The title of this blog post is pretty self-explanatory. I am making an attempt at creating a dystopian novel, my first ever dystopian novel. Dystopian literature has intrigued me for the longest of time, so I figured I'd try to write a novel in that genre.

For those of you who do not know what a dystopia is, it is a negative utopia. Since a utopia is, by definition, a perfect society, one can only imagine what a dystopia is. The worlds portrayed in the novels Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell are both examples of this negative utopia, and even The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has dystopian elements in it.

The title of my dystopian novel, as seen on the book cover that I've created a day ago, is Jessica, named after the main character and protagonist of the story Jessica Turner. I have yet to release a synopsis of the novel that will be featured on the back cover, but I can guarantee that I will release one in the near future. Also, I started writing this novel three days ago, and already I have posted the first chapter on Figment. I also have not yet created a section on this website dedicated to this novel, like I did with The Way You Lie. However, that is coming soon as well.

I am also aware that I have a lot of other novels to write that I am planning to release later this year and in 2014. Besides releasing Jessica within that time frame, I've planned on releasing The Way You Lie, The Nameless, and Innocents and Foreseers. I know that that is a lot to accomplish, especially when I have schoolwork on top of that, but it will get done.

I know I haven't released that many details regarding this novel, so I will release some in this blog post. The entire world takes place in 2062 and consists of two main countries: the Western Unification of the Pacific (or WUP), which consists of the entire western hemisphere, and the Eastern Unification of the Atlantic (or EUA), which consists of the entire eastern hemisphere. In the beginning of the novel, not much is know about the EUA, since the novel primarily takes place in the WUP, but that changes over time. Within the WUP, children are taken from their parents at age three and put into academies based on which occupation the government wants them to take part in. Marriages are also prearranged at age three, meaning that at each academy a male child and a female child are put into the same room and are forced to bond with each other, for their marriage is already being arranged. Also, right before the wedding, the females, one at a time, are sent to the King, who will prepare them for marriage.

The novel centers around a war that is about to be erupted between the WUP and the EUA, of which the King tells his subjects that the EUA wishes to invade them. In this scenario, the EUA are portrayed as the main antagonists of the novel. It centers around Jessica Turner, whose government-chosen occupation is to be in the army along with her lifelong partner Xavier Cornwell. 

That is pretty much the premise of the novel, but it is not the official synopsis. Also, I will not reveal anything more about the novel other than nothing is what it seems.

I just started publishing on Lulu, and now a paperback and hardcover of my book is now available. Other retailers are coming soon, and I may also publish my novels on other self-publishing websites. But for now, a copy can be purchased on lulu.com.

With all that has been going on, with my schedule being preoccupied with the pre-IB courses that I am taking, and with writing songs for Surreal Disorder, I have not had time to write as much as I would have liked. Also, for the past month, I've been slaving away, trying to figure out how to word everything, for the words aren't flowing out like they did in September. I do have my next novel planned out, but I may have to push the e-book release date for Twisted Ignorance from November of 2012 to December of 2012 due to the fact that I have gone days without writing a single word.

Also, my newest project, The Way You Lie, has consumed most of my week, for I have spent the majority of my time planning that book. That book is my attenpt at writing a realistic teen fiction novel that deals with an issue that is very important to me: mental disorders due to bullying. Though it is not based off of my life in any way, shape, or form, it deals with an issue that affects thousands of teens around the world. The character Beatrice Robicheaux symbolizes the outcast and the main victim of bullying at school, and the character Sara Stephens symbolizes the one with the heart who sets out on a mission to let Beatrice know that she is not alone. Sara's group of friends at the beginning of the novel symbolize that one clique at every school that everyone else seems to fear. This novel is not something that I usually write about, for it doesn't pertain to the supernatural at all. However, I still hope you will find enjoyment in it, and perhaps I will consider writing more realistic novels in the near future. The release date for this novel in undecided, but it may come out around the same time as The Nameless.

I am officially cowriting the Lurid Intentions series with my friend Olivia Kuziel. She has been published before in a book that was compiled together in my school's Veterans Heritage Project. I am super exited to be working with her, for she is probably the most talented writer I know. She is currently working on a novel of her own, entitled Imp, though I have no idea when she's planning on finishing it. She also writes poetry, and you can read some of it on her Figment account and her Teenink account. She is also a singer in the alternative rock band known as Surreal Disorder along with me.

This is her picture:

Her Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/livconnor7?feature=results_main
Her Teenink: http://teenink.com/users/Olivia7
Her Figment: http://figment.com/users/241259-Olivia-Kuziel
Her Glogster: http://www.glogster.com/livconnor/myglogster

So on Wattpad I've recently entered my poem Mirrors in the Atty's Awards. If any of you have a Wattpad account and would like to read it, here's the link. It's a little different than what I usually write about, for it deals with the use of illegal drugs.

http://www.wattpad.com/story/1144222-mirrors

I am now officially a published author. I just published the e-book of my book using smashwods.com. It can now be purchased for only $8.29, and keep in mind that I am still planning on revising and editing this novel, so it will be updated periodically. This litterally took all day to publish, for I had a lot of formatting issues. I hope you all will like it, and keep in mind that this is the e-book version. I am planning on publishing a hard copy of this novel in the near future using lulu.com.

I just wanted to say that I thank each and every one of you for your constant support. It is with great pride that I now consider myself to be a published author.

Here's the link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/209123

On Figment, my book Threatening Souls had gotten fifty-eight hearts, and on Wattpad it had gotten twenty votes (as of July 25, 2012).

I just want to say thank you so much for everyone whose read, hearted, voted, commented, and reviewed my work. It really means a lot to me, and you all are amazing in my eyes.

I'd also like to thank my 146 followers on Figment, my 199 fans on Wattpad, my 74 subscribers on youtube, my seven likes on Facebook, and my fifteen followers on Twitter (as of July 25, 2012). It is your constant support that keeps me going, and I want to thank you.

There are only three things that keep me going in life: music, writing, and grades (in school). Without them, I'd be nothing.

If you want to read my book and you have an account on thebookpatch.com, here is the link. No, I will not be accepting people to just go on there and change what I've written unless you're just editing it; in that case, contact me about it first because any changes that are made to it on thebookpatch.com I'm going to have to change on the word document.

http://www.thebookpatch.com/Book/WriteOnline/Editor.aspx?id=3952&ChapAddress=1A

I am unable to forget about my past—all of the people who have hurt me, scared me, wounded me. I am unable to push myself forward in life and to live in  the present. Life is short, and people say that time is too good to waste, but  for me it seems that time is too short. I guess I am able to say that my past  has influenced my writing, and that is why I write what I write. Right now I am  sitting in my room on my laptop, listening to The Birthday Massacre and remembering how people said I wasn’t “cool”, how people accused me of plagiarizing without getting the facts down, how I was once physically abused by  this one bitch who had tried to steal my friend away from me. Those people who  fit into one of those categories (and there are more categories out there) are  who influenced my book and the songs that I write—my writing in general. Like  what my favorite singer Kerli said in one song, “Hurt me. See me crawling on the  floor. Is that what you’ve been longing for? Hurt me. Is this enough? Do you  want more? Go on if it makes you soar!” The dark thoughts that I think about  were inspired by them. If you are one of those people, I would not be surprised  if you one day woke up with a knife to your throat. That is what you deserve,  that is what I call karma, though I do not believe in karma. The name “The  Birthday Massacre” has a pleasant ring to it—it fits my mood, now, don’t you  think?

To my friend, Talan Vaillancourt, whom I’ve recently been reunited with after all these years.