Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 5 likes
Two days!!! We’re two days from launch! Your books are probably in the mail right this very second on their way to your door! I’m freaking out! Are you freaking out? It’s okay, we can freak out together. I’m getting good at that.

My brain’s too psyched up to put together much of a coherent update today, so I’ll leave it simple this time and go right into our daily character update. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the next two members of the Tantalus 13 expedition: medical officer Dr. Ramanathan Bachal and Mission Commander Drake Gorrister.

 
 

The leader and the healer. The head and heart of the expedition. On a year-long expedition into the unknown, these are the two members of the crew you need to be able to trust the most. If anyone is expendable on this mission, it’s not these two. But just how reliable are they, really?

Ramanathan has a big heart and a long history of helping people, but that history is stained with tragedy and growing, untreated mental illness. If this physician can’t heal himself, can anyone truly be confident that he’ll be ready if tragedy strikes?

Gorrister is a lifelong company man. He’s lived, breathed, and bled Exotech all his life. A man of spreadsheets and checklists, Gorrister knows company regulations backwards and forwards. But when the mission they’d all signed up for becomes something beyond anyone’s expectations, can he adapt when things get messy? And if it came to a choice, where would his loyalties truly lie: crew or company?

Come read all about these two characters in the Explore section of my website, and get ready to see them in action in just two days!
Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 4 likes
Only three days left until the big day, and I’m not freaking out at all! I’m totally calm here. Who’s panicking? You’re panicking! Everything is perfectly fine!

I kid. I’m far more excited than I can describe, even with all the heavy pressure of an immanent book launch hanging over my head every second of the day. Even though we’ve been waiting for six long years for this day, it still feels like there’s so much left to do before it gets here. Granted, that’s my perfectionism talking. You only get one chance to make a first impression after all, and in the publishing world that matters even more than you’d think.

On the one hand, I’ve already done better than a lot of authors ever do even though the book hasn’t come out yet. I’ve personally presold close to a thousand copies during the preorder campaign and the following years, and that’s not counting any of the copies sold to book retailers this year. I have an absolutely perfect audiobook adaptation coming out on the most listened-to audiobook platform in the world, and I have a spot saved for me at the biggest science fiction convention in Ohio later this year. If that’s all I get out of this, it’s still pretty darn impressive.

But I’m hard to satisfy. I want it all. I want Tantalus Depths to be a number one seller. I want it to be the kind of book people discuss when they talk about modern science fiction classics. I want to be able to make writing a full-time job so I can explore the galaxies inside my mind and tell every story that’s been struggling to burst free for so long. I’ll still be content if I don’t achieve these things, but I want them, and I’m not going to be passive about it.

We’ll see soon enough, though. In the meanwhile, let’s continue with the introductions, shall we?

 

 

You’ve met the muscle of the Tantalus 13 survey mission, now meet the brains. Dr. Rebecca Traviss and Dr. William Hertz are two of the smartest people you could want on your team, and they both have an absolutely ravenous enthusiasm for learning and discovery. As a geologist and a computer scientist, they may be well out of their depth when it comes to exploring an ancient alien megastructure the size of a planet, but they’re eager to meet the challenge head on.

Read more about Becky and Hertz in their Explore articles here, and get ready to follow their adventure in Tantalus Depths on September 27th!


Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 1 like
Hello everyone! It’s day three of our Tantalus Depths launch week countdown, which means we only have four days left until the big day!

To ring in the final countdown, I think it’s time to put a brighter highlight on the book itself. I’ve talked about pretty much nothing but Tantalus Depths for months now, but now that it’s finally almost here, I’d like to get a bit deeper into the meat of the story, so to speak. As such, I’ve decided now is the perfect time to give you all a proper introduction to the cast.

That’s right, it’s time for the long overdue return of the lore updates! From now until launch day, I’m going to give you an in-depth look at all eight characters from Tantalus Depths, two each day until you’ve met everyone.
For our first day, I’d like you all to meet the two mining specialists on the crew of the Diamelen: Yancy Gage and Hollis Rook.
   

