Hey, folks! Gonna have to make this quick, but here’s a cool thing to share: Redemption is now available as an audio book! If you, like me, have had a harder time reading during this pandemic (I don’t know about you, but I just cannot concentrate lately!), then here is the perfect way to read by listening.
I hope you’re all safe and well – we’ll be back next week with more!
One of the basic principles of blogging is to not be too self-promotional – say, promote yourself 1 out of every 10 entries. This webpage is hosted on “www.mikeschlossbergauthor.com” so it’s probably no surprise for you to hear that I’ve done this, in part, to help promote my book, Redemption.
That being said, I, err…forgot to promote the book on the blog. My bad.
For those of you who are unaware, I wrote a book! Redemption is a Young Adult, Mental Health, Science Fiction tale on depression, anxiety and saving the world:
Twenty young people wake aboard the spaceship Redemption with no memory how they got there.
Asher Maddox went to sleep a college dropout with clinical depression and anxiety. He wakes one hundred sixty years in the future to assume the role as captain aboard a spaceship he knows nothing about, with a crew as in the dark as he is.
Yanked from their everyday lives, the crew learns that Earth has been ravaged by the Spades virus – a deadly disease planted by aliens. They are tasked with obtaining the vaccine that will save humanity, while forced to hide from an unidentified, but highly advanced enemy.
Half a galaxy away from Earth, the crew sets out to complete the quest against impossible odds. As the enemy draws closer, they learn to run the ship despite their own flaws and rivalries. But they have another enemy . . . time. And it’s running out.
If you’re interested, go here for ordering info (including how to order a copy direct from me), or here to order off Amazon. You can also download the first chapter, absolutely free.
The book came out a year ago, so, let me give an update about what’s next!
It is the Spades Trilogy, after all, so you may be wondering, where is Book Two?
Here’s the good news: It is actually written. So, yay! My publisher currently has it, and I’m hoping it will enter the editing process in the near future. It required some rewrites to make it a better product, so that slowed things down a bit, but appropriately so: I’d rather get something to you that’s really good than something that’s been done really quick.
I’m not sharing the title yet, but I will, I promise. I’ll say this: The original title was Reclamation. That got changed because it just sounded weird and didn’t work with the theme of the book. Also, my wife made fun of me, saying it wasn’t a real name.
When will it be published? That one I don’t have an answer for. It depends on how long the editing process takes. My guess – and this is just a guess – is at least a year.
And, for the record, Book Three is also written, and I should finish my edits on it within a month or so. So, yes, I know how the story ends. But that one is nowhere near ready for publication.
The writing process is a long one. The first book took four years, start to finish – although that was because I also had to get a book proposal ready and find a publisher. Hopefully 2 & 3 won’t be as long.
Writing about depression, anxiety, Spades, Ash, Alexis & the rest of the crew of the Redemption has been one of the more joyful experiences I’ve had professionally. I love what the book evolved into. It has given me a chance to attack mental illness in a completely new arena, and I have loved every second of it. And I can’t wait for the rest of the story to get share with the world.
Hi, everyone! If you are local to the Lehigh Valley, please join me for a book signing for Redemption!
Barnes & Nobles, Easton
4445 Southmont Way, Easton
Saturday, January 19, 12:00 – 2:00pm
As always, if you want to order the book, just click here for info on how to get all formats.
Hope to see you soon!
As the year comes to an end, I find myself staring at my Goodreads page. I had a pretty good year for reading! Looks like I read 28 books when I wanted to read 20 – I’ll take it!
But, that’s not what I am writing about today, at least, not specifically. I wanted to pass along the books I have read in the mental health genre, both fictional and non-fictional. Some authors just do a remarkably good job of dealing with this realm, and it’s my honor to make a few recommendations. So, without further ado:
Fiction
Non-Fiction
And, of course, if you want one more book, allow me to suggest Redemption, my young adult, science fiction tale of depression, anxiety and saving the world.
Any other books to add? Please let us know in the comments. Have a WONDERFUL new year!
Alright, alright, alright!
I had a few folks ask for it without the Email gate, so, here you go. Click here to download the first Chapter of Redemption. If you want to buy the book, here’s the Amazon link, and here’s the page on my website for other formats and how to buy a signed copy from me.
Enjoy!
Hiya!
If you’ve read the blog before, you’ve heard me talk about Redemption. For those of you who are curious, good news! You can now download the first chapter of the book for free. To do so, you can sign-up for my newsletter, and the welcome Email will have a link to download the book.
Do you already get the newsletter? Well, just check the link in there to access the first chapter.
Enjoy!
