Tag: Mark Everglade

PRESS RELEASE: KILLSWITCH OVERKILL, THE NEWEST EPIC BY CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED AUTHOR, MARK EVERGLADE

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn Creative Edge Publicity Press Releases, PRESS RELEASESLeave a comment

Released and published by Rockhill Publishing


The book is available worldwide in e-format in May 2025


“It’s Waterworld meets Neuromancer, with a touch of The Sixth Sense.”


Sabrina Underfoot is no hero. After attacking the largest cities on Gliese 581g, she contributed to a
chain reaction that flooded half the world. Poisoned with power, she’s dying to redeem herself, but
when the world’s most dangerous A.I. hijacks her mind to end humanity, dying may be the price she
pays. When the world is issuing its dying breath, there’s little left to grasp.


Gliese 581g is an unforgiving world where bio-cities get viruses, where you can download your
friends’ emotions as easily as swapping clothes, and where half the planet is so flooded you can
leap off a skyscraper and hit the water a second later.


Sabrina must restore balance, extract the malevolent Id.Entity from her mind, and find redemption
while being hunted by assassins, surveilled by drones, and fired upon by droids. The final battle
must be fought within herself, however, by restoring her faith in love and friendship and finding the
strength to forgive and accept herself. She’ll have to trust old enemies, form new alliances, and save
a mysterious child who may hold the key to everything.

Amazon.com: Killswitch Overkill eBook : Everglade, Mark: Kindle Store

More from Mark Everglade:

As a planet spins out of control, a young geophysicist, Ash, and her father must solve the
ecological crisis using the latest cybernetics, while evading an oppressive regime profiting off
the destruction. 

Gliese 581g is the last remaining colony of the human race,
located twenty light years from Earth. The planet was once tidal
locked to its sun, with one side draped in darkness and the other
half always bright. This changed after a radical group
called O.A.K. increased the planet’s rotation to bring daylight cycles
to all in the name of equality. All was not well, however, as decades
passed, and new generations dealt with continual floods as the
newfound sunlight melted the icecaps. Entire neighborhoods went
aquatic from rising sea levels.


Soon, the planet was spinning out of control, with sunrises
occurring every few hours.


Ash Rivenshear works as a geophysicist at Geosturm, a company
contracted by the New Order to monitor the geological crisis. As she investigates the planet’s
increasing rotation, she uncovers classified data indicating that someone is intentionally
manipulating it to their own ends. An attack on her life is made to cover up the intel. After surviving,
she contacts her estranged father for help, Severum Rivenshear. Having no idea he had a
daughter, Severum agrees to help, but the tension of his absence throughout her life builds as he
works to build a relationship with her.


Ash and her father discover a research lab where Severum uncovers a connection between
Geosturm and the Old Guard, a scion of the now defunct Government of Evig Natt led by Eduardo
Culptos. The Old Guard seek to restore their power over the hemisphere by accelerating the planet’s
rotation at breakneck speed, exacerbating the negative ecological effects, as they convince the
public that the planet was better off in darkness. They’re motivated by the wealth they obtained back
when light was scarce and commodified, and seek a restoration of their influence. Severum catches
glimpse of a scientist being held captive at the lab during his reconnaissance, but he’s forced to back
down due to being outnumbered, and unable at the age of sixty-nine to fight efficiently due to his war
injuries.


Severum approaches K.O.A., an offshoot of O.A.K., for help at their commune where he obtains
equipment, and cybernetic upgrades to offset the effects of aging. Eventually, he learns that most of
those effects were in his mind and not actual limitations.

Amazon.com: Inertia: 9781945286704: Everglade, Mark, Paris, Athina: Books
Inertia eBook : Everglade, Mark, Paris, Athina: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

What Readers are Saying:

“Severum is positioned as a critique of our vision of a neat split between nature and
corporate existence. The tension of a world that is now connected but with cultural
practices that reflect that old divide was fun to explore!”_ Dr. Joseph Hurtgen, Sci-Fi
Scholar and Professor

About Mark:

Mark Everglade has spent his life studying social conflict. He runs the
website www.markeverglade.com where he reviews cyberpunk media
and interviews the greats. He also runs Cyberpunk Day each year with a
group dedicated to bringing dystopian fiction to a new generation. His
short stories have been featured beside legendary authors like Cory
Doctorow and Walter Jon Williams.

