Hi there, fair reader! In case you didn’t know, I’ve written a new book. It’s a damn good book. I believe in this book with my whole heart. It’s literally what I’m betting my entire future on. So it means a whole, whole lot to me. It also means a whole lot to the folks who have read it so far.It’s gotten stellar reviews on Amazon from the folks who have read it, and the email has been great. One review sent to me just today:
“I’ve been mulling over what it is that draws me to MK [Marlowe Kana]. She’s a strong female lead, but it’s more than that. I feel like every teenage girl needs to read this book, every young woman, every pair of sisters. There’s something deeper to it…” — R.W.
And now that volume 3 (and thus, Book 1) is complete, it’s time to turn to promoting the book and trying to get as much attention for it as possible. Not just because I want to sell lots of books (but I do! But that’s not why) — but because this story deserves to be read. It’s something I have worked extremely hard on, which is not by itself reason enough for you to care, I know. And it’s tempting to tell you every single plot turn, subplot thread, character, and world-building element here in this post, but I really want you to discover those things on your own.
So, we will start with the absolute easiest way you can help me:
• Read the book.
It’s free on the website, and Volume 1 is free on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Barnes and Noble! And Amazon makes it super easy to buy the three-volume ebook set of Book One, where you get to read about political and corporate manipulation of an entire society’s mental wellbeing through media. A cybernetically enhanced super soldier named Marlowe Kana — the nation’s biggest star and three-time United America’s Next Top Soldier winner — is convicted of treason. But a splinter group of citizens called The Sovereign aren’t okay with that, and they bust her out! The entire country’s military & security division — a combined police / army force run by Imagen, the corporation that employs literally everyone — hunts her down. The chase reunites her with long-absent family and friends in not so fun ways.
…I’m saying too much, aren’t I? I really want you to find out all about MARLOWE KANA by reading it. It’s GHOST IN THE SHELL (the manga and movie, not that terrible racist ScarJo vehicle coated in neon) meets SILICON VALLEY and people are loving it. And did I mention, it’s FREE? Go!
From there, here’s some other things that would really, really help:
• Sign up for the email list.
It’s also free. And now that things are rolling on the “spreading the word” part of this project, it’ll be the place where I announce things like the upcoming audiobook and soundtrack (yes, this book has a soundtrack!), the paper book, release of book 2 and book 3, and other cool things. The email list in question is found here!
• Tell your friends.
Let them know there’s this new book out there which is free to start reading that even people who “don’t read” are really loving. It’s especially written for fans that love science fiction and/or cyberpunk stories, but also want deep character-driven storylines and a plot well-rooted in modern events, with excitement at every turn.
• Review the book on Amazon / GoodReads / Barnes & Noble / Google Play / iTunes.
There’s no getting around it: reviews drive sales and attention. Think about when you go to buy a thing on Amazon et al. First thing you look at: How many stars. Second thing you look at: How many reviews. You want to know you’re not buying a dud and wasting your time. It would be a HUGE help if you could toss up a review (honest ones of course! Even if it’s 4 stars or 3 stars or even 1 star… Just share what you think honestly. Of COURSE I would love 5-star reviews, but the truth is, if you’re motivated to review the book, I’m honestly more interested in what you think than in simply adding another 5-star review to the list). People are comparing it to William Gibson, which I think is too much for my brain to handle. But I’m honored!
• Help get the word out.
I have stickers, handout cards, and flyers I can send to you if you’d be willing to volunteer to hand them out. Place them in bookstores and coffee shops. Pepper your local college campus with them. Do you volunteer for a literary or comic convention and want some to stuff into bags? I would LOVE that! They’re beautiful. They’re elegant. They’re FREE. Just email me and we will connect it all up.
• Help me get reviews for MARLOWE KANA.
Do you run a blog or site? Does that blog/site cover books, science fiction, cyberpunk, geeky stuff, nerdy stuff, or anything in-between? I would love to send you review copies of MARLOWE KANA! Do you know anyone who writes for a site like that? Nudge them (gently! Please don’t beg) toward MARLOWE KANA and let them know this book rocks. Social review is ubiquitous in MARLOWE KANA, and is the method by which people get access to services and engagement. Wait, I’ve said too much.
• Do you own a billboard or a building in an eclectic neighborhood and would be willing to donate space for a mural?
I have a team of graffiti artists who would LOVE to do a MARLOWE KANA themed mural. Gimmie space, I’ll give you art! You’d think I’m being hyperbolic, but no — I’m serious. I’ll get my painter friends together and come slather your free space with art that rocks, and subsequently, markets my book, since graffiti features heavily in the plot line. But I don’t want to give too much away.
• Do you own a skywriting plane (or know someone who does)?
