Russell A. Smith's Blog, page 6

Guest Post: Sarah P.J. White – Favoured Locations

Hello all,

Sorry things have been a little quiet of late between being offline and very busy, but I have returned, on my birthday, with a special guest! So I hope that goes some way to making up for lost time.

Anyway, I would like to introduce my guest for today, Sarah PJ White – who has interviewed me on her site recently as well. http://sarahpjwhite.com/

And without further ado, here is Sarah!

 

I’m delighted to accept Russell’s request to guest on his blog, as part of ‘The Last Angel’ blog tour. The tour will be running for the whole of March, and I will be appearing on various sites – some in the form of author interview, maybe the odd book review and others – like this post – will be specific subjects given to me by the blog host, so let’s move on to my guest post.

Favoured Locations of author Sarah PJ White

All writers get to a stage where they need to step away from the laptop and clear their head –and I’m no exception. Whether I hit a creative brick wall, or need to generally recharge my batteries, there are a couple of local places that I head for. I don’t know if it’s the same for other creative types – but I head into nature and the nearest wooded area.

There’s something about wandering amongst the trees and relative silence of anywhere off the beaten track, and whilst writing my latest fiction novel ‘The Last Angel’, I found a couple of occasions where the need to blow off the cobwebs became strong. So, where do I head when the need arises? Here are a couple of my favourite places.

Thatcham Discovery Centre

This is probably one of the busiest of my favoured places, but if you time it right (i.e. when the children are at school and everyone else is at work!) it can be quite a quiet, pleasant walk. I tend to give the actual building a wide berth, as it’s where the swans, ducks and geese gather, and instead walk round the far end of the lake and along the public walkways – past the private fishing lakes. It clears my head and gives Bear, my German shepherd a decent hour walk.

Bowdown Woods

This is just of the main road running past Greenham Common, but it’s like stepping into another world. The woods looks spectacular in spring when the bluebells come out, they intermingle with the ferns, creating naturally artistic displays.  Run by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, there are several marked nature trails with varying degrees of difficulty.  At 54.5 hectares, it’s the biggest woodland reserve in Berkshire.

What’s great about this place is it used to be an ammunition store during (and after) the second world war, so you can see where nature is slowly taking back ownership of the old bunkers and storage facilities. The old concrete surface road running along one side makes it a good place for those with limited ability too.

Greenham Common

Across the way from Bowdown woods is the old RAF Greenham common air base – known to many as the nuclear facility that featured prominently on the new for years, due to the protest women who set up camp here.  In 2000 the last part of the common was opened to the public.

Over 1 million tonnes of concrete and tarmac was removed when most of the runway and hard-standing was demolished – much of which was used in the foundations for the Newbury Bypass. The only parts that still remain are the control tower, fuel station and centre cross of the main runway.

Nowadays though, this vast expanse of disused runway is now a haven for ponies, cows and ground nesting birds. It is gradually being taken over with gorse and heather, thanks to the latest environmental project. This is more of a bracing walk, great for blowing away cobwebs, due to the flatness of the area the wind does tend to race past you!

My thanks and contact information

I’d like to extend my thanks to Russell for agreeing to be part of my blog tour, and for allowing me to guest post on his blog.

 

If you’d like to know more information about author Sarah PJ White and her latest novel ‘The Last Angel’, you can do so through her website at:

http://sarahpjwhite.com/

Oblivion Storm Trailer

Oblivion Storm: The Movie!

Well, not quite. But close, huh? Maybe one day. . .

No, this I’m talking about the book trailer for Oblivion Storm, and I am absolutely delighted with the way it’s turned out.

Mostly, this is another link to make sure the trailer is up here, but this post is also a chance for me to say thank you to a few people. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all the people who have liked the page and shared it with others. Every little helps. And it’s not little to me – it’s huge.

I’d also like to thank Mary at Xchyler Publishing, for getting me ready for the whole book trailer thing. After a few chats, ideas rolled out  and eventually I had a storyboard concept. Which that man Dale Robert Pease, who also did the magnificent cover, brought to life as only he could have done.  It was then just a case of refining the text a little. When I watched a test run with the words I’d initially sent across, a little polishing had to happen, but we got there. It was like drafting a novel, I tell you! Only with the added fun of a music score to consider too!

Thank you, everyone! Have a watch, and if you like it, share it and spread the word!

