Zero Hour, sequel to Officer of the Watch, is out!!!

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DM1791

DM1791

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Hello, all!! Those of you from Prepared Society may remember me as the author of the story line titled: Officer of the Watch. As of last check that plot line had over 50,000 views on PS, and it was there that the idea for the Blackout series was born.

Well, I'm pleased to announce that Zero Hour, the 3rd installment in that series is available now on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited (as are parts 1 &2). I put a post up on the old forums, but was encouraged to put one here as well since many of my former readers have migrated here.

Thank you guys for helping me get my start with this plot line, and I hope you enjoy this latest addition to it. I've got several more books (at least 2-3) in this series, and then plan to do another series set within the same universe, but 20-25 years down the road.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the book if you choose to pick it up. Let me know what you think!

And, as always, THANKS FOR READING!!

D.W. McAliley

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Since you've now come out with your third book, I'm re-reading your first two books. I'm excited for you. Now you know the pressure is on for the fourth book....
 
Thanks for the support! I am working on getting the paperback cover ready, so that should be available in 2-3 weeks. I have the cover design pretty well set, but need to make sure the spine width and all of that are right now that I have the final page count.

Also, just as a head's up, there are a few stylistic/format changes for this book. I added date and time tags to the chapters to keep track of the timeline. I also added a list of characters with brief bio's for each character at the end of the book. I figured that would help keep who is who straight. I will be going back over the next few weeks to make some of these same adjustments to the first two books to get them lined up together.

Writing is definitely a process that never really stops, and I have learned a ton over the last few years putting these books out and processing the feedback. Hopefully that shows in the writing as well as the technical aspects of the book. Super excited to hear what you guys think.

And yes, I have started work on the 4th book and hope to have it out within a year, though that may prove a bit ambitious.

Thanks again, and thanks for reading!!

D.W. McAliley
 
I just finished re-reading the first two books and am now starting on Book 3. My compliments to you for keeping the language clean. It makes reading the books much more enjoyable.

Do you think you can finish Book 4 in another few weeks????? j/k (not really).....
 
Glad you guys and gals are enjoying the latest addition!

Book 4 is under way.... I actually spent most of this past week and weekend doing research. I have been through about 30 hours of documentary footage for WW2 taking notes on battle tactics and maneuvers. Digging into Vietnam next.

The main plot element of Book 4 will be the war that has now officially begun between the FSS and the NDF. Trying to get things as realistic as possible means watching hours and hours of footage and taking copious notes. I have begun to work on the manuscript some, but I'm still laying the groundwork right now. I goal is to have Book 4 complete, edited, and on the market within 12-18 months. And since I now have more vacation time at work (assuming I actually get to use it) that may actually be doable...

I will definitely keep you guys updated, though.
 
Will Book 4 be the last in the series?
 
I am not planning for book 4 to be the last in the series, no. Book 4 will cover the war and the winter months of this first year after the Blackout. There will be a book 5 that will take the story through the spring planting season and summer. And then book 6 will cover the harvest season in the fall and bring the story through a full year after the blackout. I then am planning a follow-up series that will take these same characters (the ones who survive, that is) and pick up their stories 15-20 years down the road to see how things have changed/progressed. That series I am thinking will probably be a trilogy, but we'll see.... it could be more.

That's the basic overall plan for this narrative arch and how I have it envisioned in my head. I'll be honest, when I started writing the first book, Officer of the Watch, I wasn't sure how this would all play out. With my writing style I never have a hard, set outline for a book or a series, just a general sense of where I want the character and the stories to go. As I write, that destination and the path the story takes to get there, will often change. And since this series has been so well received, I decided to expand it out a bit.

I'm working on a blog post to cover some of the questions I often get asked, and this is probably one of the most often ones I get from readers. I hope it's not a sign that people are ready for the series to be over. For me, I'm enjoying writing about these characters and seeing how their lives change as the story progresses.

If you guys have any other questions, please feel free to drop a comment here. If I get enough of them I'll try and incorporate some into the upcoming blog post.

DWM
 
Also, just as a head's up, the paperback version should be live on Amazon and Createspace soon. Everything has been proofed, submitted, and finalized. It's just a matter of when the paperback shows up as available on their websites. I'll also be adding this to my "available" page on my website so you can get signed copies directly from me for a small charge to cover the extra shipping involved.

And as always, Thanks for reading!!

DWM
 
BugoutBob said:
@DM1791 would you give us a link please to your site ... if that is okay with our moderators.. mods.. if it is not okay could you delete this please?
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I wasn't sure what the rules are for putting websites in posts so I added it to my signature. I will be updating the site this weekend, probably Sunday, with the newest book and the FAQ post. Over the past year I haven't been as active on that site, but I'm in the process of getting back into a regular schedule of updates. I've had to adjust my writing habits due to my rheumatoid arthritis taking a toll on my fingers, but I think I'm finally getting to the point that I have a good cycle of writing, breaks, meds, etc. to manage that so there will be more material going up on the site.
 
Caribou said:
DM you do great work. As long as the story and writing are fun for you they will be interesting to us. Thank you for your efforts.
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Thanks for that. It's always good to hear that people are connected to the story. I also had a pretty awesome moment last week. I stopped in a local bookstore that supports local authors and has a used books section. The manager wasn't there that day, so I couldn't talk to her about getting my books in their new release section, but I did see a copy of Officer of the Watch in the used section. That was a warm and fuzzy moment. :)
 
Just wanted to give you guys a head's up, my ebook Officer of the Watch is on sale (FREE) right now, and the sequel Storm Tide Rising will be going on sale tomorrow through Monday at a discounted price. If you haven't picked up a copy, this would be a good time to. Also, expect an update on vol. 4 to be posted soon.... :)
 
havasu said:
Could you please remind members how to receive this ebook for free?
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As of right now, the ebook is free on Amazon for a limited time here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TYYW7M2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That deal will run out soon, though. I put the first book in the series up for free every few months to encourage people to check it out and see if they like the series in the hopes it will spur more sales for the subsequent books. The next free offering will be some time in July or August.
 
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havasu said:
Is there any way we could entice you to post your first book here, as a way to allow our members to see your fantastic work? In fact, you are honestly responsible for me becoming a member at our old site before we got away from the old regime.
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I would, but there are certain stipulations for the ebook being enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program that won't allow me to. Basically as long as the ebook is listed in the Kindle Unlimited program, I can't have it available on any other platform for download. The best I could do would be to post a link to the old forum story-line. Since those old posts are not downloadable, and are not in a continuous format like an ebook, they are exempt from the exclusivity clause.

This is one of the downsides of the KU program through Amazon. They are very (and I mean VERY) strict on the exclusivity clause and have algorithms that search actively for ebooks listed in KU that are available on other platforms. For this reason, I've been looking at possibly taking OOTW out of the KU program so I can list it on Barnes and Noble and other places. I may end up doing that in the next month or so in order to test those other markets and see if it is more profitable to sell on multiple platforms or take advantage of Amazon's dominating market presence.

If I do take OOTW out of the KU program, I will post a .pdf copy of it here for download, but as of right now I can't based on the contract I have with Amazon... sorry.
 
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