Tappan Zee Bridge is a location used in the Sci-Fi Dark Fantasy I published in 2010 after several years planning and one year of actual writing. Amazing to actually have a chance to go there and drive across it. Of course, in the book (placed in the post-apocalyptic setting of Yellow Dawn), the bridge has been radically modified by survivors to protect it from the Infected, and to make it somewhere people can live.
David J Rodger is a British science-fiction and dark fantasy author with seven novels under his belt. LULU have all of them available to purchase in paperback via their online store.
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LULU are offering a tasty 20% discount
on paperbacks purchased through their online portal
For any order
Just use coupon code SILEO at checkout
(code is case sensitive)
Offer Ends 2nd May 2013
This is a great opportunity to grab any of my 7 novels, anthology of short stories, RPG work and any other authors who publish through LULU – in one awesome literary grab.
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If you’re a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos then why not try my latest novel: The Black Lake.
A novel
“The Black Lake: where only death survives.”
Order a bookstore quality paperback from LULU with 20% discount.
Full description & customer reviews on official website
The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror.
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Alternatively, if you’re interested in my first novel you could try God Seed.
View on Lulu
“Mankind will be judged, and smitten and cleansed”
Order a bookstore quality paperback from LULUwith 20% discount.
Full description & customer reviews on official website
I wrote God Seed in 1996: it is a tense, tightly packed thriller following a documentary film-maker as he tries to complete a new project: filming corporate mercenaries operating in western Europe. What starts as an action-packed campaign quickly descends into horror and madness as the film-maker is drawn into a conspiracy that goes far beyond the political, religious and ideological boundaries of neo-Nazis and Islamic fundamentalists, propelling him out beyond Earth, into the very heart of darkness.
In between God Seed and The Black Lake are a number of novels that share and create a common universe for your imagination to roam, enjoy and find new thrills and terrors within. You can find a complete list of my work, including précis and customer reviews, on my official website.
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Click to browse paperbacks on LULU storefront
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If you’re keen to try these novels in digital format then you can buy all these titles at Amazon with a choice of currencies, $ US Dollars; or £ GB Pounds, or the Euro.
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Photos from Murder At Sharky Point – Dinner Party Game – Guests and suspects
Murder at Sharky Point is a murder mystery game for 6 or more players
I wrote this murder mystery game for a friend’s birthday dinner party. I normally write novels so this was a good challenge and a lot of fun to create. The reaction from the dinner guests was really positive. I wanted to provoke argument and debate against a background of fun and laughter. I wanted people to really fight their corner to prove their innocence, with tongues firmly planted in cheek, or avoid suspicion by pointing the accusatory finger at somebody else. This is a game of wits and cunning, and above all, casting a sparkle of delight over any dinner gathering.
- David J Rodger
SettingIt can be set in any time-period. The story itself takes place at the lavish and arcane mansion of Dr Black. A man adored by the heartless and hated by the worthy. The guests arrive for dinner and quickly establish who is who. Dr Black seems to revel in the tensions simmering below the barely maintained facades of civility. After dinner Dr Black excuses himself to retrieve a bottle from his renowned champagne collection but never returns, and is not seen alive again. The police are called.
The game begins with the arrival of the Special Agent in Charge, plus any extra players in the role of Agent-Investigators. As they interrogate the guests, the guests themselves will ask questions, either to find out the person(s) responsible for the murder, or to deal in subterfuge and ensure they avoid suspicion, or even shoulder it onto somebody else. There are no rules on what can or can’t be asked. There are some tips, which are revealed at the start. As the questions force guests to talk about where they were and what they were doing, between the hour of 9pm and 10pm, other players will have a chance to spot inconsistencies, expose lies, and direct further questioning to make suspects as uncomfortable as possible. Even if you’re innocent, you may fall victim to foul-play of the guilty.
The game is written to last a little under an hour. Forensic updates arrive every 7 minutes, each update providing clues derived from crime-scene-analysis. However, the organiser of the game can chose to shorten or extend these timescales depending on how they feel the pace of the investigation is going.
