ShadowTech Series

Half-price books through Smashwords

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Smashwords is running a massive 2022 End Of Year Sale, and all my books are included in it, at 75% off.

So check out the sale at https://smashwords.com/shelves/promos/, and pick up a ton of reading to take you into the next year. And if you want to check out my books (dark Dystopian thrillers in the Dominions series, sci-fi/horror with Shadows, or sci-fi/adventure with ShadowTech), check out my page on the Smashwords store.

A quick technical note: unlike some other ebook retailers, Smashwords don’t have a dedicated reader or app (although you can read through their website). So when you buy and download an ebook from Smashwords you download it, you can read it however and wherever you want*‌—‌side-load it to an e-reader, use an app on your phone or tablet, or read it on a laptop. It’s your book, so read it your way.

Explore the Smashwords 2022 End Of Year Sale

* More technical note: Smashwords books are in epub format, but Kindles won’t accept epubs directly. There are ways around this, but they involve a little more work. This article (from Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur) gives three ways to do this.

Hostile Alliances (ShadowTech Book 3) out now!

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The title says it all – the third ShadowTech book, Hostile Alliances, is out now. It’s available in ebook from all the usual stores/sites, and in paperback from Amazon.

The Ancients are coming.


When Kaiahive intercepts a signal on the edge of the system, it’s no longer in doubt. Time is running out.


And that increases hostilities between the company and the Heralds, which in turn pushes the shadowy Collective into more desperate actions.

In the midst of this turmoil, the crew are divided. To survive, they must choose their sides. Staying passive is no longer an option. They must decide who they trust, and prove their allegiances.

Get Hostile Alliances before the end of the week-end, before the price goes up.

Get Hostile Alliances (ShadowTech Book 3) now!

Hostile Alliances (ShadowTech Book 3) is now up for pre-order

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The third book in the ShadowTech series, Hostile Alliances, will be released on 24th November 2022, and is now up for pre-order.

The Ancients are coming!

There’s no doubt now, not after the signal the company intercepts. And that means the fighting between them and the Heralds will intensify. That will force the shadowy Collective to work harder, seeking a solution before the Heralds and Kaiahive doom humanity.

And in the midst of the chaos, the crew are divided. They must trust themselves, and decide who around them they can trust. They must fight‌—‌for what they believe in, and for their lives.

Subtle Weapon (ShadowTech Book 2) is out now

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The second book in the sci-fi/adventure series ShadowTech, Subtle Weapon is out now.

Kaiahive is everywhere, even on the supposedly deserted island the crew escape to. So are the company’s enemies, the Heralds, and the crew are caught in the crossfire, their options dwindling fast.

Can Deva trust old enemies long enough to get her revenge on those who ruined her life? Can Brice and Ryann escape from captivity deep underground? Has Keelin found people who appreciate her for who she is, or are they only using her? And as Piran dives deep into the incredible technology of the Ancients, can he keep their secrets from the company long enough to help save his friends?

As hostilities grow, each of them must fight — for themselves, for their friends, and for their lives.

Get Subtle Weapon (ShadowTech Book 2)

To coincide with this, I’ve put the first book, Desert Bound on sale until the end of the weekend, at the bargain price of 99c (or your local equivalent).

Get Desert Bound (ShadowTech Book 1) for only 99c

One-star reviews aren’t pleasant, but they can be useful

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I got my first review for Desert Bound earlier this week‌—‌and it was a 1-star. Disappointing, but it happens. Someone bought the book, and it wasn’t for them.

But that wasn’t the case. The review was nothing about the book itself. In fact, the review implied that the reviewer hadn’t even read the book, or bought it.

Instead, the review complained that it ‘says you can order paperback, but it only sells on kindle NO option for paperback!’

This confused me, because Desert Bound is available in both formats. As I write this, I can see a paperback copy on my shelf, and I have the ebook on my Kindle.

I had to dig into this.

Normally, on a book’s page on Amazon, all format options are shown (ebook, paperback, hardback, audiobook and so on). But when I searched for Desert Bound in the Kindle store it only showed the ebook. However, when I searched specifically for the paperback, the paperback came up‌—‌but didn’t show that it was available in ebook.

This wasn’t right. Different formats of the same book are ‘linked’. I checked all my other titles, and found no other discrepancies. So this wasn’t a wide glitch. This was specific to Desert Bound.

I looked closer, and noticed a difference‌—‌the ebook was listed as Desert Bound (ShadowTech Book 1), but the paperback came up as Desert Bound (ShadowTech). Had I entered the wrong metadata when setting the paperback up?

