After a FAR FAR longer break than I’d ever expected, my next publication is up for Pre-Order! I am beyond excited. The title is Jacked, and here’s a short blurb:
She can’t remember her today, but her yesterday will never be forgotten.
When recovering addict Ava Blake awakens with more than just a mild case of amnesia, she’s unsure if the procedure performed on her was against her will, or—even worse—her own idea.
They say that with time, her memories will return. But, will they be her own, or will they be something completely unexpected?
If you love a story filled with near-future action, get this exciting Sci-Fi thriller today.
This story idea came to me in February of 2019 when I’d been invited to participate in a science fiction anthology. The word cap limit was relatively low, but I started my brainstorming sessions right away. I came up with several different themes to run with, and after about a week of not dialing in on anything, I had a dream!
Yeah, as with most of my stories, they start in my sleep. The inspiring dream for Jacked was about a guy that was an alcoholic and wanted to get drunk but didn’t want to actually consume the alcohol. So, he went to the black market underground to buy an implant. The benefit was that he could get drunk just be mentally triggering the device, but would not have the other side effects of the booze. He bought 10 shots of scotch for the low cost of 5,000 credits.
Jacked is nothing like that at all, but as I brainstormed through the possibilities, I arrived at something much more adventurist. Ava, my main character, is an ex-druggie, and she wakes up in a “facility” with no idea who she is or why she’s even there. After a few days, her promised memories begin to come back, along with some anomalous thoughts—side effects of her newly installed implant. The story carries on as she discovers all the secrets of who she was and who she would become.
So, Jacked is a novella. It’s planned to come in around 24,000 words. Maybe a little more. Maybe less. In book form, I’m shooting for about 150 pages. The anthology I was writing this for had a much lower word count limit, so I ended up shelving this story until now. And as with a lot of my stories, I like the think about how they could carry on. Ava has the ability to lead us all on endless near-future adventures! Depending on how well the pre-order sales go and how well it’s received once it’s published will determine if I’ll continue on with the series. Who knows, maybe I’ll just fly through the rest of this draft and roll right into the next volume. Time will tell.