I Am The Salamander - A Kickstarter Project by Michael Jan
Friedman
Fans of Star Trek novels are all familiar with the work of
author Mike Friedman. We have come to
appreciate his work as fine quality reading in that universe. Now Mike is going indie and working on publishing
a new novel aimed at young adults, creating a new universe with a superhero at
the center. And this new superhero is…
A salamander?
As a youngster growing up on the west coast, I used to play
with salamanders and never really thought of them as very menacing. I asked Mike about this and he responded:
“Salamanders are certainly NOT menacing, I
agree. That was part of the challenge for me. I wanted to take something that
was yucky like a bat or a spider (because if you're going to imitate, why not
imitate the best?) but also quirky, with "powers" very different from
the kind you see in most superheroes (super strength, speed, flying ability,
etc.). I was pleased to find out that salamanders DO suggest an interesting
array of powers even if they're not super strong or super-fast. One power I've
mentioned elsewhere is the ability to see into the ultraviolet end of the
spectrum. But there are others, which you'll find out when you read the book.”
All kidding aside though, this is a serious
project that Mike has been thinking about for a long time. You see, his hero, Tim Cruz, is a juvenile
cancer survivor. Don’t misunderstand though;
this new book isn’t about cancer as much as it is intended to be an inspiration
for kids that are suffering from debilitating illnesses. The author has chosen to tell this story in
the superhero format because he, as many of us were, inspired by comic book superheroes
ourselves.
So why is Mike trying to fund this through
Kickstarter rather than publishing through his normal channels? Well, it is because he wants this to be
something that can be available for a long time. The shelf life of novels in stores when
published through the major publishing houses is limited. I also asked Mike about this…
“Regarding shelf life: Obviously it depends
on the book and how well it's selling. However, it's not unusual for even a
relatively successful sci-fi novel to remain on the shelves for just a few
months. Book store shelf life has devolved into the magazine range. Part of the
reason is the need to make room for new books, which are showing up at an
increased rate because publishers aren't making as much on the sales volume of
a given title; the only way to meet gross profit goals is to put out MORE
titles.”
So, in order to assure that this book is
available far into the future, he is asking that we invest $5000 to defray the
costs of paper, printing, and cover art.
He can tell you far better than I can, so here is the video that appears
on the I Am The Salamander Kicstarter
page…
I am more than happy to assist Mike in
raising the funding for this project because my own life has been touched by
juvenile cancer in ways that I am not at liberty to discuss on this forum. But also, suffice it to say that as a
professional educator, I will welcome anything that will give hope and
inspiration to kids, especially those who have little hope and know too much
discouragement in their lives. And we
all know that this will be quality work considering it is from the mind of a
fine author.
Here are the links to follow:
- I Am The Salamander Kickstarter Page
- Michael Jan Friedman's Official Web Page
- Dayton Ward's Blog Post on I Am The Salamander Kickstarter Project
Check out the Kickstarter page to see how the project is going and see what perks you will receive once the project is funded.
Well, there it is…
QaplaH’!
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