I’m behind on my blogging duties, but it’s been for a good cause, I promise! For one, I’ve been working on writing more of A Dragon at the Gate. For another, I’ve been working with Booktrope to get my first novel, A Shadow in the Flames, ready to be re-published through them! No longer will it be a self-published novel. It’s great to have Booktrope throw in their support for ASITF.
For those of you who know me from my comedic fantasy novel Zeus Is Dead, you’ll find A Shadow in the Flames to be a different (but hopefully still enjoyable) experience. A sci-fi novel that some have called “cyberpunk but with more hope,” ASITF centers around Michael Flynn, a young man struggling to find his way in the urban, cybernetic violence of the mid-21st century. While it’s not a comedy, elements of my sense of humor do make an appearance at times, especially through the character of Felix Hiatt, a wise-cracking self-described “information bounty hunter” who features heavily in the novel.
Northgate is in turmoil. Decaying, violent and corrupt, it is a common enough city in the mid twenty-first century, yet discoveries beneath the Moon’s surface have marked it with their first distant echoes.
Into Northgate has come Michael Flynn. Jobless and down to his last few dollars, Michael still dreams of making a positive difference of his own. Yet he has no family, no friends save for the freelancer known only as Diomedes, and tonight the apartment they share will burn to the ground.
When Diomedes becomes his mentor in a search for the arsonist responsible, Michael will get his chance to realize those dreams. But he must face dangers far more personal than fire if he is to succeed, for like a shadow in the flames, neither arsonist nor mentor may be what they appear.
And the ones who search the Moon will be watching.
At the moment the book is being proofread by Bethany Root, who was the Booktrope editor I worked with on Zeus Is Dead. It’s great to be working with her again. The front cover will remain as designed by Amalia Chitulescu, with an additional back cover to match for the paperback version. The re-release should be ready in late October. Watch my site for details, or subscribe to my mailing list!
Oh, and yes, A Memory in the Black will be coming soon after! But one thing at a time.
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