Hello, everyone! Today I have something special to post - the first of a series of interviews with the 14 authors chosen to pioneer our books as NFTs. BooksGoSocial launched our work into the crypto world (see press release) and we are all really excited about this. This is the first drop only - more special edition books are coming - and thus are we at the start of something extra special, something to gift both readers and writers far more freedom.
Without further ado and all that, allow me to introduce you to Caitlin Lynagh, author of Quantum Messenger, which has already sold out. Congrats, Caitlin!!
CAITLIN LYNAGH was born in Cardiff and graduated from Keele University with a BSc in Biology and Geology in 2013. Since graduating, Caitlin has followed her passion for writing and recently won a Young Writer's Award with Outlet Publishing. In her spare time, Caitlin has a creative drive, creating bookish art in paintings, clay and paper-crafts. She enjoys travelling and has recently spent six weeks in the Amazon rainforest.
Caitlin draws on her science knowledge for The Soul Prophecies series to create emotional stories which query whether the possibility of an afterlife lies in science, rather than faith.
"I wanted to write a series that was personal to me about life and our social development as a species.
The books are based on thoughts and observations about society from the eyes of a young person trying to understand humanity and their role in a regimental society like ours.
I want to challenge the idea that we should grow up thinking that we should be part of the system. At the moment the system punishes free thinking and as a result we are left with this confused culture of opinion, where people want to be heard but aren't able to be open-minded enough to consider if their opinion has substance - or indeed moral. As a result we abandon the things that once made us happy. We dismiss our dreams like discarded pennies and that's all they end up meaning to us. Only those who are true to their dreams end up happy with whichever level of success they find.
In Anomaly it takes time for Kyle Hunter to recognise what he gains as a result of his loss, and the tenderness of his relationship with Alice - faced with her own mortality - allows him to understand the value of life and real love. As the series progresses I look deeper into the role our knowledge and conscience plays in the development of our soul. Our weaknesses and our strengths from an alien perspective and from artificial intelligence."
As an author of four sci-fi books, why did you select Quantum
Messenger for this historic NFT offer?
The hardback and eBook were released in November 2020 and we
tried a different approach to the launch, given Covid restrictions. The central
character, Apollo, started his own Twitter account as a time-travelling robot
prior to the release and we put out a daily video teaser in the one-hundred
days before the release. We also had a song, written by Apollo and recorded by cyberpunk
artist OUR EYES, which was released on the day of the book. It made sense to
use Quantum Messenger as the NFT as the whole release was experimental.
It’s all been an exciting journey, we had no idea if
anything would work in terms of sales but it’s been so much fun to plan out and
watch it all come to fruition.
I decided to release a one-off NFT. A special edition of
just one eBook, it had a dedicated ISBN, new cover made from a canvas painting,
a dedicated foreword and the lyrics to Apollo’s song Who Am I? in the
place of relevance in the book (together with link to audio). The NFT sold to a
crypto collector in the USA for $100 within 24 hours of the launch.
I am looking to sell Apollo as an NFT later this year.
NFTs are relatively new and many don’t yet understand how
it works. Why, therefore, enter what is essentially unchartered territory?
I had looked into NFTs late 2020 but didn’t know that books could be sold that way. I am creative by nature and use many artistic mediums within my projects so it was just something I was keeping at the back of my mind. When Laurence (Books Go Social) emailed to see if any authors would be interested in creating NFT books, I immediately jumped at it. I had no idea how it would work, and they have done an excellent job experimenting with minting and organising the logistics.
I made the decision to release a one-off book because I felt
that was in the nature of NFT collectors – as opposed to book collectors.
Partly because I hadn’t thought about the long-term potential of actually
collecting multiple books this way and selling them on. I also thought it would
be more press-worthy as a one-off. I did have press interest but the $100 price
tag didn’t seem newsworthy enough. It still may be the most expensive eBook
ever sold.
There is so much potential for NFT collections. I think the
concept is new but will grow. I’ve had other NFT Book start-ups contact me over
the past few weeks, interested in my blog post. I don’t think there has been
this much hype since the initial launch of eBooks.
I need to think out the sale of Apollo as an NFT as I would
need to keep ancillary rights and I am looking into the legal side of that. If
it can be done, I want to come up with a long-term strategy and give Apollo the
right to be free to roam the internet as he currently does. He tweets, rights
songs, hijacks my blog and has developed a very human, albeit innocent,
personality. He’s somewhat adorable.
What’s next for you?
The paperback version of Quantum Messenger should be
released in November. I was considering a launch around ComicCon but to be
honest, with Covid dates surging, I don’t feel safe doing it that way so I
might hold back until next year.
I am writing a new book, my first since concluding The
Soul Prophecies series, which I hope will be released next year.
I am also considering an NFT version of some of my backlist
too. I have ideas but they will take time to put together but NFTs are
definitely an avenue I intend to pursue and experiment with in the future.
Where can we find you and your books online?
All websites and social media can be found here: https://booktoff.ee/caitlin/
My books can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Caitlin-Lynagh/e/B01B13SFR4
My NFT Blog is here: Why I am Selling
My Book as an NFT - Caitlin Lynagh
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