Tyra just sent Bruce a video message...

Skin In The Game Bounty Hunter Book

Delighted to say that having spent the weekend painstakingly editing "Skin In The Game", the second in the Paragons Of Virtue series of superhero novels, I have successfully uploaded the final draft and the cover to Amazon Kindle for them to review.  

The process can take up to 72 hours but in my experience is usually quicker.  Very exciting to see it listed in my account - moment of truth boys and girls!

Tomorrow I'll be doing some Facebook ads to start building interest, and I may well add the teaser trailer to my Amazon Author page.

But after months of work I'm breathing a sigh of relief, and am already researching the background for book number three.  We're about to meet the first FEMALE member of the Paragons...

Teaser Trailer for Skin In The Game - Paragons Of Virtue Series Book 2

The Bounty Hunter Superhero Book Is Coming...

Just putting the final touches to "Skin In The Game", and really enjoying the process.  Here's the latest version of the description that will go onto Amazon:

Just what price can you put on a human life?  And what are people willing to do for money?

DISTURBING. GRAPHIC. ADDICTING.

Canada 2053.  The justice system isn’t working.  Society is divided into the haves, the have nots and the have to have yours. 

Retired man hunter Bruce McDonald hung up his gun and badge to settle down in a new country and live a normal civilian life of university day job and weekend garden parties.

As if being a despised mutant psyker wasn't enough, when his model girlfriend is abducted by a gang of slavers, Bruce is forced to don his old Sanctioned Tracker uniform and Bearpaw Blaster. But these aren’t just human traffickers – they are The Dark Creed, a death cult whose origins are not from this earth. At their heart is The Quilter – a sadistic butcher who makes garments out of human skin.  Bruce – codename Renegade – has 24 hours to use his unique psychic talents to rescue his girlfriend before she is skinned alive… or worse!

But just when he thinks the case is closed, one final cruel twist will rock his sanity…

Thrilling suspense in the sleazy underbelly of human trafficking.

Skin In the Game is the second book in the Paragons Of Virtue series. These are all standalone and can be read in any order.  Check out this exciting superhero thriller that will grab you from page one and keep you at the edge of your seat!

What are you waiting for? Scroll up and click the buy button now to find out why readers are falling in love with The Paragons Of Virtue!

Not recommended for young readers - contains violence and graphic scenes

First Draft of 'Skin In The Game' Is In The Can

Writing over Christmas and new Year proved to be a non-starter.  I took my laptop on holiday with me as we went on holiday over the festive period, but got so little private time to actually boot it up and type anything that it was a wasted effort taking the laptop with me!

Now everyone is back to work, the sessions have resumed and we're off.  A couple of cracking tweaks flashed into my brain from who knows where and the second Paragons novel is shaping up nicely.  Here's a sneak peek...

Turning to look out the window across the glinting cityscape before him, Bruce strokes his chin pensively.  This city is a concrete jungle stuffed full of stressed out citizens in a technological hive, kept safe by a security wall that keeps them in, and the bad guys out.  Well, most of the time.  If it could teleport, fly, turn invisible or shrink, it could still get past the defences.  And that’s when they called The Sanctioned Trackers.

If he'd stayed at The Pound then he could be dating other women, hunting down bad guys and banking a fortune.  No haughty shipping magnates and their insufferable social climbing.  No using children as trophies and planning chess moves for prestige and political gain. 

Now he's got to play the role of dutiful bread winner and significant other.  Be a pillar of the community.  Ha!  How ironic.  If only the community knew.

People are animals.  No scratch that.  Animals don't stab each other in the back.  In a pack of wolves, what you see is what you get.  One alpha male, one female, the strong and the weak, the young bucks and the wise old ones.  It's dog eat dog, kill or be killed, survival of the fittest.  But at least it's honest.  No strategy, no game playing or tactical moves. 

Then there are the normal humans, if you could call them that.  Some good, some bad, and most somewhere in the grey zone in the middle.  One big herd shuffling along like cattle, being given enough titillation and fear to keep them compliant.  A basic wage and a SprawBall team to support at weekends, plus as much meaningless marketing and propaganda as they can absorb. 

Some don't settle for their lot.  Some want everyone else's, and will take it by force.  And a few get away with it too.  The serial killers, the slavers, the crazies. And that's where the Trackers come in. 

It's OK to hunt down criminals for money - cleaning up the streets, protecting society.  Powder, Turk, being guided by the Watch Commander and taking those fuckers down.  It's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it, and besides, it's way cheaper to hire a mutant Gamma Hound [as the normals call the Trackers] than to train an Arbiter for the fifteen years they need to be streetwise.

"Maybe I should have joined Justice Department Psi-Corps?  Nah, then I'd have had to answer to that idiot D'Spatch," he says to an invisible confidant.

Tyra's photos seem to follow him as he slowly paces the room. His mind is all over the place, and that's even with the wine.   It's OK to make money from your looks and your body too - if you've got it, flaunt it. That's how Tyra has made her living.  But she's also kept her virginity, and her dignity.  Nothing sleazy, no porn, just glamour shots that even her mother reluctantly approved of.

So many options.  And how best to move forward from here?  Carry a Bearpaw blaster, or a class register? 

With the former, not only would he be gone for long periods of time, he'd come back smelling of who-knows-what and covered in cuts and bruises.  Plus Tyra would never be completely safe.  If one of his bounties ever learned he had a wife, she could end up a hostage, a casualty, or worse.

With the latter he's now getting used to being a University Lecturer teaching biochemistry to a group of semi-conscious youths who will probably never use it, or will use it to manufacture synthetic drugs to keep them semi-conscious.  Now he's going to do his best to fit in, enjoy the family roast on Sundays and pay his taxes.  Now he's leaving the perps to his ex-colleagues.

"God I miss the thrill of the chase..."

That's when he gets the phone call.  The sound isn't as piercing as he was expecting.  But he sensed who's calling.

"God sometimes I hate being psychic..."

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