Rook and Yancy may not have PHDs, but their experience and expertise in the field of deep space mining makes them irreplaceable on the Tantalus 13 survey expedition. When you need someone to operate an industrial energy drill or a Dawson core extractor, you call these guys. Tantalus 13 isn’t their first dangerous mission: before accepting Exotech’s offer to join the Diamelen’s crew, Rook and Yancy worked together for the Argos Mining Syndicate on the perilous volcanic fields of Io. They know their stuff, and as long as you can handle Rook’s rebellious attitude and frequent wisecracking, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone better suited for a journey into the unknown.

Check out Rook and Yancy’s new articles in the “Explore” tab of the website today to get acquainted with the first two members of the Tantalus Depths crew, and be ready to meet the rest of them in the next few days!

Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 3 likes

 

Today I have the honor of presenting you with a lovely interview with my friend Kaytalin Platt, author of the Equitas series! Here we get behind the scenes as I talk a bit about Tantalus Depths, worldbuilding, and storytelling, along with an inside look at the editing and publication process. We had a really great discussion! Come check out our interview, and show her books a little love too while you’re at it. She’s extremely talented in her own right!

Other than that, I don’t have any huge bombshell announcements to drop today. But stay tuned tomorrow for another big update as we get closer and closer to the big day! Don’t forget that the Tantalus Depths audiobook is on sale through tomorrow for 65% off, and don’t forget to make plans for our big launch event 7:00 at Kent Trumbull on September 27th. You’re not going to want to miss it!  

Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 3 likes
Six days until Tantalus Depths’ launch, and I’m already ready to drop a major bombshell announcement. This is too big for me to beat around the bush, so I’m just going to get right into it: I’m going to GalaxyCon Columbus!


I’ve been working on setting up a schedule of appearances at conventions and book signings throughout the year, and I have a lot of prospects I’m excited for, but as luck would have it, the first booking I’ve been able to lock in is also the biggest and most exciting! 

If you aren’t familiar, GalaxyCon is the biggest sci-fi convention in all of Ohio. It’s an enormous three-day extravaganza of geekdom featuring amazing guests, panels, events, and vendors: one of which will be me! I simply cannot state how enormous GalaxyCon is: some of the guests this year include William Shatner, Kevin Smith, Jodie Whittaker, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Patrick Warburton, Kevin Conroy, and…literally like a hundred other insanely talented celebrities. I could fill this whole dang update just by listing the names I’m excited about. 

And yeah…I’m gonna be there too! I totally belong in the same building as those people, right? I don’t feel underqualified at all. I am definitely not going to stick out from the crowd at all. 

I’m freaking out, but in a good way. It’s an incredible opportunity and I couldn’t be more psyched for it. 

GalaxyCon is December 2-4th in Columbus, Ohio. If you can make it out there to see lil old me in that menagerie of talent, you should make the trip. It’s going to be epic.
Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 6 likes

Seven days! My friends, we are officially ONE WEEK from publication! I can’t Believe how close it is!

I’m going to try my very best to write an update every day this week, since a lot is going to happen during these final days. Of course, every time I try to hold myself to any kind of schedule I woefully fall short, so who knows what will happen? Heck, this update almost didn’t go out in time thanks to my wonderful rural internet deciding to take half the day off. Life is full of adventures.

One week out, things are pretty quiet. I have some interviews lined up for this week, and I’m prepping things for the big launch event at Kent Trumbull onthe 27th. Early reviews are still overwhelmingly positive for the book, and I’m hoping more will come out in the first few weeks of release.

One big surprise update I did not see coming: the audiobook is already on sale! Turns out Audible has a site-wide sale from now until September 23rd on every audiobook in their catalogue, including the ones that aren’t even out yet. Tantalus Depths is currently 65% off at 8.73, which is cheaper than the cost of an Audible credit, so this is a really good deal. If you have any interest in getting the audiobook (and you should, it’s AMAZING), I definitely recommend taking advantage of this sale!

If you’ve already preordered it at full price, I apologize. I know it isn’t really a fair deal. I didn’t have any personal involvement in setting the price and was not aware this sale was coming, or I would have mentioned it sooner. It may be possible to cancel your preorder and order it again at the sale price, but I’m genuinely not sure.

If you haven’t preordered yet, don’t miss this deal! Andi’s performance breathes so much life into my words that I could never convey through text alone. I cannot recommend the audiobook strongly enough. It’s an experience that must not be missed.  

Evan Graham · Author · added almost 3 years ago · 5 likes

Hello friends and supporters! 

