Hi! I’m Avery Simmons Chen.
I grew up on Star Trek, Star Wars, and the Bible — and the truths I found there have influenced me throughout my lifetime.
When I was 18, I moved to Singapore for four years to study Global Affairs and Chinese Studies! During that time, I had the opportunity to travel throughout East and Southeast Asia — including two trips to Mongolia, which inspired the setting of The Wounded Planet!
Now, I work at a marketing agency in Richmond, Virginia. I live with my wonderful husband in a small brick house with a turquoise door.
I have wanted to be an author since I was five or six — in fact, my brother may have secret plans to publish my earlier works like “The Dragon and Pet” and “The Egyptian Soccer Ball.” Woe betide him if he does.
Do we really need another sci-fi / fantasy book?
As a wise man said, “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”
However, I believe The Wounded Planet offers a fresh perspective. In an age of dystopias, The Wounded Planet paints a positive vision of the future.
Are you feeling disenchanted with your life? The Wounded Planet will reveal the magic and beauty that is already around you by letting you see through the eyes of an alien.
Have you lost faith? The Wounded Planet will encourage you.
Do you wonder if you are alone in your suffering? The characters in The Wounded Planet wonder that too — and receive a surprising answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes! The Wounded Planet doesn’t have the gadgets and pseudo-science talk that may have turned you off from science fiction. In fact, it reads more like a fantasy book — which is what I usually read!
If you like C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy or Brandon Sanderson’s work, you’ll LOVE The Wounded Planet.
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If you like C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, anything by Brandon Sanderson, or Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Wizard of Earthsea or The Dispossessed , you’ll like The Wounded Planet. It’s science fiction, but with a sense of wonder and enchantment that you usually find in fantasy. The focus is not on the technology, but on the people and the world.
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Almost. I am currently editing the book and looking for an agent to represent me. Since I started writing in November 2021, I’ve written Draft 1 (150,000 words), squinted at it, scrapped all of Draft 1, and written 60% of Draft 2. I estimate I’ll complete Draft 2 in early summer 2023.
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Great question! These days, publishing companies look at an author’s number of social media and email followers to determine whether the author is a good financial risk.
So, to make The Wounded Planet more attractive to publishers, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram!
I promise, following me won’t be boring.
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The #1 thing you can do to help The Wounded Planet get published is follow me on Instagram and share my work to your story! In today’s world, publishers & agents care more about the size of your online following than the quality of your work. So follow me at @avery.simmons.chen!
