Dear
Just after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, all entrepreneurs gathered their meager belongings and migrated to what they believed were better destinations.
They looked back and called out to the one man who didn’t move. “Come on, it’s over! You’ve gotta move on."
“I’m gonna rebuild my burnt store right here. And I will make it even better,” he said, as he planted his staff into the charred ground.
I was that man a year ago, when the fire of recession burnt down my own proverbial store.
“It’s over. You’ve gotta move on,” said my partners as they packed their bags and went on to explore better avenues.
I don’t blame them one bit. Anyone who has ever been stupid enough to try being an independent publisher knows how difficult the job is.
I didn’t even have a staff in my hand back then. All I had was a magazine that people loved, and some loose-page manuscripts of the short stories you now know as Athena.
Athena is not just something that I am personally proud of, .
It's something every single one of 1,265+ members of our tight-knit tribe holds close to their hearts.
I know this because of the countless emails and messages I have received over the months when Athena suffered an uncertain fate.
But it's happening now. And I am moved to tears when tribe members like you come up and tell me how long they have waited for this moment.
And I just can't wait to share the beauty all of you have helped created.
So keep your eyes on your inbox. Our team is making some last-minute tweaks to make sure everything is up to the expectations.
And then you'll be holding Athena in your own hands.
In the meantime, stay in touch with the tribe on the social media:
- facebook.com/DastaanWorld
- facebook.com/groups/dastaanworldtribe
- instagram.com/dastaanworld
- twitter.com/dastaanworld
Best,
Shakaib.
P.S. Spread the word. Bring your friends into the tribe. Tell them to buy Athena as soon as it is available, and to leave reviews. I'm counting on you to keep the conversation going, and growing. We're using hashtags like #DastaanWorld #Athena #BookLover #anthology #shortstories #bookstagram ... feel free to add your own.
And you know why I'm counting so much on you? Cuz Dastaan World is a family, a tribe. It has always been.