99 Cent All the Things! Humorous Sci-Fi and Fantasy Ebooks on Sale

Heya, folkses! I decided to put all my e-books on sale for just $0.99 now through this Sunday. So if you’re missing a book or two in the There Goes the Galaxy trilogy or you want to try out The Curious Case of Mary Ann, this is a great time to do it!

And if you’re outside the US, the e-books are also proportionately reduced. So I hope you’ll check it out or share it with your reader buddies who might need a little humorous sci-fi or fantasy in their lives.

• There Goes the Galaxy (There Goes the Galaxy Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/There-Goes-Galaxy-Jenn-Thorson-ebook/dp/B005M2RRRA
• The Purloined Number (There Goes the Galaxy Book 2): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYGDWE
• Tryfling Matters (There Goes the Galaxy Book Three): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019CZV8X6
• The Curious Case of Mary Ann: https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Case-Mary-Ann-ebook/dp/B073C7MLS3

Feel free to ask any questions! And when I say “feel free to ask any questions,” I mean about the books or writing or the sale. Not, like, life problems or whether you should invite your weird Uncle Edgar for Christmas. (You should; he can’t spend every holiday alone with his 29 taxidermied squirrels.)
 

The Curious Case of Mary Ann at Kirkus Reviews

I'm so pleased to announce that my most recent novel, The Curious Case of Mary Ann, got a rather frabjous evaluation from Kirkus Reviews this week. You can check out the review in its entirety here:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jenn-thorson/curious-case-mary-ann/

One excerpt I'm particularly tickled with....

Also, calling it a "demented but internally consistent detective story" was pretty awesome, too. Little did the reviewer know, those are basically goals for all my stories. And daily life. Definitely daily life.

Anyway, I figured I'd share the good news. I'm currently writing my next novel, a work-in-progress set in the Greater Communicating Universe featuring my There Goes the Galaxy alumnus Rollie. (There'll be other characters regular readers will know, as well.) If you Like my pages on Facebook--

https://www.facebook.com/jennthorsonauthor/
and
https://www.facebook.com/ThereGoestheGalaxy/

--You can see non-spoilery excerpts and regular news on the new book. I'm currently on chapter three.

I also have an audiobook coming out for The Curious Case of Mary Ann. I'm eagerly anticipating that, and that should be out either at the end of this month or early October.

So that's about it from me. Hope you guys are all doing well and that the first day of Autumn is treating you kindly.

A Great Day to Sign Some Books!

Hey, there, folks! I had my first There Goes the Galaxy trilogy book signing on Sunday at 1806 Uniques and Antiques in Jennerstown, PA, and it not only was beautiful weather, it turned out to be a very positive experience.

Because I'm me I was, of course, neurotically over-prepared. I was pretty much stocked with pens like my character Rollie is with handlasers. I had a back-up, a back-up back-up, a back-up of the back-up back-up... Oh, and a spare or two.

But LOOK! Look at the nice little shelf area we had with books available for sale! (They are still selling my books there, by the way. So if you didn't get to pop by and say hi, and you're missing a paperback, they have all three-- signed. There's also a special deal they're running if you buy more than one.)

One of the artisans in the shop, Duella Fern, made some little themic soaps to go with the book as a giveaway to the first people. It's got a green alien finger on a spacey, sparkly background. (No aliens were harmed in the making of the soap, by the way.)

I had a little library desk to command for signing, and also to put my 5,000 pens.

And they had refreshments for everyone, including a TGTG-themed cake! We know Bertram Ludlow would have been all about that (free food!).

Just a close-up of the cake.

The folks that stopped by had some really insightful questions, which I appreciated a lot. And we talked about the books, the writing process, some tips for aspiring writers, etc. I got to hear about people's favorite books and had the good fortune to speak with some young avid readers, which is always refreshing for the soul. I got to see some relatives I haven't seen in a long while, and even some of my friends from Pittsburgh came out to be supportive! All in all, it was a very good day and I was pretty happily tired by the end of it.

So now it's back to the grind and to working on The Curious Case of Mary Ann. I'm over 45,000 words now and heading toward wrapping up this draft. Much will be added in subsequent drafts, but the bones are there.

Hope you all have a great week!
--Jenn

Draft one of Tryfling Matters, Done and Dusted!

Well, as of last evening, draft one of Tryfling Matters (There Goes the Galaxy book three) is done. 

