Astronomicon

I should probably let everyone know I expect to take down my popular work "Behemoth" from Wattpad before the end of this year. I have other much bigger plans for it, which I will be announcing in a few months.
          
          Behemoth is the story of the sister vessel of the Elysian (from Book 1: Inception Point).
          
          "The crew of the interstellar colonisation vessel Arcadian wake from a decade of hibernation to discover they are lost in darkness, their ship's propulsion system has shut down, and they have no idea what has gone wrong. A mysterious adventure in a dangerous alien environment ensues as the colonists explore and attempt to escape alive."
          
          If you still want to read all the chapters for free, start now:
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/113338974-astronomicon-behemoth

Is it time to leave? Yes, I believe it is.
          
          I've lost all faith in Wattpad over the past three years. In my recent experience, it's completely dead now. There's no activity, no reads, no comments and no votes. It's not worth the effort of posting anything. The last short story I posted got no interactions at all. I left it up for six months (I've removed it now and will use it elsewhere) and it went completely unnoticed, even though I have thousands of followers. 
          
          I clearly don't get how Wattpad works anymore, but I no longer believe it is worth my daily attendance. I'm going to concentrate even more on writing, editing and marketing instead.
          
          I'm not closing my account, but I won't be around any more. It used to be fun here, but now it's dead, and I've been flogging a dead horse.
          
          Maybe I'll be back in future.
          
          I enjoyed the interactions and feedback while they lasted. Thanks, everyone!

I still find it amazing that I've been posting my writing here on Wattpad for well over 12 years. 12 years!
          
          Where the hell does the time go?
          
          At one point, I had almost 30,000 followers and got hundreds of chapter reads per day. I loved the interaction, the feedback, the positive effect it had on my writing and all the many, many improvements that came from that. It was a wonderful community and I even became a Wattpad Star (until the program began demanding frequent publication of chapters) - many happy memories from those days.
          
          Obviously, things change and the world moves on. Somewhere along the line, I didn't move with it. But I wanted to thank everyone who's still here, for all the reads, votes and feedback. I try to improve my writing constantly and Wattpad has been instrumental in that aim. I miss the feedback and support, but I'm not about to stop writing. I will keep putting books out on Amazon, keep improving and still aim to find a literary agent to help with my future career.
          
          I hope you will wish me well. My enthusiasm is undimmed and I write now more than ever. I will keep going, keep writing and keep striving to improve. However, I'm going to back away from Wattpad. It's not helping me and I have to be targetted with my limited available time. I will check in now and again, but it might only be a couple of times per month.
          
          I wish good luck to those of you still writing here. I hope you succeed in your writing aims.
          
          Thanks again, everyone.
          Paul.

I must have said something really terrible recently. I've lost 23,607 followers here on Wattpad. That's almost 80%!!     :-(
          
          Can anyone tell me I did that was a problem?

Wattpad, is it really necessary to keep asking if I need to update my e-mail address? Every time I visit the website over the past couple of days, it asks me the same question.
          
          Isn't that something that should be done about 6 to 12 months apart? Not 5 times in 2 days.

Why have the administrators removed the messaging system? With the forums gone, now the messages, I'm guessing the "Conversations" system will be going next?

Many of you told me how much you enjoyed my science fiction thriller "Sceptic" here on Wattpad. It's taken a lot of work, but it's now extensively edited and polished, features a new front cover, and is available right now on Amazon.
          
          If you haven't previously experienced Sceptic, here's the blurb:
          
          In a dystopian world in the mechanical grip of religion, a genius developer, a revolutionary artificial brain, and a man stripped of his memory, find themselves on the run from the authorities.
          
          Moses Libereco, a developer crafting artificial minds for the formidable CleriC robots that police the world, makes a simple mistake while training his latest creation. The ensuing whirlwind of chaos shatters his life, exposes unimaginable long-buried secrets, and puts the entire world in danger. With the aid of an enigmatic man recovering from a near-death experience, they must take on the state and save themselves. With just the three of them against an army of fanatical robots hell-bent on protecting the regime and its secrets, is survival even possible?
          
          Here are the Amazon links:
          UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW1SLM4Q
          US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1SLM4Q
          
          As usual, you can download a free sample to your Kindle, Android device, Windows PC or iOS device.

With almost 30,000 followers, it should be entirely possible to get a lot of reads of any new material I post. It "should" also be possible to get a few people to download the free sample of my science fiction novel on Amazon. What would it take to get 300 people to download a free sample of "Deadline"?
          
          Here are the links:
          Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CP5ZX931/
          Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP5ZX931/
          
          The sample includes the first 6000+ words, gives you a great taster of what the novel is about, and includes a little of the comedy present throughout the book.

Having recently added "Deadline" to my novels on Amazon, I'll be uploading the sci-fi thriller "Sceptic" there too very soon. I wrote it a while back with a view to getting traditionally published. Sadly the agencies were not interested so, as it's one of the best novels I've written, I'm not prepared to let it just go to waste.
          
          My aim for 2024 is to get two novels out on Amazon before the year is over, and then do the same every year until I'm too old to write anymore.
          
          Am I allowed to post my Amazon links here?

Happy New Year everyone. Let's make 2024 a great year!
          
          I will start the year by becoming a lot more active here on Wattpad. My aim is to post a couple of times per week, put more effort into replying to comments and making more comments on other people's Wattpad profiles.
          
          I'll post more writing here very soon and make more effort to let you all know where you can get my other works too. My scifi novel "Sceptic" will be launched on Amazon soon but I'll be posting a couple of chapters here too.
          
          I'm also considering a new project where I post a chapter or two each of a few unfinished works to find out which one is most worthy of completion. It would be great to get some feedback going again.
          
          Anyway, looking forward to spending more time with you all. Do please feel free to comment on any of my work. I try to read all comments (and reply to them).
          
          All the best for the coming year.
          Paul (Astronomicon).