The Cover for The Sphere

People asked me:

Where did I get the cover for The Sphere from? And what does it mean?

Honestly? It started as a bit of a joke.

Remember the first images the Hubble Space Telescope sent back to NASA.?The HST was sent to space way back in April 1990. Wooo! That's a good while ago.

Naturally - as soon as images came back, scammers weren't far. See - 'Fake News' is not an invention of this millennium.

And there was this iconic image of Earth cradled in clouds (Google it!). Nobody knows exactly, where it originated from or when. And although the Hubble Space Telescope has given us incredible images and insights into outer space <HST images>, this particular one wasn't taken by Hubble!

To cut a long story short:

The iconic image of “Earth in a Cradle of Clouds” was allegedly taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It made a huge impact on the internet but later turned out to be ‘fake news’.

I chose this image, altered it a bit myself. I like this image. I think it is striking, but at the same time, it creates a false impression – just like The Sphere creates an environment based solely on the imagination of whoever uses her.

Nothing is real!

 I chose the cover as an allegory for all that The Sphere stands for: unknown origin, a creator of unreality, yet beautiful; it is an inspiration and an enigma alike. Something that could be real, but isn’t. 

Since The Sphere is an artificial environment and creates virtual realities based on the user's imagination, I thought it a fitting tongue-in-cheek jest, to take a beautiful - if faked - image of Earth (the ultimate goal for Bella,  and Nick), add some digital embellishments to it, and use it as the cover for my book.

That's really it as a formula:

A bit of fun + awesome image (it does look dramatic - no doubt about it!) = stunning cover for a hopefully interesting book.

The Sphere is available to download for free for #kindleunlimited subscribers worldwide!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

The Sphere published on Amazon

Pfff... I did it!
After a final (very tedious) edit, I now published The Sphere on Amazon US and Amazon UK

There many firsts in this process:

My first book
My first Kindle Scout campaign
My first attempt at self-publishing
My first go at Twitter (believe it or not!)
My first blog
My first grey hair (not really... but it certainly feels like that)
My first revisit of nailbiting after quitting decades ago

I learned a lot along the way, and not everything was easy and straightforward.
Self-doubt: it's all just a big pile of sh**t, suffering imposter syndrome (I am not really an author... am I...?), who will want to read it anyway? The works!
I am sure everybody who has ever attempted to write a book, or even a blog-post or anything will know the intrinsic fear of the P-word (as in Publishing). It means getting your work out into the open, into the public domain, where everybody is allowed to scrutinise and give their opinion. Worse even: by publishing your work, you actively invite criticism. Not something most people are comfortable with. Certainly not me. Because I surely could have done much, much better... no?

And then I start reading book 2 or continue writing on book 3 or even start jotting down ideas for book number 4, and I know, it's not all bad!
I am improving. My style gets better, I am more confident in the way I allow my characters to speak their mind (I stopped trying to sugarcoat their foul language or anglicise their direct approach). I let them do their own thing - I just make sure they do it in the right order and in a manner, that makes sense to the readers.
And realising that, I am actually looking forward to getting The Odyssey (book 2 of the Sphere-World series) onto #KindleScout ASAP.

ANK on #Oceanplastic

I don't know exactly HOW many petitions I have signed over the past few years for governments to implement plastic recycling schemes, for CEOs of mega-polluters (yes - all you drinks companies who still favour disposable plastic bottles!) to support said recycle schemes. I talk to friends and strangers alike, I try to educate people and I even pick up plastic waste from the sea and the beaches around where I live. My little contribution to tackling a global problem.
And there is a lot of plastic to be picked up! A lot of it comes from the shipping, fishing, and yachting industry: Fragments of nets, plastic ropes, and the likes.
Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to find it acceptable, to discard of their rubbish (take away containers, plastic bottles, plastic bags, cans, and bottles) on a beach!
I live in a beautiful part of the world, and people come and visit for their holidays - because it is gorgeous, it is serene, and it widely unspoilt.
I cannot imagine, how people can be so calloused and discard of their waste so irresponsibly. And no - it is not 'gone with the wind' - many items I find are deliberately wedged somewhere between rocks, left in a carrier bag, weighed down with a rock, or are just simply 'left to rot', dropped on the spot, never to be considered again.

The implications are manifold: Plastic waste is harmful to aquatic life - animals ingest the stuff, get entangled in disused nets, ropes or fishing lines and suffer greatly.
Plastic waste litters beaches, estuaries and even the sea floor.
Being a scuba diver and open water swimmer, I know how much plastic waste there is floating around.

On a positive note:
The 5p charge for single-use plastic bags, which came into UK-wide force on the 5th of October 2015 saw an over 70% reduction in litter caused by plastic carrier bags.
A fantastic step in the right direction, but still a lot is left to be done.