Tantalus Depths is now less than two weeks away from launch! The wait is finally almost over! 

If you backed the Tantalus Depths preorder campaign way back in 2016 and ordered a physical copy,  you should be getting an email today or sometime this week from inkshares asking for confirmation of your shipping info. Please, please, please make sure this info is accurate! Six years is a long time, and I know a lot of you have moved since then. The email will have a link for you to make corrections. If you run into any difficulties with this, please email Inkshares directly at hello@inkshares.com. Shipping is handled by my publisher, not me, so I won’t be able to do anything to help with this. 

If everything is correct in your shipping information, you’re good! You don’t have to do anything else, it’ll ship right to you around  the 27th. Preorders made through Amazon or another book retailer may come a couple days later than that, but they should be close. 

In other exciting news, the Tantalus Depths audiobook is now available for preorder! It’s exclusively available on Audible, and if you’ve never had an Audible account before, you can get your very first download free! Andi Arndt gives a truly phenomenal performance narrating this story; I truly could not have asked for a better reader. You’re in for a fantastic ride. Check it out here:

There will be more updates soon as we get closer and closer to the big day, so stay tuned! And again, PLEASE check your email, including your junk folder just in case, to make sure your shipping info is correct if you’ve preordered a paperback through Inkshares. 

Evan Graham · Author · added about 3 years ago · 6 likes
Hello my wonderful friends and supporters. We are officially down to just one month until Tantalus Depths’ launch day, which feels absolutely insane to say. It seriously felt like we’d never get here, but now it’s cresting over the horizon and finally feels like a real thing that’s actually happening to me. 
There’s still a lot that needs done before launch day in order to make this as successful as possible. I’ve been spending the last few weeks gathering together materials for the display table I plan to use at events, reaching out to reviewers and media sources, and putting together marketing strategies. All of this is way outside my comfort zone and normal skillset, but I’m doing it anyway. It’s not enough for me to just have Tantalus Depths exist; I want it to thrive. I want to do everything in my power to put my book in front of as many people as possible. 
It’s more than one person can do alone, though, even with my publisher bolstering me. My hands are as full as they can get right now, so I’m going to need more hands. Your hands. 
 
I’m putting together a street team for this final stretch of the marathon, and I could really use your help one more time. If you’re not familiar with publishing jargon, a “street team” is a group of an author’s closest friends, family, and most dedicated supporters who gather together to amplify the author’s voice to a bigger audience. You can do that in many ways: anything from leaving a review on Amazon to asking your local library to order the book can help an author’s book launch become more successful. There are no specific obligations: you can participate as much or as little as you like. Every contribution you make is one thing off my shoulders and one step closer to a successful launch. 
There are perks to joining my street team for you as well. Everyone who joins will have exclusive early access to the Tantalus Depths ebook: you can read it right now! I also want to make participation fun for you guys too, so I’m turning it into a bit of a game with a nice prize at the end! Participating actively in the street team will earn you points, which will be worth entries in a raffle. On Saturday, October 1st, I will pick the winner of the raffle and the recipient of the grand prize: a brand new Kindle Fire HD 10 tablet! I have one of these and I love it: I actually use it as my main portable computer now, so I’m really excited to give this new one away to a loyal supporter. 
If you’re interested in joining my street team, you can either email me at authorevangraham@gmail.com or, better still, you can join the dedicated Facebook group for it here and we can all collaborate together! 
This is an exciting process and I’m really eager to see what we can all do together. Launch day is coming up fast, and it’s going to be a day to remember.
Evan Graham · Author · added about 3 years ago · 6 likes

Hello my wonderful friends and supporters! It’s been a while since my last update; in fact, I don’t think I’ve sent an update since we found out our launch was being pushed back from May to September. But I have been working hard behind the scenes for the past few months to try making the most of that extra time to make the Tantalus Depths launch as amazing as possible, and let me tell you, it is going to blow all your expectations out of the water. 

Without further ado, lets get to the updates, because we have some huge ones today. 

If you follow me on social media (which you should, check out my Twitter and Facebook) you may have already seen this news: I now have in my possession some of the first physical copies of Tantalus Depths! They’re real! They’re beautiful! I can hold them in my hands and flip through their pages. It’s one of the most surreal and amazing experiences I’ve ever had, to be able to touch a professionally printed copy of a book I wrote, and I cannot wait to share the experience with you. They look and feel amazing in my hands. I truly can’t wrap my head around the idea that something so beautiful now exists in the real world after originating in my imagination. 

