BOOKS ARE SICK

It was a year ago…

Almost To The Day.

I was freshly published and hunting for book reviewers to show my book some love. Being a first-time author, independently published, and with no fandom following my works, it was incredibly difficult to get big-time book reviewers to respond to my DMs, let alone read the book. They were all too busy reviewing Priory of the Orange Tree at the time to pay me any attention.

So I have turned to some of the smaller guys and gals who have been worming the books lately. I reached out to a few of them and had about the same kind of luck I was having with the big dawgs.

And then, there was Nick Parry of Books Are Sick. He was starting on TikTok and growing a following fairly quickly. At that moment, he had a big enough audience to catch my attention and a small enough one that I felt there was a good chance he’d respond to my DMs. Plus, I liked his reviews far more than most others. He mainly reviewed Stephen King and other horror books at the time, but he was branching out more and more with his genre choices, so I got bold and messaged him. I had this dream… I’m a dreamer like that. A dream that a popular book reviewer talks about my book on their platform and it just takes off. Goes viral. The next big thing! And that Nick of BOOKS ARE SICK was the guy to do the thing.

He responded. He was receptive. He sent me his P.O. Box address, and I wasted no time boxing up a copy of MYTHIC: SHADOW OF THE SPARK (and THE DEATH & REBIRTH OF BELLA ERDMANN) and shipped it off to the man. Fingers crossed. Hope was kindled.

Seen Here: Books Are Sick Blowing The Fuck Up.

One week after I mailed the box… Books Are Sick… Blew. The Fuck. Up.

Suddenly, he’s got 200K+ followers on TikTok and 20k+ on YouTube; his Patreon is suddenly hopping—THE MAN. GOT. BUSY.

Radio silence.

It was my first time shipping to Canada, so I was genuinely concerned I’d messed up the address or something. I knew deep down that Nick was unlikely ever to read it, now. The flood of books coming his way, the big-name authors who’d be interested in his reviews… SHADOW OF THE SPARK would become just one of many unread books piled in the corner of his attic because there’s just no space on the bookshelf. I only wished for some confirmation that it had at least arrived there. But my DMs to him were undoubtedly buried under thousands of others because I never heard back.

I don’t blame the guy. He’s legitimately swamped and sought after, and I’m happy for him. I was a fan before I reached out in the first place, so I’ve continued to watch his book reviews, always looking for any sign of BOOKS BY ADRIAN and SHADOW OF THE SPARK but always knowing deep down it wasn’t going to happen.

THEN. Two WEEKs ago.

I log onto YouTube and see that Books Are Sick is LIVE! First off, he NEVER does YouTube livestreams. I actually found out later he goofed up and made it public on YouTube when it was meant to be a private stream for his Patreon members. So a complete ACCIDENT that he was live but I didn’t know. All I knew was he NEVER does livestreams, and there he was. Live with a chat full of 100+ people. Just hoppin’. The second thing I knew was he had been at it for over an hour. Barrelling towards the 90-minute mark. And for someone who never livestreams, that can feel like an eternity. So he was going to be wrapping it up soonly.

I dove into the chat, caught a wave of conversation about Jurassic Park and Michael Crichton, and surfed it all the way up to Nick, who read one of my comments live on stream. This was it—my moment. I had to seize it. I may never get another chance!

"Just curious if you ever received my book in the mail? It was my first time shipping to Canada so I fear I goofed up the address and it ended up in Alaska or something.”

He spotted the question. He read it aloud. HE ROSE FROM HIS GODDAMN SEAT and went to check a stack of boxes he had yet to open. Not there. He asked how long it had been since he hadn’t been to the P.O. Box in over a week. I let him know this was months ago. (I didn’t want him to feel bad that it had been a full year, so I didn’t say that.)

Then he remembered… that old stack of unread books in the corner. So he went back behind his bookshelf for a good chunk of dead-air time (Respect) and he returned with…

Nick Parry seen here holding up a sick cover.

Click the image to start that stream at the moment when I ask if he has it. Spoilers. He does! And I shat my pants.

Not only did he have it, he complimented the cover, showed

interest in the back, and made a point of showing it to his audience. They, of course, proceeded to flood the chat with compliments on the cover, and questions like “what’s it about?!”

I was able to hit them with my tagline/elevator pitch which he read live on the stream as well. He’s big on the feel of a book and mentioned it felt good in his hands, (though he’s a notorious spine breaker so I fear for what my baby is going to endure at his hands) and even held up my book mark and gave a little, “hmm… nice.” kind of acknowledgement.

Look… I realize I sound like a teenage girl gushing about the boy she likes smiling at her, and now she thinks he’s in love with her. I know. I’m aware. I don’t care. I waited a year to find out if this dude RECEIVED my book, and by the time his actual answer was wrapping up, he was saying he aimed to read it and review it.

Bruh. What?

Bruh.

Are you kidding? Books Are Sick is going to read my book and review it? Unreal.

Now, remember. The man is busy. I doubt he’ll be reading any time soon. BUT HE SAW IT. HE HELD IT IN HIS HANDS. HE FLIPPED THROUGH THE PAGES. HE SAID THE COVER WAS SICK!

I’m on Cloud 9 and not coming down anytime soon. Follow BOOKS ARE SICK on TikTok and subscribe on YouTube. Leave him comments asking, “When are you reviewing MYTHIC: SHADOW OF THE SPARK?” Let him know “Dude! Wait till you read chapter five! You’re gonna be like WHAAAAAA?!”

But… You know… In your own words.

If he talks about MYTHIC on his platform, it could be a significant turning point for the novel. And if I’m lucky and it coincides (timing-wise) with the release of THE FACE OF GAIA, then it could be the perfect storm!

But then again, I’m a dreamer.