Category Archives: Speculative Fiction

The Basics of Writing Speculative Fiction Class offered through Indiana Writers Center on 7/21

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Greetings all!

I will be teaching The Basics of Writing Speculative Fiction Class on Thursday, July 21st online via Zoom, for Indiana Writers Center (see info below).

Course Information

Are you interested in adding some fantastical elements to your writing? Ready to explore and entertain aspects of futurism, slip-stream, sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, or horror stories? Check out this class!

The Basics of Writing Speculative Fiction is a basic guide on what speculative fiction consists of and how to create a Speculative Fiction Short Story from beginning to end.

In this 3-hour course, you will learn the basic mechanics of writing a Speculative Fiction Short Story including: plot, setting, characters and world building.

Not sure if you are interested in the genre – check out What is Speculative Fiction?

Click here to register!

BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

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The Kobo Black Friday Sale
***LIMITED TIME ONLY***
Friday, Nov 29th through Monday, Dec 2nd!
My short story collection, The Best Is Yet To Come is on SALE!

TODAY get your copy of The Best Is Yet To Come, for only $0.99!
CLICK THE LINK FOR DETAILS!
#writemind
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-best-is-yet-to-come-27

KOBO BLACK FRIDAY SALE: The Best Is Yet To Come ON SALE!

Posted by John F. Allen Author on

The Kobo Black Friday Sale
is running
Friday, Nov 29th through Monday, Dec 2nd!

My short story collection, The Best Is Yet To Come is on SALE!

Click this link: www.kobo.com on Nov 29th for details and to pick up your copy and SAVE!
#writemind

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Posted by John F. Allen Author on

AVAILABLE NOW!

The Best is Yet to Come, the New Short Story Collection by John F. Allen Cover Reveal!

Posted by John F. Allen Author on

TheBestIsYetToCome_FinalRev_1200X867

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the new cover art by Enggar Adirasa for the new short story collection The Best is Yet to Come by John F. Allen! A Kindle pre-order window is now open, so reserve a copy today! The Best Is Yet to Come will be available in print and eBook formats on October 17th!

Pre-order the Kindle Version at the link below!

Kindle Pre-order Link for The Best Is Yet to Come

Synopsis of The Best Is Yet to Come:

Featuring ten stories collected for the first time ever, The Best Is Yet to Come, presents nine years of creativity spun from the mind of John F. Allen. Action and adventure are ever present in these stories, but be prepared for some drama, horror, fantasy and science fiction as well.

This volume includes a holiday story, “An Ivory Christmas,” featuring Ivory Blaque, Allen’s bold heroine from his acclaimed urban fantasy series The God Killers, and the center of his literary universe, The Ivoryverse.

Also included are:

“Forest of Shadows” the debut of a fabled, ancient warrior named, Jaziri, Prince of Kimbogo Province.

You may want to think twice before venturing out into the dark woods of rural Indiana in “The Legend of Matchemonedo.”

A young, set assistant of a 50’s science fiction serial gets to embark on the journey of a lifetime in “The Adventures of Star Blazer.”

A young woman in late 1970’s Indianapolis, learns to be careful what you wish for in “HoodRatz.”

When a woman struggles to care for her ailing father, she discovers the truth behind her troubled past in “The Sweetest Autumn.”

Long ago, a noble samurai finds forbidden love with a beautiful, ebony skinned princess in “The African Princess.”

A mysterious, military operative is sent on a covert mission in Egypt, when he encounters an alien monster bent on revenge in “Lazarus.”

Forty years ago, a young boy discovers that family means everything in “The Chocolate Malt.”

The Best is Yet to Come also features the special bonus short story, “Witch Way is Up.”

Explore the words of John F. Allen today!

THE GOD PARTICLE CONSPIRACY (CODENAME: KNIGHT RANGER, BOOK II) RELEASED TODAY!

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Today, the God Particle Conspiracy (Codename: Knight Ranger, Book II) was released in eBook and print formats! Readers who have enjoyed tales from John F. Allen’s Ivoryverse, debuting in his novel The God Killers and later, the Codename: Knight Ranger Book I novella, are sure to enjoy his latest spy-fi, action adventure!

CKRGPC FINAL
Synopsis: An Interpol agent investigating international money laundering goes dark. A video surfaces which shows the agent’s death by the prototype of a stolen super weapon at the hands of a Neo-Human black market arms dealer. The international, supernatural counter-intelligence agency known as G.E.N.E.S.I.S., sends Captain Alexandre “Neal” Du Bois, a.k.a. Knight Ranger, and the creator of the weapon, Dr. Hakim Okafor, to Berlin to investigate.

Neal and Okafor encounter a deep cover G.E.N.E.S.I.S. agent with dubious objectives and an heiress with a scheme to disrupt the political landscape of unified Germany. Worse, the heiress has thrown in with a megalomaniac who plots to use secret Nazi technology from World War II to corner the global energy market. Can Neal and Okafor thwart this powerhouse alliance? And how will they cope when an even greater evil surfaces?

Codename: Knight Ranger Official Blog Tour Master Link List

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Codename Knight Ranger Official Blog Tour Banner

KNIGHT RANGER POSTER ART 2My blog tour in support of Codename: Knight Ranger launches Monday, 2 November 2015! Check out Seventh Star’s announcement here. This blog post will serve as the master list, and I’ll add live links to the each post as soon as I know they’ve gone up.

It’s going to be an exciting week and I hope you come back frequently to check it out.  I want to thank all of the book bloggers who volunteered to be a part of the fun.

