Book Objectives

I am very excited to tell you that NZ - The Founder's Curse will soon be available in paperback.  I don't have a date for you yet, but it will be by the end of September at the earliest, October the latest.

In the meantime, I'd like to share the book review I did on Goodreads.com, where, in place of a review, I shared the driving factors that went into the development of this story. If you get a chance to read New Zigon - The Founder's Curse, (and I hope you do) then you can tell me if I've missed the mark on any of these objectives.

BELIEVABLE SCIENCE FICTION - It is important to me to be able to defend the science mythos introduced. New Zigon's science stems from a combination of the force from Star Wars (huge fan here) and the modern day "God particle" theory. The underlying concept is that there is a thing/element that fills the in-between spaces called the “Pleovis.” In Latin that loosely translates to “filling power.” It is fluid, constantly moving, making various patterns in nature. If you can learn a pattern and push that pattern on the Pleovis, you can change the world around you.

INTERESTING CHARACTERS - I created my characters first and then came up with situations to challenge them. My favorite character to write was Mrs. McNeally, the widow a few farm houses down the road from the main character, John. She has a huge heart with a big old soft spot for John, but she can be eccentric, and she loves to play to human nature to get her way. She can manage John’s father like a master violinist, which is a good thing, or John would never get out from under his chores to go on their adventures!

"CLEAN" CONTENT - I want a twelve year old to be able to read my story without having his/her parents go into cardiac arrest.

APPROPRIATE FOR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS - My book is from a fourteen-year-old boy's POV. He is a Pennsylvania farm boy who goes to church and is riding the line between thinking girls are weird and noticing they can be pretty. This makes for some interesting internal struggles that boys should be able to relate to without getting embarrassed and that will make girls sigh knowingly.

GOOD READ FOR ADULTS – I am an avid reader, and most of my favorite books are young adult novels. I aimed for a balance between action and discovery/science reveals, with a sprinkle of humor and foreshadowing. The majority of my “test market” fell in the adult demographic, and all thoroughly enjoyed the book. Were they biased? Possibly… you will have to decide for yourself!