News
The First Officer Audiobook Preorder
Hey folks,
I hope everyone’s doing well. I’ve got a bit of an announcement this week. The audiobook edition of The First Officer – Alpha Protocol Book 2 is coming out on 4 April. Once again, it’s been narrated by Scott Aiello who’s done an incredible job of bringing the whole story to life.
Here’s a quick sample to whet your appetite:
You can preorder your copy now on Audible:
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-First-Officer-Audiobook/B0BN4QL9B4
Here’s the cover copy to give you an idea of what it’s all about:
Forgotten treasures lie waiting in deep space. So too does the greatest threat humanity has ever encountered…
Assigned to a new warship with cutting-edge technology, Jack Samson returns to the Frontier, determined to cast off the question marks over his previous conduct.
The Navy ventures ever farther beyond the Frontier, with fantastic new discoveries becoming a daily occurrence. As humanity reaches for these technological riches, it enters a deadly contest with a lethal adversary, the very survival of the human race being at stake.
Samson and his crew face the fight of their lives as they seek to secure ancient technological wonders and humanity’s place amongst the stars.
Don’t forget, if 4 April is too long to wait, you can get the ebook or paperback edition now over on Amazon:
My regular news and updates are over on my fantasy website. You can find it at the link up in the top right of the menu bar!
For updates, please check my fantasy site!
Things might seem very quiet here, and they are, as I tend to only post my major sci-fi announcements on this site. For a regularly updated stream of writing related news and the other things I get up to, you can check in on my fantasy site’s news page, which you can find here:
I try to post an update here every Monday!
Last Day of Alpha Protocol Sale
Hi folks,
I hope you all had a great weekend!
I just wanted to send you a quick message to let you know that The Alpha Protocol is on sale at $0.99 and its equivalent for one more day. The price goes back up tomorrow, so if you’ve been thinking about giving it a try, now’s the time!
You can grab a copy here:
Also, a reminder that the sequel, The First Officer, is now out!
You can get your copy here:
Here’s a little on what the story’s about:
Forgotten treasures lie waiting in deep space. So too does the greatest threat humanity has ever encountered… Assigned to a new warship with cutting-edge technology, Jack Samson returns to the Frontier, determined to cast off the question marks over his previous conduct. The Navy ventures ever farther beyond the Frontier, with fantastic new discoveries becoming a daily occurrence. As humanity reaches for these technological riches, it enters a deadly contest with a lethal adversary, the very survival of the human race being at stake. Samson and his crew face the fight of their lives as they seek to secure ancient technological wonders and humanity’s place amongst the stars.
I’ve not had the chance to think about next week’s post, but I suspect it will involve some painting, so check in next Monday for that! Until then,
All the best,
Duncan
The First Officer – Alpha Protocol Book 2 Out Today!
Hey folks,
Today is the big day for The First Officer – Alpha Protocol Book 2! By the time you get this email, the book will be released into the wild!
You can get your copy now at the following links:
Here’s the back cover copy to give you a taste of what the story is about:
Forgotten treasures lie waiting in deep space. So too does the greatest threat humanity has ever encountered…
Assigned to a new warship with cutting-edge technology, Jack Samson returns to the Frontier, determined to cast off the question marks over his previous conduct.
The Navy ventures ever farther beyond the Frontier, with fantastic new discoveries becoming a daily occurrence. As humanity reaches for these technological riches, it enters a deadly contest with a lethal adversary, the very survival of the human race being at stake.
Samson and his crew face the fight of their lives as they seek to secure ancient technological wonders and humanity’s place amongst the stars.
If you haven’t read the first book in the series, I’m running a $0.99 sale on Book 1 this week, so you try out the series for minimal investment!
You can get a copy of book 1 at its sale price until next Tuesday, at this link:
Writing sci-fi is a bit of an enjoyable diversion for me from my main stream of fantasy books, and while there tends to be a lot of cross over in audience between the two genres and I realise not everyone signed up for this newsletter is a fan of sci-fi, but I hope if you give my sci-fi books a shot, you’ll enjoy them. I like to think of them as being fantasy stories set in space.
The Alpha Protocol series follows the adventures of a naval officer called Jack Samson, as humanity encounter aliens in deep space for the first time. I like to think of the tale as a blend of Star Trek, any of my fantasy trilogies, with a splash of Indiana Jones added to the mix!
Alpha Protocol 2 – The First Officer – Cover Reveal!
Hey folks,
I’ve finally got myself organised enough to make the announcements I had promised for last week, so here we go!
I’m very pleased to be able to reveal the cover for my upcoming book, and second part in the Alpha Protocol series. The book’s title is The First Officer, and here is the cover!
The artwork was once again created by Fred Gambino, who I think has the most incredible ability to visualise and execute science fiction artworks on a truly epic scale. The only difficult part of working with Fred is deciding which of his concept paintings to go with for a cover – all of them look so good. As with any good piece of art, each one of them inspires a story of their own and they all certainly get my creative wheels turning.
I chose the image I felt was most fitting for the story, and am very happy with how it turned out. It really conveys the aesthetic and sense of story that I wanted, and gives a bit of a hint of what’s contained within. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I think it’s very eye catching!
