I finally published my Sci-fi Book Too Bright the Sun yesterday.

Sort of Cross of Iron meets Blade Runner. Thanks to Ash for a brilliant cover and Ash, Gary and Lorna for reading it.

Here is the blurb:

Jake Nanden is a man scared of his own soul.

It’s been over ten years since Gary Enquine sent my friend Przeltski to a certain death. Not one day has gone by without the memories of that battle prowling my mind like a waking nightmare. Many times I have woken in a cold-sweat thinking about it. I will not rest – can not rest until Gary Enquine has been brought to justice and been forced to pay for his cowardice. Ten years; its a long time but I can be patient. 2101, Feb 3. 1.

Major Jake Nanden is a soldier so well decorated that his fame reaches far beyond the desolate moon Io where he is stationed. His victories in the Jupiter Wars are hollow though, for he is a man scared of his own soul. Seeking vengeance for the death of a friend ten long years ago, he has pursued his own personal demons with an almost religious fervour through life and through battle. But deeply buried memories will turn his world upside down and reveal just how fragile life and beautiful the human spirit can be.

From the Author
One off the things that inspired me to write Too Bright the Sun was the concept of the Stanford Torus and concept paintings of it like this one here:

In the late 1960s and early 1970s NASA was asked by the US Government to explore ways of sending an ‘ark’ through space. Here is their viability report. They were terrified of the possible consequences of all-out nuclear war and wanted to assure the survival of at least some Americans, even if they had to be sent out into space. NASA enlisted the help of experts from all disciplines and came up with a rotating space station that could accommodate up to 100,000 people – the minimum number felt necessary for a healthy isolated community. They also found that a local familiar landmark of some size would help the colony to overcome the isolation of space. The answer seemed to be the Stanford Torus, a slowly spinning hollow doughnut shaped ring which would give artificial gravity and enough space to support the required number of people and landmarks such as rivers and mini Golden Gate Bridges. This is where my idea for the space station J5 came from for Too Bright the Sun.

High resolution images of the MCS are available in the deluxe edition of The War for Iron: Element of  Civilization: Boxed Set.

Another subject I explore though not in much detail is the Oedipus Complex. Jake has two women in his life, one being Jena. His military psychologist, she has tremendous power over him, but he feels she treats him like a lab rat, giving him coplex mazes to navigate. However, she also has two lovers, the other being Lincoln, rich and highly influential. Jake feels threatened and through his insecurity about his origin (test tube) and state of mind, he has developed an Oedipal relationship with her ie she has become his ‘Mother.’ Like all sons, he needs her and needs to win her approval but failing this attempts to control and dominate her, making demands she cannot satisfy (though Jena’s intentions are honourable and she doesn’t deliberately cultivate his mother complex to exploit him, as many women do). His impatience leads to her rejecting him in favour of Lincoln, but fortunately for him he has much more understanding and ‘equal’ friend in space pilot Katie. In my opinion, too many men are too dependent on their mothers (I don’t have a strong attachment to mine, so I feel I know what I’m talking about here) and become impatient, demanding, jealous and possessive in relationships (though easy to manipulate lol).