As you might guess from the hundreds of MassGenomics blog posts over the years, I enjoy writing. It’s a vital skill to scientists, not just for writing grants and papers, but for communicating the achievements (and importance) of science to the general public. The researchers whose work I admire, whose careers are a model for success, tend to be excellent writers.

Writing fiction, for me at least, is far more challenging. While there’s no barrier for entry, the odds of success are much smaller. Few traditional publishers (Random House, HarperCollins, etc.) take submissions directly from authors. Instead, one must have a literary agent who can send a novel manuscript to a targeted list of editors. Most literary agents receive thousands of queries each year from aspiring authors, but take on only a handful of new clients. Even with an agent, the odds of landing an offer of publication (a “book deal” in industry parlance) are slim.

Through what I can only assume is a series of clerical errors, I have managed to navigate this gauntlet. My science fiction novel The Rogue Retrieval — about a researcher who goes A.W.O.L. into a pristine medieval world he’s been studying, and the mission to retrieve him — was published yesterday by HarperCollins.

Stage magician Quinn Bradley has one dream: to headline his own show on the Vegas Strip. And with talent scouts in the audience wowed by his latest performance, he knows he’s about to make the big-time. What he doesn’t expect is an offer to go on a quest to a place where magic is all too real. That’s how he finds himself in Alissia, a world connected to ours by a secret portal owned by a powerful corporation. He’s after an employee who has gone rogue, and that’s the least of his problems. Alissia has true magicians…and the penalty for impersonating one is death. In a world where even a twelve-year-old could beat Quinn in a swordfight, it’s only a matter of time until the tricks up his sleeves run out. Fans of Terry Brooks and Terry Pratchett will find this a thrilling read. Links: HarperCollins  Amazon   Barnes&Noble   Goodreads   iBooks

In case you’re worried, publishing a book is surprisingly non-lucrative. In other words, I have no plans to leave the world of genomics. You won’t get rid of me that easily!