"No-one will want to play a political nation simulation game," they said. "You should be working on your next novel," they said. "The cost of NationStates bandwidth will leave you penniless and selling your body for food," they said. Well, you and 50,000 other people proved those paranoid voices in my head wrong. Except for that last one, which may yet turn out to be accurate. But otherwise, NationStates, a game I wrote in the hope of eventually attracting a thousand or so players, has been hugely popular. I want to thank you for being part of that.

Today, Jennifer Government, the novel on which NationStates is based, hits bookstores across the United States and Canada. A book usually needs to sell between five and ten thousand copies in a single week to make the New York Times bestseller list--which is a big ask, especially of an essentially unknown author like me. But with NationStates, I suspect it might be possible. So I want to try.

If you've enjoyed NationStates, take a moment to check out Jennifer Government. If you like what you see, please buy it. And if you can, do it this week. This would give the book a real shot at cracking the bestseller list in its first week. That would shock the hell out of the publishing industry. It would make NationStates not just a popular web game but a true phenomenon.

If you liked NationStates, I think you'll like my book, too. But you don't have to take my word on that: you can read Chapter 1 online. There are also a few early reviews.

I'm doing bookstore appearances in the next few days in New York and Los Angeles, where I'll talk about the book and NationStates. If you're in town, please come along! See here for details.