Catharsis (Book 3): Catastrophe Page 26

  I believe the scientific term for this is…Whoops.

  Actually the writing of this book did not take long. I wrote almost the entirety of the novel in three months. So why did it go from three months to almost five years?

  Easy answer. Kids and family and responsibilities. When I started my first book, my daughters were young and went to bed at around seven o’clock and that left me several hours in the evening in which to write. But as they got older, that bedtime got pushed back and my “useable hours” shrank. I went from having the free time to write every evening to it only being on the weekends to it shrinking down to about a weekend a month.

  The “writing” of the book was quick and relatively easy. Finding the time to do it, though, that was a different animal altogether.

  But it is finally completed, and Cat’s journey has come to a close. It just took a bit more time than I had planned. Maybe some day this will be something I get to do full time, and that will allow me to produce novels at the speed my heart desires. Until then, I will just have to make do with what I can.

  Even though their existence slowed down my ability to write at the rate I truly wanted to, I cannot thank my wife and daughters enough for their support in this process. Their ability to sacrifice time with me so that I can write and edit means the world to me.

  A big thank you to my students and other fans of my writing who made my first two books seem like they weren’t a waste of time. If I didn’t have people enjoying what I do, then there never would have been a push to write beyond Catharsis. The students who constantly came up to me to ask questions about the characters, or tell me how much they enjoyed the book were what motivated me to do it all over again.

  And another thank you to Madison Schade for both encouraging me to keep writing and being an incredibly supportive fan of my writing. Maddie has been one of my biggest fans since my first novel came out, and it is the excitement I see in the eyes of readers like her that help make the hours of writing and editing and sleeplessness worth it.

  The only fan I have that might rival Maddie’s love of Catarina’s journey would be my brother, Nick. His devoted reading of my manuscripts and late texts about his favorite parts and what is working helped make this whole thing possible. Writing a book of this length can be lonely and mind-numbing, so having somebody say your words are working and they love what is happening can be enough to make it continue to happen.

  I would also like to do a special acknowledgement to three of my students whose names are featured in this novel. We ran a fundraiser at my school, and one of the prizes that kids could choose was to be featured in my next novel. This took longer to arrive than I had planned, but I made sure they had a part.

  Gabrielle VanVooren gives her name to the girl at the beginning who is shot in the truck while trying to escape the warehouse by Viktor. Nick Miller donated his name to become Chadwick’s lawyer who they contact via email. And Annabelle Luckcuck became Chadwick’s niece’s name when Catarina visits the prison. Oh, and even though she didn’t win a contest, I also put Maddie Schade in the book as a thank you. But I won’t reveal where it is, yet.

  As odd as it may seem, I would also like to thank Amazon for making this process so easy. Writing a book and getting published today is not what it once was, and that is mostly due to Amazon’s presence in the world. EBooks are changing the world of publishing for the better, and the safety net of knowing I could get my words out via them eased many a self-doubt. Amazon wants more books and authors out there, and my existence as a writer in this world owes them a debt.

  Finally, thanks to the editors of my book who pored through it pulling up every last mistake they could find. Having other sets of eyes aside from my own see my book before it becomes official only made it better. I can’t thank them enough for taking their free time to read through the book and logging all the mistakes that I had made.

  Thank you to all my readers who continued the journey with Catarina from Catharsis and Catalyst. Your desire to come back to the world I created means everything to me. I do this for you.

  And thank you to my new readers. I hope you enjoyed your stay.

  Whenever you ever read a great book, whether it is mine or another author’s, please go out on Amazon or Goodreads and give it a review. Your opinion out there in the digital world makes a big difference to writers as we find the motivation to give up television, free time, reading books or whatever else is out there in order to create. Your kind words and reviews are always read and appreciated.

  D. Andrew Campbell

  January 2019

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Catharsis is D. Andrew Campbell’s first novel. He has loved being a junior high teacher for over fourteen years and continues to teach seventh grade English in Fishers, Indiana. His free time is split between making up stories to tell his students (some people call it “teaching”), playing sports (cross country, wrestling, soccer and basketball) and spending time with his family and two daughters (Kailey and Jenna).

  The completion of this book is just one more way he can teach his students that every dream is achievable once you commit to it!

  He can be reached via email at DAndrewCampbell@gmail.com

  You can follow him on twitter @DAndrewCampbell.

  Or you can find him on Facebook using D. Andrew Campbell.