Listed on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Europa is now available for preorder at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Europa/JA-Sanderlin/e/9781615660711/

http://www.amazon.com/Europa-J-Sanderlin/dp/1615660712/

ISFDB listing

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/fc.cgi?1+2010

New Website

My new website is finished!. The new address is: jasanderlin.tatepublishing.net
(jasanderlin.com still works and is routed to the new site).

Book Two

I am currently working on book two in the Black Chronicles series. I am on page fifty-eight at the moment and just got through my first major plot crisis. At this point during the process it is difficult to maintain momentum. The characters have been established, however, the storyline is still very open to change. I know where I want to go with it (although I have about five different ending ideas), but it is difficult to know how to get there. My better half is encouraging me to update my blog more often, so bear with me as I attempt to expand my horizons yet again.

Book Signing

I finished my first book signing! It was an enjoyable experience to assist the Dallas Police Department's military assistance program (MAPS). MAPS sends care packages to police officers and their family members who are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was a bit nervous at first, but everyone was extremely nice and my jitters were quickly put to rest.
I am currently negotiating a book signing with the Shuter Library in Angel Fire, New Mexico sometime mid-February. I am also exploring my options at the various science fiction conventions around Texas.

Cut material:

Europa was originally 150 pages longer than it is now. Although given a fair amount of leeway, I was forced to cut a significant amount of material due to the publisher's word count limit (which is an industry norm). I will continue to add the occasional bit of extra information here and on my website that was cut from the original work.
I will eventually release a ten page side story about Eric and Quinn that was also cut from the original manuscript.
Swords used as close quarters weapons aboard spacecraft: Bladed weapons do not pose the same hull rupturing risks as projectile weapons. In most cases ships are built of materials sturdy enough to repel small meteoroids and the occasional stray bullet does not pose a significant risk. Pirates who are interested in looting a ship and leaving it would not worry about punching a few leaks in the hull, however, if a ship was meant to be captured it may be an issue. Most bladed weaponry is in the form of daggers and short swords since hallways and small rooms aboard ships would be impractical places for longer weapons. These weapons are not as common as pistols and rifles, but are still carried by some and occasionally used in combat.

Links

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/gallery/images/top10-01.jpg
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 19, 2010

Publisher Listing

I just received my first 50 copies and Europa is now available on the publisher's website at: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61566-071-1 ...

Release Date

Europa has been released and is currently available on the publisher's site. However, the national release date is January 19, 2010. Between October and January it will only be available on the publisher's website. While I had hoped for something sooner, the time frame is the industry standard for national release. The link to the publisher is on the side bar.

Accelerator weapons - rifles and sidearms

Accelerator weapons use magnetic acceleration instead of a chemical reaction (gunpowder) to propel a projectile. They fire smaller projectiles at much higher velocities. This means a smaller bullet moving faster can do more damage than a larger one moving slower. This is proven in the formula for Newton's second law, F=ma (Force=mass * acceleration).
Accelerator weapons have a higher ammo capacity, but require a battery to power the processors and magnets that fire the projectile. The projectile does not contact the barrel of the weapon as it passes through the series of ring shaped magnets. This allows the projectiles to be made of any heavy metal, capable of magnetic attraction, providing armor piercing qualities without the problems of excessive barrel wear that traditional firearms would suffer.
The velocity at which the weapons projectile is fired can be adjusted by the user. During battles aboard space faring ships, soldiers turn down the velocity of their weapons so they lessen the chances of penetrating the hull of their ship.

Endorsement

J.A. Sanderlin has written a very moving tale that continually keeps you on the edge of your seat. The discoveries of Jonas correlate with life as it is today and the many challenges we face in our ever changing world.

As you read Europa you can’t help but relate to your own life of faith, obedience, forgiveness and love. The book leads you on the path of discovering one’s strength in the midst of chaos and devastation, and the ultimate source of that strength. God’s patience with each of us shows in the pages of Europa—His patience as we find ourselves and who we are meant to be in Him, in this life on Earth.

It is a good read!!

Anna Marie Warren, author of “Finding Yourself in Divorce”,

Milestones International Publishing