To quote Captain Amazing from the movie Mystery Men: "Is it perfect? No. And that's what I like about it!" 

I admit to shedding a few joyful tears as I figured out my last scene and my last few words. A lot has happened since poor psychology grad student Bertram Ludlow was abducted by aliens from his basement apartment. A lot has happened for me, too, while putting these books out there. 

I would like to take the opportunity to once again thank everybody for being so supportive. The words of encouragement, the book in-jokes, the honest reviews and the word-of-mouth have all helped inspire me to continue rolling forward.

There's lots of work still ahead of me, of course, and I have a list of items I still want to integrate that's as long as my character Rollie's intergalactic rap sheet. But right now the draft is something tangible I can hold and reread-- and most of all, it's something to work from. I feel like it's on the right track.

So, today, I leave you with that stellar news and a little excerpt I'd had fun with in the first draft: 

Rolliam Tsmorlood had a limited experience with those newly-born to the planet Tryfe. But he was pretty sure Tryflings of the infant persuasion were more into Toe Discovery and Disproportionate Head Management than they were completely unnecessary combat rolls and ducking behind park benches.  

It was this last movement in the crowd that caught his eye. 

By the way, the image at the top of the page was something I doodled when I was struggling a little writing a chapter. It's my character Rollie in his personal library and print museum on the planet Ejellan. As a friend pointed out, his tastes in books are pretty diverse-- basically whatever he can get his hands on-- though he does tend to enjoy various philosophies and cultural texts.

Take care, good people of Tryfe!

It's No Fun Being An Illegal Alien: Tryfling Mattters Book Excerpt

I'm still working on Tryfling Matters (There Goes the Galaxy Book 3) and have reached 42,000 words, so it's been some good progress. I thought you all might enjoy a quick snippet of what I've been working on. (No plot spoilers, so don't worry!)

In a recent scene set on Earth (Tryfe), my character Bertram uses the excuse that Rollie, who is from the planet Hyphiz Delta, is from Holland. Rollie's still trying to get his arms around the idea:

“I’m from Holland,” Rollie grumbled as they walked from the bus stop on their way to the ship. He’d been unusually quiet the whole bus trip back to Shadyside. “I’m… Hollandaise… now.”

Bertram stifled a laugh. "Wherever you heard that word? Just: no."

“Well, I wouldn't know, would I? It's why I've always kept things vague with Tryfe people.”

"Dutch," said Bertram. "You'd be Dutch."

"Dutch?! How the frag do you get that from--"

Rozz patted his shoulder. “Chill out, Rollie. That’s why it’s perfect. This is the U.S. Not knowing anything about the rest of the world is a total badge of honor. You’ll be golden.”

Rollie seemed unsure. “Maybe I can find some books on it.”

“Look,” said Bertram, “tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, water, legalized drugs and prostitution. That’s all the average person here knows. It’s a non-issue.”

“So like Vos Laegos with impractical footwear and wind power?” Rollie smiled. “I should visit sometime; research.”

Ninety-Nine Cent E-book Sale and a Little Excerpt from Tryfling Matters (TGTG3)

Greetings and salutations, fine peoples! 

Just wanted to let folks know, I've put The Purloined Number (TGTG2) on sale for $0.99. If you haven't picked it up and you like humorous scifi, you might just want to check it out. 

It's set up so you don't have to have read the first There Goes the Galaxy book to read this one, even though it is the second in the trilogy. The first book is also currently at $0.99, so it's a pretty wallet-frugal investment right now for some cosmic fun. You can access book two here:

http://www.amazon.com/Purloined-Number-There-Goes-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B00FLYGDWE/

And in other news, I've been hard at work on writing the third and final book in the TGTG story arc, Tryfling Matters. So I thought I'd start sharing some snippets here. Today we see Rozz's new day job is not without its mysteries.

Rozz knew nerds—hell, by all reasonable assessments, she was one. But these days, most people in the Nerd-American community had expectations for a certain level of comfort and amenities commensurate with their job skills. And very few of them would have been all, "Oh, well. Whatever" about working conditions where Cthulhu could have rocked the nine-to-five one cube over.

Lots going on in this book. I think you folks are going to enjoy it.

Stay warm and don't get eaten by polar bears! --Jenn

Beautiful Bounce from BoingBoing, Pirate Pugs and Progress

Greetings folks! Happy 2015! I hope the new year is treating you well so far. I have finally gotten over a case of the plague, and after 17 Penny Dreadful-level days of coughing and dreck have passed, the upside of being a living, breathing, non-sicky person has finally kicked in.

It hasn't hurt that Friday, a social media friend let me know that There Goes the Galaxy had been reviewed (and positively!) by BoingBoing. I do believe it's my first review by an online entity that actually has its own Wikipedia page! Anyway, you can check out the cosmic review here:

http://boingboing.net/2015/01/09/there-goes-the-galaxy-by-jenn.html

Otherwise, I have polished off the draft of chapter 16 of the third and final book in the TGTG trilogy, Tryfling Matters. I'm aiming to have the first draft done by spring. And I've had some fun doodling some pugs and other furry creatures doing things pugs and other furry creatures tend not to do. Like piracy and picnics.

It started because one of my Facebook friends, who loves bright colors and pugs, was feeling a bit down and I wanted to cheer her, if briefly. I came up with Captain Pugnatius Pugwash of the pirate ship Pugquatica... Y'know, as one does.

Then I had this need to see what the rest of his crew might look like. Thus, the mateys below.

The little doodle below is actually based on my two cats, Harry and Alice. I didn't like how the sky turned out, so I cut it out and replaced it with a French toile type scrapbook paper. Their costumes are loosely based on the famous paintings of Pinkie and Blue Boy.

Anyway, that's what's going on here in my part of the Greater Communicating Universe. I hope you all are doing well and that the various Victorian-era plagues going around have missed you and your families.

--Jenn

Go, Go Power Ponchos, Ancient Alien Meme-tasticness and Doodly Fun

I keep seeing the above image on Facebook, in an ad for an online fashion site. And each time I do, my brain automatically comments: "Mighty Morphin Power Ponchos."

Clearly, someone needs to get a group together to wear these garments-- one color of each-- and strike ninja poses in the various open spaces around Pittsburgh. Y'know, to liven things up between Furries Conventions.

"Go, go, Power Ponchos!"

(And um, no, I am not volunteering. I'm the Ideas Person. Implementation is free for someone else. :) )

Speaking of ideas, there's this meme going around where you go to Google Images, you type in your first name and the word "meme" and see what images pop up related to it. I decided to try it for my lead alien character Rollie.

This is what came up for that.

For folks here who are familiar with my books, I am open to any and all suggestions of what exactly Rollie did to the Ancient Aliens guy. Go ahead! Be creative. Because with Rollie, it really could be pretty much anything.

Speaking of Rollie, I've been doing a few little doodly illustrations in the evenings from the books-- just for my own entertainment. Below is Bertram and Rollie at the Lunch-n-Launch Diner from The Purloined Number.

Bertram does enjoy digging into the alien chow!

Below is Rollie on Altair-5, from the perspective of an Altairan Carnivorous Daisy. Yup, them's some big angry posies!

And the last drawing is also from The Purloined Number-- my character Meena showing her sculpture at the art gallery on the planet Gwash. Meena's art is done in backspace materials, like paper mache, architectural salvage and despair. Oh, and she'd want me to tell you, she accepts commissioned work! :)

Anyway, that's it from me. I've got various holiday tasks to do this weekend, including trying to find gifts for people who don't want anything, and clumsily taping pretty colored paper onto non-conforming objects.

I swear, if anyone at this time of year ever asked me what superpower I would like, I'd say: to make wrapping paper bow to my will and not cause every present to look like some kindergartener hepped up on sugar plums wrapped the gifts.

---Jenn

Humorous Sci-Fi $0.99 Sale Cosmicness!

Heads up to my reader buddies on here!-- I decided to have a little summer sale for my humorous sci-fi books during the next week. Both There Goes the Galaxy and The Purloined Number are now available on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords for $0.99 a piece. They're also available proportionately cheap in the UK, Canada, etc. on Amazon-- I just didn't want to overload folks with too many links.

