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So You Decided to Join Mastodon-Now What?

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it, Life Hacks, Product, Service, and Software Reviews

The future of Twitter is uncertain, leaving many to wonder where to take their social media addiction next. An alternative that has seen a massive upswing in registered users in the days following the announcement of Twitter’s new direction is Mastodon. While this service offers a similar platform for networking and sharing thoughts, it is not a drop-in replacement and does require a bit to get used to it. However, if you don’t mind doing a little homework, it can be an option for those who value connection over viral engagement.

As someone who has decided to start fresh with a new social network, here are some tips I found for making the process smoother:

find your club

Picture the stereotypical opening of any American film set at a college or university. In almost every movie, the main characters walk around a series of tables for the school’s clubs, fraternities, or sororities.

The students manning these tables are typically striking in their differences. You might see a group of pale darkly-dressed “goths” at one and a group of boisterous student-athletes at another. Both tables clearly have different aesthetics, rules for entry, communication preferences, and likely vastly different interests, and yet are both bound, at least at a high-level by their school charter.

This is how Mastodon’s servers work. Each server “instance” is like a club with an independent admin who sets the rules for who gets to join, how many people they want to support, and what they will allow people in the instance to post about. At the risk of taking my metaphor a little too far here, some admins are like Ravenclaw—they only want the academics, while others are Hufflepuff and will take anyone. However, both groups ultimately call Hogwarts home.

The list of available instances has been growing almost as fast as the number of new people on the platform. Luckily, there is a wizard to help you narrow down your options.

One word of caution—there is no such thing as a popularity club on Mastodon. If you are all about the quantity of followers and not the quality, this is not the platform for you.

Preview Posts

When you think you have identified the instance that best fits what you want to read, and post about most, give it a test drive by typing in the name of the instance into your search bar with “/public” at the end. For example, one of the many instances the wizard suggested I consider joining is wandering.shop based on my interest in science fiction and fantasy. By typing “wandering.shop/public” into my browser bar, I can see what sort of posts belong there and make a more informed opinion.

There are also groups for those with a passion for politics, programmers, scientists, and musicians. There are also generalist groups for those, like myself, who enjoy variety. Don’t worry too much about making a bad decision, you can always change what instance you join later if you find out that it isn’t the group for you after all.

Review the Rules

Remember how I said that each admin gets to set the rules? What you can and can’t post varies based on the instance you join. Some allow you to re-blog/boosts from other instances or share posts from your other social media platforms. Others don’t. Make sure you understand what is permitted and what will get you booted before you join.

Request Admission

Some instances let you join with just the click of a button. Others will require you to go on a “waiting list.” It’s up to the admin. While this might frustrate some people used to instant gratification, it’s not all that different of a process than what many Facebook group admins ask you to do to ensure that those who already belong in the instance won’t suddenly get spammed by self-promotion or riled up by angry trolls.

Also, if you consider yourself to be an influencer already, and likely to bring thousands if not millions of followers with you when you join, consider emailing the admin directly before requesting to join. Mastodon is run off of independent servers, which can crash if traffic suddenly skyrockets.

Create Your Profile

Creating a profile is much the same on Mastodon as it is on Twitter. You can add an avatar and header image and link your account to your website. (Fun fact, if your website plan allows it, Mastodon will give you a bit of code that will “verify” you are the site’s owner—no blue checkmark required). I’ve read that it is considered “cringe” by original Mastodon users to use one’s actual name and face as an avatar, but I did so out to help people moving from other platforms recognize me. (I also have a teenager now and am well used to being cringe).

set your preferences

Mastodon lets you set a number of preferences that aren’t options on other platforms. You can add filters, which will automatically hide posts that mention triggering words behind a content warning block, or you can open your feed up to hide absolutely nothing. You can set it to only show posts written in a single language or make your experience as multi-lingual as you are. You can even set time limits on how long the server should host your old posts.

Introduce Yourself

When you are all set to make your grand debut, write up a summary of your interests in a post using #Introduction. Feel free to pin this post to the top of your profile. Or don’t. Completely up to you. You can then build more connections by following others and sharing their content using the reblog/boost feature.

