Tag: Endemic

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Do you want to know how I got these scars?

Breaking news! Endemic has gone wide!

Everybody relax. This announcement is not about measles. I’m talking about my multiple award-winning novel Endemic, Within Each of Us, A Power and a Curse. Despite Amazon sabotaging the release of Endemic, it went on to win first place in the genre category of the North Street Book Prize.

Now, I’m doing something different.

This dystopian novel has been exclusive to Amazon since its publication. No more! I recently published it widely (hat tip to Draft2Digital for facilitating that release). After getting such a nice review from Publishers Weekly, I decided that I needed to expand my readership and also get into more libraries.

The list is interesting.

There are so many book sales platforms out there, and a bunch I’d never heard of! Aside from the familiar ones like Barnes & Noble, Overdrive, Kobo, Apple Books, Smashwords, and Baker & Taylor, Endemic is also available on Everand, Odilo, Borrow Box, Vivlio, Tolino, Cloud Library, Gardners, Palace, and Fable.

ENDEMIC’s UNIVERSAL LINK

Selling entertainment sounds like it shouldn’t be hard, but book marketing is hard. Having a book on sale everywhere in some ways adds to that difficulty. On the other hand, Amazon already betrayed me with this book from the start, so I want to give it another chance with new readers.

I’ve experimented with going wide in the past and always came back to Amazon because they knew how to sell books. My faith in their system has since faded, and it’s time to expand my reach to new venues and tactics. I’ve written a lot of apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers. To reach new readers around the world, I’m committed to keeping Endemic widely available beyond Amazon and will publish more of my novels widely in the near future.

If you’re curious about Endemic, it’s about an introverted neurodivergent book editor turned urban survivalist gardener caught in the midst of a disaster. Hounded by marauders, bullied by her father, and haunted by her dead therapist, Ovid Fairweather has to make her way in a fallen New York City. She was a nail. She will become a hammer.

That’s Endemic by me, Robert Chazz Chute, and now it’s available on Amazon, but now, it’s also available just about everywhere else!

You can get the ebook, paperback, or hardcover. If you dig it, please leave a review. I’m new to all these platforms, so naturally I’ve got no reviews on them yet.

To clarify: Endemic is still available on Amazon, but here’s the universal link to everywhere else: https://books2read.com/u/bQvkGP.

Thanks! Have a great day, or make it one!

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New Publishers Weekly Rave Review of Endemic!

Getting a good review from Publishers Weekly is a big deal. Getting a rave review feels amazing. When Amazon sabotaged my launch of Endemic, the pandemic was raging, and I was in a lot of pain that could only be fixed with eight pounds of titanium and ceramic implants in my hips. I was pretty down. Endemic has won several awards (the best and biggest was the North Street Book Prize). My hips are now fixed, I’m pain-free, and writing consistently again. A review from PW is icing on the literary cake. The PW review of Vengeance Is Hers appears in print mid-October, and PW’s review of Endemic is coming at the end of October.

THE PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW OF ENDEMIC

Chute is no stranger to dystopian fiction, and he uses Covid-19 as inspiration for this adroit thriller, reimagining New York City as an anarchic, post-pandemic fortress where the remnants of humanity are both brutally vicious and quietly resilient. Introverted and riddled with anxiety, Ovid Fairweather keeps her head down. She maintains a secret rooftop garden, trading produce for the necessities of survival—and small luxuries. Once a book editor, Ovid is the unlikely heroine of her own life, but this existence has cracked her protective shell, and she’s no longer willing to bow to oppressors.

Ovid’s first-person narration captures the bizarre banality of post-apocalyptic life, accompanied by the “voice in my head that spoke like a tough British man.” That wry running commentary plays out against marauders roaming the city streets and looting whomever they please. Everything is scarce (especially trustworthy people), but Ovid would rather fight in New York than flee to safety in Maine, where her cruel father beckons. She’s a protagonist who’s haunted by memories of being belittled and bullied but refuses to accept her past reactions in her present circumstances; when someone who knew Ovid before the pandemic threatens to destroy everything she’s built, she decides it’s no longer enough to outrun her past—she must kill the person she used to be.

While ratcheting up tension with the Memory Keepers, who impose a new level of tyranny and violence, Chute (Our Zombie Hours) keeps the plot focused on Ovid’s evolution. Along with the everyday terrors outside, she hears echoes from past therapy sessions and tries to piece together her fractured identity. But to move forward, Ovid must unleash a long-suppressed part of herself and commit acts she’s only read about in books. The virus in Endemic is a potent force eroding the underpinnings of society, but Chute celebrates the humans who, left to fend for themselves, decide that meek doesn’t mean powerless.

