In 2024, I will be launching my new publishing imprint, Aquitania First Editions, redefining the traditional publishing model by embracing the raw, unedited essence of storytelling.
But first, a little backstory...
Throughout my life, living as a neurodivergent person with moderate learning disabilities has posed formidable hurdles in sharing my writing with a wider audience, primarily due to the nuances of being a perfectionist, mildly obsessive and highly self-critical. The challenges of maintaining focus, organizing thoughts and navigating the intricacies of language and the rules it imposes makes the process of refining and presenting my work daunting (my first novel, for example, was completed in 2011 and has been edited by four different people and still remains unpublished due to my excessive self-doubt about the "integrity" of the text). However, it is noteworthy to mention that over the course of my life, I have adeptly learned to "accommodate" my challenges, even to the point of having successfully worked as an English teacher for more than 25 years. Through resilience and determination, I've transformed what many might perceive as an impairment into a source of richness for my creative life. Embracing my unique perspective, I've woven these experiences into the tapestry of my writing and other creative endeavors, allowing it to become a vessel for authentic self-expression and a celebration of diversity in thought and artistry.
Ultimately, I'm hoping my readers will engage with the narrative, not really caring less about whether I adhere to elaborate rules or conventions. What they truly desire, in my humble opinion, is entertainment, to be immersed in a compelling tale, to experience emotions. As a writer, my paramount responsibility is to provide you with these elements. However, achieving this is made nearly impossible if I constrain my own creativity or dare to explore unorthodox approaches. I embrace a style that captivates Me (in bold italics with a capital M!). Through this process, I'm being my most authentic self, true to that self, true to the work and true to my readers as I unleash my creativity without bounds while producing my uttermost work. True, it's unconventional. True, it's outrageous. True, it's daring. And true above all, it's completely and magnificently liberating.
Through Aquitania First Editions, I will be publishing my entire catalog of as-of-now unreleased novels and collections of my short stories, plays, essays and poetry in their most unembellished form, unapologetically imperfect with limited revisions, a minimum of editing and with straightforwardness and authenticity.
I am proud to announce the inaugural Aquitania First Editions publication of my debut novel, Adam Driver and the Million Dollar Haircut, is now available HERE. (Oh, and don't be too surprised if you catch a typo or two or a paragraph break that seems to have lost its way!).
And now, a little history...
The name of my publishing imprint, Aquitania First Editions, was inspired the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Aquitania, an ocean liner who graced the seas as a distinguished member of the esteemed Cunard Line from 1914 until 1950. Built under the visionary design of Leonard Peskett and constructed by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, she emerged into the world on the 21st of April, 1913. With a regal air befitting her stature, she embarked on her inaugural journey from Liverpool to New York on the 30th of May, 1914. Adorned with the prestigious title of Royal Mail Ship (RMS), Aquitania, like her Cunard counterparts, bore the duty of transporting the royal mail across the ocean during numerous voyages.
On September 7, 1923, my maternal great-parents, grandmother and great-uncle arrived at Ellis Island on the Aquitania who, after World War I, was converted into an auxiliary cruiser before later being used for troop transport, a hospital ship and to bring tens of thousands of immigrants to the new lives that awaited them in the United States and beyond.
R.M. Usatinsky
Rijswijk, 20 December 2023
