Monday 16 December 2013

PROMOTION & REVIEW - PERFECTIBLE ANIMALS BY THOMAS NORWOOD

PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT


Title: Perfectible Animals Bk#1
Author: Thomas Norwood
ASIN: B00G190NXS
Series: Perfectible Animals
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Technothriller
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages: File Size: 258pages/491KB
Formats Available: E-Book

BLURB from Goodreads
It’s 2065. Environmental and social chaos are poised to disrupt all life on Earth. 

Michael Khan, a geneticist struggling to save his wife from a deadly virus, is recruited by a secret organization to engineer the next stage in the evolution of Homo sapiens.

When the military learns of his research, they force him to help create a bio-weapon to be used against rebel groups who are threatening civil war.

Desperate to save humanity before they wipe themselves out, Michael genetically modifies over one hundred children. Ironically, though, they start to breed diseases that are deadly to Homo sapiens, and he is arrested for bio-terrorism. 

Now, Michael isn’t only fighting for the life of his wife, but for his own life, the lives of his modified children, and those of millions of civilians about to be wiped out by diseases he is responsible for creating. 

The problem is — he can’t save them all.


**PLEASE NOTE** 
This title is already published on Amazon kindle. The Paperback is to be released mid November!


PURCHASE LINKS


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Thomas Norwood grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He spent most of his twenties travelling the world and trying not to take things too seriously, and most of his thirties trying to make up for lost time by taking everything way too seriously. As he approaches forty, he hopes he can find a happy balance. 


His book's include:
Perfectible Animals (To be released 11/11/13)
Perfectible Animals Book 2 (currently writing...)
Perfectible Animals Book 3 (only thinking about...)





AUTHOR LINKS



AUTHOR INTERVIEW


What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
My name is Thomas Norwood. I was born in Melbourne, Australia, and I currently live an hour out of Melbourne in a beautiful part of Australia called the Yarra Valley, well known for its great wines (not my first reason for moving there!) 

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
From the age of sixteen I decided a writer was what I wanted to be. Before that I'd wanted to be a millionaire (who doesn't?), a lawyer (I'm not sure why), an advertising executive (this part of my personality now comes in handy as I realise how much authors need to self-promote!)

Did it take a long time to get your first book published?
It's taken me nearly seventeen years from the time I first started writing seriously until now - when I feel I'm finally ready to publish my first novel. Although it's self-published, and I could have self published something years ago, I really wanted to make sure what I was putting out there was the best novel I could possibly write. I'm either a really slow learner - or writing is REALLY difficult!  

Do you work another job as well as your writing work?
Yes, I run my own business - a Spanish language school - with my partner. 

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Perfectible Animals. It's about a geneticist who is trying to make humans more disease resistant, cooperative and friendly but gets arrested for bio-terrorism. 

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I'm self published. 

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
This one took nearly 13 years. I really hope the next one doesn't take that long!  The last one I wrote took only three years - so I guess it really depends on the book. 

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
I'm going to write two more books in this series. Now I've spent so long creating the world and the characters and the ideas, I want to make the most of them. Besides, it was always planned as a trilogy. 

What genre would you place your books into?
Science Fiction or Technothriller. 

Do you have anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?
I've had lots of people look over this book, from family and friends, writers group members, to professional editors and manuscript assessors. All have given me valuable feedback - although to be honest the most expensive feedback has been the best (so it's worth paying a professional).

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Yes - I don't mind giving away free books to reviewers. 

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?
I designed my own cover. I used an image that I really liked and spent about three days searching for the right font! 

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?
The title came out of one of the sentences of the book. When I was studying creative writing many years ago, one of my classmates said "That would make an awesome title" when I read it out - and it stuck.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I decide as I go along. I think the best characters spring out of my subconscious like jack-in-a-boxes and take on a life of their own. 

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
I do a bit of initial planning, but from there I like to see where the characters take me. Then, on the second draft, I'll plan a lot more tightly. 

What do you do to unwind and relax?Do you have a hobby?
I love dancing. And wine! 

Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you?
Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")
Yes, definitely. For me a book should be as educational as it is entertaining. I write to make people think, not just to give them a good story. 

What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback)
I'm currently reading Margaret Atwood's Maddadam on my kindle. I'm loving it. 
I am ashamed to say I have yet to read any books by Margaret Attwood but the Maddadam Trilogy and The Handmaid's Tale. They are on my Wishlist/Hope To Read List~Jeanz

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
Probably. 



REVIEW

Title: Perfectible Animals Bk#1
Author: Thomas Norwood
ASIN: B00G190NXS
Series: Perfectible Animals
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Technothriller
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages: File Size: 258pages/491KB
Formats Available: E-Book

BLURB from Goodreads
It’s 2065. Environmental and social chaos are poised to disrupt all life on Earth. 

Michael Khan, a geneticist struggling to save his wife from a deadly virus, is recruited by a secret organization to engineer the next stage in the evolution of Homo sapiens.

When the military learns of his research, they force him to help create a bio-weapon to be used against rebel groups who are threatening civil war.

Desperate to save humanity before they wipe themselves out, Michael genetically modifies over one hundred children. Ironically, though, they start to breed diseases that are deadly to Homo sapiens, and he is arrested for bio-terrorism. 

Now, Michael isn’t only fighting for the life of his wife, but for his own life, the lives of his modified children, and those of millions of civilians about to be wiped out by diseases he is responsible for creating. 

The problem is — he can’t save them all.


**PLEASE NOTE** 
This title is already published on Amazon kindle. The Paperback is to be released mid November!

INITIAL THOUGHTS
I received this book directly from the author, in exchange for my honest review.
Approaching this book I was quite intrigued by the blurb, but was a little worried that perhaps some of the scientific/genetics talk would be over my head and I'll admit that about 56% of the way through the book I did feel a little overwhelmed by some of the terminology. Having said that I did really enjoy the book.

MY REVIEW
The cover shows a "human" or maybe a "modified human" with genetic symbols also on the front cover. the font and the author name is in a computurised type of font which fits in with the book content as it is scientific in genre.
So we to begin with we meet Michael Khan a brilliant scientist who has been arrested on charges of terrorism. Michael is put through some extremely hard cross examination as well as having his head messed with as one of his co-workers is arrested and they are continually played off against each other. Then the story flashes back and we learn about everything that happens. At the end of the book we go back to Michael being questioned at court. Michael finds out  for sure whether his colleague Justin has turned against him or not. Prospects seem to be looking up for Michael but then. . . well you need to read the book.
Michael may be a clinical, logical scientist but he has a wife with an auto immune disease he is also trying to cure with his genetic experiments. Justin his co-worker has a relative who is ill so they have that in common as well as working together. Also in this book there are two sectors of society, the haves within a segregated section of town and the have not's outside the gate. They are referred to the Regulated (inside) and the De-Regulated (outside). The world has changed dramatically after the horrific floods, food is in short supply. 
Michael's wife is really too ill to work but she volunteers at a medical clinic in the De-Regulated Zone, so they both have friends there. When the government decides to wipe out the De-Regulated Zone with a virus that Michael has worked on, both Michael and his wife try to vaccinate the poor people. Obviously that doesn't endear them to the government either.
Then mixed in with all the politics are the innocents that have been created in a scientific lab who yes are immune to viruses but can create worse if they are kept in close proximity to one another. they can be a death threat to "normal" humans. The government will want them killed if they find out before Michael can hide them. So Michael approaches some rather hippie friends of his and his wife who are part of the New Church Cult.
Will the Cult help hide the kids? Why doesn't Michael and his wife hide too?
This book definitely lives up to the genre classification that the author gave it as a Technothriller. It's not necessarily a book that I would have chosen by it's genre but after reading it I have to say apart from the odd confusing scientific talk I did enjoy the book. The rest of the book is good enough to read that you get past the difficult parts.
So did I enjoy the book? Yes I did enjoy it though as I have said there are more complicated sections of the book to get through. The book is totally worth sticking with though.  Would I recommend the book? Yes, I think it would appeal to adult readers or older teens that prefer a more involved plot. Would I read a BK#2? Yes please!If you are reading my Review Thomas Norwood, I'd love to be added to your reviewer list for Bk#2 if you have one.  Would I read other books by this Author? I would certainly take a close look at anything written by this author.


PURCHASE LINKS

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