Interview with Author Mark Everglade

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn InterviewsLeave a comment

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?

I’ve always loved science fiction because it’s ultimately not about the future, but the present. Sci-fi represents the cultural weaknesses and problems of our present-day society, the failures of both utopia and dystopia. Sometimes it’s easier to see those things when they are pointed out on a fictional planet than in our civilization.

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2) What inspired you to write your book?

KillSwitch OverKill was inspired by the need for redemption. We all want to believe that no matter what we do, that life will offer second chances and a chance to make things right. Sabrina in the novel had been manipulated by the false promises of a fascist regime, but works to use her tech skills to ultimately overcome it, in typical cyberpunk fashion.

3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?

That friends are your chosen family and that people you once considered your nemesis can actually become your friend and have value to your life. They can be part of your progress or journey through this world, and a learning instrument. I’m reminded of the story of Buddha and Devadetta, for instance.

4) What drew you into this particular genre?

Cyberpunk is just cool. It’s sexy, sleek, metallic, retro-futuristic, noir. It’s in your face, unapologetic, blunt.

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5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?

I would ask Sabrina Underfoot in my cyberpunk novel KillSwitch OverKill how being orphaned by her parents’ indifference impacted her life. And the challenges she faced as a child genius who was unappreciated, and taken advantage of by her teachers and others.

6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?

Twitter, though I don’t use it since Musk took over, as I don’t fund fascists and oligarchs.

The writing community was great on there, but ethically – people need to switch to a decentralized non-corporate platform like Mastodon and resist the Server State.

7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?

Build your author platform two years before your book releases, minimum, and socially network. Of course many of us authors are introverts, but we have to push ourselves to collaborate. You can’t do it alone.

8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?

I’m going to take a hiatus to focus on rebuilding family after some recent, tragic losses.

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About the Author

Mark Everglade has spent his life as a sociologist, studying conflict on all levels of society. He wrote Hemispheres to sooth our ideological divisiveness at a time of increased polarization as he explores how our underlying values are more similar than we think, regardless of how we look, act, or vote. An avid reader of science fiction, he takes both its warnings, and opportunities for change, to heart. His previous works have appeared in Exoplanet Magazine and Unrealpolitik. He currently resides in Florida with his wife and four children.

https://www.markeverglade.com

Killswitch Overkill by Mark Everglade Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

In author Mark Everglade’s upcoming sci-fi novel Killswitch Overkill, a woman haunted by her past must find a way to redeem herself and save a world while facing rogue assassins, drones, and an AI hellbent on taking over her mind.

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The Synopsis

Sabrina Underfoot is no hero. After attacking the largest cities on Gliese 581g, she contributed to a chain reaction that flooded half the world. Poisoned with power, she’s dying to redeem herself, but when the world’s most dangerous A.I. hijacks her mind to end humanity, dying may be the price she pays. When the world is issuing its dying breath, there’s little left to grasp.

Gliese 581g is an unforgiving world where bio-cities get viruses, where you can download your friends’ emotions as easily as swapping clothes, and where half the planet is so flooded you can leap off a skyscraper and hit the water a second later.

Sabrina must restore balance, extract the malevolent Id.Entity from her mind, and find redemption while being hunted by assassins, surveilled by drones, and fired upon by droids. The final battle must be fought within herself, however, by restoring her faith in love and friendship and finding the strength to forgive and accept herself. She’ll have to trust old enemies, form new alliances, and save a mysterious child who may hold the key to everything.

“It’s Waterworld meets Neuromancer, with a touch of The Sixth Sense.”

The Review

Such an exhilarating and memorable read. The author does a remarkable job of creating morally complex characters, giving readers a protagonist struggling with her past choices but seeing the moral high ground in this scenario. As the prologue begins, “I have been a keeper of secrets, you know, those little sunspots that burn holes in your soul until they become solar flares forcing their way out under the pressure of your lies. Mine were honeyed lies sprinkled with just enough truth that the masses believed them, and I was good at it,” showcasing a dynamic hero and protagonist that feels real and tangible on the page.

