OBITUARY – DAVID SHERMAN, AUTHOR

We have already posted our Memoriam for David Sherman, but with the support and assistance of his family, we have put together this brief obituary. Apologies for the delay in posting, as we needed to confirm some of the details.

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David Sherman, aged 78, passed away quietly in the company of his friends and loved ones on November 16, 2022, in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, due to prolonged health complications. He was born on February 27, 1944, in Niles, Ohio. He joined the Marine Corps out of high school and served in Vietnam. From April 1966 to September 1966, he was a squad leader with Combined Action Platoon and received numerous medals and citations.  After leaving active service, David moved to Philadelphia where he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, becoming, for a brief time, an award-winning sculptor.

In 1983, David began his writing career with the novel Knives in the Night, published by Ivy Books, a division of Ballantine Books. He would go on to write over thirty novels, including the best-selling Starfist and Starfist: Force Recon series and the Star Wars novel Jedi Trial with co-author Dan Cragg, and his solo series, DemonTech. His short fiction appeared in Weird Trails, the award-winning Defending the Future series, and the award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries anthologies. Much of his fiction drew on his combat experience. For years, David was a fixture at many east coast science fiction conventions, including Philcon and Balticon.

His books have been translated into Czech, Polish, German, and Japanese.

In his later years, he found it difficult to continue to write about war, focusing instead on weird western and steampunk short fiction, but with the help of author Keith R.A. DeCandido he did complete his original novel series The 18^th Race trilogy (Issue In Doubt, In All Directions, and To Hell and Regroup). In a nod to those who served, every character mentioned in the series was named after a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Vest of the Pecos, a collection of his steampunk short stories, will be published posthumously by eSpec Books, under their Paper Phoenix Press imprint.

David is survived by his siblings, Bev Taylor, Robert Towles, Mary Carano, and their respective families. He leaves behind many friends and fans to give tribute to his memory.

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eSPEC EXERPTS – ISSUE IN DOUBT

With the recent conclusion of David Sherman’s 18th Race trilogy going to press, we thought it would be nice to share excerpts from the series. This week’s excerpt is from book one, Issue In Doubt.

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ISSUE IN DOUBT – PROLOG – FIRST CONTACT

McKinzie Elevator Base, Outside Millerton,
Semi-Autonomous World Troy

Samuel Rogers jerked when he heard the beeping of the proximity alert. He spun in his chair to look at the approach displays and his jaw dropped. With one hand he toggled the space-comm to hail the incoming ship, with the other he reached for the local comm to call Frederick Franklin, his boss.

Franklin sounded groggy when he answered. “This better be good, Rogers. I just got to sleep.”

“Sorry, Chief, but are we expecting any starships? One just popped up half an AU north. Uh oh.”

“No, we aren’t expecting anyone. And what do you mean, ‘uh oh’?”

“Chief—” Rodgers’ voice broke and he had to start again. “Chief, data coming in says the incoming starship is three klicks wide.”

“Bullshit,” Franklin snapped. “There aren’t any starships that big!”

“I know. It’s got to be an asteroid. And it’s on an intercept vector.”

“There aren’t any asteroids north.” Franklin’s voice dropped to a barely intelligible mumble. “North, that would explain how it ‘just popped up.’” Indistinct noises sounded to Rogers like his boss was getting dressed. “Have you tried to hail her?”

“The same time I called you. But half an AU. . .”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Stand by, I’m on my way.”

“Standing by.” Rogers sounded relieved.

~*~

Franklin burst into the spaceport’s operations room and headed straight for the approach displays. In seconds he absorbed the data, and let out a grunt.

“Any reply yet?” he asked.

Rogers shook his head. “Too soon, Chief.”

Franklin grimaced; he should have realized that and not have asked such a dumb question. The starship—asteroid, whatever—was half an Astronomical Unit out, half the distance from old Earth to Sol. It would take about four minutes for the hail to reach the incoming object, and another four minutes for a reply to come back. Plus however much time it would take for whoever it was to decide to answer the hail. The two men watched the data display as time ticked by.

After watching for another fifteen minutes, with no reply, and nothing but confirmation as to its velocity, vector, and probable impact time, Franklin decided to kick the problem upstairs.

“Office of the President.” James Merton’s voice was thick when he answered the president’s comm; the night duty officer must have been dozing.

“Jim, Fred here. We’ve got a situation that requires some attention from the boss.”

“Can it wait until morning? Bill’s had a long day, and he’s dead to the world.”

“Come morning, it might be too late to do anything.”

“Come on, Fred,” Merton said. “No offense intended, but you’re an elevator operator. What kind of earth-shattering problem can you possibly have?”

“Exactly that: a literally earth-shattering problem. There’s a large object on an intercept course. That’s large, as in planet-buster. It’ll be here in less than a standard day.”

There was a momentary silence before Merton asked, “You aren’t kidding, are you?”

“I wish. Stand by for the data.” Franklin nodded to Rogers, who transmitted a data set to the president’s office. A minute later, Franklin and Rogers heard Merton swear under his breath.

“You called it, something that big really is a planet buster, isn’t it?” the duty officer asked.

“Unfortunately,” Franklin answered.

“Now, according to the data you sent me, the object is metallic, and it seems to have the density of a starship rather than the density of an asteroid. Am I reading those figures right?”

“You’re reading right,” Franklin said. “But nobody makes starships that big.”

“At least nobody we know of,” Rogers murmured. “Have you tried to contact it, I mean, in case it is a starship?”

“Yes, we did.” Franklin looked at Rogers, who held up four fingers. “Four times. No response.”

“And you’re sure it’s on a collision course?”

Franklin shivered. “Absolutely.”

“Keep trying to make contact. I’ll wake the president.”

~*~

An hour and a half later, a three-man Navy rescue team under the command of Lieutenant (j.g.) Cyrus Hayden, rode the elevator up to Base 1, in geosynchronous orbit, where they boarded the tender John Andrews to take a closer look at the rapidly approaching object. If it was a starship their orders were to again attempt radio contact. If she did not reply, to attempt to board her. If the object was an unusual asteroid, Hayden and his men were to plant a nuclear device on its side, then back off to a safe distance before detonating the bomb. It was hoped that the explosion would deflect the object’s course enough to avoid the collision that was looking more certain with each passing minute.

The North American Union Navy tender John Andrews was still 100,000 kilometers from the object when laser beams lanced out from it and shredded the tender.

Twenty shocked minutes later, the orbital lasers of Troy’s defensive batteries shot beams of coherent light. The only effect the lasers seemed to have on the object, which was now obviously a warship from some unknown people, was to provide the enemy with the location of the defensive weapons. Within minutes, all of Troy’s orbital laser batteries were knocked out by counter-battery fire from the enemy starship. It had committed an act of war when it vaporized the John Andrews, hadn’t it? Didn’t that make it the enemy?

When the enemy starship was a quarter million kilometers out, it fired braking rockets, which slowed its speed and altered its vector enough to reach high orbit rather than colliding with the planet. Small objects began flicking off it and heading toward the surface.

Ground-based laser and missile batteries began firing at the small vessels. The mother-ship killed those batteries as easily as she had killed the orbital batteries.

Shortly after that the first landers made planetfall, and reports of wholesale slaughter began coming in, William F. Lukes, President of Troy, ordered all the data they had on the invasion uploaded onto drones and the drones launched: Destination Earth.

The unidentified enemy killed the first several drones, but stopped shooting them when it became obvious that they were running away rather than attacking.

Two days later, four of the drones reached the Sol System via wormhole. It took ten more days for a North American Union Navy frigate to pick one of them up and carry it to Garroway Base on Mars, from where its coded message was transmitted to the NAU’s Supreme Military Headquarters on Earth.

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David Sherman is the author or co-author of some three dozen books, most of which are about Marines in combat.

He has written about US Marines in Vietnam (the Night Fighters series and three other novels), and the DemonTech series about Marines in a fantasy world. The 18^th Race trilogy is military science fiction.

Other than military, he wrote a non-conventional vampire novel, The Hunt, and a mystery, Dead Man’s Chest. He has also released a collection of short fiction and non-fiction from early in his writing career, Sherman’s Shorts; the Beginnings.

With Dan Cragg he wrote the popular Starfist series and its spin off series, Starfist: Force Recon—all about Marines in the Twenty-fifth Century.; and a Star Wars novel, Jedi Trial.

His books have been translated into Czech, Polish, German, and Japanese.

After going to war as a U.S. Marine infantryman, and spending decades writing about young men at war, he’s burnt out on the subject and has finally come home. Today he’s writing short fiction, mostly steampunk and farcical fantastic Westerns.

He lives in sunny South Florida, where he doesn’t have to worry about hypothermia or snow-shoveling-induced heart attacks. He invites readers to visit his website, novelier.com.

COVER REVEAL – TO HELL AND REGROUP

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN ON TROY!

