Let's See If This Machine Can Fly
“The shuttle slowed and banked towards the Argus Station. René leaned back and turned to his porthole. He peered outside as a wave of sunlight broke against the glass. For the first time he saw the station at a close distance, framed by the deep, cold void…”
Welcome!
This creepy character up top is the reason I’ve started blogging again. Meet Argus - a hyper-intelligent android, built to run a satellite swarm hooked up to a global network of unmanned weaponry. Argus floats strapped to the low-orbit Argus Station. He dangles over Earth, like a mechanical Christ, forced to spend his powerspan as the architect of global security and the enforced surveyor of a warful species, rooted to a dying planet…
The Machine is my second book, currently doing the rounds among publishers and agents (mostly London-based). Right now, there’s that usual pressure of marketing and sharing your idea with the world. It’s never an easy ride! You feel like you’re tucked into a rocket of your own design, blasting up towards the glorious ether, awaiting either the breach of stormy clouds, or the equally likely explosion of scattered wingnuts, debris and dreams.
There’s always hope though. And this particular book has seen a few incarnations and taken ten years to finally get it to this point. I’m proud of what I’ve got here. One thing I can say for sure is it is totally different to my first book (a travelogue called Swim Wild - released on paperback back in April, 2020).
The question is: how will it fare out there? Well, I’m prepared for the common avalanche of rejections and the grit required to thrust your hand up through the chalky rubble, again - to paw your way out for another attempt at the ascent. This book will be printed in some form or other (within a couple of years)! So, watch this space. Please do get in touch if you have any questions about this project, or anything to share yourself - I might be able to help with some promotion/a second opinion.
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Thanks for reading :)
More news soon…
Jack
