Wild Summer Projects!

Find it Here!

Hello and welcome to another edition of our Signal Boost posts where I point out a bunch of newer books you might have missed out on coming your way! This time I wanted to freshen your palette with a bunch of interesting projects to help brighten the upcoming summer season. Believe me, there is quite a bit to go over.

The first today is one I completely overlooked before. You can see it above. I am speaking of the NewPub magazine, Tales of the Unreal! This is exactly what you might think of from the cover, a fresh dip into traditional pulp waters without having to use an old IP as a crutch. We are always looking for more of these and thankfully they are still being produced.

The description:

Contained herein are Tales of the Weird, the Horrible, and the Macabre. Inspired by the great horror and weird authors of a better time, Tales of The Unreal seeks to pick up where other such magazines left off; telling stories that leave you questioning your own reality, stories that crawl inside your mind to incubate your dreams. Buyer beware, these stories will feed the imagination, but we can't guarantee that your nightmares won't also engorge themselves.

You can find the first issue of Tales of the Unreal here!

Next up are a pair of Kickstarter campaigns that will be running until near the end of the month. Both are quite different, even from my own Gemini Man campaign, but that's what you want out of NewPub. We thrive on new blood and fresh takes on classic ideas. Definitely be sure to check out if either of these campaigns are up your alley!

First we have the mighty Cirsova's next campaign for Misha Burnett's next project, Small Worlds! If you've ever read anything from him then you know you are in for a unique treat unlike anything else out there.

Find it Here!

After the successful Atlas of Bad Roads project, the pair of Cirsova and Burnett have turned to something different. As you might be able to tell from the cover, it isn't quite what you might expect from either of them. Though that is also what makes what they release all the more interesting. Small Worlds is a collection of stories unlike any you've seen before!

The description:

Small Worlds has all of the hallmarks of Misha Burnett's fusion of SFF with classic weird, inviting the reader into the uncanny realms where the mundane has been pervaded by the strange, but also brings to the table his unique brand of white-knuckle thrilling adventure sometimes seen in the pages of Cirsova Magazine.

This collection features "Better Off Dead," an all-new novelette-length Erik Rugar fantasy-noir thriller, "This Green and Pleasant Sky," a novella about farming... on an asteroid populated by women prisoners, "My Grandfather's Grandfather Balled Goddesses," a Sword & Sorcery adventure set in the world of Cha'alt, and much much more!

• Josef: A Fable - What happens when Society has officially decided that you're just not good enough?
• Better Off Dead - In an all new Erik Rugar adventure, Dracoheim's premier agent investigates a potential undead uprising that coincides with the return of a legendary serial killer!
• 284 Miles to Empty - A mysterious phone call from out of time brings two strangers together!
• Johnny and the Nightmare Machine - Johnny discovers that farming gold in an abandoned MMO somehow pays out real cash! But where is the money coming from, and what is the catch?
• They Delved Too Deep - Construction workers in an underground parking garage accidentally break into forgotten catacombs!
• The Irregular - The last survivors of human kind wage guerilla war against the aliens who have occupied earth!
• This Green and Pleasant Sky - Todd Allard is given a debtor's sentence to an asteroid penal farm, only to find that it has already been run into the ground by the women prisoners who have made it their playground! Can he turn things around before they're all liquidated?!
• Fragile - A technician with brittle bone disease on a remote space outpost must face off against a deadly femme fatale!
• The Fall of a Storm King - Luther lives his life overclocked so he can pilot around the rings of Saturn until an accident forces him to find new work!
• My Grandfather's Grandfather Balled Goddesses - An unlikely duo must join forces to survive the wastelands of Cha'alt!

You can find the Small Worlds Kickstarter here!

The second Kickstarter today is from author and scientist Hans Schantz, and is a bit of a twist on a controversial topic these days. I'd explain it, but he does it much better on his campaign page. You can read it here for yourself. Suffice to say, it's not a normal project. Nonetheless, you definitely won't see this coming out of OldPub!

This infographic is included on the campaign page:

Find the campaign here!

