Hey, book lovers! Today’s the day when e-book distributor Smashwords launches its ninth annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale, during which you can purchase thousands of digital books at special prices! It runs from July 1 to July 31—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion. As for why Smashwords gives this event such an unusual name: “Because Smashwords serves a global readership where it’s summer in the Northern hemisphere and winter in the Southern hemisphere. So whether you’re looking for a great beach read, or you want to curl up in front of warm fireplace with a great read, we’ve got you covered!”
Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can get the following titles at 25% off, as long as you make sure to use the specially generated coupon codes when you make your purchase:
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is my young adult novel that’s perfect for lovers of dark urban fantasy. It introduces readers to Pandora Zwieback, a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets professional monster hunter Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin that Pan discovers she’s never been ill—her so-called “monstervision” is actually a supernatural gift that allows her to see into Gothopolis, the not-so-mythical shadow world that exists right alongside the human world. In Blood Feud, Pan, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father.
Use Coupon Code ZY37X (not case-sensitive) for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1.
Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. But whose side is going to emerge the victor remains to be seen…
Use Coupon Code KK62H (not case-sensitive) for Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2.
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons.
Use Coupon Code UC82A (not case-sensitive) for Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination.
For a Few Gold Pieces More is Richard C. White’s collection of fantasy short stories. Think Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), as a Rogue With No Name travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure, romance—and revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did).
Use Coupon Code VD68F (not case-sensitive) for For a Few Gold Pieces More.
Again, the Smashwords Summer Sale runs until July 1 to July 31, so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at Smashwords and start your summer-reading shopping!

A Princess of Mars
Speaking of female monsters, are you familiar with the story of
Following an edict issued by DC Comics on February 16, today is officially the first annual Wonder Woman Day! I’m sure the timing has nothing to do with the fact that yesterday was the U.S. release date for the first-ever Wonder Woman big-screen motion picture… 😉

Speaking of Wonder Woman, over at the news site Comics for Sinners I’ve reviewed a few comics that star her; if you want to know more about them, just click on the following links:
Heroines and Heroes
As some of you may be aware, since 2014 I’ve been a comic and graphic novel reviewer for the news site Comics for Sinners, giving my opinion on some of the latest releases for bad-girl fans and general readers alike. Here are the titles I reviewed over the past months:
But hold on, mateys! Before you pull up anchor and set sail for your local movie theater, perhaps you’d be interested in checking out one of the ’Warp’s offerings. Because whether you’re a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, or classic films like Captain Blood, The Crimson Pirate, and The Sea Hawk, does StarWarp Concepts have a pirate-fantasy comic for you!
Welcome back to
On Wednesday, yet another article of mine—but not a review—appeared at Comics for Sinners. This one, the latest edition of my “It Came from the Bad-Girl Archives” series, examined the announced-but-never-filmed
Friday was the U.S. debut of Alien: Covenant, the latest entry in the popular sci-fi movie franchise that started with 1979’s SF/horror masterpiece Alien. And so, as long as the topic of aliens and humans clashing on another world was up for discussion, we thought it was a good time to remind everyone about our Illustrated Classic 
A Princess of Mars
Welcome back to
Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article on a 





