It still needed a lot of work, though. I went through one major revision that spring and another in the summer. Each time, my first readers told me in no uncertain terms that it needed work, and their frank criticism was immensely helpful, if sometimes a little harsh. By the end of summer 2009, I felt I had something I could send to New York.

  Over the course of the next year, I sent the manuscript out to dozens of agents and editors. In total, Genesis Earth accrued 18 form rejections, 2 personalized rejections, 1 rejection after a request for a partial manuscript, 1 rejection after a request for the full manuscript, and 8 no responses. I’d already moved on to other projects, so I wasn’t too discouraged by all this, but I’ll admit it was a difficult process. To make the book better, I revised it two more times and sent it out to another batch of first readers for critique. Their responses were generally positive, so I knew I was going in the right direction.

  In the fall of 2010, a friend sent me a link to Joe Konrath’s blog post titled “You Should Self-Publish.” It completely blew my mind—everything he said was totally against the mainstream publishing paradigm, and yet it made surprising sense. Soon afterward, I discovered Dean Wesley Smith’s blog and Kristine Katherine Rusch’s “The Business Rusch” series, and I realized that publishing was in the midst of a revolution. Far from being frightened, the rapid pace of change thrilled and excited me. I decided to enter the indie publishing waters with a few of my short stories, mostly just to learn the new system and find out if it was something I could do.

  At the same time, I submitted Genesis Earth to the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. To my delight, it made the first and second cut, becoming one of 250 novels to go on to the quarter-finals in the Young Adult category. Both of the Amazon expert reviewers had a lot of positive things to say about it—one of them even asked whether the book was already available, because she wanted to finish it. I got a similar response from friends and friends of friends who read the free 5,000 word excerpt.

  The day the semi-finalists were announced, I was a nervous wreck. I felt I had a decent chance of winning, which only made me more nervous. Sadly, it didn’t make the cut. Of course I was disappointed, but if that was all that had happened, it wouldn’t have really affected me. However, the review from Publisher’s Weekly got a little under my skin:

  What begins as a muted space opera unspools into a slow-moving and clumsy adventure as Michael and Terra are sent on an 80-year, history-making mission to look for life on the other side of a wormhole. As Michael and Terra drift through space, Terra is described as possibly having a “schizoid and paranoid personality disorder,” though this potentially crucial detail never leads anywhere. Eventually, another spaceship is encountered, but this also goes nowhere. Later, Michael gains access to yet another spaceship where he encounters an artificial intelligence that attempts to blast him back to Earth. However, Terra manages to save him. Eventually, the story does make an attempt to find direction and purpose, but the plot remains murky, with hints of an evolution-creation collision that never quite materializes. Whatever the author was trying to get at here is a mystery.

  When I read that, something inside of me clicked, and I knew that I had to go indie. With so many conflicting signals from New York, I had to get Genesis Earth out to the readers directly, to let them decide whether it’s a story of any worth.

  And that’s where you enter into this story. No book truly comes to life until it is read, so thank you for bringing life to this one. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, I hope you’ll check out my other books as well. My goal is to publish at least two novels per year, not including novellas and short stories. As for sequels to Genesis Earth, I plan to eventually expand it into a trilogy, and I’ve already picked out the titles for the next two books: Edenfall and The Stars of Redemption.

  If you would like to help me out, the best thing you could do is post a review or tell a friend. Feel free to check out my other books too, and my writing blog, One Thousand and One Parsecs (onelowerlight.com/writing). I update it pretty regularly, and you can find information about my other books. On the sidebar, you can also sign up for my email list, where I share updates about my new releases and special offers with my fans. If for any reason you want to contact me directly, feel free to shoot me an email at joseph.vasicek@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter (@onelowerlight), Goodreads, and Wattpad.

  Once again, thank you for reading my book! I hope the story has touched you in some way—it certainly has touched me. Until next time, take care, and thanks for reading!

  Acknowledgments

  They say that writing is a solitary art, but while that may be true for some books, it certainly wasn’t true with this one. First off, I would like to thank my parents for being so supportive, and giving me a quality education that helped me to practice and hone my writing skills. I would also like to thank Brandon Sanderson for teaching such an awesome writing class at BYU, and Professor Jay Goodliffe from the BYU Political Science Department; his PL SC 310 methodology class influenced this book quite strongly, believe it or not. I would also like to thank my alpha readers: Cavan Helps, Ben Hardin, Steve Dethloff, Mykle Law, Gini Richards, Aneeka, Liel Boyce, Charlie Holmberg, Cassandra Lawyer, and Sara Forsyth; my beta readers: Emily Debenhaum, Stephen Haskin, Jason Housely, Josh Leavitt, Spencer Scoville, and David Stephenson; and my later test readers: Kristin Seibert, Logan Kearsley, and Laura Christensen. Thank you so much for all of your feedback and criticism; you provided an invaluable help in crafting this book and making this story take shape. Thank you!

