Thursday, July 17, 2014

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Dark Nights by Christopher A. Gray


Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Dark Nights by Christopher A. Gray.  Please leave a comment or question for Christopher to let him know you stopped by.  You can enter his tour wide giveaway, where Christopher will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of his tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.




Balancing Life and Writing by Christopher A. Gray

Coming from the banking world to write full time has meant some adjustments! The good points are no daily commute, not having to drag myself out of the house in bad weather, and not reporting to anyone but myself. The other side of the coin is that I must wear many hats. I’m a writer, first-line editor, art director, layout artist, and more.

I’m smart enough to know my limitations, so I hired a good editor for the manuscript and a proven graphic artist for the cover. Developing a good relationship with other professionals is crucial to producing a good product.

The life of a writer can be a solitary one, so I enjoy getting out to the local coffee shop and occasionally going downtown to meet colleagues or my editor. A local bookstore also hosted a booksigning event for me, and it was terrific to meet and talk to people who were interested in my book. I learned that author signings are very popular with booklovers, who have the opportunity to ask all sorts of questions about the writing process and characters in the story.

It’s also important for a writer to exercise regularly. Sitting down at a keyboard for hours on end can be productive when inspiration strikes, but it isn’t a healthy habit. Humans are designed to be in motion! I have a home gym and use that a couple times per week, and try to get out for walks at least once a day. Walking also helps me clear my head which helps me resolve issues when I’m stuck.


Dark Nights
By Christopher A. Gray

Publisher: Sundow Press
Release Date: January 6, 2014
Genre: TechnoThriller
Length: 326 Pages
ISBN: 978-0986836480
ASIN: B00GOH9CSE

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

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About the book: 

The machine believed it knew best how to save humanity... even if doing so meant destroying half the population.

Astrophysicist Doug Lockwood's unusual discovery during his observation of the sun kicks off a chain of events that nobody could have foreseen. The powerful political and military influences that compete to deal with his discovery set Lockwood on a course which will carry him across worlds, and into the grasp of a formidable new intelligence bent on accomplishing its goal at any cost. With Earth itself at stake and time running out, Lockwood and his team must find a way to counter this unprecedented threat before the powerful new enemy completes its plan. Two civilizations are pitted against each other in a desperate struggle for survival.

EXCERPT

Meyer shut the door after the last person left and sat down in the nearest chair, directly across from Doug, rather than his usual spot at the head of the table. Doug waited for him to speak.

“It’s a planet,” Meyer said finally. “And it’s in an orbit directly opposite ours, at a distance of approximately one AU.”

Doug didn’t reply. The implications were massive, as were the questions. After a few seconds, Meyer rose from his seat and walked to the window, looking outside at the sloping volcanic Hawaiian landscape as he talked.

“Nobody knows where it came from, but it’s there, verified by NASA.”

“Using their STEREO satellites?”

“Yes, a few hours ago. But you and Foley at Atacama saw it first. STEREO was trained on another star when you logged the object. It took some time to reposition STEREO’s lenses. Because of their orbital distance ahead and behind us, together they will be able to keep tabs on the object at all times. We’re expecting some images soon, which will be free of the sun’s coronal interference.”

“So we’ll have a better view and can determine if its orbit is stable.”

“Correct.”

“But that doesn’t explain how it got there.”

“Correct again. But thanks to your discovery, and your reputation, you’ve been invited to an emergency conference in Washington. You’ll be meeting your plane at Pearl Harbor in two hours. Don’t bother to pack, there’s a helicopter on its way here, courtesy of the White House Chief Science Advisor.”


AUTHOR INFORMATION:


Christopher A. Gray is a professional freelance writer living in Toronto. He has been a sales agent, project manager, actor, filmmaker, comedy writer & performer and world traveler.








15 comments:

  1. I liked the excerpt the best. This book sounds great. Thanks for having the giveaway.

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  2. Thank you for hosting, and I hope readers enjoy the book!

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  3. Looks interesting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

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  4. Interesting post today. I liked reading about balancing your work & home life. I recently read and saw a picture of an author who had placed her 'work' computer on her treadmill. She alternately stood and walked on the treadmill while writing. That's a cleaver way to stay in shape while having a sit-down job!

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  5. I enjoyed the guest post, thank you.

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  6. That's an innovative way to stay in shape. I prefer walking, it seems to be a catalyst for new ideas.

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  7. Looks great, thanks for the guest post

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  8. Learning about the author and the novel. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. Intriguing excerpt!

    vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

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