Hi,

I’m Ben Westerham, a UK-based indie fiction author, writing mainly crime, mystery and thriller stories, although I also stray into sci-fi and fantasy.

These words are an introduction to me and my writing as I start out on a journey into the world of Web3.

Beginnings

I wrote in what I can best describe as bits and pieces for a very long time, never having the courage nor the belief to commit to going further. But this was never going to continue forever; the need to write was too strong. Eventually, one lunchtime, I left the office carrying an old desk diary and, taking a seat at my then favourite cafe, started writing my first novel.

That first novel was terrible. Really, it was. But that didn’t matter, because the whole point of the exercise was to show myself that I could do it, that I really could write an entire novel. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done, because I never looked back. Since then, I’ve written countless stories, from the shortest of shorts to full-length novels. If only I’d acted sooner!

When, some years later, I found myself with a manuscript I thought was good enough to be published, I did what most writers still did back then; I sent it out to some literary agents, in the hope that one of them would find it an irresistible temptation. They didn’t.

Independent and Loving It

This left me despondent for a time, wondering how the heck anyone actually ever managed to get published, but then I heard about the Kindle and the self-publishing opportunities that came with it. What’s more, I also discovered there was already a burgeoning indie author community and they were only too happy to share their experiences and expertise with newcomers like me.

Well, I’m the entrepreneurial type and I also like to have control over things, so there was no holding me back and I dived in without another thought. The result of this was that I published a short story in 2015, as a trial run. Then, the following year, my first novel, Good Investigations, came out. The joy was immense, not even the near non-existent sales were able to dampen my enthusiasm.

I’ve spent the years since then honing my writing skills and learning about such previous mysteries as marketing and running a mailing list. It’s been fun, sometimes challenging, occasionally disappointing and I’ve even managed to sell a fair few books along the way.

After a while, I started receiving emails from people who described themselves as fans of mine. That was and still is hard to come to terms with, but it’s deeply gratifying to know there are people out there who enjoy my books so much they are happy to describe themselves as fans.

A Web3 World of Opportunity

All this time I had a day job, working in the tech space, so it should come as no surprise that I soon developed an interest in all things blockchain. It was, from the beginning, fascinating and seemed to offer all kinds of new possibilities in many areas of life.

So, I kept on exploring, on and off, until, towards the end of 2022, I started looking at things from a different perspective: what all this might have to offer to authors and their readers. And, oh my word, what an eye-opening experience that has been. Web3 was the game to play here and, apart from anything else, it quickly became clear that old, established notions of content ownership and centralised gatekeepers are about to be turned on their heads.

Web3 offers so much promise to creators that I can hardly wait to start experimenting. In particular, I’m chomping at the bit to share my stories with readers in different formats and to work with other creators to produce unique, multi-faceted, collectible content that combines words, sounds and visuals.

This is a getting-to-know-me piece, but it will also end up being a record of my hopes and ambitions as I enter the world of Web3. In future, it will be possible to look back and see how these panned out. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I end up more pleased than disappointed. Either way, I don’t doubt it’s going to be an exciting ride and I hope you’ll stick around to enjoy it with me.

All the best,

Ben

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If you’d like to find out more about me and my writing then take a look here www.benwesterham.com.