Echoes In The Grey now available

March 1st, and this is the official release date of my new book, "Echoes in the Grey". It's the second book in the Ross 128 trilogy... the first trilogy I've tackled. As I write this, I'm sitting in my writing chair. The temperature is below zero in Ottawa where I live, and the sun is brilliant. I'm going outside for a bike ride later this afternoon despite the two feet of snow on the ground.

And here's the thing. I made this story available to beta readers in advance with a view of getting some feedback, some reviews, and so on. And today, I got the very first 1 star rating I've ever received (which probably tells you, I haven't written a ton of stories!), which is fine. My belief is that if I get a bad review or rating, it has more to do with a mis-match of that reader with this story. Hey, if King and Atwood can get 1 stars, then anyone can.

First Contact
I don't want to spoil the plot for those of you who have read the first book "The Crying of Ross 128", but I can tell you that in this story, we actually meet an alien life form, and that meeting takes place on Luna. The regular cast of characters: Kate, Jim and Esther are here, and there are new ones too, like Clayton Carter, the ambitious CEO of Titanius Space Resources, and Mary Atteberry who has grown up a bit from the first book.

If You Like Star Trek...
One question my readers pose is: will I like this story? Short answer is: who knows? But I can tell you that my stories tend to focus on the human side of SF. I'm more interested in exploring aspects of the human condition rather than the technology. Sure, there's some real science in here to keep the science types happy, but this story is really about our own relationships, our curiosity, our sense of value and work and ethical behaviour. 

I can also say that if you like commercial fiction like the Star Trek novel series, you will enjoy this trilogy. I have been influenced by Robert J. Sawyer, Neal Asher, Greg Cox, Jeff Mariotte, Ursula Le Guin, and Ted Dekker. I'm not saying these are all my favourite writers, but I like the way they construct scenes, characters, conflict and tension, and SF speculation. So I'm confident when I say that if you like any of those authors, you will probably find my stories likeable too.
Anyway, as always, if you do enjoy my stories, I would appreciate your rating/review on goodreads or amazon. 

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