New Book! Genius de Milo from Author Russ Colchamiro

April 6, 2015 Russ Colchamiro Leave a comment

Crazy 8 Press Author Russ Colchamiro
Instigates More Cosmic Lunacy with ‘Genius de Milo’

–Second novel in ‘Finders Keepers’ comedic sci-fi trilogy pits
bumbling backpacking heroes against Milo, the Universe’s ultimate gremlin–

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 6, 2015 — Crazy 8 Press has once again set author Russ Colchamiro loose upon the Universe with his latest novel, Genius de Milo, the long-anticipated sequel to his sci-fi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers.

In the spirit of Midnight Run meets The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Colchamiro’s bumbling backpackers Jason Medley and Theo Barnes are back again in Genius de Milo, the second book in the trilogy.

After barely surviving a tale of cosmic lunacy across Europe, New Zealand, and the backbone of Eternity, they now find that the Earth is fluxing in and out of existence, Theo’s twin girls are teleporting, and Jason can’t tell which version of his life is real. And all because of Milo, the Universe’s ultimate gremlin.

Joined by the mysterious Jamie — a down-and-out hotel clerk from Eternity — Jason and Theo reunite on a frantic, cross-country chase across America, praying they can retrieve a radioactive jar that contains the Universe’s DNA, circumvent Milo, and save the Earth from irrevocable disaster.

“Genius de Milo has shifted mostly to the U.S., and because it comes from Russ, there’s also a lot going on in Eternity, the cosmic realm where the Universe is created,” explains Crazy 8 Press co-founder Robert Greenberger. “The Finders Keepers sci-fi backpacking series gives readers another thrilling world and cast of characters to visit from the minds at Crazy 8 Press.”

New and returning readers to the Finders Keepers series can jump right in, as Colchamiro wrote Genius de Milo so that it works on three levels: as a satisfying, self-contained novel; as the second novel in the Finders Keepers trilogy that both continues and enhances the overall narrative and individual story arcs; and as a launch pad for the final, forthcoming novel that will conclude the trilogy.

Genius de Milo is for fans of authors such as Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher Moore, and movies and TV shows such as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Hot Tub Time Machine, Time Bandits, Quantum Leap, Northern Exposure, and Third Rock from the Sun.

Genius de Milo is available for purchase in e-book and paperback formats:

ISBN: 978-0692395738

To arrange a book signing or interview, contact Russ Colchamiro at authorduderuss@gmail.com.

View the Finders Keepers animated book trailer here.

About Crazy 8 Press
Crazy 8 Press is a team of best-selling, award-winning sci-fi & fantasy authors creating new fiction. A mix of SF/F action, adventure, comedy, mystery, and mythology from Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, and Paul Kupperberg. For more information visit www.crazy8press.com, and follow them on Twitter @crazy8press.

About Russ Colchamiro
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure Crossline, the hilarious science fiction backpacking comedy Finders Keepers, and the outrageous sequel Genius de Milo, all with Crazy 8 Press. Russ lives in West Orange, NJ, with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself.

Russ is now at work on the final book in the Finders Keepers trilogy. As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being swallowed by a tornado. It’s just how he gets around.

For more on Genius de Milo, Finders Keepers, and Russ’ other books, you can visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page at www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor.

Author's Spotlight, News

What I’m Working on: Peter David

March 30, 2015 Peter David 4 Comments

Greetings to all my Crazy 8 fans. Been a while since I’ve taken the time to say hi. I thought I’d bring you up to speed on what’s been going on in my life creatively.

Things have been exceedingly busy, which regrettably has taken time away from my Crazy 8 activities. For instance, we have regained the rights to the Sir Apropos of Nothing books. For those of you who haven’t had the chance to experience the adventures of Apropos—a snarky aspiring knight who was born to a tavern wench, lame of leg but sharp of wit—you’re going to have a great time meeting him. There are currently three books in the series, and I am working on a fourth one in which Apropos finds himself in Egypt (or the Apropos equivalent of it) wherein he accidentally frees the Jews and unleashes a mummy’s curse. The title? Pyramid Schemes. I will endeavor to have it out for you this year.

At the moment, though, I am finishing the third of three Star Trek: New Frontier novellas. Entitled The Returned, they will be coming out in July, August and September of this year as ebooks, followed by a collection of them in a single print novel. We’ll be picking up exactly where we left off in Blind Man’s Bluff some years ago, and I hope it will be worth the wait.

I’ve also completed my first Halo novel. In Hunters in the Dark, something has triggered the Halos to detonate, and our heroes must trek to the damaged Ark to discover a way of shutting them down. I desperately argued to call it Raiders of the Lost Ark, but couldn’t convince them to go for it.

