I am very proud to present to you, my wonderful and generous hearted readers, the second part of my guest host’s presentation about his exciting new novel. Thank you thank you all for being so wonderful in reposting and spreading the word.
It started with a dream…
Over the course of the last two and a half years I’ve been working late nights and lunch breaks on a novel entitled Discovering Aberration.
But it didn’t begin as a simple idea for a novel. It began as a dream.
In this dream I was a part of an expedition on a remote island with my cousin searching for a lost civilization. Through the thick jungle we trekked, pressing through walls of great leaves and hanging vines. We pressed on and eventually hacked our way through the foliage. The world opened up around us, and before us was revealed a great lake; a crater with a shimmering light submerged deep below the surface.
We rejoiced at finding the light below the water, it was the first sign of our discovery. But as we peered into the depths of the lake, our hearts sank as we saw a horrific sight. Within the lake was a massive beast, a dragon like creature which swam about our discovery, protecting it over the centuries.
Immediately we set to work, building a device, a rocket strung to the ground with massive rubber bands. We climbed inside and the strange device shot us up into the air, and then, when we reached the point at which the rubber bands were stretched to their limit, we were hurled back down towards the lake to speed past the great and terrible beast.
It was a silly, adventurous dream. Most of it didn’t end up in the novel other than as a little inspiration, but something about this dream stuck with me and eventually a novel only just barely related was created.
About Discovering Aberration
Discovering Aberration is a character driven steampunk adventure story taking place in the era of budding steam and clockwork technology. The country of Victoria is in the midst of a socio-economic divide, and in this divide, crime and villainy has festered. In this world lives our protagonists.
Freddy Fitzgerald is an esteemed adventurer/travel writer. His good friend, Thaddeus Lumpen approaches him on cold spring day with the discovery of a life time, an ancient map he’s stolen from under the nose of a notorious gangster.
Convinced this map will lead them to a long lost civilization, they immediately build a rag tag team of explorers and archeologists and set out on a dangerous expedition. But in this world of villainy, news of the map leaks and suddenly they are up against a small army of competition.
Vengeful archeologist, dangerous mercenaries, manipulating scarlets, and more seek to head them off seeking the fame, the fortune this discovery can offer them.
When they get to the island, all is not as it should be. People are going mad, and what’s more, the island hides a deep, dark secret, lurking in its heart.
Writing Discovering Aberration has been perhaps the most rewarding work I’ve ever been a part of. I’m so pleased with how it’s turned out. The novel has become so much more than the dream ever was.
Indie Publishing
I’ve decided to publish Discovering Aberration myself, so I’ve become not only a writer, but a publisher, an entrepreneur, a publicist and a marketer.
It’s a strange and competitive world I’ve stepped into. But unlike the violent competition in my novel, my competition is other writers who have proven to be some of the most helpful, supportive people in the world.
I am taking the first step towards publishing Discovering Aberration by launching a Kickstarter campaign. For those of you who haven’t heard of Kickstarter, it’s a crowd-funding platform that enables artists like me to bypass traditional corporations by seeking out funding from everyday people like you who want to contribute and support.
For as little as $5, you can pledge your support for my novel and in return you’ll receive a professionally edited and designed copy of the novel before it’s released to the general public. The more you can pledge, the greater your rewards, including having a character named after you at the $500 level, and even more in between.
If you’re interested, or want to learn more, please visit my Kickstarter page which explains the process in detail.
But before you invest in my project, take some time to read the novel itself. The first 28 chapters is currently free to read on Wattpad.com.
If you enjoy reading Discovering Aberration as much as I enjoyed writing it, then please consider a small pledge, and be a very real part of this project.
Finally, I’d like to thank Chris for giving me this opportunity to share my story and my project with you. She has been incredibly gracious and an early supporter of mine (perhaps the earliest). And I look forward to meeting and thanking every single one of you who choose to back my novel.
Cheers,
S.C. Barrus
About S.C. Barrus
S.C. Barrus writes strange and thrilling literary adventures. He’s published short stories, essays and poems in print and online. Born in Canada, S.C. Barrus grew up near Seattle in the pacific north west where he lives to this day. He received his degree in creative writing from the University of Washington. You can learn more about him at his website Away and Away
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