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[ta0]

This is a little bit top related and I will later post it on the Spanish board (as the book is in Spanish).

I self-published my first novel (in digital format)! The book's name is: Los Siete Padres de Kimera, what translates as: The Seven Fathers/Parents of Kimera.



The story takes place in the near future and could be classified as hard science fiction with some of a mystery novel. The main point of the story is that a woman discovers that she is the result of cloning experiments and starts a search for all her progenitors. There is quite a bit of optics (she happens to photograph rainbows) and several other subjects that interest me, including some tops! It takes place in four continents.

Although tops are not critical to the plot, they are there. Early in the book there is a very brief mention of a street performer in Mexico who everybody on this forum will recognize. And towards the end there is a collector from Japan, a mention of the museum in Nagoya, and a koma that is an important prop. The first version of the cover actually had a koma but I removed it (together with other stuff) to simplify it.

Right now it can be purchased here for $3.99:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/703552
You can actually read or download the first 20% for free. It will be available at all the major ebook retailers (iBooks, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, Amazon) in about two weeks. Of course, members of this forum can always request a free copy from me
I plan to have it translated to English eventually (but it is expensive). It will also be available on paper, at least as print on demand, but hopefully as a regular book.
I am going to have a blog related to the book at www.kimera7.com but it is not ready yet.

[the Earl of Whirl]

Wow!  Congratulations.  I remember reading where you were working on this but I had no idea you were ready for publication.  Buen trabajo!

Of course, I noticed right away this was in the NSTR section!!!

[Jeremy McCreary]

Congrats, ta0! I'll have to wait for the English translation to see how you weave together optics, magic squares, clones, and tops.

[jim in paris]

Great News !

wishing you the best for the publication!

I wonder how far the number 65 is important to the plot....


jim

[ta0]

Great News !
wishing you the best for the publication!
I wonder how far the number 65 is important to the plot....
jim

Wow, Jim! You have just made me realize something that has shocked me!

You see, the book has lots of things with numbers. Some are in plain sight, some not.
For example, the seven is an important number, as it is clear on the title. The chapters are named after the seven colors of the (Newton) rainbow. The numbers of words of the novel is 77,777, exactly! (I couldn't resist adding two words when I realized that the final version had 77,775).

Well, any 5x5 magic square will have 65 as its sum (if it has all consecutive numbers between 1 and 25). So that number was not planned and it is not part of the plot. BUT!
A very important thing in the plot is the famous engraving from Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I (1514). It has both a rainbow and a 4x4 magic square. That square has lots of interesting properties. And like any normal 4x4 magic square its sum is 34. People have noted that 34 inverted is 43, the age he had when he made it. To me that was just pure chance. But I just realized that the same is true for my square  Cool, but a weird coincidence!

By the way, I have decided to make it available as a softcover book from Amazon print on demand service. It may take a couple of months to be available. I think the price will be a little below $15. The ebook version (Kindle Edition) has just been listed on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VVSLJZ4/
The Nook (Barnes & Noble) edition is available here: www.bn.com/w/1125801186

[lincolnrick]

Congratulations on your new journey as a published author!  I hope everyone enjoys your novel very much. I'm happily waiting for the English version.

[Jack]

congratulations sir!!!
i now have a good reason to learn spanish 

[jrodriguez]

Congrats Tao! That's really awesome!

[jim in paris]

hello jorge

you wrote:
Wow, Jim! You have just made me realize something that has shocked me!

and then :
the book has lots of things with numbers. Some are in plain sight, some not.

and then referring to the book cover:
 any 5x5 magic square will have 65 as its sum (if it has all consecutive numbers between 1 and 25). So that number was not planned and it is not part of the plot.

do you mean that you discovered the magic square on the cover just suddenly ?


 


jim

[ta0]

do you mean that you discovered the magic square on the cover just suddenly ?

Of course, I was very aware that the 5x5 magic square on the cover sums 65 (not just in any direction, but along all the "broken" diagonals when you join the edges) in addition to some other properties related to the plot. But 65 is not one of the numbers I use. What I realized while I was reading your post is that if you invert the number (56) you get my age, what was the same case for the square magic of Dürer:

[jim in paris]

ok   i c

 


looking forward to the English version

jim

[ta0]

Amazon.com now has the book in paperback that you can order. It says 1 in stock but it is a print on demand thing and they can print it the same day 

https://www.amazon.com/Los-Siete-Padres-Kimera-Spanish/dp/1520600291/

I got two books as a test. I may change slightly the cover (adjust the colors and work on the vampire to have the same look as the saber-toothed tiger) but otherwise everything printed fine. It was very exciting to hold them in my hands after working about 3 years on it.

As you can see, I added a koma to the backcover: 



When I was designing the printed front and back covers I looked at several books in my shelf and realized for the first time a difference in format between English (or at least US) books and books in Spanish (or French). What is it? (tip: grab a book in English and compare it to the photo).

[Diz]

I have one book in French and it is like yours with the title on the spine printed left. I remember going through bookstores with my head always seeming tilted to the right. Congratulations on the book!

[ta0]

You got it, Diz!
For English books the wording on the spine is right side up when the book is lying on the table with the cover facing up. But I think it makes more sense the Spanish version as you might need to read the spine precisely when the cover is facing down. Besides, I think it is nice that the title rises when the book is standing on the shelf. I wonder what is the case in other languages like German or Czech. 

I checked two books in German (that I cannot read) in my spintop library and they have the spines like the Spanish and French. Now I wonder if UK = US or not.

Searched this a little on the internet. In the UK they have the same convention as in the US. Also, it seems, in Scandinavian countries.
One advantage of the US format is when you have several books stacked on top of each other. I guess it could also give you a little privacy if you turn the book face down. 

[casalino]

I have a copy you gave me sįs you know, I'm studying Spanish, and you're studying Italian to read my book "Il Signore dellle Trottole "?? I was born on 07/25/52, As you can see, the number 7 is in my blood