And hey, Sean had come up with this cool idea of a shadow creature: a “Pall,” as it turned out. We had no idea what it was. But lo and behold, it became part of the unspooling/emotions/doppelgängers story as well.
So, yeah, it came together nicely. I love how Annihilation worked out, and the story we told. I love the way it sets us up for the next book and how it got us right back to a few of the revelations we’d wanted all along: that Thor’s Hammer was an archive and not a weapon and that the game was actually more about judgment than annihilation. (And then annihilation. But hey, there’s a stop along the way.)
So the book turned out great.
BUT THIS SHIT WASN’T SIMPLE AT ALL!
So here I am, happy but exhausted, sure I’m making all sorts of dumb mistakes in this author’s note but not caring too much. I miss the days when we could write things that were easier, but I suppose it’s not meant to be. The Realm & Sands tagline (Sean’s and my main imprint) is “Inquisitive Fiction.” And hey, when you ask questions with your stories, stuff gets messy. And rarely simple.
Sigh.
Anyway, we’ve got three more books planned in this series. The fifth book, Judgment, comes out on June 7, 2016. You can preorder Judgment here:
http://sterlingandstone.net/books/judgment
After that, you won’t have to wait nearly as long for subsequent installments. There are only six weeks between Books 5 and 6, then another six weeks between 6 and the final, Book, 7. So by the end of summer 2016, you’ll know what happened with the Dempseys and Earth. And I’m sure it’ll be complex as all hell.
Again: Sigh. Good thing we love our jobs.
If you’ve made it to Book 4 in this series, you’re deep enough in with us that you really SHOULD be on our list. Stuff changes all the time, and we’d love to keep you apprised. The list is cool, and you get a free book just for signing up.
Join our mailing list and get your free book here:
http://realmandsands.com/joinus/
Okay. That’s it. My job is done, and now it’s up to Sean to take this manuscript (and this so-called author’s note) and make it shine. So mistakes from this point on are his fault. Blame him.
Thanks for reading!
Johnny and Sean
September 2015
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Johnny and Sean
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Johnny B. Truant is an author, blogger, and podcaster who, like the Ramones, was long denied induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite having a large cult following. He makes his online home at SterlingAndStone.Net and is the author of the Fat Vampire series, the Unicorn Western series, the political sci-fi thriller The Beam, and many more.
You can connect with Johnny on Twitter at @JohnnyBTruant, and you should totally send him an email at johnny@sterlingandstone.net if the mood strikes you.
Sean Platt is speaker, author, and co-founder of Realm & Sands. He is also co-founder of Collective Inkwell, home to the breakout indie hitsYesterday’s Gone and WhiteSpace, co-authored with David W. Wright. Sean also publishes smart stories for children under the pen name Guy Incognito, and writes laugh out loud comedies with Johnny under the pen name Max Power. You can see Sterling & Stone’s complete catalogue at SterlingAndStone.Net/Books. Sean lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, daughter, and son.
You can find Sean at SterlingAndStone.Net, follow him on Twitter at @SeanPlatt, or send him an email at sean@sterlingandstone.net.
For any questions about Sterling & Stone books or products, or help with anything at all, please send an email to help@sterlingandstone.net, or contact us at sterlingandstone.net/contact. Thank you for reading.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Shit From Brains
Did You Like This Book?
About the Authors