The AUDIOBOOK!

I am so freaking excited I can barely stand it.

I am moving forward with the Audiobook version of Alone In The Light and it is going to be AMAZING.


AMAZING!!!



I have been in discussion with two narrators who will both be adding their voices to this project and bringing my story to life in a way I couldn't imagine until I heard them reading it. I was just blown away. Like - WOW... It's one thing to hear a story in your head and VERY much a different thing to hear someone read it with their own take, their own emotion, their own delivery.

I was overwhelmed with how much emotion I felt at hearing my own words... I mean, it was surreal.

So, that being said, allow me to introduce the narrators...


The very talented Phil Thron will be reading the chapters/sub-chapters that are from Josh Carpenter's perspective.

Phil is an absolute DREAM to work with. His delivery is freaking AMAZING and he knows how to turn on the emotion when a scene calls for it. (You can visit his website here:  https://www.philthronvoice.com/)

He will be joined by award-winning narrator Natalie Naudus. She will be reading the chapters/sub-chapters from Mary Fischer's perspective. Her voice is SPOT-ON for how I pictured Mary. I am so excited to hear the finished product with her on this. (You can visit her website here: https://www.natalienaudus.com/)





So with this all in mind, I'm shifting gears into marketing and fundraising... yes, I know. THAT dreaded thing. But, it's true.

So, if you'd like to help out - I've organized a GoFundMe and you can help out if you'd like! Which would be AWESOME.

You can find the GoFundMe right HERE.

For your donation you will get one of the following:
$5 gets you a free bookmark.
$25 or more gets a free copy of the audiobook when it releases.
$50 gets you an audiobook and a free, signed, copy of the paperback.
$100... Well, let's just say I'll be VERY thankful... *wink*
$1,000 - I will come to your house, make you dinner, tuck you into bed, and read you Goodnight Moon

No such thing as bad press!

The saying goes, "There's no such thing as bad press." - Or so I've been told. I guess that's true, too. Today's local paper featured a front page story about me, my book, and my efforts to draw attention to PTSD, TBI, and veteran suicide...

The article itself is good, but... there's always a but, right? BUT they put the title of my book in the article incorrectly. Not once, but TWICE.

It's Alone In The Light... not Alone In The Night.

Oh well, it is what it is. And, like I said, it's mostly a good article and I hope people will see it and it will draw attention to my book.

In the meantime, the reporter said he would run a correction in tomorrow's edition. If I'm lucky - that, too, will be on the front page.

We can always hope, right?

RIGHT?!

Also - go check out ALONE IN THE LIGHT at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore!

If you like it, put a ring on it? No, that's not right...

Ah, the world of publishing a book. It's all movie contracts and phone calls with Stephen King...

No. No, that's a lie. It might be real for SOME authors, but not for me. And not for many self-published authors who do everything out of pocket. For us, it's much more "spend your day online trying to promote your book in ways that make you almost uncomfortable."

Like right now.


Hi! I'm Benjamin W. Bass! Please buy my book.

It is also much more than that. It's trying to get your book noticed by more than just friends and family. It's trying to get your book to a point where it is bigger than your circle of friends. And that, unfortunately, is where the whole "Thanks for reading my book, would you please leave a review" comes in.

FREE BOOKMARKS!

Hello again, everyone! How are you today?

I'm doing quite well, having filled up on homemade tamales for lunch... You have no idea. They were delicious.

Anyway - I am writing today to inform you all of some free stuff!

I will be shipping out FREE bookmarks to anyone who reads and reviews Alone In The Light.

No catch. That's it.

Leave an honest review on Amazon, B&N, or Goodreads and I will send you this nifty bookmark for your future reading!

Front

Back 

The front features the cover of Alone In The Light and the reverse offers the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Fancy? I'm not sure.
Helpful? - We hope.

So - if you've already reviewed Alone In The Light drop me a link to your review at ben@benjaminwbass.com with an address and I will ship you a free bookmark!

Thank you for your time and your support.

Alone In The Light - A Visual Companion

While the events and characters of my book are fictional - Every place I've mentioned in Alone In The Light is a real place. You can visit all of them... I'd really recommend against F.O.B. Kalsu in Iraq though... And Camp Wolf no longer exists. But Fairland and Batesville, Indiana are both very real. As well as Indiana University in Bloomington. Some of the buildings have changed names since 2005, but the overall visuals are still the same I believe.

