Restricted Frequency #198
Hack the Reader
“Hack the reader, if not the world.” — Jared Shurin
Okay, this quote is a bit of a cheat, because Jared only wrote it in a micro-review about a particular author’s approach to a particular story, but I like it as a standalone out-of-context quote so I’m using it as such.
First: Congratulations!
Huge congrats to Sim Kern for having THE FREE PEOPLE’S VILLAGE make it onto USA TODAY’S best-seller list on September 20! A second printing is already in the pipeline, an amazing accomplishment for a book that was only just released on September 12th! Also take into account that this is Sim’s first ever adult novel, released by an indie publishing house! Cannot possibly be happier for Sim!
So, in celebration of this more than well-deserved achievement, I thought I’d give newsletter subscribers a look at the:
Original cover art proposal for THE FREE PEOPLE’S VILLAGE
Not sure how many aspiring book designers read this newsletter, but if there are any, I imagine this could potentially be of interest to them. When it comes to proposals, it isn’t always about how good the idea itself is, as much as it can be about how well the idea is communicated. I think we might’ve done pretty well on both fronts with this one. This here is the initial proposal exactly as I sent it to Sim and the crew at Levine Querido. Pretty much everything in the proposal came to pass, save for the endpapers which was replaced with another brilliant idea Sim came up with: maps!
Password for the page and the videos imbedded within is: Querido
Current Media Diet
Audio: Seven Nation Army by Hermes House Band
Book: Kent State by Derf Backderf
Motion Picture(s): Network (1976) by Sidney Lumet (& Various - the screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky cannot go unmentioned).
Restricted Recommendations:
Jared Shurin in conversation with Lavanya Lakshminarayan on scifi and cyberpunk is so great.
Rick Quinn on the stupidity of genius.
The trailer for Die Theorie Von Allem encapsulates everything I want from cinema.
Garage.Ganzeer
THE FREE PEOPLE’S VILLAGE original art bundle! Includes all the original artboards I utilized in designing the dust jack, cover-wrap, and endpapers. It even includes the record sleeve prop I made for the cover-wrap photo.
On the personal front, things have been rather turbulent. Separation from the Mrs.—which was supposed to be pleasantly amicable—has taken something of a dark turn into the muddy waters of contested divorce. Not great, but I know I am not the first person to go through this sort of thing, nor will I be the last. However, it is something I did not at all grow up around, so it is all very new to me. I try my best not to let it affect my every waking moment, which is actually most of my moments because I’ve been sleeping very little and burning a great deal of calories in the process apparently. At this point, I’m quite certain that things will never be well between my spouse of eight years and I ever again—not something I could’ve ever imagined—but that’s no longer a concern of mine if I’m being frank. It’s my kid and his upbringing that I care about right now. But alas, we all try to make the best life choices we can within the circumstances we’ve been dealt, and all I can do at this point is try to do what I think is right.
If you’re going through a tough time in life, or are standing at some kind of indecisive crossroads, just take a breather and think it through. Make the best choice you can by following your heart and mind, neither one on its own. Then push forth with confidence and persevere, and don’t ever take no shit from nobody. Still, be kind and empathetic for as long as you can muster, but don’t be tolerating any kind of disrespect.
Take care and talk soon,
Ganzeer