The Story Behind The Story

I was talking with a reporter last night who was preparing a story about giving books for Christmas. She wanted to know why I wrote my new book, Beyond Visual Range. I tried to explain, but it wasn’t until we ended our call that I got the words in the right order and realized why the book was a good choice for Christmas. At first glance the story of two women drone pilots battling a rouge military, in space, that is bent on overthrowing the government doesn’t sound very Christmassy.

Here is what makes the book different. I wanted to tell the true story of our military drone pilots, but as a mystery author, I wanted to do so using my fiction adventure mystery genre. That is what Beyond Visual Range is—the true story of our drone warriors in a fictional mystery format. These warriors protect the rest of us every single day of the year including Christmas Day. And they do so at great sacrifice and suffer grave wounds. Consider these lines from the book:

“It is an environment full of grays with few blacks and whites. It’s a job where it is easy to violate one’s sense of what’s right or at least to question it. We can recover from horror, fear, and grief. Warriors have been doing that for all of history, but when we feel we have crossed the line—violated what’s right, it injures our very souls. The closeness of the drone pilot to his victim creates a bond of sorts. To strike when he least expects it seems cowardly or a betrayal. Worse is to kill an innocent, like the little girl, by accident or not. That is an act that stays in your head forever.

Your gift of Beyond Visual Range will be an entertaining mystery adventure that tells the true story of the struggles our military drone warriors face protecting us so we can enjoy a safe Christmas. And, until December 21st you can give a signed library quality edition at a 40% discount with free shipping. Just go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/specials-2020.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading Selections From Beyond Visual Range

For the most part, COVID-19 has shut down the opportunity to meet with book clubs and fans of the Mark Rollins adventure series. I have always enjoy doing readings at those events. Since I can’t do it in person, I’ll occasional do so by way of the internet. Today I am reading from Chapter 12, The long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Fans of Douglas Adams will recognize that the chapter takes its name from one of Adam’s books.

Author reading selections from Beyond Visual Range

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Audio Edition of "Beyond Visual Range"

My seventh novel, Beyond Visual Range, is now available as an audio book. The Audible edition joins three other formats—hardcover, paperback and eBook editions. On June 28, Foreword Clarion Review described the new mystery as “a military thriller with a tinge of political realism” and gave the book four stars.

Collins writes from his home in Franklin, Tennessee, where his characters come to life and frequent familiar places in the bucolic Middle Tennessee landscape. What makes Collins’s latest mystery different from other novels in his Mark Rollins adventures series is that his Nashville heroines take the story into outer space.

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The Audible edition is available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Signed copies of Collins’s books are available at www.tomcollinsauthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Books, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble and other online bookstores.

What One Reviewer Had To Say

The reviewer preceded his review comments with the statement that Beyond Visual Range should be required reading. Since my writing is financed from royalties that would be great—I wish! While it will not become required reading, I hope you will read it and if you do, I hope you will post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or another book related site.

The technology exists. The possibilities are all too real... and frightening. Once I started into it, I couldn't stop reading until the end. It was captivating and well written all the way through.

Politics usually sends me off in another direction when I'm looking for something good to read, but the technical aspects got my attention. This novel peels the skin from the flesh and bone of our everyday life. Not only can this happen; some or all of it probably is happening. Not only is our future in the balance, our very existence is too.

Right now, you can still take advantage of the one month sale ending June 31st. Until then you can purchase the Kindle edition for only $0.99. July 1st the price reverts to $4.99. And don’t forget that the audio editions of Diversion and The Claret Murders are currently on sale for $7.49. Shortly Beyond Visual Range will also be available in an audio edition. Production has been completed, we are just waiting on Audible to distribute the finished product to Amazon, iTunes and other retailers.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook and audio editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

The Book is on the Printing Press!

Ingram has the print editions of Beyond Visual Range in the print queue. Unfortunately, the company just sent out the following notice:

“Please note that we are extending our current print turnaround times for some U.S. order types as we work diligently to uphold our commitment to the publishing industry while also protecting the health and well-being of our associates.”

Nevertheless, I would expect to see the print editions on Amazon within ten days and the eBook editions within two to three weeks. I must admit that my predictions on turnaround times have not been exactly accurate to date.  However, I think you will find this sixth book in the Mark Rollins Adventure series worth waiting for. To remind you about the story check out the video below:

One of the interesting things about the content of this and other videos is in the background. Check out the artwork and the bookcase contents—I always do when seeing interviews on TV or watching other video presentations.  

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com.  Look for book number six in the Mark Rollins Adventure series coming soon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.