Seasons Greeting! I come bearing gifts and news from the odd
world of Symbiotica.
Self publishing for me was something of a new world. Without
proof readers and editors nagging me, I found writing these books to be
liberating, however at the same time, going back was also frighteningly
enlightening.
I have often grumbled about revision, but now without that
safety net I have found a new appreciation for them, after I went back and
looked at Book 1, finding I had more than a few spelling and grammar mistakes.
I thought I had proof read it well. Turns out, I had missed a great deal.
What started out as a minor fix turned in to a complete
overhaul, not just for the first book, but all of them although I have to say,
as I progressed I seem to have improved my proof reading skills with only
minimal problems in books 4 and 5.
So, the first gift of sorts is Symbiotica books one to five
are now on a second edition, cleaned, checked and with minor rewrites and plot
continuity issues sorted, the stories are now one hundred percent.
Simply go to Smashwords and update your copy.
Hold on though. There is more.
When I wrote Symbiotica, hidden out of sight of my readers
was my character bible. Over 20,000 words of information and background on each
of the characters in the books. It seemed a shame to waste this, so I decided
to include this within the books.
At the end of each of the five books, you will find a mini
story of sorts which deals with these characters profile called ‘Flip’s
Dossiers’. Featuring Phillipa Connors and Koli, everyone’s favourite manic
little star ship, these playful and at times obtuse stories take place after
the events of book five. Don’t worry, there are no real spoilers to them, but
as each of the characters are introduced in the books, you now have detailed
information on who they are and their back ground.
Now, gifts over. A
little bit of news.
Those of you who have read book five, will know I
deliberately left a thread dangling at the end. The story was over, but this
thread offered the possibility of a new road for Symbiotica. However, I also felt
the Symbiotica story was over, the characters having taken their journeys.
Symbiotica started life as an escape from the mainstream
commercial writers world for me, a chance to explore darker and stranger erotic
subject matter. As the books continued, things got more complex though as the
stories and characters grew in complexity and depth, eventually culminating in
the final book which due to its subject material had no erotic content in it,
focused purely on the characters and their world.
With this rich and vivid lore now firmly entrenched, book
five had evolved from the original concept of Symbiotica in to something more
akin to my commercial books.
So, here is the surprising news. There is going to be
another book. In fact the first pass of the book is actually done. What
started as a vague collection of thoughts and ideas evolved in to a whole new
complex and detailed story at a speed that actually frightened me.
Because Symbiotica was over though, I decided to start
fresh. So I am pleased to introduce the
Proteus Series of books, the first of which is called 'The Lost World’.
Proteus, which fans of the book will know is the name of the
family of star ships Koli and her sister Terrik belong to, is a science fiction
adventure that is rated for all ages with no adult material.
It follows on from the final book of Symbiotica but is
easily picked up, with a whole new cast of rich and detailed characters and a
strange new world to immerse yourself in.
So, without further ado… here is the tease.
“For Zenni Quinett, the disgraced and exiled pilot of
the Titan class vessel Miras, all she wants is a quiet life, tending to her
crops on Neo Alphius. Unfairly blamed for the events that led them to this new
world, she bears her burden and keeps the secret of the Proteus family of ships
for the good of her people. That they were more than just organic ships, but
living sentient creatures with minds and wills of their own.
When a little girl from the camp is blighted by the plague
that has ravaged their people, Zenni find herself reluctantly flung in to a
dangerous mission. To return to New Meylon, their once proud city to bring back
a drug stored on her former charge and to rescue the impulsive teenage sister
of the afflicted child.
Sneaking through the city shrouded by a vicious red fog that
has covered it for centuries, they must avoid the Necrotites, monsters that
roam the now dead city, the diseased creatures than we once her people. She
must find the drug in the rotting remains of Miras and retrieve the potential
cure.
Things are not what they seem though. They are being watched
by a mysterious force and as their mission unravels, they find something beyond
reason.
In the heart of the death and destruction, they find a
little girl who’s name means hope.”
Proteus Book 1 - The Lost World - Due January 2017
Stay tuned for more on this, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas
and a fantastic new year!
Alexander Nassau