Screenshot of my initial introduction post which reads: Hi all, When not writing, I love to talk about #books, #movies, and #television. I am particularly fond of #scifi #fantasy, #dystopia, and #mystery, but I enjoy most any #fiction. I'm fascinated by #space and #technology and thoroughly enjoy a good pun or dad joke. #introduction

I will admit that joining yet another platform was not exactly high on my wish list, and I hate that I may have lost connection with some of my Twitter friends, but I’d like to think that our paths may yet cross again. In the meantime, I am enjoying the opportunity to make new connections, learn more tricks, and in some ways reinvent myself. If you happen to do the same, feel free to reach out and say hi. @alliepotts

A Collection of Micro Fiction Past

by Allie P., posted in Short Fiction

I often compare novel writing to running a marathon, and like running a marathon, you are more likely to survive the experience if you train. For me, pushing my creative muscles involved dabbling in the occasional flash fiction or taking part in a micro-fiction prompt. It occurred to me that recent changes to social networks, where many of these challenges take place, could soon result in the loss of many writers’ words unless we take steps to preserve them by republishing them elsewhere.

As a result, I thought it best to share some of my past entries through the years:

On Writing

Tap. I stare at the screen. Tap. The letter ceases to be. Tap. Pause. Tap. Nah, that’s not it either. Tap – the pulse of writer’s block.

My finger hovered over the publish button before dropping back to my side. No one will read this. Why bother? I shut the screen.

On Work

As she stared at the pile of bills, surpassed in size only by the pile of laundry, she moaned, “Why me?” The heavens answered – why not?

A figure—a gruesome visage—came stumbling into the room. Groans brought others. One reached for me. I handed over coffee. Our workday began.

Retirement is in my five-year plan, Joe told everyone each year. A decade later, he toiled still in the ground, while others rested.

On Life

I looked into a pane of glass. Windows of what if and could be reflected back at me. Behind me were a thousand might-have-beens. I stood in the center of the hall of mirrors, lost in the infinite possibility.

Hairs on the back of my neck tingled while thunder crashed all around, however, the time for fear was over, for I was the larger storm.

“A cup for every occasion! An occasion for every cup.” The merchant called. I walked on, preferring my poison straight from the bottle.

“Did you hear…?” Did you see…?” I listened closely. I was vain enough to think they were talking about me.

99% of patients experienced no side effects at all, the package read. Just my luck. I was finally a member of the 1%

The glow of the outlet store’s doors beckoned in the pre-dawn morning as deal hunters checked the ties of their laces. The race was on.

On Family

Her face, which caught my eye in passing, did not launch 1000 ships. She did better. She made our family whole.

Bits of colored paper, tangled string, and broken crayons. What others saw as junk, I saw as memorabilia of a childhood well spent.

She gave the children candy and took away their mother’s coffee. This Nana was not to be trifled with.

Some photos I take to record innocence of childhood. Others I take to help preserve innocence of a different sort for when my child tries dating.

I opened the door. My eyes widened at what I’d found. A pile of socks—lost from laundry days past—there once more. Magic must exist.

A peculiar odor tickled Nancy’s nose. Did Drew leave his socks out? She chased the scent. The hamster hadn’t gone to the farm after all.

Once there was a girl who laughed and loved. It was only when she ventured outside that she learned her life was considered a fairy tale.

Staring into the mirror, the girls chanted Bloody Mary. Laughing, they tumbled outside only to realize too late what had answered.

On Endings

$1,000,000 flashed on the screen. All I had to do was buzz in and claim it. A single word. A single answer. That was all I needed. BEEP!

A black screen reflected my image. I looked up from my depleted phone. I was the only one. My world was dark, though the sun shone.

Troubled thoughts swirled. Unanswered calls. Receipts for gifts unreceived. Her gut told her one thing, but her heart another.

A series of beeps, playing on repeat over radio waves. An upside-down flag. The zombies stumbled on, oblivious to it all.

The wave crested while we lay sleeping, its approach silent until far too late. I woke to the sea’s icy touch and then I knew no more.

If you enjoyed these short tales, I encourage you to check out more of my flash and micro-fiction. This can be found alongside of the work of a wonderful mix of other writers in The Shadows We Breathe, vol. 1 & 2, short fiction anthologies, edited by Sarah Brentyn.

