WHEN David Buck finished his first novel, he had written 230,000 words.
Through publishers and fellow authors, the Queens Park resident quickly realised it was too much information to put into one novel.
So he split it into three.
The result is the Traders’ Scourge series – Alien Flight, Maveen Offer and New Shores.
Buck said the first book was only 218 pages, a much more appealing and accessible size for the average online reader, which was important as he released the e-book on Amazon.
“Splitting the story into three wasn’t too hard, as there were logical breaks and the result is a much better size for readers,” he said.
“Readers can get a taste of the story and then choose whether they want to read the next book.
“I guess the limitation of the science fiction genre is that the reader does have to start from the first book to get a sense of the story.”
Buck said the story was set in the Abrolhos Islands, and touched on some elements of Aboriginal culture and language.
He said he interweaved these elements of reality with science fiction themes – aliens, remote star systems and military endeavours.
“It is set 40 years in the future, which actually made it hard to write because it is not so far in the future that we can employ lots of science fiction elements,” he said.
“You have to keep it somewhat contemporary.”
Buck is now working on his second novel for the series, which will again be split into three books.