By Tinsley Carter
“I wanted to have my first reading in Berea because this college and this town have been such a wonderful, beautiful influence over the whole of my life,” said author N. Frank Daniels. “I hope that at some point I’ll be able to repay the incredible generosity bestowed upon me by Berea College.”
I know him from when we were students together at Berea College. Now the rest of the world will get to meet him. He’s the author of “futureproof,” an Irvine Welsh-esque book that takes the reader through the adolescence, growth, tragedy and successes of Luke, a young Atlanta boy with no parental control who is searching to find the person he wants to become through the exploration of sex, love, drugs and alcohol.
Daniels will be doing the first reading/signing of his book tour on Saturday, June 10, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Berea College Bookstore, located in the College Square. For that reason, I felt it was appropriate to write a column about his unique job as a writer, promoting his first book.
Since Daniels has chosen to self-publish his book, he has the daunting task of getting it distributed everywhere on his own. However, because of a large support system all over the world, this will be a much easier task to undertake.
‘“futureproof’ is now in eight stores in Hong Kong, and in the works in South Africa, Australia, Scotland and France. And all because of enthusiastic, interested readers who want to be a part of something bigger than all of us,” he said. “It’s an awesome thing, totally authentic and completely grassroots. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
A great deal of interest in his book has been generated through the Internet, something Daniels considers as being the most important tool a writer has at his disposal, self-published or not. Through the Internet, he has networked with many other writers and created a strong fan base.
“The hardest work is not in writing books anymore. It is in getting noticed after the writing is done,” he said.
So the Internet has provided him with a built-in audience before attempting to get published. With support from authors such as James Frey (“A Million Little Pieces”), Jay McInerney (“Bright Lights, Big City”) and Josh Kilmer-Purcell (“I Am Not Myself These Days”), it won’t take him long.
Daniels began writing “futureproof” after graduating from Berea in 2002, at a writer’s workshop in upstate New York, where he wrote the first 10-15 pages of the book. However, after the workshop, he “came home and had to start working, keep a roof over the head, feed the family and whatnot, so the book was put on the back burner.”
After an injury on the job in 2003, he really began to focus on writing the book — the last of eight full edits was in May 2005, and at 100,000 words, is actually half as long as it was originally.
‘“futureproof’ is a book about life, and as any good book, in my opinion does, it puts the reader completely inside the shoes of another person and lets him/her discover the world through that protagonist’s eyes,” Daniels said.
The theme of the book is highly controversial; however, “futureproof” was not written just to be a controversial book. Daniels doesn’t just write a shocking story without depth. I was immediately drawn into the book after the first transmission (chapter), where Luke, the story’s protagonist, discovers women. I was taken through an emotional roller coaster as he plows his way through life. Although he does despicable things, I couldn’t help but to like him, feel sorry for him and detest him at times. And I could see the destruction that was bound to come his way.
“I think the book, by the nature of the subjects it tackles, is controversial. It deals with very taboo subject matter from drug abuse to abortion to racism. And I honestly believe this is why it has yet to be bought by a publisher,” Daniels said. “I think mainstream publishing is afraid of this book. I’m a guy who wrote a book and generated a ton of reader interest using only the Internet, and on Amazon.com this book outsells many newly published books put out by major publishing houses because it has a fan base that is enthusiastic about it, which in turn makes for great word of mouth.”
If publishers cannot see past the controversial matter in Daniels’ book, they are ignoring a large population of readers that identify with the reality portrayed in it.
“The political correctness that is so stereotypically common in a place like New York has made them blind to the hunger that exists for this type of straight-talking material,” he said.
Although “futureproof” deals with taboo subjects, everyone can relate to the characters as human beings, struggling to find themselves and find their purpose for being alive.
So far, Daniels estimates he’s had about 97 percent positive reaction to his book, and I believe he will have much, much more in the future.
The first 100 pages can be viewed for free at www.futureproofbook.com.
“I try to get as many people as possible to go to my site and read those 100 pages, because you are either going to read them and love the book, want to read the rest, or you’ll probably lose interest after the first 10 pages,” he said. “Either way, it’s been great to receive the huge volume of positive feedback from people all over the world.”
While promoting “futureproof,” Daniels is also working on another book that should be finished by the end of the year.
“futureproof” has become one of my favorite books, and I highly recommend everyone to visit his Web site and read the first 100 pages. You won’t be able to stop.
