Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Cubeball by Michael Leon (VBT, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT







It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author Michael Leon, who muses on the subject of...


Balancing life and writing

There is no one answer to leading a balanced life. As in any professional pursuit, writing takes dedication, sacrifice and time. It helps if you believe in what you are doing. If you have little interest in the story you are about to write, you are less likely to finish it, let alone publish it as a novel. As a rule, if I feel excited about a project, I go for it! But I’m also clear about what I want to write and why.

One of the advantages of writing as a career is the flexibility of lifestyle it affords you. You get to decide when to write, what to write and even where to write. That gives you a lot of freedom on a day to day basis. But be careful! Your friends can take your flexible career for granted. In the past, many of my friends haven’t seen it like a normal career, often believing that I don’t have to work at all to produce a novel! It is best you educate them about the rigours of a writing career, so that they don’t call on you in the middle of important deadlines. That said, my good friends are very important to me. Writing can be a lonely occupation, so quality time with your best friends help to keep your life normal – well almost!

Even though a writing project has long lead times, it pays to make goals and set priorities both for the short and long term. I don’t overly plan, compared to some, but I do set weekly and monthly goals to make sure that I work consistently throughout the project. I also set regular breaks as rewards for achieving my goals. I’ve always worked better when I feel that I have control over a project and I am meeting or even beating deadlines. Regular small deadlines also break up what is a large project into bite-size bits, as a novel can take the best part of a year to complete. I find that if I work consistently on my novel, writing every day, even for as little as an hour, I get better outcomes. Cramming ever-increasing writing loads into shorter deadlines destroys creativeness for me.

I play to my strengths, too. I’m creative in the mornings, so the first task for the day is to write a first draft with pen and paper, whereas I edit and type my work in the afternoons, when I am less creative. I rarely work at night, as this is my reward for achieving my daily goal, as well as allowing me valuable rest time from the creative process.


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by Michael Leon



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GENRE: Sci-fi

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BLURB:

A naturally gifted ex-national champion and a savant with a computer-like mind compete against the world's best in the 22nd century's most popular sport - CUBEBALL - the chess-like, technology-enhanced, snooker of the future where the world stage is dominated by gambling, drugs and massive audiences.

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EXCERPT


At that moment Mickey knew he had to play his way and make a shot that would not be forgotten. He called “power-play.”

He imagined the perfect shot in his mind’s eye as he circled the table twice, deliberating his fateful shot. The balls loomed large, but strangely different. The table appeared more circular than a cube as he lowered his chin to his carbon steel cue. The whole shot played in his mind as he drew back the cue to strike the cue-ball with a force that engulfed the whole stadium.

The crack of the cue-ball as it struck its target echoed sharply its warning of an imminent tidal wave of spin and curve that would capture the imagination of every fan in the stadium, or at home in front of their cubebit. In one game changing savage strike, the red ball fell into the pocket as the cue-ball savagely spun into the red triangle, spreading the reds in all directions from the centrifugal force of the cue-ball. Mickey slotted twelve red and black combinations in four minutes, gaining an unassailable lead. He followed that with a perfect defensive stroke, leaving the cue-ball safely jammed behind yellow. Flaveau conceded the game and the match, shell-shocked by the unique high-spin attack Mickey had unleashed. The break was soon nicknamed ‘the pulsar’ and it had secured Mickey the first semi-final win and a shot at the world title.



Buy links:

Amazon Kindle
BookPOD
iBooks

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:




I worked with national and international organisations as a business analyst in Australia and overseas. I authored many business books analysing the foodservice and food retail industry in Australia, Europe and Asia, as well as agribusiness global trends. I also ran a consultancy business that assisted Australian enterprises to develop new markets in Australia and overseas.



I commenced writing science fiction novels full time in 2009. It was a life-long interest of mine. I have written five novels - all exploring contemporary social issues in future speculative worlds. They are: Shadow Dance; Extinction; Cubeball; Titan Sages and Alive. My novels blend speculative science, new age and poetry. Readers of novels such as Carl Sagan’s Contact would enjoy my novels.

Links:

Blog
Goodreads
Website



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GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here






33 comments:

  1. Thank you to The Reading Addict for hosting me today and thanks to Goddess Fish. Wishing everyone good luck in the giveaway!

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    1. Welcome, Michael! I hope the tour is going well and appreciate you taking the time to visit!

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    2. Thanks E.L. F.! The tour is progressing very well. The support from readers has been a delightful surprise!

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  2. What is your favorite non-fiction?

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Mai. (I like reading the Almanac sometimes!)

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  3. Hi Mai! I read a lot of popular science books as they give me ideas for my novels. Books/TV series such as Brian Cox' Wonders of the Universe come to mind.

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  4. Replies
    1. Happy to do so. Thanks for the great job you all do!

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  5. Which do you prefer in fiction: aliens who seem human, or completely different life forms?

    --Trix

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    1. Hi Trix! That's a tough question, as I have enjoyed both. I do enjoy novels where humans meet aliens from advanced races. This opens up different ways of communication. For example, aliens could have the ability to manipulate your mind so that you see them as human - as in Carl Sagan's Contact.

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    2. Nice, thought-provoking question, Trix...and interesting point, Michael!

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  6. Enjoyed your comments. Loved the excerpt.

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    1. Thanks for your support MomJane! Good luck with the giveaway!

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    2. Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment, Jane!

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    1. That's great, Rita! Thank you for visiting!

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    2. Great to hear, Rita. Thanks for the visit!

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  8. Enjoyed the excerpt and the post, sounds like a really good book, thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks so much, Eva! I hope you enjoy the book. Good luck with the giveaway!

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    2. Glad you enjoyed it, Eva, thanks for popping in!

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  9. Thanks Ana! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your visit and good luck with the giveaway!

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  10. I have no idea how I missed this post!! Sounds like a great book, I'm looking forward to reading it - thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Hi,Victoria! I'm glad you found this post! Thanks for your wonderful support and encouragement! I hope you enjoy my book and look forward to your feedback!

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    2. It's always great to see you, Victoria! Glad you got a chance to read about this book and hope you enjoy it!

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  11. I enjoyed reading how you balance writing and the rest of life. Thank you for sharing.

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  12. Hi Ree! Thanks for visiting. I enjoy your feedback!

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