After five years, countless drafts, more than a few episodes of crippling self-doubt, my debut novel Karma’s Burden is finally out in the world. You can now find it on Amazon, both as an ebook and in print.
The story began life as the seed of an idea in my MA dissertation half a decade ago. At the time, I didn’t imagine it would grow into a full-length novel. But ideas have a way of haunting you until you do something about them. Slowly, draft by draft, the world of debts, reincarnation, and obligations demanded to be told.
The process hasn’t always been graceful. In fact, only a few weeks ago I discovered—far too late for comfort—that every single page number in the manuscript had politely slipped over to the wrong side of the page. All after I had approved the layout, of course! Hours of formatting later, that problem was fixed, though not without muttering a few words I won’t repeat here.
And then there’s my wife, who has borne the brunt of all this. Living with a neurotic creative type isn’t always fun—especially one who needs constant reassurance that he isn’t just wasting his time. She has been my sounding board, my sharpest critic, and my most patient ally. More than that, it was her response to the finished draft that persuaded me the book was worth publishing at all. If she hadn’t said, “Yes, it’s ready,” I might still be tinkering, revising, hesitating.
So here we are: Karma’s Burden is out there. I can’t promise it will change your life, but I can promise it carries something of mine—the years of thought, the doubts and small triumphs, and the quiet belief that stories matter.
If you do read it, thank you. And if you enjoy it, thank my wife.