I’ve always been a foolhardy risk-taker.

Raised as a kid who loathed reading, I made the surprising decision to pursue a writing career. I started crafting my first novel, Alien Strike, at the ripe age of fifteen. The first draft was a nightmare—a horrible, boring, and nonsensical story packed to the brim with plot holes, incoherent ramblings, and scientific inaccuracies (and no one likes a sci-fi story with bad science).

But through many many hours of rewriting and editing and scaling the learning curve—all of which resulted in nothing short of a complete overhaul of the story at large—I finally strung together a product I was willing to show the world.

During the time spent pumping words onto the pages of my book, I developed an interest in anime. The art style, genres, and themes pioneered by Eastern culture swept me away with fascination. This newfound passion inspired me to bring my story to life with anime-style illustrations, a risky decision as an all-American boy.

While waiting on the illustrations, I continued to polish my manuscript, fleshing out my unique writing style, until every last paragraph was glossed with perfection. Perhaps I crafted a masterpiece. Or a pile of crap. I didn’t care.

I wrote a book as a teenager, and that was a point of pride held by very few people.

The kid who once preferred to play video games for hours (the opposite of a reading kid) had written a book!

And you can check it out. Thank you so much for giving this book a chance.

I hope you enjoy the ride and stick around for more.

-Henry G. Ingram