the Europa Series – Jeff Carlson

September 30, 2016

Sweet new review for FROZEN SKY 3

The critics at San Francisco Book Review think good things about Frozen Sky 3. Hooray!

Their acronym and my acronym make me want to say this an SFBR FS3, right? My only quibble about their review is that while, yes, FS2 was a short novel and therefore a ‘novella,’ FS1 was a full-fledged novel and FS3 was a rather fat novel. FS3 is well over 100K words. It’s only 300 pages in print because we used a teeny small font and it reads even faster on a Kindle or an iPad or a phone because, you know, it’s a high-octane brain-curdling thriller. Really! Believe me! It’s got heft! 😉

You can find the whole SFBR FS3 here on their website.

Now back to work on FS4…

December 4, 2015

Inside Scoop on BLINDSIDED!!!!!

THANK YOU to everyone who’s emailed to say “Where the heck is the third FROZEN SKY novel?” I love it. No question this book is woefully behind schedule.

I finally updated my official bio on this site and here’s the short explanation:

“Early in 2015, Jeff was badly injured while muscling a 400 pound rock across his back yard, which is a boring and stupid way to get hurt. (For what it’s worth, the rock is infused with the fossilized remains of 12 million year old mollusks; it’s an extraordinarily cool rock.) Doctors, X-rays, pills and physical therapy were painful and expensive. Worst of all, the injury was time consuming.”

The other factor is since FS2 was more of a novella than a full-fledged novel, and since FS3 will be the capstone of the trilogy, I want to go out with a bang, so FS3 has turned into a godzilla. When I’m done, FS3 may be almost as long as INTERRUPT, which is an epic novel indeed. That’s the good news. It’s gonna be a big crazy adventure. But it’s taken extra long to write!

Originally I’d planned to have FS3 out before Christmas. Now I’m shooting for Valentine’s Day? Maybe sooner? The first 475 pages of the book are complete and out to my beta readers, but I still have to pen the big finale.

This is what those 475 pages look like if you’re a tree-killing maniac.

(Yes, I always edit hard copy because I spend all day in front of a computer and print-outs help me see the story with new eyes.)

May 3, 2014

Back To The Frozen Sky !!!

This sequel is way overdue. Life has interceded, but I’ve been dying to return to the ice… dying, that is, like someone with a sunfish eating their face! Bwah ha ha.

Who likes the killer artwork by Jacob Charles Dietz? Me me me me me.

I’ll let the jacket copy speak for itself:

SUNFISH VS HUMAN

A quake in the ice nearly kills Alexis Vonderach, setting off new confrontations with the blind alien tribes of Europa. In the weeks since First Contact, her crew has learned their bizarre language… but the sunfish are as violent as their world… Betrayed is a short 200 page sequel to The Frozen Sky by the international bestselling author of Plague Year.

Bonus material includes:
* ESA maps and schematics.
* Future history of the year 2113.
* The original short story of “Interrupt.”

Please note that I went out of my way to clarify this is a short novel rather than a George R.R. Martin-sized door stopper. Why? Because as I wrote it, I realized Betrayed is a complete story unto itself and makes a fine new entry in what I’m calling “the Europa series.” That’s right. Series. I’m working on Frozen Sky 3 as we speak.

Meanwhile there are fun promos coming up on io9 and SF Signal, including two guest blogs detailing my adventures on the 21^st Century writing scene. I’ll post reminders here as soon as they post there.

Because I’m a devilish SOB and this is partly the subject of one of those guest blogs, I’d also like to go on record RIGHT NOW as predicting that Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed will gather at least ten negative reader reviews from grumpy or confused individuals who’ll so cleverly use the word “betrayed” in their review titles. Why you ask again? Because snarky snarkalness is part of the E-Age.

Didn’t realize a title with the number 2 in it was a sequel? Thought the price of a cup of coffee was too high for a few hours of entertainment? Got a political axe to grind with my fictional characters in a dark sci fi future? Aha ha ha ha. Lunatic fringe, I know you’re out there.

My hope is anyone who liked the original Frozen Sky will enjoy Vonnie’s next adventure, too. Holy cheeseballs wrapped in bacon, this book was fun to write!!

It’s currently available on Kindle and Nook. Kobo and iTunes should be close behind. Smashwords is up. Oyster, Flipkart, Scribd, it’s all coming down like freaky aliens in the dark…

Jeff
jeff@jverse.com