And lo! There was more book!

This one's got some PS relevance, as it's based on ideas I originally had for a PSO fanfic. I was thinking of writing about the origins of Kireek and his life on Coral before the Pioneer 2 left. Sue and Black Paper would feature heavily, and I was going to cover his mission to assassinate the player character (should you follow the Soul Eater subplot). As the whole first part of it was going to be original material that wasn't in the game at all anyway, I wound up reworking it into a novel. (And a sexy novel, at that!)
Here's the official blurb
(with my unofficial commentary):
Dutiful soldier Callum Renwick
(originally Kireek) wakes up in the underground laboratory of a mercenary organization
(used to be Black Paper). He learns he was the sole survivor of an attack that destroyed his unit, his hometown, and his family. In addition to the loss of his loved ones, he discovers that due to his injuries, half his body has been supplanted by artificial skin and cybernetic parts
(we'll make a Cast out of you yet!). Once he has recovered, he is assigned to the care of Ro Bernard
(who has a similar haircut to Sue, but no newman ears; sorry, Josh), who leads the effort to turn him into a powerful assassin (though they never call him the Black Hound). She is outspoken, yet secretive, and uses unconventional means to mold him into a depraved killer
(who never does get a Black Hound-esque nickname, oops). Mind games and rough sex are in her repertoire of training tactics, and Callum is both infuriated and fascinated by her. As he comes to terms with his grief and his new role, many of his biological body parts fail and must be replaced
(so he looks like an droid, the droid, whatever!). Will he adapt to survive in Ro’s world and exact vengeance on the woman
(the player character) who ordered the attack that changed his life?
(Alas, there is no Soul Eater, regardless of the outcome.)Though the plot and overall tone of the book is SRS BZNS, I did have some fun. I worked in a couple subtle PS references as a homage to the series that has inspired me so much. The people who have always been supportive of me and have helped me through some challenging spots make some appearances, such as characters named Vlad, Tanith, and Agent Carlson.
The book
just came out, so I'm pretty sure it's only out at
my publisher right now. In the past, it's taken a couple days to a couple weeks for my books to be released at the other main retailers (Amazon, B&N, etc.); now I just have to be patient for the official Kindle version so I can carry it around with me wherever I go!
At first, I was caught a little off guard by the cover, as that's not how I pictured my main character. Then I remembered that he loses half his face by Chapter Two and it didn't really matter.
Now I kind of love it.