Xchyler Publishing have put up this wonderful new page for Oblivion Storm which features a link to the trailer, an author profile and of course more information on Oblivion Storm. Including, for that matter, where to buy it! Have a look – there are even links to reviews if you want some other opinions on the book!

The Deep, Dark Woods – Guest Post: Lisamarie Lamb

Hello all! I would like to welcome only my second guest post on this blog, from another fellow author, Lisamarie Lamb! Now, regulars may remember that Lisamarie hosted me last week on a post about the Tube. You all can read that here if you missed it.

But today, it is time to read not about an Underground rail network. Today, we are going down to the deep, dark woods. Over to you, Lisamarie. . .

 

I write all sorts of things; flash fiction, poetry, short stories, novels… And these pieces of writing are in various genres; horror, romance, children’s, literary fiction, mystery… With over one hundred different projects, either completed or in process, I like to think that I’ve managed not to repeat myself when it comes to plot and characters.

I try not to anyway.

But there is one thing that I do mention a lot, and I’m completely aware of it. It’s not always intentional (although at times it is integral to the plot), but whether I mean it to be there at the start of a story or not, ‘the woods’ often pops up.

What do I mean? I mean actual, literal woods. Deep, dark places full of trees and animals and scary things. Or peaceful places full of beauty and clearings of dappled sunlight and twinkling, tinkling streams that lead on to adventure.

I love to read about them. When I was younger, The Faraway Tree was one of my all time favourites, and the two poems that are stuck on the wall by my writing desk are “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare, and “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

I love to write about them too. Sometimes my stories are set within the trees. My current work in progress, a children’s horror entitled The Waldgeist of Wanderal Woods, focuses the entire story in the magical world below a lush, green, leafy canopy. Another of my short stories is called “The Woods Today”, and is about a rather nasty teddy bears picnic. And another, “Miles To Go” details the shock and confusion of a man who awakes naked in a snowy wood.

Equally, some of my stories just touch on the woods. In “Fairy Lights” the protagonists camp by the edge of a wood, not daring to enter. “One Man and His Dog” has the eponymous man looking towards the woods, but eventually going in the other direction. “Careful of the Castle” involves a woman sitting on a hot, sandy beach; but she wishes she was wandering through the shaded woods of her home town.

There is something so fascinating, so elemental, so mysterious and exciting about woods, inside or out, that I find myself drawn to them. Of course, it helps that I’ve lived near one for almost all of my life. Or rather, near a few of them. The very first house I can remember backed onto woodland. I have a distinct memory of playing in the garden, sitting on a swing that my dad made and which hung from a big old apple tree, and staring, hard, hard, harder, over the back fence and into the woods. I wanted to see something move. I never did, unless wind-waving leaves counted.

A few years later we moved, and this time the garden was bigger, and at the bottom of this one was a large meadow on which horses roamed. That was nice. That was fine. But it was what was beyond the meadow, just on the horizon, that delighted me – a patch of trees that I was happy to call a wood. I even climbed over the back fence on a few occasions and ran across the field, dodging manure, to reach the trees. But fear of what (or whom?) I would find forced my back home. I never did go in.

The house after that, the one in which I spent my teenage years, had an even bigger garden, and this time woods came with the land. Just a little bit, but my excitement was at intense proportions, and I spent a lot of time at the bottom of the garden, just inside the woodland, daring myself to go further.

I still dare myself. My parents still live in the house. Every time I visit, I think about it. Maybe one day I’ll venture in.

When I married, we moved to a pretty little end of terrace in a village. And yes, right outside our front door, was a patch of woodland. It was beautiful, but we outgrew the house and had to move, and now I live in a new build in a place with hardly any trees. At the end of my back garden is someone’s garage. Out the front are more houses.

No woods.

But then, if I had them, would I go in? Or would I leave it up to my intrepid characters, as I usually do? Maybe that’s why I write about the places so much – my stories let me do the one thing I’ve always wanted to do, but been afraid to actually go through with.

One day, though. One day…

Links:

My latest release is Over The Bridge published by Dark Hall Press: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Over-the-Bridge-ebook/dp/B00A93ENIS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358350839&sr=8-4

“The Woods Today” can be found in the Angelic Knight anthology Terrifying Teddies: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satans-ToyBox-Terrifying-Anthology-ebook/dp/B009UWZUXG/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1358350621&sr=8-16

“Miles To Go” can be found in the Brazen Snake anthology Cold Feet: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Feet-Brazen-Bites-ebook/dp/B00APSQ934/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1358350671&sr=8-18

“The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-listeners/

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-road-not-taken/

 

 

 

On Tour!

