R.J. Sullivan

R.J. Sullivan’s latest book, Commanding the Red Lotus, is a novel-length collection of three space opera tales in the tradition of Andre Norton and Gene Roddenberry. His novel Haunting Blue is an edgy paranormal thriller and the first book of the adventures of punk girl Fiona “Blue” Shaefer and her boyfriend Chip Farren. Seventh Star Press also released Haunting Obsession, a Rebecca Burton Novella, and Virtual Blue, the second part of Fiona’s tale. R.J.’s short stories have been featured in such acclaimed collections as Dark Faith Invocations by Apex Books and Vampires Don’t Sparkle. R.J. co-hosts the Two Towers Talk Show YouTube program with John F. Allen. He resides with his family in Heartland Crossing, Indiana. He drinks regularly from a Little Mermaid coffee mug and is man enough to admit it.

Haunting the Red Lotus (a recreated post)

by R.J. SullivanJuly 13, 2023July 13, 2023Leave a comment

This blog recreates a post that originally went up as part of a blog tour in support of the 2016 launch of Commanding the Red Lotus. It was an original marketing short story in script form and appeared on a host site that is no longer live.

View the Commanding the Red Lotus dedicated order page

Setting: RJ Sullivan’s home office

[RJ stares at a blank page on his laptop and wonders what to write about for the Cover2Cover entry of his blog tour. He doesn’t notice the gorgeous ghost Maxine Marie appear behind him]

MM: [Leans forward to whisper directly in his ear] Hello, RJ.

RJ: Yikes! [wheels around] Maxine!

MM: [flashes sexy smile] Doing anything fun?

RJ You shouldn’t be here.

MM: [her smile shifts to a pout] Well….that’s not a very nice thing to say. It’s just that you haven’t asked me about my ghostly existence in months. I was afraid you’d quit writing or something. I mean, I still remember all the success I brought you with Haunting Obsession, and now… [she folds her arms across her chest] now you never call!

RJ: Sorry, Maxine. It’s just I’ve been writing spaceship adventure stories in my Red Lotus universe, and I’ve been having a good time…. I guess I haven’t thought about you—

[Maxine’s eyes widen]

RJ: GHOSTS! I MEANT GHOSTS! I haven’t thought about GHOSTS in a long time.

MM: A likely story. And what’s this Red Lotus? Sounds like a lady ninja assassin I should be jealous of.

RJ: It’s the name of a spaceship.

New short Story “Granny” Part of Never Too Old to Save the World

by R.J. SullivanJuly 27, 2022July 27, 2022Leave a comment

The Kickstarter
Once every generation there is a Chosen One, who will stand between humanity and darkness.

But why is the Chosen One so often a teenager? Why do only children get swept through portals to save the fantastic world on the other side? Whose idea was it to put the fate of the world in the hands of someone without a fully developed prefrontal cortex?

In Never Too Old to Save the World, nineteen authors explore what would happen if the Chosen One were called midlife.

Preview of Red Lotus Audiobook Work-in-Progress on YouTube

by R.J. SullivanNovember 23, 2021Leave a comment

To those that have been paying attention, the only thing less surprising than announcing an audiobook adaptation of Commanding the Red Lotus is that I have secured the fabulous Danielle Muething to work her narration magic. Danielle has done a fantastic job on all the other titles. Call me crazy (I am, but not for this reason), but I see no reason to mess with success.

Thank you to publisher Hydra Publications for their ongoing support of my efforts.

R.J. Home Store Relaunched

by R.J. SullivanNovember 4, 2021Leave a comment

Just in time for the holidays, RJ Sullivan Fiction now has a fully integrated book store as a tab on the main website. From it, you can order books from my personal stock, request a personalized signature, and wait for it to show up on your doorstep at the speed of media mail.

Essentially it’s like I have a virtual vending table that you can browse any time you want. Even in your pajamas. Unlike the previous store, this upgrade is accessible directly by clicking a tab on my main homepage (the previous store forced you to leave my main site and shop in a separate area of the web, a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience).

Read More “R.J. Home Store Relaunched”

COVER REVEAL Blue Omnibus

by R.J. SullivanJune 16, 2021August 31, 2021Leave a comment

DarkWhimsy Books Presents…

The Complete Adventures of Blue Shaefer
The Entire Blue Shaefer Story Arc in a Single Volume

Coming soon to your favorite online outlet, the R.J. Home Store, and autumn 2021 personal appearances.

Links are already going live on its dedicated order page. UPDATE: AS I WAS WRITING THIS, THE AMAZON PAPERBACK EDITION WENT LIVE. Click here to see all the order links.

