Reluctant Android has been out for two months now and to my great relief has garnered a few positive reviews from diverse sources. Sales are another matter. Those are, at best, negligible. Nevertheless, a collection of reviews might eventually lead to some sales, should the novel ever be discovered.
Discovery is the paramount problem for self-published work. There are methods to improve the chances of discovery, such as advertising and other forms of marketing, but none of those seem effective to me, and furthermore, I have abs(0) interest in doing them. But I did rise to the challenge for the upcoming TUSCON sci-fi conference which begins November 9.
TUS is the airport code, and CON means convention, so even though it always looks like a misspelling, the TUSCON conference in Tucson is a lot of fun. It’s a regional affair involving numerous speakers and presentations ranging from hard science coming out of U of A and the Lunar and Planetary Lab, for example, to totally whimsical fantasy, with some truly bizarre cosplay that surely serves a social good for the mentally ill population.
I took out a tiny ad in the conference brochure. It was cheap enough so that even though I have no idea if advertising can do anything for me, I thought I’d try. It’s black-and-white only, and I’ll be curious to see if anything comes of it.
I did notice that at the bottom of the TUSCON-45 web page (https://tusconscificon.com/) Reluctant Android is featured in a grossly distorted image as a “current advertiser.” So that’s a freebie, for whatever it’s worth.
I plan to attend a few of the scientific sessions and just sample the flavor of the gathering so even if the advertising is a bust, I’ll still have a good time, and I’m sure the Reluctant Android will, too.
Review:
Brilliant! Reluctant Android is a fast-paced fascinating story presented at a time when our sense of reality is challenged by artificial intelligence, smart appliances, holographic designs, virtual reality devices and more.
William Adams challenges us to reevaluate our belief systems and world views. Discourse about what makes us ‘human’ is especially intriguing, funny, albeit exasperating. We learn that humans are afflicted with emotionality, subjectivity and bias that appear absurd to a robot’s logical way of thinking.
Reluctant Android will appeal to deep thinking souls in search of meaning, regardless of gender and age. A totally satisfying reading experience!