The end is near…
Greetings Cosmic Traveler,
It has been a long, strange road, but here we are. What started as a short story in 2018 has become a full-fledged book series. In fact, it’s the first book series I’ve ever finished and I could not be more proud of that.
We have pre-orders in the pipe, a heap of readers who have enjoyed it, and years of memories to go along with its gestation. I want to say thank you for all your support. I almost gave up on writing a hundred times along the path. It’s a tough business and there is a silent sentiment out there that if your first book, or your second, doesn’t sell a metric ton of copies, you’re a failure. But this just isn’t true. Becoming an author who has any level of success is like playing life on Nightmare Mode.
Everyone wants to write a book. Everyone has a voice. And while I believe this is good, and healthy, it makes for fierce competition in the market. Not so much as in “my book” vs “their book”, but more signal vs noise. And there is SO much noise.
The Tempering launches September 18th, and if you want to help out with the release, support me as an artist who is a real person not just some mindless LLM, here’s how:
> Of course pre-ordering a copy of the Tempering goes a long way. So please, if you are able, do that: Pre-order
> But even if you aren’t, or this isn’t the time, please make sure you’re following me on Amazon. The reason this is important is because whenever I have a new book set for release, and more are coming, Amazon will let you know! I think it also helps with some sort of algorithmic piece, but whatever: Follow me on Amazon
> Third, and this is dead last, and totally new… I’ve started posting actual content to my YouTube channel. Be sure to give it a follow, like the videos, all that. I’ve got some interesting ideas planned when it comes to talking about all things books, sci-fi, and future of human existence: Like and Subscribe
I can only hope that the spaces I am working to create give you a sense of distance from the raw nature of our current reality. That’s the main reason I do this. Call it selfish, but I sometimes need a place to hide where we can all believe the world can be better. A place where we can go on adventures and see the many wonders of the universe at large. Imagination is a powerful thing. Imagination is where the spark of hope flickers into existence.
The world has become too black and white. I miss the shades of grey. I miss the seasons of connecting with weirdos in corn fields and embracing the fact that we are all alive. I miss laughing at the madness of closed minds and deciding that the most radical thing we could all do is just love one another without conditions.
Can we just celebrate life? If you’re reading this, and you’re breathing, its not the end. And maybe, just maybe, if the Foundry series does have a philosophy contained within its pages, that’s it in a nutshell. That we should celebrate and protect life. That we should embrace our experiences and collect them like a dragon might treasure, but be willing to share those gems with others in the quiet moments between the chaos. That we should disconnect from the deadly discourse around us and show one another the truth: that we all matter.
I have to believe that this is possible. We all have to believe. Because the other option, well, it serves no one in the end but death itself. And as for me, I choose life.
Thank you for all you do, and all you are.
Stay safe out there Cosmic Traveler,
-J Fitzpatrick Mauldin