Tag: Awakening

First Review of Awakening

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Woohoo. Hemo Sapiens: Awakening has it’s first review, and it wasn’t even me. The question remains, should an author review their own book?

Evidently, this question does not remain very long because it’s against Amazon’s terms and conditions to do so. And so it goes…

“They fear for their future, for their freedom, for their sanity.”

“Hemo Sapiens” is a fantastic, very original mystery thriller, I had never read anything like it, which manages to perfectly combine suspense, action, and futuristic elements, and adds a layer of complexity to the plot.

The writing style is addictive, the pages fly by, and it strikes a balance between dialogue and descriptive passages that immerse us in the story process. The author deftly navigates between moments of peace and chaos, generating suspense through a tense chase and revealing interrogations and plot twists.

The book expertly delves into the protagonists’ internal conflict as they grapple with the rise of Hemo sapiens, presenting a delicate balance between two worlds.

The characters face a web of criminal, social and ethical issues. Something I liked is how they are portrayed with depth and authenticity, and each one plays a unique role in the mystery that unfolds, you want to get to know more about them. The exploration of ethical, political, and emotional topics adds depth to the story, addressing themes of discrimination, violence, and the fight for justice.

It is a book that I highly recommend, without a doubt reading it is like watching a movie, it is an incredible experience. It stands out a lot in its genre.

— Izzy Vega

Ref: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3MQRPA5C94URX/

It look like it was posted on Goodreads and ported across. I’ll take it.

Hemp Sapiens: Awakening Advert Spot 1

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https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ridley-park6/episodes/Hemo-Sapiens-Awakening-Spot-e2ec01o
Podcast: Audio version of this content

Hemo Sapiens: Awakening is a compelling near-future science fiction novel that explores issues of identity, belonging, and the struggle for personal sovereignty. When a community living off the grid is discovered by the authorities of a dominant society, their entire way of life is threatened. Forced to assimilate into a culture not their own, they must make an impossible choice – abandon their traditions or fight to preserve their cultural identity at any cost.

This thought-provoking book sets the stage for an epic series that investigates the origin of these mysterious people. Their future hangs in the balance as the reader joins them on a journey of self-discovery. Will they succumb to conformity or rise up to claim their autonomy?

I’m the author, Ridley Park, and I invite you to immerse yourself in this imaginative new world and come along for an unforgettable adventure. Hemo Sapiens: Awakening is available now in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats. Audiobook versions will be released in February 2024. Get your copy today!

Announcement: Published at Last

Posted in Awakening, Book, Hemo Sapiens, Hemo Sapiens: Awakening, Ridley Park, Sci-Fi, Status Update, WritingTagged , , , , 3 Comments

Here thee, hear thee. It’s about time. Hemo Sapiens: Awakening is finally published and available for purchase reading.

It’s been quite the journey. It started in August 2023 as a diversion from another project, but it ended up taking precedence.

Per the blurb on Amazon, the book is about this:

Genetically engineered and cloned in secret, the “Hemo Sapiens” have lived isolated on a farm in Manchester for decades—until their extraordinary nature is revealed.

Suddenly these “Bloodsucking Intelligent Humans” find themselves persecuted as dangerous outsiders. As hysteria escalates and mobs attack, the fiercely loyal and mostly innocent family fights for acceptance while struggling to find answers about their shadowy origins and uncertain destiny.

A genetics professor’s rash scientific revelation sets off an explosive chain reaction entangling ethics, prejudice and politics. At stake is nothing less than the family’s human rights—and what it truly means to belong.

Can these reluctant pioneers overcome fear to integrate into a society both fascinated and repulsed by their very existence? This thought-provoking saga confronts what diversity, progress and being human entail in an increasingly hostile, high-tech surveillance state that is meant to protect but may also oppress.

Amazon Marketing Blurb

The book currently available in many global regions as hard cover, paperback, or Kindle. I am currently working on the audiobook version, which should be available by March 2004.

For the sake of simplicity, below are links to the various marketplaces: Australia, Brasil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States. Not all formats are available in all regions. As of today, this is the availability.

Hard Cover

(ISBN: 979-8872481942, Case Laminate 6″ x 9″, gloss)

US UK DE FR ES IT NL PL SE

Paperback

(ISBN: 979-8870961422, 6″ x 9″, matte)

US UK DE FR ES IT NL PL SE JP CA AU

Kindle

US UK DE FR ES IT NL JP BR CA MX AU IN

In addition to the audiobook, I am also working on releasing a standard hard cover with a dust jacket and a smaller mass market form factor paperback.

All of this distracts me from writing the prequel, Hemo Sapiens: Origins, which I hope to release before 2025.

HNY 2024

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Goodbye 2023. We hardly knew ye.

My first novel, Hemo Sapiens: Awakening, is locked and loaded. I’ve reviewed the digital proofs, and the physical copy should be arriving in the post in the next few days. I wasn’t willing to pay more to shave off a day.

I am publishing a paperback and case laminate hardcover. I ordered one of each to proof, but the hardcover has a 4 to 5 week delay, so I won’t bother. The paperback is the same interior content. I had to render a larger cover for the hardcover. Not because of the dust jacket—because there is none. They have to wrap some around the edges. The case laminate reminds me of grade school books, like Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. It feels a bit amateurish, but it doesn’t cost me more to set it up, so I figure why not.

It does cost more for materials and handling—almost double—, so I have to charge more and have lower margins. I’ll leave that for the reader to decide if the durability is worth it. I decided to take even smaller margins in ex-US markets just to have more even prices.