A nice busy weekend for guest blog posts, this one. It does mean another relatively short one on here as my main purpose is of course to direct you elsewhere at the moment.

But on the plus side, it will also mean more hosting of guests for me at times. 

First up, my post on Lisamarie Lamb’s page, which you can find here. Readers of my Facebook page or Twitter followers may well have noticed that I’ve had quite a few links up from Transport for London with their celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. If you’re wanting to know why it’s been such a big thing for me, have a read!

Lisamarie’s contact details can be found below, if you would like to get to follow her writing progress. I’m also excited to say there will be a guest post from her going up next week which is also about favourite things: the Deep Dark Woods.

Facebook: facebook.com/lisamarielambwriter
Twitter: @lisamarie20010
Blog: http://www.themoonlitdoor.blogspot.com 
 

Also, I’ve had the privilege of being a guest author on the Xchyler Publishing page. It’s a different post altogether, a post on the writing community and the value of our followers to us writers. It’s always great to know who’s dropped by for a read, and even better to know that word is getting out there. Your intervention, dear reader, is vital. But more on that here.

I shall be springing up in some other places over the coming months, and I’ll let you know where and when too! If you would *like* me to spring up elsewhere, perhaps on your website or blog page, then give me a shout. I’m enjoying the challenge of coming up with new and hopefully interesting things to say.

Anyway, that’s all for now, or you won’t have time to read those two, will you? I’ll be back soon.

Happy Birthday London Underground!

It has been drawn to my shamefully neglectful attention that the London Underground is 150 years old today. Now there would have been a different blog had I not actually already started one yesterday for a guest blog post that is coming soon. I’m very happy with it, and I don’t want to be re-treading too much old ground, so rather than putting it here, I’ll be pointing everyone at that on the day it is released.

However I would be remiss if I didn’t at least give the significance of the day a mention, as the existence of this world-famous transport system provides not one but several scenes in Oblivion Storm.

So here are a few useful links for any who want them, and look out for my guest post which I shall link as soon as available!

Transport For London Twitter: https://twitter.com/TfLOfficial

TFL Website, on the Anniversary and planned festivities, souvenirs and art: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25979.aspx

News Centre. Probably of most use to frequent Tube users: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/26727.aspx

New Beginnings

First, I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful 2013. I hope the year brings everything you need it to.

This brings about a brief review from my side of things. I’ve looked back to the beginning of the year to try and remember where I was. To attempt to recall everything that has gone on this year will be tricky. But one thing I do know I said last year was that I was setting myself goals rather than resolutions.

Before I started last year, confidence was very low and I wanted to do something to get myself straight again. I knew I wanted to do something with this manuscript I had sat on my computer for a long time in some capacity or other, and I know I wanted to finish at least one short story I was happy with. Well, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you know I got to the end of the year having ticked both of those boxes off my list. It was a strange feeling to have read Becoming Tabitha, my submission to the Crime Net anthology, again earlier in December – this time, purely for leisure. It was a contrast and a real moment of, ‘I can do that!’

And then another such moment. I was sitting around gaming and one of my friends pulled out a copy of Oblivion Storm and asked me to sign it! It was so exciting that there were pictures just to prove it happened. And do you know what? I got to do it all again on Christmas Day, this time for family. It was a real Christmas highlight, and one for which I’m very, very grateful to have been able to put forward.

Yes, in that regard, this year has been surreal, and in a really good way. Markers have been set on the writing side.

There have been downsides – I’m not at the right side of any regular income at the moment, and that has been the story of the year. It’s a specific thing I’m looking for improvement on in 2013. But it’s just one I’m going to have to keep going with.

And that’s the thing really. The stuff I’d like to see more of requires me to press on. The stuff I would like to see less of requires me to be pressing on with other things. Either way, to make 2013 work is going to require hard work on my part. I’m prepared for this in either case.

So I’ve decided Project: Shadowlondon has been an overall success. It culminated in Oblivion Storm, and my Crime Net contribution, a new computer, the completion of a talk and involvement on the production team of a LARP system. From where I was at the end of 2011 to now, I’ve got to be happy with that.