Half the fun is the anticipation that comes after everyone has received their invitation packs and the waiting begins, waiting for the night to arrive with a nervous tickle of growing excitement. Whoever hosts the dinner party / murder party can choose to be any of the characters below. They can also decide which guest should play which character when sending out the invitation packs – there is information about each character that will allow you to match your knowledge of your friends to the characters described.
Photos from Murder At Sharky Point – Professor Drum
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Dr Black, eminent physician for the small and affluent township of Sharky Point; he made a name for himself in annals of science for his work in genetics, developing a bio-chemical mechanism for delivering body-altering retro-viruses of recombinant DNA. This work also made him the enemy of many religious groups who saw his work as tampering with the Gods sacred design. He has also been criticised by other scientists for “going too far” and by charities working with war torn states who fear his work may lead to a new “Bio Weapon”. Charming, arrogant, intellectual, Dr Black has often been a contentious individual, but always a perfect host.
Sadly, he dies within the hour following dinner (at some time between 9pm and 10pm within the story included in this murder mystery). So there is no role for Dr Black in this game other than as a body.
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I’ve always been a fan of mystery games and books, I own the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes and read it rather often, but before I played this I never had the opportunity to participate in a real Murder Mystery Party, so when I got invited I was quite the happy person!
Aside of being ever so slightly, okay maybe more then slightly, nervous about the whole idea it was easily one of the funniest parties I have ever been to! Especially once things really got rolling and the accusations started flying!
Practice your short hand people cause you gotta write rather quickly when everyone is at each others throats!
The packet is detailed and lines everything out wonderfully with lots of… More >twists and surprises in there that caught me by such surprise my jaw must have dropped a few times.
I loved playing and hope to play again and again! Definitely one to add to the game shelf, or bookshelf as it were.
Thanks so much for writing and making this available for us Mr. Rodger! I look forward to any more you do in the future!By Andrew Corrieri
Purchasing and shipping is handled through LULU .
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If you’re in Bristol on Saturday 23rd Feb, pop along to the fantastically atmospheric, eclectic and bohemian collection of indoor stalls at St Nicholas Market. Lunartique, 47 Exchange Avenue, will be hosting the author of fantasy novels The Seer’s Tower and The Shadow Seer, Fran Jacobs, as she does a reading of her work.
St Nicholas Market is a wonderful historical location, crammed to the corners with interesting stalls, artisans and nick-nacks. It’s also the prime setting for the science fiction dark fantasy novel by David J Rodger - Living in Flames – which takes place almost exclusively in Bristol.
Available in paperback or kindle
Paperback: from LULU Kindle: US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
Living in Flames { novel } Bristol, UK, the near future, the lives of three people collide in a gruesome twist of fate. A former marine turned to crime, and two enigmatic figures concealing their true identities, skimming the city’s underworld of drug-cartels and shadowy tendrils of old merchant families. A carved African idol is discovered clutched in the hands of a dead man who is barely human. Greed unlocks a centuries-tarnished mystery about the origins of the idol, and brings back to Bristol a banished bloodline hell-bent on vengeance and diabolical glory. A carrion God lying dormant for three hundred years risks being returned to the world of Man.
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A Spanish fan has written-up a wonderful review of my 4th novel, EDGE, on Amazon.
Available in paperback, kindle and iBook
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“I found out about David’s novels when I moved to Bristol a couple of years ago. As I needed to improve my English I thought I would give a chance to some local writer and after reading some reviews about David’s books I decided to buy ‘Edge’ from Amazon.
What can I say about it, not only is a brilliant piece of Sci Fi literature but a fabulous way for someone like me to learn new vocabulary and expressions. The richness of the descriptions and characters make you get into the story so much that you don’t want the book to have an end. You can’t help but to get attached to Ethan and his geekiness or Samson and his magnetic personality, even feeling some sympathy for Halo and his sick mind.
I don’t want to spoil anyone’s experience with this book so I’ll just say that really bad things happen, is not a love story so some blood must be expected ;)
I can’t wait to put my hands on another of David’s novels and same will happen to you if you give ‘Edge’ a well deserved chance!”
- By Sergio (source)
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A Science Fiction Dark Fantasy Short
Science Fiction Dark Fantasy author David J Rodger is giving away a copy of his short story “Masters of Chaos” to anybody who retweets or shares this post on a social network. No reason other than the search for more publicity and exposure of his work to a wider audience.
