A Beginner’s Guide To Invading Earth

A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth
by Gerhard Gehrke

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GENRE: Science Fiction

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BLURB:

What would you do if you found a dead alien on a lonely highway?

Was it an accident, sabotage, or murder? And why is everyone blaming Jeff?

The extraterrestrials aren’t waiting for answers. They want revenge. And Jeff isn’t ready for company.

His only hope is an outcast mechanic from another world and a woman who might do anything to get off planet, including selling out her own kind. Jeff has to get to the bottom of why there are so many alien bodies piling up and who is really responsible.

A science fiction adventure novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth tells the story of a reclusive ex-computer programmer who is the unwitting central figure of a plot to keep humanity from ever making first contact.

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Excerpt:

Jeff fought to breathe as he spun about in Whistleʹ s tightening grasp. He saw the Grey standing calmly by, an odd smile on its tiny, noseless face. It was transfixed by the action and violence. As Whistleʹ s swathe through the ranks of the Clyptus grew, the Grey tittered.

“Hi,” Jordan said to the Grey.

It hadn’t seen her approach. It was too focused on the brawl. Jordan punched the short alien. The Greyʹ s head snapped back, and its big eyes fluttered. The Grey crumpled, its weapon flying out of its hand. Before it lost consciousness, it released the scent of rotten eggs.

“And here I thought you liked me,” Jordan said.

Meanwhile, Oliop jumped on Whistle and latched onto her head with arms and legs and tail, blinding her. She grabbed at him. When she did, the remaining Clyptus struck at her. They moved over their stomped, battered, and torn companions and stabbed away at the rocky creature. Their darts and stickers poked uselessly at her hardened exterior. Some shot her with their energy weapons, but the yellow beams did nothing. All the while, Jeff wrestled and clawed at Whistleʹ s thick arm, but he couldʹ t break free.

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Interview with the Author:

1. How long have you been writing? I’ve written in one format or another since grade school. I started writing my own stories in a notebook for no one else to read but me. This blossomed into making Pac-Man comic books, which included a heavy dose of vampires and Shogun Warriors to please my fellow collaborators. Getting involved in local community television introduced me to actually finding an audience for things put down on paper, even though most of what we worked on was non-narrative in structure. Writing fiction for others to read evolved from all of this.
2. How long have you been a published author? I published a few short stories in the 1990’s including the Editor’s Choice winning “Past a Spinning Star” at AnotheRealm.com. I tried my hand at getting a few novels published during the years between then and now, and in 2015 Booktrope accepted my most recently written book.

3. What titles do you have available? A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth is the first!

4. What made you choose the subject of this book?

5. Do you have any new titles coming soon? I have a follow-up to A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth that is now going through editing. Hopefully this will be out mid-2016. Also I have a post-decline of civilization novel I’m writing where a young girl escapes from a secret sanctuary only to discover that the world outside is a much more complicated place than she had ever imagined. Date of release TBD.

6. What is your favourite genre and why? For writing I enjoy science fiction for its speculative properties. Working out changes to people’s lives and to society as brought on by some advancement is satisfying. This genre also has the ability to be the most hopeful and terrifying, sometimes within the same story.

7. What, to you, is the most exciting part of the writing process? The initial idea when it first pops in your head. When I can’t shake an idea, it goes into a notebook. When the notes in the notebook has enough friends I see what happens when I put them on a page. If they play well together and get my figurative juices flowing, I keep on it. I work with loose outlines, more of a connect-the-dots where I want a story to go. My notebooks have lists of out-of-order scenes, words, and phrases that I later add to whatever I’m working on. Plenty gets left behind and never used. But this early part of the process is thrilling, like the first sparks in lighting a fire.

8. If you could co-author a book with anyone, who would you choose and why? Tough question! With anyone that pops to mind, it’s “You’re better at this; why don’t you take over” or “Get your hands out of my manuscript.” But today I’ll pick John Carpenter, the writer of so many schlocky films. He knows what makes for fun stories and gets his ideas on screen. As a writer/director he sees projects finished and in front of an audience. His experience would be invaluable. For an idea of how weird his ideas can be, go watch the low -budget movie Dark Star. Plus I’d love to see what he might have in mind for a novel.

9. Where can readers find you on the web?
Web: http://www.gerhardgehrke.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/gerhardgehrkeauthor
Twitter: @gerhardgehrke

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Gerhard Gehrke studied film at San Francisco State University. He wrote and produced several shows for community television. His Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror short stories have appeared in several publications, including an Editor’s Choice-winning short story at AnotheRealm.com. A Beginner’s Guide to Invading Earth is his first novel.
You can connect with him at Gerhardgehrke.com.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gerhardgehrke
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gerhardgehrkeauthor
Blog: www.capriciousnarrator.wordpress.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=a+beginner%27s+guide+to+invading+earth+

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-beginners-guide-to-invading-earth-gerhard-gehrke/1122581957

Also available on iBooks

Link to YouTube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwExDzGD6Js

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Gerhard Gehrke will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway