The world of publishing has undergone one of the most drastic changes in its history in the decade or so. It’s safe to say that these changes are not over yet and the new shape of the publishing world has yet to settle. Shake-the-Tree is a small UK publisher, specialising in science fiction and fantasy, and working exclusively in e-book format. As well as publishing, we also offer a variety of services and advice.
Astronomicon: Inception Point released
We are pleased to be able to announce that the replacement first novel in the Astronomicon science-fiction series, Astronomicon: Inception Point is now available on Amazon (and Amazon US).
The thrilling start of the Astronomicon Science Fiction series, charting the human race’s first faltering steps to another star. Chris Sergov, Commander of the Elysian, leads a colonisation mission to Proxima Centauri. After the landing goes wrong, the survivors must race to locate their vital supplies and equipment left scattered across the surface of the alien planet.
They soon discover that the low temperatures and harsh conditions are not all that stand between them and survival. A chance discovery on their new home planet becomes the strongest evidence yet that mankind is not alone in the cosmos. Meanwhile, political changes back on Earth threaten to put an end to space exploration and the outer planets mining operations. Who will win in a standoff between the Jovian miners and Earth’s military?
Currently, the author is working on a humorous fantasy novel, but he plans to write more novels in the Astronomicon series soon. Books 1 to 3 are already available on Amazon along with the spin-off novel Icarus.
Astronomicon: Inception Point
2020 may have been a very slow year, for reasons I do not need to list here, but we are finally within shouting distance of launching the completely rewritten Astronomicon book 1, retitled from “The Beginning” to “Inception Point”.
It’s largely the same characters and scenario but the events within the story are different, pacing much improved and a huge amount of work has gone into making the vessel technology more scientifically accurate. The Elysian, the main vessel in the story, has undergone a total redesign which had the unfortunate side-effect of making the current cover-art obsolete.
As much as we liked the current cover, to fit with the new design and to highlight how different this novel is from the original, it was clearly time to introduce new cover art. So, here it is:
The Elysian is a 3D model which can be rendered at any angle opening up all sorts of possibilities for illustrations and marketing materials. For example, here is a shot of it flying away from the camera.
There will be a further announcement when the novel is launched on Amazon.
More details on Paul Vincent’s Blog.
Progress Report for 2020
With one thing and another, it’s been a bit of a quiet year!
The good news is, after a LONG delay, the totally rewritten (and MUCH improved) first book in the popular Astronomicon series is now being posted on Wattpad. If it proves to be as popular as we expect, it will be released on Amazon with new cover art before the end of the year.
It turns out that rewriting a previously written book when it is the start of series is surprisingly complicated! As well as improving the story, the pacing the characters, changing many of the characters, improving the science and adding in some extra features and twists, the novel must also seamlessly lead into the sequel withing causing any contradictions or plot holes. No mean feat!
However, things are going well and the end is in sight!
Astronomicon Book 1
Replanning the first Astronomicon novel is well underway. Lots of exciting changes and many, many improvements on the way. It’s a huge project and it’s going to take a lot of work to get to the end but we’re totally convinced that it will be worth the effort. Years of experience, a better understanding of the science involved, increased descriptive clarity, deeper characters and generally better pacing throughout the story will all make for a much better novel.
It’s got a new title but will definitely still keep the “Astronomicon 1:” prefix. We will do a big title reveal in a couple of months’ time, shortly before the even bigger new cover reveal. More information to come as we get closer to the dates – Watch this space!
The majority of the characters from the original novel will be kept in this new version, especially where the same characters feature in later novels, but a few have been replaced with more interesting and realistic characters.