Ebook Formats: The Quick Guide for Getting Your Book On Digital Shelves

by Allie P., posted in General Tips and Tricks, Writing and Publishing Tips

The following is a continuation of my I Want to Self-Publish – Now What? series.

I was, and am, a reader before I was a writer. I take pride in my overstuffed bookshelves. I love the look and feel of a printed story. Unfortunately, I have only so much space in my house for books. Tragic, I know. Thank goodness for the invention of ebooks and the ereader.

ebook formats

Ebook Formats

Ebooks are the digital version of your book that people can access on dedicated devices known as ereaders or on their phones, tablets, or on desktop reading programs. They require little to any cost to setup, don’t require you to carry any inventory, and can be updated on the fly if you find a pesky typo or two immediately following publication.

Their low production cost also makes it possible to offer them to readers at a low price point or for free, making ebooks a great option for authors who are just getting started growing their following. That said, there is more than one accepted format for ebooks.

The major types are:

  • Mobi: this is the file format that was supported Kindle, until June 28, 2021, and could be set up with or without digital rights management (DRM) during the Kindle book setup process. The DRM feature was designed to help protect books from piracy, as it prevents the book owner from lending their licensed copy of the ebook to another reader. However, the feature has proven to do little in that regard except to cause additional frustration. Therefore, many authors in my circles turn this setting off. The file format is still supported on older devices, so you can still send direct copies of your book to many reviewers using this format, but moving forward consider using one of the other listed here options.
  • epub: is more device-agnostic than mobi files, meaning it can be used on Nooks as well as other readers. This makes it a useful file type to have on hand if you want to sell your ebook, or send advance review copies of your book directly to readers outside of the Amazon ecosystem.
  • pdf: you absolutely can offer your ebook in pdf format, and in some cases, like instructional non-fiction, this format makes sense as it is best for desktop viewing. However, I do not recommend it for novel-length fiction.

If you are wondering how to convert your manuscript from a .doc file to an ebook, you should check out my article on ebook conversion.

Kindle Select vs Going Wide

Kindle Select is an Amazon program that provides authors with advertising incentives and an alternative revenue stream for their ebook via its Kindle Unlimited platform for the exclusive right to sell the ebook. This means that by signing up for the program you agree not to sell your ebook on any other website—including your own. In return, you will get paid a royalty for book sales while also getting paid for pages read by Kindle Unlimited subscribers. You also can offer countdown deals or temporary price reductions to your readers.

Please note, you can grant Amazon exclusive rights to sell your ebook while still offering print books for sale on other platforms.

Going wide is the practice of putting your ebook up for sale on multiple retail sites. While this strategy prevents you from earning money from page reads, it means that you’d still have a sales channel if, heavens forbid, Amazon decided your book violated their terms of sale or was forced out of the publishing industry altogether through some anti-trust ruling. Yes, that last one is unlikely to happen, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

I took part in the Kindle Select program for the first year or so of my publishing career and as a new, unknown author, I loved being part of Kindle Unlimited as it encouraged readers to take a chance with me by eliminating their financial risk, while still paying me for that effort. However, I’ve since gone wide as I feel more secure with diversification.

How to Distribute your Ebook for Resale

Once you have decided on whether you want to be exclusive or go wide, the next step is getting retailers to agree to sell your ebook on your behalf. I will say this process is significantly easier for ebooks than it is for print books, which I’ll discuss in more detail in another post. All you have to do is create an account, fill in a form (or five), supply a site with your tax forms and bank routing information (so that you can get paid), upload files, and hit a publish or approve button.

Most sites will send your files to a human reviewer just to make sure the quality of your book conforms to their requirements, but in my experience, it only takes between 1 and 3 days before you book is available for purchase.

Ebook Retail Sites

To publish directly on Amazon, you will need to create an account on kdp.amazon.com. You can convert your manuscript to an ebook format like epub or mobi in advance, but you don’t have to as Amazon will accept word doc files.

Outside of Amazon, the next big distributors in the ebook space are Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble Press (Nook) and Kobo (Writing Life). Please note, up until very recently you could only publish directly with Apple if you use a Mac. This meant that non-Mac users who wanted to publish their ebooks directly had to use a service like Macincloud in order to ‘rent’ a virtual Mac if they didn’t have a Mac-owning friend willing to their device for a few hours.

