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Here's a summary of the plot of Kelvoo's Teachings, from the back cover: Peace has returned to Kelvoo’s life and to the human homeworld. Ashamed of their violent history, the humans of Terra have isolated themselves for decades, and out of that isolation a Terran cult has emerged that worships Kelvoo as a legendary figure. A long-anticipated planetary alignment affecting Kelvoo’s world is viewed by Terrans as a sign of Kelvoo’s return to save humanity from itself. To fulfill their “prophecy,” the cult leaders abduct Kelvoo, only to learn that their “savior” wants nothing to do with the madness of their religious fervor. The Planetary Alliance demands Kelvoo’s release but is bogged down by its own regulations and bureaucracy. As unrest on Terra reaches a boiling point, Kelvoo’s life is in increasing danger. This prompts Kelvoo’s now elderly foster daughters, Brenna and May, to take matters into their own hands. Their perilous rescue mission leaves Kelvoo with a dire choice that may require the ultimate sacrifice. -- As the final book in the Kelvoo’s Chronicles trilogy, Kelvoo’s Teachings explores the uniquely human madness of fanaticism. Yesterday, I completed the first draft of book 3 in the "Kelvoo's Chronicles" series, with the working title, "Kelvoo's Teachings"!
----- Kelvoo's Teachings is set 50 years after the conclusion of book 2, Kelvoo's Terra. In that interval, Terra has cut itself off from contact with other planets as the Terran humans deal with the aftermath of their bloody civil war and strive to build a better society. Unfortunately, humans have paid a price for their isolation, developing a mythology around Kelvoo - The extraterrestrial that suffered from human cruelty. When the story starts in Kelvoo's Teachings, Kelvoo is revered on Terra to the point where Kelvoo is worshipped at the level of a god. The Terrans are convinced that Kelvoo will return to lead Terra into a new age of harmony and enlightenment. Believing that they are helping Kelvoo to fulfill the prophecy, the "Kelvonist Society" of Terra abducts Kelvoo and takes Kelvoo to Terra. Unfortunately for the Kelvonists, Kelvoo wants nothing to do with the absurdity of being worshipped and wants no role in leading humanity. Kelvoo's refusal to assume the role of spiritual leader and fulfill the prophecy doesn't sit well with the Kelvonist leaders, who face increasing pressure from the citizens of Terra who are demanding to see Kelvoo ascend to power. As Terra becomes more chaotic and Kelvoo's existence is put in ever-increasing danger, the Planetary Alliance and Kelvoo's foster daughters, Brenna and May, concoct rescue plans to return Kelvoo to the sanity of Kelvoo's home planet. Unfortunately, the Alliance's slow pace and bureaucracy prove to be too frustrating to Brenna and May who dream up their own audacious plan to take matters into their own hands, at great risk to themselves and Kelvoo. ----- There is much work remaining before I can release Kelvoo's Teachings. The first step will be a few rounds of editing on my part. Next, I'll send a copy out to "beta readers" for their feedback. After that, my manuscript will go to my editor for a professional review. In the meantime there's cover design and layout work, and then the uploading and preparation of the book for online sales. It's too early to say how long the process will take, but I'm certainly aiming to have Kelvoo's Teachings available sometime this year. Exciting times! I am delighted to announce that Kelvoo's Terra is now available from bookstores!
Your local bookstore can order both Kelvoo's Testimonal and Kelvoo's Terra in paperback or hardcover versions. Stores can order the books through Ingram Content Group. To assist in ordering, please provide the book seller with the appropriate ISBN number: Update: July 1, 2024 I have added Kelvoo's Teachings to the list, as it will be available effective July 26, 2024 I am beyond thrilled to announce that Kelvoo’s Terra had its official launch yesterday (October 8, 2023). The sequel to Kelvoo's Testimonial is now available in ebook and paperback format on Amazon in multiple countries!
