Epic Apocalypse eBook Promo

Epic Apocalypse - Book Two

For those of you following this series, you can now get the second ebook free for a limited time (Feb.23-27) so If you've read the first, here's your chance to follow-up with Epic Apocalypse.

Beyond The Apocalypse - Book Three

I'm also posting a preview of Book Three, Beyond the Apocalypse, the final book in this amazing series, so have a peek.

No worries, these are short stories, about 100 pages each, so they're a quick read. I'm still working on the full-length novel of about 295 pages, which of course includes all three books in this series.

I must say that I've had the time of my life writing these three books and without question, I'll be continuing this series indefinitely. Hopefully, I'll get to the 4th book before the end of this year, although I can't say for sure because the Millennium game is due out this September 11 and I just might be quite busy promoting that for a change.

Things will then come full circle with the game and the three books out for the first time after September and that's a handful right there. Not to mention that I'm also working on a Europe Expansion of the game. I'll be posting those details here soon. I've already started designing the box and the game board and so I'll have about 3 card decks to design and a number of other things to go with it.

So, as you can see, I've got my work cut out to finish up before the end of this year. Once the game is finished I'll be able to get things going so the next several years are all about promoting the game and the books together at conventions and game rooms starting here in Jacksonville and Gainsville, Florida.

Thank you to those who've posted reviews on Goodreads.com. Hopefully, Amazon reviews will follow soon. It's all about finishing the board game now so standby for that.

Enjoy the stories!

Preview Epic Apocalypse

Epic Apocalypse - Surviving The Epicenter [The Edge of Time Series]

Epic Apocalypse - Book 2

Lovers of apocalyptic fiction, feast your eyes on Book 2 from The Edge of Time Series, Epic Apocalypse.

As usual, I had a blast laying down these words and banged out this second installment of the series in no time.

In full disclosure, I wrote the three books in about a month (about 300 pages).

Most of the time after that, several weeks, I spent editing and proofreading, tweaking the covers, etc.

All that work for me was minimal because I keep 95% of what I write and how I write it. It so happens that this series for me is easy to put down as is since it just flows effortlessly. Although, most of my writing goes that way, these days.

Including this blog. I rarely change a word of it and bang it out in about 20 minutes. I hope that doesn't show too much, but I am extremely busy otherwise and I have very little time for anything else. In a way, writing on this blog and others I tinker with, for the past 10 years has been a good discipline for me. And, truth be told, Grammerly helps a bit. Not that I'm promoting it but it is quite helpful, especially if you're in a hurry.

Good Lord, Ernest Hemingway had it made in the shade back when he was writing his first novel, The Sun Also Rises in Paris and Spain. Yes, it's no secret that EH is one of my favorite authors and I'm in no way comparing myself to a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, but Hemingway had the luxury of banging out raw chapters early in the morning before he started his day of fishing and debauchery.

He'd then wire that text to his long-time editor and friend, Maxwell Perkins, circa 1925 and his writing chores were done for the day, usually before daylight. Perkins took care of everything else.

Most of us don't have that lifestyle these days even if we're published by one of the big agencies because we're still expected or required to help promote our books. And if we're self-published, we are most certainly in deep publishing shit.

"Life is full of Boo-Hoo Moments, So take it in, Tamp it down, And Suck it Up, Buttercup!"

I relish the day when I can bang out raw pages and send those bitches off to my editor and go fishing for the rest of my 20 hour day of leisure. What a racket that would be. I might just be the next Hemingway if that were indeed the case. Or maybe a better version of myself.

No, I did not just slight Hemingway. His head and brain were twice the sizes of mine so I know my place in the world. I'm a mutt of a writer by comparison but obsessed with all things related to Ernest Hemingway and his way of life. A man's man and a man's writer for sure (no disrespect, ladies). Toni Morrison was an outright genius and another of my favorite writers. And in many ways, I think women are by and large better writers than men. (Right, I'm not sexist at all.)

Edge of the Apocalypse - Book 1

But enough of that. I'm just rifting along while I have a bit of time.

I also want to mention that starting February 1, the first book of the series, Edge of the Apocalypse is available for free until the 5th. If you haven't had the chance to check it out, now is a good time because I made several important edits to expand (improve) the opening a bit. I'll include the link here when it's available for free download on Amazon.

I must say, that's one advantage we have these days, especially as self-published authors. We have total control of our content and I love that aspect of it the most. We can update our digital content at will and that's a Godsend.

Listen nobody cares how much we sweat. All the blood, sweat and tears mean nothing to the end-user. They just want to read a damn good story. That's it. Suffer all you want, and suffer you will just don't let it show.

In other words:

Life is full of Boo-Hoo Moments,
So take it in,
Tamp it down,
And Suck it Up, Buttercup!

Yes, there's a t-shirt in there somewhere. 
First one to feature on Merch, takes all!

Millennium Boardgame's New Box Design . . . Here's the Lesson

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Anybody out there? Not yet. I get it. I haven't posted here in a while so any momentum I had going with SEO a few months ago has gone back to zero.

Good news is that after several mishaps and unforeseen delays, I'm finally printing the second prototype box for the new Millennium board game, so here it is in all it's glory, for whatever this is worth, just for kicks and giggles. I've decided to give this cover a bit of sepia-tone instead of full black and white. I think it works and most likely this will be the box cover that goes into production.

This time around I'm happy to say this current version of the game is playable on all levels from start to finish so I'll be play-testing the heck out of it and fine-tuning anything that needs tweaking. The new launch date is September 11, 2020 so I hope I can stick to that and meet that deadline this time around.

