James Van Pelt

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James Van Pelt

Goodreads Author


Member Since
June 2010

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James Van Pelt Well, it's certainly not the groupies. What I like best is that I get to be imaginative. I can do anything on the page, which isn't all that different…moreWell, it's certainly not the groupies. What I like best is that I get to be imaginative. I can do anything on the page, which isn't all that different from being six and being able to make anything in the sandbox. I like starting stories and finishing them. I like seeing my name on the back of my books.(less)
James Van Pelt My most recent book in PANDORA'S GUN, which will come out in August, 2015. On the morning of November 1, 2013, I made a joke to our high school librar…moreMy most recent book in PANDORA'S GUN, which will come out in August, 2015. On the morning of November 1, 2013, I made a joke to our high school librarian, who is also a writer, about doing NaNoWriMo. He said he would if I would, so that afternoon I started the novel. I had no clear idea at all, except I liked the thought of a high school kid finding something truly, awesomely powerful, and then having to deal with that discovery. After that I swung for the fences everyday until I finished the book at the end of that month. The editing took much longer to do than the writing of the first draft.(less)
Average rating: 3.8 · 4,836 ratings · 729 reviews · 107 distinct worksSimilar authors
Summer of the Apocalypse

3.70 avg rating — 793 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions
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Pandora's Gun

4.20 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions
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The Last of the O-Forms & O...

3.81 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2005 — 6 editions
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Strangers and Beggars

4.31 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2002 — 4 editions
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The Radio Magician & Other ...

4.14 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions
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The Experience Arcade and O...

4.57 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions
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Flying in the Heart of the ...

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3.82 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions
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After Shocks: An Anthology ...

3.10 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2000
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The Best of James Van Pelt

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings4 editions
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Just Before Recess

3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2008
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More books by James Van Pelt…

Perseverance and Publishing Short Fiction

STORY SALE!

I offer this as a tale of perseverance.

Neil Clarke at Clarkesworld has accepted a story from me, which is my first original sale to them. They previously reprinted a piece that Gardner Dozois chose when he was working as their reprint editor (it was a story Gardner also included in his YEAR’S BEST anthology in 2010).

They have been using an online submission system since at least 2010 wh

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Published on September 15, 2023 10:19
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The Best of Conni...
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The Mysterious Af...
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James’s Recent Updates

James Van Pelt is now friends with Emily Osburn
Asimov's Science Fiction July/August 2024 by Sheila Williams
" Hi, Dan. Thanks for the shout out on my story. "
Asimov's Science Fiction July/August 2024 by Sheila Williams
" Hi, Daniel. Sorry my piece didn't work for you. Maybe next time. What do you teach? ...more "
James Van Pelt rated a book it was amazing
How to Write a Howling Good Story by Wulf Moon
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Deep Magic June 2017 by Jeff Wheeler
" Hi, Esther. Sorry I didn't see this review earlier. In high school English classes today the emphasis is on rhetorical analysis. The skill they want k ...more "
James Van Pelt rated a book it was amazing
Beat Writer's Block and Reignite Your Creativity by Stant Litore
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I finished preparing my class for the Western Colorado Writer's Forum tonight on Overcoming Writer's Block. Like any presentation the material is drawn equally from my experience as a writer, from thoughts from other writers I've listened to, and fro ...more
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A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
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Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
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" Hi, Rupa. Thanks for the note. Sorry it took me until now to notice it. JVP "
Interzone 253, July-August 2014 by Andy Cox
" I'm so sorry I didn't see this review until now. Thanks for the positive thoughts! ...more "
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Quotes by James Van Pelt  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Writing fiction feels like an adventurous act, nudging aside reality a word at a time.”
James Van Pelt

“The teacher took two long strides and stood beside Parker’s desk. Before the boy could speak, Mr. Earl threw the desktop open. For a second, he stared into it. A white glow reflected off his face.
“What is this?” he said, as he reached toward the brightness.
“Careful, Mr. Earl,” Parker started to say, but it was too late.
The teacher screeched before lurching against the desk. He went down quickly, his feet vanishing into the desk last.”
James van Pelt

“I've counselled patients in discomfort. It's like talking to someone wearing ear buds. They're listening to a different conversation. When it gets bad, that other conversation floods their senses.”
James Van Pelt, The Sum Of Us: Tales of the Bonded and Bound

Polls

(closed)
PLEASE VOTE FOR A BOOK YOU'D LIKE TO READ for a bonus mid-October book, written by a member of the Apocalypse Whenever group! This is poll #1 to narrow down the options. Please keep the voting fair (no campaigning outside the group to pad the numbers); only members who will actually read and discuss with us should be voting. (Chances are we will do more than one bonus read in upcoming months, by the way.) Happy voting!



