Well, it took several years from the first time I thought of this book back in 2017 until I finished it. But, it's complete and for sale on Amazon -- and in Kindle Unlimited until the end of the year (2022 if you're counting).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BH5B4VQM
It takes place in the not too distant (but dystopian) future, where "The Game" is a virtual reality role-playing game that places the players into what seem like very real worlds where they can do anything they can in real life and more. Those who play it say,
"Everything is better in The Game."
PI Gault McGirr doesn't
believe that, but has no intention of finding out for himself ... until
his ex-girlfriend, Connie, shows up and hires him to find a missing
person: John, the man who took her away from Gault in the first place.
In
order to redeem the ill-conceived promise he made her, Gault needs to
enter the MMORPG virtual reality game that brags that it is "Better than
Real Life" in every way. He hopes to find the man quickly either in
game or out, preferably both, and then get Connie and John -- or just
John -- out of his life for good.
However, the deeper he digs,
the more it looks like John has become involved in something far greater
than what Gault first suspected, something that has others looking for
him as well, and without good intentions. Gault needs to find John fast,
and may the Gaming Gods help any orc or goblin that gets in his way.
But finding John will require a team, something Gault feels ambivalent
about.
Unravel the mystery with Gault and his new associates as
his investigations lead him into Fantasy World, where a fantasy knife in
the back can bring the same excuciating pain that an actual one can in
real life, but where the pain doesn't end with death, and where betrayal
is rife.
This is the longest book I've ever written and I'm happy to have finished it. Amazon says it has a "print length" of 883 pages -- but no print book is available. Get it while it's hot!
As is typical for me, I'm suffering a kind of "postpartum depression" that many writers suffer from when they finish a book. While labouring away on the book, I had something to look forward to -- the ending -- but now that I've written "The End", a sense of purposelessness has come over me. Yes, I have other books to write, one of which is at the 3/4 mark, but there is a definite crash at the end of each book.
Cheer me up. Read a few pages of "Ghost in the Game". I've spent at least 500 hrs on it, so it would be nice if someone other than myself and two beta readers read it.
Anyway, it's October now, so with winter coming on, I should return to one of the other books and hopefully finish another one before year's end.
Thank you for your time, and drop a note if you wish.
D.A. Boulter
I recently became aware you had published a few more books so I ordered them. Wreck was good, and although I was hesitant with Ghost, I started it, and I'm enjoying it. Not sure why it's only $.99 but I order all your books #1 I enjoy them, and second, authors need encouragement to write and readers are a big part of that, although earning returns on the work is pretty important too...so keep writing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support. "Ghost in the Game" is at $0.99 because it hasn't sold at a higher price. It's not selling at a lower price, either. It sold about 3 copies and had page reads in Kindle Unlimited that tallied up to the equivalent of about 5 more during the first month -- and that's it. Royalties from it cover about one half the cost of the cover art.
DeleteAll in all, rather disappointing considering the time and effort I put into it. It did get a couple of nice reviews on the amazon.co.uk page, but they haven't migrated to the .com page, unfortunately.
However, thank you for buying it and I hope you enjoy rest of the story. I think it's a pretty good one -- though I might be a tad biased in this regard.
Hey Doug, this is Jilleann, you gave us a wonderful interview on the Escape The Plot Forest - about the Lighthouse. I wanted to know if I could get a copy of your notes as I'm transcribing this video for myself and, I figure, since you obviously already had notes, I wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I bought the book but I haven't had a change to read it yet but I will.
Feel free to contact me: jillyjackripley@yahoo.com
Also, go ahead and delete this email after you've written it down somewhere :)
Thanks so much!