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Tag: dystopian

Bender Novels Featured in SELF-e Indie Pennsylvania

Published by Adam on May 14, 2016
Now free at your library!
Now free at your library!

As a local Philadelphia author, I’m thrilled to announce that SELF-e is now featuring my novels WE, THE WATCHED and DIVIDED WE FALL in its Indie Pennsylvania collection.

SELF-e is a curated collection of self-published works by Library Journal and BiblioBoard, and is available to participating libraries across the county. Because I’m from Philly, my books will be featured prominently in the Pennsylvania Indie collection. When you visit a library in any state that has BiblioBoard, you can access eBooks of my novels on library computers or on your personal mobile devices by downloading the BiblioBoard app from the Apple, Google or Amazon app stores. Since you’re getting them through a library, the books are free to borrow, though the app includes a Buy link if you’d like to add the eBook or paperback to your personal bookshelf.

I’m excited to make my books available to new readers! If your library supports BiblioBoard, please let me know your experience finding my book. And if your library doesn’t have it, ask them to look into it!

And don’t forget, you can also get WE, THE WATCHED free by joining the Underground, my monthly mailing list for fans.

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On pitching my Dystopian Western to literary agentsCowboy with two guns

On pitching my Dystopian Western to literary agents

Published by Adam on April 11, 2016
Philly Writing Workshop
Philly Writing Workshop

What a rush! On Saturday, I pitched two literary agents on my next novel, The Wanderer and the New West, at the Philly Writing Workshop. I also learned a great deal about the query process in a series of talks by Chuck Sambuchino from Writer’s Digest.

I’m excited to report that both of my pitches with agents went well, and I will follow up with them soon. While I can’t say for sure what will happen, it’s encouraging to get such a positive response to my novel’s concept.

Doing all that pitching forced me to hone my one-sentence pitch (a.k.a. “logline”). The Wanderer and the New West is a 100,000-word Dystopian Western about a gunman seeking redemption in a future America where the government has strengthened the Second Amendment and individuals make their own justice.

Hey, I’d read it.

Oh, and I guess this is a good time to tell you that editing is finished! Following two rounds of content editing, my editor Rachel sent me the final technical copy edits. And let me tell you, this thing is looking polished. If you are a writer, I cannot recommend enough the value of a good freelance editor.

If you want to keep up to date on the new book (and get my first novel for free), please join the Underground, my monthly mailing list for fans of my work. I can’t wait to share my new novel with you!

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We, The Watched acclaimed by Kirkus Reviews

We, The Watched acclaimed by Kirkus Reviews

Published by Adam on March 11, 2016

I felt especially honored today to receive a glowing review of my debut novel, We, The Watched, from Kirkus Reviews, a highly respected institution in the book publishing world.

Check out this amazing excerpt:

Fueled by a brilliantly nebulous backdrop, this briskly paced, action-packed novel is undeniably a page-turner of the highest order…

A deeply allegorical and powerfully thought-provoking dystopian must-read.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

We, The Watched coverHead over to Kirkus to read the full review! Then, if you haven’t read it yet, check out this page for a list of stores to buy We, The Watched in digital or paperback. You can also get the eBook for FREE by joining my mailing list!

Told from the unique first-person perspective of an amnesiac, acclaimed novel We, The Watched places the reader in the shoes of Seven as he struggles to go unnoticed in a surveillance society and discover his true identity. Seven enters a dystopia where the government conducts mass surveillance and keeps a Watched list of its own citizens. The Church has become as powerful as the State, and people who resist are called Heretics and face execution.

I want to address the reviewer’s one criticism about sexism on the part of the protagonist. The reviewer makes a fair point here, and it’s something that I consciously improved upon in the sequel, Divided We Fall, and my writing since then. I definitely take these kinds of concerns seriously, and I’m glad this criticism did not stop the reviewer from recommending We, The Watched as a must-read.

Hope you enjoy We, The Watched — I can’t wait to read YOUR review!

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Revealed: The street artist who tagged Heretical symbols all over the Capital

Revealed: The street artist who tagged Heretical symbols all over the Capital

Published by Adam on February 17, 2016

THE CAPITAL — You see it painted on road signs and the walls of train stations and government buildings: A black visage with fiery red eyes.

wtw face
The so-called “Fire Eyes,” dissident symbol of Heretics in the Underground.

This graffiti, done with a stencil and spray paint, has long fueled the Heretics’ hatred for our benevolent government. But until today we did not know the perpetrator.

Today, the administration of President William Drake announced that the Guard have learned the graffiti scoundrel’s name: Ignatius.

“We will find Ignatius,” said a spokesman for the Guard. “When we do, the Heretic will face charges of treason and Heresy. These offenses are punishable by death.”

It is not known where Ignatius resides at this time, and the street artist seems to have gone quiet of late, the spokesman said.

“He will turn up again,” claimed the spokesman. “Heretics like Ignatius just can’t resist. When he does, the Guard will be waiting.”

Follow Ignatius in “Fire Eyes,” the new short story by Adam Bender.

Cover of "Fire Eyes," a short story by Adam Bender
“Fire Eyes” – The new short story by Adam Bender

Set before the events of WE, THE WATCHED and DIVIDED WE FALL, “Fire Eyes” reveals the man behind the street art seen throughout the acclaimed dystopian sci-fi novels. The story, inspired by real political street art by Banksy and others, makes a great entry point for new readers and provides new perspective to fans of Adam Bender’s books.

Like his novels, this short story by Adam Bender exposes a current political issue in an exciting speculative fiction adventure, carrying on the tradition of dystopian classics 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, as well as more recent blockbuster novels like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

“Fire Eyes” is free to read on Smashwords! Also available from Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd and Inktera.

You can also read the story below via Scribd.
[scribd id=299710621 key=key-l1deYvd24lhocffpEzdX mode=scroll]

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Wanderer enters final round of editsCowboy with two guns

Wanderer enters final round of edits

Published by Adam on February 10, 2016

Wow, my next novel The Wanderer and the New West gets better by the day!

Over the past couple of months, my editor Rachel Gluckstern has been dishing out expert advice on how to amp up my novel about a west won by gun evangelists. Together, Rachel and I have fleshed out the backstories and motivations of each character, and made the big plot turns hit even harder. We’ve also improved the organization of the chapters and expanded upon my frightening vision of a near-future America.

Gunslinger and a crowd of guns
Art by Sandy Bender

After two rounds of content edits, we have moved into the final phase: copy editing. This is a more technical edit — spelling, grammar and style — but critical to your reading enjoyment. We expect to have this finished by the end of the month, and at that point I plan to shop the manuscript around to potential agents (please contact me if you know anyone). I’m also planning to pitch the novel at an upcoming writers’ conference this April in Philadelphia.

Because I am so excited for you to read my new novel, I may decide to self-publish the novel like I did We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. However, because this new story is my best work to date, I’m going to give traditional publishing one more stab.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates! Please also join my mailing list if you haven’t already. Thanks for all your support!

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog