UpLink and Harmonies now available!

Updated version of GroundTies file also available. Good PDF!

‘NetWalkers Excerpt

Dead Tree versions are available:

The Absolutely Incorrigibly Sexy SF Epic

Okay, so Wesley wrote the headline. What can I say? You don’t know Wesley? Jonathan Wesley Smith? Heir to the Smith fortune and Seneca Smith’s patents? Hmmm…. Well, I think it fair to say that once you read this series, the name Wesley will never have quite the same connotation.

’NetWalkers is the series title I’ve given to my future history. My first series, GroundTies, UpLink and Harmonies of the ’Net provided the core. Those three, are available now. A prequel to the series and complete rewrites of the original series will be offered here, as soon as I get the covers done and the files translated.

I offer GroundTies as a free download because I believe once you’ve met Wesley and Crew, you’ll want more.

How the prequel and subsequent rewrites came to be is a story in itself, one that provides an interesting insight into the publishing biz.  In the early 90′s, GroundTies et al suffered from a near fatal infection of musical editors.  One editor bought the series, then pretty well ignored them along with all other SF in his charge because the bean-counters at the top of Warner decided to try to cash in on the DC comic tie-ins and stole him away from the rest of us to edit that line. Then, suddenly, before the release of the third book, he was completely gone.

His successor read my series, looked at the distribution they hadn’t gotten, the “second to rip-off fantasy” status GroundTies had been given in the promo, and said, flat out, that they’d been screwed, and planned a whole new release, new covers, new roll out…the works. Then, before this felicitous event could take place, he’d jumped to a bigger ship and yet another new editor was brought in, this one to head up a whole new SF/F imprint! Most of the authors from the old imprint were let go, along with their backlist, but (lucky me) GroundTies, et al, were among those Editor #2 suggested they keep—along with Carolyn’s backlist. So…the series was still stuck at Warner.

But Editor #3 was only interested in the new talent she could find. Authors without those pesky numbers in computers throughout the country. Numbers caused by Warner’s rotten treatment, not only of GroundTies, but of all their titles throughout this period. (Ask Carolyn about the numbers on the Hugo Award winning Cyteen. We’re talking distribution failure here, not sales. Even so, I missed the Campbell award ballot by one lousy nomination (and neither Carolyn, nor I nor any of my other acquaintances filled out the ballot! Oh, the hindsight…) Anyway, when Editor #3 finally got around to looking at them, she decided she wanted a new book in the series first. Problem was, the way she talked about the series indicated to me she was definitely not the editor for them. You don’t take complex, character oriented, psycho-political fiction and turn it into a light read. So…I never actually worked with her on it, being involved, by that time, in the Ring books and DAW.

And I was right. This new imprint as well died just a few years later.

However, I’ve always believed in this series, and during our one real conversation about it, she did make an interesting suggestion. A prequel. Something that took place in space. Perhaps Wesley’s story at the academy. I prevaricated…I mean, Wesley basically turns his back on everything he believes in, because of those events. How could I make him a hero under those circumstances?

Well, I got off the phone, and I swear the Wesser was sitting in the corner of my office, beside the koi pond, glaring at me, saying, “Whaddaya mean, ya can’t write my story?”

Obviously, then, I had to. And putting Wesley under the heat lamp to confess the truth about those years in the academy resulted in some seriously interesting insight into the events of the original series. Those insights, along with all the other things I left out in the name of brevity (Editor #1′s sole input between comic book tie-ins was: Warner will not accept a book this long from a first time novelist.”) resulted in brand new versions of the original series. Not just longer, but edited throughout for clarity, and an increased understanding of story-telling and my readers.

You might be asking, why read the original series when there are “new and improved” editions coming soon. No real reason; the new editions contain all the story (with a few Significant Revisions), however…

1) The order I wrote the entire series in could be interesting, especially to those who enjoy the creative process. A case of figuring out what was changed and why.

2) I’m very proud of the original series as it stands. They’re good books in their own right.

3) In some ways, knowing what’s in store for Young Wesley makes the prequel, ’NetWalkers, just that touch more poignant.

4) Even if you think you know the story, the new editions hold plenty of surprises.

So, anyway…I offer here my most precious creation, the ’NetWalkers series. Please…enjoy.

’NetWalkers: UpLink

Add to the mix: Nayati: A transplanted Native American gone seriously native to HuteNamid. A young man with his own mission. One diametrically opposed to Cantrell's, which puts our Young Hero squarely in the middle.

Rostov-on-Don: A planet distant in space and time, yet intimately linked to HuteNamid.

And the mystery deepens.

Price: $5.00

’NetWalkers: Harmonies of the ’Net

Time for life to get truly dicey for our intrepid heroes, as the 'NetAt sends in the troops to retrieve them, whether they like it or not.

(They don't.)

Stephen's slowly stabilizing world gets sent truly haywire as HuteNamid itself insinuates itself into his fragile psyche.

Cantrell calls Wesley's bluff. ('Bout time someone did.) And the race for control of HuteNamid's secrets enters the home stretch.

Price: $5.00

Coming Soon!

(As in, as soon as I get the covers done and the files translated)

’NetWalkers

’NetWalkers: Nexus

’NetWalkers: WildCards

’NetWalkers: ColdFusion