As it stands, the hardcover will be available for USD 20 and the paperback USD 12.99. This affords me room for promotional discounting later. In Europe, hardcover prices will be  £15 and €18.

Paperback prices will be £10.21 (I know. Wierd.) and €11.75. There will also be APAC editions ¥1980 and AUD 20.99 (each including VAT). In Canada, it should cost CAD 15.

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2024.

Cover Art: Awakening

Posted in Art, Artificial Intelligence, Awakening, Book, Cover Art, Dall-E, Generative AI, hemo sapiens, Hemo Sapiens, Hemo Sapiens: Awakening, WritingTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Now that the first draft of Hemo Sapiens: Awakening is done, I can let it marinate for a few days before I return to polish it up for Beta readers. Meantime, I can cleanse my palate and concentrate on other matter like cover art. Here’s the third or fourth draft. I know what direction I’m looking for. I was thinking of commissioning a cover, but I might just go it on my own.

I think I’m going with an 9″ x 6″ form factor, so this would be the aspect ratio. I used OpenAI’s Dall-E 3 to render the eyes as well as the overlay with Greek characters. I may have made it too transparent, so I might need to pull it up a few clicks.

Interesting enough, I am compositing in PowerPoint of all things and exporting to PNG. I usually use Paint Shop Pro, but this may be good enough. I still need to compose the back cover and the spine.

My paginated draft comes in at about 320 pages. It was 256 unpaginated pages. There are 38 chapters, and each chapter begins on an odd page number. The facing page is always blank. This creates a lot of blank pages. I could render some line art on the facing pages, but I’m not taking that option at this point. Probably won’t.

My goal for the cover (as might everyone) is to catch a potential reader’s eye and signal something about the content. In this case, the Hemo Sapiens have violet eyes, so I thought that would make a unique image hook. The are open (obviously) to capture the Awakening aspect. The Greek letters on the overlay represent the science aspect. There are 5 versions of Hemo Sapiens so far, named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon by their creator. I’ve highlighted those characters in a blood red.

Speaking of blood, this is obviously captured in the colour choice and the dripping font of the subtitle. This is also reflected in the stylised O, but I don’t wish to explain the significance of the stylisation now.

As is the entire cover still in progress, so is the treatment of the title as I am playing with a few options. The novel is set in the near future, 2045, so I was thinking of conveying a future with a silver font face, but the gold felt somehow warmer. I wanted to hint at the dystopian angle by distressing the letters.

So, there’s my confession. If you have any comments on the design, I’d love to read them—for better and for worse.

1st Draft Chapters

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My first draft of Hemo Sapiens: Awakening is almost finished. Below is a screenshot of my Word document with the navigation panel open to show the chapters, sections, and working titles.

The content from Chapter 5 (with tweaks) was taken from my short story, The Unidentified, published here, so it’s not spoiler to share. Funny enough, I just notices an error in my screenshot. Emily’s daughter Grace is almost five*, so I’ve amended that in my draft.

For those wondering, I maintain a spreadsheet with the birthdates and ages of all of the characters, so I can age-progress them appropriately. And there are certain maturity stages that occur around a certain age, for example, when their fangs come in. Just turning five, Grace won’t have fangs yet.

At this point, I’ve got 250 pages and 37 chapters. I deleted over 1,000 more words today—from 57,641 to 56,616—, but I expect to remain over 50k.

I also started working on the title and subtitle artwork, which I’ll share when I’m done with it. As I already know the title and subtitle of my next book, which is at least 60% done (🤞) in its own right, I am making sure the Hemo Sapiens title art leves space to nestle in the subtitle.

I’m getting excited, but the finish line is still a ways away. I think I’ve reached a major milestone in completing the first draft—99.999%, I feel. I still need to work on the cover art and layout and lining up Beta readers.

* Grace is five in the short story, but she’s been demoted a few months in the novel.

Psychology of Writing

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I’ve put in some 42,000 words and counting into Hemo Sapiens, so I’ve taken a couple of days to step back and take a long view. I want to ensure I am keeping my original vision with integrity. A major motivator for me is to write a social commentary. I am a philosophical and psychological person, but I am not looking to come across like Dostoyevsky, one of my favourite writers. Besides, this is adult contemporary speculative fiction, not psychological literary fiction like Fyodor. I’m shooting more in the space of Margaret Atwood or Cormac McCarthy, at least thematically.

The working title is Hemo Sapiens: Awakening. I might amend the subtitle to Awakenings. Time will tell. The story is about the awakening of the hemo sapiens. I’m always refining, but here’s the general pitch:

Nearly a hundred strong, a family of genetically engineered clones confront harsh realities when discovered by a fearful outside world.

It’s a story of the construction of group and individual identities—going from no conception of identity to battling an imposed identity as outsiders to form one of their own; from no individuation to a semblance of personal identity.

I hope to pay homage to Erikson’s stages of identity formation and Kubler-Ross’s stages of dying. Kubler-Ross gets double duty, as I wish to personify characters with each of her stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

It will also serve as a critique against post-Enlightenment Modernism. Whilst I agree that change was necessary and inevitable at that time, the direction taken was not necessarily for the better. As a so-called Postmodern™, this is my default position. As Rousseau notes, promises of freedom abound, yet most remains enchained. Or in the lyrics of Mad Season’s River of Deceit,

My pain is self-chosen…

Anyway, back to writing.