The Novel arrives next Tuesday (Oct 30). For now, enjoy the trailer!
The Novel arrives next Tuesday (Oct 30). For now, enjoy the trailer!
The Others has been in the works for a long time, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to release it. We’re nearly there (the book will be released on either July 10 or 17) and I couldn’t wait any longer to share these sample chapters with you in both text and audio, which we will be attempting to release in conjunction. There is no pre-buy option, so if you enjoy the chapters and want to snag the book, please sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss the release. If everyone who would have pre-bought the book buys it on day 1 or 2, it actually helps sales a lot (algorithm stuff) and if those same people come back to review the book…well, sales will be out of this world… I promise the book is better than that pun.
Hope you enjoy the sample chapters!
— Jeremy Robinson
“You know I don’t like coming here, Harry.” Sheriff Albert Godin dusted off his hat, despite it being clean. “Especially for something like this. Even more so at this time of night.”
Godin’s stomach lurched as he looked down at the dead horse, its tongue lolled up atop its snout, as though mocking him from beyond the equine grave. Part of him felt like the creature was staring at him, too, but it had no eyes.
No organs.
No blood.
The cause of death was one or all of those things. There was no evidence about which had occurred first. Aside from the dead animal, and what was missing, there was no evidence at all.
Never was.
A few years ago I released a novel about a giant monster: Project Nemesis. While it was far from my first foray into writing about monsters, or even large monsters, it was my first attempt at writing what is known as kaiju (strange beast in Japanese). In the past, the genre was relegated to movies, TV and comic books. With Nemesis, I successfully brought the genre to the one form of storytelling it had yet to crush beneath its massive heel: novels. Thus, the “kaiju thriller” was born and there have since been several novels by other authors released in this fledgling (but growing) sub-genre. Since the release of Nemesis, I have released one kaiju thriller per year, including all five Nemesis books, Apocalypse Machine, Unity and now…The Divide!
If I had to compare it to any of my previous kaiju thrillers, I’d say it’s most like Apocalypse Machine. The story deals with some pretty broad and potent subjects while introducing a new and horrible monster: the Golyat. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to encounter the Golyat in a dark alley…or broad daylight. But some of the people living in New Inglan, who are desperate for the freedom once enjoyed by the people of the United States, are willing to risk everything to find out what, if anything, exists beyond the Divide.
SUMMARY:
WHEN THE DIVIDE IS CROSSED…
No one remembers how the Divide was created. The miles-deep and miles-wide chasm has existed for hundreds of years, protecting what remains of humanity from the Golyat: a creature whose shadow moves across the horizon at sunset.
Davina, daughter of Jesse, is a shepherd. She spends her days guiding herds of deer through the forests of New Inglan, protecting them from predators, herding them away from the Divide, and ensuring the tribe of Essex has meat when needed. While many shepherds die in their first year-from the elements, from injury, or in the jaws of a wolf-Davina is resilient.
Having just slain a mountain lion, Davina returns to her village to discover a hunting party has been sent out in search of the Modernists, a group fascinated with the past, the technology that once filled the world, and what lies beyond the Divide. To keep the Modernists from reaching the Divide’s far side, and revealing humanity’s presence to the Golyat, the hunters will torture and kill them all. Including Davina’s teenaged son.
Davina strikes out, intending to ensure her son’s death will be quick and without torture. Reaching the island of Boston first, Davina confronts the Modernists and finds herself incapable of taking her son’s life. Captured by the enemies of Essex, she is transported across the Divide, along with her son and the Modernists.
For the first time in five hundred years, humanity steps foot on the Divide’s far side. Stranded with the enemy, Davina must fight to keep them all alive, herding people instead of deer, while uncovering the truth about humanity’s past, and her connection to events that reshaped the world.
…THE GOLYAT WILL FEAST
As many of you know, the past year was rife with personal challenges for me, including being told I had a brain tumor (turns out I don’t) and some kind of whacky chemical imbalance. You can read about it here. I started writing Infinite during my decline. During the worst of it, I wasn’t writing at all, for a period of nearly three months. Then, while my mind sorted itself out and I processed some weirdly intense and out of control emotions, I finished writing the book.
The result is a story that, in some ways, parallels my own journey through despair. As a result it’s a little more character driven and explores deeper themes. That doesn’t mean there aren’t monsters, craziness, and mayhem starting in Chapter 1, just that there is more to it. Probably most comparable to The Distance.
Have you ever wondered what’s at the edge of everything? What if you could travel there? What would you find? These are the questions that inspired Infinite. William Chanohk never asked or even wondered these questions, but his ancestor did, so now I’m taking him on a trip without end. That last sentence will make sense…later.
Despite the circumstances of this book’s writing, I had a lot of fun exploring the infinite. The book anchored me, and now I’m thrilled to be sharing it with the world. Since it’s a more personal book than my others, I’m a little nervous about what the response will be (you can reassure me by posting reviews on Amazon…which will also help sales!), but anyone who enjoyed Apocalypse Machine and The Distance will feel right at home with Infinite. On to the story!
For years, I have said that The Last Hunter is my favorite series. I have fond memories of writing the novel, still miss the characters years later, and when it comes to adaptations (comic books or movie) am very protective of the story. But I can no longer say The Last Hunter is my favorite book. Favorite series, sure, but The Distance is now my favorite novel (of mine). Keep reading to find out why!
The Distance’s path to publication has been tumultuous, not because no one wanted it, but because I didn’t have faith in publishers to do it right. When the book was written, it was under contract with a “big five” publisher imprint. But after novels published under my own imprint, Breakneck Media, started selling better than those published by the big publisher, I returned the advance and got the rights back. After that, another big five publisher offered to take the book, and tried to woo me with bestselling sales projections, but their covers were abysmal and I wasn’t convinced they could do a better job than I could…which is really what a writer should expect from a publisher.
So, in the end, two years after the book was completed, I decided to go it alone, which is a little nerve-wracking for me because it’s my wife’s first novel, and I turned down a big five publisher…twice. What does this mean for the book? In terms of production quality, nothing. I was hired to do the cover for the original publisher, so the packaging would be the same. As for the interior design, we’re creating a premium experience, both for the print book and the e-book, which is priced $6 LESS than either publisher had planned.
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