Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction

Your Holiday Present Is A FREE Or VERY CHEAP Copy Of THE MIDDLING AFFLICTION

December 24, 2023

My publisher is very kindly offering a pay-what-you-want copy of The Middling Affliction for a limited time. You can even grab it for absolutely FREE! Here’s some info from the Caezik SF&F and their BookBale project:

Clicking on the link below (or pasting it in your browser window) will open up our shopping cart directly. The price will be listed as $1.99 BUT feel free to change it to $0 to download it for free!

https://www.e-junkie.com/i/12obv

IMORTANT NOTE: Do not click on “Continue Shopping” in the shopping cart which will appear once you click the above link since you are not purchasing through a store, but directly from this email. For free downloads, click on “Free Checkout” on the right of the product, name. If you elect to pay any amount, Click on the “Pay with…” on the right of the product name (these options change based on the price).

Happy Readings!

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Live Reading at Industry City

December 18, 2023

I’ll be doing a rare live event in Brooklyn tomorrow! Rare because most of the local-ish sci-fi conventions aren’t in Brooklyn, or even NYC but a few hours’ drive away in either direction: MD, MA, sometimes PA or NJ. But Randee Dawn has been doing a heroic job bringing some excellent live speculative events to our borough, first at the Ample Hills ice cream shop and now at the Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room in Industry City (Sunset Park). Which is mere blocks away from where The Middling Affliction opens, incidentally.

Join me and several fabulous authors on Tuesday, Dec 19 for an evening of readings and booze (also, shenanigans.) And it’s even free! Details can be found here:

Brooklyn Books & Booze @ Barrow’s Intense

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Crazy Good Sale

November 27, 2023

What can you get for $1.53 in NYC? A small cup of java at a bodega or a bagel without schmear. But what if I told you you can snag a copy of The Middling Affliction for what is basically free at Audible this week?

I don’t know how they did it and frankly I don’t care; I just love that audiobook fans have an opportunity to check out my work (and the fabulous narration by Patrick Boylan) for next to nothing. I think you do have to be an Audible monthly subscriber to get this price, but still. The sale is only good for a few days, so don’t miss it! And if you enjoy it, the sequel is discounted too (though not as much.)

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Middling-Affliction-Audiobook/B09V3HYPQB

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

The Digital Aesthete published today!

November 14, 2023

Today’s software can only imitate art, but what about tomorrow?

Will true artificial intelligences be able to appreciate or even create art? Explore dystopian societies, where AI generates most of the content and human artists must eke out an existence, and utopias, where artificial minds help unlock and enhance human creativity.

Delve into the minds of robot painters, AI poets, drone forgers, and electronic theater curators. These and other possible futures are imagined by award-winning and bestselling human authors from the USA, UK, China, Ukraine, Chile, Japan, Madagascar, Brazil, Czech Republic, and Sri Lanka.

Publisher’s Weekly review

Purchase links:

Amazon
B&N ebook / paperback
Kobo
Apple

You will also be able to read the stories FOR FREE at www.future-sf.com!

One story will be unlocked every week through February 2024. You can read the introduction and stories by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Jane Espenson upon release!

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Kakistocracy Release Day!

October 17, 2023

Book 2 in the Conradverse Chronicles is out today! Many of the digital retailers are still onboarding the audiobook but you should be able to buy the paperback and ebook in all the usual places, and the audiobook in several outlets already.

Here are a few of the vendors where you can find it:

Amazon (print, ebook, audio pending)
Barnes & Noble (print, ebook, audio)
Bookshop.org (print)
Spotify (audio)
Chirp (audio)

Listen to the complete chapter 1 of the audiobook on YouTube:

Read some of the early reviews of Kakistocracy:

Book series live and die by word of mouth. Please read/listen, share the book with others, and post a review or even just a rating. It will help ensure there’s a book 3!

2 Comments | Acceptances & Publications | Tagged: Kakistocracy, release day | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Capclave 2023 Schedule

September 28, 2023

Here’s where you can find me this weekend. This is also everyone’s first chance to get their paws on KAKISTOCRACY!

Friday, 7pm: Anthology Builder panel – Washington Theater
Saturday, 2pm: Signing (Dealers Room Foyer)
Saturday, 4:30pm: Reading (Monroe)
Saturday, 5:30pm: Book Launch: Kakistocracy
Saturday, 8:30pm: Mass Signing
Sunday, 1pm: Artificial Intelligence 101 panel – Washington Theater

Schedule at the official Capclave site

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Murderbugs & Vampire Survival Guide

September 16, 2023

Two new anthologies are live on Kickstarter as of today! Murderbugs and Vampire Survival Guide are both edited by Mike Jack Stoumbos and will be published in 2024.

If the campaign reaches a $6000 mark I will write a story for the Vampire Survival Guide tentatively titled “Hemotherapy” (not a typo.) Intrigued to see what advice I might have for vampires to survive in the cold and uncaring human world? Pledge some cash to the campaign!

Those who pledge in the first 24 hours will also get a stack of additional e-books, including David Hankins’ hilarious new novel Death and the Taxman as well as my own Funny Horror anthology!

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

WVMT Radio Interview

September 12, 2023

You can now listen to my WVMT radio interview with Bruce Newbury, talking about speculative fiction and the forthcoming Kakistocracy novel!

https://post.futurimedia.com/wvmt/playlist/listen-1547.html

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Albacon 2023 Schedule – Virtual

September 8, 2023

Albacon is upon us this weekend, but this year I will only be there in spirit (and also in Zoom, or whatever widget they use to host virtual panels.)

Here are my panels:

Sat 10:30 AM 1 Hr 15 Min Meeting B 24 I Used to Be…
Sun 10:30 AM 1 Hr 15 Min Meeting A 41 Crowdfunding For Print
Sun 12:00 PM 1 Hr 15 Min Meeting B 21 Artificial Intelligence VS the Creative Professional

Now, if only they could figure out a way to teleport some treats here for the ice cream social…

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman