You are saints and explorers, and I cannot tell you how much it means to me. I haven't told my family and friends about my work, and my publishing is entirely anonymous. I have a zero marketing budget, as I spent all my money on goddamn proofreading and editing (which, as it turns out, wasn't even as good as I thought), and all the books I've sold have come from Twitter, goodreads and sci-fi blogs and forums. Strangers with no reason to buy my book other than the desire to read a good story. I have no recognizable name, my book has a shitty cover (I paid fifty bucks for it, and feel thoroughly cheated because for that amount I could've had extra food to eat and used the fucking Adobe Illustrator trial to make one myself), the editing leaves something to be desired (I'm working on that), and I have not a whole lot of reviews.
And still, people are buying my book. It boggles the mind.
So much of writing this book for me, was about redemption. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I'm a recovering alcoholic. That's an understatement. I went on a year-long bender that nearly ruined my life, nearly killed me honestly, and ended up with me moving back home to live with my parents. Broke, unemployed, and lonelier than you can imagine, I had nowhere else to turn but that old familiar refuge, Imagination. The story I had been writing in my head for seven years suddenly had run out excuses to stay hidden. I had to bring it to the world, because I felt like I was dying and it was my last connection to life.
Anyway, enough dark stuff. Fast forward nine months later. I'm sober as hell, somewhat healthy, largely not-depressed, and optimistic about the future. This book is such a huge part of that recovery, I can't even say it enough. The story saved me. It may be a shitty story, and maybe a few weeks from now I'll find myself two millionth in the Kindle Store, but 12 sales in one week is pretty exciting to me right now.
So if you're reading this, thank you and if you enjoyed the story, please help me spread the word. If you didn't, I can send you my address to send flaming bags of dog shit. Most of the reviews I've gotten have been great, five-stars but you know, from a sample size of fourteen.
"Clever, compelling and well-written; the far-future concept is fascinating, and the action is fast-paced and suspensful."
"Excellent read. Newton delivers in fine fashion with this thoughtful and inquisitive science fiction thriller."
"I'm not a book reviewer, but I will say that the book will keep you hooked."
Keep exploring,
S.K.
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