Nathaniel M Wrey is an award-winning UK author whose debut novel, Liberty Bound, was published in 2020. On securing a history degree at Reading University, Wrey became a Civil Servant. He has worked in central government for over twenty-five years, largely in health and nursing. His literary influences include the social commentary of George Orwell, the adventures and landscapes of John Buchan and the foresight and imagination of Ray Bradbury and John Wyndham. Combined with a continued love of history, Wrey delves into the past to speculate on the future, while dissecting human foibles to build characters and story lines. Liberty Bound won a Readers’ Favorite Award in 2021, while in 2023, the sequel, Where Liberty Lies, won an International Firebird Book Award, a North American Book Award gold medal, a Maincrest Media Book Award, a Global Book Award, a BookFest Award, a Literary Titan Gold Badge Award, a Distinguished Favourite Award in the New York Big Book Awards and honourable mentions in the New York Book Festival Awards and the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. Wrey has also published one novella and a collection of short stories and is currently writing the final book in his Liberty Trilogy.
Wrey has written a children's book under the name Nate Wrey. Find out more about Mooge: The Prehistoric Genius (a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2022)
Any book clubs having chosen to read any of the Liberty series and interested in a virtual author engagement session, feel free to contact me via nathanielmwrey@gmail.com
Nathaniel writes his novels without the assistance of AI.
The author on safari in a library
What is an Indie Author?
The simplest definition is an author not attached to a traditional publishing house e.g. Penguin, Hodder & Stoughton etc. So, does this mean indie authors are not very good? Well, no. Obviously, if a publishing house invests in an author, then their book must meet certain standards and go through quality control. But what drives them is the market and investing in those with the best odds for making them lots of money. Have you ever wondered why there are so many celebrity authors (some with memoirs out before they are 25 years old!) and their books dominate the billboards? They have a guaranteed readership with their fans. Also, if a ‘Harry Potter’ is selling oodles, then publishers want to tap into the interest for exciting books about magic and teenagers, perhaps to the detriment of an untested topic. Like all industries, its primary function is to make money. Now, writers like money too, but they are also hopefully and foremost driven by creative and artistic motives and rewarded for satisfying the readership’s appetite. So, in short, lots of good writers are rejected for not meeting the marketing criteria and chose to go independent as an alternative, while some just don’t want to give others control over their work. Again, a publisher may compromise the author’s artistic integrity to ensure the book is ‘popular.’ Once an author has a loyal fan base, then going independent makes a lot of sense, giving them full control of their work.
This means there are some great books out there that don’t make it and fall into a niche market or don’t tick a box for flavour of the month for a publisher. There is also an awful lot of rubbish out there. If an Indie Author doesn’t invest in those quality controls, then the chance is the end result will be terrible. The book cover may be the obvious giveaway of an amateur book, but always check the first few pages, usually under ‘acknowledgements’, to see if an author credits a legitimate editor as a sign of a professional product (doesn’t mean the narrative is good, though). Editorial reviews are your next signpost. An Indie Author will have paid for them, but they will be independent and anything but a top rating review may indicate issues. Placings in competitions are perhaps the strongest indicator of a good book. The judges should be immune from influence and only the best books will filter through to the final stages. But, even in this domain, there is a strand of exploitative individuals charging book writers entry fees without providing robust judging and handing out awards willy-nilly to dilute the creditability. And even in the credible competitions, one element you get judged on is the book cover and what did your grandma tell you about that! Also, check out the author’s page on GoodReads.com. That’s where the fullest range of readers’ reviews can be found and you can check the diversity of readers to ensure it’s not the author’s family. Finally, most eBooks offer a sample to read on Amazon, so give it a go. Even if you’re not hooked from the first page, you’ll be able to tell if the prose is worthy of further investment.
Oh, indie authors also retain control over their work and the cover designs, while keeping a larger percentage of royalties. We just don’t have the marketing clout to sell any!