Google Play is another distributor, but personally, I’m not a fan of that platform as its rules can be confusing and I’ve seen a number of books pirated from that channel. Pirating, by the way, is the term used to describe what happens when someone downloads a copy of your book and republishes it on another sales channel without your permission and without sharing any of the profits.

Each site has its own slightly different setup process. Therefore, you will want to familiarize yourself with the specific requirements of whichever site you choose at least a week before you start telling your audience where you will be publishing your book. That said, if you plan to publish directly on multiple sites, you can save yourself some administrative headache by using a program called WideWizard which helps auto-populate set up forms.

Ebook Retail Aggregator Sites

If you’d rather not deal with the joy of managing logins, finicky user interfaces, and multiple tax forms,  but still want your ebook to be available for sale on multiple resale sites, you will want to use an aggregator service. Some, but not all, will take care of converting your book from a word doc to an ebook format before sending your book to retail sites. Additionally, some will also take a portion of your profits in return for taking care of distribution for you.

A company called Draft2Digital (affiliate link) is my favorite of these services for ease of use, but does take a small percentage of your sales. Smashwords is both an aggregator and a retail distributor site, which I’ve also used in the past. In addition, Smashwords is completely free, but is significantly more difficult to use. Smashwords is expected to be acquired by Draft2Digital in March of 2022, with the idea that the blended company will provide authors with the best of both service’s offerings, but time will tell if this proves to be true. BookBaby and PublishDrive are two other aggregators, however I don’t have experience with either of them.

If you can’t decide whether you want to publish directly or use an aggregator, guess what? You can use both! I personally publish directly on Amazon and use Draft2Digital to publish the ebook everywhere else, however, I have heard from many authors that it is also a good idea to publish directly on Kobo too just because by doing so you are able to use Kobo’s ad services.

Once again, the best part about self-publishing is, the choice is up to you.

The next post in this series is: Print Book Formats & Printing Options

However, if you would prefer not to navigate through a number of posts, I have also consolidated the entire series into a single downloadable PDF, which you can access by clicking here.

5 Free Alternatives to Vellum – The Ebook Conversion Edition

by Allie P., posted in General Tips and Tricks, Product, Service, and Software Reviews, Writing and Publishing Tips

Vellum Alternatives for Ebook Conversion - www.alliepottswrites.com

While downloading ebooks to your reader is simple, getting them up on the cloud in the first place requires some work. I write my books using Word, however, just because you can import your manuscript’s formatted-for-print-ready Word document into Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon), doesn’t mean you necessarily should.

For example, you may want to include a table of contents in your ebook for easy navigation, but don’t want one in the print version, or you may want to include links in your ebook pointing readers directly to your other books, making purchasing faster. There are also other distributors besides Amazon that require a specific format for ebooks called epub. This leads me to the next step in the book publishing process – ebook conversion.

Vellum

Vellum offers formatting for print as well as ebook conversion. However, lacking a Mac or a bottomless checkbook, I’ve only been able to appreciate its service as a reader. I can tell it must be awesome to use though based on the number of books I’ve read featuring one of its telltale templates. Don’t get me wrong – it creates highly readable ebooks. I’ve just seen enough of the same decorative flourishes to recognize a Vellum ebook as soon as a chapter opens.

  • Pro: Super easy to use
  • Con: Costly at $199.99, it’s not available for non-Mac users (unless you go through a third-party service like MacinCloud), and your book looks like dozens of others making it more difficult for your author brand to stand out from the crowd.

Smashwords

Smashwords is an ebook conversion service and distribution channel. It is also one of the most difficult ebook conversion tools I’ve ever used. This is because Smashwords distributes your book to channels like Apple books, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble for you, and those channels may have slightly different requirements for an ebook’s file’s layout. Therefore, Smashwords is VERY particular about how your manuscript is formatted prior to releasing it to partner sites and works best with Word files. Fail their checks during the process they call “the Meatgrinder” and your book goes nowhere.

  • Pro: Converts to all major ebook formats including mobi, epub, and pdf for free. It also offers a tool for self-certifying your content does not contain certain taboo subjects, which increases the chance those who publish more risqué material can distribute their books to a larger audience.
  • Con: I am serious when I say this service is NOT recommended for people who don’t know how to use Word styles or are unwilling to read through an entire book of “style guides” prior to attempting to convert their file. There is a reason you can find people to hire on Fiverr to get your file ready for you. Also, once your book passes inspection, it is put up for sale without going through a secondary preview approval step. This means there is a risk your book could be published with typos or with a missing chapter as long as stylistically it fit within the Smashwords Style Guides.

