Want to dive into The Evolution of Deo Through the Afterwords?
Vol 1 Afterword - 2022
Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m Deo! Hope you had fun reading!
It will be weird to say this, but I’m actually not big into reading—I know, right? What a weird thing to say coming from me, speaking inside your head as you read the afterword of my first book.
Well, but here we are! Somehow! Funny story actually: it all started right before sunrise on October 15, 2019, when I had an extremely vivid dream of me being isekai-ed. The dream was so vivid I could smell, touch, and even taste things, but I startled awake right at the climax plot point! That sucked, but as I woke up, I suddenly felt this extreme urge, as if an outside force steered my thoughts and actions, to sit down and start writing as if my life depended on it.
But of course, things would never go that easy—not long after, I met a huge roadblock with one of the characters as I literally couldn’t visualize her. Her name was Magi, and even with a backstory and personality written for her, I simply reached a point where I thought I had to give up. However, I’m known for being a persistent asshole, so I decided to approach the problem creatively. That’s when I went to Freelancer.com and posted a contest titled “I need an anime illustrator to bring one of my characters to life.” If you are curious about my mental state at that point in time, then you can still look it up—needless to say, that conquest led me to meet Mitsukiven, an awesome illustrator that I worked with ever since that fateful day to bring countless characters, and world lore to life! She was a pillar in allowing my imagination to grow stronger, the world to feel more vivid, and the characters to become more real!
I also would like to thank my friends and family! My parents were always there to lend support, including Fluffy (the family doggo) as well! The cat I adopted while writing this book didn’t help me as much, possibly because her tsundere behavior is too strong, hence her proper name of Maddog. She had to return to the shelter, but then I found a little precious furball called Peeta! He’s so cuddly! I’m probably spoiling him too much, but I’m not even ashamed to say that. Anyway, this was an opportunity cost for sure, but also something that I really wanted to do. Thank you all who supported me, even while I was dealing with the worst parts of my GAD. Also, special thanks to the thirty some beta readers, and Bookbaby.com who helped me prepare for my first book launch!
Last, there are least twelve books planned (correlating to the first three story arcs). That is why I am teasing you with all this world lore, as the plan is to have Harry, and you, grow up in this world together!
I am planning to release one per year, at least for now, since I also work full-time developing software, plus I need time to go fishing, gaming, meditate, and hit up the gym! But if enough of you out there have fun reading this book, then I will certainly consider making this opportunity my top priority.
For more information, visit the website below! I made available a glossary of sorts for those of you who really want to learn a bit more about the world, but do not want to wait for the next book. The Glossary there will be kept mostly up to date with what Harry knows, but you could likely infer some spoilers if read too much into it… just saying ;)
https://www.ahusbandoutofthisworld.com/
Regards,
Deo (デオ)
Vol 2 Afterword - 2023
Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the second book! I think it’s better and just slightly less meandering than book one! Going through the hurdles of making something, publishing, advertising, and seeing people enjoying and giving feedback gave Mitsuken and me more perspectives and a deeper appreciation of the effort made by others in the entertainment space. These two books are the culmination of thousands of hours between us, after all. I’m glad I’m still working with her after all these years! Also, a shout-out to my parents and friends who supported me through this journey! Especially since everyone had to deal with me during one of my worst life chapters struggling with GAD. Emphasis on had as I haven’t had panic attacks or had the need to take medicine in more than six months already. Life is good! And can’t forget Peeta! He loves to yell at my ear, but he’s a cute smol boye with long whiskers, so it’s all forgiven.
I guess since I might still have some people’s attention, let me drop a hot take on my fellow Japanese artists: I love isekai, but I fucking hate that nearly every one of them has good vs. evil or overall heavy religious elements, or the same goddam species like elves, dwarves, etc. Sometimes even the same-looking cities too! Also, shouting out actions/spell names alongside striking similarly magical systems with that bland-looking circular-ish magical symbols is tiring—I mean, why not go ahead and create an asekai (同世界) category for all these anime akin to samey-tasting junk food? Because all these asekai stores are tarnishing the definition of what an isekai (異世界) is actually supposed to be about! At least, that’s what I think. I mean, I know companies want to milk this genre while it’s hot, but people can only take so much junk food before they get outright sick of it.