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MASTERS OF CHAOS: {Speculative fiction} A man contemplates the world around him, taking seemingly meticulous notes of certain random but repeating events. Can he influence the world through such observations? And to what end? When unseen things are scratching at the doors of perception.
It’s 3,800 words, fairly meaty for a short story and uses an unusual style that, in my head at least, is based on the awesome narrative monologue method used in the film Pi by Darren Aronofsky. It charts the terrible fate hanging over the Earth during the esoteric experimentation by somebody who has stumbled onto (or been led into) the loathsome, diabolical and reality shattering concepts practiced by adepts of the Cthulhu Mythos (H.P.Lovecraft).
Retweet me
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You may also like to:
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Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle: US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
SONGS OF SPHERES: {short story collection} 15 short stories hand-picked by the author as his personal favourites and presented with a brief introduction to each story. There are monsters that squirm and slither through the dark spaces beneath our feet, our dead are like carrion to them; and us, the living, are often victims of their hunger for violence and their taste in blood and terror. There are men and women who prey on the predators – a rough justice or karma in action. Technology carries information beyond the wires but what else can ride the electromagnetic waves? Demonic forces that infiltrate the mind through the new technology implants of the cyberpunk era. In dream-like realms, brave souls adventure deep into the strange worlds conjured by far flung minds. What mysteries do they discover and what secrets do they bring back with them into physical flesh and the reality of Humankind? The King in Yellow regards Earth from behind a pallid mask of silk; reposed on a throne of madness, corruption and decay within the black tower that stands beyond Carcosa. Hastur – the Great Old One that must not be named – the bearer of the Yellow Sign, has been brought forth. In tales of Yellow Dawn the consequences are here for those who dare to see. WARNING: some of these stories contain scenes of a disturbing and sexual nature.
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The second edition of Yellow Dawn was launched early 2008. It was very well received but I felt there was much room for improvement. In particular, I wanted to provide more details about the Infection to create a “zombie” flavour threat that was actually far more terrible than originally thought. The Influence of Hastur can seep out of those wretched souls who have been bitten and so warp and corrupt the subjective reality of non-Infected survivors in the immediate area.
NOTE: you can discover more about the Influence of Hastur through narrative in the short stories House of Heavenly Light; Corrupt Moon; Tainted Moor, all three of which are contained within the anthology of short stories Songs of Spheres.
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In 2012 I launched an updated version (2.5) that had taken me most of 2011 to complete. Here’s an email from an old fan and Hastur aficionado – Lee David Simpson – who has seen the game evolve through recent years. Positive words.
Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2012 08:11:06 +0000
Subject: re Yellow Dawn
From: xxxxxxx@xxxx.com
To: clovenfeet@xxxxx.com
Hi David,
Sorry I haven’t mailed sooner but I’ve been pretty busy with [xxxxx]. I just wanted to say that I have received the book and what can I say … it’s very very good, I was reading the chapter on infected on the bus, early in the morning and it gave me chills. I haven’t forgotten that you want a photo of me with the book and I’ll try get that done this week.. I was going to try scout out somewhere eerie, run down or both but we’ll have to wait and see.
Lee
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Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:37:58 +0100
Subject: Re: Yellow Dawn 2.5 – Work In Progress (version 2.0) – “Age of Hastur” chapter changed – “Zombie” chapter completed
From: xxxxxxx@xxxx.com
To: clovenfeet@xxxxx.com
David,
what can i say, the Hastur section is pretty much spot on now :) It has a good logical flow, ideas now lead into each other and the box outs enforce your points rather than muddy it, love the Carcosa section, it really gels with what I always envisioned and really links the infection, Hastur and the infected together in a neat little package.
Lee
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YD 2.5 – from LULU
Paperback : from LULU ¦ Hardback (with black cover): from LULU
Primary Rulebook (2.5) This book is crammed with everything you will need to create characters and run scenarios. [] Features narrative examples of key themes • The Influence of Hastur • Medical theories on the Infection • Zombie surges • Dead Cities • Wilderness survival • Comprehensive scavenging system and how to repair or build things with resources • Backgrounds and motivations of government bodies and corporations • Computer hacking and drug abuse • High-tech immortality options • Non-human characters • Enhancements through cyberware and bioware • Weaponry, equipment and armour • Complete character generation and development system • Complex political, corporate and quasi-religious tensions • Schools of Elemental Magick, occultism, demonology, and the alien horrors of the Outer Chaos – the Cthulhu Mythos.
