Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts

Monday 3 February 2014

Win 6 Bestselling Dystopian Novels plus an Amazon Giftcard


See below to win all these incredible ebooks, 
plus an Amazon gift card!


Bestselling tales of survival against the odds,
dark worlds, dystopian regimes and heroic rebels.

Shattered Worlds features six full-length novels from bestselling authors. 
Immerse yourself in post-apocalyptic civilizations and bleak near-futures
where hope still lives.
 
1. Apocalypsis Book 1: Kahayatle from 
 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elle Casey 

2. Outside (Outside series, Book 1) by Shalini Boland

3. The Torturer's Daughter by Zoe Cannon 

4. Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer 

5. The Blemished by Sarah Dalton

6. The Breeders by Katie French


   For your chance to win all six novels, plus the sequels and a $60 Amazon Gift Card, enter the Rafflecopter below:

Friday 6 December 2013

Dystopian Sci Fi Serial THE SPIRAL ARM, Episode 2 - New Release!

Episode 2 in the brilliant new series . . .



Wren is in the most dangerous place imaginable - a training ship full of fledgling killers heading to a war-torn planet. She’s struggling to keep up, and the other cadets aren't impressed. But Wren’s not done for yet. She’s a survivor and uses the one thing she’s got to even the odds - her super-smart brain. But will that be enough?

Praise for Episode 1: 

“It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.”

“Everything about this story is intriguing.”

“… the beginning of a great space opera.”


More about Peter Boland
After studying to be an architect, Pete realised he wasn’t very good at it. He liked designing buildings he just couldn’t make them stand up, which is a bit of a handicap in an industry that likes to keep things upright. So he switched to advertising, writing ads for everything from cruise lines to zombie video games. After meeting his wife and having two boys, he was amazed when she sat and actually wrote a book. Then another and another. They were good too. So he thought, I’ll have a go at that. He soon realised there’s no magic formula. You just have to put one word in front of the other (and keep doing that for about a year). It also helps if you can resist the lure of surfing, Taekwondo, playing Lego with the boys and drinking beer in front of the TV.  

Links: 
Facebook Page

Tuesday 21 May 2013

New Sci Fi Dystopian Released Today

So episode 1 of the hubby's new book is out on Amazon today . . .

THE SPIRAL ARM (Episode 1, Season 1)
Wren Harper lives on an overcrowded Earth on the brink of apocalypse. There are just too many people. The answer lies 600 light-years away on Kepler; a planet more than double the size of Earth. For decades humans have been fighting another race for its control. Earth’s armies are depleted, so now 15-year-old cadets are sent to fight, trained along the way in vast combat ships. But why has Wren been chosen? She's small and geeky and not a fighter. Will she survive Kepler? Or will the training kill her first?


The Spiral Arm on Kindle US
The Spiral Arm on Kindle UK



Thursday 16 May 2013

YA Dystopian Sci-Fi Series - The Spiral Arm

I'm extremely excited and proud to announce a special cover reveal for a brand new YA dystopian sci-fi series called The Spiral Arm. And the reason I'm so excited is because it was written by Peter Boland my gorgeous and lovely husband!

Now I know I'm biased, but the story is A-Maz-Ing. Written in novella-length episodes, each one ends with a cliffhanger, kind of like your favourite TV series. Think Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones etc. Each mini season has three episodes and the first episode will be out this month.

Can't freaking wait!!

So here's the oh-so-stunning cover and book description:


Wren Harper lives on an overcrowded Earth on the brink of apocalypse. There are just too many people. The answer lies 600 light-years away on Kepler; a planet more than double the size of Earth. For decades humans have been fighting another race for its control. Earth’s armies are depleted. So now 15-year-old cadets are sent to fight, trained along the way in vast combat ships. But why has Wren been chosen? She's small and geeky and not a fighter. Will she survive Kepler? Or will the training kill her first?

If you'd like to be the first to know when The Spiral Arm will be released, sign up here:




And here's Pete's Facebook Page and Blog. He's new to it all so has no likes or followers yet (except me). If the series looks like your sort of thing, hop over to Facebook and say hello.
 
Hope you all love it. If any bloggers/reviewers would like a pre-release review copy, feel free to use the 'contact me' form above.


Thursday 17 January 2013

Writing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction - My Top 10 Tips

 
 
THE CLEARING, Book 2 in my post-apocalyptic series came out this week and I'm already scribbling away on Book 3. Hoping to release it this summer if I can.
 
I'm really enjoying writing it. there's something about this genre which I find compelling. It sends shivers down my spine but despite this, I love to immerse myself in those terrifying end-of-the-world situations.
 
A few weeks ago I blogged about writing dystopian and post-apoc fiction over on Author's Anon. I've reposted it below for those of you who missed it:



My personal top ten elements for writing a great post-apocalyptic novel:
 
1. Make your setting original.
There have been oodles of futuristic New Yorks and Londons and a plethora of abandoned dystopian ‘facilities’. We’ve had kids battling to the death in arenas and gory zombie apocalypses. Worlds have been divided into ‘Factions’ and ‘Areas’, ‘Districts’ and ‘Zones’.
 
Put your own personal twist on the fall of society.
 
2. Sanctuaries
Locating them, getting into them and saving them from destruction. That’s all part of great post-apocalyptic fiction. Along with finding food, medical supplies, clothing and other survival gear.
 
3. Struggle
Decide whether your story is about struggling to save and change the world or whether it’s about a character’s struggle to adapt and survive within that world. It can be both, but have a clear idea about it before you go in. Do they succeed in their struggle? Or does everything unravel?
 
4. Why is your character special?
Did they get lucky? Are they equipped with specialist survival skills? Are they a victim? Why did they make it when everyone else died?
 
5. The Threat
Who or what is it? A person? A creature? A hostile environment? Are there multiple threats?
 
6. Authenticity and continuity
There are two main types of post-apocalyptic fiction. There’s gritty reality - the ‘what if’ scenario where life-as-we-know-it ends. And then there’s pure fantasy – zombies and dystopian societies etc. But whatever you choose to write about, make it as authentic as you can. If you’re writing about zombies, set parameters for them. What can they do? How can they harm you? And remember to never ever call them ‘zombies’ – there are ‘walkers’, ‘deadheads’, ‘the unconsecrated’ and a gazillion other names for the undead. Make up your own. Be consistent and make your world totally believable.
 
7. Technology
Does your world have any? Or did it all die with the end of civilisation? Or is there now even more advanced technology? Either way, talk about it and show it or the lack of it. What are the implications?
 
8. Atmosphere
Create a distinctive atmosphere for your novel. Whether it’s dark and claustrophobic or menacing and suspenseful, try and keep that feeling running through the story so your reader gets a real sense of being in another time and place. Perhaps it’s a world of extremes where you have luxury and decadence in the face of poverty and oppression. Either way, make the scenes ooze with atmosphere.
 
9. Before and After
What was the world like before the fall? What is it like now? Was it the same as the real world or was it something else? I want to know details. I want to see landscapes or cityscapes. I want to picture the before and after.
 
10. Hope
Even if everything is bleak and horrendous and it all seems futile, you have to plant a tiny nugget of hope somewhere in the story or we might as well all lie down and die.

Feel free to let me know if you think I’ve left anything out . . .


More online resources:
Writing Apocalyptic Stories
Apocalyptic Fiction Authors Beware
How to Write a Post-Apocalyptic Story
Best Post-Apocalyptic Novels