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. 

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! 

The Animal in Man II: Ferocious Heart has finally found a publishing date: JANUARY 2023*, released via Prince of Cats Publishing. 

This little old box of text cannot adequately express how excited I am for this! After four years, Maxan, Chewgar, Saghan, Pryth, and Pram will finally take the next steps of their journey. What begins with an underground, steam-powered train ride ends on a sub-orbital platform with a plasma cannon blast. Stay tuned... 

*tentative release date. Y’all know that publishing can be a little unpredictable.  :D

Hello!!

I know it has been a while... a long long while, but, here I am with an update. Earlier today I submitted the final manuscript for Cape’s Side Bay, again. The book has been complete for over 6 years and I have been told it will be published this year. Originally I was told Q1 but that does not seem to be the case.

Hello my friends. We’re overdue for an update, and there is some news. Unfortunately, this time it isn’t particularly good news, and I am not happy to have to deliver it, but I have a duty to keep you all informed about the ongoing state of things, good or bad. 

I received a call from my publisher earlier last week informing me that, due to ongoing problems with the global supply chain and manpower issues, it will not be possible for our printer to print enough copies of Tantalus Depths to get our first run ready in time for our May 10th launch date. There’s nothing I or my publisher can do about that; the printer simply cannot stock their inventory with the pulp, ink, and other physical materials necessary to create books in the needed quantity by that deadline. We’ve looked into other options, and there isn’t anything else we can do that will allow us to print on time without incurring a major cost deficit. As a result of this, we had no choice but to postpone our launch date for Tantalus Depths. 

I hate having to break that news to you all. You’ve waited so patiently for years, and the absolute last thing I wanted was to have to prolong that wait even further. Thankfully, it’s only by a few months. We’ve already locked in a new publication day for September 27th, so you can still be assured that you’ll get your books this year. Going from a summer release to a fall release is not the worst possible scenario, but I still hate having to ask even more patience of you. It IS coming, though. 

Frustrating as it is, this does give some advantages. I have a lot more time to plan and strategize my launch plan to make the publication day even more impactful. My publisher and I will take advantage of every extra day to seek promotional opportunities and build my audience to ensure this book lands in as many hands as possible. I’m doing my best to turn this situation to our advantage. 

The launch event at Kent Trumbull is being postponed as well, but I’ve been assured that we’ll still be able to do it on the new launch date. I’ll give more details on that when it comes closer. 

I’ll also be sure to use this summer as productively as possible for other projects. The new short story, Empire of Salt, is still on schedule for release later this month in the FAMILY anthology, and I’ve already begun work on another short story that should come out later this year or early next year. I may even be able to use this opportunity to get a head start on my next novel, Proteus, to make sure the wait between books is nowhere near as long as the wait for Tantalus Depths had to be. So there’s a lot to look forward to. 

Updates may be spotty and inconsistent for a while (as if they ever were that consistent) as I shift gears to plan for the new release window, but I won’t keep you in the dark about anything important that comes up. Everything’s a bit chaotic right now, but it won’t be for long. 

Anyway. If you’re starved for new story content right now, there are two new lore articles up on the website to check out: The Algorithmists and the Aftothysian Movement. 

The Algorithmists are a deadly cult of insane tech-worshipping terrorists determined to build an omnipotent AI, and the Aftothysians are an idealistic network of ecoterrorists devoted to stopping extraplanetary colonization at any cost. The two groups have only one thing in common: if either succeeds in their goals, human civilization as we know it will end. 

Learn more about these two dangerous subversive factions in the Explore section of evangraham.org, and see what happens when the two come into direct conflict with each other in my short story “Reliquary” in Writing Bloc’s Passageways anthology. 

Howdy! Good news to share, and an opportunity for Canadian fans of Bane of All Things to put it on the awards map.

BoAT has made the Best Novel Eligibility List for the 2022 Aurora Awards. The Auroras are Canada’s annual English-language Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards. They have been presented since 1980 by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA).

These are popularity awards. Anyone who is a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, and a CSFFA member, can vote for their picks in any of 12 award categories.

How do you become a CSFFA Member?

Easy. Take an annual membership at the modest cost of $10 (that’s in loonies). Please visit the CSFFA Membership Page to create your account and secure your membership. This helps to pay the bills so that the Awards, and their annual ceremony, can take place.

Your deadline is March 26, 11:59 pm EDT

So, don’t wait! Once you have signed up, you can find Bane of All Things on the Best Novel Eligibility List.

There are 11 other award categories as well. As a CSFFA member, you may select up to five different works in each category (if you wish).

How to make your choices

Select works from the dropdown lists, which are sorted by title. If you want to remove an item that you have chosen, select the blank line at the top of the dropdown list. You must click the Update button at the bottom of each nomination form to save your selections. Your choices will be displayed on your nomination central page.

As the award guidelines state:

“You don’t have to nominate in all categories. Nominate those works that you enjoyed, because this is your chance to have your favorite works from 2021 on this year’s Aurora Awards final ballot. The top five most-nominated works in each category will be selected to be on the final ballot."

The awards ceremony is slated for Aug. 13. Even just having BoAT make that top 5 finalist list for Best Novel would be fantastic!

Cheers

Leo

Hello, friends! We’re two months away from launch day, and I have another exciting announcement for you, so buckle up for a wild ride. 

I’m not going to waste any time getting to the big news. We officially have a launch event planned, and it’s going to be big! I’ve put too much time and effort into Tantalus Depths to let its arrival come without a bang, so we’re pulling out all the stops. 

