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The first novel in my series, 5150, is a gritty self-exposure of the inner workings of a teenage mind in the throes of psychosis. It’s a roman ‘a clef revealing some of my deepest secrets. Most people who know me long enough to remember that period in my life are aware I was diagnosed at the time with schizophreniform disorder. The rest of my friends were astonished to learn that I had been hospitalized and still suffer today from a fairly mild case of bipolar depression.
Good friends know that I have an attention-seeking part of my personality that wants fame. They know that I have deep-seated money worries that I try to resolve by creating intellectual property that I dream will sell to a mass audience. Those were motives when I wrote the novel, I admit. But the motive I fail to publicize enough is altruistic. I want to provide comfort to families dealing with a loved one who is mentally ill. I want them to know that sometimes it really does get better. I want them to have hope.
How can a book help? Laughter. The story is uproariously funny in places. Tears. The story goes to some very dark, sad spaces in the mind of the protagonist. Compassion. People who read 5150 can’t help but feel compassion for poor suffering Ethan. They want him to get better. They want him to stop making stupid decisions.
So fame and fortune may seem like a selfish motive, but here’s why they aren’t: the more people who read this book, the less stigma circulates around mental illness. The more money I can earn from my writing, the more books I can write. So please read the book. The ebook is available at a lot of libraries, and it’s free (name your own price) on Smashwords, so you don’t have to contribute to my ‘freedom from time-sucking data analysis’ fund. Imagine if someone finally saw its potential and made it into a movie, or perhaps a Netflix Series. How great would that be?
Click here or on the image above to go to the Amazon Page for 5150.
