Parallel - The Awakening. A book by Paul A Rice

Synopsis - Parallel - The Awakening

 

 

 

 

So, you think you know how things work do you?

Kenneth Robinson is an ex-soldier who, after leaving the Army, finds work in the Middle East and Central Asia. He smokes too much and he swears too much, but he has a pure heart. That particular attribute is going to get him into trouble. With the help of his friend and partner, Mike, he has started his own company located on Kandahar airfield. They are doing quite nicely and things look set to become even rosier in the very near future. Yes, it’s looking pretty damn good for them, they’ve worked hard, taken risks, and now it looks like payback time?

Yeah, it was all going just fine until the Storm arrived. The howling beast transforms not only Ken’s day but his entire perception of how the world works. He is thrust into a reality that is beyond the edge of reason and shown the truth about what really lies behind the scenes. Ken sees those little things that wait in the darkness beyond the dim glow of our own perception. Whilst looking for Mike, who along with everybody else has disappeared, Ken finds himself taken to a place that would fracture most people’s minds. He becomes plagued by horrific dreams and is tipped toward insanity. Fortunately, Ken is made of stronger stuff. His stoicism and dry humour, when coupled with his experience, enable him to cope with the madness of the crazy things he is shown by George. The old man takes Ken and shows him a view of the universe he never even dreamed of. Events almost beyond comprehension have happened and are still happening, events that require their immediate intervention. Ken and Mike are told that the future for them, and all that remains of mankind, lies in their hands. 

From the madness of a storm, to being trapped and escaping, through his search for Mike and to the shattering arrival of reality, we follow Ken on his discovery of the truth. He finds himself being shown ancient history and then a devastating possible future - both are inextricably linked and both need his help. George tells the tale of how the world was, of how it is now and of how it’s going to be in the future.

It’s not a happy ending, either, or at least it won’t be unless they get to ‘Red’ first? The red-haired giant is going to have his say all right, he’s on a separate agenda and doesn’t care who gets in the way. Killing is a second-nature for this guy. Fortunately, Ken has done his own share of killing, and if it’s a fight you want, well, you've picked on the right man. From dreams to ‘slideshow’s, history to ‘Rip-Fixers’, the past and the present, this tale has them all. It also has the reality of a normal guy who just happens to be pretty handy when it comes to ‘sorting things out’. All Ken needs is Mike, some big guns and the Spears. Ken has the skills and Mike has the magic, together they ride into battle to stop the Demon and his plans. Ordinary men dealing with very extraordinary circumstances

Paul A. Rice - Author

Hello, Dear Reader!

This site will be updated shortly. In the meantime please enjoy my rabid ramblings, as you will - unfortunately, the guest book has gone into secret-agent mode and is asking for some kind of a code or something... My web-guru will address this shortly, in the meantime just send me a message on Twitter @riceauthor, and I promise that it will be answered! Cheers. PAR. April 2012.

Here's my blurb...

I was born in 1961 in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) to English parents. My father worked for Caltex Oils and my mother for the Rhodesian Government. I spent the majority of my early school days at boarding schools in Rhodesia before returning to the UK in 1975, where I attended school in Marlborough. At present I live in the sunny province of Almeria in southern Spain.

I served for 24 years in the British Army and saw many different and interesting things during that time. Since leaving the forces, I have run several businesses with my wife, and had the opportunity to visit many different countries, including: Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan and several countries in Africa. I spent the majority of last year in Libya - it was a big year for the people of that country and I was fortunate enough to witness some major events unfolding.

Being there gave me the inspiration for my latest novel - Tears in Tripoli. You can find more information about the book on the 'News' page of this website.

Writing: Many people ask me what made me write these books. The honest answer is that I'm not really sure. I've dabbled several times along the way, but never seriously. It just comes upon me, the need to write, and suddenly I find myself at the keypad again. I have never really applied myself before as it takes a lot of self-belief, which I didn't have. However, since I did start applying myself to the art, I have become addicted to writing, it is so challenging and also very demanding. I have spent thousands of hours in trying to learn the craft and have nothing but respect for those authors who have made a success of their work. I now know exactly how much dedication and hard work it takes just to get a draft copy finished, never mind a highly-polished and ready for publication manuscript!

I consider the last four years to be my apprenticeship in the art of writing - I've made mistakes, I've been niave and I've been impatient. But, I have learned and learned a lot! I put a lot of my learning down to the feedback I have had from critics, both good and bad, and also down to spending endless hours in trying to improve my writing. If anyone ever tells you this is easy, then send me their details and I'll get in touch with them so they can show me how! Seriously - if you want to write, then my main advice would be that you have to be prepared to spend thousands of hours on your work and be even more prepared to go back, again-and-again, and keep on trying to improve it. Never give up, ever.

I wrote Awakening whilst I was stuck down in Kandahar - mostly working late at night - and then I spent ages trying to get it and the sequels right. I suppose a lot of the story was to do with the madness I had seen whilst I was in Afghanistan, and other equally crazy places - it just didn't make sense to me and I've always wondered if this was it: the sum-total of thousands of years, supposedly evolving, having culminated in the absolute chaos, poverty and  blood-letting, which can be witnessed in those bleeding lands. Obviously we all know about the 'Hyenas' and their greed, as true today as it always has been, and probably always will be. I  use the name as a similie for the men in grey suits - the ones behind all the big plays that change our world. There was a different 'George' from the old man in my tale, one who wrote someting along the lines of: “He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” I believe it was George Orwell.

Anyway - I got to thinking about what we must look like to an outsider, how crazy it must all seem. Imagine if you were someone from a different place, a different dimension, or parallel, perhaps. What would you think when you saw the abject chaos that reigns in those crazy places I have just mentioned? Then I thought about someone normal, maybe a guy like Ken Robinson. What would he do if he was suddenly thrust into something, or somewhere, that lay well outside his normal concept of how the world works? Of how everything works. Would his head simply explode or would he adapt, could he cope with being shown a hidden truth, one that put paid to everything he'd ever believed in? Perhaps everything he'd ever known had been nothing more than his own perception anyway. After all, they do say that knowledge is power, don't they? So, with that in mind I thought I would give it a shot...

 

Four years later and I've completed the Parallel trilogy. The first two books were originally published by YouWriteOn under the title 'Awakening'. However, I have learned a lot since those early days and the books have had a good re-write, several in fact, and are now being published under the 'Parallel' title.

The Parallel Trilogy consists of the following books:

Parallel - The Awakening. Parallel 2 - The Gift. Parallel 3 - Demon Hunters.

I am now published by feedaread.com They are part of YouWriteOn.com and are sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britian in order to find new authors. This allows authors like myself to get their work out into the world whilst trying to obtain a 'proper' publishing deal, which is something that at times can seem almost impossible, but I intend to keep on pushing and keep on improving until they can no longer ignore me!

All three book are available in their rewritten paperback editions from Amazon and other such retailers. If they're not actually on the shelf in you local bookseller, they can be ordered. Simply get the ISBN from Amazon, give that along with the book's title and my name to your retailer and they will order it for you.

The eBooks are also available from many on-line retailers, however - if the title doesn't include either the words '2011 Edition or 2012 Edition' then they are the original, raw, unedited editions of my works.

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The future...

Tears in Tripoli: This is the first in a series of novels featuring a guy called Jake Collins. 'Tears' is a rip-roaring fictional tale of Jake's adventure whilst he was in Libya during the final months of Gadaffi's regime. It's not a story of just guns and violence, of that I promise you, and I hope that the tale will appeal to many different people.

Now available from:  http://www.feedaread.com/books/Tears-in-Tripoli-9781781760680.aspx

eBook here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tears-Tripoli-Collins-Novel-ebook/dp/B007H9PCPA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331147163&sr=1-1

 There will be more from Jake Collins - he's been around and he has tales to tell you...

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Anyway, that's enough waffle from me. I hope that you get the chance to read the books, and more importantly that you enjoy the story - my one wish would be for them to take you to that special place where only a good book can.

My eternal thanks go out to my wife, Jane, for her endless support and encouragement, when ever I'm down she picks me up and gives me the courage to push forward and keep on trying to get the story to where it needs to be. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all those people who have given me feedback, all comments are gratefully received, both good and bad, and I always take time to think about what's been said. It's all good stuff - thank you!

Cheers

P A R

April 2012

Follow me on Twitter: @riceauthor

If you have book that needs converting into an eBook, then look no further than eBook Partnership - they do a great job, the process is simple and the results fantastic.  http://www.ebookpartnership.com/

 

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Miscellaneous Pictures


The biggest fish of my life - 193lbs of hardfighting, Spanish Catfish.

Big fish

 

On security overwatch for a road-building project in Afghanistan.

Lashkar Gah - Helmand, Afghanistan.

 

Having fun on the race track - my favourite pastime.

Almeria, Spain