J Alan Erwine's Blog

A sequel

2026-10-24T10:06:57.774-06:00

I'm currently working on a sequel to one of my novels. I know many readers have been wanting a sequel to Slave to the Stars, since a lot of you want to know what happens to Tilmath as she continues to grow up. Well, that's not the sequel I'm working on. Sorry. I do have some ideas for it, but they're just not quite ready yet.

For this sequel, I'm going back in time a bit. Many people have asked for a sequel to A Problem in Translation, and that is the sequel that I'm currently working on. It's been a long time since I've visited the world of Cap. Takahashi and his crew, but I'm really excited to be working on this one.

This is the first time that I've ever tried to write a sequel to one of my novels, so it's a different experience. Most of the characters are already there, so I don't have to worry about doing much to create them, although I of course have to make sure that I inject enough material about them for readers that might not have read the first novel, but at the same time, not introduce so much material that I make it boring for the readers who have read the first book. It's interesting trying to find that balance. And of course, rereading the first novel, I realized how much I had actually forgotten over all these years.

This novel will start out with now Ambassador Takahashi on the Lemec homeworld. The Lemec have received a signal from a species that they have no knowledge of, and this of course bothers these creatures that like to control everything. Still not sure if he even likes the hard to understand aliens, Takahashi realizes that they want him to make first contact with these new aliens, which is hard for him to understand considering just how bad first contact between him and the Lemec went.

Working on this novel is fun in different ways than some of my other work. Taking my characters to new worlds gives me a chance to do some fun math. Math? you might be saying. In writing? Well, yes. Science fiction has to get the science right, so in the first book when you heard one of the characters spouting of statistics about a new planet, those were all legitimate. I went through and did all of the math to make sure that the details were correct. I've never liked it when science fiction writers just try to fake their way through the science...that's not what this field is about.

So, Takahashi will be heading off to visit these new aliens, and he will find himself meeting more than just the aliens that sent the signals. Will he make the same mistakes he made last time? Or will he find new mistakes to make? And unfortunately for him, he won't be going alone...

I don't know how long it will take me to write this novel, but I'm very excited about it, so hopefully the process will be quick. My family is still struggling, and we will most likely be homeless at the beginning of the year, but maybe living in the car will give me the motivation to write this novel quickly. We shall see.

If you haven't read the first novel, please feel free to check it out at https://books2read.com/b/b6a1xx. I'm even lowering the e-book price to $2 for a couple of weeks.

Utah: A Divided States of America RPG Supplement

2026-10-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

A new setting supplement for the Divided States of America RPG is now available. Step inside Utah...

Utah is a small country dominated by religion, and slowly falling into chaos.

This Divided States of America RPG supplement will introduce you to the cities of Utah, some of the important people, places, and groups that your characters could encounter. Will your characters enter this small country hoping to help save it, or will they hope to bring about the chaos that may be inevitable?

Download it today at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/590028/

Gumroad Stories

2026-10-17T11:24:57.742-06:00

I've created a new collection that is only available through my Gumroad store at https://jalanerwine.gumroad.com/

The collection features 11 of my stories, covering much of my career, and hopefully showing some of my diversity as a writer.

Check it out, and consider subscribing to get monthly e-books.

Divided States of America sale

2026-10-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

It's election time again, which means it's time for our Divided States of America sale. You can download the RPG or fiction titles for 33% off at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/2805/

Play the game, read the stories, but make sure you don't let this future become a reality!

Birthday sales

2026-10-02T09:44:44.501-06:00

October is my birthday month, and I will be turning ancient, or maybe I already am...I can't remember, but my birthday brings you gifts. Save 50% off of all of my titles...novels, short story collections, and even individual short stories...they're all here.

DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/16618/

Itch: https://itch.io/s/202777/birthday-sale

Furry Friends

2026-10-01T12:49:53.416-06:00

My new short story, "Echoes of Evolution" appears in the new issue of Boundary Shock Quarterly, which is themed around Furry Friends. This story is a prequel to my novel Echoes from the Deep. Of course, I've never been very good at coloring in the lines, so my "furry" characters are dolphins.

The animals have become intelligent and—dare we say—human-like.

Was it a mad experiment? Mutation from a nuclear war? Genetic engineering? New future workers? Are we humans still around or have we gone the way of the dodo? Are the animals aware of whom we are or do they see us as some distant legendary gods?

Download it at https://www.boundaryshockquarterly.com/book/furry-friends/

Bestseller for Septmeber 2026

2026-10-01T10:13:12.650-06:00

My bestseller for September 2026 was my latest novel, Slave to the Stars. Download it at https://books2read.com/u/3Gg068

Tilmath was born a slave, but she was no ordinary slave. Unlike most humans, she was an Espari, a human capable of sensing the emotions of other beings.

Now, having escaped from her slave masters, the teenager finds herself on the run and about to meet some of the most interesting creatures she could ever imagine, and go on an adventure that she could never dream of. Using her poorly trained empathic senses, she tries to do everything she can to survive, but quickly learns that survival isn't the most important thing for a slave girl escaping to the stars.

Fall sales at Nomadic Delirium Press

2026-09-24T14:00:38.027-06:00

Fall is the best time of the year, and Nomadic Delirium Press is having 25% off sales at several sites. Many of my titles are part of these sales, so if you're looking for a new game to play, or some new fiction to read, this would be the perfect time to download some new titles.

Check out the sales at Payhip at https://payhip.com/NomadicDeliriumPress

Itch: https://itch.io/s/201907/start-of-fall-sale

or at RPG Trader: https://rpg-trader.com/creator/133/nomadic-delirium-press

Struggling to write...sort of...

2026-09-18T13:42:42.706-06:00

Almost all writers struggle with their craft at times, and I've definitely had my own bouts of writer's block. This time, however, I know it's something different. I've never actually made a lot of money from my writing, but in the past, I could be confident that I might be able to buy a week or two of groceries, or pay a couple of bills, but sales have definitely fallen off as the economy continues to struggle, and this couldn't happen at a worse time. My family is continuing to struggle, and we've had to take some drastic (legal) actions to make sure that we can keep a roof over our heads. Still, with me not able to find a "real" job, I know that I need to be making more money off of my writing, and this is putting a whole new kind of pressure on my craft. In the past, whatever I made was just extra money, but now, it needs to actually help us survive, and because of this, I'm finding it hard to write. This is a pressure I've never felt before, and I'm not always good at adapting to change...

Having said this, there are still some things that I'm getting written. I have a story that I'm writing for Boundary Shock Quarterly that's almost done. When I started on it, I thought it would be about 4,000 words. I have one more revision to do, and it looks like it will be close to 7,500 words. Hopefully they like it! This has to be done by October 1st, so I've found myself able to focus with the deadline closing in on me.

Everything else I'm working on, whether it's fiction or RPG titles, is nothing but a struggle. Maybe I need more deadlines in my life. I've tried to set artificial deadlines to see if that can stimulate my creativity, but my brain just laughs at that and ignores those deadlines.

For now, I will continue to try to get everything written that I can. We need the money, but I really don't need this kind of pressure...but I guess that's the world we live in. Maybe I'll find a job soon, and I'll find it easier to write. I know that sounds absurd, but that's just me.

Bestseller for August 2026

2026-09-03T10:39:30.318-06:00

With the d6 bundle sale at RPG Trader, it's not a surprise that Ephemeris 1.0 was my bestseller for August. Check it out at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/63664/

Setting a novel aside

2026-08-27T10:09:14.085-06:00

I've been working on a new novel for a while now, and I have reluctantly decided that I need to set it aside, at least for now. The further I've gotten into the novel, the more I've realized that it's progressing in far too linear of a format. The book is way too predictable, and I've made it too obvious as to where everything is going. And since I can't figure out how to fix it at the moment, I've decided it's best to just stop working on it.

Not to worry, however, I am now working on a sequel to A Problem in Translation. I'm currently rereading the original book so that I can get to know the characters again, since it's been a long time since I've worked with them.

This means that the amazingly annoying Lemec will be making a return, and everyone's favorite Kulnar, Grisan will also be coming back. There will be all new worlds to explore, and a few new alien species will also be on display. And, of course, the humans you all knew and loved...or hated will also be there. No Senator Washburn this time though, but maybe I need to come up with another annoying and dangerous politician...there are definitely enough examples to draw upon.

Obviously, since I've just started work, I'm not sure when the novel will be ready, especially since this one, like the original will have world building that requires math. Yes, science fiction authors actually do use math to create their worlds...at least this one does, because I need them to be believable.

Authors are not their characters

2026-08-22T12:51:46.698-06:00

While it is true that authors may include parts of themselves (or others) in their characters, it should never be assumed that their characters are actually portrayals of some part of their personality. Unfortunately, I see many readers saying that an author has a racist, or sexist, or whatever character, therefore they must be racist, sexist, etc. No, this isn't the case. Authors use all kinds of characters, even some that are the antithesis of their own belief systems, but many readers still want to say that a racist (or whatever) character means that the author HAS to be this way.

I will freely admit that there are a lot of really crappy people among authors, even in speculative fiction, which is usually one of the most inclusive genres (or groups of genres), but we can just leave them to the side for now...and we all know who they are. This doesn't mean that all speculative authors are like this, even the ones that include prejudiced characters.

