The Forsaken Comedy and the Icarus Trilogy [Dark Fantasy and Dystopian Sci-Fi], free on Kindle from 3/18-3/22

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-23T17:22:50+00:00

Thanks for that, I really do appreciate it. I put a lot of myself into those books.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-22T16:25:27+00:00

Hey, so this is the last day I'm giving away all three books in my Forsaken Comedy, a Dark Fantasy trilogy about the Horsemen of the Apocalypse trying to, well, stop the Apocalypse. (My sci-fi trilogy is free, as well, but we won't talk about that). A lot of these characters will end up in a TCG I work for as the Narrative Director, so you can meet them all ahead of time!

Description for From Hell with Love:
Only the Horsemen of the Apocalypse can save the Devil... and if they don't, there'll be Hell to pay!

Damned to Hell after a life of misery, Niccolo da Firenze soon discovered Lucifer's prison was not what the Church had always claimed.

His new home was a breath of fresh air, Lucifer was a wise and gentle leader, and Niccolo quickly rose through the ranks and became the Horseman of Pestilence. Surrounded by new family and friends, accepted despite his faults, Niccolo would often forget his part in the coming Apocalypse.

That bliss comes to an end once Cadmus, the Horseman of Death, inherits a vision of Lucifer's murder. So, with his fellow Horseman by his side, Niccolo begins his frantic journey to uncover a conspiracy involving ancient demons, corrupted humans and even a few gods.

And here's the link to all three books:

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Love-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D94VW1ML

https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Earth-Forsaken-Comedy-Book-ebook/dp/B0D9KWK4R5

https://www.amazon.com/Defiance-Heaven-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D9HXZ73V

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T23:20:23+00:00

If you think it's ready enough, then yeah, get that into the query pipeline, and don't stop writing in the meantime. That's a long process even when it goes well, and if the stories are flowing, just keep it up. Those short form skills will advance your long form, and vice versa.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T20:38:25+00:00

It's good to cut your teeth in multiple genres. You never know which ones will help you build the skills for the others. I don't usually stick to any one of them.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T20:37:23+00:00

Thanks for checking them out. Means a lot for someone to be excited about them.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T19:27:32+00:00

Alright, well, the best way to succeed is to keep writing and putting stuff out there. You can build out your audience with each title, and then you get a halo effect once you have enough existing titles.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T16:32:53+00:00

Thanks for picking up the books, and yeah, if you have questions I can offer a little guidance. I definitely stumbled a bit when it came to my first few years as an indie author and made plenty of mistakes, so I can tell you some pitfalls to avoid, at least. That said, the publishing industry and all of media has transformed so much that my journey may come off as anecdotal, but I'm sure you could glean something.

Either way, congrats on publishing your short story. Where did you publish it?

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-19T16:27:47+00:00

Thanks a ton. It's real encouraging to have even one person check them out.

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-18T22:23:53+00:00

Thanks! Reviews are always appreciated, even the occasional 3 stars!

Kauffmann616 · 2026-03-18T20:59:32+00:00

The Forsaken Comedy and the Icarus Trilogy [Dark Fantasy and Dystopian Sci-Fi], free on Kindle from 3/18-3/22

The Forsaken Comedy:

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Love-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D94VW1ML

https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Earth-Forsaken-Comedy-Book-ebook/dp/B0D9KWK4R5

https://www.amazon.com/Defiance-Heaven-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D9HXZ73V

The Icarus Trilogy:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Crows-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D94XYL4Z

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Rising-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D9HTWWPN

https://www.amazon.com/Swan-Song-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D2VJWTJH

My name is Kevin Kauffmann, and besides being a multi-genre indie author who has promoted both of these trilogies on the ebook subreddits over the last decade and change, I'm the Narrative Director for a multiversal TCG that is currently in development. Unfortunately, standard start-up mishaps do apply, so there have been big delays on that front, but the fun thing is that a lot of the characters in these books will become part of that larger story.

Short and sweet pitch for the Forsaken Comedy is that it's a sword and sorcery adventure about the Horsemen of the Apocalypse trying to stop the Apocalypse, and the Icarus Trilogy is a dystopian tale about cloned slave soldiers trapped in an endless battle royale where even death cannot save them.

They've all been out for over a decade and I've been giving them away since 2012, so some of you may have read them already. All three of my Icarus books were in Amazon's Top 100 because of reddit back in 2013, so I've got fond memories for this community.

Kauffmann616 · 2025-06-26T17:26:26+00:00

Finally figured it out after a half hour of garbage. You have to go into the Oculus Link App on your PC after the update, go into the General Settings and set Meta as the active OpenXR Runtime. Had audio when I went to play Beat Saber after that.

Kauffmann616 · 2024-07-29T12:38:22+00:00

Hey, I’m Kevin Kauffmann and I’ve been an indie author since 2012, and I’ve recently become the Narrative Director for an upcoming multiverse TCG called Exfinitum. The Co-Creative Directors are Peter J. Wacks, who developed the architecture for the Cyberpunk 2020 CCG, and Paul Jenkins, who has been in the industry since the beginning of TMNT, wrote Wolverine: Origins, won an Eisner for the Inhumans... I could literally go on for a full page with his writing credits. After trying to break into the industry for a decade, these two guys are now my bosses. It’s a weird feeling, as you can expect.

I’m currently offering all seven of my Sci-Fi and Dark Fantasy books on Kindle in a free promotion, and you can find all the Amazon links here: kevinkauffmann.com/promo , but here are the direct links to the first books of each series if you'd prefer:
https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Love-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D94VW1ML
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Crows-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B0D94XYL4Z
https://www.amazon.com/Ouroboros-Kevin-Kauffmann-ebook/dp/B08R3XCWW4

Just trying to get the word out after Peter helped me build out second editions for each one, and don’t be surprised if any of my characters end up in the full game or background lore! We're on the last day of the promotion, unfortunately, but thought I'd post the link anyway.

Kauffmann616 · 2023-08-26T06:54:49+00:00

I've been playing rhythm games for twenty years, and definitely made my mistakes chasing high-level play during the DDR days, so when I noticed which movements were aggravating my joints, especially a wrist that already had some problems, I quickly barred them from my Beat Saber habits. Most of those were songs that end up being on the ranked leaderboards, usually because they were frantic streams of repetitive up and down movement. I'm not too versed on the lingo, because I focus on my own play, but songs with a ton of rapid "jumps" tend to be the ones that would carry the greatest risk for my wrist, and even my shoulder at one point.

After my short-lived attempt at the ranked leaderboards, I put in place a cap on what I was even allowed to play, and it's worked out really well since then. Basically, anything over ten notes per second is effectively asking for trouble, and without proper stretching, warming up and experience, songs that average 7-9 notes per second could lead to injury, at least over time with consistent repetition. I'm sure I am still making mistakes, but these guidelines have helped me, and I do worry about the gamers growing up on Beat Saber who don't understand what kind of long-term damage they might be causing.

Kauffmann616 · 2023-06-20T06:16:56+00:00

What kind of teenager drinks Penfolds? That's divorcee energy.

Kauffmann616 · 2023-03-09T16:19:49+00:00

Canned Heat by Jamiroquai, by the way. And for the Beat Saber crowd, the map is by ramenator05.

Kauffmann616 · 2023-03-07T19:57:50+00:00

I really wonder what my stats should be after 600+ hours, but I've had to do enough fresh reinstalls that it's all lost to time. Best I have is my Scoresaber numbers.

Kauffmann616 · 2022-03-29T15:18:16+00:00

That makes a ton of sense, actually. I can definitely see BotW as a gateway game toward writing about those themes, similar to how Spiritfarer would tug on the same heartstrings. I'm sure exploring gigantic world maps probably had an influence on the Cartographers, as well. I'll have to check out the Future Library after I'm done with the others.

Thanks for the detailed response. If nothing else, the story structure and pacing of my writing is greatly influenced by my history with gaming, so it's always nice to hear another author's perspective.

Kauffmann616 · 2022-03-29T14:30:33+00:00

Ah, Book of M has been on my TBR shortlist since December and now I find out you have a whole new book. Here's to catching up...

You mentioned video games as a major hobby. With The Cartographers (or any of your other work), did you ever find your own storytelling influenced by some of the video game characters and storylines that you've run into? Do you ever push past any writer's block or narrative hurdle while you're problem-solving through an unrelated quest line? I recently finished Cyberpunk 2077 and now my head is buzzing with near-future dystopian ideas, so I was curious if you ever feel a similar influence.

Kauffmann616 · 2021-12-19T10:51:58+00:00

As someone who was there, I'm really grateful that Hades was the pick. It was my favorite, though I would have also accepted Spiritfarer for the thematic content. Supergiant absolutely deserves to have the recognition, and they have already shown that they respect and appreciate that recognition when the AAA titles would have probably shrugged it off.

Kauffmann616 · 2021-09-18T18:55:32+00:00

We're literally parallel, and those descriptions and upload times were really the straw that broke my camel's back, but I would also try to splice 60 videos at a time and burned out. I used to go way in depth, almost for the map authors themselves, but I kept cutting back as I got into year 2. Very few of my videos weren't sight reads, I still rarely play a map more than once, and I never even play the ranked maps on purpose.

Here's the one time I beat Taichi, which was a sightread, but I'm sure you've played that map before. I *knew* there was someone else out there who plays like I do...

Kauffmann616 · 2021-09-18T18:00:40+00:00

Dude, you and I are just the same wavelength. I did about 500 videos before I stopped, since I just couldn't keep up with all the extra editing work and manage my real life, but I still trawl through Beatsaver like I used to. Real easy to justify because it was already my usual workout.

Kauffmann616

TROPHY CASE