SprawlBall in Top 100 Free Kindle Books!

Holy moley!

After running a 5 day free promotion on Amazom, just for fun I thought I'd check out where SprawlBall is in the rankings.  To my delight, its #93 in the top 100 Free kindle books today!  Wow!

So if you have grabbed it during the 5 day free promo, thank you so much - it's your fault!  

If you haven't grabbed it yet, today's the last day so you'd better get your slamsuit on and hustle!

And if you could leave me a nice review that would be super :-)

Sensation By Kevin Hardman - A Review

As an author, it's vital that I do my Continued professional Development.  That means learning my craft, but also reading bestselling books in the same categories that I want to write in.

To that end I've just finished

Sensation: A Superhero Novel

by Kevin Hardman

Its a very good story about a teenage superhero getting to grips with his powers, adolescence and a super villain team all at the same time. 

Here's what I liked about Sensation

The code names of the superheroes and villains are actually cool.  So often I read a hero's name and I cringe.  They're called "Magic Maid  when "Madrigal" or "Fascination" would have been much better.

The way his superpowers are explained using believable and sensible explanations.  I love that "super realism" feel when you nod your head and think "that makes sense."  Like his clothes getting worn out every time he uses super speed.  Just like Batman wearing a bright yellow bat emblem on his chest where his armour is thickest, so he doesn't get shot in the mouth and die in the first chapter.  Makes sense now, right?

Have always liked the superhero school idea - Alpha Flight had Beta and Gamma Flight, The JLA had The Teen Titans [sort of], The Legion Of Superheroes had the Legion Academy.  In fact, the whole book reminded me of the good old days of The Legion Of Superheroes.  Sensation has a happy band of student heroes who are learning from more experienced mentors.

The climactic final battle.  People get injured.  There are casualties.  It feels like it matters.  If you're rooting for the hero then the writer's done a good job of making you give a damn.

Here's what I think could have been better.

There was no real surprise or "Wow I never saw that coming" twist.  If I'd been genuinely lulled into a sense of knowing how it would all turn out, and then having my head spun, it would have added more punch.

The Kid has too many powers.  I've always felt that Ultra Boy and Superman  and Wonder man had just too many powers.  If you can fly and blast laser beams and are bulletproof and make the planet go backwards, there's got to be one heck of a challenge to beat you.  Much more interesting is the underdog, or developing multi-faceted uses for just the one power.

Overall

A thoroughly enjoyable read for a long term superhero comic fan and new author.  If I can write to this standard I'll be delighted.

You can get Sensation from Amazon at


https://www.amazon.com/Sensation-Superhero-Novel-Kevin-Hardman-ebook/dp/B00CNCCXDK/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

How to win a new Kindle Fire on Friday

Dear Reader,

I need a quick favour, and to encourage you to say ‘yes’, I’ve decided to give away a brand new Kindle Paperwhite next Friday.  Do you want it?

Yes, it’s worth £110 and someone reading this blog is going to win it – will it be you?

Here’s the thing – in order for my book to become the official bestseller on Amazon’s Kindle Platform, I have to have real people, real customers with real reviews.

If only 50 people reading this buy my book at just 0.99 it will probably get into the top 100 in its category.  Will you help me?

Now what’s a good way to motivate you to help me but with an “ethical bribe” so you and a few other nice people will buy my new Kindle ebook for just 0.99 and then write a quick review.   And if you like it, rate it 5 stars.

I don’t know if only 2 people will do this for me, or 100 people, but the odds of YOU winning a kindle Fire are waaay better than winning the lottery.

Next Friday I’m going to take all the names of people who left me a review directly from the Amazon page, I’m going to put them into a hat to randomly pull out the winner of a new Kindle Fire. Then I’m going to have it shipped right to your home, no matter what country you live in… just for buying an ebook and writing a nice review.

Oh, remember if you don’t win you’ll still get to download and read a really great fantasy novella which you’ll probably enjoy anyway.  And after this promotion I’ll raise the price back to retail level.

I know I’m being very greedy by asking you to spend 0.99.  You could just write the review on Amazon, even if you don’t own the book, but there’s a reason behind my request.

You see, buyers are given more credibility than non-buyers.  If you write a review for a book that you don’t own, Amazon doesn’t rate it very highly.  But if you actually buy it through your Amazon account, they think it’s highly credible and place your review higher up the page.  This helps new people discover and realise that "SprawlBall" is a great new book.

