Geoff O'Brien

The active-minded author

August 2023: Brief updates.

Paperback version for Existence can now be found here. Non-Amazon ebook versions(Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, etc) of Existence may be found here.

Better Together has an updated cover! Check out my pretty new ebook and paperback versions at Amazon or in ebook version everywhere else.

Please also note my updated pane to the left, showing progress for Ambition (working title for Win-Win For The Win novel two).

Until next time,

Geoff




April 2023: Existence is complete.

(Update:  get Existence from Amazon--exclusively, for the next little while--here)

At last. Check out the blurbs and samples below and/or elsewhere around this site.  For now, it will be in ebook form only -- no hardcover or paperback versions...yet.

Existence, the very beginning of my Philosophy of Life project, is sort of a big deal for me, inspired by Atlas Shrugged, The Matrix...and a little bit of Anthem. I may talk more about Existence soon, after taking a break. After spending several years on this project, I'm feeling a little burnt out right now -- not for the first time.

Existence will soon be available for you to acquire. I plan to experiment by offering Existence exclusively via Amazon's Kindle Unlimited programme for the next little while. Before then, I'll be sending out a few mostly promotional emails in case anyone wants a copy, because I get the impression that if I try giving away copies on my own after enrolling with KU, Amazon may get grumpy with me.

Until next time,

Geoff




When the young woman Zhéxué first spawned, she couldn’t identify where she was.  What were all these machines filled with viscous liquid?  How were other people sleeping inside them?  Why were other people fighting?

When Zhéxué first awakened, she didn’t understand how she was.  How could she converse now, but not earlier?  How does she suddenly possess a lifetime’s worth of knowledge without experience or conception?  Why are some people eager to kill her while others are desperate to keep her alive?

When Zhéxué first perceived, she didn’t remember who she was.  What sort of animal was her pet?  Who were her parents?  Where did she live?  What did she do with her life?

All sorts of people are ready to help or hinder Zhéxué–even both.  Religious fundamentalists are hunting her.  A cantankerous old man abducts her first, ostensibly for her own good, though she barely has time to fear his violent tendencies before an unknown military group abduct
them.  The two are whisked away to a luxury ocean liner, of all things, forced to live aboard an oasis upon post-apocalyptic Earth.

Not everything aboard the ocean liner is perfect.  Zhéxué’s newest incovenient ‘companions’ and their friends are distrusted or despised by the vast majority of the thousands of other people living aboard.  Despite that, she uses her chance to catch her breath for a day or two, vacillating between exploring and escaping–until she, the old man, and their newest companions are all forced to evacuate for their lives at the behest of the religious fundamentalist’s leader:  an ancient and mysterious figure whom few know and all fear.

Thinking upon her situation, Zhéxué inadvertantly discovers life-changing information about her biology–her very nature
and of existence.  She also realises that her friend, a man she once thought lost, is actually being held in thrall, inside a prison he cannot smell or taste or touch.  If Zhéxué is to rescue him, she must return to hostile territory, administered by the seemingly omnipotent fundamentalist leader.

Inexperienced Zhéxué, alone, must somehow match wits against a god-like techno-tyrant.  Unless she can conceive of the first axiom–the most fundamental, irreducable truth–she will be crushed.


Existence is a whirlwind introduction to an Earth that exists hundreds of years from now, after a late twenty-first century singularity-esque cataclysm.  Existence is also the first novel in the Philosophy of Life series.



About the Philosophy of Life series:

Those uninterested in philosophy are most helpless to it’s power.  The Philosophy of Life series of novels is an ambitous exploration of one of the most pressing questions of our time:  how do we survive technological progress?

Does every new technology represent another step toward our inevitable doom?  Does technology represent the biggest human hubris of all, our misguided attempts to escape our inescapably destructive nature?

Or is the issue within ALL of our most cherished philosophies, intrinsic or subjective?
What if the proper identification, let alone resolution, of our modern woes remains hidden to us due to the fundamentally irrational bases of these ideas?

Perhaps we need a new set of ideas to explore and guide us:  a Philosophy of Life.



June 2021: Deadlines Suck

Whoops. Still not finished. Now we know I don't write to deadlines. I have updated my progress meters, however.

There will be no more updates until I'm ready to announce -- whether it takes 3 minutes or three years to arrive at that point.

Until next time,

Geoff



Update March 2021 - first post-apocalyptic novel progresses

I've finished the second draft of my post-apoc novel. It will be comprised of four parts, the last of which I had to almost entirely delete and re-draft, due to ongoing worldbuilding.

