Book Release — The Factory: Revolution's Call
The plight of the working class, and a violent revolution to throw off our shackles.
When I began writing in earnest, I admittedly had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I needed an outlet for what I felt, a channel through which a river of emotion would thunder and tear away the banks of pent-up passion and disillusionment. I also realized I needed to write in English — first, to reach a broader audience, and, second, because the English language is far more amenable to the, well, weird lyric constructions I love sprinkling around my work than German and Croatian/Bosnian, my first languages, are.
The idea to write a surreal, Kafkaesque, perhaps Orwellian allegory to the plight of the modern working class came to me sometime in 2022. By the end of 2022, the work was completed, the editing done, satisfaction reached. The first version of The Factory: Revolution’s Call was thus released, self-published, to some excitement among my closest family and friends, on January 4 of 2023.
So far, it’s sold around 200 to 300 copies, I don’t know exactly, and reviews have mostly been positive, noting my particular passion, emanating from the depths of the pages, and the satisfying arc of the rather existentialist 15k-word short story.
Yet when I went back to the novella a couple of months ago, I was utterly devastated. This was the writing of an amateur! Overcomplex sentences, laborious constructions, weird grammar, repetitions — this cannot stand as my premiere and introductory work of fiction! The book will forever hold a special place in my heart, I still get tears in my eyes when I read the final pages, but it needed a doing-over.
So this is what I did.
After much time-consuming labor, The Factory: Revolution’s Call, let’s dub it The Definitive Edition, is now available as very pretty paperback on Amazon and all other major bookstores, and as eBook on my Patreon page and in the Kindle store.
Also, all paid subscribers receive a free eBook copy as a thank-you for your ongoing, magnificent support (just scroll to the bottom of this post). If you become a paid subscriber right now, you’ll receive your copy right with your welcome email!
If you’ve read the First Edition, the original one, do not worry. The story has not changed. What has changed is the ease and beauty of reading, the overall tone is a tad darker, the characters a bit more believable, the prose more satisfying. If you want to read the new Definitive Edition but have already read the First Edition and feel cheated now, just shoot me an email (antoniomelonio@proton.me) and I’ll send you a free eBook copy.
If you’re a bit on the fence, read some Goodreads reviews. Also, here is the official blurb:
I awoke in darkness, bound in chains of iron — had I always been a prisoner?
Soldiers came. They led us to the Factory, an eternal place of toil and suffering. Slender shadows in perfect suits put us to work, and then... we worked. There was no light, no rest, and no food to be had; there were only the machines, the smoke, the rats, the dirt, and the useless products we made — forever. Above loomed the Tower. None of us had ever entered. We watched as it grew taller and taller, fueled by our collective misery.
Then, a gesture of kindness. It changed everything. The hammers in our hands felt different. One by one, we began lifting them. Not for work, not this time, but for freedom.
Buying the book is a great way to support me while also getting something in return. Anyway, thank you so much for all the ongoing support and loyalty, and I’ll see you soon with the next essay!
Antonio Melonio
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