The strange bird-like aliens that humans have nicknamed “Dusters” have destroyed a human colony, the Semi-Autonomous World Troy. The North American Union sent a massive force of troops from the Marines, Army, and Navy in response.

In orbit, the remnants of the Navy must pull together and fight off the latest wave of Duster reinforcements to come through the wormhole and press their attack.

On the ground, Marines are locked in pitched combat with the Dusters, who continue to press their advantage, now with a weapon of devastating power, mounted on a large tank-like vehicle.

At headquarters, the Army Corps of Engineers must figure out how those tanks work and figure out how to either stop them—or use them!

And back on Earth, the NAU President must decide humanity’s next course of action, even as scientists try to discover the Dusters’ secrets to help the soldiers, sailors, and Marines win—

—and time is running out!

Advance Praise

From the cold, detached environs of an orbiting battleship to the grit, sweat, and blood that defines life in a fighting hole on an alien world, Sherman and DeCandido pull out all the stops in this explosive concluding chapter of the 18^th Race trilogy.

—Dayton Ward, bestselling author of
The Last World War and Star Trek: Agents of Influence

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Other Books in the Series

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David Sherman is the author or co-author of some three dozen books, most of which are about Marines in combat.

He has written about US Marines in Vietnam (the Night Fighters series and three other novels), and the DemonTech series about Marines in a fantasy world. The 18^th Race trilogy is military science fiction.

Other than military, he wrote a non-conventional vampire novel, The Hunt, and a mystery, Dead Man’s Chest. He has also released a collection of short fiction and non-fiction from early in his writing career, Sherman’s Shorts; the Beginnings.

With Dan Cragg he wrote the popular Starfist series and its spin off series, Starfist: Force Recon—all about Marines in the Twenty-fifth Century.; and a Star Wars novel, Jedi Trial.

His books have been translated into Czech, Polish, German, and Japanese.

After going to war as a U.S. Marine infantryman, and spending decades writing about young men at war, he’s burnt out on the subject and has finally come home. Today he’s writing short fiction, mostly steampunk and farcical fantastic Westerns.

He lives in sunny South Florida, where he doesn’t have to worry about hypothermia or snow-shoveling-induced heart attacks. He invites readers to visit his website, novelier.com.

Keith R.A. DeCandido has been an author, editor, critic, TV personality, martial artist, museum curator, Census worker, musician, sportswriter, and podcaster over the course of the last three decades. He’s best known for his fiction writing, with more than 50 novels, around a hundred works of short fiction, and a mess of comic books. He’s written fiction in more than thirty different licensed universes, based on TV shows (Star Trek, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Farscape), movies (Alien, Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Resident Evil), comic books (Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men, Hulk), and games (Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Command & Conquer, StarCraft), and also in his own original universes, including fantastical police procedurals set in the fictional cities of Cliff’s End (Dragon Precinct and its sequels) and Super City (the Super City Cops novels and novellas) and urban fantasy tales set in the somewhat real locales of New York (the Bram Gold Adventures) and Key West (tales of Cassie Zukav, weirdness magnet). Recent and upcoming work includes the Alien novel Isolation (based on both the movie series and the videogame), the collaborative novels Animal (with Munish K. Batra, MD) and To Hell and Regroup (with David Sherman), the next books in his ongoing series, Phoenix Precinct and Feat of Clay, the graphic novels Icraus and Jellinek (with Gregory A. Wilson and Áthila Fabbio), and short stories in the anthologies Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles, Bad Ass Moms, Footprints in the Stars, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Pangaea Book 3: Redemption, and Brave New Girls: Adventures of Gals & Gizmos). Keith has also been writing about pop culture for the award-winning webzine Tor.com since 2011, has been an editor of thirty years’ standing (though he usually does it sitting down), is a third-degree black belt in karate, plays percussion professionally, and probably some other stuff he can’t remember due to the lack of sleep. Find out less at his hilariously primitive web site at DeCandido.net

STATE OF THE ‘SPEC – APOCALYPSE EDITION

Well, folks, like everyone else we are hunkered down and riding out the tidal wave caused by this sh*t storm.

We are working steadily on the books we would have launched at Balticon, normally our biggest convention of the year. It is so surreal…this is the first time in seventeen years we will not be at Balticon, which we consider our home show. It will be the first time in fifteen years we haven’t had our annual launch party there. I can honestly say that one event has become the focal point of my year, prepping the books, making the food. And sadly, this isn’t the only event lost this year. If I had the time, I would be feeling adrift right now. 