Let’s talk. I want to skywrite MARLOWE KANA in the skies of small towns across the country. No one will notice or care. But it’d be fun Instagram material, you have to admit! In the world in my book, skywriting is impossible due to the atmospheric generators that enable life to continue existing… But here in our world, it’s an option!
• Are you a game developer / conceptualist?
This story would make one hell of a game. I have ideas. You have talent. I’d love to talk to you about converting the IP into a playable badass story where people get to destroy things meaningfully… You know, in the context of a larger social narrative set in a world that forecasts the inevitable track that our real one is on? Yeah… that. Games feature very heavily in the subplot in the book as well, as the entire society is driven by entertainment. But they’re a different kind of game… I don’t want to reveal that part yet. Remember, I said I wouldn’t give too much away.
• Do you know anyone (or are you someone) at Netflix, Hulu, Amazon or Apple in show development?
Whooo boy, Marlowe Kana is just SCREAMING for the serialized 12 episode-per-season story release. Reviewers on Amazon have even said so. Imagine having your development hands around a GHOST IN THE SHELL type serialized drama that you could do all the things with that you really, really wish someone had done for that pile of neon-tinted crap that was the American release of GITS? Just imagine. Imagine it hard. Really, really get in there and think on it… Yeah, there’s a soft spot there, isn’t there? Well I have one too. And I want righteous justice for that travesty myself. It’s one of the reasons I wrote Marlowe Kana. Help me take that retribution to the next level, my new friend in show development. Let’s teach those folks a lesson in ACTUALLY GOOD NOT PANDERING CYBERPUNK AWESOMENESS that tells a story about the near-future wreck that we’re currently on track to becoming! Let’s show them how to correctly illustrate and narrate a future where one corporation controls all things, technology is a dependency to survival and not just a neat way to force your phone’s voice assistant to say “titty sprinkles”, and the consequences of playing God with the human body! YES PLEASE, LET’S!
…But you’ll have to read the book to really find out about all that stuff. Right. Yes. No more reveals. Back to how you can help me:
• Are you personally, yourself, Mike Lazzo at Adult Swim?
Mike, baby, let’s talk! Adult Swim’s core demo loves to laugh and you’re killing it on the yucks. But remember the days when you did Cowboy Bebop and everyone was like WHOA and you were like YEAH? This is a story that we can develop together that will satisfy that late-night need for darkly-humorous drama set in a visually stunning near-future cyberpunky utopia (yes, utopia… It’s a core part of the plot that the United American State is a utopia for its 40 million citizens, because no utopia can exist without somewhere else being a dystopia. The rest of the world serves as grist for the mill of the UAS’s constant tech dependency and… Well, that’s book 2 stuff. Let’s talk about that when we’re ready. I’m really bad at not revealing things).
• Do you happen to personally know David Fincher (Fight Club, The Game), James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), Gary Ross (Hunger Games), Steven Spielberg (Minority Report, AI) or any screenwriter attached to them?
Let them know you have one hell of a property they need to make a movie out of. It’s a gripping fast-paced politically-driven near-future social-commentary-lined story where a badass woman breaks things in dynamic fashion for good reasons. It’s up their alleys. And not just them — if you know anyone who wants to make Marlowe Kana into a film, I’m down. Super soldiers, biometrically-controlled environments, It’s just begging for the big-budget treatment.
• Are you, personally, David Fincher, James Gunn, Gary Ross, or Steven Spielberg?
Oh man… Wow. Well, this is certainly an honor! Wow… who would have thought that [David Fincher / James Gunn / Gary Ross / Steven Spielberg] read my little blog? Wow man… Just wow. I’m overwhelmed! I love your films! I really love that part in [Fight Club / GOTG / Hunger Games / Minority Report] where [technology-driven aspect of modern living] was used as a metaphor to show [aspect of psychology where the human ego strives to outdo the human brain’s limitations and subsequently sets it up for failure… Much like Facebook growing far beyond the bounds of being able to control their own platform and thus setting up the world — the no kidding, entire, literal fucking planet — for political hijacking by Russia due to the mass manipulation of emotional and psychological wellbeing through their shit platform]. That part rocked! Wow… Cool! Well, hi! Also, please make a movie out of MARLOWE KANA.
• Are you connected to an ancient spacefaring alien race who are scouring the galaxy looking for resources, and happen to have Earth on their radar, and are on their way to come conquer and subsequently ravish the planet?
Well, tell them not to, please. Cause that’s not cool.
And lastly:
Do you just like stickers and want some free ones?
Well, email me, and I’ll send you some. I’ll even cover the stamp. Just promise you’ll put them on that one notebook or laptop or iPad that you take to the coffee shop so other people will see it and ask about it!
