There are a few reasons why The Evil And The Pure is currently only available as an eBook. One, to be perfectly honest, is that traditional publishers just weren't that keen on it. I actually had a publishing deal in place, and at first the publisher seemed excited about the book, but as time went on they started to lodge more and more objections, and although I re-wrote and edited several times, I wasn't able to bridge the gap between what the book was and what the publisher wanted it to be. I showed it to a few other publishers, who were equally unimpressed. That alone didn't deter me from pursuing the tradition publishing route, as I've faced rejection with other books which went on to be published to great acclaim (one was turned down by twenty different publishers, then went on to sell millions of copies worldwide). But...
Reason two was that I wanted to release the book at a low cost. While I've enjoyed commercial success writing other types of books, I'm not sure if The Evil And The Pure is a crowd-pleaser. My gut instinct is that it might prove to be a surprise success, but I won't be surprised if it remains a niche product. It's a very dark, troubling work, and I'm just not sure if lots of people will want to pay to spend time in such a twisted literary world. But as an eBook, I can present it as a budget buy, so if readers don't enjoy it, at least they won't have paid top dollar for it.
Reason three is that I have other, different stories to tell. I've written (and want to continue writing) all sorts of novels, horror, sci-fi, thrillers, comedies... I want to bounce about between them, and not be tied to writing a specific type of book. Publishers are wary of too much variety, and readers can be wary of it too. This way, I get to decide where I go with my next book, without having to worry about jumping through hoops of an editor's and audience's making. Regardless of whether The Evil And The Pure is a success or flop, I'm going in a very different direction with my next book. And again with the book after that. And again... And...
In short, ePublishing allows me the freedom to let my imagination run wild. I'm not anti-traditional publishing. Indeed, I hope that The Evil And The Pure does find favour with a publisher who is prepared to put it out in a print edition and back it with a solid marketing campaign. And I hope that my other books find publishers too, going forward. But I doubt that any one publisher will see merit in all my books. So, assuming there's any interest, I'm going to let them take things on a book-by-book basis. Meanwhile I'm going to be here on the web, weaving together a whole picture of contrasting colours and strands. You'll hopefully find bits of Darren Dash in print in various different areas of bookshops over the years to come, but to find all my work in one chaotically organised place, you'll probably have to come here into my eWorld. Unless there's a brave or crazy publisher out there just waiting to match me on the variety front and prove me wrong...