I’m incredibly pleased to announce that my old alma mater, Kent State University’s Trumbull Campus, has graciously offered to host a launch event for us! There really could not be a more fitting place to do it. Those of you who have been following Tantalus Depths from the beginning might remember that the book’s humble origins began as a creative writing class assignment at that very same university. Kent Trumbull is where Tantalus Depths was conceived, born, and nurtured. The book simply would not exist if not for Kent Trumbull, and returning to the place it began eight years ago to celebrate its publication feels like destiny. 

If you hadn’t already marked May 10th on your calendars, do it now, and scribble “7:00 PM” and “Kent Trumbull” underneath it. We’re going to have some snacks, do a little reading, do a lot of socializing, and just generally celebrate this amazing journey together in the place it all began. I hope to see all of you there! 

 In other news, there’s another lore update on the website this week, this time highlighting the two central characters from my short story Countermeasures: Jay Serpentico and Descartes. Jay Serpentico is a deadly mercenary with no moral code and a terrifying talent for killing. Descartes is an enigmatic criminal mastermind with seemingly limitless resources and no apparent weaknesses. They’re two of the most dangerous people in the galaxy, so what happens when their interests no longer align? Find out in Countermeasures, part of Writing Bloc’s DECEPTION! anthology, and learn more about these two nefarious figures in the “Explore” section of evangraham.org    

Hello, friends! It’s update time! I have yet more exciting news for you today.

First of all, I want to reveal a surprise project I’ve been working on. I have not one, but two story launches coming up in the next two months. In addition to Tantalus Depths, I’ve spent the past year working on another short story for the Writing Bloc Collective, for their upcoming FAMILY anthology: Empire of Salt. Like Tantalus Depths and my three previous short stories, Empire of Salt is set in the Calling Void universe, but in a place and time we have not yet seen explored.

Set more than thirty years before Tantalus Depths on the toxic ocean world of Hayden, Empire of Salt tells the story of Masuyo Kosawa, formerly the wealthiest and most powerful man in history. Kosawa’s ruthless ambition helped him rise to unprecedented heights as the rest of the world reeled in the aftermath of the devastating Corsica Event. For years it seemed the Ming-Kosawa corporate monarchy could never be toppled.

That is, until Exotech Industries changed everything.

Empire of Salt is a tale of greed, sorrow, ambition, and futility, and is just one of the 21 brilliant stories you’ll be able to find in this excellent new anthology book from Writing Bloc. Look for FAMILY on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other retailers on April 19th, 2022.

Empire of Salt delves deeper into the rich future history of the Calling Void universe, from the perspective of a man who lived through most of it. If you’re interested in learning more about the dark universe of Tantalus Depths, you don’t need to wait until April. I’m pleased to announce the first new lore file on my website: The Home System.

We’ve already learned about Earth, but what about the rest of our solar system? When Exotech developed the superluminal drive, interplanetary colonization throughout our system went from prohibitively challenging to practically easy. The past few decades have seen a lot of growth throughout the system, and each world has a story to tell.

Learn more about the vast terraforming operations on Venus and Mars, the tragic fate of the Shangxi lunar program, the perils faced by the Argos Mining Syndicate on Io, the revolutionary discovery of life on Europa, and much more in the newest edition to the Explore gallery on evangraham.org: The Home System.

Howdy! I hope this finds you well. If you are also connected with me on Facebook or LinkedIn, you may have seen my recent cancer updates. If not, here is the latest recap. 

It’s been four months (early October) since my surgery to remove the cancerous tumor (metastasized melanoma) from inside my head. This was then followed by the initial treatments with targeted radiation therapy. My recovery has been gradual, now also aided by immunotherapy treatment.

But when you are dealing with something such as this, there are inevitably going to be further speedbumps.

Case in point – two weeks ago, my first MRI since the fall revealed the presence of a number of new spots in my head. These required another round of targeted radiation therapy with that good old CyberKnife machine (completed on Thursday). These new spots may in fact have already been there in October, but still been too small at that time to be detected by an MRI.

The trade-off with targeted therapy is that it targets only known cancerous tissue, as spotted on an MRI. The advantage is that it can be aggressive with the dosage, with minimal harm to surrounding healthy tissue. Before the CyberKnife, the only option was to bathe the entire brain in radiation. (It may be more complicated than this, but that’s how my radiologist explains it to this layman.)

That old method had the disadvantage that, well, you’re baking the whole brain, including all the healthy parts that don’t need treatment. This can result in unwelcome side effects related to memory and cognitive function. On the other hand, by hitting the whole brain, you may also be treating by default any cancer spots that remain too small to show up on an MRI. 

For me, targeted therapy remains the ideal way to go. My next MRI in six weeks or so will hopefully reveal that we are getting the upper hand on this game of “Whac-a-Mole” with targeted therapy and the cancer will be in retreat. 

Meanwhile, life goes on

There remains a certain book to tell the world about. Please post those reviews when you have had a chance to read Bane of All Things!

FYI, you don’t have to purchase from Amazon to post a review there. You just need an active Amazon account. And then there is Goodreads.com and your favourite bookseller (the more the merrier). Thank you very much if you have already done so.

Also, I took the leap and registered to attend, in person, this year’s World Fantasy Convention – taking place in November in New Orleans. And I don’t mean for it to be the last time, either. Who knows where the world will be by then – virtual attendance may still be the wisest course, regardless of my health, but still I plan to be there in some form.

Stay safe and keep reading!