Dust is coming soon!

I'll admit, I can be a bit impulsive at times, especially when it comes to shopping. Last night I made an impulse buy, but I'm pretty sure it won't be one that I'll regret.
I had seen something earlier in the day about the launch of Hugh Howey's new book, and the opportunity to pre-order signed copies. Dust, the third installation in the Silo saga, is scheduled to come out August 17. I was planning to buy it, but figured I'd wait and buy it in ebook form. Unfortunately it looked like it wasn't going to be available for Nook right away, so I would have to wait even longer. That would be fine, since I haven't gotten around to reading Shift (the second part of the Silo series) yet (it's next on my to-read list).
On impulse, I clicked on a link Howey posted on Facebook about the autographed copies. "I'll just see how much they cost," I said. When I found that, with shipping, I could get a signed copy for under $25, I couldn't resist. I think it will be worth a lot more than that someday.
I watched some of the live feed of Howey signing his books and packing them up with the help of his mom last night. I was probably much more amused by this than I should have been, but I love that Hugh Howey is the type of guy who does this. He seems really down to earth, like one of us.
In my opinion, Hugh Howey is a rising star. When I read Wool I, I was blown away. It had the feeling of an old Twilight Zone episode. Who was this guy, and why hadn't I heard of him before? A lot of people know who he is now, but I find there are still a lot who don't. Not to mention the people who, when I say that Wool is Sci-Fi, wrinkle their noses and proclaim their dislike for the genre. Look, I get it. I really do. I used to be one of you. But I've started to open my eyes a little bit and I realized that I do, indeed, like Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Not all of it, but there's some really good stuff out there. I'm particularly fond of books that take our normal world and throw in something weird.
I also admire Howey because he did this all on his own. Wool was first sold as a self-published ebook. Self publishing often gets a bad rap. And yes, I agree that there is crap out there, but I think there's a lot of crap that gets published traditionally, too. (Each person's definition of "crap" is, of course, subjective.) I think a lot of people bash self publishing because it's changing the publishing industry. This is an industry that let Hugh Howey slip through the cracks by not publishing him.
Although I support self publishing, as a writer it is difficult to change my mindset and accept self publishing as a good choice for myself. A big part of it is the stigma. I see a lot of comments online from people about how they read some awful self-published work and how they'll never make that mistake again. It's not logical if you think about it. Would you ever say you read a book published by Random House that wasn't any good and you'd never make that mistake again? I highly doubt it. So, even though I realize there are many benefits to self publishing, I haven't been brave enough to take the leap for myself.
So, if you haven't read Wool yet, do it. If it's not in your comfort zone, take a step outside and give this one a chance.