After patting myself on the back, I'm diving right into the content edit, of which the first part is complete. Progress meters have been updated appropriately. Next update - hopefully next month, but more likely the month after - I'll be handing it off to an editor and announcing everything. Can hardly wait!

Until next time,

Geoff



Back to work in 2021!

Yay!

That's all that needs saying, really.

Oh, and it's my post-apoc novel and project that I'm working on. Drafting and editing have been all over the place, so it's difficult to accurately represent it's progress meters.

Until next time,

Geoff



Update September 2020 - No Novels This Year

G’day,

A brief, unhappy update: I probably won't be releasing any new novels this year. Sorry about that.

For the past couple of months, life has been serving me up certain disruptions and issues. Therefore, quality time periods for work are at a premium or simply impossible. Despite this, I've completed a solid outline and started drafting my second Win Win for the Win novel. However, it's likely too late for me to complete this novel by the end of the year.

Between a mountain of work revising and refining my post-apocalyptic project during the first few months of this year, and so many disruptions lately, I don't anticipate publishing anything any time soon.

Until next time, when I should hopefully have happier news,

Geoff



Update May 2020

G’day,

Yep, still here. Sorry about the lengthy silence. As for us all, 2020 is proving to be challenging for me. Having said that, I suspect I’m having a less stressful time of it than many people reading, because I’m more or less the self-isolating type anyway. I hope you’ll continue to cope, even thrive, through this Covid19 period and the months to follow.

One of my main goals as a writer is to communicate with everyone on a regular (at least monthly) basis, if only through this website. I have failed to do that for the past few months. I apologise. I must do better.

Anyway, work continues, albeit at an irregular pace, on my post apocalyptic project. I’ve erroneously labelled this as sci-fi in the past. Pretty much every aspect of it is futuristic, yet these elements all serve certain central ideas that I want to display in entertaining, edifying and unique ways.

While I haven’t changed my post-apocalyptic project’s progress meter (to the left), it remains fairly accurate at this point in time, due to a couple months of ‘world-building’ I’ve been doing – tens of thousands of words of additional notes, plus deleting or rearranging the rest. The notes are good enough for me to return to the second draft/first edit, which is not-quite halfway done.

Unfortunately, this has the effect of moving the goalposts for the completion date of this novel. I will try to have it published by the end of 2020, but I make no promises, because I know I keep breaking them. When I’ve finished the current draft/edit, probably in a month or two, I’ll take a brief break from that project to start drafting the second Win Win For The Win novel.

Until next time,

Geoff



Update December 2019

G’day,

Better Together is finally out! Release two novels in one year for the first time ever? Check.

Basically, anyway. The ebook version of Better Together is done. You can find that at Amazon or anywhere else. The print version of Better Together isn’t quite ready yet. I figured that by the time I had figured out a back cover/spine and wrestled through the print proofing process, I would have missed my December 25 deadline – to say nothing of the state of ‘print on demand’ services. So what if I’m only a few days early with the ebook release? I’m still recovering from shoulder cramps due to lots of self-congratulatory back-patting – hey, someone’s gotta do it.

(Update Jan 2020: paperback version is ready.)

Over the next few days, I’ll be creating online shrine-based FAQs, sample chapters, etc, for Better Together. Once those are up, I’ll update this post. (Blurb and sample chapters are up. FAQ is up.)

If you’re wondering about BT’s cover art, that was...attempted by me. I can’t afford a professional cover designer. Well, that and I was in a do-it-yourself sort of mood. Designed my first ever novel cover art? Check. More self-back-patting, etc. Dabbling in graphic design was a fun and challenging experience. I totally understand and accept that this cover won’t be nominated for any awards. It may not compare favourably and may lose me sales. My cover should at least be... coherent, though, communicating all the core elements of Better Together at a glance.

Perhaps one of those elements that may leave you scratching your head is my author name treatment. See it up there, at the top of this page? Making a logo or brand out of my author name is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Like the cover art, doing logos/brands isn’t exactly my day job. Understanding exactly what I wanted, plus how and why, took me a while to get a grip on. I’m trying to reinforce the whole ‘active-minded’ author thing.

Elements of my author name may seem out of place on BT, but I’m thinking long run: once there are several novels with this author name treatment on the cover, it should be easy to recognise my novels at a glance. Am I on to something big, or should I go back to the planning board? If you have any ideas, about this, or anything else, let me know.