Of course, I don’t, as I work in healthcare. But we aren’t going to go there.

I wanted you all to know that life goes on despite the chaos and the uncertainty. Here are some things we’ve already accomplished this year:

We have re-released books 2 and 3 in James Chambers’s Corpse Fauna Series: Tears of Blood and The Dead in Their Masses. The fourth and final book in the series, Eyes of the Dead, is due out in October of this year. Here is a guest post he wrote for Speculative Chic.

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We have re-released Megan Mackie’s books Saint Code: The Lost and The Finder of the Lucky Devil. We have one more book to re-release, The Saint of Liars, then we are free to focus on her two new titles, The Devil’s Day and Saint Code: Constable. All of these books take place in an alternate, futuristic Chicago we’ve coined cyber-magical Chicago. If you aren’t familiar with Megan, here is a guest post she wrote for Speculative Chic.)

 

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We released Michelle D. Sonnier’s novella, Death’s Embrace, which is a prequel to her debut novel, The Clockwork Witch. (Don’t worry, Michelle is nearly done with the sequel, An Unceasing Hunger.)

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Our next re-release is Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie Tale, written by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and Day Al-Mohamed. This is a steampunk retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Here is a guest post that Danielle wrote for Speculative Chic.

What We Are Working On Now

Despite how everything has gone topsy-turvy, we are still hard at work on some pretty amazing books. 

First and foremost, we have a nearly complete manuscript for David Sherman’s military science fiction novel To Hell and Regroup, the long-awaited conclusion to his 18th Race trilogy, which also includes Issue In Doubt and In All Directions. Due to health concerns, the final volume is being co-written with Keith R.A. DeCandido.

In conjunction with the above release, we are also working on a new novel by Christopher L. Bennett, Arachne’s Crime, the first book in a brand-new duology, to be followed by Arachne’s Exile.

Danielle Ackley-McPhail is hard at work on Build-A-Book Workshop, a new volume in the Literary Handyman series. This book focuses on the elements that go into professional book design, not how to use book-design software or artistically design a book. She is also working on her first science fiction novel: Daire’s Devils.

And finally, editors Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French are currently working on the upcoming anthology Horns and Halos, tales of devils and angels.

Please stay tuned for more information, and possibly check out some of the above links for great fiction from our authors. Given the need for social distancing and sheltering at home, we have put all of our ebooks on sale for only $0.99 for both eSpec Books titles and Paper Phoenix Press titles.

Not sure if our books are for you? You can still help us out! All of these links are Amazon Associate links, so we receive a portion of your sale no matter what you buy, with absolutely no additional cost to you.

Not a fan of Amazon? We have a link for that! You can order copies of all of our books via our eSpec Books Square Store and we will ship direct as long as the post office is active.

FROM THE PUBLISHER – 2018 BESTSELLERS

Just out of curiosity, we looked over our sales for the year and are delighted to share with you the following bestsellers to date for 2018. You can click on the image to check out the book.

eBook Best Sellers – from left to right

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Print Book Best Sellers – from left to right

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NEW RELEASES – 1/5/17

It has been a busy few weeks here at eSpec Books. Here are the new additions to our lists.

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The Sister Paradox
by Jack Campbell

Liam Doesn’t Have A Sister. And She’s Weird.

Liam is his parents’ only child, and that’s just fine with him.

Until the day the sister-he-never-had shows up at school.

Just to make it worse, the sword-wielding Kari tells him they have an important quest to complete.

And that’s how Liam finds himself dragged into another world, facing basilisks and unicorns, cursed objects, elves, and even a dragon, all magical and dangerous, but none more so than the sister he didn’t have until that morning. A sister who turns out to be quite good with her sword, and ready to use it when faced with things like a dragon as long as her brother is at her side.

Liam begins to realize two things: it’s going to be a very long day, and having a sister can be weird.

But most unsettling of all, he’s not sure he minds…

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“Jack Campbell has penned a fun, engaging, fantasy story that’s brought to life by depth and authenticity of its young characters. A major win!” – Ty Drago, Author of the Undertakers 

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Issue in Doubt
by David Sherman

We are not alone!

In exploring and colonizing the galaxy, humanity discovers evidence of eighteen sentient species. Seventeen of them had not developed interstellar travel. Those were destroyed by the species that did reach the stars. That space-faring eighteenth decimated the human colony on the Semi-Autonomous World Troy.

A Marine Force Recon platoon sent to investigate is wiped out almost to the last man. In reaction, the North American Union assembles the largest army seen since the major wars of the 20th Century.

