# Books by Randolph Lalonde



## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

Hello! I'm Randolph Lalonde, a full time indie writer who writes Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

Most of my books are read electronically, and I've had the pleasure and fortune of being the best selling science fiction author on Mobipocket.com for one year. To be honest I get a real buzz at the thought of saving trees and having people all around the world reading my work on their cell phones, PDA's and eBook readers.

It tickles my SciFi bone. So does the Kindle.

I'll be making announcements here with regards to new releases, updates, new media and other endeavors that relate to eBooks.

Here's a visual list of the books I have available right now:


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Wow! That's a lot of books.

To be honest, it's hard to take them all in at once.

Can you recommend a 'starter' book? 

Of the three genres mentioned, my preferences are probably, in order, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi.

I'm just not sure which one to try first. 

The top 6 appear to be a series?

Edited to add: I _love_ the covers!


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## koland (Nov 24, 2008)

I'd also like to know where to start (but leave off all horror, as I have to much to read to drop that low down my "likes" list).


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

Where to start? Excellent question! 
With regards to horror I only have one title out right now, that's Dark Arts: Rising.

Here's a blurb!
The resurrection of Zachary Ellison has brought on a series of events that are changing the world forever. Maxwell, one of the last surviving members of a secret Order of occultists, has failed to catch him in time and is tasked to begin reviving the Order while attempting to minimize the damage his old foe is set to cause. Terrors unseen for thousands of years threaten to emerge if he fails.

It's available for free at Smashwords here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3418

The Dark Arts series will expand depending on how many readers demand it. So far support is building and I'm keeping my eye on it. There are other horror novels in the works, but they won't surface until sometime in 2010.

Where to begin with Fantasy titles?
The Fate Cycle Series currently consists of Book I: Sins of the Past and the prequel romantic novel: Dead of Winter. They're independent of each other, starring many of the same characters and written in different styles. Short answer - Dead of Winter comes first and it's a light read. Sins of the Past comes years later and is an Epic Fantasy Novel. Fate Cycle Book II: Exodus is due out early 2010.

Here's a couple blurbs!

Fate Cycle: Dead of Winter
Past the Northern Reach in the Lands of Athoul there is a tradition called the Promise March. It is during this tradition of matchmaking that A young soldier in training named Deih Utonin meets Celeste, a Young Lady favored by her people. As just another in a line of Suitors, Deih is left with the task of proving himself as more than just a Soldier from a powerful House. Other, more pressing matters threaten to interrupt them as conflict in the south brews and Celeste-s Mentor calls her back to her side. The young pair are faced with making decisions That will effect them for the rest of their lives.
Amazon Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Cycle-Dead-Winter-ebook/dp/B001EBRG4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252884085&sr=8-1

Fate Cycle Book I: Sins of the Past
Three thousand years have passed since a sorceress and her companions exiled the corrupt City State of Caydor to the far off realm of Rikaam. After the Caydorians have fallen from history to legend, a portal has opened on the lands of King Gavat Lorridge. The King sends one of his best military leaders, Warlord Deih Utonin, through to discover the fate of the Caydorians. Meanwhile, the young King is left with his sage advisor, the Lord of the Winds, to aid him with a kingdom on the brink of war. On the other side of the portal the descendants of Caydor discover a portal of their own and send an expedition to explore. A new clash of cultures and kingdoms is about to begin, the scale of which none have ever seen.
Amazon Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Cycle-Sins-Past-ebook/dp/B001EW52OM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252883607&sr=8-2

Where to begin with science fiction?
The First Light Chronicles Omnibus contains the entire trilogy the precedes the Spinward Fringe regular series, so start there.

Here's a short blurb.

In the middle of the darkest region of explored space sits one bright beacon; Freeground Station. Serving as a supply and trading post it is home to a select number of human beings that will take an unlikely chance to make a difference in their end of the galaxy. - Contains the entire First Light Chronicles Trilogy, the origin of the characters at the core of the Spinward Fringe Series.

The First Light Chronicles Omnibus is my best selling book, closely followed by the Spinward Fringe books. To celebrate its success over the last year I've made it available for free at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178

Lengthy, I know, but it happens when an author writes in more than one genre. There's something that I should say about all my work before you go snatch up the freebies. I write character based fiction. The clearer and more idiosyncratic my characters are, the better the whole experience is and I do my best to make each character I bring in as interesting as possible. Plot is important, setting and a sense of wonder or terror are all important, but only as far as they affect the character and through them, the reader.

Enjoy! I highly recommend The First Light Chronicles for a fast paced adventure through a solitary point of view, or Dark Arts for a very quick horror read.

Oh, and thank you for the compliment regarding the covers! I designed the science fiction covers myself. The Sins of the Past cover was built from stock photography while the Dead of Winter and Dark Arts covers were by Marcus Froment with some title work and color enhancement by yours truly.

Wow, and I was trying to keep that short...


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Randolphlalonde said:


> Oh, and thank you for the compliment regarding the covers! I designed the science fiction covers myself.


Really? That's awesome. They really are quite nice. A nice cover, no matter how simple, makes a book look so much more professional, IMO.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Welcome to KB, Randolph! I read about you somewhere previously, I can't remember where, because I've had Freeground (first book in the First Light Chronicles) as a freebie on my Kindle since late February...haven't gotten to it yet, I have to admit, but at least I liked enough about what I read to get it in the first place!   (I've by now gotten to the point where I don't snap up every freebie offered, I still have to be at least a little interested in whatever description/synopsis I can find on it.)

I'm even more interested now that I've seen what you said about writing character-based fiction. I like characters, I get attached to characters, and I like authors who like their characters too.  I'm in the middle of another series right now and kind of an overall adventure/thriller kick, but when I'm ready for sci-fi again, you'll likely be right there at the top now that I choose from!


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

> when I'm ready for sci-fi again, you'll likely be right there at the top now that I choose from!


Thank you very much! I'm more well known in Europe thanks to some good reviews on Mobipocket http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/Category.asp?Language=EN&categoryId=14&Name=Science+Fiction

With that under my belt I'm spending a little more time looking closer to home. It's good to be here, with so many readers who rarely see a dead tree in their hands.

Thanks for the welcome!


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

Since posting this thread and making my most popular book, The First Light Chronicles Omnibus, free, over five hundred copies have been downloaded from Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178

The book had already sold thousands of eCopies, but five hundred downloads since September 15 is impressive by my standards.

I hope you're all enjoying the read. To be honest I'm working with a team of proof readers and an editor to put a final polish on the First Light Chronicles and the Spinward Fringe series, so those rough edges should be gone in a week or two when the updated version becomes available.

I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in a "Read With the Author" thread here. I'd be happy to start one up.


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

A little update:

The First Light Chronicles Omnibus has been downloaded 3,663 times for free from Smashwords. (Here's the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178)

The broadening appeal of the trilogy has prompted a re-edit and the upcoming re-release of the book. The re-release will be accompanied by a trailer with a small budget (the last trailer I had was made with a budget of $11.00, so it's good to be able to spend more on the next one).

Anyone who purchased the book through Amazon or Mobipocket will be able to update to the 2nd edition for free as soon as it's available.

As for other news, a short story of mine is appearing in *Virtual Imaginings*! Here's the announcement on my blog here: http://randolphlalonde.blogspot.com/2009/11/inkblot-books-publishes-short-by.html

I appeared on Stacey Cochran's Book Chatter on November 8th and had a great time with the rest of the author and reviewer panel. More info on that here: http://randolphlalonde.blogspot.com/2009/11/book-chatter-author-panel-for-11709.html

The latest Spinward Fringe novel, Fragments, is in its second draft and will be sent out to my editor and the beta readers in one to two weeks. There will be more news on that as the work progresses.

I apologize for making this post look like an infodump, but I've been a little busy with NaNoWriMo and keeping things running! I'll be updating this thread more often, especially since more and more Americans are discovering my work, I have Kindleboards to thank for that, at least in part.

Thank you for reading!


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Hi Randolph!  Welcome and it's great to see you here.  I'm one of those downloads!!!

Maria


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

I hope everyone is enjoying the First Light Chronicles Omnibus (Still free at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178). It's now the ninth most downloaded book on the site. It's also the fifth most popular book on Mobipocket, and has been in their top ten for months, so I'll be celebrating a good year for that book in January!

The rest of the books are circulating as well and it's starting to look like 2010 will be a bumper year for my work, since there are four books well on their way to being ready including two science fiction titles as well as a pair of fantasy novels. The release of the First Light Chronicles final revision is also coming up in January, and I'm looking forward to it to say the least.

There's a little spot of news about the Spinward Fringe series on my blog at the moment, as well as a post about an anthology one of my stories was included in here: http://randolphlalonde.blogspot.com/

There's more news coming and a gift for kindle board participants coming in the near future, so I'll be seeing you back here soon!

Thank you for reading!


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

Christmas comes a few days early to Spinward Fringe.com. Since so many people have downloaded the First Light Chronicles Omnibus from Smashwords, and since I'm feeling very grateful for all the support in the last year, I've issued 50% off Smashwords coupons for all my books!

The First Light Chronicles Omnibus remains free to download here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178

You can find all the coupons and the rest of the details for other books here: http://randolphlalonde.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-comes-early-to.html

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and that there are many Kindles and Amazon gift certificates in all your stockings!

RL


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## Randolphlalonde (Sep 12, 2009)

I'll be out of communication range until the 27th of December, so I made sure to make a few announcements early.

The *new cover* for Spinward Fringe Fragments, the latest addition to that series has been posted along with the *release date* here: http://randolphlalonde.blogspot.com/2009/12/spinward-fringe-fragments-release-date.html

There are also other important announcements there for anyone who is already a reader of the series.

Another announcement:

Spinward Fringe Resurrection (here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3180) and Spinward Fringe Awakening (Here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3191) are now available for $1.99 each at Smashwords. These books continue the adventures of characters first seen in the First Light Chronicles Omnibus (Available free here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3178).

I hope each and every one of you have a safe and happy holiday season! See you in 2010!


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