I hope you score lots of good presents!

Until next time,

Geoff



Update November 2019

My third novel, Better Together, is finished!

My second novel was a 134,000 word effort that needed a fair bit of thought and work, as it was so unusual. My upcoming fourth novel (after Better Together) will be my first in the philosophical science fiction genre–a novel which I hope represents the beginning of an ambitious, one-of-a-kind lifelong project. In between novels two and four, I thought that writing a simple, shorter, light-hearted novel would be a welcome change of pace. Easy, even.

Writing an easy novel is like climbing an easy mountain. I sort of knew this already, but the last couple of months has really pushed this concept into me for real. Regardless, here we are: Better Together is a hundred-percent complete, at last. Reading through it at the end, it’s exactly what I’d been aiming for, and I’m happy to have written it. I hope you’ll be happy to read it.

Before that can happen though, I need to finish up some non-writing-related stuff: cover art, FAQs and sample pages on this website, creating/formatting the ebook and printed versions, uploading to distributors, etc. All of this will occur without notice or fanfare (outside of this update) over the next few weeks, so you might want to check back every so often.

By mid-December at the latest, everything should be setup and Better Together will be available for perusal and purchase.

Catch you then,
Geoff



"Just forget your gender."

Congratulations to Xiaomeng Li, aka 'AKLiooon', for winning the 2019 Hearthstone Global Finals. Watching her win inspired me to say many things. Fortunately, a Washington Post article has saved me the effort. The finals match she won(spoiler alert) may be seen here. Watch her reaction after winning here - you may want to have tissues or a handerchief handy.

Seeing her so emotional at the end caught me off guard. I watched many of her matches at BlizzCon. She impressed me as quite a stoic player, remaining in control of her emotions and playing well, even during the tense moments. She won most, if not all of her games at Blizzcon. According to the casters, she'd performed well to earn her place there. I'll have to take their word for it...I hadn't even heard of her until a few days ago.

Way to go, AKLiooon! Hopefully your $200,000 achievement will propel you onward to bigger and better things, as well as inspiring all players - regardless of gender - to do the same.



Update October 2019

G’day everyone,

This is going to be a ‘stop, drop and go’ sort of update, rather than morning tea and biscuits.

First, I may as well stick the blurb for Better Together here, on the main page. That’s below.

Second, as Better Together is coming out soon, I’ve started sending out emails to various type-one diabetes organisations around the web. One of my latest ideas to improve my prose and marketability is to contact relevant people or organisations before a novel comes out. Genius, am I right?

Seriously though, I’m a one-man band: novelist, website builder, marketer, cover art designer and self-proclaimed Good Cook. To be honest, the majority my time goes into the first vocation. Everything else–as well as the little thing we call life–share the rest. So, if you’ve received an email from me, or if you’ve somehow stumbled here from elsewhere, I reckon we can work to improve each other’s lives–to become better, together.

I write fun, thoughtful and/or inspiring novels for you to experience. You better enable that by assisting with other stuff. Deal?




During school holidays, twelve year old Frida is asked by a boy to play rugby league on his team. She can’t believe it. Didn’t everyone know that she was a type 1 diabetic? No one ever picked her for sports, much less rugby league - only boys played that. Encouraged by her father, she accepts the boy’s offer and has a try. To her surprise, she ends up having fun.

Frida wants to play more, but that’s tough. She gasps for breath after running for a few seconds. Exercising makes her blood sugar levels erratic. What’s worse is hardly anyone seems to care. Her mother thinks rugby league is too rough for a girl. Her best friend is annoyed, because it’s only stupid sports. The big girls on the team say Frida is too small. Oddly, Frida seems to be the only one worried about her diabetic condition.

Nah, none of that matters. Frida only wants to have fun. She’s ready to try something different. What’s wrong with that?

Yet everything isn’t about Frida. Rugby league is a team sport. She must understand how to fit in and play with her teammates - especially the surly girl she dislikes so much. The only way Frida will win is to learn how to respect her and earn respect in return.

That goes for the other boys and girls on the team, too. Somehow, they each have to put aside what they want and don’t want. The only way the team will win is to learn how to become better, together.

Win-Win For The Win!



Update September 2019: Announcing Better Together.

The first entry in my new Win-Win For The Win series is Better Together, a lighthearted middle-grade(childrens) novel. It should be available for purchase by December(2019).

