Emil Zimmerman, the Bad Soldier
Happy Saturday!
This week I've got:
- Another character profile from Shadows of the Past
- A free short story for you to download, a one-question poll I'd very much like you to take
- A recommendation for a free streaming service you probably didn't know you had.
Let's go.
Emil Zimmerman
Emil wants to go home.
But a group of Serbian nationalists killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his family in their sleep with stolen Martian Black Smoke. So he's playing solider in Belgian trenches.
Playing soldier in the mud because of a family squabble between the kings, kaisers, and tsars of England, Germany, and Russia.But with real bullets.
The Kaiser insists the only way the Serbian nationalists could have gotten their hands on Martian weapons was from Russia. Fine. Bring it up at the next royal ball, Willi. Don't drag your "loyal subjects" into the mess.
Emil had his fill of war when the Martians came to his village twenty years ago. Their attack started at the soccer field where he was playing and spread to town, where they burnt his home to the ground, with his little sister inside.
A little sister who would have been with him if he hadn't left her to play with his friends.
Now he's in uniform, responsible for the field phones that connect the soldiers in the trenches to their leaders behind the lines.
The only way things could be worse is if the verdammt Martians came back.
Preorder
Shadows of the Past is the first book is what will be a two-book series (so far.) E-book preorders are already up at all the major booksellers. Paperback will available soon. I was hoping to have it ready this week, but there's (still!) a holdup with the cover for that edition.
Here's what it looks like right now:
If ebook is your jam, you can reserve your copy right now:
Free Gift for Subscribers!
My giveaway for people who subscribe to this list is finally ready!
This story is set in the Great War of the Worlds universe, a decade or so before Shadows of the Past. It's the story of what happened to James Brogan Sr., and how James Jr. meets his future boss.
You can follow the instructions for loading it on your e-reader, or look for the PDF download icon. It's in the popup. Download it here.
A Question for Subscribers
I'm seeing an increase in unsubscribes when the weekly War of the Worlds emails go out. If readers don't want these messages, I'll stop them.
First and foremost, if you want to keep receiving updates like this one, but don't want the WOTW episodes, reply to this email and say so. I can remove your address from those messages.
Second, here's a survey with a single question, no email or login required. If a majority wants me to stop sending them altogether, I will.
Kanopy
Does your library provide you with access to Kanopy? It's a wonderful streaming service with documentaries, international films, classics, and TV series. If there's a downside, it's that they only allow you a few views a month, so getting through a TV series will take awhile.
The upside is it only allows you a few views a month, so you'll get off the sofa.
Check it out here.
See you soon!
Refer a subscriber to my list from this link, to get a free ebook copy of Shadows of the Past!
Eric Goebelbecker
Trick of the Tale LLC
25 Veterans Plaza #5276
Bergenfield, NJ 07621-9998