Simon Drake – Writer

The more fragile a situation, the less people want to discuss it. The more obscenely pointless a situation, the more people will rejoice in it.
That is one of my simple observations of society and relates to my exploits in shopping Generous Enemies to Australian publishers and agents between 1999 and 2003. There are an abundance of crappy books on the market but very few that deal with a real and upcoming conflict: history shows that conflict eventually happens and hippy notions of ‘oh no it won’t happen here’ goes up in puffs of smoke.
The truth is, I could never rely on the Australian publishing industry to even touch Generous Enemies because it touches a tricky subject: So what do you do when global over-crowding and geo-politcal unrest spills into Australia? Is it politically incorrect to discuss future genocide in Australia in the context of a possible war? The Australian arts scene is weak; it is mostly funded by the government (who call the shots, left or right, by who gets grant the precious money), or controlled by US and UK publishing houses (who are usually owned by international fund managers or share holders) and the bottom line is profit (I’ve got nothing against profit, it’s better to live with capitalism than run into the (s)mothering arms of socialism) but profit in publishing equals appeal to the masses, give them the easy stuff, don’t try anything too risky. There is a small Australian publishing industry but it doesn’t take too many risks, so for books about future wars the multinationals supply the usual stuff: Post-Cold War thrillers, Terrorism stuff, Mafia/Gangster pulp. It’s mostly set in the country of origin: U-S of A.
Australians seem content but many of them don’t know what other books they could read, because they’ve never been out of Australia, and into another nation’s book shop, or understood another language. The online world bridges gaps, but if you’re the author, you’re the one who builds that bridge. If you write a book with a niche market, you have to find that niche market.
I left Australia and have been living in Europe (UK and German) and I’ve found a North American publisher for my science fiction works. Writing in a ‘download culture’ is difficult but exciting. But for Generous Enemies, an action-thrilled novel based in Australia, the market was always going to be Australia, and so that I could control the marketing approach, I decided to self-publish, because like it or not in life, if you want to get something done, you do it yourself.
It took me over 10 years to write Generous Enemies, and I hope you enjoy it. Write reviews! I need them!
And remember, ‘freedom of speech’ sounds great, but if you’ve really got something to say, it isn’t always easy.

Simon Drake

Indonesia has invaded half of Australia and China is coming to complete the task….

Generous Enemies tells the stories of leaders, assassins and pirates in a portrayal of Australia engulfed in overlapping regional conflicts forming part of World War Three.

After the invasion of Australia by Indonesia, Indonesian General Sumatra made progress in turning occupied territory into a new civilisation, but he was not the only soldier with a vision for a rogue state:
The Australian renegade Colonel Peters retakes a section of occupied Australia and makes it his own. Within time, he is on the hit list of Major Katherine Krue, an Australian Army assassin, and Chinese General Ghan. ‘Two Stars’ Ghan has been sent by Beijing to clean up the Pacific, ridding it of pirates like Jemmy and geopolitical threats like Colonel Peters. The aboriginal tracker, Malo, has seen regional leaders come and go, has traded weapons and lives with them, yet knows how to conveniently avoid the chaos: He goes walkabout when the Chinese invade and Colonel Peters threatens to retaliate with a nuclear strike.

Generous Enemies is not just about Australia at war with Indonesia, or Australia at war with China. It also explores Australia in a conflict with itself on how to manage the inevitable.

Available from most online book stores including:

Generous Enemies on Kindle

Browse inside: Amazon Look Inside or

Reviews:

Australia invaded! Welcome to the new world order – great read from Simon with a uniquely Australian flavour.  Can almost smell the sugar cane burning – Harry (Retired Royal Australian Naval Officer)

At last a John Marsden story for adults – Simon Drake is Australia’s answer to Tom Clancy, with classical style – James Longworth

I found Generous Enemies to be a compelling story that questioned the growth of Australia and its place on the world stage. Through the eyes of intriguing characters I saw a country I hadn’t imagined and continually asked myself: what if? – Loch Pollard, Author of Amazon Fever

Generous Enemies….

China, Indonesia and Australia are at war in the South Pacific as 21st century catastrophes and conflicts grip the globe.  Indonesia has invaded Australia yet faltered. Emerging from the chaos of Indonesian Occupied Australia are Warlords, thriving in anarchy, fighting for supremacy, trading natural resources for weapons, and creating rogue states. To counter the disorder, China, the only superpower at full strength, sets out to police the Pacific and restore peace. Major Katherine Krue is young, cunning and a veteran, infiltrating Occupied Australia and assassinating regional players. Her next target is another Warlord but of a different caliber: Colonel Peters, ex-Australian Army, out of control, once ordered to destroy a Warlord, has now become one.  As the leader of a rogue state in an unfinished world war, bordering competing Warlords, Colonel Peters commands a militia army and imports weapons of mass destruction for geo-political leverage and devastation, proving that in a world of uncertainty, there can be security, but at a ghastly cost, and not without creating formidable enemies.  Major Krue must stop him, or an invading Chinese Brigade will provoke him to retaliate with a nuclear strike, thus crushing hopes of peace and an end to regional conflict.

Generous Enemies – Mobipocket eBook

Related Posts:

On Writing Generous Enemies, Influences: Popular Fiction and Non-Fiction

Why Generous Enemies Could Never Be Published in Australia

2009 Recession Update!

It’s easy for doom and gloom about the Recession to lead to woeful tales of an oncoming Depression, and then a bit further down the slide is civil unrest, general “there goes the neighbourhood” apocalypse, the usual global anarchy, ubiquitous end of civilisation fables, multiple global wars stories, and some handy survival tactics for all the above. When I wrote Generous Enemies, the scope was more than just a techno-thriller where China invades Australia and a lone warlord tokes a nuclear weapon under the noses of his neighbours, I wanted a strong narrative that stood apart from global events. I wrote Generous Enemies long before the financial meltdown and general credit crunch popped the credit bubble like when you stomp on a jelly fish at the beach. As of May 2009, I have seen quite a few books published with the aim of cashing in on fear, and I do wonder if they help the real situation at all and just balloon international circumstances way beyond reality. But hey, when we read we do it because it’s a solo exercise, we connect with a writer (who is only there to serve the reader) and fall and fly through an imaginary world. So, enjoy Generous Enemies and I look forward to feedback! – Simon Drake