Go Behind The Scenes of THE FUTURE IS SET Thriller Novel

Behind The Pages of THE FUTURE IS SET

Welcome to the behind the "scenes" pages of my sci-fi thriller novel: THE FUTURE IS SET. If you've read the book, you will hopefully enjoy this post. I'm going to let you in on some of the background to the story and cover parts of the book that maybe I don't want you to know. So here we go:

How Did I Come Up With The Main Story?

The story is based on a dream I had back in 2010. I woke up with the basic idea fixed in my head and quickly scribbled it down on paper. It was such a vivid dream and at that time I had no idea I would ever write a book about it let alone become a thriller author.

How Long Did THE FUTURE IS SET Take to Write?

I started writing the first chapter on 5th July 2010 and finished the last chapter on 2nd May 2021. Yes, I'm ashamed to say it, it took me just under 11 years to finish my first book and get it to the editing stage. I was dabbling around with it (taking very long breaks) and uncertain if it was ever going to really take off. If you are interested, I have listed how long each chapter took me to finish. You can see my ups and downs progress here:

CHAPTER 1: 8 months, 4 days (a long start off the mark)
CHAPTER 2: 18 days
CHAPTER 3: 36 days
CHAPTER 4: 6 days
CHAPTER 5: 18 days
CHAPTER 6: 16 days
CHAPTER 7: 1 day (a very good day)
CHAPTER 8: 14 days
CHAPTER 9: 9 days
CHAPTER 10: 12 days
CHAPTER 11: 12 days
CHAPTER 12: 27 days
CHAPTER 13: 5 months, 13 days (a long break)
CHAPTER 14: 11 days
CHAPTER 15: 3 months, 9 days (another long break)
CHAPTER 16: 5 months (and another)
CHAPTER 17: 5 Years, 360 days (an embarrassingly long break)
CHAPTER 18: 29 days
CHAPTER 19: 1 Year, 45 days (I think you get the idea)
CHAPTER 20: 1 month, 7 days
CHAPTER 21: 4 months, 24 days
CHAPTER 22: 10 months, 6 days

When Was THE FUTURE IS SET Published?

As you can see, it took way longer to write than it should have done. But after completing the book's editing stage and the book's cover design I finally published it online on 29th May 2021. The book stands at just over 72,000 words.

List of Characters in THE FUTURE IS SET

THE FUTURE IS SET has quite a few characters that appear throughout the story; some are crucial to not only this book but will be for subsequent books in the series. Other characters are just scene fillers to help the story along. Some of these characters (main and secondary) I still haven't given full names to, or they just have nick-names. I will reveal their names later in the series depending on their importance. So, I have listed below the characters of the book and their character roles.

The main characters in the book:

Young Josh Brannon: School boy
Older Josh Brannon: Intelligence operative / officer
Sofia Du Bois: Lawyer and Josh's love interest
Michael Harris: Intelligence services case officer in-charge and Josh's boss
Flash: Intelligence services tech support in T-Branch (Technical Branch)

The secondary characters in the book:

These are the rest of the book's characters listed alphabetically - I haven't included those with minimal appearance. Some of these characters will definitely continue in subsequent books in the series, but I won't tell you who - you'll have to read the next book.

Detective Inspector Giles: Investigating police officer
Frankie Bennet: Directing staff I/C during Brannon's training
Jabba: The commanding officer of Brannon's regiment
Lieutenant Giles: Brannon's platoon commander
Mac: Josh's private investigator friend
Miles Balantyne: Scientist
Mohammed: The "Company’s" (intelligence service) martial arts instructor
Mum: Josh's mother
Old Man: Electrical shop owner (there's more that I won't spoil - if you haven't read it)
Pat Murphy: Undercover operative who trained with Brannon
Recruiter: Brannon's intelligence services recruiter (there are big plans for this character)
Smithy: The Company's armourer and range controller
Stephen "Stone Face" Hoffman: Intelligence operative
Stephen Montague: Scientist
Steve: Josh's school friend
Tomblin: Tech support in T-Branch (Technical Branch)

The Locations of The Story

If you have read the book, you might have wondered; "Where does all this take place?" Well, you would be correct to think that. Although the story is based in the UK, I purposely kept the name of the main locations out of the book, except a few names of roads or streets I made up. The reason was simply because I wasn't sure where this was all going to be taking place. But I can reveal now that the "Company" Josh Brannon works for, as an intelligence operative, is based in London.

The Story's Weapons, Equipment, Gadgets and Technology

So what of the weapons and equipment used by the characters in the book? Well, these are a mixture of real and made-up, including some of the terms I've used. I've listed the main ones in the story and in particular those which Brannon uses:

SQRV (Surveillance and Quick Reaction Vehicle): Brannon's company car
Heckler & Koch MP7 Submachine Gun: Brannon's company issued personal defence weapon
SIG Sauer P226 Pistol: Brannon's company issued sidearm
Radio Frequency Adjuster: The device for disrupting the "Time-folds"
"Sniffer": Flash's handheld computer / keylogger device

The Story's Unanswered Questions Answered

What was the apparition of Josh's friend about?

If you've read the book, you might be wondering about the significance of Josh's dead friend - the apparition - that appears at the start of the book. Well, I can assure you there is a reason for the character and his appearance. But you will only find out more in the second book in the series.

What intelligence agency does Brannon work for?

Maybe you've heard of British intelligence: MI5 and MI6? Well, he doesn't work for those. In truth, I haven't named the agency but it lies somewhere on the quiet fringes of the British intelligence world. Only referred to as the "Company" or the "Office" in the book, it is more clandestine but assists MI5 and MI6 if needed. The "Office" is unknown to the public, unlike MI5 and MI6.

Where does the story go from here?

Well, THE FUTURE IS SET is only the beginning of Brannon's path to uncovering truth. I have big plans for him as you will see in the second book in the series. So follow along for a bumper ride.

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