The Best Thing I’ve Ever Written (Now Available…)

by Ali | Nov 17, 2011 | Lycopolis | 29 comments

You might have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet recently. I was away at BlogWorld (and had a blast!) and I’ve also been busy putting the finishing touches to my novel, Lycopolis.

This novel has been over three years in the making. It’s gone through seven drafts. Dozens of people have helped me along the way – with invaluable feedback, emotional support, great advice and more.

And today, it’s out there and waiting to be read.

I’ve published several hundreds of thousands of words over the past few years. You can find my blog posts all over the internet. I make a living through my writing. I’m hugely proud of that. But this novel represents, to date, my very best work. I’m thrilled (and a little bit nervous) to have finally published it.

What’s Lycopolis About?

If you’ve been reading my blog posts (here on Aliventures or elsewhere) for a while, you’ll find some familiar themes cropping up in Lycopolis:

The online world and the way we make connections there
Writing and the imagination
Who we are at our best … and at our worst

Here’s the novel’s blurb:

One Hallowe’en, a group of online roleplayers summon a demon, The Prince of Nightmares. Seth, who’s in charge of the game, says it’s “just for fun”. But disturbing things start to happen in real life: red marks appear on the foreheads of the gamers, and they’re all having nightmares about a dark forest.

Secrets come out, friendships are broken, and the boundaries between the real, the virtual and the imaginary become increasingly fractured as the Prince becomes more powerful. Kay, a fresher at Oxford, is the only person who realises what Seth is doing – and it’s up to her to stop him.

If you like fast-paced fiction with strong characters and aren’t averse to a bit of geekery and a touch of the supernatural, then I think you’ll enjoy it. 🙂

You can buy it for the Kindle today:

29 Comments

Marylane Wade Koch on November 17, 2011 at 3:18 pm

How exciting, Ali. Just purchased Lycopolis for my Kindle and can’t wait to get started! Thanks for all you do for writers…and for readers. Proud of you. I wish much success!
- Ali on November 17, 2011 at 3:30 pm
  
  Yay, thanks Marylane! Hope you enjoy it — thanks for buying! 🙂
Alex Blackwell | The BridgeMaker on November 17, 2011 at 3:57 pm

Congratulations Ali!

I’m sure your book will be a wonderful success!

Alex
- Ali on November 18, 2011 at 5:18 pm
  
  Thanks Alex! I’m hoping so… 🙂
Cal Olson on November 17, 2011 at 6:57 pm

Congrats, revered teacher! It’s been a long time coming, and I can’t wait to see the result. (Literally – just downloaded it to the ol’ iPad and will be diving in asap!)
- Ali on November 18, 2011 at 5:19 pm
  
  Yay, thanks Cal! Hope you enjoy it — would love to hear what you think. 🙂 (And I’d be especially thrilled if you’d consider writing a quick review on Amazon, but no worries at all if not.)
Allison on November 18, 2011 at 12:23 am

OOH I GOTTA LET MY MUM GET ME THIS!!!

read the first chapter, gonna read the rest of the free chapters soon’s i can. it’s just…wonderful. like, wow, writing. i hope my novels are going to be somewhere that good. oh man.

i think i was hooked at the very beginning–the cover page.

VERY. VERY. COOL COVER PAGE…

i can’t even imagine how much time it took to get the branches to form the wolf’s face, and then the shading and the right amount of contrast…just wow.
- Ali on November 18, 2011 at 5:20 pm
  
  Cheers! And I had no hand whatsoever in the cover, or it’d be a photo of some trees, badly turned into black and white 😉 My wonderfully talented friend Lorna Cowie did it for me. Glad you like it!
Ellie Di on November 18, 2011 at 4:00 am

w00twoot! Having a little dance party over here for you, darlin’! I’m sooooo proud of you.
Ellie Di’s last blog post ..One True Regret
- Ali on November 18, 2011 at 5:23 pm
  
  Yay, thanks Ellie! 🙂
David on November 18, 2011 at 12:49 pm

Seems to be a good plot. I am always interested reading horror novels or something similar to that. I think i’ll try this one and since it is your best book then i guess i’ll enjoy reading it.
David’s last blog post ..how to pick up women
- Ali on November 18, 2011 at 5:24 pm
  
