Advent 9 Accolades
Sales are starting to accelerate for Advent 9, and with those sales come reviews from happy readers.
Amazon reviews from multiple countries are overwhelmingly positive. A lot of people have responded positively to the book’s character dynamics and originality.
It was also reviewed by Kirkus, which had this to say:
Over the course of the story, Horne excels at cultivating the complex, tumultuous relationship between Advent 9 and Antiworld, and many readers will find a sequence at the end of the novel to be particularly affecting. The novel’s comic-book–style tenor is also noteworthy, as it’s audacious, fantastical, and, at times, hyperbolic…
Additionally, the humor is spot-on and beautifully complements the overall tone
Kirkus Reviews
No praise heaped upon the book now can possibly outshine the encouragement I got from my editor and mentor, David Farland, who called the book “Absolutely brilliant!” and took me on as a special project, telling me a book like this could find a wide audience.
And, truth be told, the road was rocky at first.
Getting the Ball Rolling
There’s a famous quote by a beloved screenwriter that goes like this:
Nobody wants your stuff. Once you become somebody, they’ll read it—but nobody wants to give anybody their first shot.
William Goldman
And while Mr. Goldman was talking about script writers in Hollywood, I can attest the truth of his conjecture in my own field.
Getting published for the first time isn’t quite as impossible as winning the lottery. But it’s difficult enough that many aspirants eventually burn out and give up.
Which is a shame, considering that every great, famous, and profitable author started out as someone that no one wanted. You would think that publishing houses would work on creating a precise and reliable way of identifying these people while they’re still naive and exploitable, so they can buy the next superstar author while the price is still cheap.
That the big publishers have put no money into R&D for this is one of the great mysteries of our time. And while they struggle to come to terms with it, more and more authors are going to self publish. And each time someone makes it big in self publishing, the power of traditional publishing houses gets eroded.
Still, the first few weeks were very hard for me. After an initial sales spike during Advent 9‘s first few days, there was a sales slump, and I found myself wondering if anyone was going to take a chance on me.
And, with a little bit of promotion, people are starting to take notice.
The Jaw Dropping
I always knew Advent 9 was going to be something people had never seen before.
David Farland went even further, saying I had invented a new genre and was the first author to properly tell a superhero story in novel form. I thought he was being a bit optimistic, and since he unfortunately passed earlier this year, I wondered whether I should stick to his plan and insist that Advent 9 was something revolutionary.
But reading some of the reviews has confirmed for me that Dave knew what he was doing all along.
Here are what some delighted readers had to say.
Brilliant premise for a hero and arch nemesis. Well written and captivating. I kind of want this to be the happy ending but there is clearly more to tell. Can’t wait!
I started and finished in one day. The unlikely duo was a nice plot. This is one I’ll recommend to friends who are into this genre.
Kind of reminded me of the TV series The Boys—both have dark humor but this novel isn’t as dark as the mentioned series. The movie Watchmen also comes to mind. It’s a unique superhero / super villain story where the two team up to save the world, which is the part that makes it unique. Entertaining and fast-paced read.
This book had so many good twists! The character development was so good — but still left every character with mystery — great ending — great buildup — and great book.
True representation of neurodiversity in fiction is challenging enough, but then somehow combining it with a superhero story–well, it’s quite the exciting niche. Horne’s approach is commendable and doesn’t lean on the cliches often plaguing young adult literature, particularly when it comes to autism. Well done … more please.
NOW READ THE BOOK! Like, idk what else to say because this had me hooked! I sat a read it all night, no sleep!
Going Forward
What I’ve found with advertising is that a few tweaks in my targeting can go a long way. Sales really picked up this past week, which gives me more opportunities to talk about the book, which leads to more interest.
I also get the feeling that a lot of the success I’m currently seeing is a snowball effect from my earlier efforts. I’m hoping to generate even more synergy as the book keeps rolling.
To all the people who took a chance on Advent 9—thank you! I wrote this book for you, and it makes me so happy that you are enjoying it.
Keep your eyes on this blog for further developments.
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