Hi there!
I've been thinking of the best way to begin promoting my new book - explain the background of it, what I'm aiming to achieve with it, et cetera. I must admit, I forget about this whole blogging thing sometimes. I figure, if I'm going to sit down and write for an hour, it should be on a book. But I know a lot of authors who swear by blogging as means of communicating with their audience, so I thought I'd do it this way, so I can reach everyone!
Okay, the new book... I've been teasing this on and off for months now, but it's finally here!
(Cue fanfare)
GLOBATECH #1: D.E.A.D. TILL I DIE!
So, what's it all about? Well, those of you familiar with Adrian will know what GlobaTech is. And without wishing to give too much about the plot of Deadly Intent away (in case you're not up to date yet), the company plays a fairly pivotal role in the current Adrian Hell storyline.
What I wanted to do was expand on Adrian Hell, much in the way that comic books do with their major story arcs. If you read anything from Marvel or DC, you'll know they usually run a main storyline over a period of, say, six months, and expand on that by using different series to tell the bigger picture. These aren't necessarily required reading in relation to the main story, but they're there if you're interested. If that makes sense?
The primary focus of GlobaTech #1 is to bridge the gap between Deadly Intent and the upcoming A Necessary Kill. I've done my best to ensure that it can function as a stand-alone title as well, (and moving forward, the series will very much be just that - totally separate from Adrian Hell) but to start with, I wanted to give it some... credibility, and tie it into the current story arc that Adrian's dealing with.
I'm well into writing A Necessary Kill at the moment, and I have it beginning with Adrian catching you up, filling in the blanks from the two weeks or so that have past since Deadly Intent ended. One of those blanks, whilst only a few sentences to Adrian, is the main plot in D.E.A.D. Till I Die.
One thing the series also does, is dig into Adrian's past a little as well. If you're familiar with Adrian, you'll know he was involved with the D.E.A.D. unit in his early life, and does interact with them briefly in Deadly Intent. It takes what you know about Adrian, and his current storyline, and builds on it, giving you a much broader view of what's going on.
Whilst writing Deadly Intent, I created probably more significant supporting characters than in any previous Adrian Hell story, and from the very beginning, I knew I wanted to use them on their own in some way. They might only have had a small part in Adrian's story, but because I spend so much time developing these characters, it's easy to become attached to them. One character in particular, a GlobaTech operative named Ray Collins, is one of the main characters in the new series. You only really get a small glimpse of what this guy's like during his brief interaction with Adrian, but he's tons of fun, and I couldn't just resign him to being a walk-on part.
It's been a challenging, but ultimately enjoyable, book to write, and I'm incredibly pleased with it. The final product is an entertaining, action-packed read... arguably a little more OTT than Adrian (if you can believe that!). But that was why it was so much fun writing it - being able to cut loose and go off in directions Adrian can't. The best way I can think to describe it is, this will read like an Adrian Hell novel, but will have the volume turned way up!
Hopefully you'll see that as a good thing!
Anyway, it's currently off with the editors, and will be made available to my Launch Team in the next couple of weeks (hopefully). The cover art and release date will be communicated to my mailing list in due course, so if you've not signed up already and are interested, make sure you head on over to my website (www.jamespsumner.com) for details.
And finally, a bit of an exclusive...
(Drum roll, please!)
I can confirm that the new title will be available for Kindle... and in Paperback! There may even be a competition run to win signed copies, you never know!
Details on that to follow.
Right, that's it from me - stay cool folks, and thanks for reading.
JPS
