Welcome to my stop on the
Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Cubeball by Michael
Leon .
Please leave a comment or question for Michael to let him know you
stopped by. You may enter his tour wide
giveaway, where Michael will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one (1) randomly
drawn commenter, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. You may follow all of the stops on his tour
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Background of Cubeball by Michael LeonMickey Allen was formed in my mind from an early age. I remember watching The Hustler, starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. I was so taken by the movie, I practiced snooker in my family’s back sunroom for hours every night. Decades later, those memories returned to me and I decided to write a science fiction book that paid homage to the grand old game.For that reason, Cubeball is the novel I had most fun writing. As a typical young boy growing up in outer Melbourne, I loved nothing more than to play 'kick to kick' outside with my friends and pretend to emulate my football hero's feats. In the evenings I would enjoy competing with my brothers at a game of snooker on our family billiard table. Writing Cubeball allowed me to re-live some of those boyhood dreams I had, and made me realise that whilst I had some natural talent at sport, I had a more fertile imagination! I feel fortunate that now I can spend a great deal of my time imagining stories to tell. I particularly enjoy imagining the future. It has been a fascination that has endured throughout my life."I actually wrote the first draft of Cubeball in three months, whilst I was staying in a small town in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. It had the sparsest accommodation I had ever experienced. There was no television or radio or wifi! It was a very hard adjustment, but I have never felt more creative. I remember regularly waking up in the early hours, excited by a vivid dream I had and wanting to describe it in my notebook. Try it some time. You will be amazed how your creativity comes to the fore.
By Michael Leon
Publisher: Michael Leon
Release Date: October 19, 2015
Genre: Sci-Fi
Format: eBook/Print
Length: 284 Pages
ISBN 13: 978-0994420909
ASIN: B016VTRID0
About the book:
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.
EXCERPTUnlike the real Mars settlement, Mons City was surrounded by a vertical city. Skyscrapers impossible to build on Earth or Mars dwarfed the largest mountain in the solar system. Mons City consisted of two cities, the Left Bank and Right Bank. Each city was built at the base of Olympus Mons, forming the largest boulevard ever digitally designed. Two parallel lines of skyscrapers extended thirty kilometres out from the Martian mountain and five kilometres apart. There was only one way in to Mons City and that was through the boulevard. Hover lines crisscrossed between the two cities making a Tokyo train station look like a country town. Twenty two million gamers (most online from their home) competed in this game. Around fifty thousand actually entered the game from Velvet Underground. Most of them were there to hide from the real world or rest and recover from the demands of the game. About another thousand were like Mickey, looking for someone. It was a melting pot of technology,
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:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5369984.Michael_Leon
Website: http://www.michaelleon.com.au/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelLeon0433
Website: http://www.michaelleon.com.au/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelLeon0433
Thank you to Queen of all She Reads for hosting me today and thanks to Goddess Fish. Wishing everyone good luck in the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteHi Rita! Thank you and good luck with the giveaway!
DeleteSounds like a great read, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Eva! Thanks for visiting. Best of luck with the giveaway!
Deletethank you for the chance
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Lisa! Good luck!
DeleteThis sounds like a really interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amy! I look forward to your feedback!
DeleteLooks uber interesting! I may have to check this one out
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Anna! I hope you enjoy it!
DeleteI'm certainly intrigued!
ReplyDelete--Trix
That's great, Trix! I think you would find it an intriguing read. I'd value your feedback, should you read it. All the best with the giveaway!
DeleteThank you for sharing this book. It sounds like a great read. .
ReplyDeleteI like the short bio Australia has always been a dream of mine.
Hi Silvia! Thanks for visiting. I hope you make it to Australia one day! Good luck with the giveaway!
DeleteReally enjoyed reading the entire post, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your wonderful support, Nikolina! Always appreciated and best of luck with the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteWhat genre do you rarely read, but wish you read more of?
ReplyDeleteHi Mai! I only read crime occasionally, but I nearly always enjoy it. So I'd have to vote for that one. I liked Thomas Harris's books. I usually read his novels in one or two sittings - a real page turner!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, very interesting, I love learning how authors get the ideas for their books! Sounds like a book I'll enjoy - thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria! I do hope you enjoy my novel. I look forward to your feedback!
DeleteHi Michael, I enjoyed reading the background of Cubeball-The Hustler is a great movie! I'd love to visit Australia-it looks absolutely beautiful. I'm sure that no television or radio or wifi was a very hard adjustment! It would make you realize how "connected" you are most of the time.
ReplyDeleteHi Betty! We are scarily connected to technology, bordering on addiction! But it will grow even more into the future. I tried to capture that in my novel. Thanks again for visiting. It is very much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteSounds intriguing I remember playing pool a lot in my teen years too. Thanks for the giveaway
ReplyDeleteHi Pam! Thanks for visiting and good luck with the giveaway!
DeleteThis books sounds awesome!! Thank you for the chance!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gabrelle! I hope you get time to read it. Best of luck with the giveaway!
DeleteWhat other kind of ideas do you have for more books?
ReplyDeleteHi Pam! I am reviewing the final draft of my next novel. It draws on the idea that we perhaps live in a multiverse. Some scientists speculate that there is more than one universe, perhaps an infinite number! My new novel tells the story of that first crossing. I expect to publish it in April. If you would like to know more about my other work, check out my web site and blog. Thanks for your interest!
ReplyDeleteI think this sound like an wonderful read! Best wishes for much success with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dee!
ReplyDelete