Go Behind The Scenes of GEMINOS Science Fiction Thriller Book

Behind The Pages of GEMINOS

Welcome to the behind the "scenes" pages of my sci-fi action thriller book: GEMINOS. Hopefully you have read the book, which will give you more appreciation of this post. I'm going to let you in on some of the background to the story and touch on some behind the scene parts of the series' progress.

How Does GEMINOS Relate to Book 1?

The first book: THE FUTURE IS SET, ends off with Josh Brannon making an important decision to continue his quest - I won't add any spoilers here to Book 1. The second book: GEMINOS, continues the story 4 months later - I mention it in the first chapter. Although this book involves a new case Brannon is assigned to investigate, it all ties in with his unusual experiences that began in Book 1.

How Long Did GEMINOS Take to Write?

Bear in mind I'm not a full-time author - yet, I still have to work to pay the bills, so only write in what little spare time I have. And, as a self-published author, I currently do everything myself, which adds time.

Okay, so I started writing the first chapter on the 25th September 2021 and finished the last chapter on the 20th March 2022. It took me around 6 months to get the first draft done which was so much faster than Book 1. I have listed how long each chapter took me to finish. You can see my steady progress here:

CHAPTER 1: 1 day (a good start off the mark)
CHAPTER 2: 7 days
CHAPTER 3: 7 days
CHAPTER 4: 7 days
CHAPTER 5: 8 days
CHAPTER 6: 8 days
CHAPTER 7: 7 days
CHAPTER 8: 7 days
CHAPTER 9: 7 days
CHAPTER 10: 13 days
CHAPTER 11: 15 days
CHAPTER 12: 10 days
CHAPTER 13: 10 days
CHAPTER 14: 11 days
CHAPTER 15: 4 days
CHAPTER 16: 12 days
CHAPTER 17: 1 day
CHAPTER 18: 8 days
CHAPTER 19: 7 days
CHAPTER 20: 14 days
CHAPTER 21: 7 days
CHAPTER 22: 7 days

When Was GEMINOS Published?

As you can see above, writing GEMINOS was so much faster than my first book. And it's also longer, at just over 78,000 words. So, after editing, formatting, and designing my own book cover, I finally published it on 6th December 2022.

But you might be thinking, why so long to get it published?

The answer is; after I self-edited the book (yes, I can't afford an editor yet so I do my own, so please let me know of any mistakes), I changed my editing process that will better allow for audiobook versions in the future - something else I'm considering doing myself. So, I went through and edited the whole manuscript again, which took a while to complete. On top of that, I also re-edited my first book which is now a Version 2.

List of Characters in GEMINOS

GEMINOS retains many of the main and secondary characters from the first book, but also introduces new ones. I have listed the characters of the book and their character roles.

The main characters in the book:

Josh Brannon: Intelligence operative
Sofia Du Bois: Lawyer, member of View Corp, and Josh's love interest
Michael Harris: Intelligence services case officer I/C and Josh's boss
Flash: Intelligence services tech support in T-Branch (Technical Branch)
Mark Radnus: CEO of GeneRobotix - bio-tech company
Dr Anthony Faust: Doctor / scientist at GeneRobotix - a silent but prominent character
Chris Nugent: Brannon's recruiter - this guy is moving up the chain. I'll say no more
Sir Charles Godfrey: Politician - someone to keep an eye on
Jonesy: A mechanic with a hidden past
Farhad: Taxi driver that helps Josh

The secondary characters in the book:

These are the rest of the book's characters listed alphabetically. As with the first book, I haven't included characters with minimal appearance. Although some of these characters have a secondary role in this book, they will take on a main character role in the 3rd book in the series. You'll just have to wait and see who it will be.

Azzam Yousef Jamel: Arms dealer
Christina: Hotel waitress
Dr Andrews: Psychiatrist
Dr Franklin: Neurosurgeon
Franks: Intelligence operative
Hill Brothers (Bazza and Bernie): Ex-gangster hardmen
Jennifer Baxter: Department head at GeneRobotix
Mark Maro: Security manager at dockyard
Mason: Intelligence operative
Mohammed: Martial arts instructor at the Office
Rachael Banks: Whistle-blower at GeneRobotix
Sergeant Allan Crofts: Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Unit
Smithy: Armourer and range controller at the Office
Tomblin: Tech support in T-Branch (Technical Branch)

The Locations of The Story

The story begins in and around London, but part way through the book Brannon is forced to Munich, Germany. This time I've named notable landmarks to give some familiarity with the story which I didn't do in Book 1. I will continue to do this here on out. Just as a hint for the 3rd book, Brannon will be travelling overseas for a very personal reason.

The Story's Weapons, Equipment, Gadgets and Technology

Weapons and equipment always seem to be of interest, particularly any secret gadgets used by the characters in the book. Some of the gear used by the characters is genuine and some imaginary - but who knows, they could be real. I've listed them here:

SQRV (Surveillance and Quick Reaction Vehicle): Josh's company car
Heckler & Koch MP7 submachine gun
SIG Sauer P226 pistol
Sniffer: Flash's handheld computer / keylogger device
GRX-5 chip: GeneRobotix mind control chip
SIG Sauer P6 pistol
Mossberg 590 shotgun
Labyrinth System: The Office's clandestine computer system
Chinese NZ85B 9mm pistol
Chinese QSV-92 semi-automatic pistol
Chinese QCW-05 submachine gun
Covert radio system
Vehicle GPS tracker
Tactical vest
Night vision binoculars (video / photo imaging and data transmission capability)
Secure untraceable encrypted mobile phone
Digital audio recorder
Life-containment pod
Human tracker implant
Handheld X-ray scanner

The Story's Unanswered Questions Answered

What is the name of the intelligence department Brannon works for?

I had a bit of trouble identifying and naming the intelligence department in the book and kept referring to it as the "Company" or "Office" as I did in the first book. I have now put some thought into it and although I haven't officially stated it in the storyline yet, I have decided upon a name. I have decided to keep it as the "Office", colloquially, but OFFICE as an acronym:

O - Office
F - for
F - Foreign and Domestic
I - Intelligence and
C - Counter
E - Espionage

The OFFICE is a fictitious department of the UK government's intelligence arm and is a little-known entity purposely kept on the fringes and out of the public eye. It is used primarily for unsanctioned intelligence work.

Where does the story go from here?

With only two books in the Josh Brannon series so far, it's really only getting started. The book GEMINOS leaves a bit of an open ending to the story that still needs to be satisfied. There are also other unknown factors in the story, that I have hinted at in both books so far, but I am not revealing what until much later. So, subscribe to my emails below and I'll let you know once Book 3 is out.

A JOSH BRANNON Sci-fi Action Thriller

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GEMINOS

the 2nd book in the series of EXCITING action-packed science-fiction thrillers.