My First Blog Post and First Novel

Since this is my first ever blog post, it seemed fitting to write about my first published novel.

The Last Shadow was about five years in the making. I tinkered with it off and on over that time, between other writing efforts. My procrastination in finishing was the result of uncertainty about whether a dystopian novel on the topic of racial genocide would have an appreciative audience. I'd avoided abandoning the project altogether through the motivation of authors and other artists who had found success by following their hearts instead of following current trends in their respective markets. I also held out hope that a story that's sort of, but not quite, a Greek tragedy might find a home in some niche of readers (e.g., The Song of Achilles by Madelline Miller, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, etc.,). However, the thing that made me finally commit to finishing the story was Michaela Coel's 2021 Emmy speech for Outstanding Writing of a Limited Series. I quote the most inspirational part of that speech in the opening pages of The Last Shadow - "Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that is uncomfortable. I dare you." (Read Michaela Coel's Powerful Emmys 2021 Speech in Full | Glamour)

So, with that perspective, I commit The Last Shadow into the hands of fate and hope you find it thought-provoking and entertaining.