As you can tell from the above infographic, this isn't exactly a normal sort of book. In fact, it has been running on Substack and Arktoons for nearly a year now. But this project is different, and it is currently being crowdfunded as we speak. This does make it worth keeping an eye on, especially considering the author's other works.

You can tell what the subject is about from the above infographic, but what is the Kickstarter for exactly? Well, here is the description:

Fifteen black and white line drawings by Elin Chancey add powerfully to the story, but significantly increase the production costs. That's why I'm giving you the opportunity to back The Wise of Heart and be first in line to get the ebook, backers' limited edition paperback and hardcovers, and other incentives. In add-ons, you can name a character, or even provide Elin a photo and have her add you to the jury in an illustration to appear in the book.

The advance sales from the campaign will help me cover my production costs and pay for Elin's excellent work, before a broader release.

What do you get? A meticulously researched 80k word illustrated novel steeped in the history and lore of the original Scopes Trial and informed by the latest in gender theory, transgender activism, and today's political maneuvering. Check out the episodes already posted on Substack and Arktoons, and back today!

You can check out The Wise of Heart campaign here!

For our final book today, I wanted to highlight a brand new release in a currently ongoing space opera saga. This is Eye of the Storm from Declan Finn's White Ops series! This is the fifth entry in this action packed ride.

Find it Here!

If you've not been following this hot blooded space opera series, well, now is the perfect time to jump in! for those who have read him, you definitely know what to expect here. Mr. Finn definitely knows how to have a good time, and his works never fail to get your blood pumping. The White OPs series is no different in that regard!

The description:

Those of the planet Renar have one rule regarding the local mafia: They do not exist.

When White Ops leader Sean Patrick Ryan uncovers its existence, he finds a world of political intrigue and corruption that stretches back years. The Mafia has cast a shadow that has touched every member of his team. Now, the Mafia wants to emerge from the shadows.

Their first target: Sean Ryan. Despite Sean being held back by local politics and diplomatic niceties, he's still the most dangerous man in the universe.

They underestimated him.

You can find Eye of the Storm here!

Before we go, I wanted to share one last neat thing with you. Some music!

These are a pair of new songs recently released on Bandcamp from NewPub stalwart Jacob Calta (featuring J.V.P.)! We don't see much on the rock music front these days being pushed in NewPub, but that definitely needs to change. There is a lot of interesting projects out there waiting to be discovered. This is one such release!

Find these new tracks here!

These two new songs are killer, and I'm glad to share them with you today. They manage to achieve the feat of being both heavily atmospheric as well as adrenaline pumping at the same time. Perfect for those action tales said author writes on 365 Infantry. The creators were also kind enough to share the background behind these tracks:

From the creator of heavy metal audio comic Ruthless and the creator of wolven cyberpulp 365 Infantry comes the electric new theme for our favorite pack of high-octane Wasteland soldiers. Inspired by heavy rock titans like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, this epic track salutes the hot-rodding, chopped-hog-riding hounds of the 365th.

Writing this song has been a terrific exercise in old-school metallic might and I cannot thank J.V.P. enough for collaborating. He was generous with his time, patient with me as a young buck (and a perfectionist), and wrote the core of the track, and helped come up with the opening bars of the Yamaha-laden intro. Without him, this all simply would not have happened. I thank him from the bottom of my heart and highly recommend you check out his other epic endeavors over on his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@jvpmusicproduction

Listen to Wolves of Steel and Soldiering On here!

That's all for today! I hope you got something out of this mish mash of wild new ideas coming out of NewPub, because there is really something for everyone. You could say a lot about the state of how things are now in the sider world, but that is the key takeaway here. There is always something waiting in the wilds.

No matter what comes in the future, there will always be something worth looking forward to, coming at you from an angle you will not be expecting it to come from. Isn't that what makes life so fun, after all?

Keep trucking along with us. There is plenty more coming down the turnpike.

I also still have my Gemini Man Kickstarter going on right now! Help us reach the next stretch goal and really stuff this book full of content!