Tuesday, February 25, 2020

"Zubare: Liberation - Part 1" by Paolo Ruggirello


Dear Readers:

Today you have a chance to support an author in getting his book published. This doesn't happy very often in the publishing world. Let me tell you what I mean. Paolo Ruggirello, author of "Zubare: Liberation - Part I" has a Kickstarter campaign to help him get the book published. As an author myself and co-owner of Absolute Author Publishing House, I know the expense of publishing a book firsthand. As authors, we work all hours of the day and night and every spare minute writing and editing our manuscripts. We do this without pay hoping that our book will one day see the light of day and reach readers. Often, this does put a financial burden on authors. To print a book in either paperback or hardback is very expensive. Again, authors take a financial hit until the book sells. If you ever have had a desire to help an author here is your chance. Let me tell you about the book and about Paolo Ruggirello.

Zubare: Liberation - Part 1

A fantasy novel set in the unique world, Pia. On a small northern island, called Zubare, oppression and greed run rampant. For now...
 
ABOUT THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN - FROM PAOLO RUGGIRELLO
 
Hi everyone! I am writing my first fantasy novel called Zubare: Liberation. It is the first part of the story and chronicles the adventures of Miami, Bertucio, and Aiko as they attempt to liberate the island of Zubare. Thank you so much for checking it out!
 
For your $10 donation: Receive a digital copy of the book before it's released on Amazon! Both a .PDF file and an EPUB file will be delivered to you as soon as they are available.
 
For your $15 donation: Receive the digital copy of the book before it is released on Amazon and receive a paperback edition of the book, signed by the author! This will be available before the Amazon release on KDP.
 
For your $20 donation: Receive the digital copy of the book before it is available on Amazon and receive a hardbound edition of the book, signed by me! This will be available before the Amazon release, which will be paperback.
 
Summary
 
Zubare is a small island near the north pole of the planet, Pia. It is one of three islands that occupy the northern seas of the planet. It is covered in a dense forest that is filled with lush, vibrant plants and unique animals. The mountain range is rather short and cuts the island in half. The island is occupied by a more advanced government from the neighboring island of Kantohr. The Kantohrins rule with an iron fist and tax the people into extreme poverty, colloquially called The Cutthroats. Some of the farming clans begin to resist their rule with shrewd, cunning maneuvers and undermining schemes. With taxes raising every year, the small resistance just isn't enough and the people's rage becomes more and more palpable. Musashi and his wife, Qwen, lead Miami and Aiko against the Cutthroats for many years. The Cutthroats raid their farm, destroy their crops, and blow up their dilapidated estate. As Miami and Aiko are fleeing the scene, they encounter the strange Bertucio and his companion, Strawberry, in a secret tunnel. The fleeing rebels enlist the help of this outlandish duo as they make their way to a secret hideout and await further instructions. Will they be able to find their fearless leader and his wife before it's too late? Can they liberate the island, or will they succumb to the violent civil war that threatens to engulf their beautiful home?
 
FAQ

·          What is Pia? 
Pia is a world of my own design, like so many other fantasy worlds. I was heavily inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Angie Sage, Jenny Nimmo, and so many other authors, but didn't have anywhere useful to put my thoughts. When my friend finally introduced me to Pathfinder, I had finally found my outlet. I began designing the world for my first campaign in 2014, which became the plotline for this very book!
·         So then, what was taken from Pathfinder?
Not a thing! We used its rules and mathematics to play the game, but nothing more. This book contains the events and characters I designed and wrote, in a world I built from scratch.
·         When will the book be ready for publication?
As soon as it is finished the editing process and my editor reviews all 6 chapters, I will commission a cover, format my interior and digital files, and send it off to the printers!
·         Will the book still be released if the Kickstarter fails?
Absolutely! If we don't hit the funding goal, I will still be publishing the book on Amazon and perhaps a few other retailers. It will just take a significantly longer time, that's all.
 
PAOLO RUGGIRELLO

Tell your readers a little about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school, etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
 
I was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, on October 31, 1993. I have a brother and two sisters. I lived in Michigan until I was around eight years old, at which time we moved to Oxford, Pennsylvania. I love the house and the land we had there. When I was about twelve years old, we moved to New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, where I met one of my closest friends. I’m very glad we still talk today, despite having moved again when I was 16 to Devon, Pennsylvania. I met some absolutely amazing people there, and we all became lifelong friends. Shortly before I turned 26, I moved to Bloomington, Minnesota, to live with my girlfriend, whom I love dearly. I’ve met some very interesting people here, for whom I am grateful. 
 
What inspired you to author this book?
 
I was always encouraged to use my imagination for as long as I can remember, both as entertainment and as a problem solving tool. I love thinking and creating exciting stories and would spend most of my time in class living in the vast universes inside my head. One day almost ten years ago, I played a game of Pathfinder with some friends and had an absolute blast. I fell in love with the game and immediately set to work crafting and building another universe, but this time I wanted other people to live in it with me. The work began sometime in 2014 when my brother wanted to play as a ninja. I created the setting, the story, the characters, everything! Now, six years later, the story has come to an end, and I wanted to share it.
 
Who has been the most significant influence on you personally and as a writer?
 
It’s truly hard to say that any one specific person has been the most significant influence on me. Everyone in my life has added something unique to my perspective. Every TV show, comic, movie, and book I read inspires me to look at my world in a different way. As I constantly grow and learn, so does my own world and writing. I think if I absolutely had to pin it on someone, it would be Tolkien. I always liked and enjoyed fantasy, but when I really absorbed his writing, I fell head over heels for the genre.
 
What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?
 
Since the book is based on a plot I wrote for my brother and my friend using Pathfinder’s rule system, the biggest limitation was finding time to play. I think it took over a year of writing and scheduling to finish the game’s story finally. Then after I decided to turn the events of the campaign into a book, the obstacles became almost completely financial. I hired a professional editor, which was expensive. Artwork was expensive. Marketing is extremely expensive. Somehow, though, I’m slowly making it work. I guess I got lucky that I never hit any major bouts of writer’s block when working on the book. Whenever I felt burnt out or tired, I would just hop over to another time period in my world and work on that, or do something else entirely. I just never worried about it.
 
Tell your readers about your book.
 
The Kantohrins, colloquially called The Cutthroats, rule with an iron fist and tax their people into extreme poverty. Some of the farming clans begin to resist their rule with shrewd, cunning maneuvers and undermining schemes. With taxes rising every year, the small resistance just isn't enough, and the people's rage becomes more and more palpable. Musashi and his wife, Qwen, led Miami and Aiko against the Cutthroats for many years. The Cutthroats raid their farm, destroy their crops, and blow up their dilapidated estate. As Miami and Aiko are fleeing the scene, they encounter the strange Bertucio and his companion, Strawberry, in a secret tunnel. The fleeing rebels enlist the help of this outlandish duo as they make their way to a secret hideout and await further instructions. Will they be able to find their fearless leader and his wife before it's too late? Can they liberate the island, or will they succumb to the violent civil war that threatens to engulf their beautiful home?
 
Who is your target audience, and why?
 
My target audience is readers between the ages of twenty and thirty. The book is about oppression and rebellion; there’s going to be combat, people are going to die, it’s going to contain some mature concepts.
 
What do you consider your greatest success in life?
 
So far, I’d consider it to be this book.
 
What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your genre?
 
I think what really sets me apart is that I don’t like to address the reader directly if I can avoid it any other way. Instead of explaining directly to the reader how something works, I strive to demonstrate it with my characters’ actions or words. Also, I heavily dislike clichés and try to avoid them as much as possible without compromising the integrity of the world.