An Ode to Gratitude

It’s been roughly seven months since Fastian hit the the ebookshelves and I’m constantly being asked ‘how’s the book doing?’ or, ‘how are the sales?’

Well, lets put it like this. I haven’t earned enough to buy a new car. I haven’t earned enough to buy a second hand car. I doubt I’ve earned enough to buy a relative of a second hand car. But a rusty engine block of a 99 Ford Fiesta? Yeah, sure, I can afford one of those now.

But that’s not really important. Since I’ve released Fastian on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, the iBook store and other places, I have been receiving emails, tweets and facebook messages from people all over the world.

Brazil, Switzerland, Canary Islands, Portugal, North America and the neighbours, England Scotland and Wales. Not to forget the homeland, Ireland. Now, I am sure there are other places I’ve left out but where exactly you are from is a moot point.

The point is this: Self-publishing and the internet have allowed me to do the thing I have always dreamed of doing. To be an independent author who has his work read by people from every corner of the earth. Weekly I receive correspondence of some sort from someone (old, young, male, female and everything in between) and to read some of the wonderfully encouraging and complimentary words about my work is enough to make even the hardest of the hard bite back on the pride that surfaces in the form of a lump in my throat. No, I have not sold the movie rights or received a royalty cheque that has changed my life, but if that was the sole reason for doing what I do then I should never have started in the first place.

If you are not a writer, a musician, an artist or some sort of creative person it is hard to explain to those who are not,the genuine pride you feel when an absolute stranger tells you how much they enjoy your work. It doesn’t lessen the sense of pride if I hear it from someone I know but there is always that stupid voice in the back of my head that tells me you are saying that because you feel you have to. Honestly, I know that’s not true, but the self-doubt is gone when you hear a stranger say it.

So, to all of you who enjoyed Fastian and my short story collections, thank you for taking the time to tell me so.

I’m still working on Sparrow and it’s nearing completion (well, closer to the end than when I last posted here) and then it’s on to Book 2 of The Weaver Saga.

Thank you.
Emphatically.