Book Series
Water: Generation Mars, Book Three is coming!
In anticipation of the release, I am putting Kindle editions of each of the first three books on sale in October. Each book will be available for $0.99 for one week.
Scratching the Surface – October 1-7
Air – October 8-14
Shelter – October 15-21
Available from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P5P3986?binding=kindle_edition
Human activity on the Moon will increase dramatically in the next decade. This article provides a concise view why.
A subplot in the forthcoming book, Water, involves a cousin on Earth who’s dad gets an assignment at the south pole of the Moon, studying ice cores for a new mine.
Second (we’re still talking covers, remember?), I’m thrilled to share the cover of my forthcoming Generation Mars book, Water. Once again, Luis Peres has outdone himself.
This time we have a mashup (overture, if you will) of the interior illustrations, creating a perfect concept piece that draws the reader in by teasing multiple events in the story.
It’s a great cover! Want to read the book? Release date announcement coming soon.
First, I’ve been so busy finalizing the next book that I missed this announcement in early August. Shelter is a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards Best Book Cover contest in the Children/Young Adult category. Kudos to Luis Peres for hitting it out of the park with this grand and cinematic vision of a human family facing the challenges of living on Mars.
In the manuscript for the next Generation Mars book, I mention that a couple was able to conceive through recent technological developments. Well, here’s science catching up to fiction before the fiction is even published. The tech is called in-vitro gametogenesis, or IVG. It’s not ready for use in humans yet. But when it is, the possibilities are staggering.
Here is one more comment for Air from a young Wishing Shelf reader. I like this one a lot. I sometimes imagine that The Martian and The Expanse occupy the same universe, with Generation Mars sitting somewhere between.
“I just watched The Martian film which I thought was amazing. This is like that but for kids. I thought this book was very different to most, as the author wants the reader to understand Mars and how it might be possible to live there, but we´ll need to solve a lot of scientific problems first. That´s a good message. This book will make children think a bit.” Girl, aged 11 – with a little help from mum
image: Illustration by Luis Peres Children’s Books Illustrator for Air
Here is another one of the comments for Air from a young Wishing Shelf reader. Generation Mars books lean heavily on procedural plots in which the characters must solve problems with what they have on hand. I’m glad this reader enjoyed that.
“The story is good, but I still thought it wasn´t the best part of the book. The best part was the solving problems using engineering and things like that. I love fixing things and trying to work out how things work, so this book was perfect for me. I did enjoy getting to know Cas and Ori, and I will try to find other books from this writer.” Boy, aged 12
image: Illustration by Luis Peres Children’s Books Illustrator for Scratching the Surface (slightly modified by me)
#wishingshelfbookawards #mglit #kidlit #Mars #scifi #mgfiction #MiddleGradeBooks
Wishing Shelf is unique in that they involve younger readers as reviewers, providing educational experience for them and demographically relevant feedback for authors. Here is one of the comments for Air:
“I thought this was a good adventure story. Also, the physics stuff is interesting too. It made me think about how difficult it would be to live on a different planet.” Boy, aged 12
Air: Generation Mars, Book One is a Red Ribbon Winner from The Wishing Shelf Book Awards.
“Young readers will love this story of children living on Mars–and they might learn a few things too! A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended!”
– The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
I’m very excited to announce that Shelter: Generation Mars, Book Two is a Wishing Shelf Book Awards finalist in the “Books for 9-12 year olds” category.
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