Pelagia: Between the Stars and the Abyss by Steve Holloway | $50 Giveaway, Guest Post, Spotlight
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
Pelagia: Between the Stars and the Abyss by Steve Holloway
Published by Lion Fiction on 06/18/2021
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 416
Former special forces agent turned particle physicist Ben Holden is on the run.
The New Caliphate will stop at nothing to get their hands on his wife's scientific research, which is believed to hold the key to unleashing chaos in the West and advancing their cause.
But in reality, it's Ben's biometrics that have the potential to unlock the information they so desperately need.
Within the submerged world of Pelagia, in the year 2066, Ben finds sanctuary among the sea settlers of the South Pacific Pelagic Territory, but his respite is short-lived...
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Excerpt from Pelagia
Sophia’s Egg
9-year-old Sophia stepped across a short bridge onto her Egg. The walkway retracted as she moved to the centre of the vessel. A small brass sign on the floor was engraved: “To Sophia on her 9th birthday. With all our love, Gideon and Baba.” A clear dome now rose from one side of the vessel and encircled her small figure, sealing as it closed on the other side. The Egg began to glow softly.
“Go,” she said quietly. Mooring cables released. The Egg dropped below and behind the Ossë into the heart of the sea. A wave of phosphorescence sparkled against the windows.
Sophia said quietly, “Squid, Nemo.”
“Yes, Ameera, a shoal of giant squid is feeding eighty metres below us.”
The Egg now descended, deeper into the blackness. The glittering phosphorescent became less frequent. It was now almost absolute darkness outside, but at the edge of vision, Sophia could discern darting shadows.
“Red light,” Sophia said. The orb’s faint glow clicked on again, giving shape to the giant shadows. Giant squid, Architeuthis sp. Sophia watched, entranced at the rushing activity around the vessel.
Putting her hands on the sapphire glass, Sophia peered closely at a passing four-metre long squid. It slowed, caught by, then returning her gaze.
In an instant the squid turned to reach for her. Its tentacles struck against the dome.
Sophia didn’t flinch. The large squid, a modern-day Kraken that weighed much more than the child, hovered for a moment. It sent exploratory tentacles to touch the shield gently, then withdrew. The squid floated next to the glass contemplating this mystery. Sophia and the creature stared eye to eye – one alien to another. Amberjack-like guardian bots emerged from the darkness. The squid flicked a tentacle at one of the robots, hoping for dinner, and was rewarded by an electric jolt. It flashed away, leaving a cloud of ink in its wake.
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Purchase Links for Pelagia
Amazon Bookshop/IndieBound Kobo
AppleBooks/iTunes The Book Depository
Waterstones GoogleBooks The Wordery
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Guest Post from Steve Holloway
A Writer’s Journey
Well, where did Pelagia begin? For many years I have thought about the colonization of the open seas. I wanted to write a story about a community living on the seas, a story that would also incorporate my keen interest in science and the dynamics of faith. With this spark of interest and resolve, the story seemed to emerge with a life of its own…
In mid-2011 I wrote down the title, Pelagia, and sketched out two scenes. In the first, a young man, Ben, swims to safety after being held captive in a boat. In the second, the same young man sits, slumped in a broken-down car, staring out into a desert, as mysterious Paul Whitestone pulls up in a beat-up pickup. I had no idea how these two scenes were related, what the young man’s back story was, what would happen next, or how these scenes related to settlers on the open ocean.
I kept writing. Over time the story grew to about 32,000 words, I began pestering friends for feedback on my writing. Generally, people were kind and tolerant, and not very critical (most people don’t want to nip a writer’s creativity in the bud.) My wife sensed that I was hungry for support on my journey and wisely suggested that I join a local writer’s group, to get the peer coaching, encouragement, and camaraderie I needed.
Of course, why didn’t I do that earlier?!
After a few false starts, I found one writing group met in a local café. We would read aloud short scenes from our writing projects, then discuss them. Another group I joined met via email, regularly sharing written vignettes with each other. I came to deeply value this feedback of my new writer friends as they candidly told me about the parts they liked, the parts that didn’t make sense or confused them, and their constructive critique of the story, characters, dialog scenes, and writing style.
learned so much about the craft of fiction writing through a kind of relational ‘osmosis’. In my opinion, this has been a vital part of the writing process that some new writers miss out on. I’ve noticed that many self-published works do not seem to have gone through the refining process of objective peer review (very hard to be objective of our own work), and so do not end up realizing their true potential.
At about the 65,000-word mark, I felt like I had learned as much as I could from the writing groups. What I wanted to hear more at this point was how an average reader might react to my work. I decided to try ‘friend-sourcing’ – asking for reviewers from among my network of friends. Over thirty people responded and read through the manuscript.
I set up a website and email address specifically to interact with these reviewers, and I found this was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process. This set of friends really were companions to me for this part of the journey. When they saw that I indeed was receptive to constructive critique, the reviewers gave me their honest input. Their feedback helped me shape Pelagia – prompting me when more back story was needed, when the dialogue needed to be sharpened, when details needed to be better explained or corrected. They took my writing to a new level.
In fact, I believe that something like 30% of the finished novel is indebted to this friend-sourcing network.
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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!
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About Steve Holloway
Steve Holloway grew up on the beach cities of Los Angeles and has always loved the sea. This passion led him to gain a degree in Aquatic Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara; a background that opened many opportunities for him in researching, developing, and engaging with mariculture activities around the world.
Steve and his wife have lived and traveled in many countries over their forty years of marriage, successfully raising three kids in exotic locations in the process. They have always engaged with the people and cultures they live among.
Currently, Steve lives in England and consults for a Christian charity in areas of research, leadership development, adapting to new cultures, social enterprises, and mariculture projects. Currently, he is consulting for an Indo-Pacific mariculture project – a social enterprise – growing sea cucumbers, a delicacy for the Chinese market.
Steve has always loved books and writing. The story of Pelagia reflects three of his passions: science, the sea, and the narratives of faith. The background, in his words:
“I have for many years believed that settling the open sea was within our grasp, and even more accessible than space as our ‘next frontier’. So through the last ten years or so I have been thinking just how this might happen, what would be needed, where people would settle, what kind of livelihoods they might have on the open sea, beyond the EEZs of terrestrial countries.
My son Adam told me about what would become a key component of Pelagia, Biorock or seacrete, because of his experiments with it. Many discussions with other scientists, engineers, and others helped to begin to fill in the gaps and the concept of the Pelagic Territories, similar to the unincorporated territories of the early US, and what geopolitical contexts they would find themselves in.”
Steve finds any excuse to get into the ocean: sailing, diving, swimming, or just poking around tide pools.
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Giveaway!
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Full Tour Schedule
January 10: Rogue’s Angels
January 10: Long and Short Reviews
January 11: Straight From the Library
January 12: Mythical Books
January 13: Literary Gold
January 14: Gina Rae Mitchell
January 17: Fabulous and Brunette
January 17: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
January 18: fundinmental
January 18: Westveil Publishing
January 19: Our Town Book Reviews
January 19: Andi’s Book Reviews
January 20: All the Ups and Downs
January 21: Kit ‘N Kabookle
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Purchase Pelagia online from a local book store.
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Easy Amazon Links
Pelagia: Between the Stars ...Shop on Amazon Kindle 
Pelagia: Between the Stars ...Shop on Amazon Paperback
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This sounds like an interesting and very exciting story!
[…] Gina Rae Mitchell […]
I want an Egg! That sounds amazing!
Yes, I’d love one too. One of the many ways I explore what it would be like to live on the open seas in the book.
How did you pick the title?
Hi Marisela, I answered this below (good question) for Crystal, but I’ll repeat it here:
Why the title (thanks for asking)? I am a marine biologist, and marine animals that live in the open ocean, far away from the coasts, are called ‘pelagic’, a word that means ‘relating to the open sea’. So in the book, 50 years from now, people are pioneering and settling in the open sea, and are forming nation states in places like the South Pacific. So, they name themselves ‘Pelagia’, and in the novel live, for example, in the Pelagic Territories of the South Pacific.
If you want to learn more about this, read these two blogs:
https://www.pelagia.net/blog/pelagia/
https://www.pelagia.net/blog/pelagia-part-2/
Happy Friday! Do you have any specific reading or writing plans for the weekend?
Hi Bea. Well, actually this weekend I am going to a Luthiers (crafts people who make stringed instruments) workshop to work on a ukulele for my daughter. I love working with my hands.
Steve, I enjoyed the the video, the guest post and the excerpt and Pelagia sounds like a great sci fi thriller for me to enjoy and I love the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a fantastic weekend!
Thanks for stopping by, Eva!
Thanks, Eva. Learn more of the story behind the cover here: https://www.pelagia.net/blog/cover-story/
This looks like a great read.
Thanks for stopping by, Sherry. Good luck in the raffle!
This book looks intriguing and interesting. Would love to read & review the book in print format.
I have to ask, why did you name the book title Pelagia?
Hi Crystal. Why the title (thanks for asking)? I am a marine biologist, and marine animals that live in the open ocean, far away from the coasts, are called ‘pelagic’, a word that means ‘relating to the open sea’. So in the book, 50 years from now, people are pioneering and settling in the open sea, and are forming nation states in places like the South Pacific. So, they name themselves ‘Pelagia’, and in the novel live, for example, in the Pelagic Territories of the South Pacific.
If you want to learn more about this, read these two blogs:
https://www.pelagia.net/blog/pelagia/
https://www.pelagia.net/blog/pelagia-part-2/
The book is available in print format from many sellers: https://www.pelagia.net/buy-pelagia/
Sounds like a good book.
It does indeed! Good luck in the giveaway.
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you Gina for hosting Pelagia and doing such a great job in organising this page. It looks good! Well done.
You are most welcome, Steve. Glad to have you here and thank you for the website compliment.