The complete blog tour is as listed:

Monday, 2 November 2015
On Cloud Eight and a Half (Guest Post)

Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Author Interview with Pete Welmerink

Wednesday, 4 November 2015
Armand Rosamilia Guest Post
RJ Sullivan Top 5 Post
Book In The Bag Author Interview/Guest Post

Thursday, 5 November 2015
Darkling Delights Author Interview

Friday, 6 November 2015
Beauty in Ruins: Science vs Superstition, Military vs Monsters? (Guest Blog)
Sheila’s Blog (Guest Blog)
Bee’s Knees Reviews

Saturday, 7 November 2015

Sunday, 8 November 2015

Please check in regularly to see the list fill in, and leave a comment below as the tour progresses and to let me know what you think.

Thanks & remember TBIYTC!!!

Codename: Knight Ranger is Available Now!

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HELLO EVERYONE!!!

JFA Press Kit Pic 2I’m extremely excited to announce that starting today my novella, Codename: Knight Ranger​ is available through Amazon (ebook immediately & print starting next week), Barnes & Noble (ebook only) and createspace.com (print immediately). Follow the links below to pick up your copy and remember TBIYTC (The Best Is Yet To Come)!!!

KNIGHT RANGER POSTER ART 2
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LNHRvQ
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1Qf5qOZ
Createspace.com: https://www.createspace.com/5402826

“An Ivory Christmas” is a part of a NEW Holiday Anthology, Gifts of the Magi!

Posted by John F. Allen Author on

gotm-cover-final100aToday, I can finally share the BIG news about the NEW ORIGINAL collection of holiday stories co-edited with my good friends R.J. Sullivan, E. Chris Garrison and me.

The anthology is called Gifts of the Magi: A Speculative Holiday Collection and features new tales by our friends and ourselves, most of whom have series’ in progress, and feature a story set in the world of that series. And yes, I have a new story in this collection.

Ivory Blaque has returned in a brand-new short story titled “An Ivory Christmas”, which takes place on Christmas Eve!

While out shopping for a last minute gift for Malik, Ivory stumbles upon an open case involving missing children. She must use all her abilities, along with some otherworldly help, to find the children, put an end to the monster responsible and return the children safely to their parents.

Gifts of the Magi is a first time endeavor for me, as I co-edited the anthology and also ventured into indie publishing under a new brand, in a co-partnership between R.J., Chris and me, called SFG Publishing. It’s our first attempt at supporting a local charity and all monies go to Indy Reads Books in support of  their good work.

Besides a new story by me, you’ll find a new Rebecca Burton/Blue Shaefer tale by R.J., a new story set in Chris’ Tipsy Fairy Tales / Road Ghosts world, and stories set in several of my favorite worlds, created by authors Chantal Noordeloos, David Jobe, Katina French, Debra Holland, an awesome standalone story by A.D. Roland and many more!

Copies will be sold at Indy Reads Books and are available online at Amazon print and ebook versions.

Click here to learn about the December 4 book signing at Indy Reads Books Indianapolis, with the editors and several of the authors present.

But don’t let me keep you from finding out more. Click here to read the official announcement with full details and the preorder link to get yours!

John F. Allen will be featured author and panelist at Imaginarium Convention

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Imaginarium Logo

This weekend is the first-ever Imaginarium Convention in Louisville, KY, a new type of creator/reader friendly convention, in which Seventh Star Press is front and center.

I’ll be in the Seventh Star Press section with my Indy author peeps R.J. Sullivan and Eric Garrison, selling The God Killers, my debut novel and Book I in a series and a NEW line of nail polish, brought to you by Akira Lacquer and inspired by characters from the novel. Most of the time you can find me in the Vendor’s Room and if not, I’ll be on a hand either moderating or sitting in on the following panels:

Friday 5:00 PM: The Big Reveal – Plot Twists are an important part of mystery writing. Ever wonder how to keep yours from sounding trite or goofy? Come talk to our experts about how they establish and reveal twists and turns in mystery settings without being corny. Moderator: Tony Acree Panelists: John F. Allen, Tommy Hancock, Christopher Kokoski.

Saturday 9:00 AM: The Evolution of Urban Fantasy – Panelists experienced in the growing Urban Fantasy genre talk about the evolution of the genre and how both their work and the work of their contemporaries fits into the grand scheme. Moderator: John F. Allen Panelists: Marcia Colette, Missa Dixon, Addie J. King.

Saturday 12:00 PM: Paranormal Romance vs. Urban Fantasy (M) – A common misconception among readers is that Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance are the same thing. While this can be true, there are very distinct differences between the two. Our authors discuss those similarities and differences to help you distinguish between them. Moderator: John F. Allen Panelists: Missa Dixon, Nicole Kurtz, Jettie Necole Angelia Sparrow, Pamela Turner.

Saturday 6:00 PM: Racial Lines in Romance (M) – Authors and editors discuss how to properly execute an interracial romance scene without being trite or offensive. Moderator: John F. Allen Panelists: Marcia Colette, Maddie James, Annie Jones, Nicole Kurtz, Kimberly Richardson.

Sunday 11:00 AM: Urban Fantasy: The Gateway Genre –  Let’s face it, Urban Fantasy is a huge trend and a growing portion of the Speculative Fiction realm. Our panelists discuss how the rise in Urban Fantasy has changed the sci-fi/fantasy landscape. Moderator: John F. Allen Panelists: Marcia Colette, Allan Gilbreath, Nicole Kurtz, Tim Waggoner.

Sunday 12:00 PM: Pulp Fiction 101 (M) – What is Pulp Fiction? This panel will cover the history of pulp writing and how today’s trends differ from the stories that started it. Moderator: John F. Allen Panelists: Earl Dean, Andrea Judy, Sean Taylor.

I expect this to be a GREAT weekend and I hope to see some of you there. REMEMBER TBIYTC!!!