Book Launch and controversy

It has been a busy week

Yesterday the 6th of January saw the launch of my second novella in the Cold Rush verse ‘Cold Blooded’

'“A fast-paced military sci-fi/space opera with heart. Delving into the human perspective and fallout effects from corporate greed, politics, and machinations. We follow the life of Mint, a hardened and seasoned officer as she just tries to navigate through life closed off and in numbness. She soon realises that this isn't the way as forces seem determined to change the course of her life. From cold rush games in full mech suits, to determine which side conquers a mineral-rich asteroids, visceral action and truly memorable characters.” - T.K. Topin, science fiction author

Check it out now

Book Sirens contreversy

I am writing this newsletter today because my involvement in the Book Sirens debacle overshadowed my launch day yesterday. Book Sirens is a service that links authors with reviewers for a fee. I have been distributing review copies of Cold Blooded through book sirens for the past few weeks. Last week they sent me a scifi bundle that my book was included in. Just as I was about to share the bundle another title caught my eye, because I couldnt believe what I was reading. I enlarged it and read it again and again and yes the title was ‘Planet of the Rapes’ along with a terrible AI cover of a sexualised astronaut. This made me feel very uncomfortable so I contacted book sirens and told them that I wasnt going to promote a bundle with that title in it and that they needed to review its inclusion. Their response was that I could leave the bundle. I wasnt happy with this response so I posted to threads and bluesky. 100k views later they responded with a very poorly worded public post. Which they have been roundly lambasted for on socials. You check out their post here on threads along with the very many unhappy comments to that response. I have removed my book from their site and I will not be using there services again.

In Other News

Dale Stromberg has launched his latest book Gyre today

“Gyre is a complicated, fascinating read that troubles you long after you finish reading. Recommended reading for a dark January night.”

—Zilla Novikov, author of Query

Blight review application

Rachel A Rosen is now accepting applications for reviewers through this form for her upcoming release ‘Blight’ I am reading this at the moment. It is simply one of the best books I have read in years. Sign up here