A Rochdale man is raising funds to publish a dystopian novel dedicated to the memory of his inspirational grandmother.
Benjamin Howarth, 30, is hoping to self-publish The Wastelander to honour Cynthia Firth who passed away aged 85.
The business owner is offering rewards to Mancunians who help him generate enough cash to fund the project and has set up a Kickstarter page.
“I used to write a lot of short stories and she knew I had the idea, she told me to get my arse in gear,” Benjamin told MM.
“She was a creative person who encouraged my creative aspects and pushed me to do what I do and not just go through the motions of it.”
Cynthia even helped get Benjamin going with Wastelander by helping him structure and progress the story.
The plot follows a lone traveller in a world that has become a vast wasteland.
“The one main character, Alex West, is more of an antihero and not a nice person, he kills people,” said Benjamin.
“You really root for him to die and a lot of people who have read have it and said I hate this guy.”
The project has been a labour of love for Benjamin with a traditional publishing route being difficult and potentially self-harming with its extensive PR restrictions.
Benjamin believes that self-publishing is the best option for getting his book into people’s hands as the traditional route can restrict an author.
“It’s a hell of a long road and depending on who the publisher is you might not get any PR, you’re not allowed to do it yourself, it’s a bit stupid really.
“The Kickstarter is not a money making thing, it is more about getting it out there and people enjoying it.”
The writer has found smaller UK projects on Kickstarter face disproportionate support when compared to American crowd funding.
“A lot of people in England do not know how Kickstarter works, they were not aware if you pledge money it doesn’t get taken until it reaches 100 percent,” he said.
“A lot of the backers are actually from America mainly because they understand Kickstarter better, they are so much more active as they know about it.
“There is a lot of UK stuff but nowhere near as much in America.”
The Wastelander is expected to be published by January 2017.
