, Trekker.
250 years ago, a group of men sat down, and with concurrence from their respective Continental Congress legislators (except New York), issued a Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. Battles ensued, people died, fortunes were lost. All of this happened so that they, and future generations, could live free of capricious rule of monarchs.
As a dependent of a US government employee stationed overseas for most of my growing-up years, one of the things I cherished was celebrating Independence Day at the US Embassy (Liberia, Laos, and Thailand).
I had hoped to experience the bicentennial in all it’s glory, but alas, that was not meant to be. As a 14-year-old, I didn’t have a driver’s license or access to a car, and for some reason, my parents left me home to mow the lawn while they went out to celebrate (Seriously? WTH?). I thought about that yesterday as I looked at my damp lawn and thought to myself, This needs mowing. I thought I would wait a day, and hopefully it would dry. But then I realized, the following day would be Independence Day, our country’s 250th Birthday. No way in hell would I spend it mowing. So, yesterday, I spent time slipping and sliding around my wet, sloped lawn, mowing.
Today, I’ll spend it celebrating. Enumclaw has a parade at noon. I’ll be going. Later, we’ll be hosting some dear friends (one of who owns a bookstore in Sumner, WA – visit it and spend money!) for a salmon bake. Then, I’ll likely head back into town and drive around, watching the illegal (again, WTH) fireworks being shot off all over the place (Enumclaw is near the Muckleshoot Reservation – guess what they sell during holidays traditionally celebrated with fireworks?).
I might even spend some time working on Reset. Actually, I likely will. If nothing else, a main theme of my books is liberty in the Heinlein and H. Beam Piper tradition (guess which two authors had a huge impact on my political perspective).
Like George Carlin, I don’t say I’m “proud” to be an American, because that implies I did something to earn it. I didn’t. I won the lottery of life when I was born an American. I am grateful to be an American. I am happy to be an American, and I unabashedly love my country (but hate the politicians – something I guess I learned from Samuel Clemens).
I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
Just thought I’d share this screenshot of Rescue as a best seller. This is a first for me, and I have to admit, I’m quite thrilled. Thanks to all of you.
Yesterday, my Washington State Private Investigator Agency license expired. I had a choice, renew it (i.e., spend money) or not. I chose not. This morning, I officially closed my PI business after 27 years. Hard to believe I ran it that long. Lots of fraud cases (along with other stuff).
So, what now? First, complete writing Reset. Next, a motorcycle trip from Enumclaw to Tierra del Fuego. I might do some writing along the way. I’ve set up a YouTube channel (nothing produced yet) called Writer on the Road if you want to follow me.
Writing schedule: First up, Reset (something you’ve all been waiting for), then the story about how Janice Goodland lost her arm (this will be another YA novel in The Corps of Discovery series). Then, back to following Bill and Meri Clark (haven’t come up with a name for that one yet, despite starting it) on their next adventure.
For those wanting more of Drew Peters, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve got a four-book series planned for him.
And, now, for something completely different. I’ve got plans for two WW2 series. One will be an alt-history where the US doesn’t develop the bomb, and the other will be a time-travel series where a modern infantry squad deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq (haven’t decided yet) in the mid-2000s wind up at Dunkirk. Think either John Birmingham’s Weapons of Choice, Michael Z. Williams’ A Long Time Until Now, or Kevin Ikenberry’s The Crossing.
Wow! What can I say? For the first time ever, I had a book that cost people money reach the Number One slot on Amazon, officially making it a best seller. That makes me a best-selling author (finally).
Thank you to all you readers who bought Rescue and made me a best-selling author. Now, back to writing (Reset – I hope to finish before I begin my big motorcycle trip to the tip of South America in September).
Here’s the cover art for Rescue.
And, yes, that is a fire-breathing pterodactyl.
Not sure if I give my cover artist enough credit, but I’ve found Keith of Keith Draws to be a great guy to work with. He’s very attentive to my wants and needs when it comes to pulling together all the bits and pieces that go into making a really good (IMNSHO) cover.
If you’re an author and need a cover artist, I can’t recommend Keith enough. His website is https://keithdraws.com/.
Rescue is the first book I’ll be trying out Amazon’s hardback printing on. If you want a signed copy, let me know (of course, going through me will increase the price as we have to figure in shipping twice – once to me then once to you).
Okay, Peeps. The Kindle version of Rescue will be available soon. The release date is 26 June 2026 (today is the 18th – so it’s next Friday).