  Thousands of years after mankind’s exodus from Earth, a young starship pilot and his accidental bride wander the stars in search of a homeworld in Star Wanderers: The Jeremiah Chronicles (Omnibus I-IV).

  PART I: OUTWORLDER

  When Jeremiah arrived at Megiddo Station, all he wanted was to make some trades and resupply his starship. He never thought he'd come away with a wife.

  Before he knows it, he's back on his ship, alone with his accidental bride. Since neither of them speak the same language, he has no way to tell her that there's been a terrible mistake. And because of the deadly famine ravaging her home, there's no going back. She's entirely at his mercy, and that terrifies him more than anything.

  Jeremiah isn't ready to take responsibility for anyone. He's a star wanderer, roaming the Outworld frontier in search of his fortune. Someday he'll settle down, but for now, he just wants to drop the girl off at the next port and move on.

  As he soon finds out, though, she has other plans.

  PART II: FIDELITY

  Oriana Station: a bustling frontier settlement between the Outworlds and the Coreward Stars. A popular port-of-call for free traders and independent starfarers alike—and the latest target in the aggressively expansionist plans of the Gaian Empire.

  Life was simple for Jeremiah and Noemi before they arrived. Though neither of them speak the same language, they've reached an understanding that goes beyond words. But when the colonial authorities make them into second-class citizens of a fractured empire, even that might not be enough.

  Their newfound friends in the immigrant community can only do so much. With Noemi and her people depending on him, Jeremiah must find a way back to the Outworlds—before they lose everything that they came for.

  PART III: SACRIFICE

  When Jeremiah found himself alone on his starship with an accidental bride, he had no idea how much his life would soon change. Now, with Noemi's quiet confidence supporting him as she carries their first child, it's hard to imagine life without her.

  But life in the Outworlds isn't so simple. Good men are hard to come by, and Noemi's friends expect her to share. As part of a colony mission bound for an unsettled star, Jeremiah can't say no without causing a rift in the community. But if he says yes, his new-found happiness may soon come to an end. One way or another, he will have to make a sacrifice—one that could tear their starbound family apart.

  PART IV: HOMEWORLD

  For years, Jeremiah has wandered the stars in search of a home. With his wife Noemi about to have a baby, he thinks he's finally found a place to settle down. The Zarmina system lies on the edge of the Outworld frontier, but together with their friends, they hope to establish a thriving new colony. The only problem is that the system is already inhabited—by pirates.

  The colonists no sooner arrive than they fall prisoner to Captain Helena and her band of rogues from the New Pleiades. She gives them an ultimatum: live like slaves on the planet's surface, or breathe vacuum. With all their dreams about to be shattered, they have to find a way to fight back. But to do so may endanger everything—including the lives of the ones they love most.

  CLICK HERE TO BUY STAR WANDERERS: THE JEREMIAH CHRONICLES(OMNIBUS I-IV)

  A science fiction romance from the author of Bringing Stella Home.

  A TALE FROM THE FRINGES OF AN INTERSTELLAR EMPIRE THAT HAS FORGOTTEN ITS HOLIEST LEGEND: THE STORY OF EARTH.

  He was the sole heir to the Najmi camp, a young man raised by tribesmen after falling to the desert from his home among the stars. She was the sheikh's most beautiful daughter, promised his hand in marriage—if she can convince him to stay.

  Together, they must travel to a land where glass covers the sky and men traverse the stars as easily as tribesmen cross the desert. Here, at the ancient temple dedicated to the memory of Earth, they hope to find the answers that will show them the way home.

  But when love and honor clash, how can they face their destiny when it threatens to tear them apart?

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  A grand space opera adventure from the author of Star Wanderers.

  WAR TAKES ALL FROM SOME PEOPLE. OTHERS GIVE ALL TO SAVE THE ONES THEY LOVE.

  The war has arrived at home. James McCoy, the youngest son of a starfaring merchanter family, never thought he would face an invasion. But when an undefeated enemy slags his homeworld and carries off his brother and sister, nothing in the universe will stop him from getting them back.

  Not all wars are fought on the battlefield. Hard times show the greatness in men, and those who give all are changed forever.

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  Joe Vasicek, Genesis Earth

 

 

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