BEFORE I TELL YOU WHY you should read my new novel, The Sound of Life, please read this:

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BOOK YOU’RE ABOUT TO WRITE! 

To ensure that your book gets maximum visibility in the marketplace, please select from each of the following categories before you begin your manuscript. When you have made your selections, please feed them into the AI engine of your choice and direct it to write a book synopsis using the terms you have chosen. Once you have your synopsis,you may begin your manuscript, using the synopsis as your guide. 

Note: Every chapter MUST reflect each category and MUST use the terms you choose (see final category, below) at least once.

Basic Story Themes (Select One)

• Evil despot in shady country intent on taking over the world
• Mysterious global cabal intent on taking over the world (must involve banking or healthcare)
• Climate change or deadly, unpredictable weather
• Evil aliens arrive from Procyon Alpha with suspicious intent
• Religious/political/academic/corporate zealot with a dirty bomb
• Upgraded (v2.0) Religious/political/academic/corporate zealot with a stolen nuclear weapon
• Upgraded (v3.0) Religious/political/academic/corporate zealot with a stolen biological agent
• Deadly virus/bacterium deliberately released from a lab
• Deadly virus/bacterium accidentally released from a lab
• Deadly virus/bacterium inadvertently released from an ancient tomb
• Hordes of zombies that inexplicably outnumber the planet’s population by a factor of six

Main Bad Actor (Select No More Than Two)

• Evil despot
• Global cabal
• Zealot
• Virus
• Bacterium
• Weather
• Soulless aliens
• Out-of-control AI
• Mindless super-soldiers operated by out-of-control AI (or brain worms)
• Zombies
• Pissed-off animals with brain worms

Main Hero (Select One)

• Regular guy with no particular skills who must save the world/galaxy/universe
• Regular woman with no particular skills who must save the world/galaxy/universe
• Regular guy or woman whose husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/dog/child gets kidnapped
• Grizzled, world-weary veteran who has seen it all, with chip on shoulder
• Grizzled, world-weary veteran who has seen it all, with dog
• Grizzled, world-weary veteran who has seen it all, with chip on shoulder and dog
• Child prodigy 
• Child prodigy with special powers

Hero’s Main Weakness (Select as Many As Required)

• Man/woman left them
• War scarred them for life/PTSD
• Dog died
• Drug/alcohol dependency
• Couldn’t save buddy
• Gun shy because of that thing that happened that they can’t/won’t talk about 
• Innocent but blamed for the crime they didn’t commit (usually pursued by many people from a wide range of military and paramilitary groups)

Main Hero’s Sidekick (Select One)

• Dog
• Short round guy whose main weapon is humor and wisecracks (must be loyal)
• Very large guy with extreme weapons knowledge
• World-class hacker who can get into any system in the solar system in 11 seconds or less
• Super-tough, smart woman
• Former convict who “knows the ropes”
• Android
• Robot
• Imaginary or dead friend

Required Descriptive Terms (Select One From Each Sub-Category)

• [Unspeakable] + 
• [horror, evil, madness, assassination, murder, ancient scroll, ancient seal, ancient tomb, act, deadly, anger, rage, or outcome] + 
• [collapse, fall, revolution, terror in the streets, lawless, undead, maniac, bloodshed, bodies, or terrorism] + 
• [superhuman, soldier, detective, officer, firefighter, Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, tracker, doctor, paramedic, archaeologist, mercenary, or veteran] + 
• [suspicion, stakes, odds, costs, outnumbered, horrific, mysterious, hopeless, unstoppable, epic, or downfall]

HOO, BOY. 

EVERY DAY I GET BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS in email from various sources. They always begin with “We think you’ll like this,” or “For readers of…,” followed by a well-known author’s name. Sometimes there’s a winner, but increasingly, my eyes glaze over as I read the descriptions. It’s as if they all used the template I created above to design their story arc. 

Look: I read everything, and I mean everything. I average around 125 books per year, and they’re drawn from almost every genre out there. I read them all because I enjoy them, and because the variety makes me a better writer. 

So: why should you read The Sound of Life? Well, a couple of reasons. First, you should know that if I had used that checklist I showed you earlier to develop the story, I would have had to add a final category in each bullet list that says None of the above. I don’t have evil cabals, slimy despots, deadly germs, evil politicians, or horrifically corrupt business leaders in this book. What I have is a group of good people who prove that hard work, kindness, serendipity, loyalty, and trust can lead to good things when facing adversity. 

The truth is, that’s what our world is really like. Good things do happen to good people. Do my characters face challenges? Absolutely! Are there hair-raising moments? Of course! But none of them pose an existential planetary threat that can only be stopped by an overtired elementary school teacher with a pet iguana, falsely accused of an improper relationship with a student (the teacher, not the iguana), who really doesn’t want to get involved…but does, thus saving the planet.

But the real reason you should read the book? It’s a great story! It has plenty of action and a cadre of characters that you’ll be sorry to see go when you close the back cover. This is my 106th book (really) and it’s the first book I’ve ever written that caused me to feel a bit melancholy when I wrote the last page. I didn’t want it to end. That says something, doesn’t it? It also has a great environmental message that will make you think about our role on this beautiful blue ocean planet, long after you’ve finished the book. 

The Sound of Life is available now on Amazon, in trade paperback and Kindle editions.