# Spindown by Andy Crawford **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 7, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901 "2021-07-07T12:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/21 "2021-07-08T15:21:49Z")
The cover artist sure did a great job! If you see him, let him know for me! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/22 "2021-07-08T15:25:21Z")
She wasn’t complaining about the _quality_ of the language. Only the _quantity_ of it. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/23 "2021-07-08T15:25:29Z")
It looks like you have two other books – Pen is Mightier and Sailor of the Sea. How do I ask this…worth reading? Also, since the Celebrity Jeopardy spoofs on SNL, I can only read that first one as “penis mightier”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/24 "2021-07-08T15:26:17Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Also, since the Celebrity Jeopardy spoofs on SNL, I can only read that first one as “penis mightier”. I hear the other book is filled with seamen. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/25 "2021-07-08T15:33:22Z")
The Pen is Mightier is an homage and satire to George R R Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series (the Game of Thrones books), connecting the author and a fan’s lives to the goings on in the book story through supernatural means. In other words, the author and biggest fan discover the story he’s writing is really happening in another place. I think it’s a lot of fun to read, and it was a blast to write, but the audience that would really enjoy it might be limited to ASOIAF fans who also enjoy satire. If that fits you I hope you’ll give it a try (despite the title, which I wish I could rewrite!). Sailor of the Skysea is a fantasy story that was my attempt to make a rich and coherent fantasy world based on the history, mythology, and cultures of North America, rather than European medieval history and myth (the source of most epic fantasy tales). It’s my first book, and it has some passages that are a bit of a slog, but I think it has some interesting ideas and characters, and I still love the world I created. If you’re interested in either of these, I’d be happy to send you copies of the ebook for free, an offer I extend to any Doper. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/26 "2021-07-08T20:10:00Z")
I didn’t know that was your art. Great job! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/27 "2021-07-13T21:42:57Z")
Amazon added a new feature for Kindle today – [Kindle Vella](https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/), which is basically fiction released in “episodes”, sort of like a weekly TV show. Kindle authors (like me) have known this was coming for a while, and we had time to put out new material if we wanted, so if anyone’s interested, I’ve put out several new stories (mostly short-ish to medium length, with one that will be epic-fantasy-length when complete) as “Vellas”. Most of mine are finished, meaning all episodes are available, but one of my Vellas is an epic fantasy tale that is not nearly complete. AFAICT there’s no “author page” for Vellas, so if you want to find my stuff you can search for “Andy Crawford” on the Kindle Vella main page: [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=andy+crawford&rh=n%3A21165462011&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=andy+crawford&rh=n%3A21165462011&ref=nb_sb_noss) The first 3 “episodes” of each of these are free to read, so you can try a story to see if you’re interested in continuing before spending any money. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/28 "2021-07-13T21:46:27Z")
I only have a nook. ☚ ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/29 "2021-07-13T21:52:00Z")
You can also read them on your phone/tablet or computer. It’s meant to be very phone/tablet friendly. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/30 "2021-07-14T09:49:00Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I only have a nook. ☹ \< joke redacted \> I’ve just had notice that a copy of _Spindown_ is being sent to me. Apparently someone went on Amazon and paid actual money to buy it for me. Okay, it was me. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/31 "2021-07-14T10:30:04Z")
Very cool! I hope you enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/32 "2021-07-14T10:38:32Z")
If I don’t, I will shake my fist in some approximation of your general direction. On that note: I have a friend who also recently had a first sci-fi book published (under a pseudonym). It is…less than compelling, shall we say. As in, I’ve made it about a dozen pages in and I _really_ don’t want to read more. It’s possible that it gets better but I’m not confident. So if, as an author yourself, you have any advice (or examples) on the best way to deliver constructive negative feedback to an author about their work, I could use it. Or if lying is the better option, I could do that too. (And no, I’m not naming them or the book here. Friendship does count for something.) ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/33 "2021-07-14T11:09:04Z")
“One of the benefits of the return to use of the pen is enlargement of the neural pathways devoted to critical thinking,” MAY be true but was actually written to test our college’s spam filter. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/34 "2021-07-14T11:16:01Z")
Well, that’s a hijack… PS: I just ordered my copy of Spindown, and would be interested in your offer of the “Pen Is Mighter” and “Sailor of the Skysea” to Dopers - how do we do that? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/35 "2021-07-14T11:32:18Z")
Hope you enjoy Spindown! PM me your email address and preferred ebook format and I’ll send you the other two. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/36 "2021-07-14T11:34:16Z")
I would recommend telling them that you’re having trouble getting into it. If they really want constructive criticism, they’ll ask more questions and you can try to be diplomatic when you answer with more details. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/37 "2021-07-14T12:42:22Z")
Ta muchly. The book has arrived, and I have finished running around the house excitedly with it like Navin Johnson with the phonebook. Eventually I may actually read it, words and all. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/38 "2021-07-14T12:51:35Z")
For the record, all of the oblique references are cute and all, but you’re allowed to just come out and say that it was written by @iiandyiiii. He’s allowed to say that himself, too. The only combination that’s problematic would be the author telling us about his own book, with a link or other explicit information on where to buy it, outside of the Marketplace. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/39 "2021-07-15T02:09:10Z")
Was it, though? 😇 ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901/40 "2021-08-09T06:21:25Z")
I’ve finished reading Spindown, and I enjoyed it! The fact that I finished it is significant, because these days I tend to get easily bored or irritated with fiction, and I drop many of the books I start reading after a few chapters (including many bestsellers and award-winners). Spindown was interesting and well written and kept my attention. It’s good world-building, and carefully thought out hard SF. I would say it’s good enough that you could look for a mainstream publisher. It could do with a bit of tightening up and editing, but it’s too good to be limited to indie self-publishing. The only thing I didn’t like was being left hanging at the end of the first book of a series, when the rest of the books haven’t been written yet. By the time the next book comes out I will have forgotten the details of the first book. Perhaps that’s unavoidable, and many writers do it, but I would have preferred a self-contained story, or some kind of resolution at the end. Anyway, many congratulations! ✨ I look forward to reading your future books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spindown-by-andy-crawford/945901.md?page=3)