Science Fiction Book Club discussion

The After Life is the story of Nad Raven - a young man, whose childhood is shattered by a cataclysmic event that leaves him trapped in an underground vault with a few other survivors of a modern day apocalypse. It is a tale of a small community that tries to move on after all hope seems to have been wiped out by an all out nuclear war. With our planet turned into a grim wasteland, the protagonist discovers that even in an isolated micro society there is love and hate, grief and happiness, valor and treason as well as that overpowering human temptation to find out what is out there - beyond the safe walls of the underground shelter. To find out, Nad embarks on a dangerous journey that holds many dark secrets... a journey that will change his life forever...

All the royalties I have so far received for the novel (something like 80$) and all the royalties I will receive have been and will be donated to an orphanage in Gyumri town of Armenia. It is a special needs kids orphanage - the only one in our country. The building of the orphanage has been renovated by the foundation I work at but the kids still need that extra attention - the toys and the clothing and that little things that make them feel that there is still kindness in the world and no matter how hard the challenges and long the way there will always be someone to hold your hand and help you along on your way forward. As I move forward with this initiative, watch this space to see photo-stories on what's been accomplished.

I was actually inspired to donate my entire royalties from the sale of the novel to an orphanage following an example I am witnessing every month at the foundation I work in. I am the head of the projects department here and our job is to single out the most pressing needs in the villages of Armenia and find financing to address them. Our foundation is fundraising to carry out its work and a lot of people are participating in the effort. There is this 85 year old guy who for the last 15 years comes to our foundation every month and donates about 20% of his pension, which is something like 30$. You have to see the light in his eyes when he does that...really inspiring. It's not that he doesn't need that money because he does but he always says that there is someone who needs it even more and donating that money actually makes him feel richer.

I think another thing that we can do is every person who contributes to Gyumri orphanage by purchasing the book from Amazon can state their name here and also the kind of gift they would like to give to the kids for their contribution. That way we can have a very personalized project that will bring people from around the world to the little town in Eastern Europe and kids who would never think that someone several thousand kilometers away could care about them.