A Marine Corps Combat Force is sent to “Kick in the door,” backed up by a four-divison Army corps to take the planet back. The initial landing is unopposed. It isn’t until the fleet carrying the Army corps is approaching Troy that the enemy strikes, with devastating effect.

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“David Sherman writes about Marines with the razor-sharp realism of one of their own.”
Jack Campbell, Best-Selling Author, Lost Fleet Series

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Consigned to the Sea
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

’Tis Said We All Return to Whence We Began…

Is it any wonder then why so many are drawn to the sea? Throughout the history of Man the crash of the waves has been a siren song…a promise…a curse. Above the waves is a challenge that makes or breaks many a man or woman. Below is another world both magical and menacing.

In Consigned to the Sea you will find the vast spectrum of what the oceans have to offer. The wonder of a mermaid yearning to reach the sky… The wrath of the selkie protecting its own… A dragon waging war against pirates…

Whether you root for the sailor or the sea, here is a collection you can treasure.

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“Dripping with tension, Consigned to the Sea is a powerful tale with interesting twists toward the end and a strong lead. Recommended.”—Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Rise Reviews

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A Legacy of Stars
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Look to the Stars and be Amazed…

With one small step, mankind embarked on a journey fraught with potential and danger in equal measure. In A Legacy of Stars, Danielle Ackley-McPhail delves into those same depths as humanity ventures out into the complexity of space.

New worlds…dangers…marvels… Unearthly landscapes and beings that transcend alien. The conflicts of man versus, well… everything, including man. The bittersweet triumph of survival out among the stars.

Explore the harsh realities and boundless possibilities of mankind let loose on the greater universe. Pirates and gypsies, elite armed forces and scientific pioneers, all faced with the horror, wonder, and unexpected challenges that life in space has to offer. Pitch battles, political intrigues, military conquest, wondrous discoveries… glimpse what it is to be human, or not, in the technological age, beyond the bounds of humanity’s cradle.

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Danielle makes the reader into an embedded (and unfortunately unarmed) observer on a rapid-moving ride-along. —Jody Lynn Nye, Author of Robert Asprin’s Myth-Fits, on  “The Devil You Don’t”

Both chilling and gripping…— Michael Z. Williamson, Author of Freehold, on “In the Dying Light”

FROM THE PUBLISHER – 2016 RECAP

This has been an interesting year for us at eSpec Books, in every connotation of the word.

We have held three successful Kickstarters, funding a total of seven books, we have released ten titles in print and/or ebook this year, and we have become self-employeed…but not salaried. 

http://amzn.to/2gqIyps

Our Best Sellers for the year were:

Print

1. The Weird Wild West
2. Gaslight & Grimm
3. Best of Defending the Future
4. POST
5. Dogs of War – Reissued / In the Lamplight (tie)

eBook

1. The Weird Wild West
2. Gaslight & Grimm
3. Best of Defending the Future
4. Dogs of War – Reissue
5. In the Lamplight

We have signed books with award-winning, bestselling authors  Jack Campbell, Brenda Cooper, Bud Sparhawk, and David Sherman, and have brought on some exciting newcomers in our anthology projects.

At Balticon we connected with old friends, had a fire alarm, and held a pretty amazing launch party where we got to meet quite a few of our authors for the first time in person, as well as gave away loads of prizes and sold lots of book. We also had enough goodies left over that we provided food for the party after us, and they still had leftovers to send to the con suite when they were done.

 

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We have also started a new reprint line of books, Paper Phoenix Press and released our first title under that imprint.

Original cover designed by the author in 2014

All in all, this has been an amazing year of growth for us, if also one of readjustment.

Thank you all for joining us on this journey. We hope you’ll continue to follow along in the new year.

Be nice, be happy, be safe this holiday season!

Danielle McPhail, Mike McPhail, and Greg Schauer

FROM THE PUBLISHER – AGREEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

eSpec Books is proud to announce two publication agreements we have made today.

The first is with author David Sherman for his 18th Race trilogy, previously published by Dark Quest Books. David is a marine veteran, bestselling co-author of the Starfist series, and author of the bestselling Demontech series. His first two novels in the 18th Race trilogy, Issue in Doubt and In All Directions will be re-released later this year. The release of the third, previously unpublished novel, To Hell and Regroup, will be announced at a future date.

 

The second agreement is with editor Hal Greenberg, creator of The Awakened gaming universe, for The Awakened: Modern, an anthology to be edited by Hal Greenberg and Greg Schauer. More details to come.