Her Voice Is A Backwards Record

A new novella

On June 10, I will release my first published fiction, Her Voice Is A Backwards Record. It costs $1.99. It is available on (deep breath) Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Smashwords, Everand, Gardners, Fable, Tolino, and probably your local library’s ebook app but you may have to ask a librarian to buy it.

Here’s the blurb:

If all physically possible universes exist, so do all physically possible girlfriends… including the one you’re imagining who’s imagining you.

Ana’s parents, who hadn’t heard that it wasn’t game-theoretically optimal to punish her for dropping LSD, packed her away to a troubled teen camp. During the day, Ana faces the harsh Utah desert, near-starvation, and torture in the name of “therapy.” At night, she seeks desperate comfort in the arms of her alternate-universe girlfriend, Yuya, one of three hundred wives in the harem of the Emperor of Every World. But as their respective prisons wear away at their very selves, both girls face a choice: to become the monsters those in authority want them to be, or to die trying to escape.  

And here’s the gorgeous cover, courtesy of Ilzolende:

More About The Story

A few months ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about Greg Egan’s books, in which I said that I definitely couldn’t write anything like Greg Egan. Three hours later, I had a plot outline for an adaptation of Neil Sinhababu’s paper Possible Girls.

I don’t actually think I managed to write a Greg Egan story. Too many incredibly traumatized lesbians. But I did my best.

This novella is about a teenager who love weird game theory. It is about psychiatric abuse and an Imperial Chinese harem in space. It is about moral injury. It is about escapism and escape. It is about how an empty bench is yuri because of the girls who could be there and aren't. It is about how the best ever death metal band out of Denton will in time both outpace and outlive you.

The title and the protagonist’s name are from They Might Be Giants’s Ana Ng, which is weirdly apropos:

Listen Ana, hear my words
They're the ones you would think
I would say if there was a me for you

How Can I Help It Be A Success?

Preorders. If you’re going to buy it somewhere other than Amazon, all preorders count towards my first day’s sales, which means that I can brag to everyone that I’m a bestselling writer new readers can find the book. If you’re going to buy it on Amazon, it doesn’t matter, but you might want to preorder just so you don’t forget.

Reviews. If you enjoyed the book, please leave a review. People are more likely to pick up a book if it has a lot of reviews. Even if you don’t have anything to say, you can leave a star rating. You can also leave a review on Goodreads, Story Graph, or other fine fiction discovery platforms.

Advance Reading Copies. Do you have a blog, podcast, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, TikTok, messenger pigeon network, etc. with an audience who is potentially interested in Her Voice Is A Backwards Record? Then you (yes, you!) can get a free copy. Drop me a line at ozybrennan@gmail.com.

Tell your friends! The most important way to promote any work of fiction is word of mouth. If you know someone who would like it, recommend it to them.