science fiction – R.J. Sullivan Fiction

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

RJ’s OSI Files Appearances, All Links

by R.J. SullivanFebruary 25, 2020February 25, 2020Leave a comment

Last year I had a heck of a good time as a guest on the Facebook Live / Podcast The OSI Files, devoted to all things Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. These two TV programs pioneered SF and superhero stories decades before it was practical. Both shows had a tremendous impact on little boy RJ, and I’m still an unabashed fan.

After my one-off appearance in December 2018, circumstances worked out a year later that I guest-starred three times in rapid succession in January and February 2020 (weellll…. rapid for me, though multi-shows-per-week host John S Drew may be having a good laugh at this comment). Now that those shows are out there, it’s time to recap and share all the Facebook Live links in a single easy-to-find blog post.

RJ Cleared to View Three More of The OSI Files

by R.J. SullivanJanuary 6, 2020January 6, 2020Leave a comment

The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman were among my favorite shows as a kid. Certainly, they were the most successful SF /Superhero shows in an era when SF and superheroes had very little success on TV (I still remember so many favorite shows disappearing after a season, one after the other, but I digress). So I was excited in December of 2018 to appear on the Facebook Live / Podcast program The OSI Files with co-hosts John S. Drew and Jerry Lange. Not only could I let my Bionic nerd flag fly, but also discuss my first ever TV star crush Farrah Fawcett (because I was a boy and it was 1976, and it was kind of the law).

I had a heck of a lot of fun. You can read all about my appearance and view it in full here.

The OSI Files have continued to air new episodes roughly in order of the original run. So now we’re coming back to the next Farrah appearance, so I’ve been invited back to discuss The Golden Pharaoh on…*screech*

Okay, hold that thought.

New R.J. Webstore Now Live!

by R.J. SullivanNovember 30, 2019November 30, 2019Leave a comment

Well, that turned into a working weekend, but I think the effort will prove well worth it. Drum roll please.

Announcing the new, improved, highly streamlined R.J. Sullivan Fiction Webstore , now up and live! Effective immediately, for anyone who orders books directly from me, the Webstore replaces the less efficient method that used to be seen here.

What this is: The new Webstore allows you to pick selections from my personal stock of books for personalized signatures and gift giving. Credit card transactions are handled through GooglePay and go directly to me. I personally will handle fulfilling orders.

What this is not: This is not the place to order ebooks, Amazon, Kindle, Kobo, Audible, or any non-paper format. For that, go to my book catalog and click on the cover of the book that interests you.

Improvements over the previous method

Look, ma, an electronic shopping cart!
Coupon deal options (check the product description to see what fits yours).
Author exclusive product such as my Christmas Book and the Haunting Obsession Elegant Paper Dolls book
A field for personalized signatures.
Payment, postage, and label printing are all automated.

I’m looking forward to trying this new method just in time for the holidays. Hopefully, this new, streamlined Webstore will make personalized book mailings easier than ever!

Now click here to check it out!!