Hi Guys! Big news!

This isn’t Andross talking by the way, it’s me, the ThinkTwice, hi!

Mark of the Crijik book 1 is getting officially published! I’m over the moon to announce the launch of my debut published novel, available now through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, Paperback audiobook!

You can get it through these links:

Ebook: https://mybook.to/markofthecrijik1

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Mark-of-the-Crijik-Audiobook/B0BFRRQRQC

It’s always been a dream of mine to write a book and publish it. The picture book I wrote when I was ten only partially counts. Its actually really nerve wracking, but in the sense that a goal I’ve worked towards for so many years is actually happening.

A few people have asked what they can do to support or help with the release! This is how:

- Reviews and Ratings on Amazon (keeping in mind that anything below a 5 on amazon basically is a downvote because their ratings skew up) are the biggest help for a novice like me! You don't need to buy the book to rate or review either, which is nice. If you guys don’t mind, going on amazon.com and doing that would be fantastic. (Or your local amazon website!).

- A download on kindle unlimited helps too if you have it. Downloading or even reading the book makes the algorithm like the book more.

Please note, I've changed a few things for the Amazon release. Notably the biggest change was to Chapter 26. I think most people here would know what I'm talking about. I just didn't like that chapter at all.

Thank you so much for all your help!

Personal words for you guys (In depth, totally skippable if you want ^^):

Mark of the Crijik book 1 is getting officially published! Woo! Man, that's a rush to say. Or type. Or dictate.

It's always been a dream of mine to write a book, and also to publish a book. Technically I accomplished the writing dream when I was ten years old and wrote a picture book about a three eyed alien chicken, but this feels more official.

Now I've written a book, and I get to have it published too! Heck yeah!

Why a book though?

Here's my simple and uninspiring story.

Thirteen months (over a year) ago I lost the ability to use my arms, and then eventually my legs. As you can imagine, that kinda sucked. I lost my job. I lost my career (any long period of time not working is a career killer in my former industry). I lost any source of major income.

So there I was, basically a plank of wood in a bed. My muscles were gone, my health too. My limbs hurt every single second of every day back then. Morning, afternoon and night. I couldn't hold my phone due to the pain and eventually I couldn't even walk a few meters without going back home due to pain.

During those times I wanted to be productive. I needed it. So, I searched deep down inside day after day and tried to figure out what I wanted to do while I couldn't do anything. I searched deep within my heart and asked myself some serious questions. What I wanted to do in my life. What I wanted to be in the future. What I would do if I could never use my limbs again. Finally, I asked myself a simple question.

What would I do if I had the use of my limbs?

Would I go back to work? Would I hang out with the friends I'd hidden from because I was too afraid to tell them I couldn't drive or hold a fork anymore? Would I put on my jeans that I hadn't been able to wear anymore because my fingers were too weak to pull them up?

No.

It's rare for me to say this, but at that point in time there was no doubt about what I wanted to do. Every second of every hour of every day I only had one thought in my mind.

I wanted to write a book.

Not a web serial (which goes forever), or a smash hit. Just any book. Heck, I wanted to start with a short story. It didn't matter that I couldn't hold a pen. And it didn't matter that I couldn't type. Where there's a will there's a way.

And you bet your sweet ass I'd carve a path to my goal even if one didn't exist.

It took me a few months, but I learnt to type with my voice. Dictation. Not as fast as I used to be able to type, and not as easy, but I wanted to write a book and dang it I would write a book. Then my hands recovered enough to type a bit on a phone (not yet a keyboard). I used them to do basic edits through the google docs app and I've been working that way ever since.

I wrote a story called Mark of the Crijik for a short story contest and the rest is history!

Well, a little less sugar-coating now:

I mean, in all honesty, it really wasn't as easy as I make it out to be. It hurts to write a book. For me, that pain is both literally physical, and also mental. To go through constant criticism from people and my own mental anxiety has been a challenge in its own right. At some point before I'd healed enough to walk I was told by the specialist that I probably had MS or cancer. And then when I asked what else I could have they said MS or cancer. Yikes.

Thankfully, I had neither, but that took them ages to confirm and that was a lot of time where I was just in a constant state of worry.

Add the disability that still hasn't quite gone away and, well, sometimes it was tough.

But on the plus side, if you guys ever want motivation for whatever task you put your mind to, then I'm also happy to say that I never had any major doubts, nor major setbacks, and I was always happy writing. Accomplishing my goal has made powering through a bad situation more rewarding than I could ever imagine. For one thing, it led me to all of you, and if my books bring joy to you guys for even one chapter of paragraph then that's been worth it for me ^^

So what about Amazon?

Well, just as I finished my first book a publishing company contacted me back in February. Then another. And now a few months later that second one (Aethon) is publishing my book. Honestly, I know a lot of people on royalroad don't read on amazon, but for me its like taking a step into the next level. A new ocean of readers to spread my words into, while keeping you all on RoyalRoad further ahead at the same time.

Like I said before, its both a dream come true and a life goal being accomplished at the same time.

I'm just so excited!

So whether it's considered arrogance or celebration, I'd like to take joy in the fact that this dream of mine is being fulfilled. I know it may upset some people that I'm going to amazon, but the truth is it was likely always going to happen, even if I wasn't fulfilling all my childhood/life dreams because as I said before, I have no other means of income.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to get a job due to the disability. That means I have literally gotten no money except from patreon in the last fourteen months. The flow of income from Amazon is a welcome bonus, and also means I'm officially transitioning to this as a job (All it took was working full-time hours for months!) which doesn't rely solely on patreon payments.

Wondering about my country's pension? Unfortunately (I'm still searching for more answers) I'm officially undiagnosable according to the specialists. I've done all the tests. I've seen all the relevant specialists. And yet I'm still disabled. Which means I can't get disability pension in my country (the issue has to be diagnosed to get the pension).

It'll heal. I have hope of that and I can also see that as time passes I'm getting better. I'm miles and miles ahead of where I was just a few months ago. But it'll take time to fully recover. Maybe I never will.

Until then, I do what I must to survive. Write books.

It just so happens that what I have to do to survive, is also what I love. I made sure of that with my own two hands (sort of).

Final words:

Look at me yapping on! I won't take up much more of your time!

It's been great writing Mark of the Crijik. Whether it does well on amazon or not, it's been a series I love. I love the characters, and the world, and it's given me strides of joy. To have it published is my ultimate gift to the story. It deserves the best, and for me publishing is that endgame that all stories reach eventually. That and being a complete series. I'm still working on that part.

Once again, thank you for reading!

Without you guys, none of this would ever have been possible.