[PRESS RELEASE – 25 NOVEMBER 2021]

Clock Tower Publishing has acquired all worldwide rights to M. J. Sullivan’s Game Over series. The deal was closed by Sweet Cherry’s Development Editor, Jasmine Dove, and the author directly.

The brand new imprint of the award-winning Sweet Cherry Publishing – which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary – aims to champion new voices in publishing and authentically represent diversity and inclusivity in trade fiction.

The Rise of the Raid Mob is the first book in the 4-part YA series written by Stockport-based school teacher and educational consultant, M. J. Sullivan. The sci-fi adventure series follows the Raid Mob: four teenage misfits whose lifelong friendship involves obsessing over old movies, surviving school bullies … and being four of the best gamers on the entire planet – a secret that they protect as fiercely as they do each other. When a radical new way to play Distant Dawn is unveiled, the Mob’s precious anonymity is blown to pieces and an adventure begins that straddles the real world and the virtual – blurring the line between both – travelling from the depths of deep-buried memories to the edge of the known universe.

Inspired by his own lifelong hobby of gaming, his love of sci-fi, and his teaching experiences, M. J. Sullivan explores future possibilities of gaming and virtual reality, with gaming acting as a lifeline to those who struggle in the real world. His diverse cast of characters – Jack, Megan, Cameron and Ayo – are of a wide range of social statuses and backgrounds. What binds them together and makes their friendship so strong is their complete acceptance of each other, and of the hardships each of them face. The Raid Mob is more than a gaming clan: it’s the alternative family that each of its members so desperately needs.

M. J. Sullivan said: ‘I’m happier than Mario with a pocketful of coins that the first book in the Game Over series is almost here! Readers will get to experience some wildly diverse worlds, from hectic schools full of trying teachers and big bad bullies, to virtual gaming spaces that take them all the way across the known universe. They’ll also get to follow the Raid Mob – a pack of reclusive rebels whose ascension to global gaming celebrity brings all kinds of unwanted (and potentially lethal) attention. I can’t wait for the Mob to make their mark in the minds of readers around the world!’

Clock Tower is publishing The Rise of the Raid Mob, book one in the Game Over series, in summer 2022. Proof copies of the paperback novel will be available to request from February 2022.

ENDS
For more information please contact:
Divia Kainth – divia@clocktowerpublishing.com

Clock Tower Publishing was launched in 2021 and is an imprint of the award-winning Leicester-based independent publisher, Sweet Cherry Publishing. We champion new, marginalised and diverse voices in publishing, inspired by our multicultural Leicester heritage. We aim to bring our readers compellingly great stories that authentically showcases the diverse and inclusive world we live in. From fantasy fiction to future classics, we’re dedicated to creating a great list of quality trade fiction that’s championed by its authors and illustrators, and an enthusiastic team of book lovers.