E________, first draft: 20,700 words
Deep as we are in the holiday season, there is no better time to express gratitude for gifts received out of the blue. In this particular case, I’m talking about blurbs.
We have reached the stage where my agent, the estimable Brady, and the good folks at my publisher, DAW Books, are reaching out to authors they know in the hope of persuading them to give my book a read and maybe (assuming they like it) provide a few lines of blurb about it. Other than a sense, maybe, of paying it forward, there is nothing in it for the authors in question. They are being asked to give up their own free time to read a book they would not have read otherwise and then give up more of their free time to write a mini-review – all for someone they don’t know and have never met.
Despite the brazen-ness of the ask, no fewer than three established authors have so far taken the trouble to read Braking Day and come back with nice things to say. All in time for Christmas!
First off was retired U.S. Navy officer John Hemry, aka Jack Campbell, author of the New York Times bestselling Lost Fleet series, among many others. He said this:
“Engaging, fast-moving, and inventive. The characters and the space environment feel totally real, as do the life and death challenges that never miss a step.”
Given that these words could apply one hundred percent to his own work, I was blown away by the generosity of spirit in which they were written. He didn’t have to do this! Thank you!
And then, not long after, we received the following from Dan Moren, author of the Galactic Cold War series.
“Oyebanji crafts an amazing lived-in world aboard a sprawling generation ship, and a twisty mystery that’ll keep you guessing to the very end.”
Again, coming from someone who is no slouch in the twisty storyline department, this was more than gracious.
Last, but by no means least, is a quote from Julie E. Czerneda, a Canadian writer whom I have admired from afar for many years and who is the author of more than 20 books, including the Aurora-Award-winning In the Company of Others.
“Adam Oyebanji’s BRAKING DAY blows the airlocks off the science fiction mainstay of generation ships with a vibrant world within bulkheads that’s as convincing as it is fresh. The characters are fabulous, the world-building impeccable yet never in-your-face, and the plot is breathtaking. All I can say is this is the best SF novel I’ve read in decades and it may be the best I’ve ever read. This author is now a must-read for me, and I’m sure he will be for you. Bravo!!”
As you can imagine, this last one in particular left me speechless. For hours!
I like to joke that I can no longer leave the house because my head has swollen to such an extent I can no longer fit through the front door. But the truth is strangely and exactly the opposite. This is all very humbling. It’s humbling that there are people out there who are kind enough and thoughtful enough to do something like this. And it’s humbling to learn that you have written something that has had a profound effect on someone else. It fills you with the desire not to let readers down: to write something that’s worthy of their time.
Even if – humbly – you’re not at all sure you’re up to the task.