Free Copy
This is my "second" book (though I wrote a handful of Spider-Man fanfic earlier, I don't really count them as my own novels, since I was playing in someone else's sandbox). It has been through a couple of revisions and I've put some time into it. If I were to get any book of my past work published, I'd want it to be this one.
Because of that, you can read it for free! A PDF version of Words of the Silenced is available right here. You can share, read, or ignore it--whatever you want to do.
Because of that, you can read it for free! A PDF version of Words of the Silenced is available right here. You can share, read, or ignore it--whatever you want to do.
Synopsis
Bitter nineteen-year-old thief Amela steals in the drought-stricken city of Tintyr, relying on her quick wits and survivor's instinct to keep herself and her disabled family safe and fed. When her family is taken from her, she is forced to accept a job protecting the city from malevolent giants, bent on destroying everyone. Despite her prejudices against the city's protectors, she accepts an assignment with Vald, an insane man whose strength comes from his madness--a strength that is equal to that of the giants'. While struggling to get her family back, keep Vald under control, and learn the depths of the conspiracy that is ruining her life, Amela finds a love that she wishes to make permanent. Overcoming her own bitterness and insecurities, Amela must learn the truth, save her family, and decide for herself if she can have happiness--or face the madness that her world contains.
Background
A few months before my first child was born, we learned he had a potentially fatal heart defect that would jeopardize his life. When he was born in April 2007, we had to go through a number of stressful, frightening experiences to keep him around. Fortunately, he survived the early years, but those moments were fundamental to the basis of Words of the Silenced.
On the week my son was born, I also graduated from college with a degree in English education--but I didn't have any job prospects. My wife was the bread-winner by teaching her 8th grade science classes at a nearby middle school. I was torn between trying to pursue my writing career and hoping to find a place in a classroom. During that summer after graduation, I found a job at a telemarketing firm not far from where I lived. The first day, I saw someone I recognized: One of the students I'd taught during my student teaching had graduated high school and was now working at the same place.
Stay in school, kids.
Embarrassed, I couldn't see myself putting in time at this firm. It just...didn't fit. I did, however, gain something because of my time there: I learned about the whispers.
I had taken a class in college about madness in literature, so insanity was something that was frequently on my mind. At the job where I worked, I would sit with the headset and listen to a "whisper" that would come through the earpiece, telling me the type of call I'd have to field--warranty question, service request, whatever. I remember thinking, "If I have to listen to these whispers, I'm going to go crazy."
So that's what happens in my novel. People listen to whispers and go crazy because the whispers tell them to do fantastical things: jump over buildings, punch through walls, wrestle down giants. Whatever the whispers direct the spook to do, the spook can do it.
The story unfolded from there, filled with some plot twists, some (I think) really cool fight scenes, and insanity. The whole book is built on insanity.
I really like this book. If nothing else, it helped provide a creative outlet during the tumultuous times of my son's birth and subsequent heart surgeries. Without my son, I'd probably go crazy, so I guess there's some symmetry there.
On the week my son was born, I also graduated from college with a degree in English education--but I didn't have any job prospects. My wife was the bread-winner by teaching her 8th grade science classes at a nearby middle school. I was torn between trying to pursue my writing career and hoping to find a place in a classroom. During that summer after graduation, I found a job at a telemarketing firm not far from where I lived. The first day, I saw someone I recognized: One of the students I'd taught during my student teaching had graduated high school and was now working at the same place.
Stay in school, kids.
Embarrassed, I couldn't see myself putting in time at this firm. It just...didn't fit. I did, however, gain something because of my time there: I learned about the whispers.
I had taken a class in college about madness in literature, so insanity was something that was frequently on my mind. At the job where I worked, I would sit with the headset and listen to a "whisper" that would come through the earpiece, telling me the type of call I'd have to field--warranty question, service request, whatever. I remember thinking, "If I have to listen to these whispers, I'm going to go crazy."
So that's what happens in my novel. People listen to whispers and go crazy because the whispers tell them to do fantastical things: jump over buildings, punch through walls, wrestle down giants. Whatever the whispers direct the spook to do, the spook can do it.
The story unfolded from there, filled with some plot twists, some (I think) really cool fight scenes, and insanity. The whole book is built on insanity.
I really like this book. If nothing else, it helped provide a creative outlet during the tumultuous times of my son's birth and subsequent heart surgeries. Without my son, I'd probably go crazy, so I guess there's some symmetry there.
Status
I'd be willing to pick this one up one more time. I've learned a lot about writing since 2007 (fortunately), so I'm certain I could do a better job. There are pacing issues, motivation issues, and too many coincidences for it to be exactly what I'd want. It is, however, the first book I've submitted to a slush pile (where it was promptly rejected), so it holds a special place in my heart. I'd love for people to read this book--however, I've no plans of resurrecting it anytime soon.