But 2013 requires something new. Fresh projects and goals.

Project: Warrior!

As with last year, I haven’t done a series of resolutions; instead I have set myself a series of goals I wish to achieve. I will share some of these when things are back up and running on the Day Zero site (at time of writing, I cannot get on) but share some of the ones I can immediately mention now.

It’s a given that with Oblivion Storm being ‘The Grenshall Manor Chronicles Book One’, that I at least have the desire to see to a Book Two. I had actually started something along those lines a while ago, as anyone who has followed this blog since the start will tell you. However, with the many changes I’ve made to what ended up as Oblivion Storm since my first draft, and having just sat around for long enough to be dangerous, I’ve been coming up with new stuff. So I will hope to have that upon the world as soon as I can.

Similarly, now that I have at least temporarily held off my fear of writing short stories by getting one out, I am on a mission to get a few more out this year. But we shall see.

Third: I want to ensure even more regular blog posts on here. I think this is perfectly possible, so do let me know if you believe me to be slacking. Also, expect me to be guest posting on a number of blogs over the course of the year. I’ll ensure there is a reference point on this blog, but the important thing is that you can read it.

And finally, The Million Word Challenge. You can read more about that particular mission here. I can tell you this: I was both terrified and massively impressed by Colin when he told me he was doing it, and I promised I’d help to publicise this at any opportunity I could. This admiration grew to a nagging thought that even if I fell short, if I just let this one drive by, I would almost certainly regret it. So here I am.

With the hope that I can get on and do a couple more talks this year, expand my writing portfolio and along the way, entertain a few people, I have high hopes for 2013. This is where I want to take all the successes from 2012 to a new level – and to leave as much of the rest firmly in 2012 as possible, without looking back.

I look forward to meeting many new people this year! Good luck with anything you have set yourself about doing this year, and may you all be up to the challenges you have set yourselves. Keep at it, and let me know how you are all getting on!

Launch Party Q&A

Transcribed and correctly ordered interview questions from yesterday’s launch party follow. There were some great questions in there. Thank you for coming up with these, thank you for participating and thank you for supporting my efforts! I shall squeeze in more of these wonderful quotes wherever I can. And now - the Q&A:

Why did you decide to make both main characters female?

It just kind of fell about that way in the end. Part of Rose’s inspiration was a real-life amnesia story which made the press a few years back, the ‘Piano Man’ story if you remember that one. I got absolutely transfixed by this story for no decent reason, but during creation, I decided to merge the character idea with one I had during my university project. So we ended up with Rose.

How much has being a LRPer affected the way you think about storytelling – if at all?

It absolutely has. Likewise with tabletop gaming. It knocked on from getting to know a character, to world-building info. It’s very much like being a Games Master.

I had the honour of talking earlier this year at Nerd East, up in Durham, on something very relevant to this. Have a look on my blog post here (and the two which follow) for a lot more on that topic.

Who’s your favourite character?

It’s a tough answer. I have to go with the two leads, Rose and Tally. Rose has taken me on a journey since her inception that has taught me more than any of the others in the story. But Tally, in my original draft only around to move that bit of plot forwards, just crowbarred her way into my plans. You’ve got to work with that.

What is the capital of Poland?

‘P’.

What have you learnt throughout this process that you will carry forward in the series?

‘Active’ narrative. I’ll let Penny [Freeman, my editor-in-chief]  fill you in on that one, but it has been the biggest single editing mission I undertook.

Through your writing experience, what were the things that brought you the most joy? The most frustration?

Hmm. For the first, when I have had readers get back to me about certain characters and give the exact reaction I was hoping for from them. To hear the words, ‘the boy’s not right’ when someone I know was talking about Thomas Barber was just fab. Or when I was told Tally and Kara’s voices were coming through, clear as a bell.

For the second, those awkward moments when I had doubts about a story point I’d put down in an earlier draft, and had these confirmed at a later point. Thankfully I had really good assistance on that count.

How would you describe your perfect Sunday?

Uninterrupted lie-in, Sunday roast, a good match and an evening’s gaming. Winner.

What was the first thing you decided on when you started writing the book?

The first things were that amnesia was to play a role with the main protagonist. The next was direct interaction with undead entities. Then the Underground thing came in. And away we went.

