The Guns of Mars: Part 2

I'm happy to see that The Guns of Mars received a couple of fresh 5-star reviews on Amazon.com last week (check it out here). I always appreciate when people take the time and effort to throw down a few words to express their views about my books, and I especially like it when they have something good to say about my writing. My sincerest thanks to everyone who has posted such reviews of my work over the years.

Now, getting into today's blog post, I'd like to introduce you to one of my future works. For some time now, I have had an idea for a direct sequel to The Guns of Mars, and at present I have a decent outline and the first few thousand words written. It's a book I'll get around to completing later this year (hopefully), after I have finished a few other projects that are more pressing.

With the working title of "Bloody Mars," this direct sequel takes us back to the Red Planet, only a couple of years after the events from Guns. We have several past favorites returning, including Melinda Faris, Colonel Seth Avery, and Administrator Budreau, as well as a host of new characters. We will see how the struggling breakaway colonies are doing on Mars, and follow some people on Earth with disparate views of the situation.

Like Guns, Bloody Mars will have political undertones. There are scenes planned which will follow outgoing President Steyn weighing his options concerning the rebel Martian colony, and we'll have some interesting conjecture from his successor, whose personal approach to the issue could spell doom for the colonists. Of course, there is also the European Consensorate, whose leaders will also be plotting revenge against the rebels, so there will be plenty of viewpoints to go around as the plotlines unfold.

Also, we will be learning much more about the alien complex that Morgan discovered. I know some of you have questions concerning that structure, and the experiences Morgan had there (particularly his interactions with Rheena Liszt). Rest assured, all of those questions will be answered! We'll learn the true origin of that structure, and it potential for the future. It'll serve a crucial role in the eventual climax of the story.

I call this a "direct" sequel, because I have already written an indirect sequel which follows Morgan Asher as he ventures back into a virtual fantasy simulation. That book, entitled Virtual Domination, has been completed for quite some time, and I'll be shopping it around to various publishers later this year. It's as much a sequel to "Prisoner of Time" as it is The Guns of Mars.

I'll keep you updated as things progress for this novel. Rest assured, the story of the Scientific States of Mars will continue. It's just a matter of time.