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Out Now!


Hal Spacejock

The science fiction
comedy series
by
Simon Haynes

Hal Spacejock 02 Second Course Cover
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New Release!


Catch of the Day


Hal Spacejock - Free!


There may be no free lunch for goofy hero Hal Spacejock, but his fans worldwide are about to be served a big helping of science fiction - for nothing! Western Australian author, Simon Haynes, is giving away free ebook copies of the novel Hal Spacejock. To coincide with the release of the fourth book, Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch, the first novel in the popular series is now available as a free download.

Author Simon Haynes says there is a method to his madness.

"Science fiction readers are typically technologically savvy and familiar with E-books.

"They are often bloggers with many online connections and the spread of information across the online community is incredibly fast," he said.

Haynes said he was keen to build an international following but in some countries his books were only available as an expensive import.

Download the Hal Spacejock ebook here.

"Hal Spacejock 1 is now on its third reprint and I've proved there's an audience for my particular brand of offbeat humour.

"By giving away the first novel as a free online download, I hope to reach a wider, international audience and, with any luck, get them hooked on the whole Hal Spacejock series," said Haynes.

Although the practice is rare in Australia, free online books in the science fiction genre have been given away by overseas publishers such as Tor Books, HarperCollins and Baen with interesting results. Initial reports indicate that releasing "freebies" can lead to increased book sales.

Haynes also has his eye on the reluctant reader in the school system - especially boys. He said that while many potential readers may shudder at the thought of borrowing a book from the library, he hopes they may be more inclined to check out an E-book.

"If you're a school librarian, a parent or an English teacher who wants a way to promote reading, you've really got nothing to lose by pointing kids in the direction of an online novel.

"I'm a parent and I figure that if my kids are going to spend more time online then you'd better make books available to them there as well as in the school library," he said.

The four Hal Spacejock books are a comic science fiction series that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes books by Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt or Jasper Fforde.

To download your free copy of Hal Spacejock 1 go to the download page

About the author

Simon Haynes - Biography

Biography

Simon Haynes was born in England and grew up in Spain, where he enjoyed an amazing childhood of camping, motorbikes, mateship, air rifles and paper planes. His family moved to Australia when he was 16.
From 1986 to 1988 Simon studied at Curtin University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Creative Writing and Literature.
Simon returned to Curtin in 1997, graduating with a degree in Computer Science two years later. An early version of Hal Spacejock was written during the lectures.

Simon has four Hal Spacejock novels, one Hal Junior novel and several short stories in print. Sleight of Hand won the Aurealis Award (short fiction) in 2001, and Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch was a finalist in both the Ditmar and Aurealis Awards for 2008.
Simon divides his time between writing fiction and computer software, with frequent bike rides to blow away the cobwebs.
His goal is to write fifteen Hal books (Spacejock OR Junior!) before someone takes his keyboard away.



How I came to write Hal Junior


How I came to write Hal Spacejock