The UK is still lacking a recycle scheme for plastic bottles, littering still seems to be socially acceptable, and little is done in the way of weaning the nation off disposable plastic like wrappers, food-packaging, and other short-lived, single-use plastic items - like straws.

Having done research into biodegradable plastics myself (really degradable - not just 'fall to tiny bits' plastic) I know, that technology and materials exist, to substitute non-degradable littering materials with biodegradable materials, which can easily applied in the packaging industry #polyhydroxyalkanoates, #bioplastic, #Biopol

Meanwhile keep to the motto:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Here are the links to a few petitions and pledges, you could sign, if you like to help reduce or stop #Oceanplastic altogether. But there are many more out there - just google :-)

<38Degrees - Bottle deposit scheme>
<Greenpeace UK Plastic Pledge>
<Marine Conservation Society - Plastic Challenge>

Or get hands on by participating in a local beach cleanup.

And please discard of your waste responsibly.

P.S.
* Plastic waste is not only causing problems in the oceans.
* It is not only plastic waste, that causes problems in the oceans.

ANK on Observations

I like to observe.
I like to go out, sit in a lively place and watch people. Or sit quietly and watch nature.
Old habits die hard - I am a scientist: Observations and resulting deductions, ideas and conclusions are a vital part of the job description; as is curiosity and an ingrained 'need to know'.
Who? Why? What? Where? How? The five corners of my 'Scientist's Pentagram' also apply very much to writing.
When I write, I ask questions.
When I work in a lab, I ask questions.
Question marks meet me on a daily basis. I question things I don't understand - I question things I think I do understand - to dig deeper. There is always another layer, there is always somebody who knows more.
I like to discuss my work and other people's work. I am curious. I want to find out, what is happening.
Curiosity is a great driver for creativity: If I don't write, I don't know where the story is going to go. I enter a dialogue with my characters, and we discuss the plot and take it further.
Sometimes we fight, sometimes we are in agreement, but whatever happens, it is thought out, questioned, discussed.
The process of writing is putting observations into words, express what's happening. The better I observe, the more detail I can provide for the reader to 'get into the character'.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but the better I observe and write, the easier it becomes for the reader to make the transition from observer to participant. And this is exactly what any writer wants to achieve: to invite their readers into their book, to make it easy for them to step over the threshold from flipping the pages to living the story.
Not saying I am anywhere near that type of genius... but it is something I aspire to, and sometimes it is good enough to know, where you want to get to in order to walk in the right direction.

ANK on Worldbuilding (Part 1)

Can't help it: I love a good, solid imaginary world.
Worldbuilding is a fantastic skill an author can apply to make their novel stand out that little bit more.
I am a sucker for different worlds. Not because I don't like the one we live it, but because I believe, that every story deserves its own world, its own rules and its own, unique reality.
Think J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Stephen King, Douglas Adams... You get the picture it! Worlds come to life your very mind when a writer is also a good world- painter.
 Cosied up in your favourite spot, reading, immersing yourself, discovering and sometimes getting lost. Just to resurface again and feel awed. Bliss!
Well - t'is not easy to build a new world from scratch.
One doesn't have to, though. There is enough left unexplored in our own world and those niches provide an excellent basis for some lavish embellishment-via-imagination. Access to alien habitats is becoming easier and easier with information technology at our fingertips.

Why not visit the Deep Sea (hydrothermal) vents, which have only been discovered a mere 40 years ago.

I find them fascinating! They support previously unknown and inconceivable life forms, many of which still have to be discovered yet. A completely unique and almost inaccessible ecosystem forms around those 'black smokers'.

One doesn't have to venture as far as the oceanic basin to discover new worlds. Reading about rare habitats, new species, and different cultures can provide the mind with enough fuel to get a blazing fire going. And all of this is happening on our very own planet!

One can also venture into outer space, via the highest mountain ranges into the stratosphere and beyond into parallel universes - it is a very personal choice.
Get inspired by looking at images from the Hubble Space Telescope. They are awesome! Or scan the images, the Cassini spacecraft sent back to Earth from Saturn. Trawl the web ad lib.
There are a lot of worlds out there, and each and every one of them might just capture your imagination. Happy discovering!

The Sphere is on Kindle Scout's Hot & Trending List!

The Sphere is on its final day of the Kindle Scout campaign, and I can't believe it's on the Hot & Trending list. I am so chuffed! It is a great achievement for me since it is my first ever book, and I didn't think for a second, it could actually make it on the Hot & Trending list.
Thank you, everyone, who visited the campaign page and voted for The Sphere
Please keep voting!

The Sphere - Final days on Kindle Scout!

The Kindle Scout campaign for <The Sphere> is coming to an end! There is still time to download the excerpt and vote!

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/27XSWIGNXUSLD