It is worth however noting that Smashwords announced in February of 2022, that it has been acquired by competitor, Draft2Digital in March and that moving forward the company would operate under that brand name. This leads me to the next option:

Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital (affiliate link) is like Smashwords in that it is a distributor that also offers ebook conversion. However, it is much, much simpler to use. Upload your word doc, select a template, and then add in things like your social media links, mailing list link, or author page, and Draft2Digital spits out a book file you can either take and distribute through other channels yourself or distribute through them for a portion of future book sales.

  • Pro: It is fast, simple, and lets you download mobi, epub, and sample length versions of your ebook for free – even if you don’t distribute with them.
  • Con: Draft2Digital does not allow you to edit your file once it has been uploaded. Therefore, if you see a typo or a weird chapter heading, you have to go back to your original document, correct the error on the word doc and upload again.

As mentioned above, Draft2Digital and Smashwords are combining forces. Per their press release, the combined company will allow users to either take advantage of Draft2Digital’s existing, more user-friendly, but less customizable formatting tool for ebook conversion, or allow braver and infinitely more-patient authors the option of creating more unique ebook’s using Smashwords’ tool.

This merger will eventually make all Smashwords users, Draft2Digital (D2D) users, so if you are debating which of the two is best for you, I would recommend going ahead and signing up with D2D.

Kindle Create

Kindle Create is still somewhat limited in what it can do compared to some of the other ebook conversion programs out there. For example, there are only a handful of templates to choose from and it only exports a special non-mobi kindle-ready format. It also requires you to download the software rather than work online. However, it’s another free option that produces nice, clean ebook files, and unlike Draft2Digital, gives you the ability to tweak chapter headings or resize images without leaving the user interface.

  • Pro: It’s even easier to use than Draft2Digital, includes a kindle previewer tool that lets you see how your book will look on multiple device sizes, and free!
  • Con: It doesn’t export to epub or mobi file, which limits your ability to use it to create advance copies of your ebook that can be sent via email or service like ProlificWorks, Bookfunnel, or via email to early reviewers.

Reedsy

When you format a book with Reedsy (affiliate link) you have the option to either have them email you a print-ready file or send you an epub or mobi file you can then take to the ebook distributor of your choice. Like Kindle Create, you can edit your ebook’s appearance in the user interface, which is great, but its editing capability is limited compared to Kindle Create. For example, while you can correct a typo in your text without re-uploading, you can’t resize an image. I also had a very difficult time getting the program to properly format my character point of view sub-headings without messing up drop caps.

  • Pro: The ability to edit your book without leaving the user interface is a big plus over Draft2Digital the fact you can download in both epub and mobi is a great benefit compared to Kindle Create
  • Con: Reedsy does not allow you to select chapter-specific settings. For example, if you say you want to feature drop caps at the beginning of each chapter, the program inserts drop caps in every chapter—even in the glossary at the end, which can be distracting to the reader. Downloads aren’t as instantaneous as the other options either. You have to wait for an email and can only request a download every ten minutes. There are also only three templates to choose from. The service also makes it extremely difficult to delete a book from their service once it has been uploaded. You can archive it, but not delete it. Therefore, it is not recommended for those who aren’t yet sure they want to trust the security of other people’s servers with their manuscript just yet.

Calibre and Sigil

While you can technically use either of these programs by themselves, they really work best together. Calibre has the ability to take a Word Doc (saved as HTML) and turn it into epub or mobi file using the headers, fonts, or other decorative touches you specify. This makes layouts more flexible, and gives your books a more custom look than what you can do with the other programs.

Sigil is more of clean-up tool than a conversion program. You can import an epub file you created with Calibre or with any of the programs above (except Kindle Create as it doesn’t offer epub), then tweak it until it looks the way you want, giving you the ability to customize the files generated by other programs. It makes fixing those pesky typos that somehow managed to sneak past your edit process super fast once you get the hang of it, but until then…

To be clear, neither of these programs are for the technologically challenged, and both require some comfort with programming. Personally, I love Sigil now, but it was a hard-won love.