Meanwhile my Marvel work continues as I’m writing two comics that are part of the Secret Wars crossover: Future Imperfect, focusing on the return of the Maestro (the future Hulk who has crossed over to the dark side) and 2099 featuring the introduction of the 2099 Avengers. I hope you’ll all be on board for that.

So all is going well and is quite busy here at Casa David, and I hope you’ll be there later this year when we release our short story collection, Pangaea. It promises to be exciting. And excitement is what we’re all about here at Crazy 8.

Author's Spotlight

What I’m Working On: Russ Colchamiro

March 26, 2015 Bob Greenberger Leave a comment

It is totally ‘go time’ for Genius de Milo, the sequel to Finders Keepers.

The print version is finished, produced, and ready. The e-book is juuuuust about there.

I’m also in the process of lining up various convention appearances, book reviews, and blog posts to promote the newest book in my sci-fi backpacking trilogy, and if all goes according to plan, Genius de Milo will be officially launched within two more weeks.

So how’s that for busy?!

I’m also taking lots of notes for the third and final book in the Finders Keepers trilogy, which I’m hoping to have in your hands next year. So when Genius de Milo hits the stands, you can be rest assured that there’s more coming right behind it.

In between I’ll be writing my contribution to the Crazy 8 Press anthology Pangaea, spearheaded by our illustrious co-founder Michael Jan Friedman, who presided over the successful (woo hoo!!) Kickstarter campaign funding our project.

But for me it’s pretty much all cosmic lunacy all the time, with the Finders Keepers trilogy consuming most of my writing hours.

Once I have my convention schedule nailed down I’ll make a separate post about that, but so far it looks like I’ve got at least three appearances on tap so far, with hopefully a few more to follow.

I’d love to tell you more, but I seem to have misplaced that jar containing the Universe’s DNA, and if I don’t find it quick it’s bound to unravel the galaxy yet again.

You’d think I would have learned my lesson by now, but then, what fun would that be?

New Releases

The Pangaea Campaign has Ended and the Journey Begins

March 23, 2015 Michael Jan Friedman Leave a comment

So, you know, we’re setting out to explore this continent. This super-continent.

When you come up with an idea for a science fiction book–what promises to be a really good science fiction book–in that brief moment of birth, it’s perfect. A perfect, little gem of a reality. Later on you’ll see the flaws and the challenges, a whole bunch of them probably, but when the thing first takes shape in your head, it’s virginal, untouched. Pristine.

The question I’m asking myself and thirteen other writers, as we dip our paddles into those pristine waters, is…what if mankind had been born and developed during a period when the continents were all one? When there was no Europe, no Asia, no North or South America, but instead a single, contiguous land mass?

How might our civilization have been different?

The question is a tantalizing one. So many possibilities. So many chances to take the familiar and turn it into something intriguingly, maybe disturbingly, unfamiliar. After all, we’re still talking about our world, our people. And yet…not the people we’ve become.

But we can now think about exploring Pangaea only because we were successful in funding Pangaea. Remember, it’s an anthology. Back in 2014 when the notion first hit me, I had a mountain to climb. I couldn’t ask thirteen other veteran writers to harness their considerable imaginations for the chance that they’d see some money someday, maybe, way down the line if at all. They deserved better. And yet I couldn’t afford to pay them up front.

Hence the Kickstarter campaign that we launched in early February, beginning a stretch of thirty days in which we doggedly battled our way to our goal, slogging uphill each step of the way. There were stories in that campaign that will never be told but probably should be.

The stories of those who time and again refused to let us falter. The story of lloy, who crossed his fingers for us so hard he probably needs physical therapy. The story of Chuck, with whom I’ve celebrated his son’s smile not once now but three times.

My peeps from the Baltimore cons. Wonderful Lynda.

Mysterious champions who went by the names Knight of Words, Swordfire, Curmudgeon of Phoenix, The Angry Ant, and The Space Parasite.

The Scandinavian Horde. (If you can’t count on a Norseman, who can you count on?)

Those like Devin and Revek and Corey, who had supported me in the past and came to my aid again, constant as the sunrise.

And more. Literally hundreds more, supporting us with their words as well as their deeds.

Now we’re embarking on another kind of journey. Fourteen of us, a hand-picked company, charged with creating an entire world–and fully aware of the faith others have placed in us.

We’re not entirely sure yet where our journey will take us, or what hazards we’ll have to negotiate along the way. But we know one thing, and we’re jazzed about it: The super-continent awaits.

New Releases, Uncategorized

What I’m Working On: Paul Kupperberg

March 16, 2015 Paul Kupperberg Leave a comment

What am I working on?

A better question is: What aren’t I working on!

