# What is Sparks of Rebellion?

Sparks of Rebellion is an unorthodox take on high fantasy reminiscent of John Hughes movies. It features a dysfunctional group of teenagers working out their emotional trauma and uniting against an oppressive monarchy.

My name is Toby Cerezo, and I am the author of Sparks of Rebellion. I wrote this book because I wanted to create something that people could read to give themselves hope, especially while facing that truly fearsome beast known as adulthood.

I hope that this book helps to restore people’s faith in the collective potential of the world, as well as their own potential. In a world that reinforces how terrible everything is for the sake of ratings, it’s easy to forget that there will always be a way to make everyone’s lives better. It’s also easy to forget that anybody could find that way, whether they be young or old, straight or LGBTQ+, indigenous or an immigrant, religious or atheistic, etcetera.

In Sparks of Rebellion, the world of Threigsinn was shaped by thoughts and abandoned by fallible gods that were ashamed of their folly. The protagonist, Arvin White, is a cynical and self-doubting prodigy who is visited by a royal emissary with an invitation to a masquerade ball with his only friend, Chepha Vulcana. Along the way, they meet Rakim Evergreen and Alice Livingston, who recruit them in a plot to stop Duke Ferdinand Marioneta from taking the human throne and using genocide to gain public favor. After a mysterious goddess tries(and fails) to establish a good relationship with Arvin, four days of encountering long-repressed trauma and his newfound teenage angst threaten to rend his resolve and sanity to shreds. Can Arvin and his friends combine their efforts to steal reports from the duke at his own party? In most circles, it’s considered poor etiquette to steal from guests, but some sacrifices must be made for the greater good.

This book features a lovably awful cast akin to that of The Breakfast Club, self-aware and self-deprecating humor, and classic tropes flipped on their heads. It also contains vivid descriptions of anxiety and PTSD, so if you aren’t a fan of that kind of content, then this isn’t for you.

Technically; according to my publisher, New Degree Press; this is the part where I tell you the discussions that I want Sparks of Rebellion to provoke. But despite all of the things I mentioned above, I believe that books should be open for readers to interpret. I don’t want anyone taking tests about the symbolism of Arvin’s boots, but seeing how so many people have interpreted so many different projects in so many different ways makes my heart swell. I think it’s best to promote respectful disagreements and debates, especially when so many people are so quick to anger behind a screen.

In the end, no matter what you may think of me or my life story, I hope that Sparks of Rebellion lets you experience a full range of emotions that will leave you anticipating my next release. Unrealistic? Perhaps. That’s why I said “hope.” There’d be no point in hoping for something that simply falls at your feet. Maybe that’s what I think the greatest takeaway from Sparks of Rebellion is. While it is important that people have the chance to feel comfortable when escaping to another world, I feel that it is also necessary for people to set goals for themselves that aren’t guaranteed to be met. After all, heroes can conquer more than monsters. One’s own inner demons feel like a good place to start.

# What I Need & What You’ll Get

New Degree Press is working with me to publish Sparks of Rebellion. I set up the pre-order tiers to help cover my book’s publishing costs. The money raised here will go towards…

The editor I will work with to revise and publish my manuscript in April 2021.
The cover design of my book. (The mockups you see currently are a placeholder!)
The layout design for the interior of my book (physical copy, e-book formats).
The copy editing for my book to polish the grammar and spelling prior to publication.
The launch & promotion efforts for my book when I ultimately publish this spring.
When I pre-sell 120 copies of my book, I will publish a paperback and e-book. When I pre-sell 150 copies of my book, I will also publish a hardcover edition. When I pre-sell 200 copies of my book, I will publish a hardcover and an audiobook.

I’m also offering some neat rewards for people who pre-order my book here:

You will receive a personally signed copy of my book when I publish.
You’ll receive custom art made by myself.
You will receive early access to the Author’s Note and other excerpts from my book, with the opportunity to review it and give me early feedback.
You will have the opportunity to be involved in selecting my cover and title.
You will be invited to join my Author Community and get behind-the-scenes sneak peeks into the publishing process.
And much more!

# About the Author

Toby Cerezo is a junior in high school. He’s been writing Sparks of Rebellion since he was a freshman, and he has stories that he started back in seventh grade gathering dust in his Google Drive.

Toby wrote Sparks of Rebellion while he was going through a creative and mental slump. As seems to be the case with most people his age, middle school left Toby feeling drained and hopeless. It was only because of the friends that he made along the way that he could deal with his own emotional baggage, and he wants to help others feel that same way.

When he’s not writing, Toby blitzes through his schoolwork, plays games with his friends(mainly VALORANT and D&D), and watches streamers like Arcadum and QuarterJade on Twitch. His friends have been generally supportive of his efforts, if not a little tired of the constant updates regarding the publishing process.

For more, you can contact Toby at [email protected], look at his art at @crabs4dayz on Instagram, and learn weirdly personal information at @my_gentle_puck on TikTok. You can also find playlists for Arvin, Chepha, Rakim, Alice and more from Toby Cerezo on Spotify.

# Risks & Challenges

The biggest challenge with publishing a book is mailing the finished book to you guys. Much like several other problems I’ve faced in the past, I have totally avoided this issue by including the cost of mailing and shipping the signed copies in each pre-order tier.

The risk of delivering the pre-sale copies of my book depends on who I publish with. I’ll be working closely with New Degree Press to make sure we ship the pre-order rewards to you as early as possible. We’ll keep all pre-sale backers up-to-date as to when Sparks of Rebellion will publish. You’ll know when the copies of my book you pre-ordered are expected to ship; I’m on a first-name basis with a lot of sleep paralysis demons. Oh, and, like, we’ll email you, I guess.

# Other Ways You Can Help

Being an unemployed teenager whose bills are being paid by his parents, I fully understand if you can’t financially back Sparks of Rebellion. Luckily, if you’re still inclined to support the start of the Fragments series, I have a short list of other things you can do!

For one, you can signal boost my pre-sale campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with your friends, family, moots, and network. Please use #SparksOfRebellion and tag me and my publisher, New Degree Press, so that we can put your posts on blast.

You can also share my Pre-Sale Campaign Page via Indiegogo at the top of the page!

Lastly, you can share my book with 5 friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it with a DM or a text on social media.

Thank you so much for of all of your love and support!

Thanks again,
Toby Cerezo