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Dear reader,

Welcome! Thank you for stepping in! 

Let me ask you a question: when was the last time you walked into a bookstore and actually bought something you loved?

I know. As a book lover, I walk into Barnes & Noble each time with the firm intention of taking one home—row after row of “bestsellers,” shiny covers, breathless blurbs—I pick up a copy, flip through it, give it a chance. Then I put it back on the shelf thinking: what a piece of crap.

Since my days as a journalist more than a decade ago, the prophesied “death of print media” has hung like a sword of Damocles over those of us who write. Creators like myself lived with the constant fear of being abandoned by the times.

When I showed the draft of As I Wish to a few agents, they said that it was “a bit long” and that publishers might worry about printing costs. Come on—being long isn’t a sin; being long and boring is!

Traditional publishing nowadays runs on a loser's logic: minimize risk, follow trends, think short-term. It never asks “is this good?” It asks “does this look like the last thing that sold?” The agents (I met) don't know what good literature is. The publishers can't guarantee quality. Once a work is swept into a complex process, editing, revisions, and adjustments are no longer guided by value or aesthetics, but by the tug-of-war between power and ego. What comes out the other end—the product, the book, the literature that's supposed to move the reader—is flat, castrated, and lifeless.

And yet, the need to read has never diminished—people still read to learn, to connect, to experience the voices of others. As technology evolved, the printed word became just one among many forms of expression. Words now transform into images, into drama, even into music; video, podcasts, and social media each carry stories in ways print never could.

Now that it is already 2026, I chose to face the market—and my readers—directly.

This is where Albert Aspen stands today as a writer:

• I am already a mature writer and storyteller. This is who I am. This is how I write. And this is what I write. I only answer to my higher voice and my readers.

In the internet age, a writer can reach readers directly—no permission needed, no intermediaries. Stories travel freely, from screen to mind, from one life into another. And it is readers like you who decide what is worth sustaining. When these stories resonate, your support allows them to continue, to grow, and to be told. You, the reader, are what gives the story a real life.

As I Wish is a novel currently in progress

The story unfolding on your screen, episode by episode, is As I Wish, an adult fantasy novel about destiny, magic, and the chaos of modern America. This story has been brewing in my mind for over three years. The first drafts of all twelve chapters are already in place. This year, As I Wish will step out of imagination and take form in reality. The kitchen is busy, and this book is being served one course at a time: completed episodes will be serialized weekly.

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Albert Aspen is committed to crafting original stories drawn from real lives and real experience. Your generous and kind support is what allows this work to continue—it is a beacon of hope in the darkness, a steady companion in the solitude of creation, and a luminous muse that makes the pursuit of beauty possible. Become a Founding Donor and join a community of patrons who share your passion for meaningful work!

In the end, here is my promise: upon completion of the novel As I Wish—nothing will stop it, expected between winter 2026 and spring 2027—every VIP Member with six consecutive months of subscription, and every Founding Donor, will receive a physical copy.

Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Albert Aspen Original Stories to continue.

Thank you for being my reader. Don't forget to subscribe, support, and share your thoughts.