Fire Race – The Ebook

Coping and hoping? Doesn’t that describe what every character is doing in a novel? Fire Race, the second book in my science fiction series (Exodus/Genesis), obviously describes how a bunch of humans (who are actually aliens because they’re on a different planet, AintEarth) and a bunch of aliens (who are the current residents of the planet that they never had to name) try to survive the elements and each other, and their internal dissensions. (You can tell that it is fiction because humans would Never experience dissension. Ha!) The paperback was published about two weeks ago. The ebook is available now. Whew.

Whew, as in, I’m glad I’ve had something to work on during an intense election season. Did anything happen while I was busy? 

The main event in Fire Race may not come as a surprise to readers of Firewatcher. The humans must race a foretold flood of fire. That’s dramatic, but creating a new society on an unfamiliar planet also has drama, not because of the planet but because of the people. Put three hundred people into a small space, and their first coping mechanisms can start to fail eventually. There’s no going back, but how to go forward? The honeymoon eventually has to end. Now, what’s the best way to live – assuming they can?

That synopsis is true for the paperback, too, of course. This week, the week after the US election, convinced me of the need and benefit of fiction. Sometimes we need an escape. Books are one of the most affordable escapes. Ebooks are even more affordable. Paperbacks are good for places without power, like buildings where, by chance or necessity, there is no internet connection. My most frequent dining companion is a book. Ebooks are good for places with connections, assuming there’s a battery powering things, and make it easier to carry a library instead of just one book. I take my ebook reader into dark places like late-night reads with a dark contrasted screen before bed. They each have their place.

Each having their own place is another element of Fire Race. We humans are not clones, we are individuals.

For fellow writers and authors, the timing of this ebook should be fairly obvious. It is done and available before the US Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday shopping season. I don’t expect ebooks to be bought as early gifts, but making the ebook available helps buyers plan for gifts as paperbacks now or suggestions for gift cards as they are unwrapped. Paperbacks are easy to wrap. Ebooks are handy for last-minute gifts. Ebooks are also handy gift card gifts because they can be ‘opened’ even when stores are closed. 

Astute readers, or at least people who actually read every word on the cover, can notice that both books are part of the Exodus/Genesis series. Of course, there will be more. I told myself that I wouldn’t work on book three until I finished the sequel to one of my non-fiction books, Dream. Invest. Live., and I intend to stay true to that plan; but, ideas are already turning into notes on paper, and notes in the computer.

One gift I give, and may describe in more detail in a separate post, is the invitation to writers to write into this same world. Firewatcher and Fire Race are about one ship that left Earth. There are five others to pick from, and I don’t have the time to write about all of them. I’ve created a guide on the rules of the stories. They have common science, history, culture, motivations, constraints, and timing. A lot of thought has gone into their foundation, which can save a writer years of prep time.

Writing (and reading) books can be a mechanism for coping and hoping. Especially in times like late 2024, this can be a good time to reach out and connect with other writers. Everyday life has enough drama for inspiration. Currently, there’s a surplus of drama, so there should be a surplus of inspiration. Write, or at least connect with writers, readers, anyone – including aliens.