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A Year Later, Excitement, Support and Pain

We are just days away from the one year anniversary release date of my debut novel Borrowed Time. For me, this sends a surge of emotions through my body. I waited 9 long years to publish a story I wrote and absolutely adore. I had a ball with learning the ins and outs of self publishing (and now still learning proper marketing techniques). I launched the SommerioBooks.com website to host not just my work, but all authors with the Sommerio surname (maiden included). I've donated paperback copies to local library's all across the Chicagoland area. I spoke at two schools regarding publishing, dream pursuing and the importance of literacy. I had a successful book signing, although my tour was canceled shortly after (more on that in a moment), where the support was nothing less than remarkable. I even dipped into philanthropy and launched a campaign for education giving 100% proceeds of my novel to selected schools in Chicago. But this is just the beginning.

You may have heard me mention this before, but in July 2018 tragedy struck my family hard. As a father and husband I didn't think twice about shelving my dreams (again) to focus on the recovery of my family. It has been hard. The posts stopped, the blogs stopped, the website neglected, the book tour canceled. Just as I had gotten started, my writing career reached a screeching halt.

So where am I going with all this? Well I know you too may have a dream. You may have also faced sorrow, tragedy, and maybe even had to combat health woes both physically and mentally. But please let me tell you to never, ever fucking give up. I am just now starting up again. And it doesn't matter if it's a year later, you know why? Borrowed Time is timeless and my love for writing undefeated. No one can take that away from me. My second novel "The Ki" is currently being written. SommerioBooks.com is receiving updated content. Borrowed Time was accepted as credible reading material for several high schools, has been entered in two literature contests and now being advertised heavily on several platforms!

To close, I simply want to say thank you! If you are reading this, more than likely you have been on this journey with me. And as I said before, it has just begun. On May 26, 2019, head over to SommerioBooks.com for my 1 year Anniversary promotion of free copies of BT on every platform (while they last).

We all want to accomplish something with our dream. And with that said, I'll leave you with one of my many quotes:

“I want my greatest accomplishment to be the footprint I leave in the world, no matter how big or small. And that footprint shall be immortality, via the art of storytelling.”
—A.D. Sommerio

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