Check out that amazing front cover, a collaborative team image, with my thanks to:

Cover Photo: Paul-Louis Webster Photography and Greg Hernandez.
Cover Model: Jessica Lynn Cannaday.
Cover design: Bryan Donihue and Section 28 Publishing

Read More “COVER REVEAL Blue Omnibus”

RJ Nerdtalk: In Defense of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who and a rant on Toxic Fandom

by R.J. SullivanMay 31, 2021August 31, 20211 Comment

(The following is a major rewrite of a recent Facebook post after finishing the second season finale of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who. If this topic is of no interest to you, bail out now. The blog contains, if not exactly spoilers, my thoughts on the specific revelations within the context of the show.)

R.J. Much Approves
So I finished Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker Season 2 and let me just cut to the end: I loved it. Unconditionally, no buts, no asterisks, no backhanded compliments, it was the best DW I’ve watched in years. Thoughtful ideas executed thoughtfully told in a way that made sense and which expanded on the myth. Everything I could have hoped for and more. Period.

Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy Audiobook Now Live

by R.J. SullivanMay 11, 2021August 31, 2021Leave a comment

I’m not gonna lie, Amazon put this up and out faster than anticipated, based on past experience. Nevertheless, it’s true that your greedy ears can hear Danielle Muething read the ten short stories from my collection now.

This includes Able Bodied, Starter Kit, and Backstage Pass. and of course, Robot Vampire. It’s great stuff, if I do say so myself.

Here are the direct links to get you there:
Audible
Amazon
My Web Page

RJ Gushes About His Audio Book Narrator

by R.J. SullivanMay 6, 2021Leave a comment

NOTE: This blog came about upon Danielle Muething concluding the recording of my latest Audible release, my short story collection Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy. I wanted to update my live blurbs for her and instead ended up writing this couple hundred word blog. Ah, well, it’s what I do.

Back in 2019, starting on my first ever audio book project, Danielle Muething blew me away with her blind audition read. All I knew I wanted at the time was someone who could read my story Haunting Obsession with a convincing “Marilyn Monroe” voice to represent the antagonist ghost of the story. Any narrator who could do that was the best logical choice “voice for hire.”

Commanding the Red Lotus Relaunched

by R.J. SullivanApril 21, 2021April 21, 20212 Comments

After being out of print for almost a year, I’m super-excited to announce that Hydra Publications has just “relaunched” Commanding the Red Lotus. The new edition is essentially the same as the previous edition, including the awesome original cover by Enggar. Click here to see the order links go live on my website.

Sayuri Arai, privileged daughter of a corporate mogul, abandons a promising career to find her own path. She invests in a broken-down asteroid mining ship and steps in as the commander of its crew. Every day presents a new challenge just to keep her ship from falling apart and the bitter crew from killing each other. Can Sayuri unite the feuding factions, or will her rivals turn the entire complement against her? Commanding the Red Lotus offers a classic sense of wonder for today’s science fiction readers.

Commanding the Red lotus includes the previously released ebook novelettes:
Fate of the Red Lotus
Red Lotus: Innocence Lost
Plus the novella Mutiny on the Red Lotus

Make sure you receive all important updates about R.J. Sullivan straight to your email by clicking here and signing up for his newsletter. You can download a FREE short story as a thank you.

Sign up for the RJ Newsletter

by R.J. SullivanMarch 29, 2021August 31, 2021Leave a comment

Hi! There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but one thing I want to emphasize in this blog is that if you’re a fan of my work and you want the most direct pipeline of news regarding my next releases and where to find them, you should click here to subscribe to my newly created newsletter.

Subscribing to my newsletter gives you access to a 101 essay and a link to download a brand new story. So if you like free content for doing things, you should click here to subscribe to my newsletter.

Subscribing to my newsletter also ensures you get notices sent straight to your inbox. You won’t have to wonder if you missed any news or updates on account of that ever-so-reliable social media algorhythm that always manages to hide the news most important to you. If that sounds like a good idea, click here to subscribe to my newsletter.

Bottom line: If you want first notification about anything regarding my work, exclusive access, early notices, probably a lot of things I haven’t even figured out yet, you should click here to subscribe to my newsletter.

The first issue is being finalized to launch in early April with huge announcements about my current projects. If that sounds like something you want (along with my word that my newsletter list will not be shared, ever) then click here to subscribe to my newsletter.

If you just don’t do newsletters, and want to restrict your involvement to the roulette method of social media notifications, or you just really dislike getting free stories by authors your like, hey, I’m not judging. Most all the information in my newsletter will find its way to my blog and Facebook groups anyway, so nothing will change there. And you can always click here to subscribe to my newsletter at any time.