If I have a story in which my character is expressing homophobic or transphobic ideas, this doesn't mean that those are my views, especially if the character is the antagonist, although I have seen some examples of protagonists that have similar views, but they usually overcome them, which is a big part of the story. I will include characters, especially antagonists, that have some truly horrible views of a marginalized group or groups, but I'm usually doing this to cast them in a bad light, or to give my protagonist one more reason to "defeat" them.

The idea of saying an author is expressing their own views in their characters seems to be a more recent development, and it's one I don't understand. I've known authors that have created characters that truly hated non-white men, but the authors themselves were some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, even the white men! (Just kidding)

I often write characters that express racism, or some other form of prejudice, but I don't agree with these characters. It's more of a political commentary, and I think it's a great way to comment on our screwed up society. I, personally, have never received this kind of backlash, probably because I'm pretty small time, but I have seen others get attacked for things I know they don't believe. Please, do not automatically ascribe a character's viewpoint to the author. They aren't usually the same.

Again, I know that there are some truly horrible people writing science fiction and fantasy, even bestsellers, that use the money they make to attack the marginalized, and I think this is absolutely horrible. Not all of us are doing this however. Personally, I use characters that attack the marginalized in an effort to bring awareness of these kinds of attacks to light, and to try to show that it doesn't matter what a person's skin color is, or what their religious beliefs are, or what their sexual orientation is, or how they identify sexually, or if they are disabled, or whatever. We're all people, and that's what matters. So, please please please make sure you know what an author truly believes before you attack them for having a despicable character. While that could be a part of their personality, most often, it's not.

End of rant

A fiction sale at DriveThruFiction

2026-08-21T09:54:55.863-06:00

My family is continuing to struggle financially, so to try to help us out, I'm making all of my titles at DriveThruFiction available for 50% off. Check out the sale at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/16618/

If you've ever thought about reading any of my fiction...novels, collections, even individual short stories, there couldn't be a better time!

d6 RPG Bundle at RPG Trader

2026-08-20T14:00:00.000-06:00

If you like to play RPGs, but you don't like using a bunch of different dice, RPG Trader has the bundle for you. For a limited time, you can download more than 100 titles, including the original Ephemeris RPG, for just $25 at https://rpg-trader.com/products/8344/d6-only-games-bundle. All of these games use only a six sided die, none of the other crazy polyhedral dice.

Of course, if you want to pay more, that's always an option, and the extra money goes to the creators, so if you're looking for a new game, now is the time to download this amazing bundle.

Taking care of a sick kitty

2026-08-17T13:04:05.108-06:00

I've been absent from just about everything for the last couple of weeks as I've been nursing a very sick kitty back to health. Eclypse, the little calico in the picture developed a severe infection, and almost died. I noticed her acting strange late on a Wednesday night, and by Thursday afternoon, I knew there was something very wrong. When my wife got home that night, we took her to the emergency vet, and they determined that she had an infected uterus and needed to be spayed within a couple of days. When we got home from the vet at 11:30 that night, we spent the next two hours trying to find a place that would be able to do it on Friday, and wouldn't cost us a fortune. The emergency vet could have done it, but it would have been $6,000-$8,000, and considering that we're still struggling to pay our rent and put food on the table, this simply wasn't an option.

We finally found a place that would take her early Friday, so we dropped her off and waited. The first few nights were really touch and go because she was so sick, and she's such a little thing. At her heaviest, she's about seven pounds. It had always been our intention to get her spayed, but once she was old enough and big enough, we simply couldn't afford it, and we couldn't really afford it at this point, but letting her die was never an option. Our cats are our family, and we will do everything we can to protect them, and that includes getting fewer groceries for the next few weeks.

While it was a family effort to nurse her back to health, it mostly fell on me. For those of you that know cats, you know that when they live with multiple humans, they will usually pick one of these people as their person, and the rest are spares. Well, I'm Eclypse's person. She has always been very attached to me, and during all of this, she became even more attached, so she's been sleeping on me, and I've let her, no matter how uncomfortable it made me. At this moment, she is laying on a cat hutch right next to my chair at my desk, and she's been here since I started working this morning.

So, this has been my last couple of weeks. I'm happy to say that she is now on the mend, if we can just protect her from herself. She's a very high energy cat, and she now once again thinks it's time to run and jump on everything...but at least she's healing.

Bestseller for July 2026

2026-08-01T13:27:43.466-06:00

This was one of the worst months that I've had in a very long time, and it couldn't have come at a worse time for me and my family. Still, I did at least sell a few books. My bestseller for July 2026 was

The Ephemeris 2.0 RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/497132/

Writing myself into a corner

2026-07-30T10:16:34.551-06:00

Nearly every author I've ever met knows what I mean when I say that I've written myself into a corner. The new novel I'm working on is proceeding in a very linear manner, and while this might sound like a good thing, it actually isn't. Too much has been telegraphed early, and it's taking away from the suspense. As it's going right now, it will be very easy to figure out where it's proceeding and how it will all work out...and I'm not sure how to really go about fixing it at the moment.

