NEMESIS: Five Things You Need to Know

June 11, 2012

This fall will see the release, in both hardcover and digital, of my new novel NEMESIS, the fifth book in the Timmy Quinn series (the previous books are THE TURTLE BOY, THE HIDES, VESSELS, and PEREGRINE’S TALE.) After inviting questions from fans of the series across Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and my newsletter, I thought I’d take the top five most-asked questions and answer them here. So, without further ado, here are five things you need to know about NEMESIS.

(5) It’s a full-length novel.

The books in the series are fairly short (THE TURTLE BOY – 24,000 words, THE HIDES – 44,000 words, VESSELS – 30,000 words, and PEREGRINE’S TALE – 10,000 words). NEMESIS, currently (and I say currently because there is some editing still ahead) weighs in at 90,000 words, making it the first (and last) full-length novel of the series.

(4) Everything is explained.

Lots of questions have been raised over the course of poor Timmy’s lifetime of dealing with the disgruntled dead. In NEMESIS, all of them are addressed and explained, and in an organic way that suits the story, not in a “oh, better shoe-horn this one in there or people will complain” kind of way. You’ll learn about the genesis of The Stage and those who created it, how it all works (from the inside), the nature of Tim and Peregrine’s connection, how Darryl Gaines (The Turtle Boy) spent his last days, and what led Tim’s father to do what he did.

(3) It’s the end of the series.

A number of people have asked if there will be more sequels, and while I haven’t fully ruled out the possibility of doing a book of short stories that detail some of the encounters Timmy had in the years between THE HIDES and VESSELS (as mentioned by Sergeant O’ Dowd in the latter book), NEMESIS is the end of Timmy’ story. However, this is not to say that there won’t be a new series set in the same world, and with some of the same characters…

(2) It picks up right where VESSELS left off.

Unlike all the other books in the series, which could be read in any order (though the suggested one would be in the order in which they were published: THE TURTLE BOY, THE HIDES, VESSELS, and PEREGRINE’S TALE), NEMESIS should be read last. It picks up with Tim and Kim a few hours after the events of Blackrock Island (documented in VESSELS.)

(1) Timmy dies.

This might seem like a major spoiler but for the fact that the book is subtitled THE DEATH OF TIMMY QUINN, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you to learn that this is Timmy’s final outing. What you don’t yet know is how it happens. Perhaps after all is said and done, a brief coda tells you he dies peacefully at age 91. Perhaps he dies within the first two chapters. Or perhaps he dies briefly only to be magically resuscitated.But if you think I’m ruining the story for you before you’ve had a chance to read it, ask yourself what death really means in the world of Timmy Quinn.

And there you have it. Five things you need to know about NEMESIS. All the books thus far are available digitally from your favorite ebookstore, and THE TURTLE BOY is free if you’d like to sample the first book in the series.

Leave your comment below to be in with a chance to win a signed hardcover limited edition copy of NEMESIS when it’s released this summer!

Related articles

• The Turtle Boy (delvingintobooks.com)

About these ads