Universe name REVEAL! 🫣

I FINALLY have an overarching name for all my sci-fi books.

It’s been a minute since I had some author news to share…

But I am super freaking excited to be writing to y’all today, because I have finally landed on a name for all the books that take place in my sci-fi universe.

Here’s what’s been tricky about coming up with a “universe name”:

• Books that take place in this universe aren’t all the same genre. Sure, they’re mostly some flavor of sci-fi, but readers of my space opera action might not enjoy a shapeshifter romance.

• The names I’ve come up with all sound like they’re good for a series or two, but not thousands of years’ of a universe’s history.

• It’s got to look good on a cover.

• It’s got to be memorable.

• It can’t be memorable only because it’s too weird.

All those factors, and there I was, standing in the kitchen, waiting for some toast… when it hit me. I scrambled to do a web search and discovered that the only other reference to the name was some academic work about philosophy. Perfect. I’m cool with borrowing from academia. They borrow from everyone else, right? 😉

And so, I will be listing all of my titles in my shared universe going forward under the universe name THE REALM OF REASON.

I love it. It’s cheesy, it’s epic, it’s pulpy. “Realm” makes you think it’s fantasy; “reason” pins it more squarely in the science fiction camp. I think I blatantly cross the line between the two regularly, so… it feels perfect.

The Damn Shames approve of the new universe name. [Art of the crew by SquidWithElbows.]

REALM OF REASON books might contain magic, spaceships, or both. They definitely contain talking animals, but they also adhere to world rules. Mystery and adventure abound, but it will all make sense, in the end.

Not every single one of my works is a Realm of Reason story, but a lot of them are and will be. And someday, I hope to open the Realm to other writers, too.

What do you think about my new universe name? Does it resonate for you? Hit reply and tell me your thoughts!

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There’s still time to enter the contest I’m hosting with Lori Alden Holuta! You’ve got until May 15th, 2024, to submit your short-short story about someone attempting to break a spell.

Every entrant gets a copy of my fantastical short story collection, SPELLBREAKERS—and the winner gets a professional-level audio version of their story, read by me! If you’ve ever wanted to see what it’s like for someone else to read your fiction aloud, enter this contest! 🗣️📚

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Looking for a revenge story? Mike Waller’s trilogy, ECHO’S WAY, follows young Echo Bourke on her quest to dismantle the empire that took everything from her across three books: “Solitude’s End,” “Dark World,” and “Enemy Ally”. Get a trilogy for the price of one tale!

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The Free-zer

It’s another installment of THE FREE-ZER—the section where you’ll find something that will cost you zero monies. (That’s no dollars, cents, pounds, pesos, Republic credits, Monopoly money, latinum, or dubloons.)

Once again, I’m featuring both KINFOLK and SPELLBREAKERS in a giveaway—the FREE Fantasy and Science Fiction for May 2024 cluster of awesome freebies!

I love the cover for The Hall of Marbles. Such a cool element to add to the inanimate object cover type that’s in style!

Catch you next time,
August