As a result, I need to either rethink the whole novel, or scrap it. Not sure what the best option is at this point.

Sometimes, I really hate writing.

WIPs

2026-07-25T09:05:21.777-06:00

Just in case you're interested, I thought I'd update you on what I'm currently working on.

I know lots of writers prefer to work on one project so that they can stay completely focused on that. I'm not that writer. I like to have too much on my plate, and as long as each work is significantly different from the others, I don't seem to have a problem jumping from one to the other.

So, just what am I working on? I'm currently on the third chapter of a novel which is tentatively titled Destiny Manifested. I'm also working on a short story for Boundary Shock Quarterly. At the same time, I'm working on an RPG supplement for Ephemeris 2.0, and another supplement for the Divided States of America RPG. And at the same time, I'm making notes for a new adventure for the Rocks on the Other Side RPG. This is a follow up adventure to Caves of Hopelessness, which was just released by Nomadic Delirium Press.

That should be enough to keep me busy for a while...

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that I'm also working on notes to fix a short story that I started on a while ago, but never quite worked out for me. I'm not sure if this will turn into anything, but all of the others should be available for your perusal in the months and years to come.

Caves of Hopelessness

2026-07-23T20:00:00.000-06:00

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Towns near the hills have been raided recently by a very organized group of bandits. They’ve abducted citizens, and taken property from the small towns that are unable to defend themselves. Your party has been combing the hills looking for these bandits, and maybe now you’ve gotten the break you need.

Caves of Hopelessness is an adventure for the Rocks on the Other Side RPG designed for characters of 4^th-6^th levels.

Order from DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/577828/

Order from RPG Trader: https://rpg-trader.com/products/7664/

Can writers change their style?

2026-07-18T09:08:59.454-06:00

One of the biggest critiques I've faced as a writer is that I'm not descriptive enough. Many say that my writing almost reads like a play...and there is some truth to this. I've never really enjoyed reading flowery writing, so obviously I wouldn't write in this way. However, I am realizing, in my old age, that maybe my writing isn't as descriptive as it could be. Maybe the sky needs to be more than just blue, for example.

So, I've taken a step back with the novel I'm working on, and I'm working on the description a bit more...not a lot more...just a bit. Maybe this will make for better writing. I don't know. It's not really my call. I've always thought of myself more as a storyteller than a writer, but I'm giving it my best to change this.

Will it work? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully the new novel will be out early next year...unless I get a huge surge of creative energy, which is difficult given everything going on around me, but I will try. I promise you that. I will try!

Xmas in July sale at DriveThruRPG

2026-07-16T13:00:00.000-06:00

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

It's time for Xmas in July at DriveThruRPG. You can save 30% off of our RPG titles, and there are even a few fiction titles in there as well. Check out the sale at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/2805/

Save on Ephemeris 2.0, The Divided States of America RPG, The Battle for Turtle Island, Rocks on the Other Side, and Domain of the Dragons. Core rulebooks and supplements all for 30% off! So, head over there now, and head over often. What could be better than escaping reality with a new RPG?

About to be homeless and need help sale

2026-07-14T15:10:15.254-06:00

As I've previously mentioned, my family will probably be homeless this time next month. We're trying to avoid it, but it's starting to look unavoidable. My oldest daughter has set up a Gofundme for us at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-erwine-family, but I know some people don't like to donate, and I completely understand that. If you'd still like to help, I have made my books available for download at half price at Itch. You can check them out at https://itch.io/s/195803/about-to-be-homeless-and-need-help

Any help is appreciated!!!

Smashwords Summer/Winter sale

2026-07-10T11:41:56.195-06:00

All of my novels and short story collections are currently available for 50% off during the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine

The Ephemeris Guide to Sub-Classes

2026-07-09T18:00:00.000-06:00

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Some people love sub-classes in their RPGs, while others hate them. If you’re the gamer that loves sub-classes, this is the supplement for you. Add 100 character sub-classes to your Ephemeris 2.0 RPG.

Whether you’re a player looking for new character options, or a game master looking for new ways to challenge your players, you’re bound to find something to incorporate into your game in this tome.

Order from DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/574832/

Order from RPG-Trader: https://rpg-trader.com/products/7043/

Xmas in July sale

2026-07-09T09:29:14.779-06:00

It's time for my annual Xmas in July sale at DriveThruFiction. You can save 33% off of all of my titles at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/en/publisher/16618/

Novels, short story collections, and even individual short stories. They're all there, and they're all on sale, so act now!