Your Questions Answered
What is the order of the books?
In my writing, I try and make all the books stand-alone stories. However, many people want to read them in order of publication to enjoy any character development and continuity over time.
So for all those series readers; order is as follows:
The mysterious island series
1. The Mysterious Island I: Lemuria (2022)
2. The Mysterious Island II: Beyond Odin’s Gate (2023)
3. The Mysterious Island III: Here be dragons (2023)
4. The Mysterious Island IV: Sanctuary (M14) (2024)
ALEX HUNTER ADVENTURES – THE ARCADIAN
0.5 Arcadian Genesis (2012)
1. Beneath the Dark Ice (2010)
2. Dark Rising (2011)
aka Return of the Prophet
3. This Green Hell (2012)
4. Black Mountain (2012)
5. Gorgon (2014)
5.5. Hammer of God (2015)
6. Kraken Rising (2015)
7. The Void (2018)
8. From Hell (2019)
9. The Dark Side (2021)
10. The Well of Hell (2022)
11. The Silurian Bridge (2024)
VALKERYN CHRONICLES
1. Return of the Ancients (2012)
2. The Dark Lands (2013)
FATHOMLESS
1. Fathomless (2016)
2. Abyss – Fathomless II (2018)
3. Leviathan – Fathomless III (2023)
MATT KEARNS ADVENTURES
1. The First Bird (omnibus) (2013)
1.1. The First Bird: Episode 1 (2013)
1.2. The First Bird: Episode 2 (2013)
1.3. The First Bird: Episode 3 (2013)
2. Book of the Dead (2014)
3. The Immortality Curse (2017)
4. Extinction Plague (2020)
PRIMORDIA – THE LOST WORLD ADVENTURES
1. In Search of the Lost World (2017)
2. Return to the Lost World (2018)
3. Primordia ReEvolution (2019)
CENTER OF THE EARTH SERIES
1. To the Center of the Earth (2019)
2. Return to the Center of the Earth (2020)
3. Escape from the Center of the Earth (2021)
SHORT STORIES & STAND ALONE NOVELS
1. The Fossil (short) – SNAFU, Book 1 (2013)
2. The Fossil novella (2019)
3. The Siberian Incident (2019)
4. Seed of Evil (2021)
Can I send you a Manuscript?
I’m afraid not. Between writing, editing, the computer industry, and general daily life, I do not have the time to read or review manuscripts. They will be returned unopened, or a delete notification sent in return.
There are dozens of professional bodies and individuals who can review and comment on your work (in every country). So I suggest you use one of these – they’re inexpensive and very professional.
What did you do before writing?
Growing up there were lots of jobs: poker machine mechanic, pastry chef, marine worker, but reality set in and clicked with Information technology. First as a computer programmer, and then with further study and armed with an MBA moving into, firstly financial products consulting (securities, futures & options etc), and finally into company directorships.
I.T. has always been a career that is both monumentally rewarding, and frustrating. Technology moves so quickly, that once you believe you have the latest kit, someone turns up the next day with a better mousetrap – oh well, back to the drawing board.
I’m still involved in the industry today, and yes, its still frustrating!
Where do the ideas come from?
It’s what everyone wants to know of every writer – where do you get your ideas? For me, the answer is simple – the same place as you. But as a writer, you see an interesting fact or occurrence, and wonder, ‘what if?’
I have an Ideas Book where I insert interesting facts, newspaper clippings, website addresses, or just thoughts about myths, legends and weird discoveries. It’s quite thick by now.
Did you know that Beneath The Dark Ice came about after I read about a scientist positing that a lake they discovered beneath the Antarctic ice may contain life (what if?). Return of the Prophet started through assisting my son do a project on the universe and coming across a book on black holes. Again, it was a scientist who admitted they don’t really know what happens to matter when it enters the black hole’s singularity (its core). The ‘what if’ moment came, when he stated that one thought was that the matter may ‘exit’ our universe……okay, but exit to where?
Bottom line; the ideas are everywhere. Recognizing them is the key.
What were/are your major influences?
I’ve mentioned a few books above that are on my list. Originally when I was growing up it was science fiction that caught my attention. The H.G. Wells classics, The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, two books by Phillip Jose Farmer that I still have and reread today – The Stone God Awakens and The Lovers. John W Campbell’s, The Thing, and even Alan Dean Foster’s, Sentenced to Prism.
Later my book taste moved to horror, and during the 1980’s I devoured everything I could get my hands on by Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Graham Masterton. It seemed these writers were at their most creative and prolific during this period. Masterton’s book, Charnel House has this magnificent first line of dialogue….. “It’s my house. It’s breathing.”, that still grabs me even today.
My reading is a lot broader now (I have piles of books still to read stacked everywhere). I continue to seek out and enjoy good horror and science fiction, but I also like Jack Heath and Cussler for their action, William Kostakis for his witty dialogue, Helen Garners thought provoking, The First Stone, and many more.
So many good books and so little time – a great problem to have!
What are your hobbies and interests?
Apart from my family? Well, I love the beach and all aspects of the water, whether that’s surfing, swimming, snorkeling, fishing, anything really. There’s something about warm, clear water that makes me want to dive in and swim or see what’s beneath the surface. Large, glassy waves early in the morning before the wind gets up – magnificent.
I also collect an odd assortment of things. I have some very old first edition paperbacks such as a copy of George Pal’s Time machine II – I just had to know what happened to George and Weena. Also Pierre Boulle’s Monkey Planet, which was the basis for the Planet of the Apes movies. There’s Nigel’s Kneale’s Quatermass and the Pit (hello Tommyknockers), and many, many more.
There are also a few shelves of famous robots from movies: Gort, B9, Terminator, C3PO, Maria from Metropolis and yes, even Futurama’s Bender gets a look-in! There are fossils, old surfing albums, and books and books and more books. Sometimes I think my study looks more like a junk shop than a place of work!
“In TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, Greig Beck combines the wonder of Jurassic World with a twist, and the gruesome terror of The Descent in a fantastical tale of adventure and horror that will leave you wanting more before you even turn the last page”
“Greig Beck’ s imagination is unequaled as a story teller – Anyone who loves sci-fi horror action thrillers will not be able to put this book down. Beck never disappoints!”
“This man can write action like no other, and his grasp of science and history makes for a consistently awesome blend of ideas and source material.”
“Greig Beck’s latest novel, FROM HELL, is yet another explosive instalment to the Alex Hunter series. This time, Beck takes readers into the history of Pompeii, in order to stop what could very well become the next apocalypse. A thriller so extreme, it could give readers both nightmares and teary eyes. FROM HELL is the best of Beck to date, in what has to be a #1 Best-Seller!”