  • Pro: This combination gives you the greatest range of customization for your ebook’s appearance and both programs are free to us
  • Con: Both programs have a rather steep learning curve and may cause a person to shake their fist in the air, sob into the phone while wondering what they ever did to deserve such agony, or be driven to drink.

I am sure there are other programs out there, but these are the ones I’ve used the most. Now, one step done, one million other little things left to go.

Rocky Row Novels - www.alliepottswrites.com
An Uncertain Confidence: Now available

Project Gene Assist Origin Story

by Allie P., posted in Book Stuff and Publishing News

I am happy to announce that as of this post’s publication, Project Gene Assist: The Complete Series is available for purchase in both ebook and paperback editions. In it, you can find all three books in the trilogy: The Fair & Foul, The Watch & Wand, and Lies & Legacy in one convenient volume. But what is Project Gene Assist about exactly?

Well, like all stories, it’s a journey, and one that started out a long, long time ago—junior high, to be exact.

A friend handed me a novel in between classes about a group of three boys who all happened to be born around the same time as a Chosen One was prophesied to appear. This Chosen One was destined to fight against the Dark One in the Last Battle, but could also go mad and burn the rest of the world down in the process. Color me intrigued.

It also helped that the person leading the three boys on their epic journey was a female Gandalf-like character. It also contained other strong supporting female characters with their own destinies, along with monsters, betrayal, and political machinations. The novel my friend gave me was the first half of the first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

If it sounds familiar, it is because it has been picked up by Amazon Studios in the hopes that it will become the next Game of Thrones.

At the time of this writing, I have no idea how the story will play out on the small screen. Previous attempts have been laughable at best due to the epic and continent-spanning nature of the story itself, and the trailer alone makes it clear that they are taking a few creative liberties. I’ll still give it a chance though. Considering how much of my life has been spent reading and re-reading these books. It would be a crime not to.

Photograph of books 1-13 of Robert Jordna's Wheel of Time series plus its prequel, New Spring
Exhibit A

As much as I enjoyed the series and its three-dimensional main characters, I have to admit that what really hooked me in that initial book was how the author portrayed one of its villains. As to not spoil the series, I won’t go into the details, but she wasn’t what you would traditionally describe as a bad guy. She just happened make one really big mistake which led to more really bad things. Okay, so “really bad” might be a bit of an understatement here, but even so, I found her to be strangely sympathetic.

I found myself wondering what could have driven a person like her to that point. She wasn’t a sadist or sociopath like so many other cookie-cutter villains. If anything, the root of her sin was love, though I suppose some might also call it an obsession. Still, I had to think there had to be more to her origin. There had to be a catalyst no one talked about. Throughout the series, Robert Jordan had given some hints, but much of the character’s backstory is told from other characters’ points of view.

My brain attempted to fill in the gaps, but my brain didn’t stop there. The Wheel of Time also makes several references to a time of technological wonder that was lost long before the series’ main events unfold. I found myself wondering what it must have been like to live during the transition from age of wonder to pre-industrial. It must have felt apocalyptic. My brain filled in more gaps. The result was an early draft of Juliane’s story in The Fair and Foul.

The story changed during the revision process to become more and more my own. This also allowed Juliane to also grow into her own unique character—a heroine in her own right rather than a future villain. Although she did have a bad habit of stealing scenes intended for other characters.

So what is Project Gene Assist about? In short, it’s about good intentions gone astray, trust, found family, and the invention of magic set in the not too distant future. It is not, however, anything like the Wheel of Time. For one, there are only three books (one if you prefer the omnibus edition), not fourteen plus a prequel. It also only has two points of view. In fact, it is much more in line with the writing style of Anne McCaffrey, whose books about genetically engineered dragons also feature heavily on my shelves.

Photograph of books by Anne McCaffrey among other authors on my bookshelf
Exhibit B

That said, I hope those who enjoy science fiction dystopian / post-apocalyptic tales, or worry about what might happen when technology becomes even more integrated into our daily lives than it is now, will check Project Gene Assist out. Who knows, maybe it will inspire another story or two one day.

Ready or not, the next era of human evolution is here
Buy Project Gene Assist

What about you? What books have left you thinking about its characters long after the story is complete?