Ain't No Grave by S.A. Softley
2015, 260 pages
Kindle 2.99 (on sale from Sept 20 to Oct 1 for 99¢), print 15.99

"A man is struck by an unknown illness high over northern Canada. The plane is forced to make an emergency landing in an isolated northern town. When he awakens, he finds himself naked and cold in an empty hospital. He soon discovers that the town is deserted and all its people missing. Alone in the unforgiving winter, he must struggle to survive and uncover the truth. Nothing can prepare him for what he finds."
 
  10 votes 12.8%




After the Storm by Don Chase
2012, 204 pages, AR 3.64
99¢ Kindle, cheap used paperback

"After the Storm is a post apocalyptic novel set five years after a meteor wipes out 95% of the population. A group of survivors in Boston have to find ways to survive and contend with a reemerging government that wants to take back control after deserting them for years... Hilarity ensues."
 
  8 votes 10.3%



Devastation Point -5 Years Post Viral Apocalypse by Paul Kirk
Print Length: 568 pages
Publication Date: October 8, 2014
Kindle Price: $2.99
Book Print Price: $18.97

"The world collapsed after the spread of the hyper-aggressive H5N1 Avian plague and several airborne mutations. By simply breathing the air, billions around the world died in less than a few months' time. Airborne Special Forces Colonel Connor MacMillen survives the dark and dangerous times. DEVASTATION POINT begins with Connor Mac's exploits in the fifth year of the New Dark Ages as he encounters a strange and changed America turned upside down by the "Cuckoo Flu". "
 
  6 votes 7.7%



The Hauntings of Playing God by Chris Dietzel
2014, 225 pages, AR 3.5
$3.99 Kindle, paperback from $7.97

"Everyone is dead. All that remains is an old woman and a gymnasium full of unresponsive bodies. Each day, another storm approaches, threatening to destroy the building they call home. Each night, a series of nightmares leaves the woman screaming for help. Alone and overwhelmed, will the final member of the human race be thought of as a caretaker or as a monster?

A Great De-evolution Story."
 
  5 votes 6.4%



The Last of the Ageless: A Post-Apocalyptic Adventure by Traci Loudin
2015, 410 pages
$4.99 Kindle, $14.99 print
CreateSpace has a $4 off coupon: SQ9T5GUG

No zombies, no romance, just an adventure through the apocalypse.

"After the end of the world, every survivor must choose who to become... Victim? Or villain?"
 
  5 votes 6.4%



Blank: Mind the Gap by Matt Eaton
2015, $3.99 on Kindle and iBooks. About 300 pages

"The oceans of the world rise five metres without warning on the heels of a massive solar event."
 
  5 votes 6.4%



Rocky Mountain Locust: Opus I, Trio by M.I. Lastman
2014 323 pages
Kindle $6.78 Soft Cover $17.86

Review: "The storyline is fast-paced, and thrilling, the commentary a sensitive and thoughtful discourse on 21st century life and times. Read it and weep.” Susan Koswan, KW Record. “This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. . . the story riveting and the characters believable, . . . it is also terrifyingly plausible, and maybe even inevitable. This is a MUST READ for every adult. . ."
 
  5 votes 6.4%



Apocalypse Wow by Ben Mariner
2015, 288 pages, AR 4.31
$2.99 Kindle, paperback $10.99

"A 30-something guy and his friends head off on a cross-country road trip through a post-apocalyptic wasteland to find one woman and a whole bevy of problems."
 
  4 votes 5.1%



The Northern Star: The Beginning
2012, 355ish pages
Kindle $.99 or paperback $9.99

""Top 5 Indie...” –Examiner

2058. As the struggle for dwindling resources plunges the world into chaos, and "Mindlink" technology opens cyberspace to the masses, injured soldier John Raimey is transformed into a powerful bionic warrior to retrieve the King Sleeper: a computer hacker so devastating on-line, he can decimate government infrastructure, subliminally persuade the masses, and even kill. "
 
  4 votes 5.1%



The Freezer by David Kersten
2015, 318 pages paper, 419 pages Kindle
$3.99 for Kindle, $12.99 paperback.