Now you can find out how Kelvoo and the Kloormari species dealt with the aftermath of human first contact, along with Kelvoo’s new adventures on Terra. Here is the link to "Kelvoo's Chronicles" (both books) on Amazon: Kelvoo's Chronicles (both books): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFK14D13 My next step will be to make Kelvoo’s Terra available for bookstores to order. Stay tuned for a future post. In anticipation of Kelvoo's Terra, the sequel to Kelvoo's Testimonial, I'm making the ebook version Kelvoo's Testimonial available to all Kindle Unlimited subscribers! Kelvoo's Testimonial will be available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers until December 10, 2023. If the result is a great success, I'll think about leaving the book on KU. If not, it's back to the regular list price of $4.99 (US price). By the way, upon its release, Kelvoo's Terra will also be available on Kindle Unlimited! Stay tuned for my announcement of the official release date! I'm delighted to reveal the cover of Kelvoo's Terra! My thanks to Alain Berset for his brilliant 3D rendering of the characters, and to Jan Westendorp for expertly using those characters in the overall cover design. I am in the home stretch of the publishing process, aiming for the launch in mid-October (possibly sooner). I'll keep you posted. If you would like me to notify you when Kelvoo's Terra is available, please drop me a note via the Contact form. Below, you'll see a mockup of the new cover, followed by the book's synopsis (the text for the back cover). KELVOO's TERRA - Synopsis:
Kelvoo is a survivor. Human first contact had a devastating effect on the kloormari species of Kelvoo’s home planet. No kloormar was impacted more profoundly than Kelvoo. Now, Kelvoo is on a mission to protect two young humans, Brenna and May—orphaned, abandoned, and left in Kelvoo’s care. After a generous job offer, pressure from the girls, and the chance to immigrate to Terra, Kelvoo must choose between a life of security and the risks of the human homeworld. Once on Terra, Kelvoo, Brenna, and May are welcomed with open arms. Terran life is full of wonders until a radical anti-immigrant movement unleashes a violent coup, plunging Terra into chaos and civil war. Will Kelvoo be able to protect Brenna and May, or will they all succumb to the hate and violence surrounding them? -- As the highly anticipated sequel to Kelvoo’s Testimonial, Kelvoo’s Terra combines suspense, political intrigue, and personal redemption as it dramatically explores the impact of ignorance and hate, versus the power of family and love, in a futuristic science fiction setting. Three months since my last post? Inexcusable!
Well, I do have one excuse . . . I've been putting everything else aside to work on the sequel to Kelvoo's Testimonial, and I'm delighted to say that I've just finished the first draft! Whew! Here's a synopsis of Kelvoo's Terra - An immigrant's tale ------------------------------- Kelvoo's Terra is set seven years after the era of Kelvoo's Testimonial. Kelvoo has made significant progress recovering from the trauma of captivity on Jezebel's Fury and the colonization of Kuw'baal by human settlers and business interests. Kelvoo's Testimonial has been published across the Planetary Alliance and has inspired massive reforms, known as "The Correction" on Terra, resulting in almost all humans leaving Kuw'baal. Reunited with the human orphans, Brenna and May, Kelvoo is the girls' legal guardian. The girls would like nothing more than to leave the dull, cloudy world of Kuw'baal and move to the legendary human home planet of Terra. Kelvoo is reluctant until a human professor offers Kelvoo an opportunity to teach at the Interplanetary University on Terra. Kelvoo, Brenna, and May move to Terra where they are warmly welcomed. Kelvoo loves teaching the students about extraterrestrial perspectives on human nature and Brenna and May fit right in, making friends and enjoying life. Unknown to Kelvoo, forces are at work on Terra to build a populist, anti-immigration movement. Funded by massively wealthy humans, The Human Independence Movements calls for the immediate deportation of all extraterrestrials, through violence "if necessary". Deeply troubled by the movement, Kelvoo is repeatedly assured that its leaders are just fringe lunatics whose movement will never amount to anything. Kelvoo's world is shattered when a wealthy member of the Human Independence Movement befriends Brenna and convinces her to betray Kelvoo and join the movement. When election time comes for selection of the next Terran government, the movement puts forward candidates for the newly formed Humanity Party. Much to the shock and disgust of the majority of humans, the Humanity Party wins with a minority of the popular vote. The other parties form an alliance to thwart every attempt to persecute Terra's extraterrestrial citizens. Driven by their hatred and frustration, and aided by the reappearance of the Brotherhood gangs, the Humanity Party unleashes a brutally violent uprising, plunging Terra into chaos, civil war, and interplanetary isolation. The mass deportation of non-humans begins, but a far worse fate is planned for Kelvoo, who is seen as an existential threat to humanity itself. Kelvoo's Terra is the story of Kelvoo and May as they struggle to survive and escape a world that had once welcomed them with open arms. ------------------------------- So, that's the first draft of my story's synopsis. I'm going to have to edit it and shorten it considerably before it is ever printed on the back cover. So, completion of the first draft marks the biggest step on the journey to publishing Kelvoo's Terra, but there is still a long way to go. Here's my partial to-do list:
Stay tuned for updates! I haven't made any blog posts for a while, so I thought I'd take an opportunity to report that some excellent reviews have been coming in, especially on Amazon! Rather than repeating all of the reviews in this blog post, I've just added a new Reviews page to this website, where you can see a sampling. For this post, here is one of my recent favorites from Amazon.com: How They See Us - An Alien Perspective An autobiography (even a fictional sci-fi autobiography), if written honestly, is going to reveal the truth about its narrator and the narrator’s perception of others (i.e., humans, in this case): the bad, the good, the ugly, and the beautiful. The narrator in this case is Kelvoo, an alien from the pristine planet, Kuw’baal, and a member of the Kloormari species. Sam Buchanan, a human who will become Kelvoo’s best friend, describes the Kloormari in his Preface to Kelvoo’s Testimonial as “unparalleled multi-taskers.” The Kloormari are blessed with extremely versatile bodies, photographic memory, unlimited vocal range, a seemingly infinite ability to learn complex information and to apply acquired knowledge with staggering speed and efficiency. The Kloormari are also innocent as children. Imagination, passion, ambition, greed, deception, love, hate, all those complex and paradoxical emotions and qualities that both doom and elevate humans are completely foreign to them. That is, until a human research vessel lands on Kuw’baal and makes First Contact with this interesting species. And though the first humans Kelvoo and his species encounter are well-meaning and make a favorable impression, the Kloormari eventually become vulnerable to less honorable humans (and also become more humanlike, for better or worse), leading to a series of disorienting and traumatic events. This futuristic tale is eminently contemporary, concerned with destructive human behaviors such as war, drug addiction, sex trafficking, economic exploitation, bigotry, replacement theory, and so on. Bailey skillfully weaves into the story detailed technical material and creative world building to please even the most demanding hard sci-fi fan. But he has also created an alien species that can move the human heart to laughter or tears. Yes, this is the alien Kelvoo’s testimonial, but it’s really about us, the people we choose to be and the way we choose to engage the universe and those who are different from us. Will we be guided by our better angels, or by our demons? That’s a choice each of us has to make. Order your copy of Kelvoo's Testimonial
For the eBook, click here For paperback or hardcover, click here May 14, 2022 - Today's the day! Today, Kelvoo's Testimonial became available in eBook and hardcover formats around the world. Although the softcover version has been available in most markets for a few weeks, I'm counting today as the official launch since the eBook makes Kelvoo's Testimonial widely available at a far lower cost. If you have an e-reader, you can order Kelvoo's Testimonial for just $4.99 in the US, $6.49 in Canada, £3.99 in the UK, €4.59 in the Eurozone, and an equivalent amount in other countries. If you have a Kindle e-reader, you'll find Kelvoo's Testimonial in Amazon's Kindle store. If you have a Kobo, Nook, or other e-reader, look for Kelvoo's Testimonial at Kobo, Barnes & Noble/Indigo, Apple Books, Scribd, Angus & Robertson, Thalia, Mondadori, or Vivlio.
Order your copy of Kelvoo's Testimonial
For the eBook, click here For paperback or hardcover, click here |
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Blog posts in chronological orderWhat is Kelvoo's Testimonial?
A bit about me The publishing process - Editorial Evaluation Who or what are the Kloormari? What's the twist that differentiates Kelvoo's Testimonial? Which issues does Kelvoo's Testimonial address? Where did the idea of Kelvoo's Testimonial originate? Is Kelvoo's Testimonial intended to reflect the experiences of native people in the Americas? Book cover - Initial concepts Depicting Kelvoo - My work with an amazing artist Book cover - Final selection Kelvoo.com website launch! Original Song #1 - The Boys of Jezebel's Fury Original Song #2 - Home on the Yangtze Original Song #3 - Flying Away My First Printed Copy My First Review and Bookstore Order! Now Available at Bolen Books! Kelvoo's Testimonial gets a Kirkus Starred Review! Official Launch Day! More Reviews! A Sequel to Kelvoo's Testimonial? Come Visit Me on Mastodon Phenomenal News from Kirkus Reviews! First Draft of Kelvoo's Terra Completed! Kelvoo's Terra - Cover Reveal! Kelvoo and Kindle Unlimited Kelvoo's Terra - Official Launch! Kelvoo's Books in your Local Bookstore Kelvoo's Terra - First Amazon Reviews Book 3 - Kelvoo's Teachings - First Draft Kelvoo's Testimonial featured on Podcast Kelvoo's Teachings - Official Announcement Kelvoo's Teachings - Launch Day! My Five Favorite First Contact Sci-Fi Books |