QUALIA NOW!
It may have been “leaked” a few days ago that Qualia Nous was made available at Amazon.com in the U.S. a bit earlier than originally anticipated (by two weeks). After Stephen King became involved, and after tracking down one of the authors working on offshore oil rigs in Russia (or something to that effect), as well as finalizing proofs for each of the 30 contributions (short stories, novelettes, a few poems; 120,000 words and 448 pages) the publishing date for this book was pushed from mid-Summer to late-Summer, then to late-August/early-September (technically late-Summer). Also during this time, Written Backwards took over an anthology project called The Library of the Dead, so time management has evolved into “tricky.” Qualia Nous is here, now, with an “official” release date of August 31st, 2014, in all its badassery. This thing is beautiful. 1.7 pounds of science fiction / horror awesome.
Yes, I leaked that information (as I am wont to do) and thus started what has made Written Backwards so much fun (and perhaps prosperous) over the years: the viral marketing component. Minutes after I ordered a large quantity of contributor, review, and “for consideration” copies from the printer, emails and instant messages lit up my phone. The initial seed to this virality was a simple Facebook/Twitter post that read: “Take advantage! Share! Re-post! Blog! Viralize! (contributor copies will be going out soon) A more official announcement will be made soon, but for now… early bird gets the book worm.” That was it…
Quickly thereafter, Qualia Nous contributors took over, announcing early availability on blogs and social media outlets. And then my phone exponentially lit up as that news was shared, re-shared, tweeted, re-tweeted, blogged, and re-shared some more. So, thank you, contributors, for following the Written Backwards marketing strategy of (perhaps stolen from Nine Inch Nails when they first transitioned from “traditional” to “indie”) going viral. Over a hundred copies sold overnight before this “official” press release, with 100 more already spoken for, and I haven’t even checked my email in the last few days.
I guess you could call this the “official” press release. So buy it! Read it! Explore and follow on blogs (blog.nettirw.com), on Facebook (facebook.com/nettirw), on Twitter (twitter.com/nettirw), or wherever else you find information about Qualia Nous and other Written Backwards projects. Share your experience with others, write reviews, take pictures of you holding the book in strange places, or do whatever you want with the book… Whatever you do, keep spreading the word! Let’s crank this thing above the current #130,296 rank in Amazon Books. Most importantly, if you buy from Amazon, and enjoy the Qualia Nous experience, please leave a review. Blog about it, post about it. Share your favorite stories with others. Pass this thing around… Did I mention reviews?
Feel free to share this blog, or post it wherever.
But most of all, enjoy this anthology! The amount of talent involved with this project is stellar. There is something for everyone in this tome. As the back cover states, this is “A literary blend of science fiction and horror.” It is truly something special.
One last thing: the first person to correctly translate the binary hidden within the book will receive something special. I’m not sure what that something special is just yet, but perhaps an entire Written Backwards collection, or an early peak (ARC) of the next Written Backwards project (a novella by someone incredible).
(the following is plagiarized from other related blogs):
- “The Jaunt” by Stephen King
- “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” by Usman Tanveer Malik
- “The Shaking Man” by Gene O’Neill
- “Dyscrasia” by Ashlee Scheuerman
- “The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseille” by Emily B. Cataneo
- “The Angel Chaser” by Erik T. Johnson
- “Psychic Shock” by Ian Shoebridge
- “Peppermint Tea in Electronic Limbo” by D.J. Cockburn
- “Second Chance” by John R. Little
- “The Effigies of Tamber Square” by Jon Michael Kelley
- “Shades of Naught” by Lori Michelle
- “The Price of Faces” by James Chambers
- “Simulacrum” by Jason V Brock
- “Shutdown” & “Tomorrow’s Femme” (poetry) by Marge Simon
- “Lead Me to Multiplicity” by Peter Hagelslag
- “Cataldo’s Copy” by Christian A. Larsen
- “The Neighborhood Has a Barbecue” by Max Booth III
- “The Jenny Store” by Richard Thomas
- “Night Guard” by Erinn L. Kemper
- “A New Man” by William F. Nolan
- “Voyeur” by John Everson
- “Kilroy Wasn’t There” by Pat R. Steiner
- “In the Nothing-Space, I Am What You Made Me” by Paul Anderson
- “Dura Matter” by Lucy A. Snyder
- “Ruminations” by Rena Mason
- “Good and Faithful Servant” by Thomas F. Monteleone
- “Twelve Kilos” by Patrick Freivald
- “Breathe You In Me” by Mason Ian Bundschuh
- “18P37-C, After Andrea Was Arrested” by Elizabeth Massie
- “No Fixed Address” by Gary A. Braunbeck
Checked Amazon one last time before posting this… seems we’ve jumped to #82,104. #82,103, here we come!