I could gush forever about it, but you could also just see me lose my mind in real time in this unboxing video I made about it. Check that out here: 

Next on the agenda is something I am, believe it or not, just as excited about: the audiobook! It’s now in production with Audible, and I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of chatting several times with my narrator, who I’d love to finally introduce you all to. 

This is Andi Arndt: an absolute rock star of a narrator who will be the official voice of Tantalus Depths. She’s a truly phenomenal narrator with the recognition to show for it: Andi is a three-time Audie Award winner and one of only 21 voices chosen for the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. She’s had quite a prolific career across multiple genres, but two particular stories came to mind when I asked her about projects she’s especially proud of: Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke, and Unbound by Steph Jagger. Both are true stories about brave women overcoming challenges as they venture far and abroad, and, in Andi’s words, “Mary is a brave adventurer in that vein, and I’m honored to tell her story.” 

I could not be more deeply honored to have Andi narrating Tantalus Depths. Her work is truly outstanding, and she goes to incredible lengths to treat the stories she reads with the utmost care and dedication. She doesn’t simply read the book; she takes the time and care to ensure that she understands every nuance of every scene, and she reflects it expertly in her voice. Her voice has an amazing range, and she’s adept at inflecting multiple layers of emotional complexity in a hundred discrete ways. She has a gift all narrators covet: the ability to make you forget you’re not there in the scene as it happens. I have the utmost confidence that she will treat Tantalus Depths with all the care and respect I could ask for, and to give you all an audiobook experience that you will want to listen to over and over again. 

The Tantalus Depths audiobook is an Audible Original production and will be available exclusively on Audible. No release date has yet been confirmed, but it should hopefully be landing close to the same time as our official book launch on September 27th. 

Speaking of launch dates, that brings me to my final piece of news for this update. Yes, believe it or not, we are still on track for the September 27th launch date! After all the delays and setbacks in our six-year development process, I’m sure a lot of you are still skeptical that it’s ever coming. But as I showed you earlier, the physical books do really exist now, and there are plenty more just waiting for distribution to bookstores and everyone who preordered them. 

But not only is our launch date for the physical book still on track, I can happily announce that the e-book is coming early to backers! Two whole weeks early! That means if you participated in the Tantalus Depths pre-order campaign waaaaaay back in 2016, you’ll finally be able to read the ebook two whole weeks before the official release date! Everyone who preordered the book directly from Inkshares will be able to get the ebook; even if you pre-ordered a physical copy, you will also get an ebook copy. That’ll be coming your way on September 13th, so keep an eye on your inboxes for that! 

That’s probably way too much news for one update, so I’ll wrap it up here, but you can expect way more exciting announcements in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be getting back to more regular updates, including more lore articles for the website, interviews, and announcements for book signings and other events. Stay tuned for a lot of exciting news, and as always, thanks so much for all of your support! 

Evan Graham · Author · added over 3 years ago · 1 like

Hello my friends. No news on Tantalus Depths today, but I have another big announcement I’m thrilled to share with you. Family, the fourth anthology collection from Writing Bloc, is out today! Technically it came out yesterday, but I never do anything on time.

In Family, twenty-one authors present stories exploring the idea of "family," and all that represents. Some are heartwarming tales of compassion and togetherness, some explore the darkness of families where love is absent or twisted. Some are as familiar to you as the family dinner table, some show alien, fantastical worlds where familiar themes take new meaning in unfamiliar environments.
Every story in Family has something interesting to say, and is a worthy read. Among them, you will find Empire of Salt, the newest addition to my Calling Void series.

In Empire of Salt, Masuyo Kosawa, the aging CEO of the once mighty Ming-Kosawa corporation, reflects on the rise and fall of his company, the dark and desperate deeds that once made him the most powerful man in the universe, and the heavy costs that came with that power.

My friend Kaytalin Platt was kind enough to do an interview with me on Empire of Salt for her website. If you’d like to learn more, check it out here, along with interviews with many of the other contributors to the Family anthology.

Find Empire of Salt and twenty other brilliant tales in Family: A Writing Bloc Anthology, available here or anywhere books are sold.

More Comments