The most disheartening thing to me right now is the fact that there are still errors in the story. They are mostly small errors that should have been fixed prior to the release of the paperback. I own up to my mistakes and can blame no one but myself.
Had time not been so sensitive with this story I might not have self-published. In truth, I was editing up until after midnight on December 8th. Could all four stages have used a last Quality Control run through? Absolutely! As writer and publisher it is my responsibility to deliver the best product possible. Had certain things, which I am not at liberty to discuss until I put them in my memoirs some time from now, happened differently over the past three years, those errors likely would not be there. But they are for now. What you see in the pages of Monarch was what I could do with the time restrictions I placed upon myself. And again, it is my responsibility to go back and fix any and all errors after the new year.
I would like to be able to lie to you and tell you that all these other great moments took place this year. That would just not be true. This year has been a battle for me. While I am glad to say that I survived, I cannot say that I am better off than I was this time last year. I would elaborate, but again I am obligated to not go into detail at this time.
You can see my frustration. How do I properly paint a picture of the year that was, if I cannot disclose all that took place. The truth is I am unable to go in depth into 2012. You will have to accept that some of what I am unable to mention involves others and I do not want to hurt them or myself by speaking truths that might affect the future for them or myself. Such is life, no?
One reason I felt the need to publish Monarch was because of Cipher, the story my main character, Ginger, reads in Monarch. I wrote Cipher back in 2000 as a screenplay but did nothing with it, other than make a short film trailer. As the past decade unfolded I always had Cipher in the back of my mind.
It wasn't until 2005 that I began to notice similarities in the story as was taking place in the real world. Sounded crazy to me, so I let it go as coincidence and as my love for Cipher potentially making something out of nothing. Years later, as I was working on the 1st draft of Monarch I implemented my perceived coincidences as those of the readers of Cipher.
Monarch has not even been out in its entirety for even a month and I have found a not-so-happy coincidence with Monarch and our present reality. In just over 12 hours our country will be going over the fiscal cliff. Whether we can prevent it or not, no one knows just yet. However, there are two moments in Monarch that seem eerily similar to what may potentially take place at midnight to our economy. I don't want to ruin the story, but if you read Monarch I hope you'll take a moment to think about the big picture when that not-so-happy coincidence takes place.
If I were not a self-publishing author, I would let someone else point such a thing out. It would surely sound better coming from someone else, but there is no one else lining up to point these things out. So here I am. These so-called coincidences are evident even in many of the books that I read. My mother even mentioned a book she was reading that had a reference to something in current events. We look for relevance in all that we consume. Hopefully our country and the world won't go over the fiscal cliff tonight. God knows I need my tax refund just as much as anyone else. But if we do flip the page to a new year and no agreement has been made, I will not smile and say I told you so, because I never actually did. Symbolism and metaphors are not the same as what will be happening to my wallet. They aren't, no matter how similar the images. While it is true my main character is a metaphor for something larger than herself, what happens to her is her journey and not the journey of all of us.
This year has been an absolute whirlwind and I am thrilled that it has come to an end. My hopes are high for 2013. I am no longer on the clock in regard to a writing project. Can't even begin to tell you what a burden that was.
For those that are interested, I have two stories that I hope to do something with next year. One is a screenplay follow-up to Monarch. The story is about James Ruth and is better suited for the screen than the page. The other is entitled Psykosis. It is much shorter than Monarch but touches on some of the same issues as my first novel. These three stories make up my Psychological Apocalypse trilogy. I find the human mind fascinating and I believe it is the frontier of the near future. These three stories mark the old world of the human mind and memory, the pitfalls if you will.
Hope you are as excited about the new year as I am. I look forward to discussing things in greater detail on the other side. Hopefully, it's not as we are plummeting toward another great depression. Take a deep breath and embrace whatever comes next. We'll face it together.
Happy New Year!
-aap
One reason I felt the need to publish Monarch was because of Cipher, the story my main character, Ginger, reads in Monarch. I wrote Cipher back in 2000 as a screenplay but did nothing with it, other than make a short film trailer. As the past decade unfolded I always had Cipher in the back of my mind.
It wasn't until 2005 that I began to notice similarities in the story as was taking place in the real world. Sounded crazy to me, so I let it go as coincidence and as my love for Cipher potentially making something out of nothing. Years later, as I was working on the 1st draft of Monarch I implemented my perceived coincidences as those of the readers of Cipher.
Monarch has not even been out in its entirety for even a month and I have found a not-so-happy coincidence with Monarch and our present reality. In just over 12 hours our country will be going over the fiscal cliff. Whether we can prevent it or not, no one knows just yet. However, there are two moments in Monarch that seem eerily similar to what may potentially take place at midnight to our economy. I don't want to ruin the story, but if you read Monarch I hope you'll take a moment to think about the big picture when that not-so-happy coincidence takes place.
If I were not a self-publishing author, I would let someone else point such a thing out. It would surely sound better coming from someone else, but there is no one else lining up to point these things out. So here I am. These so-called coincidences are evident even in many of the books that I read. My mother even mentioned a book she was reading that had a reference to something in current events. We look for relevance in all that we consume. Hopefully our country and the world won't go over the fiscal cliff tonight. God knows I need my tax refund just as much as anyone else. But if we do flip the page to a new year and no agreement has been made, I will not smile and say I told you so, because I never actually did. Symbolism and metaphors are not the same as what will be happening to my wallet. They aren't, no matter how similar the images. While it is true my main character is a metaphor for something larger than herself, what happens to her is her journey and not the journey of all of us.
This year has been an absolute whirlwind and I am thrilled that it has come to an end. My hopes are high for 2013. I am no longer on the clock in regard to a writing project. Can't even begin to tell you what a burden that was.
For those that are interested, I have two stories that I hope to do something with next year. One is a screenplay follow-up to Monarch. The story is about James Ruth and is better suited for the screen than the page. The other is entitled Psykosis. It is much shorter than Monarch but touches on some of the same issues as my first novel. These three stories make up my Psychological Apocalypse trilogy. I find the human mind fascinating and I believe it is the frontier of the near future. These three stories mark the old world of the human mind and memory, the pitfalls if you will.
Hope you are as excited about the new year as I am. I look forward to discussing things in greater detail on the other side. Hopefully, it's not as we are plummeting toward another great depression. Take a deep breath and embrace whatever comes next. We'll face it together.
Happy New Year!
-aap
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