The GOD PARTICLE explodes!

I found that there were a few rules for writing THE GOD PARTICLE, a young adult sci-fi thriller, that don’t always apply to writing adult thrillers.  

For one thing, they say (they being young adult writing experts), that you should establish the age of the protagonist right away so young people will connect quickly. The first paragraph says, “I had the perfect life. I was going to MIT at the age of sixteen…” Check.

Another thing they suggest is writing in first person so readers can feel like they are right there with your character. Most of the book is in first person, except for the parts where I’m following another character, switching back and forth kind of the way James Patterson does. So again, check.

An eye-catching front cover is, of course, paramount to getting good sales. Thanks to Stan Tremblay of Find the Axis.com, I was able to comply. Check again.

I also didn’t want the book to be too wordy. I wanted it to zip along at a good pace, which I did by writing short chapters and keeping the word count at around 40,000. That’s a pretty quick read, even for someone with a short attention span like me. My previous book had short chapters, but was over 70,000 words.

The experts say to never talk down to your audience, because they may be young, but they’re also sophisticated. I wanted something intriguing, a subject that had spent some time in the public eye, and the God particle was the perfect subject.  Most everyone had heard of it, and it was still enough of a mystery that I could put my own twist on it without it seeming too far-fetched. The story involves particle physics, wormholes and multi-dimensional space, but it’s not so complicated that it loses the reader. I speak in a way any layman can understand.

Of course, there was a lot of research and fact-checking involved, but that’s true with all my novels.

Despite the age group of your readership, good characters have to populate the pages of any story to keep it interesting. Shallow, one-dimensional characters will pull your story down and your sales along with it. And you can forget any sequels. All my characters in all my books are well fleshed-out (so to speak), according to their importance in the storyline. There is a lot of dark drama involved as well, where our characters fight seemingly impossible odds. Suspense can make a good story great.

I usually make it a point to get at least one endorsement for my books. For GOD PARTICLE I managed to get Roy Huff, the #1 Amazon bestselling author of EVERVILLE: The First Pillar, who called it “…a fast-paced, fun read!” Thanks Roy!

I had a lot of fun writing GOD PARTICLE, and I think you will have a great time reading it. Pick up a copy now for only $2.99 at Amazon, B&N.com, Smashwords or Crossroad Press.

Check me out on the web when you get a chance at www.tobytatestories.com.