Done

The Sky Full of Stars is complete. Formatting, cover design, the works. I am now going to buy myself a hardback copy, although the download is much cheaper(Please, please buy the download - I make double the royalty per copy).

Now to work on the next volume; 'Falling Through the Stars'.

I have bought my own copy of the hardback version which means I should have it in my hot little hands for Christmas.

Sky full of stars low resolution artwork

Final artwork for front cover dust jacket of Sky full of stars

Final artwork for rear cover dust jacket of Sky full of stars

Sky full of stars Cover notes

Reformatting of text has reduced the final MSS from 432 pages to 415. Word count 148,520. I suppose if pushed by an editor I might consider chopping out five thousand of that, but then that's the whole point of self publishing isn't it? You write what you want to write, not what fits in with what someone else sees as a 'market'.

Have been up half the night fretting over cover notes and cover design. In the end I decided on this text for the back cover;

There was what the media reported…

…rumours of a hoax have surfaced on several news services…. Now over to our Vancouver studio, where Environmental lobbyist Caleb Yamato is challenging the Omega projects environmental safety….

…The mystery of the two missing Omega crew members has sent a riot of half informed conjecture around the news feed community. The ill-fated mission to prove a radical design for travel between stars is being proclaimed an unmitigated failure by several authorities….

…In Brussels, the hereditary President of the Gaian Republic of Europe, Owen Blair, denounced the Omega Mission as a ‘plot of the western Terrorist nations’ to destabilise the peace loving Gaian European Republic….

Then there was the real story

The sky full of stars, first volume in the ‘Stars’ trilogy is a story of future wonders and personal tragedy set against the first interstellar war ever fought by humans.

Inside front sleeve;

In the midst of a mini ice age, the once mighty world powers are shrunken husks of their previous selves. An isolationist North America is the last of the Democracies, the Middle East a radioactive wasteland, and the expansionist Gaian Republic of Europe a repressive pseudo theocracy ruled by a tiny elite.
The Omega FTL drive, last gasp of the North American Space programme, succeeds beyond all expectations, but on the way back from orbit repeated attempts are made to shoot the returning crew down. Stranded on Earths moon, Mission Commander Corwen Blount hatches his own desperate rescue plan.

“Teach this young guy all you know.” The picture of a young, reddish blonde haired man with intense, almost harsh blue eyes appeared on screen.
“Who is he?”
“His name’s Richard Windsor. That’s all you need to know. He’s going to be your escort pilot.”

Well if no-one else buys a copy, I'll be keeping mine, and donating one to my local library.

Final (Hopefully) edit

Have just finished what I hope is the final draft of 'The Sky full of stars' at 148,463 words, most of it dialogue. I've tried to keep the immediacy of the narrative by keeping the descriptions minimal. No detailed travelogues, which I personally find makes a book too heavy a read. I've tried to make my characters do the scene painting through their dialogue in a minimalist sort of way. No windy speeches or explanations either.

The story rips along at a goodly pace, and overall I think it works. Tell you the truth I'm pig sick of editing and amending the manuscript, which is supposed to be one of the signs you're done and dusted.

Time for bed.