Takeaway: Pandemic ravages NYC but brings reticent woman roaring back to life.

Comparable Titles: Ling Ma’s Severance, Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the Dark.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Writing Life Update

My wife and daughter are currently enjoying the sunny south of France and mocking me with photos of croissants. They sent me pictures of amazing views of Monaco and Nice, sure, BUT LOOK AT THOSE CROISSANTS!

Meanwhile, I am at home in rainy Other London, cocooning on a stay-at-home writing retreat. I start each day with a long writing session. I’m holding back on spending time on new Vocab Menace videos (just for ten days) to focus on the vaunted Work in Progress. I’m not sure where this thriller is going yet, but I’m enjoying the ride. I’m aiming for 65,000 words (or so). Lately, I’ve been writing BIG HONKIN’ TOMES, so I’m aiming for something that’s delicious but less intimidating to readers who are looking for a quick adventure between the sheets (sheets of paper, you pervs)!

Originally, I’d planned nothing but marathon writing sessions. Thing is, after a few hours at it from the early morning, I need to recharge. It’s turned into an unexpectedly eventful week in the off-writing hours. Yesterday, I had a coffee date and caught up with a fellow writer. I’m reading more, too.

I’ve been riding my bike and hitting the gym for one to two hours a day, cleaned the house, rented a carpet cleaner for the basement carpet, and got a chipped tooth fixed. In the past, I’ve chipped teeth sparring. That was exciting. How I did it this time, I have no idea, but it was expensive and less exciting. Tomorrow, I get to hang out with Russ (my favorite Mennonite, wise sage, and beta reader extraordinaire).

After today’s writing session, I’m spending the day with my son. Archery time is booked after catching up over lunch. I’ll take him for an exciting trip to a grocery store and maybe some temporary tattoos to freak out She Who Must Be Obeyed upon her return from France. I also slept on her side of the bed. She’ll hate that. Vengeance shall be mine!

And she better goddamn well bring me back a croissant. I mean, jeez! Look at those beauties!

There’s still time to work on another chapter. I’m on it. Have a week! (And read and review my books!)

~ Robert

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No apologies

Citizen Second Class

America has fallen.

The rich have retreated behind the walls of the fortress they call New Atlanta. They won’t give up their power easily. Oppression and starvation gave birth to the Resistance, but every rebellion needs a champion.

Desperate to save her grandmother, Kismet Beatriz must make the journey to infiltrate the stronghold of the Select Few.

From the author of This Plague of Days comes a near-future thriller built for fans of Nineteen Eighty-four and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Endemic

Endemic won the prestigious North Street Book Prize in genre fiction, the Literary Titan Award, and first place in science fiction at both the New York Book Festival and the Hollywood Book Festival.

Ovid Fairweather is a neurodivergent book editor in New York when a deadly plague sweeps the United States. Bullied by her father, haunted by her dead therapist, and hunted by marauders, Ovid must find courage amid the chaos to become the person she was always meant to be.

She was a nail. She will become a hammer.

I am Robert Chazz Chute, and I hate police states.

Being against fascism shouldn’t be a controversial choice, but our world has changed. If you’re looking for anti-fascist news, check out #worldtok on TikTok or read HuffPost.

If you’re looking for inspiration, read Citizen Second Class and Endemic.

Whether you defy, flee, or resist, I’m on your side.

Never 51. Elbows up. Hands off.

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Tales of Humiliation

Recently, an author posted about how an up-and-coming writer’s book had failed to launch. The author claimed to be a bestselling writer, and boy, was she a scold! She was all up in her feelings about a self-published author’s debut that failed to sell many copies. Her core message was, “If only they’d done what I had done! If only she knew better!”

This demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding some folks have about publishing books. There are too many variables outside the author’s control and no guarantees of success. You can do everything right, and still fail. In fact, trad or self-published, most books fail to find an audience. To become a bestseller in Canada, you have to sell a few thousand in a week. Less than 0.5% of the 100,000 hardcovers published each year make the New York Times Bestseller List. Novels have a spectacular failure rate (if your only metric is sales and reaching a wider readership. Some authors do not share those aspirations).

The bestseller criticizing the debut writer attributed her success to herself, her publisher, and her skill. There are many more factors than that. When people succeed, very few have the perspicacity to admit they were just plain lucky. Instead, they rationalize their genius moves after the fact.

