u/Deepwinter22

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Hey there, my name is J.P. Dierker and I am the author of On the Edge of the Past. If you're looking for a new book in the epic fantasy space, this could be for you!

On the Edge of the Past is an adult, high stakes fantasy with an ancient darkness ready to emerge, eclipse, and consume. With On the Edge of the Past arrives a new breathtaking universe of rich world building laden with adventure, mystery, horror, romance, and a chase that will leave readers longing to keep turning the page.

Strange things lurk in the abandoned and omitted places of the cosmos. Primeval things. Khorrin was once privy to some, but many memories are lost to him now. So, he can't comprehend why his home withers before his eyes. With the runic magic he can recall, Khorrin moves across years in a blink as he waits for something, anything, to reveal what's happening.

When no answer comes, unfathomable time passing, the oceans dried and forests wilted to dust, Khorrin wades into the endless dunes filling their place. Pushed to the last edges of hope, he stumbles upon something ancient, lying dormant beneath the ruthless sands, that will set him on an arduous path.

Captain Sahkirra has spent years chasing disappearances with no leads, crushing her reputation with the High Queen. Ordered to capture a strange man, she believes he holds everything to restore what she’s worked so hard to build. What she doesn’t know, is that something else stalks this man. Something far more lethal and far older than she ever could've imagined. Still, she chases him, putting herself in great peril, and unknowingly waking a longing heart that has been immemorially dormant. 

On the Edge of the Past is available on Kindle Unlimited and available on Amazon and Ingram as print editions.

Amazon Link

Ingram print link

Author website

Well, I guess its finally my turn...

First, don't let the flare deceive you, this is primarily a fantasy novel, at least book one anyways. There is a slow burn romance, but it's nothing crazy like Fourth Wing or ACOTAR or other steamy romantasies. At least, not in book 1 (wink).

Anyways, hey I wrote a book! What began as a fantasy/sci-fi writing challenge in undergrad around 2019, turned into a great way to take a brake between classes and take my mind to another world for a bit. Somehow, the story just kept growing and expanding, and six years later turned into something and is now self published! Whoop!

However, as the title states, I don't know how to feel about it. There were lots of hiccups along the way, tremendous amounts of doubt, a last minute rush to get a book cover done by a real artist, and wayyyyy too much money spent on it all including beta reads and editing passes. Like, upwards of $8k all said and done (adding value in case others need to relate). To be fair to my self I guess, this is also a debut novel so one could see the money spent as part of the learning process. Now, I at least feel like I know for my next projects how to do things cheaper and better.

With that said, it feels like a gut punch because reluctantly I put it out, worried it would evaporate into anything amongst the avalanche of self published and published novels. It got to the point where no matter what I did I wanted to change everything, thinking it wouldn't be good enough to excite readers and truly deliver the message I was hoping. Yet, I still love where the story is at. I'd never be able to throw it away as I love the characters and the world and am excited to finish their journey through books 2 and 3. But, essentially it became a mental war with my stupid standards and just letting go. So, I let go. And now, silence...

I didn't really expect much upon launch, especially because I wasn't able to get any ARCS as most are flooded/inundated with requests. But zero sales via amazon and Ingram, and zero pages read on kindle unlimited/kindle is really crushing. Once again, to be fair, it has only been one week. But still, there were people interested in the book, and people excited about it, yet nothing... On top of that, it feels like all of us self published authors are just throwing ourselves against a sheer cliff side in the hopes somebody will notice us, and I hate that feeling. I hate begging for people to do something. It's like solicitors or that damn AT&T dude at target who sneaks up on you and writes random numbers down on a stupid board. I want people to be motivated to do it on their own.

Ugh, anyways this is descending into rant territory so I'll cut it off there. In summary, I just feel like utter shit and it feels like every fear I had about sucking as an author is coming to fruition. It's why I was so afraid to even publish in the first place, because I had a feeling this might happen.

"Thats all for today folks. You don't need to go home but you can't stay here." Or whatever that quote is.

P.S. I guess I should include what the book even is since I think the mods might smite me if I don't.

It's called On the Edge of the Past by me (J.P. Dierker). It's available in the places stated earlier in the post, Kindle, kindle unlimited, amazon print, or ingramspark print. Links and more info can be found on my website www.jp-dierker.com