So if you were looking for a good time to pick up a copy of either of those to books, this might just be the time to snag them. Or if you know someone who enjoys sci-fi in the general Hitch-hiker's Guide or Terry Pratchett tradition, I'd love it if you would pass the sale info along. The details are as follows:

Kindle US:

THERE GOES THE GALAXY:
http://www.amazon.com/There-Goes-Galaxy-Jenn-Thorson-ebook/dp/B005M2RRRA/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0YS20BHKMBK785SVFVNA

THE PURLOINED NUMBER:
http://www.amazon.com/Purloined-Number-There-Goes-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B00FLYGDWE/


NOOK:

THERE GOES THE GALAXY:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/there-goes-the-galaxy-jenn-thorson/1106635958?ean=2940013437449

THE PURLOINED NUMBER:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-purloined-number-jenn-thorson/1117024694?ean=9780983804536


Smashwords:

THERE GOES THE GALAXY:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370575

THE PURLOINED NUMBER:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370632

Thank ye much, and I now return you to your regularly scheduled Tuesday! :)

Artsplosion, Ideas and Tees, Oh My!

For a person who often feels like I really don't do anything, it sure appears as if I've been very busy! Over the weekend, I was tackling the Amazon rainforest that was my backyard, transforming it from a home to lost 1930s adventurers and junglemen swinging from vines, to a reasonably tame Secret Garden.

I'm pleased with the results-- the evicted anaconda and piranha, less so. Plus, George Challenger's served me with cease and desist papers and Tarzan's been picketing. So there's that to deal with.

But, while I was scything back the underbrush, it gave me plenty of time to think about scenes for the last book in my There Goes the Galaxy trilogy, Tryfling Matters. I'm about 100 manuscript pages in and I know where I want it to end, but I'm plotting out the structure for a strong, fun middle. You know the kind; if it were a person, it would be a middle with good abs.

In the evenings, to help keep the creativity going, I've been doing a lot of drawing. Some have been illustrations from scenes from my first two books. And some of it has been whatever's popped in mind. 

You can see above, I attempted David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor of Doctor Who last night. I thought he turned out pretty Tennanty, but I've since been informed that he looks like: 1.) Harrison Ford 2.) both Japanese AND Korean 3.) His nose is wibbly-wobbly. (I imagine that last one is because it's half-stuck in another dimension. The TARDIS is clearly rough on the sinuses.)

So I'm glad I was set straight on all that. :)

I also decided to try my hand at ol' Captain Jack Sparrow.

I had to try to draw one of my favorite superheroes from childhood, Batgirl...

(The book she's reading is "Work-Life Balance.")

I did another couple of doodles based on There Goes the Galaxy characters... Bertram and Rollie in the Shop-o-Drome on Golgi-Beta from the first book...

And a Charlie's Angels spoof of Tseethe, Fess and Rollie, all characters from my Intergalactic Underworld. There's no slight intended in making Kate Jackson's character a squidoid, by the way. That's just Fess. :)

I did a few Alice in Wonderland doodles using a steampunk theme. This is Alice searching for the Jabberwock with her Vorpal Sword...

And her companion, the Cheshire Clock, all by himself in a paper umbrella tree.

I tried a more traditional Alice down the rabbit hole, really testing out that gravity...

And one of my favorites, the White Rabbit, chillaxing there in his favorite chair...

Here is a different version of the Queen of Hearts I attempted... I wanted her to be less Queen Elizabeth or Queen Victoria influenced and more Scarlett O'Hara, for a change...

And this was followed by a drawing of The White Queen, which turned out kind of creepy and intense. I was going for a little Galadriel and Joan of Arc...

An investment in some monochrome grey markers had me try a little Dorothy in Kansas action...

And I thought I'd do one in color as well.

Because I had some folks on social media forums request it, I've posted a few of these and some other ones as small posters in a Zazzle shop. I have those there along with some t-shirt designs based on the There Goes the Galaxy stories. Folks who have read the books will understand the references. You can check them out here: 

http://www.zazzle.com/jennthorsondesigns*

So that's about it for me right now! This weekend, I plan to finish the rest of my book's metaphorical ab workout, and we'll see what else awaits. I probably should do something about Tarzan and his chimp buddies picketing outside my house. I've explained to him he doesn't have squatter's rights, but it's like talking to a brick wall.

Off-Orbit Art and the Fun of Getting to Draw Aliens, Invisibility and Skull Buckets

I have just a few more drawings to share with you for this week. The first, above, is the one I was still messing around with last post-- the scene with the Underworld snitch Skane in Vos Laegos. I discovered white colored pencil over marker is a great way to show high-tech alien camouflage... while simultaneously not showing it. 

The next one I thought would be fun to work on was Rollie and Meena in the bar on Gwash. This was once I got the general idea roughed out....

