The Restless Dead - Child's Play Charity

BOOK IS NOW BACK ON SALE!

So what’s the deal with this book?

It’s called ‘The Restless Dead’. I wrote it for National Novel Writing Month. I intended just to write it for fun, but when I was finished, I really liked it and decided to make it available as a Paperback.

A self-published book? Really?

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was originally just going to get the free copy for myself, just as something cool to put on my shelf…but then I had an idea:

People like reading and people like giving money to good causes, so I thought: Why not combine the two?

Combine the two? How?

Here’s the deal: Every single penny I make on copies sold between today and January 23rd will got directly to Child's Play.

What’s Child’s Play?

Ok, Imagine being a kid stuck in hospital during Christmas. Or spending hours and hours every week hooked up to a dialysis machine or a chemotherapy drip. Child’s Play donates millions of dollars every year to make life easier for these kids by donating toys and games to hospitals.

Spending six hours hooked up to a dialysis machine is a lot easier if you have a games console or an iPod to take your mind off the pain.

You can find out more here

That sounds awesome, but what’s this book about? Will it interest me?

It’s about Zombies! Everyone loves Zombies!

Zombies? Let me guess…they get trapped in a mall…

The exact opposite actually. I deliberately set out to avoid all the stereotypes. There are no malls, no religious crazies proclaiming the end of the world. It’s about perfectly normal people just trying to survive in an extraordinary situation.

Okay, okay…I like the charity thing and I love Zombies…but why should I buy a book written by you?

Fair question. I can’t guarantee you’ll like it, but I can tell you I’ve been published before by short fiction magazines that actually paid me for my work…and I have a degree is in English Language, Literature and Writing Studies. I’m not a great writer, but I’m definitely a competent one.

All I can say is everyone who’s read it so far has enjoyed it.

So how much does it cost?

It costs 12.99.

$12.99 for a paperback? Isn’t that a little expensive?

In a word, yes. I’d love to sell it for less, but that’s the unfortunate reality of print on demand. I simply don’t have three or four grand lying around to buy a print run of a thousand copies (and nowhere to store them even if I did). Basically, out of the 12.99 you pay for the book, I make a little over three dollars.

But still…$12.99…

I know, I know…it’s still expensive, so here’s a sweetener: After you order your copy, forward your order confirmation to me, I’ll send you a free PDF copy to read on your laptop. That means you get the physical paperback a free digital copy and you’re donating three dollars to an awesome charity. The PDFs will be sent out in January.

You’re not taking anything?

Nope. For the whole month, 100% of my share goes to Child’s Play.

Why?

Here’s the thing. Regardless of quality, there’s no way a self-published book is ever going to be a best seller.

I wrote the book for fun, not to make money… and people are far more likely to buy a book if the profits are going to a charity they believe in. So I had a choice: I could either make myself a little bit of ‘beer and pizza money’, or try raise a couple hundred dollars for Child’s Play. That choice was easy.

Anything else?

I should say that while the profits are going to the kids, this book isn't for kids. As you'd probably expect from a story about the Zombie Apocalypse, there's quite a lot of violence and strong language.

So when and where can I buy it?

You can buy it right now! Click here

When you order your copy, forward your order confirmation to restlessdeadnovel@gmail.com

If you have any other questions, you can ask me anything you like on Formspring