Aiight! Let me step off my high egua for a second here. I am not shitting on them because I love junk food like any other obese gun-loving American, but I don’t want to eat that daily! My LDL is already high enough as is! I can only handle so many asekai animes in a row before I lose faith in the genre! I want more options, for fuck’s sake! Well, I guess that’s another reason I decided to throw my hat in the ring with this series after that fateful day, October 15, 2019, when I woke up from the extremely vivid dream I had.
So let’s get back to the important stuff! It makes me feel like I know what I am doing now that I stepped my toes into the entertainment industry, but not really. My goal is to watch this series as an anime adaptation one day. However, I see lots of impediments that might prevent that from becoming a reality, with the strongest being my lack of penetration in Eastern marketplaces like BookWalker because I am self-publishing. Another big one is the lack of public interest, since at the end of the day, I am writing what I think is a pretty atypical isekai story, while the series name is kinda generic as fuck—maybe I dug myself a hole on that, but that name just popped into my head early on during R&D, and it stuck ever since. I spent months trying to come up with a better title, but somehow this name just kept coming back because it would make a whole lot of sense when Harry’s story eventually wrapped up.
I gotta be realistic about this project as a whole too. It’s demanding time, money, and mental capacity as this whole thing requires a lot more than just writing, such as project management, accounting, and marketing. I for sure have the passion for pushing through the first arc, about four or five books, in order to give this series a survival chance in the endless sea of light and web novels. However, once that’s done, I will sit down and decide on its future. If there are enough people that care for it, then I will keep trucking along. Also, I had quite a few people inquire about manga or audiobook versions of this light novel, and to those people, I say the thought already crossed my mind, but that requires more mental capacity than I can offer at the moment.
I for sure would love to see the whole thing come alive, but that doesn’t only depend on me. It would be really appreciated if you could follow the book on social media and leave a review on Amazon, Wattpad, or whatever other media we publish in. If you can, spread the word too! More people having fun with the book means Mitsuken and I can focus more time on it! It’s a win-win!
Regards,
Deo (デオ)
Vol 3 Afterword - 2026
To all the backers of the Kickstarter, MUITO OBRIGADO!
To the friends who helped with handling the rewards, also MUITO OBRIGADO!
And for the last, but just as important, MUITO OBRIGADO to you for giving the series a chance!
To the special girl who was a catalyst for change in my life as I was writing this book, MUITO OBRIGADO! 💜
Sorry it took so long for Vol 3 to come out; it is what it is! I’m not beholden to driving stock value each quarter in this project! Besides, I need to avoid burning out, as this project may seem easy from the outside, but it demands a lot since I’m self-publishing.
Since I’m here anyway, if a big company wants to slap my face with a couple of millions to take over the copyright and trademarks, I’d take it and disappear into the woods and become a shaman at the next Wardruna concert near me— will still go to Magical Mirai and Miku Expo to get my Miku fix, of course! As much as I love this project, it does seem to be growing bigger than myself, and as a simple mortal in the earthly plane, I’d love to spend more time with family and friends, touch grass, and watch/play stuff.
I will be dead in 50 years or so anyway, so I want to make the best out of it and live with no regrets! 🙂
Onward to Vol 4!
Deo (デオ)
Vol 4 Afterword - 2027
Close to ten years—that’s how long it took to get to where we are now. These words you read at the end of Vol 4.
I am not the same man who, on a fateful day in October 2019, had a vivid dream and started writing the first draft of this story because my intuition told me to!
The old me would go on about revealing too much about himself, or would go on a very specific rant about something way too goddam specific, which I now understand as being AuDHD as fuck—what will my new self do? Further disappear into the woods, letting the author and social influencer side of me die as I step into a new chapter of life focused on self-love and clarity, as I grew a lot from this experience, and I had tons of fun and bat shit insane stories to tell friends over booze and a cozy fire.
To my awesome mother and father, I love you two! To my two illustrators, you became the sisters I never had! For everyone I crossed paths with, especially the girls I shared a bed with while on a journey to repair somatically and discover how to become more grounded in my body and humanity, I appreciate you too!
And so It’s time to say goodbye with a snippet of one of my favorite songs, Helvegen by Wardruna:
Deyr fé
Deyja frændr
Deyr sjalfr it sama
En orðstírr
Deyr aldregi
Hveim er sér góðan getr
Deo (デオ)