About this project

The book publishing industry is going through an interesting, sometimes scary, transition from print books to digital e-books. Right now, e-books account for 15% of book sales, but most industry professionals predict that percentage will jump to 50% in just five years. As a result, many authors (myself included) are beginning to experiment with e-book only editions of our unpublished novels (we all have them). BENEATH is one such experiment.

In February of 2010 I produced and released BENEATH in two digital formats: e-book and audiobook. With 5000 Kindle purchases and 10,000 audio listeners in just a few months, the book has been an amazing success. With the expansion of the book to the Nook, iPad and other distribution channels, those numbers should jump even higher in the coming months.

But does that mean print is dead? I sure hope not. Like many of my readers, I don’t own an e-reader and prefer the printed page to the screen. The feel of paper between your fingers. The distinct smell of a new, or used book. The different textures of a matte, gloss or embossed jacket. They’re all part of the book reading experience for me, and for many of my readers who have been requesting a hard cover edition of BENEATH.

To make this project possible, I am seeking $5500 which will pay for the initial print run and shipping of the books to readers. To hit this number, we only need 183 people to pre-order the book via Kickstarter. When we reach this amount, the books will be printed, shipped and I will break even, which is great, but since writing/publishing is how I pay my bills and feed my children, not perfect. For this to be a repeatable project for future e-books, we need to move between 500 - 1000 copies via the campaign, or move some of the larger funding options such as the advertising slots.

The finished book will be a hardcover with a glossed and embossed jacket and roughly 300 - 350 pages. It will contain eight pages of never before seen character, creature and tech sketches by me. I will be numbering the first 480 copies ordered at the $35 funding level or higher, but if you’re just interested in a signed book, you can snag it for $30 (shipping included).

If you want to check out my other books (already in print), including my PULSE and INSTINCT, part of my Jack Sigler Thriller series from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press, visit my website at www.jeremyrobinsononline.com, where you can sign up for the newsletter, connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, or watch a me do ridiculous things on video.

I hope you’ll join me and help to explore and revolutionize the publishing industry reversal by bringing this novel, published as an e-book first, into print. Viva la e-volucion!

-- Jeremy Robinson

About the Book:
Three thousand years after a chunk of iron the size of Khufu’s pyramid collides with Europa, Jupiter’s sixth moon, an asteroid borne of the collision crashes into Earth’s Arctic ice shelf carrying extraterrestrial microbial life. The first man to come into contact with the microbes hears voices—and then dies.

After determining the meteorite originated from Europa, the Global Exploratory Corporation sends oceanographer and biologist, Kathy Connelly, and her crew to the moon aboard the Surveyor, an experimental spacecraft. They are charged with the task of melting through miles of ice to the hidden ocean beneath, where the search for alien microorganisms begins. But a startling discovery awaits them on the surface of Europa.

Life.

Vast fields of red, plant-like organisms fill the cracks crisscrossing the moon’s surface, surviving on nutrients welling up from the waters below. Intoxicated by thoughts of what might lie beneath, Connelly and her crew activate the Thermal Exploratory System and melt through the ice—toward a world that does not want to be found, toward a force that will do anything to make sure they never leave.

They search for life. They find death.

PRAISE FOR BENEATH:

"Here's a near-future space adventure that's as frightening as it is smart. Jeremy Robinson's BENEATH is packed with believable tech, a page-turning story and an alien intelligence so creepy, you'll pray NASA never makes it past the moon."
--J.C. Hutchins, author of PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART and 7th SON: DESCENT

"Jeremy Robinson hits his stride in BENEATH. His story-telling is as tight as ever, delivering thrills that raise the heart rate and science detail that gets the mind cranking just has hard. An evocative blend of Crichton and Clarke, BENEATH is destined to become an instant new media classic."
--Phil Rossi, Best Selling author of CRESCENT, and EDEN

"Isolation, cold, and the unknown: Like The Thing, BENEATH taps into those fears, and a couple more we never know we had. Robinson strips away all that we hold dear, sends us into the deep dark, and dares us to make our way out of it."
--Mur Lafferty, author of PLAYING FOR KEEPS

“Robinson grabbed my attention in the first chapter, and kept hold of it. BENEATH isn’t your run of the mill way distant future fantasy sci-fi. It reads like its real, like it could happen today…but we hope and pray it doesn’t.”
--Basil Sands, author of 65 BELOW

"Masterful Craftsmanship...a chilling tale that finally answers the question: Are we alone?"
--thenovelblog.com

PRAISE FOR JEREMY ROBINSON'S CHESS TEAM SERIES:
INSTINCT

"If you like thrillers original, unpredictable and chock-full of action, you are going to love Jeremy Robinson's Chess Team. INSTINCT riveted me to my chair."
-- Stephen Coonts, NY Times bestselling author of SAUCER and DEEP BLACK: ARCTIC GOLD

"Instinct is a jungle fever of raw adrenaline that goes straight for the jugular."
-- Thomas Greanias, NY Times bestselling author of THE ATLANTIS PROPHECY

"Jeremy Robinson is a fresh new face in adventure writing and will make a mark in suspense for years to come."
-- David Lynn Golemon, NY Times Bestselling author of LEGEND

PULSE

"Rocket-boosted action, brilliant speculation, and the recreation of a horror out of the mythologic past, all seamlessly blend into a rollercoaster ride of suspense and adventure."
-- James Rollins, NY Times bestselling author of THE LAST ORACLE

"PULSE contains all of the danger, treachery, and action a reader could wish for."
-- Steve Berry, NY Times bestselling author of THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT

"There's nothing timid about Robinson as he drops his readers off the cliff without a parachute and somehow manages to catch us an inch or two from doom."
-- Jeff Long, NY Times bestselling author of THE DESCENT and YEAR ZERO

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