Notna has not just been a labor of love for me, it’s a story that’s been 20 years in the making.

Okay, that’s not quite true.

It’s actually a bit longer than that.

I came up with the concept that ultimately became Notna back when I was middle school — a couple years before I created Jill Andersen. We won’t talk about what exactly I created back in middle school — because to call it a steaming pile would be a compliment — but that abomination eventually grew and matured into the foundation of the book that’s now out.

In a lot of ways, Notna’s creation and evolution can simply be chalked up to me growing older, more mature, and improving as a writer (not to mention expanding what I read; in middle school, I would only read X-Men comics… but as I got older, my tastes grew and became more varied; it’s no coincidence my creativity did the same). But for all the false starts, all the reboots, all those late-night sessions in high school where I would brainstorm with my friend Anton (readers know who that is already)… for the years of writing and quitting and frustration to ultimately lead to my first standalone published work…

Writing Notna has been night-and-day from my series. I had no idea tackling a different genre would be so… well, different. The challenge was daunting at times, and there were times I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull this off… but I did (with a good bit of help), and if nothing else, I now know I can tell any story I want, regardless of genre.

I’m speechless. I’m seldom, if ever, proud of myself for anything, but in this case, I’m proud. With Notna‘s publication, both of my childhood stories have now been told for the world to see. Bounty still has a lot left; that series has no definitive end in sight, even as I gear up to publish the fourth book in that series in a few months (and prepare to write the fifth for NaNoWriMo 2017).

When I first created Notna and Bounty, I envisioned myself as a hotshot comic book artist the likes of Jim Lee or Michael Turner. But life had a different path for me, and while the dream isn’t exactly what it once was, the fact remains that as of tomorrow, my dream of publishing both stories will have come true.

That’s not nothing.

So now the dream is to do this — write novels — for a living. Maybe someday, I’ll get that comic book dream back (I do have the inklings of a script for a Bounty graphic novel in my head), but for right now, I’m telling stories. The particulars have changed, but the simple fact remains: the stories I grew up wanting to tell are now out there for the world to see.

One of my biggest fans lives in Germany. Another, who just so happened to design the new Jill Andersen covers, lives in France. I have other people scattered around the world eager for my stories; I have people who have never read a Jill Andersen book who are anxious to get their hands on Notna.

And in just a few more hours, they’ll have it. In just a few hours, this 36-year-old geek will have fulfilled a dream that began when he was 13.

This is not the end. Far from it. But man, what a milestone.

Celebrate with me?

Notna is available in paperback, as well as Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Google Play. Check out Notna on Pronoun and Amazon.