I went into my KDP (Kindle Desktop Publishing) account to check‌—‌and found the same metadata for both books. But, somehow, Amazon had the series title in place of the subtitle with the paperback, which made their system treat the two formats as separate entities rather than different versions of the same product.

So I contacted Amazon. I explained the situation, and asked them to rectify it. I also asked for the review to be removed, as well as asking if there was any way they could contact this (potential) customer and point them towards the paperback.

Amazon replied, and a few days later both formats were showing as available on any search for Desert Bound. But I have to go through a few more hoops to get the review removed.

A part of me is tempted to leave it‌—‌readers are intelligent enough to see that the review isn’t a comment on the book’s quality. If it was one of many reviews, it wouldn’t matter so much‌—‌but it’s my only review so far. It means that Desert Bound has an average rating of one star‌—‌not what I want for a first-in-series!

So, that’s the situation I found myself in earlier this week. I’m trying to look at the positives, and I think there are a few lessons to learn here.

  • Things can always go wrong. Even if I’m certain I’ve entered details accurately, I need to check more thoroughly. Yes, this will take more time (as I’ll want to check the book pages on all retailers, not only Amazon), but it’ll give me greater peace of mind, and help prevent issues like this in the future.
  • Mistakes remain until they’re pointed out. If it hadn’t been for this review, I wouldn’t have noticed the problem, so I thank the reviewer for pointing this out. I would’ve preferred it if they’d contacted me directly, but I can understand why they didn’t‌—‌that would have involved more work, and they were clearly frustrated anyway. Similarly, if there are any typos in my books, I’m all for readers contacting me to point them out. Yes, I do all I can to ensure there are no mistakes, but a few always slip through.
  • Reviews matter, in all kinds of strange ways. ‘Good’ reviews help make the book look more attractive to potential readers, and highlight what works well in the story and the writing. ‘Bad’ reviews can highlight what hasn’t worked, at least for the reviewer. All reviews can be constructive, ‘good’ or ‘bad’ (although some reviews are inaccurate, mean or simply make no sense). And, from my experience here, reviews can highlight issues that the writer hadn’t even considered.

This is only a small issue, but I want my books to be the best they can be‌—‌and that includes the buying and reading experiences. If there’s something hindering a potential reader from getting one of my books, I want to get rid of the problem.

If the reviewer is reading this, I apologise. This link should take you to the paperback page on Amazon.com.

And if anyone out there has read (and enjoyed) Desert Bound, I’d love more reviews.

The second book in the ShadowTech series is now available for pre-order

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Subtle Weapon (ShadowTech Book 2) picks up where the previous book finished, throwing the crew into even more chaos. It’s out on August 18th, but is available to pre-order now from all the usual places. And, as always, the price will rise a couple of days after release, so pre-order now to get Subtle Weapon for a bargain price.

Kaiahive is everywhere, even on the supposedly deserted island the crew escape to. So are the company’s enemies, the Heralds, and the crew are caught in the crossfire, their options dwindling fast.

Can Deva trust old enemies long enough to get her revenge on those who ruined her life? Can Brice and Ryann escape from captivity deep underground? Has Keelin found people who appreciate her for who she is, or are they only using her? And as Piran dives deep into the incredible technology of the Ancients, can he keep their secrets from the company long enough to help save his friends?

As hostilities grow, each of them must fight‌—‌for themselves, for their friends, and for their lives.

Pre-order Subtle Weapon (ShadowTech Book 2) now

Desert Bound is now on pre-order

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It’s been a while, but I finally have something new coming out‌—‌Desert Bound, the first book in the ShadowTech series.

Ryann never wanted to be a commander. Nor did she want to be a fugitive, on the run from the company that trained and enhanced her. And she definitely didn’t want to end up in a lawless desert city, hunting an ancient tech relic for a double-crossing crime boss.

The relic is the key to untapped power, and others hunt it with ruthless determination, willing to kill any who get in their way. As enemies close in, as the company watches from the shadows, and as her crew crumbles around her, Ryann must fight like she’s never fought before.

The ShadowTech series picks up from the end of the Shadows trilogy‌—‌so if the ending of Shadowstrike left you wanting more, here it is. And if you haven’t entered this world yet, Desert Bound is a fine place to start, especially if you want some fast-paced sci-fi adventure.

Desert Bound is released on 20th May on all the usual ebook sites, with paperbacks through Amazon. And you can pre-order (the ebook) right now for the limited-time price of only 99c (or your local equivalent)

Pre-order ‘Desert Bound (ShadowTech Book 1)’ today for only 99c