It’s The Two-Year Anniversary Of My Second Self-Published Book, “Forbidden Knowledge”

To celebrate the two-year anniversary of my second self-published book, I am decreasing the price from $14.99 to $9.99 (paperback) and $2.99 to $0.99 (kindle) — and this book is still free for Kindle Unlimited members! This price change may take up to 72 hours, so check back again later if you do not see an updated price!

In March 2022, I published “Forbidden Knowledge.” And about a year later, I updated the cover to new artwork. I found a photo that was free for commercial use that perfectly summed up the story, so I changed the cover.

The theme of this book is dark academia mixed with a little bit of sci-fi and fantasy. The majority of the book takes place in a library — including a secret attic. There’s also a blood thirsty cult disguised as a church.

I really enjoyed the process of creating this story. It started out as a short story that I published on my public blog. I wrote a few chapters at a time. When I decided that I wanted to make a full novel out of it, the process took about six months. It’s on the shorter side, maybe more of a “novella.”

I’m not a professional writer and I don’t have formal education in writing or publishing. This was just a passion project. And it was such a therapeutic experience.

The main character, Alice, is extremely shy, sheltered, and unsure of herself. I wrote part of this book in conjunction with my first book, “The Captain & The Mermaid.” The main character in my first book, Fuchsia, is super confident and bubbly. So, I wanted to explore what it would be like to write about someone who was the total opposite.

I can see myself in both characters. In my first book, Fuchsia is looking for adventure and chasing after the man she wants. In this second book, Alice is running away from the man she wants — but adventure is chasing after her.

I have always wondered what it would have been like to live an extremely sheltered life. Alice is an only child, homeschooled, off the grid, and trapped by overprotective parents. But naturally, she can’t fight her instincts and curiosity.

Alice’s shyness and social anxiety reminds me of what I dealt with in my middle school years. But this is something that Alice never grew out of because her parents never let her grow — experience life. When she starts working at the library and develops feelings for a boy, she really doesn’t know what to do with herself.

What’s revealed later in the book is that her mother is not just harsh, she’s pure evil. Her mom is cheating on her dad with an alien who is head master of their church — which is not actually a church, but a cult. Her mom has a secret pact to sacrifice Alice to the cult, because there is something very pure and special about her blood.

As Alice’s love interest, Q.Z., falls for her, he also begins to connect the dots. Q.Z.’s father was institutionalized and brainwashed because he attempted to reveal the truth of this alien cult that is running the world and making it such an evil place.

The book is a psychological thriller, but it also has a romantic love story going on. There’s nothing like a great conspiracy to pull two people together!

This story tackles the great question: why is the world such an evil place? Could it be that a secret society runs the world beneath the surface of the faces of celebrities and politicians? And perhaps, this society is not even human, but alien? What if there are supernatural forces at stake to ensure that all of humanity runs on pure fear?

And what are you supposed to do if you know this information? What if you knew the truth about why the world is so corrupt? Would you try to convince people to wake up — risking your life, your dignity, and your sanity? Or would you pretend not to know anything — maybe write a book about the truth but label it as “fiction”?

But more importantly… why can’t you stop thinking about that boy you’re got your eye on? How can you get closer to him when you’re plagued with a terrible case of social anxiety, and when you open your mouth to speak to him, nothing comes out?

These are the biggest questions in life…