I feel a little hesitant to do this because I know how needy self-promotion can seem and I'm also aware of the stringent rules governing this forum. So in the sincere hope that this post won't fall foul of any of them and won't annoy you all too much, may I share with you my first novel, Angel.
This book comes with a near-stereotypical trail of agents' refusal letters - often enthusiastic in their praise for the book but always damning in their verdict on its marketability - and so after many a frustrated and frustrating attempt at getting it published the 'traditional' way, I took the plunge and published it under my own Optimist label. I had been warned that this would be authorial suicide, since nobody would take a self-published writer seriously, and indeed without any marketing or publicity behind it, the book languished, effectively unread, unloved and undetected. But that was a few years ago and the world has moved on since then.
Earlier this year, I released Angel on Kindle and our great British national treasure, writer, actor, raconteur and television host, Stephen Fry got hold of it and he liked it so much, he wrote to me, and gave me permission to quote him. This made me reappraise the situation somewhat. I began to wonder whether perhaps the undertaking of writing and publishing this story was not, after all, such a grandiose folly, and that maybe there are readers out there who would feel that immersing themselves in it would be rewarding.
So I cautiously offer it up for your delectation (or otherwise, as the case may be). It's taken me years to get to this point, and who knows if I will ever attempt another novel, but if any of you find it worthwhile I should be most genuinely happy to have done so at least once.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to get in touch by any of the means below.
Sebastian Michael
![Image](http://www.optimistcreations.com/uploads/4/2/3/1/4231769/8592789_orig.jpg)
ANGEL
Novel
by Sebastian Michael
"A delight to read. So delicate, casually cruel, wickedly funny and wildly alluring."
- Stephen Fry
Damion is a boy who is so beautiful that everybody falls in love with him. This, his greatest advantage in life, gradually turns into his heaviest burden and so as he reaches adulthood, Damion, in an act half wanton, half heroic, destroys what for most people - but not for him - has come to define his essence. - A classic tale of a young man seeking his destiny.
The following description by Alana Jelinek, author of Ohm's Law, is taken from the back cover of the original hardback edition:
"Sebastian Michael's novel, 'Angel', is a great achievement; beautifully written and thoroughly engaging.
At face value it is the story of a young man so beautiful that 'anyone who met him fell instantly in love with him'. His emergence from boyhood is described with an astonishing sympathy for the experience of adolescence. The author has a great gift for subtle and commanding characterisation, one result of which is our developing appreciation of the burden of beauty on the 'hero' of the tale and all who come into contact with him. Events are beautifully described with a perspicacity for place and sensation.
On another level, 'Angel' can be read as an allegory of a society concerned largely with the superficial. Here value is determined by Beauty and the consequence of a great surfeit in power created by fundamental inequalities between people is explored in the trajectories of human lives. 'Angel' raises questions of responsibility and agency, as those privileged by society try to claim some responsibility for what appears to be pre-determined lives. We are asked to consider to what extent we can be responsible for the impact of our existence.
'Angel' is compelling and curious, an intelligent inquiry and a sensual pleasure. Its characters and their experiences feel immediately real and they also resonate over time remaining with the reader: so true is the author's ability with narrative and character. With 'Angel', Sebastian Michael has produced a novel that is a pleasure to read, that has depth and detail, and that raises some of the important questions for the contemporary moment. The ultimate meaning of 'Angel' will be a subject of debate between readers, as is inevitable with a novel that works so well on many levels."
Kindle on amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-ebook/dp/B007AYSTCA
Kindle on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Angel-ebook/dp/B007AYSTCA
From the IBookstore:
http://itunes.apple.com/book/angel/id540881828
From Barnes & Noble (Nook and hardback edition):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angel-s ... 1015826859
From Kobo:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Angel/bo ... page1.html
Hardcover and paperback versions and more purchasing options here:
http://www.optimistcreations.com/angel.html
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