08 December 2012

The Smiljan Breach in Print

eSteampunk's long-awaited second issue

At long last, the December 2012 issue of eSteampunk is available from the steampunk imprint of eFiction.  This issue features "The Smiljan Breach," my prequel to the Magnetron Chronicles series, featuring Dr. Hogalum on a Viennese bender, the Luftigel's maiden voyage, and a cameo appearance by none other than Nikola Tesla.

eSteampunk's second issue also brings you Matt Bett's "The Safest Passage," George S. Walker's "The Case of the Night-walking Automaton" and eSteampunk's first serial, "Black Dragon Blues," plus stunning cover art by Jonathan Hunt.  Available in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB formats for only $3.99!

13 November 2012

New Novel Underway


I'm trying my hand at modern horror, with Station Five, a paranormal thriller set in a skilled nursing facility:

"Mia Cordova is a nurse's aide at Los Arcos Care Center, a large skilled nursing facility caring for the profoundly disabled. Abby Tate, Mia's patient, has been in a coma for almost two years, kept alive on a ventilator. When Abby unexpectedly wakes up to find herself a quadriplegic, she is overcome by inexpressible fear, grief and anger. It seems that only Mia can connect with her bright young patient and calm her rage, but Abby's fury soon takes on a dark, malevolent power that threatens to destroy everyone and everything around her."

As of this writing, I've pretty much completed Chapter One, available free at Wattpad.  Enjoy, and feel free to comment!

01 October 2012

It's a Wattpad Thing... You Wouldn't Understand


Wattpad is a Canadian creation, a sort of Youtube for aspiring writers of every age and skill level, with more than 5 million free stories posted.  As a "creative, welcoming and completely free community to connect with readers from around the world," Wattpad has also attracted some established writers, most notably, poet, writer, and activist Margaret Atwood.

I decided to publish The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum (the first volume of the Magnetron Chronicles series) in its original chapter-a-week serialized form at Wattpad.  It has garnered quite a bit of praise and more than 12,000 reads at last count, and now I'm pleased to announce it has been selected by Wattpad as a "Featured Story" from among the millions of other stories available. 

If you haven't yet sampled the outstanding free fiction, poetry, and nonfiction works available at Wattpad, I invite you to do so.   If you're a writer, join us!  The Wattpad mobile app is also available for all major platforms, so you can read and write on the go!

29 September 2012

Writer's World Interview


Hanging out at Wattpad, I ran into Thomas Berryman, an Aussie writer who is compiling a series of virtual interviews of Wattpad writers.  He surprised me by asking some downright intelligent questions, which I was obliged to answer.  Check it out!

Read the interview here!

26 August 2012

Big Doin's

A few announcements are in order, as The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum has now reached the psychologically significant (to me, anyway) "threshold of respectability" at Wattpad with 10,000+ reads!

This story has also been selected by the staff at Wattpad as a "Featured Selection" for October, which designation will garner a fair amount of publicity (I hope).

The clock is also ticking on the fourth volume in the Magnetron Chronicles series.  It will be called "High Crimes and Miscreants," and I'm on track for a mid-September release at all your favorite ebook retailers.

Finally, I'm working on a short story to submit to the inaugural issue of eFiction's new Steampunk edition.  I've got some of it online at Wattpad and would welcome any and all comments on it!

13 August 2012

Interview at IndieBookSpot.com


I was recently interviewed by John Warner of IndieBookSpot.com, and for some reason they felt compelled to publish it!  I talk about my writing, how I write, why I write, what I’m writing, blah, blah, blah.  It’s a real yawnfest unless you’re a dyed-in-the-wool D. L. Mackenzie fanatic like me!

Read the interview here!

11 August 2012

Does this bustle make my butt look big?

G. D. Falksen
Steampunk icon G. D. Falksen, looking dapper and deadly serious

About twelve years ago, some friends of mine and I were knocking about some ideas on a collaborative writing project.  I found an interesting old Victorian Era drawing of an airship, added some funky lettering, and the National Hogalum Airshow and Speculative Fiction Workshoppe was born.

My creativity thus sparked, within a few months or so I was writing a (now defunct) web serial called The Secret Journals of Phineas J. Magnetron.  It was set in the 1870s, and narrated by the eponymous Phineas, a quirky inventor who also happened to be a member of the Hogalum Society, a secret organization of adventuring crime fighters.