The life of a freelance writer is cyclical to say the least. Sometimes we’re the ones chasing after the editors for work…and sometimes the editors are the ones chasing us for the work we’ve promised to deliver. If you had asked me what I was working on a few months back, I would have answered, “Perfecting my thumb twiddling technique.” But the new year has brought with it new prospects and, huzzah huzzah!, new projects.

Crazy 8 Press-wise, the big news is Pangaea, an anthology featuring all-new stories some of science fiction’s most inventive writers (and me), including Michael Burstein, Adam-Troy Castro, Russ Colchamiro, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Kelly Meding, Aaron Rosenberg, Lawrence M. Schoen, Geoffrey Thorne, Dayton Ward, and Kevin Dilmore. After a successful Kickstater campaign (thank you, everybody!), it’s time to get down to writing out stories.

Following that, fellow co-creators Bob Greenberger and Aaron Rosenberg and I are about to embark on a series of solo novels set in the world of ReDeus, the Earth where the gods of all the pantheons of all the world have returned and are demanding worship. Bob’s working on the outline for his, the first of the books, and things are shaping up nicely. And, of course, I continue to try and make time to work on an original mystery novel that I’ve got started. But between now and then, I’m putting the finishing touches on a Crazy 8 collection of my short stories for (just one or two more short-shorts to complete) that will be out by this summer. And I’m preparing a book to print a bunch of my old unpublished comic book scripts

Elsewhere, I’m contributing to yet another prose anthology, this one featuring a major motion picture franchise. The proposal is making its way through publisher and movie studio, but look for an announcement soon. I’ve also got a couple of original Young Adult novels floating around with editors…but see my earlier “chasing after the editors” comment, above, for where those currently stand.

I’ve also started working with Joe Books on graphic novel adaptations of Disney movies, including (so far) 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid. Zippity-doo-dah!

In the comic book world, not only do I still pen the occasional short story for Archie Comics (while talking to them about possible new ongoing projects), but I’ve got my hands full with my duties as executive editor of and writer for the new Charlton Neo Press, a really small indie comics publishing concern with Roger McKenzie and Mort Todd. We’ve got a few books up and running, including The Charlton Arrow (#4 is in production!), Charlton Wild Frontier, and the first issue of my two-issue Paul Kupperberg’s Secret Romances, with several more titles in the works. In addition to a bunch of one-off anthology stories, I’m also writing several series: “Digger” Graves: Paranormal Investigator with artist Andrew Mitchell, Blank with artist Rick Burchett, and The Scarry Squad with Dev Madden. We also have the new subscription Pix-C Weekly Web Comics website, which features new episodes of new (and a few reprinted) comic strips, including my own N.E.O. with P.D. Angel Gabriele, and the upcoming Gorillas & Dinosaurs, with an artist to be determined.

Beyond the world of entertainment, I’ve been discussing a variety of jobs over the last few months with an array of clients in assorted fields (marketing, promotion, advertising). And, in the general philosophy of “it never rains but it pours,” several of these little buggers are threatening to become real as well.

So. What am I working on?

Everything. Just not fast enough.

Isn’t it great?

News

What I’m Working on: Aaron Rosenberg

March 10, 2015 Aaron Rosenberg Leave a comment

I’m currently writing an Ogmios novel with Steve Saville—it’s titled Lost Cause and follows both the first Ogmios novel Silver (which came out a year or two ago) and the sequel Gold, which is out this fall. In Lost Cause, the Ogmios team goes to Japan, initially to help a friend with a kidnapping, but it rapidly turns into a much larger issue involving national treasures, the Yakuza, and a treasure hunt several centuries in the making.

Steve and I are also returning to our Phoenix story, which started with For This Is Hell and will continue this Halloween with Haunted Summer. The Phoenix, who was previously known as Christopher Marlowe, is back, this time in a new guise. And with several friends he is enjoying a lazy summer of stories, wine, and laughter. Until events force the stories to take a darker turn, becoming tales of horror that reflect the danger they now face.

Bob, Paul, and I are getting the last few details nailed down so we can return to the world of ReDeus, this time with full-length novels, and of course I’m writing a story for Pangaea. After that I’m doing an urban fantasy novel with Silence in the Library, tentatively titled Oversight. I’m also doing a middle-grade book and a YA novel but I can’t talk about either of those, and I’m doing some work for a videogame company as well. And there will be one final DuckBob novel, Not for Small Minds, which is planned for the end of the year. This time the focus is on DuckBob’s lady love, Mary, who is brilliant as she is beautiful—and often has trouble getting people to see past the latter to the former.

I’m probably forgetting a few smaller projects, but that’s the bulk of it. 2015 is looking to be a busy year for me, which is good. I get up to too much trouble when I’m allowed to sit idle. :)

Crazy Good Stories