  Cheers, David! There’s definitely a strong horror element, though I wouldn’t shelve this in the “Horror” section myself. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for giving it a chance. 🙂
MT Nickerson on November 18, 2011 at 9:45 pm

Adding my best wishes to the rest and as someone who enjoys your blog and various posts (found practically everywhere! A bit jealous on this point, I do admit), I can’t but believe that the book will be a great success.
MT Nickerson’s last blog post ..How’s Your Wife, My Kids?
- Ali on November 21, 2011 at 6:03 pm
  
  Thanks MT! 🙂 Yeah, I get around the internet a bit …!
Zac | Turning Point Motivation on November 20, 2011 at 2:24 pm

That’s great news Ali!

Yes, I was wondering where you were…but knew you were busy somewhere writing.

Can I get your book for KOBO, I don’t have an Amazon Kindle : (

I would like to read it, it sounds cool!
Zac | Turning Point Motivation’s last blog post ..A Simple Method To Improve Your Blog Everyday!
- Ali on November 21, 2011 at 6:03 pm
  
  Thanks Zac! Kobo’s uploading process is a lot more complex than the Amazon one (plus I need to get an ISBN) so give me a bit of time on that… will see what I can do!
  - Zac | Turning Point Motivation on November 21, 2011 at 10:29 pm
    
    No worries I downloaded the Amazon app for my Iphone, and will read it on there, Thanks!
    Zac | Turning Point Motivation’s last blog post ..The Day I Almost Drowned In Barbados, Please Learn From My Lesson: Have Respect For The Power Of The Ocean
Ryan on November 20, 2011 at 3:20 pm

Congratulations on publishing! This looks like a great read.
Ryan’s last blog post ..Wicked Freemium and Premium Ping Services to Get Traffic
farouk on November 21, 2011 at 1:44 pm

wow
congrats Ali :))
i don’t have a kindle device, how can i access it in any other way?
- Zac | Turning Point Motivation on November 21, 2011 at 4:19 pm
  
  Farouk, I don’t have a Kindle device either, but if you have a smartphone (Iphone, HTC, etc…) you can download the Kindle app, purchase the e-book, and then download it to your smartphone.
  Zac | Turning Point Motivation’s last blog post ..The Day I Almost Drowned In Barbados, Please Learn From My Lesson: Have Respect For The Power Of The Ocean
  - Ali on November 21, 2011 at 6:04 pm
    
    What Zac said! You can also get Kindle apps for the iPad, or for your computer — the apps are free to download from Amazon. 🙂
Shyxter on November 28, 2011 at 3:32 am

Congratulations, Ali! I’m so happy for you. I know you have prepared so much for this. Fiction and supernatural sounds really exciting! I wish you all the success on this book, Ali. Lycopolis will be the start of more novels to come from you 🙂
- Ali on November 28, 2011 at 4:55 pm
  
  Thanks, Shyxter! Yep, this is the first in a trilogy, so there’ll definitely be at least two more novels from me in due course… 🙂
Carole Lyden on November 28, 2011 at 9:58 am

Downloaded sample of Lycopolis today. Then downloaded the book. Coudn’t put it down, read it in one sitting. Fast , furious and addictive. First fantasy book I have read and I loved it.

cheers

Carole
Carole Lyden’s last blog post ..Violent attacks on the increase in Perth Western Australia
- Ali on November 28, 2011 at 4:56 pm
  
  Thanks so much, Carole! Really pleased you enjoyed it. 😀
Kathy Z. on November 30, 2011 at 2:28 am

Downloaded it on my iphone – kinda difficult to read though. Is a print copy available?
Kathy Z.’s last blog post ..female psychology
- Ali on November 30, 2011 at 6:33 pm
  
  Print copy is in the works, but will probably be a few weeks yet — sorry!
Reesa Mckenzie on December 1, 2011 at 7:19 am

Well, your book is finally here. Congrats!! Just went ahead and downloaded it to my ipad and that will be my weekend attraction. Will tell you my thoughts in my next comment.
Reesa Mckenzie’s last blog post ..The Importance of Traffic in internet marketing
- Ali on December 1, 2011 at 4:53 pm
  
  Yay, thanks Reesa! Looking forward to hearing what you think of it… 🙂