So if you’re willing to help get the new Kindle book SprawlBall to bestseller status, use this link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SprawlBall-Paragons-Virtue-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01LXVWJ5Z

Please buy it and post your review before Friday the 30th September so I can enter you into the prize draw.

Garry Miller

Author of SprawlBall

Writing Superhero Fiction When You Have too Many Ideas!

It's a wet and windy September morning as I write this.  Paragons book 1 "SprawlBall" launched last week and is currently doing well on the Amazon kindle platform.  I'm waiting for the first reviews with excitement and trepidation.  There's something very vulnerable when you publish your ideas for the world to see...

Meanwhile I'm delighted to say that book #2 "Skin In The Game" is coming together nicely.  In fact, it's taken on a life of its own with an emerging theme that I didn't even realise was lurking under the surface.

Add to that a villain who is so despicable that even I'm finding the grizzlier scenes hard to stomach.

Meanwhile we have the 3rd in the series gradually forming in the wings.  All very hush hush for now but suffice it to say that a tall, dark and handsome Paragon is getting his own book next.

Then there's an idea for a completely different team of enhanced supers - set in the same Paragons universe but nothing to do with them - that I'm talking to another author about in collaboration.

So the old brain cells are firing and the keyboard is smoking.  And if you subscribe to my VIP list over there, you'll be first to know when they get released.

In the meantime, I've put together a short survey to find out what you think of my work.  If you've read any of my books, click on the link to take the 2 minute survey and you will be offered the next book for free.  CLICK HERE

Thanks for reading this, I'm off to Algonquin National Park in the year 2053.  If you go down to the woods today...

SprawlBall paperback back cover

Chris just came through with the cover design for the back cover of the paperback version.

SprawlBall Just Went Live On Amazon Kindle!

Today is launch day!

Yes today the first of the Paragons Of Virtue novels - "SprawlBall" - featuring superhero Chase - went on sale internationally on Amazon Kindle.  How exciting!

From an idea back in 1985, then the inspiration to turn it into a novel in a tiny hotel room in London in January 2016, and now here we are.

You can see the final cover design at the top of this page, after taking feedback from fellow authors and the loyal public.

I'm now working on the website www.GetTheNext Book.com where I can put the whole series on display as they get published, but for now you can get your teeth stuck into "SprawlBall."

Already working on the second novel in the series called "Skin In The Game."

Make sure you join my VIP mailing list and I'll let you know when the next book is ready.

Cover delays and the next Paragons novel

Frustration.

Frustrating, isn't it.

The Chase novel "SprawBall" is complete, and all we're waiting on is the final cover design.  Now there's a talented graphic designer called Chris that I've known for years. In fact, he was heavily involved in the Paragons world decades ago, back when we were all keen role-players, and I thought it would be really cool if Chris did ALL of the covers for the entire Paragons Of Virtue series.

Not only would they look good, but there would be a continuity throughout the books' covers.  But mainly because he has a personal connection to the stories, and is an old mate from the past.

The challenge is, he lives on the other side of the planet, he's a family man, and he's snowed under with work.

I could get another cover designer on the case - I know several - but my loyalty is to him first.  Ever had that kind of a personal allegiance issue?

So where does that leave me?  Watching the clock ticking waiting for an update, doing that "I'm being nice but I really need you to get this sorted" thing, you know?

I'll keep you posted :-)

In the meantime, I'm on to Paragons Of Virtue book 2, which is called "Skin In The Game".  And ironically I have the cover in place, now I need to write the novel.

This one features the Australian Psyker Renegade.  Here's the quick synopsis:


Canada 2053.  When his supermodel girlfriend is kidnapped in Toronto, a former man-hunter sets out to find the woman he loves at any cost.  Relying on his special ‘talents’, he has twenty four hours to track down the psychotic serial killer that abducted her, before she is skinned alive...

Make sure to sign up for updates and offers at the top of this page so you're kept in the loop.  Now where is my scalpel...?

Burlington Breaker Team Trailer

In the novel "SprawlBall" the team trailer figures prominently.  I'm reminded of all the great sci-fi vehicles I grew up staring at as a kid, and I wanted something long, sleek, armoured and tough.  Here are some of my favourites.  Maybe you can name them?

Chase Novel Final Edits Today

I'm reminded of what author Mike Nappa teaches: You write a book four times.
When you’ve finished the fourth writing, you’re done—or at least ready to show your manuscript to an agent or editor. Here, briefly, is how that process works:
1. The Close-In Writing The basic method: You write a day’s worth of work (either fiction or nonfiction)—whatever that means for you. Next day, before you write anything new, you revise and edit the previous day’s work. This is the “close-in writing,” and becomes the first draft—the first time your write your book.
2. The Close-In Edit When the entire first draft is complete, you go back through and, beginning with word one to the end, you revise and edit the entire manuscript on your computer. This is the “close-in edit,” and becomes your second draft: the second time you write your book.
3. The Distance (or “Hand”) Edit Next, you print a hard copy of the second draft of your entire manuscript. Beginning with word one to the end, you hand-edit the hard copy, scrawling notes and profanities to yourself all the way through the margins. Then, using your hand-edit notes as a reference, you go back into your computer file and revise the manuscript as needed. This is the “distance edit,” and becomes your third draft: the third time you’ve written your book.
4. The Oral Edit Finally, you print a new hard copy and read your entire manuscript aloud. Read it to the walls, to your spouse, to the patrons at Starbucks, to your dog, to the bowl of soggy Cocoa Puffs left over from breakfast. Doesn’t matter who’s in the room, only that you can hear yourself reading it. Start with word one and don’t stop until you read the last word. Yes, it may take you several days, but that’s OK. Keep reading every word out loud until you’re done.
As you read, note any places where the phrasing causes you to stumble, the wording feels confusing or out of place, or your mind seems to wander from the text in front of you.

Those places need to be cut or rewritten, so as you’re reading aloud, pause to make notes as to what to do to improve them. When you’re done, incorporate your notes into the computer file of your manuscript. You’ve now finished the “oral edit”—and written your book four times.
At this point, you will be: a) extremely sick of your book, but b) finished. Yes, this is a tedious, tiring process. But it works. If you write your book four times, chances are very good that when you’re done it will be a finely-crafted work of art … or at least undoubtedly something much better than when you started.

Granville Island Vancouver

The first of The Paragons of Virtue series is set on Granville Island, Vancouver.  Only it's the year 2053 and things have changed...

SprawlBall is a mixture of urban warfare, American football and soccer played in specially evacuated sections of towns and cities with each side stalking the other through the streets and buildings in the makeshift arena.  Matches are split into two halves of continuous play for two hours at a time, and only stop for a time out if a player is injured or killed.  Score as many points as possible, but otherwise… anything goes.  Fatalities are a very real possibility every single game, if not the major selling point.  There is more than a hint of the ancient gladiatorial arena, with the bloodthirsty crowds hungry to watch the next poor soul be smashed in the face by a glowing steel ball, or mangled under crumbling ghetto ruins.

It’s predictable that SprawlBall would take Canada by storm – a combination of derelict neighbourhoods, corporate entertainment & American Football, it had violence, money, superstars and that religious zeal that the Canadian public show for their home team.  Keep the masses occupied and distracted by spectacle.  The Romans knew that.  The Greeks knew that.  Nothing much changes. 

The sport attracts the toughest, meanest and highest paid sportsmen and women in the world and so naturally became the country's most brutal and dangerous game, with rules being rewritten all the time on the field.  Of course, none of that interested the reclusive Arthur Deal. 

I just want to get Saturday’s game out of the way, collect my wages and climb back into my little world of booze, computer games and porn. Happy as a pig in shit, eh?

He’s thinking out loud as he peels off his Slam Suit and hits the shower.  The experimental boy armour is supposed to make the user move faster and hit harder, as well as functioning as combat armour.  In reality, Chase’s ability to run through walls is more thanks to his biology than the suit.  

Life imitating art?

It's freaky, but my new novel features the events that happen in and around a major sporting event.  Then this happens...

Police believe the dramatic bomb scare at Old Trafford today was an ‘elaborate hoax’.

The alarm was raised by a member of the club’s staff who discovered a suspicious device, believed to be a phone attached to a pipe, in the north west quadrant of ground.

About 50,000 supporters were evacuated from the ground once the alarm was raised some 15 minutes before kick-off for the match against Bournemouth.

Army bomb disposal experts were scrambled to the ground and they located the device and carried out a controlled explosion.

An initial examination of the remains of that explosion leads police to believe that the scare was an ‘elaborate hoax’, the M.E.N. understands.

