All The Write Stuff: Failing Gravity

A story of friendship and forgiveness in a world that knows neither.

Failing Gravity

by Jordan S. Keller

Genre: Dystopian Cyberpunk Science Fiction

Roman Koa knows that to survive, he must be ruthless.

The Slums beneath the floating city of Icaria were never meant to thrive—but they did. A gritty junkyard city of thieves and robot fighters, it’s everything Icaria isn't. Roman has grown greedy after clawing his way to the top of the robot fighting hierarchy with his powerful electromagnet robot, taking from anyone who crosses his path. When Icarians come to the Slums for a night of risky entertainment, Roman takes twice as much.

But when he’s offered the chance to steal advanced tech from Icaria, the job is too tempting to resist—even with Oliver Flint offering it, his former best friend who sold their robotics code for a new life in Icaria. Without Roman.

The job is simple: Roman helps Oliver save Icaria’s failing gravity beams, and Roman gains access to technology to build powerful robots to secure his position as King of Ring and King of the Slums. Roman’s hatred for Icaria is hard to ignore, though and he is tempted to let the city Oliver betrayed him for crash back to Earth, but dooming Icaria means dooming everyone.

As Icaria’s gravity—and Roman’s fragile bond with Oliver—fails, Roman must choose: will he let Icaria crash, or is there a chance for forgiveness, for both his friend and the city?

Failing Gravity is a high-octane, cyberpunk-inspired adventure about friendship, betrayal, and the fight for forgiveness.

GUEST POST

Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?

I have always loved stories. Growing up in Kentucky where bonfires were a weekend occurrence, I grew up hearing the stories from my family. I think it was in second grade when I tried writing my first novel, a couple page book about wolves and falling stars, but I was hooked ever since. In college I studied journalism and told stories about the interesting people in Eastern Kentucky. I rediscovered my love of fiction writing in 2020 when a Dungeons and Dragons game ended and I couldn’t let the character go. She became a superhero and her story became my first novel, Wildfire.

Where were you born/grew up at?

I was born in Oklahoma City but grew up in Cincinnati Ohio and Carlisle Kentucky, a small tiny town with about 2,000 people. There’s a 3 Dog Night song called Never Been to Spain and the lyric goes “I’ve never bend to heaven, but I’ve been to Oklahoma. They tell me I was born there, but I really don’t remember.” That song has always felt sort of like my own personal theme song.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve always thought of myself as a writer, but it was considering myself an author that was the tricky part and something I struggled with. When I finished my first full manuscript I thought I should call myself an author, but that didn’t feel right. I thought the same when I signed with my agent, got my publishing deal, even when I approved of my first book’s cover and interior, but I still didn’t feel like I deserved to call myself an author. I just wrote a love story about a superhero, nothing groundbreaking. I feel like I’m still reminding myself that I am an author—even four books later.

Do you have a favorite movie?

My favorite movie is the Digimon Movie. The English dub is a mashup of three separate films and it’s always my go to when I’m not feeling well or need a pick me up. Its humor and soundtrack shaped me into the person I am today.

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?

I don’t watch a lot of movies, but I do watch a lot of anime and that’s how I picture Failing Gravity. In my head, it’s a perfectly contained 17 episode series with a killer soundtrack and animated like something from the 90’s.

EXCERPT

The uproar of the crowd deafened Roman. It amazed him he hadn’t heard the noise inside his prep room, but now he reveled in it. There was a full house. The bets would be high. It would be easy money. The crowd was still hungry even after four opening fights. He shifted his sphere onto his hip and stepped onto his riser. Plenty of people cheered his name, plenty more cheered his title. He pulled his shoulders back and held his chin high.

They wanted a king, so he would be their king.

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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com//dp/B0F3WJX87X/

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/failing-gravity/id6745481893

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/failing-gravity-jordan-s-keller/1147242346?ean=2940184499307

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jordan_S_Keller_Failing_Gravity?id=AHBbEQAAQBAJ&hl=en_US

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/failing-gravity

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/failing-gravity-by-jordan-s-keller

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231131623-failing-gravity

About the Author

Jordan S. Keller is the author of the Ashes Over Avalon superhero trilogy and Failing Gravity. She is a type-one diabetic, a serial dog walker, and is impatiently waiting for her favorite bands to visit. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and their critters. You can visit her online at JordanSKellerAuthor.com

Jordan is one of the hosts for the Everyday Writing podcast and founder of the Queen City Fiction Writers Workshop.

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