It's here! The Sentient is out

It's been a surreal couple of weeks, which is the best excuse I have for not updating this blog sooner, but here we are... The Sentient was released on September 8th! It's available as an ebook, hardcover and paperback on Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, as well as some book stores. 

This is a life goal realized... I'm a published author, and my first novel is now out in the world. Reading reviews, hearing feedback from friends, family and strangers, has been thrilling. Not everyone will love this book, and that's fine - art is subjective, and no book in print has ever made everyone happy. But I can say that I'm very proud of this story as a debut, and hoping that I'll be able to continue Amira's story in later novels. 

All of the positive reviews have been great, but the one that made me dance around my living room on Monday morning was a starred review from Publisher's weekly:

"Afifi’s staggering and un-put-downable debut offers a fresh and feminist-forward take on cloning.... This riveting debut is a must-have for any sci-fi fan."

And to everyone in my social circle who bought the book, whether out of interest or pure kindness... thank you. The most touching part of this experience has been realizing what wonderful friends and family I have - people who preordered copies, asked for it at their local library and spread the word. This moment is the cumulation of a lot of hard work and perseverance through rejection, but it would mean far less if I didn't have such incredible, supportive people in my life. 

I'll be continuing to do interviews and promotional events for The Sentient's release and share them on this site, under the "Books and Short Fiction" section. Watch that space!

In addition, I'm thinking of putting together an FAQ for readers who have questions around The Sentient... the characters, the world, decisions that I made in telling the story. If you have any, feel free to send them my way and I'll include them (unless it's asking about major spoilers for later books - in which case, I might hold back for some suspense). 

Thanks, and love to you all.

Nadia