Web site designed and maintained by Peter Janes

'KeyStroke' being the first novel I attempted was a brilliant learning curve for me. I'd formed the basis of the idea for it before 'Cock it & Pull it', but half way through the planning for it, I'd moved my attention fully to 'Cock it & Pull it' to make sure that I had it fully fleshed out ready to be worked on before I'd even fully established 'KeyStroke'.

This was a story that I had a general idea on back in 2003. I had originally penned the idea as a horror story as this is my preferred reading material (kudos to James Herbert! Except his last two efforts which I wasn't overly keen on). However, my mindset had changed and I wanted to write more of an action novel that had some humour in it but not too much that it turned in to a comedy.

So first novel, what the hell do I write about? I had the characters, I just had to make them do something. It was then that something struck me that I had read some time before hand, “write about what you know”. So I did. I know about computers and that's where I started.

There had been a lot of talk in the media about the government keen to keep records of all emails sent through the internet and so that sparked an idea about covert government agencies going to great lengths to monitor internet traffic in the name of terrorism. This gave rise to the plot which then started grow into locations and everything spiraled from there.

It's a story about the little guy standing up to an insurmountable force. It's a story that provokes thoughts about whether you really trust what the media tells you and how much of your daily activity is recorded in places you have no clue exists.

As much as technology works for you, it also works against you. Every email you send, every transaction you make even down to the calls you make on your mobile - someone somewhere knows exactly what you are doing. How much further does this go? Maybe, just maybe, you are also being manipulated by technology, controlled at a level that you may not even notice.

KeyStroke. It may just open your eyes.

Evolution of the front cover

This one has been exceptionally difficult.  The first cover below was my first design and I completely fell in love with it.  However, adamant as I was that this was to be the cover to be used for the novel, I was politely informed that because I'm an unknown author, I can't have my name bigger than the title of the book.  Swapping around just didn't look the same, so I have had to abandon this design.  The second one though is awesome!  Olympia have done me proud here.  The third one was a result of an idea for a change of mine that didn't quite work.  It makes it look like a horror story, which it firmly isn't.  So, I've decided to use the second one - I really like this one and shouldn't have tried to improve it!

Taking on a simple investigative job, Christian Westlake, a former police officer turned private detective, calls in a few favours and

looks forward to the pay cheque. 

Trying to discover the whereabouts of a missing IT designer and some valuable industry information, he assumes he has to do no more than locate the missing person and bring in the data. 

But all is not as it seems and instead Westlake discovers a dark side to the newest technological advances; advances so significant that their use could alter the very heart of society. 

He also discovers that some will go all the way to protect their developments and use them not always in everybody's best interests.  He is a pawn in a much more dangerous game...

Synopsis

More about KeyStroke