Since the introduction of digital publishing and print-on-demand, the landscape has changed dramatically, with the industry flooded with writers following their dream. We authors are the modern-day 49ers, descending on the literary hills to mine in search of that elusive gold seam of artistic creditability and sales. Like the gold rush, most are ill-prepared and the reality is only those providing the tools and other services make a fortune, not the prospectors.
Nathaniel M Wrey
Some whimsical quotes from the author
“A good story tells itself; a good writer allows it to do so.”
“The writer finds the words, the words find purpose within the sentences, the sentences within the story, the story within the imagination of the reader. ”
“While other people regularly drive me mad, after the isolation of lockdown, I now appreciate they also drive me sane.”
“Democracy is where the most popular political party is given the chance to become the least popular.”
“The future is made from a recipe of the past, flavoured by our achievements and mistakes.”
“Having been gifted the power of literacy, there is perhaps no greater self-harm we do our minds than failing to continue reading books in adulthood.”
“As an author, I have the mindset of a millionaire recluse, just lacking the sales to achieve isolation.”
“A war is the chasm one falls in when a government tries distracting its citizens from the problems at home with aggression abroad.”
“A film director allows you to see the amazing world they’ve created, an author allows you to occupy their world.”
“An education, not a games console, bike or theatre trip, is the greatest gift a child will ever receive. Few will ever appreciate this.”
“As the world becomes ever more connected in the digital age, people have somehow managed to disconnect with each other.”
“Hope can only look to the future. Let’s ensure it has lots to see.”
“An adventure story is a journey through the range of human experiences and emotions. Every string needs to be pulled to make the reader relate and submerge themselves into the world.”
“Our lives are full of the dull and the boring, so it pays to be good at them.”
“Every society harbours the seeds from which inhumanity grows. Like all lifeforms, it thrives when in the light and fed: like all weeds, it is best dug up before it takes root.”
“Imagination is peeking over the edge of reality: madness is falling off the edge. It never helps to blur the border.”
“Liberty is as the atmosphere of Earth: precious, rare, fragile and essential for humanity to breath and grow. It requires constant attention and care if it is to last.”
“There is no point standing on the shoulders of giants if we then close our eyes.”
“Adults are nothing more than big kids with responsibilities and experience. Those who don’t take the former seriously or learn from the latter are the biggest threat to our actual children.”
“Modern life, with its instant gratifications, is not suited to appreciating the long, hard slog required for future success.”
“When something goes wrong, emotions should be channelled to seek evidence of ‘why’ before they are exposed in blaming ‘who’.”
“Going to war is proof you have already lost the fight.”
“The future is like a giant oil tanker. You can’t slam the breaks on at the last minute to avoid disaster. ”
“Just like the playground bully, nationalism draws upon low self-esteem and insecurity to shape its character.”
“Blaming past generations for their behaviour is an all-consuming millstone around the neck: not learning the lessons from their behaviour is equally foolish.”
“I only write dystopian fiction because humanity’s behaviour provides such a rich source of material.”
“For every solution humanity seeks in trying to combat climate change, it ignores two key factors staring it in the face: over-population and over-consumption. At some point Malthus will be proved right. Nature humours our presence but will have the last laugh.”
“During their vulnerable stage of life, a parent controls the finances, communication channels and emotional strings of their child, exerting their physical superiority to protect them. When the child grows up others will attempt to utilise the same methods of control against them but rarely with the same altruistic motive. These facets define the exercise of power by one human over the other.”
“We once mocked the manicured suburban gardens and formal attire of past generations who obsessed over what others thought of them. Now most don’t care what others think and it shows!”
Publishing
Liberty Bound and Where Liberty Lies were professionally assessed by Daniel Goldsmith Associates and copy-edited by Lee Dickinson, Chief Book Editor at Bookediting.co.uk. Liberty Bound was prepared for publication and distribution with the services of Indie Authors World (the author undertook these elements for Where Liberty Lies). Nathaniel M Wrey is happy to recommend all.