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This is such a layered and visceral read. The author perfectly navigates a devastated planet and the themes of over-reliance on technology, highlighting the dangers of depending on technology for everything in one’s life. The imagery in the writing and the adrenaline rush that came with each chapter as the story progressed spoke to a firm understanding of the cyberpunk and sci-fi genres, which felt evenly paced yet detailed in its delivery. 

The Verdict

A STUNNING BLEND OF Jason Bourne, The Day After Tomorrow, and Blade Runner, author Mark Everglade’s upcoming cyberpunk meets sci-fi thriller “Killswitch Overkill” is a must-read novel. The twists and turns that the author took to keep this narrative alive and thriving on the page, and the rich style of world-building and mythos that went into breathing life into this narrative, made this a stand-out novel that readers won’t soon forget. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy this May!

Rating: 10/10 

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About the Author

Mark Everglade is a traditionally published cyberpunk author who has written four novels. He has sold thousands of books, with his first novel hitting #5 in its genre. Inertia won the 2024 Fire and Ember Award for best sci-fi novel from a small publisher. His first novel about the horrors of A.I., inspired by his former wife’s ideas, was ironically used to develop A.I. vocal narration software for a major firm. His short stories have been featured beside authors such as Cory Doctorow, Cat Rambo, Walter Jon Williams, and Jim Keen. After spending his life studying sociology, obtaining a master’s, he has been interviewed dozens of times by venues such as NBC News, a British radio station, and by a BBC correspondent.

Mark has enmeshed himself in everything cyberpunk and assisted with the co-founding of Annual Cyberpunk Day, which unites the community with both major and indie cyberpunk media creators to celebrate the genre and its diverse values. He has designed book covers for cyberpunk legend John Shirley.

Mark owns a company that publishes dystopian book bundles as featured on Gamespot, Fanatical, and other sites, selling over 25,000 books annually. He has worked on a project with Humble Bundle, and has represented publishers’ interests on behalf of Macmillian/TOR, Astra/DAW, Apex, Angry Robot, and other presses.

Mark’s ancestor invented the field of psychology. In his free time, he enjoys DnD and RPGs, Chess, Jazz and Progressive Metal music, and anything postmodern and profound.

Mark lost both his wife and young son in late 2024 during a tragic car crash that took their lives, but continues to write and look for new ways to spread their legacy. He will be publishing a book of his late wife’s poetry.

https://www.markeverglade.com/

Inertia by Mark Everglade Review

On By authoranthonyavinablogIn reviewsLeave a comment

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

After discovering a conspiracy involving the increased speed of rotation for humanity’s last remaining colonial planet, a woman must seek help from her father, who never knew he had a daughter, and stop the geological effects on their planet before it plunged into darkness forever in author Mark Everglade’s “Inertia”.

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The Synopsis

Gliese 581g is the last remaining colony of the human race, located twenty light years from Earth. The planet was once tidal locked to its sun, with one side draped in darkness and the other half always bright. This changed after a radical group called O.A.K. increased the planet’s rotation to bring daylight cycles to all in the name of equality. All was not well, however, as decades passed, and new generations dealt with continual floods as the newfound sunlight melted the icecaps. Entire neighborhoods went aquatic from rising sea levels.

Soon, the planet was spinning out of control, with sunrises occurring every few hours.

Ash Rivenshear works as a geophysicist at Geosturm, a company contracted by the New Order to monitor the geological crisis. As she investigates the planet’s increasing rotation, she uncovers classified data indicating that someone is intentionally manipulating it to their own ends. An attack on her life is made to cover up the intel. After surviving, she contacts her estranged father for help, Severum Rivenshear. Having no idea he had a daughter, Severum agrees to help, but the tension of his absence throughout her life builds as he works to build a relationship with her.

Ash and her father discover a research lab where Severum uncovers a connection between Geosturm and the Old Guard, a scion of the now defunct Government of Evig Natt led by Eduardo Culptos. The Old Guard seek to restore their power over the hemisphere by accelerating the planet’s rotation at breakneck speed, exacerbating the negative ecological effects, as they convince the public that the planet was better off in darkness. They’re motivated by the wealth they obtained back when light was scarce and commodified, and seek a restoration of their influence. Severum catches glimpse of a scientist being held captive at the lab during his reconnaissance, but he’s forced to back down due to being outnumbered, and unable at the age of sixty-nine to fight efficiently due to his war injuries.

