I’m completely thrilled to finally announce that my “Visitor’s Blood” trilogy is complete. It’s in the final editing process, then will be sent to a beta reader, and promotions will be scheduled before it’s actually published…
BUT IT IS FINISHED!
The official cover reveal is heading your way, but I wanted to take this time to give a little bit of history on the series… I wrote a few stories growing up including two separate books which were never finished. “Visitor’s Blood,” however, was my first real project.
At 17, I was watching the remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” when it hit me that I wanted to write a story where first contact with aliens did not end with some violent or fearful battle on Earth. Rather, I wanted the Earthlings to instead wind up on a different planet where the adventure took place. Thus, “Visitor’s Blood” was spawned with the help of a teenage obsession with vampires.
Initially, it was a stand-alone novel. I finished the first version (a mere 60k words compared to the 132k that book 1 now is) by the time I was 18, but a lot of shit went down that I won’t get into here and I was forced to leave my hometown with my girlfriend. During this, my laptop was stolen along with my only copy of the book outside of that at my mom’s house where I was no longer welcome.
In 2014, I at last had the strength to rewrite it. The story had already changed some at that point. It was self-published in 2015, but nearly immediately afterward, I decided it was trash and removed its listing (this is why if you search, you’ll sometimes see horribly photoshopped covers for it).
In 2018, my mental health and overall well-being had gotten significantly better. I had taken a lot of time to practice my writing technique and I once again rewrote the book; a version with nearly nothing in common with the first two except the basic premise and the characters. In 2019, I self-published via Amazon, both that final version of the story as well as book 2 “Borrowed Loyalty” (112k words).
I was at long last pleased with the book(s) though of course, I still became nervous with each publication and each sale. “Visitor’s Blood” currently has a 4.4/5 star rating and “Borrowed Loyalty” has 5/5 stars, out of a combined 26 reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
So eleven years after I began this journey, it has come to its conclusion.
I’m happy to say that I am not sad in the slightest. In fact, I feel more empowered and confident than ever. The last bit of my old life, one riddled with abuse, fear, mental and physical illness, and utter uncertainty, is now laid to rest. From here on out, I will be working on new ideas that better portray who I am and what I wish to offer the world instead of feeling weighed down by connections to my past.
If you’re a writer, whether you’re just beginning or been at it a while, I hope that you can find the same sense of peace and determination. The journey is hard, but you should believe in yourself and persevere.
A huge thank you to:
My wife Ariel (yes, the girlfriend I ran away with) without whose patient love I would not even be alive.
My grandparents who were the only ones to always support my writing as well as being the only blood family that has stayed in my life regardless.
My chosen family who have been with me for most if not the entirety of this venture: DD, Liam, Anastasia, Brittany, Eric, and Carebear; and the chosen family who have joined in since: Scott, Nandy, Bryen, Dilo, and Stevie.
Those awesome members of the writing and reading communities who gave great feedback on the books: Quinn Buckland, Nick Braker, Halo Scot, Rory McFarlan, Mark Schultz, CD Baxter and Janette Bach.
And of course every single one of the 363 people who got a copy of the books, those who checked the book out via the local library or Kindle Unlimited, and the numerous shares and words of support I have received through social media or other sites.
As always, you can find me on:
~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden
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