As to the paperback version, there were a couple of minor issues on the back-of-the-book cover art which should be resolved shortly. Once I get that back, I’ll put it up for pre-order, too.
Funny thing. While going through the quality review that KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) has publishers/authors do, it found a “misspelled” word. Turns out that the word “yeet” is not recognized by KDP. I just yeeted that spelling error off the page.
Rescue is designed for the Young Adult (YA) audience, much like Heinlein’s juvenile stories were (Starship Troopers, Tunnel in the Sky, Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy, etc.). But, like Heinlein’s juvenile novels, I think this will appeal to adults of all ages.
Let me know what you think of it when you read it.
This morning I received an email from beta reader Dan McRae. He provided some really quality feedback for Rescue and caught stuff that made it through my editing software, my wife’s review, and my second pass-through. Thank you, Dan!
So, what does that mean for you? It means the book is almost ready to publish. I’m waiting on my cover artist to get through the draft copy and complete the cover art. Keith, my cover artist, does an amazing job, IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion). Looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.
Here’s the back of the book blurb (and what you’ll see on Amazon):
When your mother’s survey plane crashes on a parallel Earth full of dangerous Pleistocene predators and dinosaurs, and nobody’s willing to rescue her, what do you do?
For 15-year-old Brad Maeda, that was an easy choice: disregard the “official policy”, get in his flitter, and fly across the entirety of North America and rescue her himself.
Brad thought he was prepared for anything the planet could throw at him, but some of the wildlife showed him otherwise. It now became a matter of HIS survival, not just a simple rescue mission.
I know, you probably just starting singing the Fontalla Bass song from the movie Air America when you read that title. I know I did when I wrote it 🙂
Anyhow, just a heads up that Rescue has been through its first, second, and third iteration. It’s now in the hands of a beta reader. I hope to hear back from him soon, so I can wrap it up.
Rescue is shorter than my previous novels, clocking in at only 50,000 words. To give you an idea of normal book length, Surveyor was at 102,000 words. Most SciFi is over 100,000 words. But this is different. First, it’s really a Young Adult (YA) novel told from the perspective of a 15 year old, whose mom goes missing on a Primary Survey.
You’ve met the guy before, in Trekker. And Meri shows up as a 13-year-old (who gets in trouble).
I think you’ll enjoy.
Also, it’s the first novel in which I’ve been able to claim the Pink Flamingo Universe logo for a book. For those not in the know, to get a PFU logo, you have to write a scene (or several) in which pink flamingos are apex predators. You should see what my pink flamingos do to velociraptors!
I know, I know. When will it be available? First, I need to get the cover art done (and approved by me). Fortunately, my cover artist is really good, but unfortunately, he’s so good he’s busy. That means it’ll be over a week before he can get to me. We work well together, so it shouldn’t be more than a couple of weeks before the art is approved. Then I need to format the bloody thing and upload it to Amazon and IngramSpark (for bookstores).
As with all my other work, Rescue will be released in both paperback and e-book (Kindle). Those wanting a signed copy can purchase one here (I think – I’ll have to figure out the logistics). I haven’t decided as to how to release the audiobook – let Amazon do its AI magic or record it myself. TBD.
Okay peeps, I finally have some breathing room, so back to the keyboard with me! I’m sure many of you are wondering, “when will Reset come out?” Sadly, not soon. Need to get two screenplays out first, then back to Reset.
One of the screenplays is based on Uncivil Actions, the other is more personal (which I’ll discuss more when I finally finish it – anyone know a good producer/director – ideally Emilio Estevez or Reece Witherspoon?).
A little preview of Uncivil Actions: “A man’s right rest in three boxes; the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.” Frederick Douglass, former slave, freedman, and statesman.
The book is done. I’ve just got to approve the proofs for Ingram Spark, and then bookstores can begin ordering.
If you’d like a paperback copy, I recommend asking your local bookstore to order one for you. I always recommend buying local. Our local bookstore, The Dusty Shelf, carries all of my books, so I give them my business (buying books, coffee, wine, and sometimes their big chocolate chip cookies). If you don’t have a local bookstore, then you can still get a paperback by ordering from Amazon (but you can’t pre-order it, apparently).
If you prefer a digital version, they’re available for pre-order at Amazon, Google Books, and Kobo.
James S. Peet, Author, novelist, and all around good guy! 