Word Count:  49556

News:  That’s right, the word count actually went down.  This won’t affect chapter 5 coming out this Wednesday or the release of volume 1-those are set.  It’s more related to chapter 13 and on.  Why, you ask?  Well I wrote out 13 and 14 and showed 13 to somebody who is very good at literary analysis.  With 13 I had decided to push the envelope and dig deeper into the references of what was going on below the surface of the story.  Stretching the material for the sake of art, if you will.  Unfortunately, even though I liked the feel of it, when the person I submitted it to read it, she informed me that it came off as a long-winded and indulgent mess.  It was a good learning experience; I went for a new and deeper level and fell short.  Accordingly, I’ve decided to go back and rewrite the chapters with a sharper focus on keeping the pace moving and not wallowing in so much in introspective narrative.  To me, this is an important part of being a writer-not getting overly attached to the material.  As long as a writer sees the underlying themes, they should be able to adjust style and content to communicate effectively.  Echo is not for me to bask and luxuriate in my own cravings and indulgences, but an attempt at creating something of value for a wider audience, not just myself (although I do include me in that statement).  I may release the scrapped chapters as a demonstration of why I chose to rewrite them-a “special features” if you will.  I know many of you are writers and may be interested in that, so if you are then let me know and I’ll put them out there.  Anyways, I  hope you guys will bear with me on this one-I’m trying to avoid the material coming off like one of those deep art films that bores everybody but the most rebelliously obscure.  So…back to work!  To all you writers, I wish you inspired drafting and insightful editing!

Synopsis:  Echo is a sci-fi dystopian novel.  In the late 21st century, humanity left Earth due to multiple resource shortcomings aggravated by an acceleration in climate change.  They settled Echo, a planet that was nearly a carbon copy of Earth except for being devoid of life-with the exception of basic bacteria and plants.  Fast forward 1200 years later.  Echo has endured over a thousand years of dark age.  Corporations and government merged early on, becoming the oppressive authority known as the Regime.  Military and police merged into the Department of Enforcement, their only mission to crush the huge network of rebels known as the Dissidents.  Over half the planet is covered by decaying cityscapes and the elite live high above; removed and remote from the greater populace on the moon-city of Ascension.  Hope lies in one man, a bitter and crippled former Enforcer named Atriya.  But before he can break the cycle of darkness and ignorance on Echo, he has to do it within himself.