| My first novel, Far Point was a conspiracy/techno-thriller about a reclusive engineer who investigates a fatal accident in China. Although it is not about me, the story is based on real-life incidents, and it features people like those I knew and worked with.
I started writing it when I was pinned down by a typhoon in Hong Kong. I was trapped in my hotel by the storm and the choice was simple: the bar or the book. Having suffered from too many visits to the former, I retreated to the latter. My decision was made easier by the fact that I had picked up a paperback at the airport on my way out and after reading it I thought, "That was awful! I'm sure that even I can do better than that!"
The rest, as they say, is history. I wrote the book and for a variety of reasons, I decided to publish it using "Print on Demand" technology (PoD). An American publisher - lulu.com - offered this as a very simple, straightforward and economical service. This is not what is called "vanity publishing" - all you do is send your work in MS Word format to Lulu who build the book in electronic form. This costs nothing - Lulu make their money when people buy the book. If you want to get an ISBN and put the book into the shops you do pay a reasonable fee.
You can use Lulu's standard cover designs or send them your own. I asked a friend to paint the Chinese scene and was very pleased with the result (left). Lulu was tremendously efficient and professional and as a result the book quickly began to appear in world-wide listings. People started to buy it from bricks-and-mortar bookstores as well as through the internet.
Since it was published, Far Point has sold well, and it even won an award (see below).
I have now completed the sequel. It is called The Darkfall Switch and it tells the story of how the hero from the first novel deals with a personal tragedy and moves on to exciting new adventures. This book is less technical than "Far Point" but instead focusses more on a threat to the electricity industy across the globe. As with the first book, political intrigue comes to threaten highly technical engineering operations, and the hero has to fight off attempts to stop his work before it exposes an international conspiracy.
I have decided to take the hard road with this book - i.e. to send it to conventional agents and publishers - and it has reminded me of the reasons I published Far Point with Lulu. This is a slow and painful process, but the advantage is that if you succeed the publisher will market the book. With Lulu you have to do this yoursel it's not easy.
I am glad to say that a publisher has now taken interest in the book. Watch out for developments! |
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