Police tweeted that it was ‘incredibly lifelike explosive device’.

You can read the full story here:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/old-trafford-bomb-scare-elaborate-11336004

Help Me With My Opening Line

Working on the Chase novel's the opening line. So I'm going to ask you which of the following grabs your attention and piques your curiousity most. One vote please smile emoticon

1. Running through a brick wall was once impossible.
2. Running through a brick wall in a Slam Suit is like dropping a can of spam on a concrete floor.
3. It’s either the brick wall or me.
4. It takes everything you’ve got to run straight into a brick wall head first.
5. There’s a knack to running through a brick wall.
6. Chase tried to catch his breath, closed his eyes and ran as fast as he could into the brick wall…
7. Cities take decades to grow, but they die so much faster.

Chase Novel Description Finalised

OK folks - here's the tantalising glimpse into the Chase novel:

In 2053 superstar SprawlBall player Chase and his team brace themselves for kick-off, only to find the stadium deserted and the other team slaughtered...

SprawlBall is a mixture of urban warfare, American football and soccer played in specially evacuated sections of towns and cities with each side stalking the other through the streets and buildings in the makeshift arena.  Score as many points as possible, but otherwise… anything goes.  It's the semi-final, but what starts as a sport becomes a fight for survival.  This story brings new meaning to the term "blood sport".

Idolised by the masses, shamed superhero Chase hates all the attention - does making millions by exploiting his mutant ability make him a bad person?  Probably.  But as long as they pay you well, then leave you alone, you will persevere.  At least he’s found an outlet for his gifts.  Others aren’t so lucky.  

Now he's trapped in a derelict city precinct with no way out, and the fans are turning ugly.  Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.  What would you do?  Welcome to Granville Island - you're going to be sorry you ever bought a ticket...

Survival Tips In The Arena:

1.    Stay close to the walls

2.    Avoid the spotlights

3.    Look out for Peeping Toms

4.    Hug the ball to hide the glow

5.    Never stand in an open doorway

6.    Always let the Blocker go first

It's show time!

You'll like this intense and claustrophobic battle for survival.  Catch Me If You Can is a standalone book, part of the "Paragons Of Virtue" series.  These books can be read in any order.  

Edits Of The First Draft

Having a blast editing the Chase novel, and slipping in little snippets of goodness - just small tweaks, red herrings and clues to the mystery of exactly what happens on Granville Island in the semi-final SprawlBall match against Vancouver.

I've learned a lot about writing on this project, and having read the whole story through cover to over I was actually quite jangled.  I mean, its intense!

The working title has been "Catch me If You Can", but now its time to settle on the official title.  And that's the hard bit.

Chase - "Catch Me If You Can"

40 years in the future Canada’s premiere SprawlBall team enter the arena for the penultimate game of the season.  But when the team arrives they find the stadium deserted and the opposing team slaughtered.

Lead character – Arthur Deal, Striker, nicknamed “Chase”. Age 35 but looks older, he’s wiry and slim.  Looks weather beaten with premature lines on his face, hair receding. Moves skittishly and always fidgeting, because he’s nervous and anxious all the time.  Impulsive and quick witted.  Agile and lithe and able to move quickly and easily.  Great for running and parkour.  Paces a lot, taps his feet. Speaks in short sentences.  Favourite phrase “It’s show time!” But he’s reclusive and introverted – likes the fact that his helmet hides his face.  He is recognised in the street and hates the attention.  Intensely private.  

Truth is, he’s scared of people. But he knows what he’s capable of and exploits his talents accordingly.  Grew up in Burlington, Ontario.  At adolescence he started to develop his mutant abilities of speed, dexterity and agility.  His parents taught him to tone it down and make it look like raw talent, otherwise he’d face discrimination and be persecuted like other mutants were as a result of the FMRL drug in the United Kingdom.  So he grew up like a normal kid, playing sports, but was always quiet and reserved.  

Weakness – insecurity, nervous, reclusive. He’s attracted to Natalie and she wants to be with him, but he doesn’t let anyone get close, and it’s against the sport’s policies to be romantically involved with another player in such a deadly sport.  Ends sentences with the word “eh?”

Chase Promo

Paragons Of Virtue Series: Chase

Working hard on the first of the Paragons Of Virtue books - featuring the future sports star Chase.  First draft is being tweaked, just imagining some of the visuals.