I had unwittingly succumbed to the allure of steampunk.

21 July 2012

A Stately Pleasure Tome...

Yes, the much-anticipated third volume of the Magnetron Chronicles is now available at Amazon and Smashwords.  In Escape from Xanadu, Phineas Magnetron and the Hogalum Society are quite literally drawn to the incomparable lost city of Zhen Atu. There they find the lost passengers and crew of the Salmagundi, and learn that the laws of physics are not as straightforward as previously believed. Indeed, the very nature and genesis of mankind are called into question.

07 July 2012

More Smashworthy News!

As part of Smashword's annual Summer/Winter promotion, the Magnetron Chronicles books are specially priced through July 31.  Just enter the code "SSW50" at checkout to receive the discounted price.

Volume 1 - The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum $.99 Free!
Volume 2 - Spring-heeled Jack and the President's Ring $2.99 $1.49

03 June 2012

Simply Smashing!

Good news, the first two volumes of the Magnetron Chronicles saga are now available at Smashwords in mobi (Kindle), ePub (Apple/Nook/Adobe), PDF, and even rtf/Word formats. Now you have no excuse not to read these thrilling adventures!

Volume 1 - The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum $.99
Volume 2 - Spring-heeled Jack and the President's Ring $2.99

05 May 2012

Volume 2 Available!

It's called "Spring-heeled Jack and the President's Ring," the second volume of the Magnetron Chronicles saga, and it's now available exclusively as a Kindle e-book at Amazon.com. The Hogalum Society is drawn into political and supernatural intrigues as they investigate the disappearance of President Grant's West Point ring. Their investigation becomes intertwined with the mystery of Spring-heeled Jack, the shadowy terror of England, and takes them from Calais to London, and back to America for a bizarre encounter with the notorious General Southwick. Enjoy!

22 April 2012

Spotlight on Yours Truly

I am pleased to report that I've been featured in a new "virtual interview" at IndieSpotlight.com, that storied bastion of self-published authors. Interviewer Greg Banks asks me several straightforward questions, prompting from me a fusillade of baffling prevarication and shameless self-aggrandizement, all in the prevailing spirit of convivial hoopla. Enjoy it here!

21 April 2012

New Cover Design

The crack graphics team at D. L. Mackenzie Publishing has produced a lovely new cover for The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum. Well, okay, I made it myself.

17 March 2012

Free Book Promo Today Only!

In observance of St. Patrick's Day, The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum will be available free today only at Amazon.com.  As a reminder, you don't need a Kindle e-reader to read Kindle e-books; you can read anywhere with free Kindle apps for your PC, Mac, tablet, or smartphone.  But with Kindle E-readers now only $79.99, there's never been a better time to pick one up!

11 March 2012

Sounds from the Sprocketorium

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Hogalum Museum, an extraordinary recording has been unearthed, restored, and digitized for distribution via the internet.  The recording is a copy of an 1874 test of the Electro-Auto-Acousti-Graph-o-Matic conducted by Phineas Magnetron, and is the earliest known recording of its kind.  The estate of Thomas A. Edison has refused comment.

09 March 2012

Next Magnetron Chronicles Title Announced

The next title in the Magnetron Chronicles series has been announced.  Tentatively titled "Springheel Jack and the President's Ring," it is slated for release some time in May.

05 March 2012

Strong opening for "Last Adventure"

Four score and seven downloads!  Not a bad start for a new series.  When you have finished reading, please don't forget to leave a review at Amazon.  Thanks for your interest in the Magnetron Chronicles!  Check back soon for the next biographical sketch of (The Amazing) Atticus Satyros!

01 March 2012

Magnetron Speaks

It's finally here!  The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum is now available as a Kindle e-book for the embarrassingly low price of $2.99, and Kindle Prime members can borrow it for free!  Don't have a Kindle reader?  Not to worry!  You can download the Kindle for PC app free here!

29 February 2012

The Return of Phineas J. Magnetron


That's right!  After a lengthy hiatus, Phineas J. Magnetron is anticipated to make his triumphant return, this time in an e-book series called The Magnetron Chronicles.  The first volume, titled The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum, will be available shortly as a Kindle e-book.