To what extent do you think your Oblivion Storm fits into the ‘urban fantasy’ genre & how would you define that genre overall? (It’s a term I’ve only heard in the last couple of months & I’d thought at first that it applied to fiction set in the modern era so clearly I need to know more.)

I could go on a nice lengthy essay on this one, but the Wikipedia definition is pretty good, I think. I based a good chunk of that talk (linked above) around it.

That said, I’m finding books both easier and harder to place in various categories. Back before the Urban Fantasy genre was kicking about, things were getting lumped into the gothic/vampire/werewolf/ghost/zombie sections, separately. But more mixing and matching came up over the time. I’d say Oblivion Storm fits the boxes quite well, but as we discovered, ‘paranormal thriller’ covers some of it too. Just ask my editor Penny about trying to sort that one out!

Did you make an effort to write your female characters different to how you’d write male?

Kind of. I think a way of writing the characters shone through after a while. The hardest part for me has always been just getting that ‘voice’ to sound as I want it to, regardless of gender. Barber actually took an awful lot of thought because although he is certainly not the lead antagonist, he is suitably significant that I felt he warranted some present back story.

Now that you’ve finished writing, what are you doing tomorrow?

First of all recovering from today, second having a read of a rather good WIP from one of my Next Big Thing bloggers. Third, hoping for a quiet evening in!

What’s Book 2 about and when is it out?

[CLASSIFIED, SUBJECT TO OUTLINE APPROVAL]. I can tell you that we will have a different main protagonist but one you have already met by book one. This will also mean a different kind of story. But I’m looking forward to getting it together Work will commence/continue in 2013.

Simpsons or Futurama?

Futurama. Tin foil helmet conspiracy theories and Slurm factories just edge it for me.

Truthfully, what did you do right after you finished editing!

You know that bit at the end of Return of the Jedi when Admiral Ackbar just leans back in his seat in relief after the second Death Star blows up? Pretty much that.

The Eve Of The Storm

The big day is almost here. I’ve been waiting a long time for this!

Oblivion Storm is out tomorrow. My first novel is about to set sail! Please treat her well.

If you would like to stop by for a chat, perhaps win some prizes, find out more about what inspired the novel or ask me other random questions, then I do have an online launch party on this Facebook page. I can’t stress enough though, please switch off your notifications if you do not want to get bombarded with emails from everyone during this. Top right of your screen on the event page, click on the cog. Click on ‘Turn Off Notifications’.

Also, if you’d like my author page link, that’s here:

And finally, it’d be amazing if you felt like leaving a review somewhere. I’m on Goodreads if you frequent such haunts:

I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed working on it. It’s been a part of my life for a long time.

The Coming Storm and Next Big Thing tags

So, 12.12.12. Not only the last repetitive date likely in this lifetime, not only a date correct for calendar formats both sides of the pond, but also the date on which Oblivion Storm is released to the world. It’s been a long road, but ARCs are already out to those who asked for them and final, final tweaks, pre-match hype and all that stuff is go. So you have been warned. Out in time for Christmas!

In other news, I promised you tags for people doing my neck of The Next Big Thing. It seems I’m on the later end of this, so most people I’ve asked have already done it or are unavailable. I presently have three.

Step forward: Joy Phillips, Jana Boskey (who will be guesting here) and Julieanne Lynch [whoseFacebook page can be found here].  Room for two more, if anyone is wanting to be tagged.

Expect a few posts this week as we’re leading up to the big day. Things will be trickling in.

Monday Guest Post: Colin F. Barnes – Artificial Evil Blog Tour

Welcome, one and all, to my first ever guest post! And I am very, very proud to have the first guest that I do. I should like to welcome one Colin. F. Barnes, the man behind the City of Hell series,  the recent Crime Net anthology which, of course, I am in with the short, Becoming Tabitha, and has an entry in the prestigious Tales of the Nun and Dragon anthology, and the captain of the good ship Anachron Press.

Colin’s latest release is the first of the Techxorcist series, Artificial Evil. And from here on in, the word, ‘Cyberpunk’ is on the tip of the virtual tongue. More on the book shortly, but first, Mr Barnes has very kindly written a post very dear to my heart. For you see, when I am not writing, a large chunk of my life is taken up with tabletop roleplaying games. Colin, a fellow gamer, neatly speaks of all of these things below! Read on:

Rise of the Cyberpunk RPG

Back in the day there were few decent Cyberpunk RPGs (I’m talking about pen and paper here). You had the two stalwarts: Shadowrun and Cyberpunk 2013, but very few real stand outs.

