I Gifted My Novels to Celebrities I Admired...Here's Why!

Another important month for indie authors is April. April is considered the poetry month to some and some do a practise run for national novel writing month which takes place in November. Some do this with poetry instead in April. Another reason why April is important is because it’s considered Indie April and the indie authors will share and promote their work on social media more and people will go and buy them. I think it should be like this every month, but there’s a special focus on it here and especially with everyone in quarantine it’s stood out more.

It made me think as an author it’s time to give back to the people who inspired me. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time but never had the funds or the guts to do so. But now I do. I mean if you’ve read Game of Mass Destruction there are some crazy scenes in there. I feel like a more confident person after writing this novel.

After publishing my tenth paperback, dystopian sci-fi novel, Game of Mass Destruction, I had thoughts about gifting a copy to my book to celebrities that I really admired. There were so many that I wanted to send them too and, in the end, I limited it to just a few people. Also, there’s some celebrities that don’t like fan mail or I couldn’t find a fan mail address for them. Anyway, I might send a few more out to celebrities once I get paid from work.

A lot of the famous authors I listed have put on their sites that they are unable to read and give feedback and individual help on their fans’ books. Whilst I wasn’t looking for feedback for them specifically, me sending them a book as a present could still fall into that category and I didn’t want them to feel awkward.

I don’t know how long it will take for the stuff to arrive. Hopefully the fan mail addresses are still accurate. I don’t expect my gifts to arrive anytime soon with COVID-19 going on. I wouldn’t even be surprised if all the copies come back.

It would be a miracle if I got any personal feedback from them at all. Some people say it was weird that I even bothered trying at all but those people really inspired me and I worked hard on that book, harder than I worked on anything my entire life. People who know me know that I work hard. This novel has been in the making for years. I just wanted to share my work with the in a way they love to share their work out.

I’m not sure if celebrities still get much fan mail with the digital boom and social media nowadays. It’s convenient, but it’s nice to do things the old-fashioned way as well.

Here’s a list of the celebrities that I gifted a copy of my novel to: Quentin Tarantino, Christina Aguilera, Seal and Depeche Mode. A bit of an eclectic mix, but their work inspired me and helped me create Game of Mass Destruction so it was my way of saying thank you.

I love Quentin Tarantino’s films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. I still need to see a lot more of this films but I love watching Pulp Fiction again and again because it’s just so fun to watch. I really want to watch Reservoir Dogs at some point.

Christina Aguilera’s song Fighter is what I would consider one of the theme songs for the main protagonist Yuzuko Shikumi.

Her music really helped defined my childhood and teenage years. Stripped and Bionic are still two of my favourite pop albums and her first album gives me so many happy childhood memories. I also think she’s a strong woman who’s not afraid to experiment, stand up for what’s right and makes music for herself and for the sake of art.

Seal’s hit, Kiss from a Rose is my favourite song ever, but I think Seal has also done some amazing tracks like Killer and Crazy. I’ve had the honour to see him live twice in Birmingham and London. Both amazing experiences and I’m glad he’s still doing music.

Depeche Mode are my favourite band and I send a copy each to all three members. I really love their music and how experimental and dark it can be.

I don’t think I had anything to lose other than money. The money I sent gifting those books would have gone towards drinks in coffee shops and bars if we weren’t in a lockdown. And if the books get returned unread I can gift them to somebody else.