I have woefully neglected my blog—my apologies! Let me begin catching you up on some of my writing: in late November, 2016, I published The Cobra Effect, sci-fi, kind of a sequel to The Laptev Virus, but also a stand-alone, so feel free to read it even if you haven’t read Laptev. Some people like it better because it’s sciency but no one gets ill with a horrible virus.
So what’s it about? The title, The Cobra Effect, is a real thing—you can look it up! It’s when you have a bad problem, and you take steps to mitigate it, and you end up making it worse. Often much worse. And that’s what happens to Cory in the novel. His whole life has been dedicated to cleaning up the oceans. In graduate school, he specializes in molecular biology and then takes a position at a lab in India, where he does research on a type of bacteria that will degrade plastics.
He and his team genetically engineer these bacteria and eventually get permission to release them in the ocean. And it works well, at first. But then disaster strikes and the bacteria mutate and, well, it’s not pretty. Useful plastics, such as in boats, life jackets, buoys, etc. start getting eaten up.
And it just keeps getting worse from there, as greedy corporations try to convince governments to kill the bacteria with brutal methods that will result in the deaths of many other sea creatures. The cobra effect. Cory tried to fix a bad problem and ended up making it worse! But fortunately, that’s just the beginning…
Here’s what some of the reviewers are saying:
“WOW! I love this author and her stories. I must say that the writing is so well done that I feel like the author is in the room telling the story herself. I hear the inflections and humor, the tension, and relief, the surprise, and even the intake of breath as the story is being told. I loved how the story developed and each character was so well drawn that I could visualize every aspect of them.
The detail of every room is amazing, from the entry to the floors, the equipment, the colors, the sounds, and even the way the atmosphere is in the room. I really felt like I was a fly on the wall listening in on the conversations and wanted to offer my opinions some of the time.
But I’m glad I didn’t and that no one was asking because my conclusions would have been so wrong. I loved how the plots twisted and came together in the end. I felt transported and as I was reading I wanted to keep on reading and not put the book down. I had to force myself to stop and must say that the story was so well written that I had no trouble coming back the next day to read one more chapter or two.
I love how the story was about real people and real events that could be happening and it wasn’t about romance or sex but about exploring real relationships with people that we came to know in the story.
There are real life lessons embedded in the book and I for one was reminded of myself and how I approach things.
I am recommending this book to everyone for an easy and exciting read. I loved it and am excited to be able to share my enjoyment of it.”—Reina Sher-Kraft
Here’s another comment:
“Seldom do I read science fiction, but the idea of plastics polluting our oceans really caught my attention. I decided to give this book a try and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I learned so much about this problem and possible solutions. Plus I found the characters to be very realistic. I got caught up in their professional and personal lives–their struggles and successes. In the end I found it hard to put the book down.”—Ruth Heeder
There are more reviews on the Amazon website—9/10 are five star reviews! The novel is only $10.99 in paperback or $0.99 on Kindle. Please check it out and I’ll be back next week with another update on my writing.