"Ready to give up his fight with cancer, Jack Taggart wakes from surgery to find 350 years have passed. As one of the few people remaining on a scorched earth, he is now tasked with the fight to save humanity, a fight that will revolve around a recently discovered pre-war military bunker dubbed “The Freezer”"
 
  3 votes 3.8%



Sunstone by R.W. Krpoun
2015, 248 pages
Kindle $1.99, print $6.50

"Sunstone is an alternative-history novel set in 1912. Three Pinkerton agents ride deep into revolution-torn Mexico on the trail of a wanted man and find themselves caught up in a web of horror that dates back centuries and threatens the world they know. "
 
  3 votes 3.8%



David #26
ZomoSapienS by David B. Moon
2013, 175 pages
$2.99 ebook, $8.99 paperback

Review: "[...] another book on zombies but this one turned out really good. I found it refreshing and absolute creativeness. Nowadays U can go down the list of copy vs copy of authors who feed off of each others work with a newly added twist/ This book parts from the mundane with a fresh approach and shows someone capable of taking a rehashed subject and making it a worthwhile read. I hope he writes more. "
 
  3 votes 3.8%



Sacrifice the Living by Michael Andre McPherson
2013, 344 pages
Kindle $2.99 (he'll drop it to 99 cents if it becomes a group read), Paperback $12.99.

"With half the company changing their hours to the night shift, and murders occurring through Chicago at an alarming rate, Bert and his friends infiltrate a strange society of hybrids bent on forcing an evolutionary change on humanity. Some will be slaves, fodder for the new hybrids, but most of the living will be sacrificed to feed the dead. Only a revolution can prevent the destruction."
 
  3 votes 3.8%



Sugar Scars by Travis Norwood
2015, 288 pages
Kindle price: $4.99, Print price:$17.95

"I think the group would find it refreshing since the story is unique. A virus kills most of the population (which is very typical for this genre), but the story takes a different focus. Most of the survivors have it easy since resources are plentiful. But a nineteen-year-old girl who is a type 1 diabetic will die if she can't figure out how to make insulin."
 
  2 votes 2.6%



Final Response by E.R. Yatscoff
2015, 250 pages
$6.14 kindle, $13.46 paperback

"The Polar Vortex has grown stronger with every winter, ravaging northern cities, and forcing an evacuation of a major city until springtime. Firefighter Captain Jack Sellars and his men are contracted to protect the city with one mandate: don't let the city burn down. With no power or gas, and all the citizens gone, what could possibly happen?"
 
  2 votes 2.6%



H narratives: Divulgence by S.J. Romero
2015, 300 pages, new book/no reviews yet
$2.99 Kindle

"Death is not what we thought in this debut novel by s.j. romero. Six people, three women and three men, begin a mind-altering journey through Hell as participants in an elaborate war-games environment run by the ruling overseers known as Rivaaja. Part suspense, part shock, H narratives: Divulgence is like nothing you've ever read."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt
2006, 260 pages
$4.99 Kindle, $17.99 paperback

"When a plague wipes out most of humanity, fifteen-year-old Eric sets out to find his father. Sixty years later, Eric starts another long journey in an America that has long since quit resembling our own, but there are shadows everywhere. Shadows of what the world once was, and shadows from Eric's past. Blood bandits, wolves, fire, feral children, and an insane militia are only a few of the problems Eric faces. "
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Storm Orphans by Matt Handle
2014, 237 pages
Kindle price $3.99, print price $8.99

"After an attempt at urban pacification goes horribly awry at the CDC, 99% of the population is wiped out and most of the survivors have turned into cannibalistic freaks known as The Afflicted.

Storm Orphans is the tale of a handful of men and women that avoided that fate and now make their way through a hellish gauntlet from Miami to Atlanta in search of both answers and revenge."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Evolution of Angels by Nathan Wall
2014, 388 pages
$2.99 Kindle

"In the pursuit of genetic perfection, and the hopes of helping his wife conceive, William Sanderson clones an Angel. The only problem is the clone's powers can't be controlled, so his memory is erased and a mental wall is erected to keep what lingers inside from breaking out. One day, to battle a force the likes which have never been encountered, this clone’s mental wall is broken."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Day After Disaster by Sara F. Hathaway

No follow-up information provided.
 
