The novel, titled New Rock New Role will be published by Caezik SF & Fantasy on the 12th December.
Currently best known for his work in the US with Los Angeles Opera with whom he has had several high profile works commissioned, Richard Sparks is now set to release his debut comic fantasy novel in December.
This new fantasy comedy tells the story of retired former teacher, Joss Palmer, who, with little in the way of family or friends around him, discovers the world of online gaming in his later years. With more time on his hands, Joss is retired and widowed and aching to fill the vast quantities of time on his hands, finds himself developing an unexpected knack for MMORPGs (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games) and soon finds himself immersed in a new life in his avatar alter-ego ‘Daxx’, a heroic, young battlemage.
The book highlights the findings of Global Web Index’s 2022 report that (partly due to the pandemic) in the past three years, the number of gamers aged between 55 and 64 has increased by a staggering 32%. In other statistics uncovered by the study, 86% of internet users play games, and 24% of grandparents and parents see playing games together as family time.
In addition to the novel of New Rock New Role, the author has also written a screenplay of the story for the UK’s Berkeley Media Group, which acquired the film rights.
New Rock New Role is set to be published by Caezik SF & Fantasy on December 12th 2023 in paperback, all ebook formats, and as an audiobook read by the author.