P.A.BAINES

Welcome to the home of author P.A.Baines.

News

Sep 4th 2023 - 8 Billion receives a 5 star review from Readers' Favorite

Earlier this year I submitted 8 Billion to the Readers' Favorite contest, to test the waters and expose it to some scrutiny. Happily, it was well-received, earning a five-star review.

Here is the review in full :

Book review of 8 Billion - Readers' Favorite: Book Reviews and Award Contest (readersfavorite.com)

About Me

My first attempt at a novel was picked up by Pema Browne agency in New York. The agency came close to selling the story to a major publishing house, but it was too similar to the books of William Shatner (of "Star Trek" fame) and they passed.

Spurred on by this, I produced more novels, but was unable to land a publishing deal.

After a period of on-and-off (mostly off) writing I started pondering the idea of what would happen if a sentient AI grew to believe in God. The Bible talks about salvation for His creation, but what about a being not created by Him but rather created by man. Would such a being be allowed into Heaven?

The idea for Alpha Redemption was born.

I submitted the synopsis to an online competition and it attracted a lot of interest, including that of the indie Christian sci-fi publisher Grace Bridges who approached me to read the novel with a view to publishing it with her company Splashdown Books.

Not long after that the book landed on virtual bookshelves as print-on-demand. It sold well and went on to reach the finals of the Awesome Indie Book Awards where it was nominated in both the Christian and secular sci-fi categories.

More recently it caught the eye of a television producer who approached me about turning it into a full-length movie.

Novels

Click on the cover to connect to the Amazon page

Genre: Christian sci-fi

Set six million years in the future, in a universe filled with worlds colonized by early Earth explorers, Hanzet follows an unlikely band of heroes as they attempt to find the Parchment, the book believed to contain the answer to the ultimate question: what is the Meaning of Life?

The leader is Hanzet Terz, a genetically-modified assassin whose ice-cold killer instincts are starting to thaw. Sent to find the Parchment by the richest man in the Universe, Tooti Biscooti, she will stop at nothing to locate her prize. Tooti, however, has grown impatient and suspects Hanzet of treason. He sends his personal bodyguard and man-mountain, Jook Smithonowoo, to eliminate her. Jook, however, falls in love with Hanzet and helps her escape to the Amish planet, Bonnet, where they uncover Tooti's nefarious plans for Universal domination.

With the help of two Earthlings, Malcolm and Sylvia, and the renowned pioneer of speed-of-thought travel, Ernst Kombrink, Hanzet and Jook set about saving the Universe from Tooti's zombie army.

Hanzet is a comedic romp to the very edge of the universe and beyond. On the way it pokes fun at our determination to prove that God cannot possibly exist because, because, he just can't, okay!

Genre: Apocolyptic

The world population hits 8 billion and people suddenly start dropping dead, apparently at the hands of an army of invisible assassins.

The trick to survival is to not stay still for too long, but the assassins are becoming more skilled, and the safe period is shrinking.

A small band of survivors roams the highways looking for food and fuel, fighting not just the assassins but also gangs of raiders and wild animals.

As the clock ticks and the survivors are picked off one by one, humanity faces the end of the world.

Genre: Christian sci-fi

If a sentient AI came to believe in God, would it be allowed into Heaven?

Brett Denton has lost everything, including his faith. As he travels to our nearest neighbouring star system in a prototype faster-than-light space-craft, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with the craft's AI system.

What follows is a journey back to faith and innocence.

Finalist in the "2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards" in the Religious Fiction category and the Science Fiction Fantasy category.

Genre: Christian sci-fi

The sequel to Alpha Redemption.

Brett Denton is an awkward teenager living on Mars. Whenever Earth is discussed, however, he has strong memories of having been there that he cannot explain.

When he starts receiving mysterious messages telling him to find a hidden space-craft, his world and everything he thought he knew is thrown upside down.

And there is something evil looking for him.

Anthologies

Genre: Magic realism, fantasy, sci-fi

Will a watched pot ever boil?

Can too many cooks spoil the broth?

Is it possible to build Rome in a day?

How does Hell compare to the fury of a scorned woman?

Have you ever wondered what happens to all those pennies offered for your thoughts, or where a cloud’s silver lining goes?

Find out in this quirky collection of short stories inspired by well-known English idioms.
From the secret agency that mends tears in the fabric of time, to the entomologist who discovers that one of his butterflies is responsible for the end of the world.
From a quiet English street that settles its disputes through siege warfare, to a village where good deeds are being rewarded, with disastrous consequences.

Genre: Sci-fi

Three of my short stories were featured in this anthology from Splashdown Books.

Bob - A team of computer scientists working on an AI called Bob stop short of triggering a sentient awakening.

Ears - A man starts to notice how weird human ears look from behind. Soon they are all he can see -- along with the aliens attached to them.

The Field Trip - Two alien teenagers on a field misread the teacher's instructions and accidently cause a global catastrophe.