Now, as the internet is in full-flow, and RPG fans and makers join a global community, we’re seeing a renaissance of cyberpunk RPG games, both pen-and-paper, and video-game based. Is it becoming a hot genre that game makers are looking to milk? Or is it that as we go further into the future, and out technology gets close to the games we played in the 80s and 90s, that ‘cyberpunk’ style games are now every-day life for many people?

I think the latter feeds for the former. Its an obvious task to supply an underserved and eager market, and over the last couple of years we’ve seen a small uprising of more and more games. Old favourites are getting an overhaul for the new age, and new games are breaking through to the consciousness.

Another new element to this rise of the cyberpunk RPG is the home-brew and Creative Commons crowd. More and more material is created by the fans for the fans. With the tools available now, and the interconnected networks, it’s becoming easier to share rulesets and adventures, and invite people to add to these worlds.

One of the new internet-based phenomena that cyberpunk RPGs have benefitted from is Kickstarter (A website designed to allow fans to help fund a project). Through this community funding process, Shadowrun have raised money to make not just a new tabletop game, but a couple of video games. If you search Kickstarter, you’ll also find a handful of new and exciting cyberpunk properties such as:

Lodus: A cyberpunk Co-op Action RPG

Psi-punk and cyberpunk and psionic RPG

Shadowrun Online

Punktown: A cyberpunk addition to Call of Cthulhu

And many more.

On the video game side, Cyberpunk 2020 is getting a shiny new game.

So why not check one of these great games out and relive that fun of the gritty cyberpunk worlds from the 80s and 90s, updated for a modern society.

Colin F. Barnes is a writer of dark and daring fiction. He takes his influence from everyday life, and the weird happenings that go on in the shadowy locales of Essex in the UK.

Growing up, Colin was always obsessed with story and often wrote short stories based on various dubious 80s and 90s TV shows. Despite taking a detour in school into the arts and graphic design, he always maintained his love of fiction and general geekery. Now, as a slightly weathered adult, Colin draws on his experiences to blend genres and create edgy, but entertaining stories.

He is currently working on a Cyberpunk/Techno thriller serial ‘The Techxorcist.’ which combines elements of Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Horror.

Like many writers, he has an insatiable appetite for reading, with his favourite authors being: Stephen King, William Gibson, Ray Bradbury, James Herbert, Albert Camus,  H.P Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith,  and a vast array of unknown authors who he has had the privilege of beta reading for.

Website: www.colinfbarnes.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ColinFBarnes

Three hackers. A deadly plot. One chance to save humanity.

In the tradition of William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Richard Morgan, British writer Colin F. Barnes delivers a cyberpunk tech thriller for the modern age.

 2153. Post-cataclysm. The last city exists beneath a dome where the mysterious benefactors ‘The Family’ tightly control the population with a death lottery and a semi-autonomous network.

 All is well until the day family man Gerry Cardle, head of the death lottery, inexplicably finds himself the no.1 target of a malicious Artificial Intelligence. Gerry’s numbers are up, and he has just 7 days to save himself,  find the source of the AI, and keep the last stronghold of humanity safe.

 Gerry finds help in the shadows of the city from two rogue hackers: Petal – a teenage girl with a penchant for violence, hacking systems and general anarchy, and: Gabriel – a burnt-out programmer-turned-priest with highly augmented cybernetics.

 With his new team, Gerry discovers there is more beyond the dome than The Family had let on, and his journey to find the source of the AI leads him through a world of violence, danger, and startling revelations.

Everything is not as it seems.

Gerry is not who he thinks he is.

Evil can be coded…. can Gerry and his friends stop it before it destroys humanity?

Artificial Evil is book 1 of 3 of The Techxorcist series. The larger-than-life offspring of Blade Runner, Mad Max, and The Exorcist.

Artificial Evil: Book 1 of The Techxorcist is available as a paperback and ebook from:

Print:

Anachron Press:

Amazon US:

Amazon UK:

CreateSpace:

eBook:

Anachron Press:

Amazon US:

Amazon UK:

Kobo:

Lulu:

Print book $10.99 (6.99)

Ebook $4.99 (£3.20)

Thank you very much, Colin. It’s been great fun hosting. I’m very much looking forward to checking out this series in full.