Severum approaches K.O.A., an offshoot of O.A.K., for help at their commune where he obtains equipment, and cybernetic upgrades to offset the effects of aging. Eventually, he learns that most of those effects were in his mind and not actual limitations.

The Review

This was such a thoughtful and captivating sci-fi read. The author does an incredible job of balancing the larger-than-life climate and the geological crisis of this fictional planet with the much more intimate personal crisis between a father and his daughter. The imagery the author conjures up in this book really emphasizes the crisis itself, as the opening pages highlight the damage done to this world with a mixture of flood and trash hitting the protagonist as she makes her way to work. The atmosphere and tension continuously ratchet up as the mixture of atmospheric suspense and action thriller bleed into this epic sci-fi narrative. 

Yet to me, this was a narrative that was only as engaging as it was thanks to the infusion of such a profoundly meaningful character direction for both protagonists. The heartbreak as Ash struggles to connect with her absentee father while Severum tries to be there for the daughter he never knew existed was incredible to read, as it added the human element that sci-fi reads of this caliber need. The themes of family, our own mortality, and how parents are compelled to protect their children are felt so profoundly in this novel.

The Verdict

Harrowing, thought-provoking, and entertaining, author Mark Everglade’s “Inertia” is a brilliant sci-fi novel and a great followup to the author’s book “Hemispheres”. The twists and turns that this narrative takes to mirror the life or death stakes perfectly of this global dilemma, and the personal story of this father and daughter duo will have readers invested until the book’s final pages. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

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About the Author

I was born a simple boy, simpler than the complex people around me. I studied them to reduce all that complexity, becoming more complex myself in the process, but I didn’t so much as gain a sense of myself, as lose my own nature. Today I know myself by what I am not. I blend idea and form, the negative and the positive, the conceptual and the real, as a master spice blender creates a hot curry, grinding and grinding in proper order, always looking for balance between volatile ingredients.

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Philosophers say meaning is just consistency and agreement. But I am not consistent. I am not agreeable. I reach out. My arms draw lines extending into space. Everything that extends is composed of smaller parts that also extend. At the end of all that extension there is still more extension. When I reach the end of all I reach for, I will still reach, I will still desire, because I am a fool. But I know that fool is to savant as zero is to one, each meaningless without the other, each undeserving of reverence or criticism. I accept myself, even as this paper pushes back at my pen with equal force, even as the environment pushes back at the force of my thoughts. For I can push much, much harder.

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As a child, I loved sci-fi, but felt that many books had no great impact on the world. At the age of 11 I began writing alternate endings to everything from The Legend of Zelda to X-Men episodes, tiny fingers flurrying over an ancient typewriter while blaring Bach on synth. Now I have published 13 short stories in competitive arenas, including one to be published in an anthology alongside cyberpunk legends Cory Doctorow and Walter Jon Williams, and have contracted three novels with traditional-model publishers.

Today I do not create characters. I do not tell stories nor am I an author. I never even outline books; if I knew how it was going to end I wouldn’t want to write it. I create realistic characters with realistic motivations and place them into environments rife with conflict. Then I sit back and watch as the characters come alive, as they tell me their stories. Cut their words and they will bleed. The best books let you escape reality for awhile — the best writing experiences should be the same way. All great art is psychosis.

I hold a Master’s of Science in Sociological Conflict Theory, and my ancestor invented psychology in the 19th century.

I am also a proud contributor to World Cyberpunk Day.

https://www.markeverglade.com/

https://twitter.com/MarkEverglade

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFZP5VJL/ref=x_gr_w_glide_sin?caller=Goodreads&callerLink=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodreads.com%2Fbook%2Fshow%2F62837338-inertia%3Fac%3D1%26from_search%3Dtrue%26qid%3DIOkZ2x7Nvx%26rank%3D1&tag=x_gr_w_glide_sin-20