I’ll have more details about the book in coming posts over the next few weeks. The First Officer will be released on 1 Dec, and is available for pre-order now over on Amazon, and will be coming in Audio a little later. You can pre-order your copy of The First Officer now at these links!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3UKYl18
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BM4WQYT1
Alpha Protocol Now Out in Audio!
Hey folks,
Just a quick post to announce that The Alpha Protocol is now out in Audiobook. It’s narrated by Scott Aiello. He’s done a really wonderful job, and even if you’ve already read the book, I think you’ll enjoy the new dimension his performance brings to the story. I sat down to listen to a sample chapter a few weeks ago, and ended up listening to the whole thing!
You can pick up a copy at Amazon here:
Or at Audible here:
The Alpha Protocol out in Paperback
Hey folks, just a quick post to let you all know that The Alpha Protocol is now available in paperback! Apologies for the delay, but getting proof copies has been a lot slower than normal recently, as they are quite correctly not considered high priority items for postage.
I hope you’ll think it’s been worth the wait! You can pick up a copy at the following links:
Amazon.com (US)
Amazon UK/Ireland
Amazon Canada
Amazon Germany
There’s still a bit more of a wait for the audio edition, I’m afraid. I really wanted to get Scott Aiello on this project, and as he’s one of the most talented narrators in this genre, that meant waiting my turn to get him. The audio will be out in July!
Finally, I’m still on track to release my new fantasy novel, The Squire, in early April. Keep an eye out for updates on that over the next couple of weeks!
The Alpha Protocol is Out Now!
I’m delighted to announce that my new book, The Alpha Protocol, is out today. It’s a science fiction novel in the space opera style and is the first book in a new series. It’s set a few hundred years in the future, when mankind has spread out into the galaxy. In all the time we’ve been out there, humanity hasn’t encountered any trace of aliens. Until now.
The story follows a young naval officer called Jack Samson, as he and his crew make some breath-taking discoveries that will change everything, and definitively answer the ages old question – ‘are we alone out here?’
The eBook is out today! You can get your copy of The Alpha Protocol now at these links:
While this is a new genre for me, it is one I’ve always loved to read, and has been described by one of my early readers as just like my fantasy novels, but set in space! My ARC group readers – many of whom are new to sci-fi – have really been enjoying it, which bodes well for my masterplan to turn you all into sci-fi fans! The Alpha Protocol was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you’ll take a chance on it, and if you do, that you really enjoy it.
I’m particularly pleased with the wonderful cover art created by Fred Gambino, which far exceeds what I was hoping for:
Here’s the back cover copy to give you a little more flavour on what The Alpha Protocol’s about:
Naval Officer Jack Samson thought a posting to the frontier of human inhabited space was the death blow to his career. He couldn’t have been more wrong. A routine inspection of a small merchant vessel leads to devastating loss and the discovery of strange, fascinating objects.
As astonishing discoveries unfold, a mysterious and hostile ship proves that Samson has a competitor in unlocking the secrets of an ancient alien civilisation, and that humanity might not be alone in the galaxy after all.
Due to covid postage delays, I’ve only just received paperback proofs so the paperback will be available in a couple of weeks, once I’ve had the chance to go through them. The audio will be following in June, narrated by the excellent Scott Aiello, whose performance will bring a great additional dimension to the story. I’ll be sure to let you know when they are available.
If you enjoy The Alpha Protocol, and have the time, please consider leaving a review for it over on Amazon – it really helps me out.
As a final note, I have a new fantasy novel on the way, which I’m planning to release this coming April. It takes us back to the Middle Sea with some new characters (and old), and a terrifying new enemy. I’ll let you know all about that closer to the time. Until then, I hope you’ll give The Alpha Protocol a chance!
The Alpha Protocol Signed ARC Giveaway
To celebrate the release of The Alpha Protocol next week, I’m running a giveaway to win one of 3 signed ARC copies of the book.
You can enter the giveaway here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/319392-the-alpha-protocol
You can also now preorder your copy over on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WLBCF8X
Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway! I hope you enjoy the book!
The Alpha Protocol out on 23 Feb!
With the arrival of my paperback proofs for The Alpha Protocol, I thought it was long past time to announce the release date! The Alpha Protocol will be out on 23 Feb! Just 2 weeks away now!
I’m really happy with how the final book has turned out. The cover art by Fred Gambino is truly breathtaking, and I find myself staring at it for way longer than I should. It definitely helps to fire up my imagination for book 2, and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with Fred again for the cover art on the next book.
Here’s the back cover copy for the book:
Naval Officer Jack Samson thought a posting to the frontier of human inhabited space was the death blow to his career. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
A routine inspection of a small merchant vessel leads to devastating loss and the discovery of strange, fascinating objects.
As astonishing discoveries unfold, a mysterious and hostile ship proves that Samson has a competitor in unlocking the secrets of an ancient alien civilisation, and that humanity might not be alone in the galaxy after all.
I’ll try to remember to put up an excerpt over the next few days. Until then, I hope you’re all keeping well!
Duncan
