Life Imitates The Third V

Once again, life imitates my soon-to-be released novel, The Third. From today’s The Telegraph (U.K.):

The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050.

The plan also envisages an end to cheap holiday flights from Britain to southern Europe with a target that over 50 per cent of all journeys above 186 miles should be by rail.

Top of the EU's list to cut climate change emissions is a target of "zero" for the number of petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries in the EU's future cities.

Siim Kallas, the EU transport commission, insisted that Brussels directives and new taxation of fuel would be used to force people out of their cars and onto "alternative" means of transport.

"That means no more conventionally fuelled cars in our city centres," he said. "Action will follow, legislation, real action to change behaviour."

From The Third, Chapter 2:

“You aren’t that young, are you?” Dempsey asked as he took a left on 12th Street, heading west. “I thought you were old enough to remember when just about everyone owned a car.”

Dempsey honked the truck’s horn, and Ransom watched as a lady reading the news board jumped in the air. He could remem­ber car-filled streets, but the memories were few and hazy. The clearest was of him sitting in the backseat of his family’s minivan, looking out the window as his mom pulled into a parking lot filled with cars. Perhaps he remembered it so well because the summer sun had reflected off their windshields and reminded him of a sky filled with stars.

“I was five, maybe six, when the carbon taxes went into effect,” Ransom said. “I remember my dad coming home from work and telling my mom that they couldn’t afford to drive any­more. Sometime after that, I think the car was sold or given to a recycling center.”

The only difference? In my book cars are banned around 2040.

Scary, ain’t it.

Pre-Order The Third

If you look across the menu bar of my website, you’ll notice a new link: Store. Yes, I’ve finally migrated my store to my website. This means that those who have been wanting to, can now pre-order a copy of The Third before the official release date. Just click here to start shopping. Though I don’t know when I’ll get my copies, anything order before the end of the month will be shipped before the book hits store shelves. I’ll even personalize it to you or whoever you’re giving a copy to.

You can also pre-order copies from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.

For those who prefer e-readers, though I don’t have an exact release date yet, e-book versions (Kindle, Nook, etc.) of The Third will be available sometime before the end of April.

If you live outside the United States and Canada and would like to pre-order a copy of The Third, drop me an email. I have some options in order to get the book shipped out to you in an affordable, timely manner.

The Third Book Cover

Each new birth is one step closer to the brink of destruction...

“The only way your kids are going to have any future is if we get this world back to a livable condition. The only way we‘re going to do that is with fewer people. People are the problem, not the solution.”

When Ransom Lawe, a recycler in the Pacific Northwest, finds out his wife is pregnant with their third—and therefore illegal—child, he’s forced to choose between the government who proclaims a desire to save the planet and his hope for a place where his family can live in freedom. But with the Census Bureau Sentinels closing in on his wife and unborn child, Ransom’s choice will either save his family or tear them apart forever.

Abel Keogh offers a stark and haunting look at a not-so-distant future in this chilling new novel. Crossing lines between good and evil, freedom and oppression, and political and environmental responsibility, The Third is a gut-wrenching tale of intense loyalty and unconditional love.

Read chapter 1

Guess what I’m doing this weekend?

The edits for the first half of The Third are in. Time to hunker down and get to work. Update 1/16: Edits are complete and on their way back to the editor. Hoping to have the other half wrapped up this week!

Update 1/17: Received the second half of edits from the editor. Getting back to work.

The Third Goes to Press February 14

Just met the editor for The Third via email. I lucked out and got one that likes speculative fiction. Sounds like she’ll be fun to work with. Anyway, I should receive her comments, edits and suggested changes in the next week or two. The Third is scheduled to go to press February 14. That means it should be available to buy some time in March.

That also means the cover should be coming my way soon too. For some reason I’m really excited to see what they come up with.

Stay tuned.

Life Imitates The Third III

Looks like I should have moved up the timeline in The Third 20 or 30 years.

From  The Third

Chapter 6

“The cooler’s not working,” Ransom said as he fished around in his wallet for the right change and his ration card.

“It needs coolant,” the clerk answered as he rang up the soda and the bottle deposit and punched Ransom’s ration card with perfunctory motions. “Ordered some a month ago. Has to come all the way from Reno. No telling when it will arrive.”

Chapter 12

Harden stood in the entrance of the bakery to watch the boys, but the crowd moved forward. He had to apologize for running late and shut the door again. Then he hurried back to the counter and retrieved a loaf of bread from the shelf. He set it in front of Ransom, but put his hand over it before Ransom could touch it.

“Sorry, but I can only give you one loaf,” he said. “My flour ration was cut last week, so I’m only able to make half of what we usually make.”

Article from The Telegraph (UK) Monday, November 29, 2010

Cancun climate change summit: scientists call for rationing in developed world

Global warming is now such a serious threat to mankind that climate change experts are calling for Second World War-style rationing in rich countries to bring down carbon emissions.

[Professor Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research], said politicians should consider a rationing system similar to the one introduced during the last “time of crisis” in the 1930s and 40s.

This could mean a limit on electricity so people are forced to turn the heating down, turn off the lights and replace old electrical goods like huge fridges with more efficient models. Food that has travelled from abroad may be limited and goods that require a lot of energy to manufacture.

“The Second World War and the concept of rationing is something we need to seriously consider if we are to address the scale of the problem we face,” he said.

The Third Release Date: Earth Day 2011

Just got The Third's release date from publisher. The book should start hitting bookstores shelves or coming to  an e-reader near you in April 2011. The official release date for the book, however, is April 22 – Earth Day but it will probably be available to buy before then. For those you who are familiar with the content of the book, I can’t begin say how happy the official release date makes me. I can't think of a better way to celebrate that day. I’m going to have fun, fun, fun with this. :-)