Right now, I’ve got a few ideas I am kicking around in my head, one of which would be a sequel to Withur We. I am not sure which route I am going to take first.
The first draft was much more focused on economics, but I realized that it was bogging the story down, and ultimately it has to entertain. I toned down the economics so that it doesn’t interfere with the story ( I hope) but still makes its points (I hope).
I really appreciate you taking the time to read it!
You may have already done this but I’d recommend emailing libertarian organisations with a link to the pdf or even buy a few hard copies to lend out for reviewing purposes. I haven’t read yet- I have very little time at the mo but it is bookmarked.
I haven’t specifically targeted libertarian organizations except for this one… that’s a very good idea. Do you know of any you think would be especially good to contact?
Interesting, I shall give this a look & queue it up in my wish list @ amazon. Might buy a copy regardless if I like it or not just to support new blood out there, also
I’m curious, what are your credentials (education, major etc.)?
It’s almost time for me to get out of the 9to5 nonsense temporarily & get back to college, & since i cannot seem to make up my mind, was considering majoring in English (maybe with sort of spicy minor to make it look less broad, I keep hearing subjective nonsense that it’s next to “useless” from people with physics majors unable to get work so… :shrug: ) as I also have had interests in writing in general (obviously publishing stories, but editing, technical writing etc. doesn’t scare me either).
Thank you for your interest, and thanks in advance if you do purchase Withur We.
My credentials in writing are practically non-existent. I majored in Spanish at Ohio State and work as a Spanish interpreter. I learned to write by reading and having my writing critiqued.
Best of luck with your writing. It is harder work than you might suppose, and be prepared to revise and revise, especially early in your career. Writing, as they say, is rewriting.
As for organisations the ones that spring to mind are the Acton Institute, Cato and the Libertarian Allaince. For the latter email Sean Gabb on sean@libertarian.co.uk. I’d also send info to Geoffery Allan Plauche, he used frequent these forums and is now a lecturer; he also set up a forum dedicated to libertarian sci-fi.
I’m looking forward to reading this when I get home tonight. I’ve been on a science fiction kick lately, currently working on ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’ by Robert Heinlein and it’s definitely got me in the mood for more libertarian sci-fi. If I like your book, I’ll make sure to put it on the request list at the library where I work, our collection is just terrible when it comes to libertarian and austrian economics books. One by one, I’m adding Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Menger to our lists.
I think you did a very good job with balancing out the economic side of the book while not taking away from the story line. The way you worked some basic free market/Austrian principles into Alistairs’ dialogue was great. I think it will definitely give some ‘uneducated’ (those who are not well versed in AE, or free market principles) readers some food for thought. Perhaps even open up their world view a little bit, and get them started down the long road that is the study of liberty and a free market.