And this one, is the finished piece. Apologies, the straight lines look a little bendy due to the paper...

One of my favorite parts was getting to draw a bucket made of an animal skull. The other was giving Rollie sunburn. Poor guy! Altair-5 is not made for the average Hyphiz Deltan.

So that's it from me for now. I hope you all have yourselves an out-of-this-world week.

--Jenn

Doodles, Details and Dayjobs

With the dayjob sucking a lot of my writing brain away lately, I've enjoyed a replenishing break doing some doodling. Lately, this has gone from more simple, static figures, to actual scenes from There Goes the Galaxy and The Purloined Number.

It's always surprising to me what I learn from doing this. For instance, when I decided to draw Bertram in the discount souvenir crap he picks up at the Lunch-n-Launch diner in The Purloined Number, I had NO IDEA he'd gotten himself the questionable orange and green logo pants he seems to be wearing here. He just needed something extra, and they APPEARED. (I'm sorry, Bertram. I'm really sorry. But at least you look happy about it.)

Rollie below was fun because I finally got a better bead on those heavy-treaded boots he's always clunking onto things. I liked adding the little frayed bits to the bottom of the coat, too. I don't imagine Rollie bothers with having many wardrobe options in his closet.

I wanted to draw Xylith, who's integral in both books, here doing a little pick-pocketry... her speciality. Here, I knew about her very strange feet, but I wasn't aware until I started trying to design the boots and clothes that her people may well be amphibious.

I also wanted to try to draw Rozz, the other main Earth person in the series. From comments online, Rozz apparently looks like a fuchsia-haired Felicia Day. I would have liked this drawing better if it wasn't limited by my crappy handwriting. Missing those first grade penmanship classes--- it still haunts me! :)

On the plus side, I have a better idea of what the Print Liberation Lounge logo and company colors might be.

One of my friends at work, who'd been following along with my drawing projects, requested a scene from the first There Goes the Galaxy, wanting to know what the Seers' Tower on Rhobux-7 looked like. I wasn't sure if I was up for doing such a complex scene, but it was really fun to try to figure it out!

That got me thinking about that big lime green eyeball (The Receptionist) inside the Seers' Tower. I was pretty happy with little details like the sweep of Rollie's coat, and the hole in poor Bertram's sock.

I also thought it would be fun to see what the Peace Guards on the planet Podunk-17 looked like. I knew they were lizardoid. But I didn't expect they would be inspired so much by tropical aquarium fish.

So, that's where I am currently. I'm working on the picture below today.

This is in Vos Laegos, in The Purloined Number where Bertram and Rollie visit with Rollie's snitch acquaintance, Skane. Here the challenge will be in doing Rollie's high-tech camo. It's supposed to be visible but not visible, so it's an interesting balancing act for me. I don't know if my drawing skills are up for it. But I'm preparing for takeoff anyway. :)

If any of you have suggestions for a scene you'd like to see doodled, I'd be happy to hear it!

--Jenn

Daft Doodling and Sci-Fi Sketchery

It's been a stressful few weeks for me, work-wise, and I needed a short break from writing, so I thought I would treat myself to a new sketchbook, some markers and colored pencils and just draw whatever I felt like. I started out with a few whimsical Alice in Wonderland doodles...

I may roughly fill-in the background on the one below-- I'm not sure yet. Still getting the feel for all the stuff the colored pencils can do and the best way to manipulate them...

Then a friend who's also a reader of mine triggered me drawing a carnivorous daisy from the planet Altair, based on my There Goes the Galaxy books...

She had this idea that there were two different species of daisies, one who ate its prey a bit at a time and one that slurped up people whole, bud-closed. Anyway, it was too weird to not try to draw...

I also wanted to try to draw my character Fess, who you may note is basically a squid-oid. The little pink and purple creature next to him is a snoogle, one of the Greater Communicating Universe's cutest and most popular pets...

And then there's my character, Rollie, who I'm still working on. He's been fun to do. The challenge here was that he wears all black (he claims "it hides blood so nice"), so coloring him in meant I would lose all the detail on his clothes, if I didn't do it right. Fortunately, a touch of grey, a little brown, and a white colored pencil did the trick on that...

Still work to do on the furniture, etc., but that will come in the next few days.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Hope you are all doing well as we begin our journey into May-- and finally, REAL SPRING. --Jenn