Blah, blah, blah. nobody cares. In fact, all the pretty packaging doesn't mean a thing unless the game is totally playable and engages gamers on a deep level. Superficial game concepts will never cut it so you need something meaningful beyond all the great artwork.

Sure, you need amazing artwork as click-bait, so to speak. But once gamers get a hold of your game and play it out in real life and in real time, you'll need a stronger hook to keep them engaged and interested until the game ends.

And in case you're wondering, the box cover must tell a story. Most games don't because they leave most of the game imagery to the player's imagination and that's a good thing but a better idea is to tell a story with your cover art so you can not only attract potential buyers but also engage them with a storyline at first glance.

Your marketing needs to be worked into

 your stories so you can

use stories to market your books. 

In this case, I've featured an Android, Andrea, holding a gun (central protagonist) front and center with her dog Apollo beside her, smack dab in the middle of traffic--a scene set in the 1930's. Yes there's a story in there somewhere and it's deep, wide, and long. How long? Well, that's the real hook. There's an entire novel (300 pages featured on the front of the box) about Andrea and this fascinating cast of characters.

I'm about half way done writing the novel, which in fact will also be released as 3 separate short stories that tie in all the game activity with scenes from where the apocalypse first struck in Austin, Texas.

Here's a behind the scenes preview: 

Around the middle of book 2 (Epic Apocalypse) Andrea and Maria are stuck with their stolen Tesla pickup, now running low on power in Jacksonville, Florida after fleeing from Austin weeks ago. So they're deep into their adventurous trip north to New York City along with everything that happened since, which is documented in book 1 (Edge of The Apocalypse).

I'm slowly but surely working my way into book 3 (Beyond The Apocalypse). This is where things take an unexpected turn (again) and the girls are blind-sided with another life-altering dilemma. You gotta love it folks! I'm having a blast putting this down and can't wait to finish it and present it to fans of apocalyptic stories. This is the core audience, by-the-way, but I'm weaving in a bunch of sub-plots that have mass appeal.

I know, I'm a long way from promoting this new series but it helps to be inspired along the way. Otherwise, what's the point in living at all? Your marketing needs to be worked into your stories so you can use stories to market your books. That's something to keep in mind as you write. In fact, movie trailers are designed around specific throw-away scenes so think about that while you're writing your next book because it works both ways.

Millennium is alive and well!

Okay, I didn't plan to write such a long, short post but you get the idea. Millennium is alive and well and coming to a store online soon enough so it's an exciting time all around. I really look forward to playing this game in person with several different players to see how they respond to it overall.

I have a feeling they're going to love it and get hooked. And that's the beginning recipe for going viral. Everything must click so that everyone engages and gets excited at the same time and for the same reasons. That's how things are shared and word-of-mouth turns into a flashpoint that fires up the masses and therefore boosts sales in the long-run. Those initial sales also help potential positive reviews, which in turn starts conversations and begins to convert curious shoppers. There's a lesson in here somewhere but I digress.

Check out the game and if you're a curious reviewer, let me know and I'll send you a free game box in exchange for an honest review on Youtube or your game blog.

Your comments or feedback are welcome!

See the Millennium Game on the Developer Website

New Post Apocalyptic Trilogy - The Edge of Time by A.R. Arias

Book 1 is now available. Books two and three are due in 2020

Good news for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, because Book 1, Edge of The Apocalypse is now available on Amazon in paperback and eBook editions. https://tinyurl.com/y89w5rwg

I titled the new series, The Edge of Time and it includes two other books, Epic Apocalypse, Book 2, and Beyond The Apocalypse for Book 3, which will include time-travel events.

I'm very excited about this new series and although I never set out to write about the apocalypse, it turns out that this is topic I really enjoy writing. I got the idea several years ago while developing the Millennium board game (Andrea's Journal) and one thing has led to another and here I am, writing my second book in the series.

So, as if I didn't have enough on my plate already, I've set out to finish two more books. Funny thing is that as daunting as that sounds, I find it very satisfying and a lot of fun to do, so it's not a chore, but a joy for me to accomplish, hopefully in a year or so.

The board game is all but finished and I hope to launch it this September 11 without a hitch. I can't wait for that because Millennium has evolved in amazing ways that I had never thought of when I started designing it back in 2016. It pays to be patient and to sleep on ideas until they are ready to be shared.

These new books are part of the evolution of the board game and writing them is the only option for me. I must write these books and hopefully many more in this genre, not only because the time is right, but because right now this is where my heart and soul is and I'm seizing the moment.

It's going to be a whole new world of exploration in this genre, both post apocalyptic fiction as well as the YA and millennial category of readers.

Lots to learn and a lot to do as things move along towards the year 2020. Here's the link to the new blog, The Edge of Time series of books. I'll also be talking about the book cover designs for all the new books and anything related to the genre.

As an aside, I started watching the post-apocalyptic thriller, Bird Box, a Netflix favorite. I bailed out of it after 20 minutes or so, but I plan to give it another chance this weekend. I didn't get the blindfolding idea. Seemed like a gimmick to me but I'm open to anything so let's see if I can finish watching it this time around.

I did enjoy the opening scenes with Sandra Bullock and her sister, played by Sarah Paulson. Nice tension and dialog.

The movie is actually based on the debut novel Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a mixed 3-star review and also says that the film lacks tension but has solid performances.

Too early to tell, but we'll see how it ends. That's the true test for any story and I'll post my review and rating in my next post. Stay tuned for much more!