Last year, I was wondering what novel to write next. One of my goals as an author is to write in different genres. For example, I’ll draft or edit about a deaf girl playing an online CCG for several weeks. When that’s finished, I’ll liven things up by switching to a different project–say, philosophical science fiction(more on that in the next month or two). On a personal level, this helps keep my day-to-day and week-to-week more interesting. On a professional level, I hope this will better help me gain word-of-mouth and sales.

One day, after several hours of writing, I’m spacing out on the couch, watching a replay of the last rugby league game. An ad pops up during the game, letting viewers know about the women’s State of Origin. ‘That’s an interesting story concept’, I think to myself. Women playing rugby league. Unusual enough to keep me interested. Plenty of opportunities to show drama and achievement. I file it in the back of my mind where the dozen-or-so other ideas I wish I had time to write about reside.

Maybe a week later, I watch The Mighty Ducks for the first time in a while. At last, the penny drops: a children’s novel! A shorter, more lighthearted and fun version of a ‘women in rugby league’ story, similar to The Mighty Ducks. I had my next novel in a different genre.

In fact, I had my next series: Win-Win For The Win. Better Together is my first novel in this series. Yes, for all my blather about wanting to be different and interesting, one of the market realities in fiction publishing is that series-based novels tend to sell better than standalones, apparently. Plus, a series of novels will allow me to really explore a given subject in depth, both literarily and in reality. In Better Together, though the main character is a girl, she’ll play in a team of both boys and girls. Novels two and three will feature all-girl teams.

Finally, I wondered if an ordinary person, albeit a girl, was an interesting enough main character to have playing rugby league. How could I make her unique? As in SPZ, I thought she should have an additional problem or condition to make things even more challenging. So, I decided, rather arbitrarily, that she should have type 1 diabetes. As mentioned in Better Together, type 1 diabetic athletes are people that exist, including Steve Renouf, an accomplished ex-rugby league player.

I’ll upload extra BT-related stuff soon, including cover art, a sample page and faq page covering (anticipated) questions about type-one diabetes, junior rugby league, etc.

Catch you next time,

Geoff



Update August 2019

I've been sending off the odd email to people or organisations that I believe would be interested in Siren Plays Zeperno. Those seeds are beginning to bear fruit, in the form of inclusion on a books featuring deaf and hard of hearing characters(.pdf) page and a book review.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Deaf Children Australia and Hearing Like Me for their interest and assistance. I do appreciate it.

Also, I've been touching up my online shrine in small ways, trying to make it more pretty and mobile friendly. Next time I update, it should be with new pages related to my upcoming middle-grade novel.



Update July 2019

G’Day everyone,

Got a few quick things to cover. First, I owe a well-overdue apology to any particular upstanding, productive, time-deprived yet curious individuals whom I might inadvertantly lead here. I have to. You understand. Few achieve their dreams without stepping on a few toes along the way.

Next, work progresses on my first sci-fi novel. Work also progresses on the worldbuilding surrounding it. Outlines for the entire trilogy are set in stone, with plenty more in store after that. The notes file alone for this sci-fi project already exceeds thirty thousand words–had several false starts with this over the past few years, but now I’m nailing it. Once I get around to basic marketing-related tasks–writing descriptions, blurbs, working out keywords and possibly another web page–I’ll be ready to announce the first novel. Tentative release date is February/March 2020.

I’ll also announce my first middle-grade novel, which is also the first in a series. The novel itself is all-but finished. I’ll give it a final edit, then pass it along to someone else for a copy editing and proofreading. Once all the editing, cover art, and basic marketing (again) is all done, I’ll release it, sometime around December 2019.

Until next time, have a good one,

Geoff



Update May 2019

Open up your favoured search engine and try typing 'pro-disability card game', or even 'disability card game'.

...

Yeah, the dearth of results surprised me too. Good news is, I can help with that. No, I'm not a game developer making a pro-disability online card-collectible game(or CCG). I've created perhaps the next best thing, though: a novel about a deaf girl playing a (fictional) disability-themed CCG.

Yes, I'm dipping my toes into marketing. Above is my 'call to action', as the slick people say. Allow me to assure you that I'm a much better novelist than I am a marketer.

Seriously though, wouldn't it be awesome if someone created some sort of Hearthstone-like CCG where the heroes are called Ables, each with their own distinct 'ableity'(ie, hero power) and cards, all related to all sorts of disabilities?

