2016 Writing Recap

For better or worse, 2016 is done and gone. For me (like many people, I imagine), it was a year of transition. For the first time in my life, I made all my income from writing and editing. Most of that income, of course, didn't come from book sales but freelance work, but hey, that's still quite an accomplishment.

On a more personal note, my wife and I also learned we're going to be having our first child—so yeah, if that's not transition and change, I don't know what is. The baby is due in May, and it's exciting, a bit terrifying, and most definitely motivating for me to work harder at the writing I do.

A lot of other writing-related stuff happened, too, so here's a quick recap of the noteworthy tidbits, along with my goals for 2017:

Introducing DREAMRUSH

I'm very excited to announce the release of DREAMRUSH, my first collection of short fiction. The collection includes several stories that were previous only available in ebook format, including the Dreamwielder prequel "Wulfram," as well the never-before-published story "Deus ex Aurum," which is set during an alternate California gold rush.

The book is available in trade paperback and ebook formats at Amazon and all major online book retailers.

Here's the full book jacket blurb:

"Calcaterra's stories, long and short, are well-crafted, innately readable, and thoroughly kick-ass." –Ahimsa Kerp, author of Cthulhu Kaiju

From the author of The Dreamwielder Chronicles comes 5 tales of fantasy, future past, and gaslamp frontierism, including...

"The Knight's Dog" – The gritty fantasy that's been read over 80k times and is oft compared to The Game of Thrones.

"Page Fault" – A thrilling mashup of cyberpunk, fantasy, noir, and post-apocalyptic fiction.

"Deus ex Aurum" and "Gold Comes Out" – Groundbreaking tales of gaslamp frontierism, set during the California gold rush.

"Wulfram" – The prequel to Dreamwielder, chronicling the story of the mysterious sorcerer Wulfram.

-Garrett Calcaterra

Wulfram: Cheap as Free

Happy new year!

I'm excited to announce that Wulfram, a prequel ebook that ties into Dreamwielder, is super cheap all January long. Like free cheap. There is one catch, of course. You need to to sign up for my mailing list on my website, www.garrettcalcaterra.com. Okay, you don't actually have to sign up to download the book for free. Since I'm nice, here's the cheat code (aka the direct link to where you can download the ebook files for free): www.garrettcalcaterra.com/wulfram.

I do ask, pretty please with a cherry on top, that you sign up for the mailing list, though. I promise not to sell your info to a pharmaceutical company marketing genetically engineered flying monkeys that are guaranteed to be toilet trained but really aren't. Pinky swear.

All you'll get from me is an occasional newsletter announcing new releases of mine and whatever else worthwhile I have going on (probably not much). So yeah. Download your ebook for free, before it goes on sale at Amazon (not for free), and sign up for the email newsletter if you want.

That's about all for me. I'm about to go into heavy research mode for my new book project, but no spoilers yet.

-Garrett Calcaterra

3 Days Only: Friday, Friday, Friday!

So Thursday is Thanksgiving here in the US, and the day after that is so-called Black Friday. There's no better way to celebrate our national heritage than by glutting ourselves one day, and then being ravenous consumers the next, right? I'm setting the over-under on the number of people that will get trampled to death entering Walmart at a modest 17. Number of injured: 78.

But who am I kidding? I'm out to peddle my own shit to consumers too. The only difference is I'm plugging literature and thought-provoking discussions, which has got to be morally-superior to pushing iPhones, laptops, and all the other gizmos made in Chinese labor-camps/factories. Right? I hope so! Either way, if you're online this Friday, here's what I have going on. I hope you'll stop by one of the AMA chats and say hi!

Wulfram — The Dreamwielder Prequel

Artwork by Patrick Williams

I’m very excited to announce the release of Wulfram, free of charge exclusively on Wattpad. Wulfram, as you may know, is one of the key antagonists in Dreamwielder, and quite a bad-ass one if I may say so myself. In addition to being the only sanctioned sorcerer in the realm, he’s a shape-changer who is equally capable with claw and fang as he is with magic. Of all the characters in Dreamwielder, he racks up the biggest body count.

So, how did he become so cold and mercenary? That’s where Wulfram the story comes in. Set 44 years prior to Dreamwielder, this prequel tie-in chronicles young Wulfram at the tail end of the Dreamwielder War, when the Five Kingdoms are in chaos and his master has been killed. He is on a self-imposed quest to find the banished heir to the Sargothian throne, the boy prince Thedric Guderian. And find Guderian, he does, but the young prince is far from the salvation he seeks.

You can read the story for free on the Wattpad website, or if you prefer to read it on your e-reading device, simply install the Wattpad app and search for Wulfram or my name. And if you haven’t read Dreamwielder yet, find a free preview here.

-Garrett Calcaterra