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Congratulations to Jez Long (@SpookyJelly) who is the winner of the latest Free Friday Giveaway (more giveaways coming soon). He decided to select the anthology of short stories Songs of Spheres – from amongst the choice of 7 novels on offer.
Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle: US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
SONGS OF SPHERES: 15 short stories hand-picked by the author as his personal favourites and presented with a brief introduction to each story. There are monsters that squirm and slither through the dark spaces beneath our feet, our dead are like carrion to them; and us, the living, are often victims of their hunger for violence and their taste in blood and terror. There are men and women who prey on the predators – a rough justice or karma in action. Technology carries information beyond the wires but what else can ride the electromagnetic waves? Demonic forces that infiltrate the mind through the new technology implants of the cyberpunk era. In dream-like realms, brave souls adventure deep into the strange worlds conjured by far flung minds. What mysteries do they discover and what secrets do they bring back with them into physical flesh and the reality of Humankind? The King in Yellow regards Earth from behind a pallid mask of silk; reposed on a throne of madness, corruption and decay within the black tower that stands beyond Carcosa. Hastur – the Great Old One that must not be named – the bearer of the Yellow Sign, has been brought forth. In tales of Yellow Dawn the consequences are here for those who dare to see. WARNING: some of these stories contain scenes of a disturbing and sexual nature.
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If you’re keen to try David J Rodger in digital format then you can buy all his titles at Amazon with a choice of currencies, $ US Dollars; or £ GB Pounds, or the Euro.
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THE BLACK LAKE is a Mythos haunting that takes place on a desolate Scottish island; set within a near-future Earth following a mysterious catastrophic event (Yellow Dawn). The novel has received rave feedback from fans and critical review from the major UK media site, The Guardian.
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EDIT @ 19th JAN 2013: This Special Offer closed. The winner was Jez Long aka Spooky Jelly. More…
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Science Fiction Dark Fantasy author David J Rodger is going to give away a paperback copy of his latest novel**, The Black Lake, to one random person who has retweeted this post (ensure you include @davidjrodger). No reason other than the search for more publicity and exposure of his work to a wider audience.
Next free giveaway: Friday 18th January 2013
** Or give away any one of his 6 other novels; or the primary rulebook for the Yellow Dawn RPG. If you win – it’s your choice. :o)
Retweet me!
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Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
.More information about the author [click]
Winner will be selected randomly from anybody who has tweeted this post, or used RT on an existing Tweet. Being involved in this promotion does not guarantee you will win. Only one winner will be selected for any given week (using the published win date for Free Friday Giveaway as the end of the campaign). Only one paperback novel will be shipped, and this will come directly from LULU Publishing. The winner can choose to select another of David J Rodger’s novels or the RPG game Yellow Dawn if they prefer.
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LULU are offering 30% off any hardback today
purchased through their online portal
For any order
Just use coupon code 20DEC at checkout
(code is case-sensitive)
Offer Ends Today
This is a great opportunity to grab the special hardback edition of my RPG, Yellow Dawn – The Age of Hastur.
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If you’re a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, Cyberpunk, Infection apocalypses, zombies and survival horror, then why not try this much praised role-playing game. It works either as a standalone system or as a setting for your own RPG system.
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Available exclusively from LULU
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Product Link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/david-j-rodger/yellow-dawn-25-special-edition-hardcover/hardcover/product-20012076.html (Don’t forget Discount Coupon Code 20DEC)
YELLOW DAWN – THE AGE OF HASTUR
The Earth has been ravaged by viral pathogens, the death of billions observed by the orbital colonies and deep-space habitats that were largely unaffected by the Outbreak. Terrified of infection, nobody came to help. Less than 30 percent survived the first few weeks. Then came the 2nd Wave of infection, spreading steadily outwards from the impact points, and that was when the horror really began… YELLOW DAWN: This book is crammed with everything you will need to create characters, run scenarios and experience horror and adventure in the fictional world of David J Rodger. FEATURES: The Influence of Hastur; Medical theories on the Infection; Zombie surges; Comprehensive scavenging system; Computer hacking and drug abuse; Non-human characters; Enhancements through cyberware and bioware; Weaponry, equipment and armour; Complex political, corporate and quasi-religious tensions; Schools of Elemental Magick, occultism, demonology, and the alien horrors of the Outer Chaos — the Cthulhu Mythos.
