The Worlds of Michael D'Ambrosio

Welcome back, friends. It’s been a long hot summer and a bit of a drought.  While I haven’ t been on the convention circuit as much, lately, I have been very busy. In a major move, I’ve cancelled my contract with Helm Publishing for the Space Frontiers series and effective January 1st of 2021, AZ Publishing will be publishing them. As a result, I have the opportunity to review the series and make any changes I like, including adding additional scenes or modifying the stories. Sometimes when I work the screenplays based on these books, I come up with new ideas to make a better story. This was very effective with the Fractured Time series.

Recently, Night Creeps made it into the quarter round of Screencraft’s Horror Contest. Night Creeps has been a finalist in the 2017 South Carolina Underground Film Festival’s Contest and 2019 Crimson Screen Film Festival’s Contest as well. Space Truckers won the 2019 Wild Sound Film Festival’s Best Screenplay Award. Princess Pain won Wild Sound Film Festival’s Best Opening Scene contest in 2017. So I am getting some good validation of my scripts through the contests. I just need to find someone willing to make a deal for a motion picture project. I have had several requests for Space Truckers, Night Creeps, Princess Pain and The Christmas Solution. The requesting parties are very interested but that doesn’t guarantee anything. That’s just the first step.

Early next year, Space Truckers: The Adventures of the Golden Eagle will be released as a novella through AZ Publishing. Doing this series in novella form is a marketing experiment that I’m trying to see how it affects sales. I’ve often heard at conventions that readers just don’t have the money for books due to economic reasons. I’m hoping that by offering my stories in novella, the lower cost will make the books more accommodating.

I’ve tossed around ideas for Reign of Pain, the third book in the Pain series, and I’m considering having it cross over into Space Truckers with both series having a common enemy. More to come on that later.

I recently accepted an invite to appear at Ravencon on April 24th in Fredericksburg, VA. It’s been several years since I’ve been there and I’m looking forward to returning. Coming up on November 15th is Amazicon. They are returning to their original home at the Clarion Hotel in Essington, near the Philadelphia airport. This is a fun convention that has a lot of exciting events. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend it. In February, I’ll be returning to Connooga in Chattanooga, Tennessee on February 22nd. I’ll be adding more appearances near the end of the year so check back to see if I’ll be at a convention near you.