  1 vote 1.3%



The Mountain and The City: The Complete Saga
2012, 348 pages
Kindle $2.99, print $11.42

"A solitary survivor hides in a mountain above a dead city. This is life with the door and windows taped shut. But one day a visitor comes up the mountain."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Rocketbar Amicus by Stephen M. Shaw
2012, 646 pages
Kindle $8.99, paperback from $4.46

"Movie deal: Global Sunrise Productions. Upheavals in nature signal the End of Days.Rogue NSA commandos implode mega-highrises on the West Coast,without casualties.They demand an end to the Electoral College,lobbying,and private campaign financing.To pursue the terrorists, the president erroneously orders the invasion of Mexico. His key agent falls in love with the daughter of Mexico's president."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



King of Ages: A King Arthur Anthology by Paola K. Amaras et al.
2015, 355 pages
Kindle Price: 5.99, Print: 14.95

This anthology includes some post-apocalyptic tales such as "Twilight's First Dreaming".

"What if Merlin was actually advising multiple reincarnations of King Arthur during various points, and places, in time and history? And what if this all began at the end of time? King of Ages is an anthology like no other, showcasing stories that re-imagine King Arthur at several points in history, from the end of days all the way to the beginning of mankind."
 
  1 vote 1.3%



The Fractured Earth by Matt Hart
2015, 128 pages
$0.99 Kindle, $8.99 paperback

"Alien Reality TV meets Earth Apocalypse -- aliens have simulated an EMP and created a bio-infestor that turns a portion of the population in Zombies. The struggle and death of the humans is fodder for selling commercial time for stim-sticks and chewy drinks. Can the humans win against the might of the Boreling Empire?"
 
  1 vote 1.3%



Of Sudden Origin - Omnibus by C. Chase Harwood
2014, 349 Pages
$3.99 Kindle (iBook, Nook, Kobo) $11.99 Paperback

A review: "You can't give a man who lives in the woods a book like this! Absolutely rocked my socks off. Non-stop OMFG action. The writing on this one was top notch. Great story plot. Great timing. Characters were awesomely developed. You just do not know how this one will end. If you like Zombie Apocalypse stuff then you will love this. Read it now before it's too late!" "
 
  1 vote 1.3%



A Guide to First Contact by T.P. Archie
2014, 584 pages
Kindle Price $6.00
Print Price soft cover: £15, hard cover: £25.

"Alternates between the present day & a post-apocalyptic future.
Civilisation collapses but why? Is it the aliens? the post-humans? the genetic plague? Or the new super-power: the Mandat Culturel?
Triste is a mercenary & makes enemies for fun: sub-human, post-human, alien. He finds pieces of the puzzle. Events draw in beings as old as the stars.
New twists on First Contact, the Rapture and God."
 
  0 votes 0.0%



6th Horseman by Anderson Atlas
2015, 382 pages
ebook $4.99, $14.99 print

"For hundreds of years, a ninth century mosque guarded a secret, an artifact covered with strange spores. Zilla tinkered with the spore’s DNA until a biological weapon emerged, one that obliterated all but a fraction of humanity. A new creature spawned inside the rotting corpses. In symbiosis, they attacked, adapted and learned. They were poised to inherit the Earth when they met Ian
Gladstone. "
 
  0 votes 0.0%



Partholon by D. Krauss
2013, 311 pages
Kindle: 6.99 Paperback: 13.99

No tiny blurb provided, so I'm grabbing a bit of the long one:

"Based on an old Irish legend of the same name, Partholon is a brutal look at how the just and the civilized respond to anarchy. It will delight lovers of action and military science fiction, like John Scalzi's Old Man's War or Robert Ferrigno's Prayers for the Assassin."
 
  0 votes 0.0%



Unknown Object by William Soppitt
2014, 242 pages
Kindle $1. Print $6.49

"An object impacts earth, but this is no ordinary meteor. The object rises and continues to impact at various locations. Undetectable by modern technology, it decimates the planet. Only a young woman, made mute by a close encounter with the object, stands in the way of total annihilation. Does anyone have faith in her? "
 
  0 votes 0.0%

78 total votes
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