YELLOW DAWN fits into a raft of novels that are set before and after the apocalyptic event. In between God Seed and The Black Lake are a number of novels that share and create a common universe for your imagination to roam, enjoy and find new thrills and terrors within. You can find a complete list of my work, including précis and customer reviews, on my official website.
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If you’re keen to try these novels in digital format then you can buy all these titles at Amazon with a choice of currencies, $ US Dollars; or £ GB Pounds, or the Euro.
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I got pinged an email alert by Google the other day. I’d been mentioned on The Guardian website. My scalp contracted and I clicked on the link, feeling a mixture of delight, excitement and utter terror. The Guardian is a big deal. Then I read the journo’s strapline: “Better editing could have upped the shock voltage of this tale of horror on an isolated Scottish island.” And I thought, eek, I’m in for a bruising here.
But actually, I found the article enlightening and rewarding.
But those quibbles aside, The Black Lake was good fun: short, atmospheric and creepy. Having read tons of zombie novels, and horror novels, I’m surprised a publisher hasn’t snapped this one up, as it could definitely hold its own alongside more traditionally published genre material. If I had the time, I wouldn’t mind returning to check out some of Rodger’s other novels, set in the Yellow Dawn world.
- Alison Flood, The Guardian
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Alison Flood’s critique highlights the fundamental issue at the heart of my LULU / Amazon publishing model; and the same issues for the majority of other authors who have a direct route to market.
Lack of editorial resource.
I don’t have a big publishing house carousing on my behalf; I don’t have professional editorial expertise behind me, knocking off the rough edges of my work into a glossy market-focussed product. Some people would argue that’s a good thing, and I can understand that point of view, but in my case I’m now swinging around to the idea of buying-in a layer of industry experience: hiring a professional editor on a freelance basis.
What’s the point of me spending 7 weeks of my life writing a novel to then not maximise its potential?
Regardless of a mainstream publisher being interested in snapping me up – if I can improve the product for the slice of the market already prepared to buy my work as it stands, then I’m improving my chances of referrals and punters coming back for more helpings.
Mind you. Freelance editors are not cheap and I now have 7 novels in the stable.
So I’m going to have to think very hard about next steps – choices and timescales, and budget.
I do strive for quality in my work. At the end of the day I’m crafting a product that has a lot of people paying money to enjoy. This article has flashed up a like mirror, reflecting back a view that shows where I can improve.
So yeah, rewarding and positive.
Click to read full article on The Guardian website
You can read the full article by Alison Flood here (or click on the image above)
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Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
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I was doing my usual scan of Google for reviews and comments about my work and found this one from last month, posted by a guy who is living in upstate New York, in the Catskill Mountains (Lovecraft country). He didn’t say much, just posted this photo of him holding a paperback copy of the book and a few words; but those words did make me smile. Kind of the effect I wanted to achieve when I wrote the thing earlier this year. So, thanks! :o)
READING IDEA:
Got my hands on David J Rodger’s latest novel , “The Black Lake.” I’m half way thorough and it’s turning out to be his weirdest, most chilling yarn yet.
Word of advice: don’t read this in the woods by yourself as I did last night…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008VRFCT8/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/188-5532941-3450116
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Click image to go to official webpage for the novel
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THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
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Pick up the December 2012 issue of SFX now and apart from the plethora of highly entertaining and informative editorial content, you’ll find a juicy little plug for The Black Lake tucked in there.
SFX plugs The Black Lake – click for more info on the novel
Thank you SFX!
Djr
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Congratulations to Lena Machina (@leanmachine69) who is this week’s winner of the Free Friday Giveaway (more giveaways coming soon). She grabbed a free copy of my latest book, The Black Lake.
Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
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If you’re keen to try David J Rodger in digital format then you can buy all his titles at Amazon with a choice of currencies, $ US Dollars; or £ GB Pounds, or the Euro.
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This email is about my latest novel The Black Lake. Always nice to get words like this. I’ve removed SPOILERS by overwriting them with XXX.
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> Subject: The Black Lake
> From: xxxx@floydhayes.com
> Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:14:53 -0400
> To: xxxxxx@xxxxx.com
>
> Hi David,
>
> As usual when I finish one of your books, I think, “this is his best yet .”
>
> I read TBL up at the house in the Catskills over a 3 day period, alone. A Hudson valley bourbon by my side, the environment is pretty creepy on your own – the silence, the massive ancient mountains. The woods. Not only that but I had an infestation of “stink bugs” – harmless but quite unnerving – like little brown crickets. Maybe 20 or so in any given room. Easy to catch in a jar, but they buzz when they fly…
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> That’s the setting.
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> I loved the book. It was your most “horror” to date, in some ways…there were some well trodden horror tropes here but felt stronger in your hands – im thinking of when the XXXXX is seen in the lightning when our man had presumed it was tarp….
>
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> I wrote a few comments as I went through.
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> Some great one liners in here, “it was August and there was ice in the sea”
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> The checklist of equipment, I thought was smart as it underlined the fact this was a proper expedition, not a boys own adventure….
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> Giggledust really did it for me – brilliantly described and an amazing piece of SCI Fi thinking. Absolutely loved this character/tech.
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> The chill vortex – shudder – fantastic idea….reminiscent of Frank Herbert.
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> You deftly got round the whole “why don’t you tell your comrades about the XXXXX?” Very human and keeps the isolation going…isolation being a good psych button throughout.
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> Tornado description properly scared me…
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> The tatters XXXXXwas horrid. Kudos for that one.
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> Nice breather when he XXXXXXX – needed a little reprise from the mare and it was well-timed here.
>
> Fantastic description of XXXX losing the plot, “like a simple mind seeing something it wanted but could not articulate the desire “
>
> Sundown and time running out worked so well man….”the darkness ruled his life”
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> Very good man. Gripping and horrible.
>
> F.
>
Available in paperback or Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
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Science Fiction Dark Fantasy author David J Rodger is going to give away a paperback copy of his latest novel, The Black Lake, to one random person who has retweeted this post (ensure you include @davidjrodger). No reason other than the search for more publicity and exposure of his work to a wider audience.
Next free giveaway: Friday 19th October 2012
Retweet this!
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Available in paperback or Amazon Kindle
Paperback: LULU & Amazon Kindle US ($), UK (£), DE (Euro), FR (Euro)
THE BLACK LAKE: The Earth has been ravaged by an event known as Yellow Dawn. Ten years later, survivors are putting lives back together and probing the frontiers of a new Wilderness; whilst overhead the orbital colonies slide across the sky, removed and unaffected. Five men leave the fortress island of Malta on an expedition to the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. They intend to undertake scientific observations of an alien meteorological phenomenon that has followed the apocalyptic event. What they find is a cosmic horror that seethes amongst the shadows of a shattered Earth. It is a story of escape and wonder, of madness and terror. David J Rodger’s trademark unforgiving rendering of harsh reality, and relentless narrative pace, are here in palm-sweating abundance, delivered in a novel that tears open a rent in the boundary of reality, providing a nerve-jarring glimpse of the Outer Chaos and the horrors that lurk just beyond the threshold of our fragile, human existence.
Winner will be selected randomly from anybody who has tweeted this post, or used RT on an existing Tweet. Being involved in this promotion does not guarantee you will win. Only one winner will be selected for any given week (using the published win date for Free Friday Giveaway as the end of the campaign). Only one paperback novel will be shipped, and this will come directly from LULU Publishing. The winner can choose to select another of David J Rodger’s novels or the RPG game Yellow Dawn if they prefer.
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I launched The Black Lake at the start of this month. It starts off as a ghost story that descends into revelations and machinations of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. It’s doing really well considering there’s just me and one bod in the States pushing the word “out there”. It’s scored a great review on Amazon so I’m sharing it with you here:
Review from Amazon UK – click to view source
The review was placed on Amazon UK but it is also available from Amazon US ($), DE (Euro), and FR (Euro).
You can review and purchase The Black Lake in paperback from LULU.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Launch of 7th novel – The Black Lake – a ghost story within the Cthulhu Mythos
Available in paperback from LULU
BRISTOL, UK—AUGUST, 2012— British Sci-Fi & Dark Fantasy author, David J Rodger has written and published his 7th novel. The Black Lake is fundamentally a ghost story set within the Cthulhu Mythos – but also goes some way into revealing Rodger’s interpretation of the machinations of one of the most mysterious and virulently dangerous entities from that genre: the Great Old One – Hastur (The Unspeakable One, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, or Kaiwan). Specifically, the influence Hastur – as the King in Yellow – can have upon the minds of men and women.
Set on Earth in the not-to-distant (cyberpunk) future, in a period that follows an apocalyptic event known as Yellow Dawn; the story charts the progress of a meteorological expedition that heads to a remote island in the sub-Arctic waters above Scotland. Ignoring the warnings of those who have some knowledge of the horror that awaits them, the expedition sets up camp and get to work. Battered by tornadoes and ferocious storms they begin to unpick the nature and structure of alien atmospheric phenomenon that dominate the area – in the hope of shedding some light on what caused Yellow Dawn – and the awful consequences of the apocalyptic event (70% mortality across the planet; dead cities and hordes of screaming Infected). The expedition’s presence on the island acts as a catalyst to an unfolding set of terrifying events.
Links to publication:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David J. Rodger is a British science fiction & fantasy author and game designer best known for his novels set in a near-future world of corporate and political intrigue. So far he has published seven novels. Rodger’s contributions to the Mythos include the creation of new Great Old Ones in the novels Edge and Dog Eat Dog, and the use of the Outer God Nyarlathotep in the novel God Seed. Rodger has also written Murder at Sharky Point, a murder mystery game. Rodger spent 8 years working for a non-departmental government agency, developing a virtual communications service within the IT Division, before moving into commercial project management for a UK media company. In 2000 Rodger’s presence on the Internet got him a place in the BBC documentary Through The Eyes of the Young, directed by Chris Terrill. Rodger now lives in Bristol, England, with a Braun coffee-maker, writing from a house on a hill with a view of Earth’s curve.
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Available in paperback or Kindle
June saw a battle for top spot between my hand-picked collection of short stories – Songs of Spheres, and the post-apocalyptic crime thriller, Dog Eat Dog, which is the first novel to be set within the world of Yellow Dawn (Mad Max meets Blade Runner; Earth ravaged by the Cthulhu Mythos).
Dog Eat Dog won out in the end with a combination of paperback sales through LULU and Kindle versions through Amazon.
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I finished a new novel earlier this week. The Black Lake. Now going through proofing and review. So far, great feedback… it’s a fast read with the tension building up nicely. I’m aiming to release it before September 2012.
I’m now working on the next novel. Rise of the Iconoclast. Another one to be set in the world of Yellow Dawn. A rip-roaring romp of post-apocalyptic cyborgs, holding together as a bandit crew and heroes for hire. Very different to what I normally write. But I like the challenge. I’ve got my crew defined and relevant bits fleshed out – so watch this space for updates as the story evolves.
CREW OF THE GINNY – aka Genie
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Dog Eat Dog takes place in the near future, after the Earth has been devastated by a viral pathogen unleashed when a corporate cargo hauler crashed into the atmosphere; breaking up as a fireball across the sky, it showered Southern Europe and North Africa with a deadly rain of infected debris. Ten years later, over seventy percent of the human population is dead and only a handful of cities survive intact. So called ‘Living Cities’. The vast majority of human habitation is abandoned to the undying creatures left mutated through a brutal twist in the infection. Greed and corruption are left hovering over this bleak and brutalized domain and a cosmic horror is now free to infiltrate the remote abandoned corners of the Earth. Above this, the orbital colonies spin within artificial gravity wells, impartial observers, unaffected by the shocking events below. Within this mix the lives of two survivors collide: a renegade intelligence agent and a cold-blooded master of violence, shaping events with their virulent hunger for money and desire to carve their name onto this new world.
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