New Release! Crags in the Sunset (And Other Love Stories I Wrote in High School)

Hey! So… I’ve got a new book for you.

This one’s a bit different, coming from me.

Did I ever mention I also write love stories?

Master storyteller Bill Alive, author of THE PUNCTUALITY MACHINE, brings you five intense stories of love and relationships:

In “Dawn”, the romantic Rick makes his very first profession of love in his high school gym… to the devoted girlfriend of one of his best friends. But what happens next is the real surprise.
In “Crags in the Sunset”, the lovelorn Devin follows his high school crush to college, but freshman year does not go according to plan.
In “Kevin and the Foxes”, love takes a darker turn, and in a lonely house, high up on a mountain, a marriage nears the breaking point.
Then, in “Die Auswahl (The Choice)”, a time-travel elixir shakes up the stale marriage of a sour power couple… and also causes some rather global unintended consequences.
Finally, in “Arcanus”, when an enslaved teenager in Roman times is trapped on a brutal battlefield, he may seem as far from love as you can get. But his Latin name means “secret”, and if he can survive long enough to discover that secret, the truth could change his whole life.

The twist? Alive wrote all these stories in high school.

No, really. (Okay, one in college, but still.)

Curious? Take a look.

One-click CRAGS IN THE SUNSET now!

Buy Now!

WAIT, WHAT? YOU WROTE THESE STORIES IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Yes. For real.

AND YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL WANT TO READ THEM?

Well, yeah. If you’re into quirky and unusual love stories, that is. With the occasional bit of action-adventure thrown in. (I was a teenage boy.)

Plus, aren’t you curious what my writing was like back in high school? I promise, my grown-up tampering has been extremely minimal… maybe too minimal…

But seriously, over the years, I’ve found that moments from these stories have stayed with me. So I’ve decided to share them with you.

Whatever you’re expecting, I think you’ll be surprised.

And speaking of surprises, I should tell you the results of that poll I sent.

OH YEAH, DIDN’T YOU SEND A POLL LAST TIME?

I did! I asked a simple question: which would you prefer, to see a book in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, or in a 99-cent sale?

The winner? 99-cent sale, by a clear margin.

Which I found encouraging! I don’t blame anyone for using Kindle Unlimited (I did myself, for awhile), but the program is exclusive. As long as a book is in KU, it can’t be available anywhere else, even for free.

And there really is a world of books outside Amazon. In fact, this poll result has helped inspire me to make my books available on more platforms, like Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and even in libraries. It’s going to take me some time to get the whole backlist in, but I’ve already started with this new book…

Get CRAGS IN THE SUNSET on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, or almost anywhere!

If you don’t see your favorite book platform on that list, please let me know.

And thanks to everyone who took the time to click and vote! I really appreciate it.

BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE WRITING THE NEXT WONDER SPRINGS MYSTERY?

I am! In fact, it’s done.

REALLY?? YOU’VE FINALLY WRITTEN BOOK 4?

I have! The draft of Book 4 in the Wonder Springs Cozy Mystery Series, MURDER IN A PSYCHIC PRISON, is complete.

It’s been so long since I first started this book (years), and I am very, very glad and grateful to be back in the saddle and writing again.

I want to do a nice big launch for this one, so it’ll still be a couple more months before MURDER IN A PSYCHIC PRISON comes out. But the wait will be worth it, trust me… I have some fun new ideas to try.

In the meantime, don’t worry. I’ve got more books coming your way.

SAY WHAT NOW?

So, I got all inspired and signed up for this author challenge. The goal? Over the next year, I’ll publish one new book… every… month.

EVERY MONTH???

Yep.

THAT SOUNDS BONKERS!!

It is.

But challenges excite me.

And let’s be clear: I am not writing a new book every month.

Instead, I am finally collecting all the many, many pieces that I’ve written over the years and then let languish, unread, for one reason or another (cough perfectionism). Most of these are short stories and comedies, but you can also look forward to a few novels.

YOU HAVE ENTIRE NOVELS YOU HAVEN’T PUBLISHED?

I do. But those will come later. I’m going to proceed in (somewhat) chronological order, hence starting with this first collection from high school. This book, CRAGS IN THE SUNSET, is 1 of 12.

But this isn’t a “series”. These books will be quite the adventure through the genres: comedy, science fiction, fantasy, plays, kids’ stories… and of course the Wonder Springs mystery as well. So if a particular release doesn’t suit your fancy, don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long for a fresh new book to try instead.

So I’ll see you next month.

With another new book.

(This is going to be fun…)

Happy reading!

Bill Alive