1st Books/Author House/etcetera etcetera
The back in Kanji
The Chronicles of Adrian Smith: The Audit Report
Richard Neumann
Summary of the book
Adrian Smith is a down trodden, mediocre accountant living in San Jose, California. Then one night he finds himself half across the galaxy. To survive he must rely on his accounting skills and delve into the world of a the black marketeers. His stock and trade? Junk food and music from Earth. There's just one small catch, trafficking contraband from Earth carries with it a sentence of immediate and painful death. To unlock the secret of this embargo, Adrian must first win the freedom of a princess turned indentured servant of his staunchest rival. Together they travel to the bedside of a dieing alien. He pleads with them to help him keep a promise he made to a woman on Earth a century ago. The mystery takes them deep into the Amazon Jungle to San Francisco's 1915 World's Fair and into the gas filled trenches of Yepres, France in the dawn of World War One. Together they uncover a forbidden love that has lasted 100 years and crossed 100 light years of space. Along the way they discover a love of their own.
Author Bio
I was born in Burbank, California, in 1957, the son of an aerospace engineer and an accomplished ballerina and Hollywood movie actress. I graduated from San Jose State in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business. Although my career has taken me down the path of corporate CFO, my love has always been writing. I spent a good portion of his high school years writing and producing amateur movies and working backstage for local theaters. Twenty years later I returned to writing and the theater as ways to bring tranquility to the turmoil of high-stress corporate mergers and acquisitions. I has completed two full-length novels and I'm deep into a third – as yet unpublished. I have also written five stage plays, three of which have been produced. In 2005 I founded Stone In The Surf Press and in 2006 launched this website designed to help other aspiring “Indie” Independent Publishers.
Story about the story
I was spending a spring break vacation with my (former) in-laws in their very small winter home in Mesa, Arizona. Their place was small for two people and rather claustrophobic for five. I also feared for my sanity if I watched another hour of Gaither Home Coming or played another hand of Skip-bo. I grabbed my trusty Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop and headed for a rickety card table in the car port. The blank screen glowed to life as a thunderstorm brewed in the distance. Lightening slashed across the night sky and thunder roared across the desert. Hail began to pelt the aluminum roof. And there I sat in front of a blank screen. I began to type. I had no idea where I would go or who I would meet. I simply stuck out my thumb and hopped on for the ride. It seemed like I was merely chronicling the events of the people I met along the way, Adrian, T'Sam, Sohilia and Theredone, Tracy and Kartel. Almost two years later I finished the story beneath another thunderstorm just a few miles away.
I met some amazing people while researching this story. I learned a lot about life, a little about telling a story and reminded myself a little about love.
Why you choose to go “indie”
The book that sits on David Spade's desk in the Capital One commercials, also sits on the desk of almost every publisher and agent in the world, 1001 Ways To Say NO! I tried the traditional approach to becoming a published writer. I bought all of the books and read all of their advice. I researched the publishers, who the current editors were, I researched other fiction writer's agents. Just like the books tell you to. Then I sent out a zillion (ok about two or three dozens) manuscripts. All of whom sent me Drop-dead-and-die letters. Some were nice, some vacant and others were down right nasty and mean. I even had Christopher Moore's agent Nick Ellison tell me he didn't handle fiction. Excuse me?
I was working for a high end label printing company at the time and there was talk about high speed digital printing. It was cheap and of a quality that was good enough for entry level publishing. One of these companies was 1st Books. A fledgling company that seemed to be sincere in their desire to change the publishing industry.
It made sense at the time, and in a few very stress filled and frustrating months, I was published. I think I'm still only a few grand upside down in the deal.
Biggest mistake(s) you made along the way
The cover sucks. OK that and one minor historical reference flaw. But seriously looking back on it, the cover sucks. One bit of advice, imagine your cover not as 6x9 but as 3/4 x 1. The Chronicles of Adrian Smith looks like cheap chocolate milk gone bad. There's a lot of cool stuff on the cover if you look closely. Next time around - better cover design. I acutally use the back cover now for promotion art.
Best thing that happened
I finished a book. 110,000 words, a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. A story that is unique and keeps the reader turning the page to see what happens next. Despite all of the naysayers, I did it. I wrote and published a story. And that was just the beginning.
Word of encouragement to other upcoming “indie’s”
Don't ever give up. Never, ever listen to anyone who does not fill you life, your hopes and your dreams with positive energy and encouragement. Forget the word "No". Erase it form your vocabulary and all of it's evil incantations. And, if you breathe so that you can have the strength to write, the find a way to take one small step closer to your dream every day.
