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.

Welcome back, everyone. It’s been a hectic year so far with many things going on. Night Creeps was a finalist in the Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival for 2019. Space Truckers won Wild Sound’s Best Script for 2018. Of course, I do have the links for the announcement and for the trailer as well.

In addition, Princess Pain won a best scene table read with Wild Sound as well.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel my appearance at SciFiValleyCon but I will be appearing at Inconjunction on July 5th to the 7th. For those of you in the Indianapolis area who are attending, you can find me in the dealers room or at one of my panels. Join me again soon for more updates on my projects and appearances.

Hello, everyone. Welcome back for more on the Worlds of Michael D’Ambrosio. Lots of interesting things going on right now that are keeping me occupied. My Night Creeps script is a finalist in the Crimson Screen Film Festival with final judging scheduled for May 26th. This will be the second time Night Creeps has made it to the final round of a contest so I’m hoping for some good news when all is said and done.
I’ve been very busy with Space Truckers in more ways than one. Recently, I learned that Space Truckers was picked as the best sci-fi script in 2018 by Wild Sound Film Festival. They are creating a 5-minute trailer for me to promote the script (and the book). My publisher and I haven’t decided on a release date yet as there is still a lot to do. It will likely be late this year or early next year. Space Truckers, unlike my other novels, will be available as an audio book. Currently, Mark Delgado is working the narration for me. My publisher, Patti Hultstrand of AZ Publishing, will be providing the artwork for both the audio package and the novella. Once that is completed, Disk Makers of Pensauken, New Jersey will be creating the package, which we expect will be 7 CDs in a DVD style package. I was surprised to learn that a CD only holds a max of 78 minutes so, thankfully, Space Truckers is a novella. I expect that this will be a long series as I have many ideas for it. I have received two more requests for copies of the script from production companies with excellent comments. Unfortunately, for all the interest and praise, no offers have been made. Maybe, I’m getting close(r).
Not too far off are SciFiValleyCon (Altoona, PA) and Inconjunction (Indianapolis, IN). Both are excellent conventions and I’m excited about returning to both. I really look forward to meeting fans at the conventions. Lately, I’ve been putting in a lot of time focusing on my pitching for Space Truckers, particularly on the marketing points. In November, I will be attending Amazicon, which is moving to the Clarion Hotel near the Philadelphia airport. In December, I will be spending some time in Phoenix but I’m not sure if or what I’ll be doing yet. I’m hoping to come up with something new and creative for my fans.
I’ve already mapped out Space Truckers 2 but I haven’t had time to do much more than that. I’m working with a good friend in Phoenix, Don Jacques, on a project for his Earth Seed. For those who aren’t familiar with it, Earth Seed is an innovative self-sustaining vehicle that can recycle and produce anything necessary to survive in the wilderness. I’ve designed the circuitry for one of the new components he wants to add and I’m currently building a prototype of the circuit. You can find information on the Earth Seed on Facebook or search Don Jacques. The man is amazing what he has invented thus far. Well, time to get back to work. Join me again soon for more information on my projects and appearances.

Greetings to all my friends, both frozen and warm. This weekend, February 8-10, I’ll be participating at Farpoint in Hunt Valley, MD at the Delta Hotel (formerly Marriott Hunt Valley). I do have a table in the dealers’ room where I’ll be available to talk with all of you, show (and sell) you my books and anything else you can think of. You can find me on panels on Friday: Cities in Space at 3 pm; The Farpoint Book Fair at 10 pm in the hall. On Saturday at 5 pm, Military Fact vs, Fiction and then Sunday there’s Constructing a Story at 10 am and Writing to a Deadline at 11 am.
My latest project, Space Truckers, is off to a good start. I just submitted the story to my publisher, Patti Hultstrand at AZ Publishing. This will be a novella and the first of several in the series. My screenplay for Space Truckers has garnered a lot of attention and recently won the Best Overall Script for 2018 with Wildsound Film Festival’s Table Read contest. They are currently creating a 5-minute trailer for the script which I’ll post as soon as it comes available. I hope to have more information on my projects and appearances in a week or two so join me again for more information or at Farpoint.

Welcome back, everyone. It’s been a busy spell for a lot of reasons. For starters, I will be appearing at Inconjunction in Indianapolis over July 4th weekend. This is a very well run convention that draws a lot of fans. What I love about this one is that the fans are very involved with the guests. They come to mingle and meet. Amazicon has moved to November and is in Essington, Pa. at the Clarion Hotel, not far from my home. Also, I have been in contact with Multiverse in Atlanta, Ga. I’m awaiting some additional details about the convention but likely will be there in October.
Earlier this month, I was in Phoenix to meet with my publisher. After several discussions, we decided that the new Space Truckers series will be released in novella size versus novel. This will allow me to keep each novella focused on one main adventure with a few subplots. This series gives me a chance to open up a lot of new avenues. I may even cross over into the Pain series with a few adventures. More to come on that later.
On the screenplay front, still lots of interest but no takers yet. The big concern by a few of my contacts is the competition with one or two other very big budget franchises. Timing is everything in the movie industry. Patience and diligence will win out eventually, I’m sure. Join me again soon for more details and appearances. Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone. See you soon.