Imagine, for a moment, that some board of directors for a big game company has convened for their monthy how-do-we-cram-more-expensive-dlc-and-microtransactions-in-our-uninspired-clones meeting - or a few indies over a round of drinks at the local bar. I reckon that meeting/social might go something like this:

CEO/ambitious-parents'-basement-dweller: Alright, where are we on our Next Big Thing?
Active-minded person: I've got this cool idea, boss: an online CCG with a pro-disability theme. With -
CEO/APBD: Uh-oh. Someone's been hitting the coffee/booze.
AMP: Think about it, boss. With halfway decent game mechanics and presentation, it could be a 'Hearthstone killer'. Throw in the theme, and the marketing takes care of itself
(Geoff: I wish). Everyone wins.
CEO/APBD: Hmm, that would tug at the feels. Okay, let's keep that idea on the backburner. Next time we get caught up in some gamer-gate thing, we can trot that out to absorb some of the fallout.
AMP: But I believe this represents a real opportunity -
CEO/APBD: - for which no significant market exists. Get the stars out of your eyes, kid. If hardly anyone buys that game, how are we going to pay our developers, artists and skinner-box packers?
AMP: I thought of that. Check out this book, called Siren Plays Zeperno. It's about a deaf girl playing the sort of game I'm talking about. She plays online and even ends up in esports. How many girls do you see doing that? This novel has sold millions of copies so far
(Geoff: wishing again).
CEO/APBD: Huh. Millions, you say? So, people are interested in this sort of thing. Alright, let's make that game. We could use that author's input. Someone book him a place on our next holiday cruise/pub crawl.

You get the idea. Bottom line is, if you'd like to see a game like that made, my novel could be your call to action. You might even enjoy reading it!

There was something else...oh, right, the writing thing. My middle-grade novel is close to done. That one is about a pre-teen girl, recently diagnosed with type-one diabetes, who wants to play junior rugby league - which might be easy if she didn't have fifteen issues getting in her way. This novel will be the first in a series, similar in theme and tone to SPZ, but a lot simpler and shorter for the kiddies. It's been fun writing it and should hopefully be fun to read, too. It should be out toward the end of the year.

However, that's simmering on the backburner for the next month or two, because I'll be finally resuming work on my sci-fi novels. These novels are what's really exciting me. Original ideas and themes, plus distinctive characters, all set in a post-apocalyptic world (a context not at all original, I'll admit).

Having drafted the first novel, I'm doing some world-building and planning for the next few, as well as standalone novels to be set in that world. If I do these novels halfway right, they'll be impossible to ignore. All of that will take much more time and effort than anything else I've done, so you won't see anything tangible until early next year, if not later.

Lastly, I should probably also mention that I have established author's pages on Amazon, Goodreads, and Books2Read. Don't get too excited, they're pretty much the same as my website bio. Again, marketing. They tell me to 'establish an online presence'.

Until next time, have a good one,

Geoff



Update April 2019

Siren Plays Zeperno is out now! Blurb is further down, past this update.

By the time you read this, it will be available wherever you purchase books(online) in print(Print-on-Demand paperback) and ebook versions. In other words, you can find SPZ for sale at Amazon - ebook or paperback - and just about everywhere else(ebook). These links can also be found on the sidebar to the left. At this stage, you probably won't find it at your local 'brick-and-mortar' bookstore. Sorry about that.

That last link is known as a Universal Book Locator(UBL), something created by the folks at Draft2Digital(an ebook distribution company). Their UBL should easily facilitate purchasing ebooks from your prefered retailer(Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, etc). If you click on that UBL link, it will take you to D2D's sister site, Books2Read.com, where you'll find a complete list of online retailers  selling my ebook version.

As mentioned in the novel's postface, I've started an FAQ for SPZ, which you may find here. To begin with, it details answers for questions I anticipate readers will ask. If you want to know about something mentioned in SPZ that isn't there, feel free to ask, and I'll probably add that Q and A to the FAQ.

SanjaArt over at 99designs did a fantastic job with all my cover art. I mention this, because those of you holding my print version and perhaps wondering why Thelsea is looking a little plus-sized on the spine...that's totally on me. I initially underestimated the number of pages, which dictates the width of a print novel's 'spine'. So when the page count turned out to be higher, I decided to edit the spine part of the cover art myself, 'stretching' it in order to make it 'fit'.

Just another challenge/mistake/lesson learned in the art of self-publishing...

In that spirit, I'm totally(sort of) looking forward to learning about the two-dozen other mistakes I no doubt made, whether it's in my novel, this website, or whatever. If a nice person were to spot something like that, I'm sure that person would let me know, because that's something a nice person does(hint hint).
Siren Plays Zeperno Facebook cover art Thelsea is struggling to move on after her mother's sudden death last year. Her father doesn't tell her they're moving to a new city until they've arrived. A reclusive girl, Thelsea deals with it all as she usually does: playing video games and writing short stories starring Siren, an alluring secret agent who lets nothing get in her way.

The latest game Thelsea enjoys playing is Zeperno: a free-to-play online digital card-collectible game themed around disabled protagonists known as Ables. She meets two vivacious teenagers - a boy and girl, each hard-of-hearing - who like Zeperno as well. In fact, wherever Thelsea looks, she finds more fans. Grown beyond it's target audience and played by anyone, Zeperno commands a presence in the esports scene: competitive video gaming involving players from around the world.

Easy to understand yet difficult to master, Zeperno engages Thelsea like nothing else. She and her new friends team up with an aloof Asian boy to dive head first into an online video game streaming service. There, they're shocked by a viewer's vicious act that sends her reeling.

As Thelsea contends with well-meaning people and trolls alike, she considers playing Zeperno professionally. A girl competing in esports? She would be completely out of place! That's okay: being totally deaf for her entire life, Thelsea is used to being out of place.



Update March 2019

Siren Plays Zeperno is finally getting a copyedit! That should be done by the end of March. After some final editing and tweaking, I'll upload it to the world. The end is finally in sight!

In other developments, the first draft of my first sci-fi novel is completed. The first novel in a planned trilogy, it is quite different to anything else I've ever done. Set in a near-future dystopia, the three novels will distinguish themselves from others in the field because each are based on certain philosophic principles that I rarely see discussed or espoused anywhere, ever.

Oh, and I've started editing that middle-grade novel. That should only take a couple of months. In time, I will divulge more details of these other novels.



Update November 2018

Details about all my novels have been added to the pane on the left. I will update these details periodically.


Existence front cover

Existence

Existence exists.

Newly awakened young woman Zhéxué thinks she knows many things, from the Vatican to virtual reality, yet she doesn’t know anything about herself. Who is she? How was she created? Why is she at the centre of everyone’s schemes?

Rushed along in an unwitting tour–actual and virtual–of parts of post-cataclysmic Earth, constantly pushed around for days at a time by her so-called allies as much as her enemies, Zhéxué is barely able to stop and think. At last, she uncovers vital information about her nature, and of existence. These discoveries inform a desperate plan to save a friend she once thought lost.

Yet if Zhéxué cannot conceive the first axiom, the most fundamental truth, she and her friend will be killed… or worse.


Book one of the Philosophy of Life series.

Amazon ebook and paperback.
Everywhere else: ebook.
Blurb and sample(on this website).



Ambition (working title for Win-Win For The Win novel two).

Drafts:  28%
Content edits:  0%
Copy edits and proofreads:  0%
Miscellaneous:  0%



Better Together front cover

Better Together

A twelve year old girl with type 1 diabetes wants to play sport, but she has problems. Her diabetic routine must change. She’s horribly unfit. Her mother forbids it. Most of her team don’t care or dislike her. Winning the odd game would be nice.
And it's for one of the world's toughest sports: rugby league.


First book in the Win-Win For the Win series.

Amazon: ebook and paperback.
Everywhere else: ebook (universal book locator).
Blurb and sample (on this website).
FAQ.



Siren Plays Zeperno front cover

Siren Plays Zeperno

A deaf teenage girl and her mostly hard of hearing friends learn to play an online digital card-collectible game with a pro-disability esthetic called Zeperno. Despite trolls and well-meaning parents, they soon hone their skills enough to compete in esports.

Standalone novel.

Amazon: print and ebook.
Everywhere else: ebook (universal book locator).
Blurb and sample (on this website).
FAQ.


About me



Webpage bio
Amazon author page
Goodreads author page
Books2Read author page




Website and contents copyright (c) Geoff O'Brien 2018-2023.
Some elements used under license.
Certain images in cover art used under license from Shutterstock.com and istockphoto.com.
This website wouldn't be possible without the tutorials and information from The Site Wizard.  If something's wrong here, it's probably my fault, not his.
Initial basic layout from thesitewizard.com.
Author’s name/logo uses Ostrich Sans, a font by Tyler Finck that was released under the SIL Open Font License.