In the course of writing my book, I made an assumption – one which I would ultimately find to be incorrect: That mental illness and science fiction would be very popular subgenres. They are not. I’ve been surprised by this. In fact, thus far, I’ve only been able to find one other book which intermixes mental health, science fiction and young adult – Portals by Kristy Acevedo. That’s a REALLY great book, by the way – if you liked Redemption, you’ll like Portals – Kristy Acevedo was kind enough to do a blog interview with me. That’s here.
I thought the two genres would go much better together. The reason? The sheer freedom of it. I’ve written two books now – Tweets and Consequences (which was a non-fiction look at social media, politicians and epic failures) and Redemption. Obviously non-fiction is a little bit more limiting. But, even fiction can be very constraining. If you write a regular YA book, for example, you are limited by the realities of the genre. For example, It’s not a good or consistent book if your YA character suddenly grows wings and flies away.
Science fiction and fantasy, of course, are different. All bets are off. You set up your world, it’s limits, and then you go from there. In Redemption, I created a Lord of the Flies-like world – on a space ship – and we were off to the races. The extremes of the world in Redemption allow me to explore the mental illness of the main character, Ash. Clearly, it’s science fiction, but the constraints of the world are still pretty similar to this one. As such, I get the opportunity to explore mental illness in a whole new light, but one that is simultaneously interesting/entertaining (at least, I hope!) and relevant to the reader.
Portals does a similar exploration – it creates a fantasy world with aliens from the future who are trying to save the world. The main character has debilitating anxiety issues, and the extreme stress of the world has major impacts on her mental health, her limits, and what she learns about herself and those around her.
But again, I’ve been surprised. I haven’t seen a ton of interaction between these subjects, and that, in my estimation, is a lost opportunity. Science fiction allows you to break traditional boundaries. I’ve actually always thought that the best science fiction just takes advantage of the weird elements it creates. Star Wars isn’t about space, it’s about good vs. evil. Star Trek (which one reviewer on the Amazon page was kind enough to compare Redemption to!) isn’t about the damn United Federation of Plants, it is about social justice and an exploration of the galaxy and the human psyche. It seems like mental illness and it’s related topics would be a perfect fit for this universe, but alas, unless I have been mistaken, this is not a topic which has seen much interaction.
Am I wrong? I’d love to be wrong. If I am wrong, please correct me – leave your best book recommendations in the comments below!
(Hey, if my titles rhyme more often, will I get more views?)
Anyway, morning, everyone!
As the title said, the good people at WFMZ were kind enough to interview me on Saturday. The topic was Redemption, and here’s the interview.
A sincere thanks to WFMZ for the interview. As always, if you want to purchase the book, you can get it directly from me or on Amazon.
Enjoy!
Hey, folks! Yesterday featured one of the more in-depth interview’s I’ve ever done, with Paula Stokes, who wrote Girl Against The Universe. I sincerely hope that, if you liked what she had to say, you became more interested in her book.
Is that the case? Well, then GOOD NEWS for you! Paula and I are jointly running a contest, where she’s giving away a copy of Girl Against The Universe and I am giving away a copy of my new book, Redemption.
Interested? I hope so! If you are, check out the giveaway here.
As you can see from that picture, I am currently beside myself.
The book is selling – it is selling well – and is currently NUMBER ONE in new releases in a topic near and dear to my heart: Teen & Young Adult Mental Illness Fiction eBooks.
For whatever it is worth, to those of you who are sad, who are depressed, anxious or alone: I was once so depressed I thought killing myself might be the only option to move forward. I’ve learned how to live my life and turned my depression into a good story. Redemption, a story about depression, anxiety and saving the world, is inspired by my own darkest moments. It may now make a difference because I tried to find a way to live.
Please remember that in your own worst days.
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Order today from Amazon
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To order a print copy directly from the author, follow this link (it wills say “Pocket Protector Games but that’s just the name of my LLC, I promise!).
Twenty young people wake aboard the spaceship Redemption with no memory how they got there.
Asher Maddox went to sleep a college dropout with clinical depression and anxiety. He wakes one hundred sixty years in the future to assume the role as captain aboard a spaceship he knows nothing about, with a crew as in the dark as he is.
Yanked from their everyday lives, the crew learns that Earth has been ravaged by the Spades virus – a deadly disease planted by aliens. They are tasked with obtaining the vaccine that will save humanity, while forced to hide from an unidentified, but highly advanced enemy.
Half a galaxy away from Earth, the crew sets out to complete the quest against impossible odds. As the enemy draws closer, they learn to run the ship despite their own flaws and rivalries. But they have another enemy . . . time. And it’s running out.
Mike Schlossberg - Author 