ELITE:AND HERE THE WHEEL
Elite:And Here The Wheel has been with its backers now for over a week and I’ve already had feedback from a few people who have finished it. The novel has been described as a ‘rolicking action packed ride’ and ‘hard to put down’. That’s not too bad for a ‘soft’ launch.
Right now, And Here The Wheel is available for pre-order from the Fantastic Books Publishing Webstore with regular ordering within the next couple of days.
Besides from (soon to be ready) immediate download of the ebook version of the novel, it is also available as a paperback, hardback and audiobook (in both MP3 download and audio CD).
These can all be ordered from the Fantastic Books webstore, although they will be on Amazon shortly. The price on Amazon will be slightly higher than that from the Fantastic Books webstore so there is a clear advantage for you to buy the novel from there. However, the philanthropic side of you will also be pleased to know that 10% of all sales of the novel will go to the Wellington Cancer Society, a local division of a New Zealand wide charity that helps combat cancer with education, prevention, care and support. More personally however they helped my family through some tough times a little while back.
Here is the Big proviso though: If you buy through the Fantastic Bookstore, the cancer society gets a full 10% of the book price. If purchased through Amazon, they only get 10% of whatever remains after Amazon take their cut. The links for the various versions are below:
And Here The Wheel – Paperback
And Here The Wheel – Audiobook – Mp3
And Here The Wheel – Audibook – CD
If you have read it, or once you do read it, I’d really appreciate a review either at Goodreads, or on Amazon once its available. Remember: reviews are how you show authors the love. 
OTHER FANTASTIC ELITE FICTION
So the big publicity push has started for Fantastic Books Publishing, with the official launch of Drew Wagar’s novel ‘Elite:Reclamation’. It is a novel of political intrigue between the Empire and the Federation ‘fighting’ over the Prism star system. You can read more about it in this press release.
Also launched is Kate Russel’s Elite:Mostly Harmless, which follows wannabe assassin Angel Rose and her attempts to not end up drunk in Slough. If you enjoyed anything that Douglas Adam’s wrote then you’ll enjoy this. You can read more about it in this press release.
Elite:Lave Revolution, Tales from the Frontier, and of course Elite:And Here The Wheel will be officially launching soon so stay tuned!
GARRY CLAN
The second newsletter came out a few weeks back and the narrative of the story ‘Commerce Disruption’ hit another turning point. Robert Garry has to make a decision that could affect his short term health and his long term sanity. Readers were allowed to choose from three possible actions for Robert Garry and its interesting to see what people have voted for so far. If you are signed up for the newsletter but haven’t voted on a course of action, please do as I’d really like to see what you think Robert should do. If you don’t get the newsletter and would like to, please sign up.
SHALLOW SPACE
After having devoured my novel, quite a few people have asked me what I’ll be doing next. Well I’ve already moved on, so to speak. I’m part of the team creating a new game called ‘Shallow Space‘. Its a really sexy looking game which has the bare bones of a backstory. I’ve worked closely with the founder James Martin and turned that into a detailed backstory dating from this year all the way to the start of the game. I’m developing the actual models of the planetary systems, the design and naming of each body in orbit and crafting the history of these worlds. Who founded the settlements? How was life in the early years? What forged the people into what they are now? What is life like there currently? These are all details I’m putting in to create the ‘rules’ around both which the game and its storyline will be built, but also to help guide me in the creation of tie-in fiction. Its a very exciting opportunity and a lot different from working with Elite:Dangerous, where I was writing my own story in some one else’s sandbox, except the sandbox was being built while I was playing in it. With Shallow Space, I am making the sandbox and it feels good to be on that side of the equation.
SEQUEL?
There seems to be a bit of expectation that there will be a sequel of And Here The Wheel. Have I thought about a second Elite:Dangerous novel? Of course. Some of the other authors have taken it a step further and already begun work on their sequels. Frontier Developments have not made comment yet on the possibility of an additional round of fiction, though I know there are many Elite fans out there that would love to become official authors. (I should know, I was one of them!). We will have to see what Frontier offer.
I have penned some rough ideas about what any sequel would entail. The problem lies in the fact that Robert Garry completes his character arc during the events of And Here the Wheel. He grows as a character and comes out the other side, if not as a completely healed individual, then on his way to healing his mental and physical scars. What could Robert Garry possibly do to eclipse that character growth? Could he pull a Bridget Jones and just make the same mistakes and do the same growing all over again? Not likely. No, I have other plans for Robert Garry….
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Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it and please spread the news of the Fantastic Elite Fiction. Once you’ve read my novel I’d also love a review, with the good the bad and the ugly.
Cheers,
John