You can optimize your chances of success, but the headwinds against you are enormous. The Netflix documentary featuring Fran Lebowitz was originally expected to air earlier than it did. Netflix put that off, and that turned into a happy accident for Lebowitz. That delay meant the show aired during the height of the pandemic. Many more people watched than otherwise would have because everyone was stuck at home.

Arrogance and ignorance can really drag an artist down.

During book promotions, many authors freely give away books to boost the store algorithms and garner more reviews. When my dentist asked about my work, I mentioned that I was running a promotion at that moment for my new book.

“You can pick it up for free right now,” I offered. Nice and generous, right?

“You’re giving it away?” His tone suggested I was making a rookie mistake in devaluing my work.

I still run into that attitude among some authors, but it’s a tried and true marketing tactic.

“Objection! Stephen King doesn’t have to do that.”

Ahem. You’re not Stephen King. Neither am I. There can be only one!

To be found, loss leaders are common and not at all shameful. It’s incredibly difficult to get people to review a novel, and harder still to sell a novel with few reviews. Many authors decide to give to get to increase their long-term sales. There are other approaches, but this is far from outlandish. Give a few hundred, and potentially gain a few thousand new readers and maybe a couple of dozen fresh reviews. Simple marketing, right? (It is, I’m not really asking.)

It gets worse.

On a Zoom call with fellow alums from my university, I discovered how I’d stumbled into a rather insulated clique. First, one woman didn’t believe I had attended our alma mater at all. “I don’t recognize you,” she said. It was a challenge. Amazing how casual some folks are about making an enemy for life, huh?

We attended a small university, but I wasn’t one of the cool kids. I recognized her from the cafeteria, but saying so would have made me feel even more inconsequential. She was active in clubs, at the bar, and getting lots of pictures of herself with friends she would keep for life. I was up in my dorm room reading and happy.

(Stay tuned. My humiliation continues below the graphic)

All that content solitude in university was one reason I got to do this:


mybook.to/TheEndemicExperience

It got worse.

On the same Zoom, an old friend said he had picked up Endemic for free. The other people on the call laughed at me. The friend asked if giving away books was worth it. In that moment, it sure wasn’t. I was in the wrong group, talking to the wrong people. Hurt feelings aside, I’ve never put hurt feelings aside.

Whatever you’re choices, there will be people who don’t know your journey, but they are certain you are doing it wrong. Don’t just agree to disagree. Disagree to disagree. Keep going, and do you, Boo.



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Read Banned Books

As my beta readers review my latest manuscript, I’m preparing for my next book launch. Some marketing gurus say authors should start promoting their books at least a year in advance, or the at the moment of conception, whichever comes earliest. That sounds like an exhausting marathon for both of us, but I’m cranking up the hype machine. In the meantime, there’s plenty of books to read while you eagerly await my next masterpiece. Right? Right?

There are many variables with these endeavors.

When I launched Endemic in October 2021, Amazon sabotaged me. Despite multiple calls to customer support, they wouldn’t allow me to run ads. It was obtuse, but my story about how people change and how they don’t was hidden from view. Oh, yeah, and the backdrop was New York, fallen to a pandemic. No doubt, the AI bots at Amazon suffocated my baby because of the title. They thought my sci-fi content could some misleading or controversial statement about the real world. It was fiction, not misleading, and possibly controversial to some pearl-clutchers.

Happily, Endemic went on to win the prestigious North Street Book Prize in genre fiction, a Literary Titan Award, and first place in science fiction at both the New York Book Festival and the Hollywood Book Festival. Vindication!

https://books2read.com/u/mVPPy5

Eventually, Amazon lifted the ban, but the experience left me bitter, gun shy, and feeling a deeper sympathy for authors of banned books everywhere. I’m assuming that, because my heroine in Endemic is asexual, the book would get banned if the censors were paying attention. (Looking forward to that! I’d be in good company.)

Given the state of the world, it’s significant that some of the censors’ favorite targets make political points. I’m with Stephen King on this: If they don’t want you to read it, add it to your reading list. Throughout history, the book banners have never been the good guys. Some examples of banned books I’ve read that I consider essential are:

  • The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
  • A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
  • The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

This is not a comprehensive list, but if you haven’t read any of the above, I recommend you fill that gap. Or even read this one:

Ovid Fairweather is a neurodivergent book editor in New York when a deadly plague sweeps the United States. Bullied by her father, haunted by her dead therapist, and hunted by marauders, Ovid must find courage amid the chaos to become the person she was always meant to be.

She was a nail., She will become a hammer.

CLICK HERE TO BUY ENDEMIC
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How 2023 kicked my ass (and what I’m doing about it)

Two hip replacements in a single year is no joke, but I am improving and a new novel is coming. Here’s my path back to health and happy productivity in 2024.

In less than a week, I have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon to confirm my recovery is on track. My physio is optimistic and enthused, but then, she is always incredibly upbeat. We are quite the contrast. She’s energetic, and I’m the grumpy old man from Up. I need to change some things, but short of a personality transplant, how?

I have some ideas (and the last one is probably the best)

  • I used to treat people with various pain conditions. I know the rehabilitation process. However, I’m impatient. Particularly on bad pain days, I must remind myself to simply do the exercises without being so attached to results. Rehabilitation of injuries is a little like writing a first draft. I have to trust the process.
  • Particularly after a terrible night’s sleep, I am exhausted of being me. I feel trapped in my body so I have to be gentler with myself. I could worry more, but would it help? I put my head down, have a rest, and do the exercises. It will all work out. Like tinkering with a manuscript, it all works out given enough time. “Enough time” is usually more than I would have hoped.
  • As a chronic insomniac with a busy brain, I don’t panic about missing a night’s sleep anymore. Instead, I sleep when I sleep. Nobody shakes off a double hip replacement in one year easily. When I feel a nap coming for me, I don’t fight it.
  • We can terrorize ourselves with shoulds. I should do more. I should do this, I should do that. But I can’t do it all and I certainly can’t do it all right now. What’s left? Acceptance.
  • Self-care takes many forms. Sometimes it’s a treat, a nap, a ride in the car just to get outside, chatting with a friend on the phone, or giving up for the day.
  • Medications, as needed. Right now, that’s usually nothing more than Aspirin, but sometimes it’s Lorazepam.
  • Once I’m cleared for more exercise, I’m looking forward to that outlet. The aims are to get my cardiovascular fitness back, improve my strength and achieve a higher quality of life. Aside from the stress relief more movement will provide, I’m in training to be able to sit still and write for longer periods.
  • As a news and politics junkie, I have sabotaged my mental health. I feed my busy brain with information I can’t use. I own two bone-conduction headphones, one for day, one for night. I wear them constantly to consume podcasts, audiobooks, and music. Nothing wrong with that in moderation, but I realize now how much is too much. I’m taking the headphones off to focus on reading more and writing more.

    In short, my best and biggest change is to guard my quiet time. I already have a negativity bias. I don’t need to feed it a high-caloric diet of atrocities in the present and fears for the future. Until I get that Iron Man suit, there’s not much I can do about that. So…

    PROTECT YOUR PEACE

    I’m in training to get back to being me. RIght now, I’m plagued with my identity as a patient. Can’t wait to focus more on being a writer beloved by perhaps tens of people!

    My next novel is a tale of vengeance that spans decades. Endemic was about how we change and how we don’t. This one is about how we won’t. Please stand by, and thank you for your patience.

    Looking for a great award-winning novel that’s criminally underrated this holiday season? Look no further. Please add Endemic to your shipping cart.

Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook.

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The Neurodivergent Book Editor Wins


I’ve known this for a couple of months, but I can finally announce that Endemic has won first place in genre fiction from the North Street Book Awards. They say my story about a neurodivergent book editor overcoming childhood trauma in the viral apocalypse is a “fresh twist“ in apocalyptic fiction.

http://mybook.to/TheEndemicExperience

In addition to a cash prize and various goodies, I received a nifty T-shirt and a certificate.)


This is Endemic’s fourth win. It previously received a Literary Titan Award and first place at both the Hollywood Book Festival and the New York Book Festival.

One of the (possibly dubious?) benefits is a critique of the book via the judges. Note the huge difference in tone between the ominous word “critique” and the glorious word “review.”

For the most part, the critique is delighted and delightful. I had to giggle at one piece of commentary wherein a judge suggested she would have enjoyed Endemic even more if it were a completely different book. Also, in my estimation, the suggestion of a different cover would have hurt the novel. But these are niggles. Reading between the lines, it’s easy to appreciate how different readers will see a narrative through their particular lens . Obviously, they loved Endemic overall.

Congratulations to all the winners! You’ll find them all listed here.

You can buy Endemic in hardcover, paperback, and ebook here.