I've scoured  spent 30 seconds looking on the internet and found some lovely photos to help act as sort of a visual guide to the book if you'd be interested.

We'll start with Iraq and Kuwait.

Kuwait - Camp Wolf

A small tent city built near the Kuwait International Airport to serve as the APOD or Aerial Port Of Debarkation. This housed support personnel for the theater. Including the CSH or Combat Support Hospital - Mary Fischer's unit.

It was hot, dirty, and featured a pretty good dining facility - as well as access to Domino's Pizza via delivery. Just sayin...

Where Can You Buy Alone In The Light?

In a fictional conversation I've had with thousands of people, I am constantly asked, "Hey, Benjamin, where can I, your adoring fan, buy a copy of your book?"

I'm glad you asked!

Let me break it down for you as it stands now:

Signed Copies:
If you are feeling extra-awesome, you can email me at ben@benjaminwbass.com for a signed copy. If you require it shipped to you, the cost will be $20 via paypal (this includes shipping via USPS priority mail). If you live in the area and just want to meet up for drinks, it'll be $15.

Standard eBook and Paperback:
Currently you can buy both versions of my book (eBook and Paperback) are available over on Amazon.

Both versions are also available to order through Barnes & Noble!

But wait! There's more!

My book, Alone In The Light, was published through Amazon as well as IngramSpark. This means you can have your local library or bookstore order a copy for you through IngramSpark's direct publishing office.

Which is pretty cool.

This also means you can go into a retailer, such as Barnes & Noble or Joseph-Beth, and have a copy ordered for you to pick up in their store! It's a pretty nifty deal in my opinion.

In theory, once all the hoops have been jumped through, the "T's have all been dotted, and the "I"s have all been crossed, this will be available through more outlets such as Apple's iBooks and Wal*Mart's online store. So, if you hate Amazon or just have a strong hankering to support your local Wal*Mart, you can head over to their website, search for my name, and BAM! book.


I will update the links on this page as they become available across the various places. In the meantime, if you've read my book and liked it, please leave a review!

Thanks for reading!

Pre-Launch Anxiety

Happy Thursday, everyone!

In five short days, my book will go live. Which is awesome and terrifying at the same time. It's awesome because, well, shit... I wrote a book. It's terrifying because, well, shit... I wrote a book and people might read it.

This is where we all talk about imposter syndrome, right? Right.

It's that feeling that you and what you've created are crap. It's like you're just hanging out near the "big kids' table" at dinner pretending to be one when, in reality, you're still a kid wearing too much cologne trying to talk about politics with your Aunt Barbara and you have no idea what you're doing. Then you worry that one of the real big kids is going to overhear you, put you in your place, and make you feel awful about existing.


That's where I am right now.


I've never written a book. I've only ever been published once... ironically, it was the short story that then grew to become Alone In The Light. And it was under the same name back in... 2005 I think?  It was the Canvas Creative Arts Magazine at Indiana University. Not a huge publication, but it was nice for me to see my words in printed form.

But now... sheesh. I'm about to show potentially tens of people a work that is 330 pages of my inane ramblings. Okay, not ramblings, but my thoughts jotted down on the page. And I think my big fear isn't if people will like it or not like it... but what if they nothing it? What if they finish it and are just "meh" about the entire thing. I think that would be the worst.

Another fear is that people will go into this thinking it's a war story. It's not. It's a homecoming story. It's about coming back home to find your favorite things no longer feel or fit the way they should. It's about closing off from the people you love and the things you love to do... and it's about trying to overcome that through drinking. Which, minor spoiler, doesn't work that well.

This story comes from my many nights of sitting on my couch, smoking cigarettes, watching Stargate SG-1 reruns until 2am, and drinking a lot of alcohol trying to get certain things and images out of my head. This story comes from the idea of thinking college was the greatest thing in the world, but after going to Iraq everything seemed muted. It was like the color was sucked out of the world and I didn't know why... or how to deal with it. I came home and practically RAN back to college without giving myself time to adjust. For better or worse, it has worked out for me in the long run. I love where I've ended up in life. I love my wife and kids. I love our house. I love our neighborhood... I hate my commute, but that's a different story.

So... here we are. Five days away from having people potentially read my story, and I almost want to call the whole thing off.

Am I alone in this anxiety? Or am I just another in the long line of wannabe writers trying to sit at the big kids' table and not knowing if I'm ready or even able to pull up a chair?

I guess we'll know soon enough.