Rogue Star Is Here. And I’m Already Looking Ahead. – Cameron Cooper's Science Fiction

Rogue Star, Book 2.0 of the Hammer Down series, is officially released today!

After three weeks of talking about Danny Andela, her troubles, her friends, her enemies, and the strange things happening on Lyonesse, you can finally read the whole story. And I’m particularly pleased to be able to say that, because this was not an easy book to get written.

Not because the story was difficult. Quite the opposite. I knew where I was going with Danny, and I was eager to get her there. The difficulty was finding the time and energy to actually sit down and write. Between health issues, other publishing commitments, the demands of running a business, and the usual thousand-and-one things that life throws at us, my writing time has been squeezed from every direction this year.

Some days, getting words onto the page felt like a minor miracle. But I kept going. And now the book is finished, polished, published, and available for you to read. There’s a particular satisfaction in that.

I’ve written more than 200 books over the years, and you might think that finishing another one would become routine after a while. It hasn’t. Especially these days, when the demands on my time seem determined to multiply faster than I can deal with them.

Every finished book is a victory. And this one feels particularly satisfying.

Danny Andela Has Problems

Of course, Danny is having a rather worse time of it than I am. At the beginning of Rogue Star, the woman once known as the Iron Hammer has lost almost everything that defined her. Her reputation is in tatters. Her finances are a disaster. Her confidence has taken a beating. And just when she’s trying to figure out how to put her life back together, she starts noticing things that don’t add up.

Small things. Strange things. Things that might mean nothing. Or might mean that something is very, very wrong on Lyonesse. The trouble is, Danny isn’t entirely sure she can trust her own judgment anymore. And the more she digs, the more dangerous that uncertainty becomes.

I’ve taken Danny in a different direction with this book. She’s not the unstoppable force readers have known through the Imperial Hammer and Iron Hammer series. She’s having to find out who she is when all the things she once relied upon have fallen away.

And she’s still Danny, which means she’s constitutionally incapable of leaving a mystery alone.

What Early Readers Are Saying

The first reviews have been wonderfully encouraging.

Marti Panikkar described Rogue Star as: “A fascinating & complex mystery clothed in action and angst with betrayal around every corner.” And asked the rather pertinent question: “But it’s not paranoia if someone really is out to get you; right?”

Meanwhile, Karen called it: “More intrigue, more nail biting, and more betrayal from places one would never suspect.” And added: “Danny Andela is one of the greatest characters ever brought to life, in a universe that feels so comfortable you forget you’re not actually there. What a ride!!”

I couldn’t ask for a much better response to the choices I’ve made with Danny in this book.

Get Your Copy of Rogue Star

Rogue Staris available now, including directly from Stories Rule Press.

Rogue Star (Book 2.0, Hammer Down, ebook)

There are a couple of advantages to buying directly from SRP. New to Stories Rule Press? Use the coupon code NewCustomerSRP to take 10% off your first order. Already an SRP customer? Check your reward points. You may have enough accumulated to earn yourself a discount on Rogue Star.

Those discounts are exclusive to Stories Rule Press. The book is available at full retail price through other ebook retailers.

And Now, Onward

One of the pleasures of finishing a novel is that I get to turn my attention to the next one. The Hammer Down story is far from over. Rogue Star is Book 2.0, and there is considerably more ahead for Danny Andela and the people around her. I’m looking forward to getting back into that universe and finding out how the next part of the story unfolds on the page. But first, Rogue Star gets its moment.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along with the previews, excerpts, and countdown posts over the last few weeks. And thank you to everyone who has been reading Danny’s adventures since the beginning.

Happy reading!