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.

FREE Audio Story The Assurance Salesman now on YouTube

by R.J. SullivanMarch 2, 2021March 3, 2021Leave a comment

You can now go to YouTube and listen to one of my more popular stories “The Assurance Salesman” performed by my audiobook narrator and Team RJ VIP Danielle Muething. No, this is not a preview, a scene, or a chapter, this is the entire, complete and unabridged short story, nearly an hour of audio, and you can listen to it for nothing.

What’s the story about? Here’s my nifty one sentence pitch: A man in black disrupts five weary travelers sharing a passenger train carriage to claim he literally holds in his hand the answers to their deepest questions.

Intrigued? Cool, go check it out. No catch, no gimmick. I simply ask that if you like what you hear, you consider going here to support our efforts and buy more similarly awesome tales. Same author, same narrator, but… you know… more. If you do, thank you very much. If not, that’s okay, times are tough. Maybe later. I still sincerely hope you enjoy this free hour. Also, please Like and Subscribe and Comment while you’re there.

This Darkwhimsy Books audio story production includes a cover image by my digital 3D artist and Team RJ VIP Nell Williams, and includes one of my favorite intro / outro music tracks “Rezonata” by composer, keyboardist and Team RJ VIP Jan Pulsford. Thanks so much to everyone for the hard work you all put into this.

“The Assurance Salesman” is part of my short story collection Darkness with a Chance of Whimsy. And do I even need to say… an audiobook is coming in the near future!

Now enough of that, here’s the free story! Enjoy!

Virtual Blue Audiobook Live

by R.J. SullivanJanuary 22, 2021August 31, 2021Leave a comment

Following a long delay, the Virtual Blue audio book narrated by Team R.J. VIP Danielle Muething has finally gone live. This release completes my original paranormal trilogy available on audiobook. Click here to go to the Virtual Blue Links page.

Danielle and I began planning Virtual Blue in spring 2020, aiming for a September release and some awesome Halloween promotions. Yay for planning ahead. Alas, (I love using “Alas” in a sentence) due to unanticipated circumstances, my agreement with my original publisher ended and I had to re-release my back titles under my own label, DarkWhimsy Books. To do this properly with the attention to quality that it deserved, the process took several months.

Read More “Virtual Blue Audiobook Live”

DarkWhimsy Books 2020 Revised Editions Overview

by R.J. SullivanDecember 17, 2020December 17, 20201 Comment

The work is done! With the release of Virtual Blue, the entirety of my paranormal thriller back titles are again available for purchase from all web-stores, ending a six-month project that was difficult but should be oh-so-worth it. Give me another month and I’ll have my stock replenished with my updated titles, and I will re-open my “order signed books from me” store. (I ALSO wish my store could have been open in time for Christmas, but the timing did not cooperate).

In the meantime, if you want to grab up any of my back titles for gift-giving, you might just have time. So what’s the breakdown of the titles, what’s different from the previous editions, and what’s coming next? Great questions.

Four of my back titles, primarily those related to my ghost story/paranormal series, were, by mutual agreement, returned to me by my former publisher, allowing me to re-release them on my indie Publishing label, DarkWhimsy Books. In this agreement, I also obtained the original edition cover art.

Haunting Blue 2020 Edition Now Live

by R.J. SullivanNovember 9, 2020November 9, 2020Leave a comment

I’m thrilled to announce the re-publication of my first novel and Book One in the Adventures of Blue Shaefer. After six months of being out of print, the 2020 DarkWhimsy Books Revised Edition of Haunting Blue is now live at most online stores in both paperback and various ebook formats (as of this writing, Nook has not gone live but should happen in the next day or two.) I’ve heard enough, take me to the order page.

The DarkWhimsy Books release is the third edition of my novel. It retains the same cover and interior illustrations by Bonnie Wasson as the 2014 second edition. The manuscript has been given a fresh review by a copy editor for minor tweaks of the text, cleaning up typos and fixing tiny grammar errors missed in the previous edition.

RJ’s Holiday Paperback Now Live

by R.J. SullivanOctober 19, 2020May 2, 2021Leave a comment

NEW FOR 2020 For the first time ever (and going into the third Christmas since I conceived this) the author’s preferred edition paperback of the two Holiday short stories is now available to purchase directly from Amazon.

Links

NEW Paperback Now Available on Amazon in the DoubleFront Paperback Format
Or order directly from me.
Kindle (The text of both stories, flip-book not replicated.)

Revised Edition Short Story Collection Now Live

by R.J. SullivanOctober 12, 2020Leave a comment

The 2020 Revised Edition of Darkness With a Chance of Whimsy by…well…DarkWhimsy Books…is now available in all formats and from all outlets. All ten stories are re-published here, with a slight copy edit revision to fix little goofs. The content, for the most part, is the same as the previous edition; the paperback comes in at the same price point of $11.99.

There is a slight difference in the front cover, and I’m not referring to the foggy REVISED EDITION in the tagline (though that is a part of all the 2020 revised books to make them easier to distinguish).

No, I’m talking about the little added celebrity cover blurb… here, let me just zoom in on that…

Yes, it’s used with permission. Yes, I’m pretty proud, and pleased to be able to include it on the cover from this point forward. (If you don’t know my Cyndi Lauper story and are curious, you can click here to read all about it).

Slimmer, Cheaper, Sexier Haunting Obsession

by R.J. SullivanOctober 5, 2020October 5, 2020Leave a comment

Just in time for Halloween, the Revised Edition of Haunting Obsession by DarkWhimsy Books is now available in all formats and from all outlets (including the fabulous Audible read by Danielle Muething that never went away). The just-launched paperback features a new interior layout, bonus illustration, and lower price point! Here’s the breakdown.

The Revised Edition paperback has a tighter but still easy to read page layout. It’s now 106 pages over the previous 190 pages.
With the shorter page count, I dropped the everyday price from $12 to $8!
The Revised Edition paperback and ebook still feature the original cover and interior artwork by Bonnie Wasson. but now include her third interior illustration of Rebecca Burton previously only available in the limited edition hardback.

Red Lotus to Relaunch at Hydra

by R.J. SullivanJuly 23, 2020August 31, 2021Leave a comment

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I’m excited to announce that my Red Lotus series will officially relaunch at Hydra Publications, a publisher that specializes in science fiction and space opera titles and owned by long-time associate Tony Acree. The original ebooks and Commanding the Red Lotus paperback will be re-loaded onto the usual online retail outlets, with new novellas and collections to follow that continue the saga. Watch this space for announcements of dates and links as they become finalized.

All NU Two Towers

by R.J. SullivanJune 16, 2020Leave a comment

102872499_2832108980244502_6678438684541769056_o I’m super-excited to announce the relaunch of the short-lived but popular Two Towers Talk Show, a YouTube program co-hosted by “Tower 1” colleague John F. Allen and me, Tower 2 R.J. Sullivan. In it, we talk about the array of geeky movies, TV, books, and more, with favorite nostalgia moments and interviews with creatives in the industry.

Haunting Blue Audio Book Now Live

by R.J. SullivanMay 1, 2020August 6, 2020Leave a comment

NEW for 2020
Haunting Blue, my first published novel from 2010, is my second audio book release, and that release is now live. Published by DarkWhimsy Books, Haunting Blue puts Danielle Muething back in the narrator’s booth to repeat (and dare I say exceed) the amazing and dramatic performance similar to Haunting Obsession (Click here to order the Haunting Obsession audio book).

Click the link of your preferred format to order: Audible Amazon
Apple (not yet available)
Don’t care about audiobooks? Click here to go to the paperback and ebook page.

Check out this short YouTube Preview

A note to those who have already enjoyed the Haunting Obsession Audio Book: