Two Months Left to Launch Above the Circle of Earth
Attention all decks! This is your captain.
How was your Christmas break? What did you give and receive?
Read on to discover some late Christmas gifts I’m offering this year …
We have two months before my first novel’s launch date in March 2025.
And about 100 years before Brock Rivers receives his call to the Space Mission.
Speaking of which, today (Jan. 10) marks the one-year anniversary of the novel’s acquisition. I had come home happy after a chilly day on the day job. (Yes, in central Texas, you take every chilly day as almost a blessing.) So I was enjoying a late lunch at home when The Email arrived.
Aspiring authors know what I mean by The Email—that one that focuses and reshapes your creative career.
Since then, I’ve enjoyed a busy year of a challenging yet fantastic production with the fine crew at Enclave Publishing and Oasis Audio.
Now, in just two months, you will get to hold the Above the Circle of Earth hardcover in your hands. Or listen to the unabridged, pro-narrated audiobook on your mobile device. Or download the digital copy to your e-reader apps.
Want to know the questions I would have asked myself?
1. Did you need to re-edit the story?
Yes. Several times. With deadlines. And 2024-self, let not your heart be troubled. Each time only makes the story better.
2. What did you need to research?
- Martian calendars. Yes, again. For two of them.
- A whole lot of Arabic. Plus pronunciations. There’s an audiobook, after all.
- Also the name origins and pronunciations for all those people in the Martian settlements.
3. Was there a lot of creative graphic design?
Yes, a surprising amount, most of it thanks to the ever-talented Jenneth Dyck.
Wait until you see the official emblem for the Space Mission—an emblem that would be canon to any ACE sequel, Lord willing.
The fight for the space mission begins in his homeworld. Above the Circle of Earth launches March 2025 from Enclave Publishing.
4. What did you think about first seeing the novel cover image?
Design captain Kirk DouPonce made me feel much like Brock Rivers when he first beheld that incredible starcraft.
5. How were you surprised by the initial response to Above the Circle of Earth?
I’m loving the enthusiasm from all kinds of readers. Not just men. Not just women. So far, so many people have shown their intrigue with this concept. That does seem surprising, because Christian-made science fiction is so hard to get right. Most people think of this genre as classic titles, like C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. Or they think of the occasional space opera or else end-times thrillers.
6. What do you think of some readers referring to ACE as “hard science fiction”?
A few people had compared the novel to “hard science fiction.” I view this as high acclaim! “Harder” sci-fi is especially hard to do well.
Yet if I did my job right, the story’s math and machinery is running quietly below on labor deck. You hear the hum beneath your feet and you know it’s there, powering the ship and driving you to new destinations. And if you like, you can open the hatches and climb down for a look.
Most readers will likely prefer the human relationships of living deck or the exciting adventures of command deck.
7. Finally, what about the ACE audiobook? Did you read the story for audio yourself?
The audiobook is in production with a super professional chap. For now, I’ll stick to the Fantastical Truth podcast!
What’s next for sharing Above the Circle of Earth with the world?
Over the Christmas/New Year’s break, I enjoyed a lot of rest while also working hard on Lorehaven.com upgrades:
- The menus look cleaner and better organized. I’m always tinkering with those.
- Now the Book Search is far more powerful and personal. More upgrades on the way.
- Ticia Messing with Elijah David and I chose to break from book quests, yet the Lorehaven Guild is hopping.
- New reviews are also on pause. As soon as we retool that team a bit, we’ll resume hopefully in a month or so.s
This clears some time for promo planning. Here I can reveal that in the next couple of months, you will see:
- Special giveaways and perks for crew members of the ACE Launch Team.
- Open giveaways for my followers on the socials—basically a late Christmas!—including:
- the ever-popular Amazon gift cards
- possibly some fantastic surprise T-shirts
- bookmarks and cards and the like, celebrating ACE
- a LEGO spaceship that’s well-suited for interstellar travel
- themed stickers and pins denoting your support of The Space Mission
- … and More.
- Livestreams and other special events that anyone can attend around our home planet
- Announcements about book-signings (hint: I’ll get to return to the Realm Makers Bookstore)
- A themed miniseries on Fantastical Truth called Martian Month, all throughout March 2025
- Finally, for anyone in the Lone Star State in the U.S., or willing to travel great distances there …
Join the ACE Launch Party north of Austin, Texas
We’re busy planning this event to celebrate the Above the Circle of Earth launch. Watch this space for updates. Some hints:
Above the Circle of Earth Novel Launch Party
Saturday, March 1, 2025
[local church venue TBA]
Round Rock, Texas, USA
Finally, will you pray for this project?
The Space Mission is fictional. But this represents an underlying mission: to bless readers through a fantastical story about one family called to serve Christ in a hostile world. Whether that setting is 2125, 2025, or any other year, that’s a experience common to Christians. And it could even appeal to anyone who’s fought to survive and thrive, protecting their homeworld while also longing for adventures in new worlds.
To this end, I’d be greatly honored if you say a quick prayer for the success of this creative mission. A few thoughts:
- Pray that Above the Circle of Earth will glorify God as an act of “subcreation“
- Pray that ACE will honor and reward everyone who’s invested in this mission
- Pray the novel will find a wide fanbase who’ll be greatly blessed by these heroes
Thus concludes this announcement. But as the launch date draws ever closer, expect to see more of these! And do feel free (especially at this early stage of preflight!) to reply to this message with your ideas, early comments, and questions for later updates.
#GoTherefore
and #EvangelizeMars!
E. Stephen Burnett
Share your thoughts, faithful reader (and stay wholesome!)