Welcome to A Month of Rain and Reads, a celebration of self-published and indie SFF throughout the entire month of November. To find out how you can take part and view the whole list of content, visit our introduction post.
Today we’re interviewing Aimee Cozza, author of the The Lucky Machine and other sci-fi stories such as The Warm Machine, as she launches her crowdfund campaign on Backerkit as part of The Book Bazaar 2025.
Aimee is raising funds for The Lucky Machine, a sci-fi story from the POV of a plucky robot who escapes her life of servitude to help a down-on-his-luck cyborg with his dream of becoming a fashion designer. It’s described as a love letter to the sci-fi community as a whole, and follow up to The Warm Machine.
Follow the campaign and pledge your support!
Please tell us a little about yourself and your Backerkit project.
I’m a big time sci-fi lover, and a few years back I thought to myself – if I’m such a sci-fi lover, how come I’ve never written a sci-fi book with some harder sci-fi concepts? Specifically about my favorite bit – ROBOTS! So, aiming to rectify this, I wrote a few chapters just exploring the concept of what I’d like to see in a robot tale, putting together all of the best bits of sci-fi that I love, and seeing where it goes. My trusted co-author read these couple of chapters, and then a close friend, and both asked for more. By the time I was done writing a cohesive story, my co-author urged me to query the work. I did a handful of queries but then ran into an opportunity to actually do a pretty successful crowdfunder amidst many other authors and I ran with it. The Warm Machine successfully overfunded in 2024 and many readers loved it.
The reception to The Warm Machine was so positive from readers, with people asking me questions and talking about my little chums, that the question came up multiple times: Sequel? More specifically: Inix? The plucky side character, a discarded sexbot, was both mysterious and interesting, and I started right away in thinking about her. In November of 2024 I poured her story onto pages, exploring who she is and how to present her to everyone else, and this crowdfunding campaign, The Lucky Machine, is her story. Plus, because I didn’t intend the first book to be a running series initially, I’ve tried to write The Lucky Machine in a way that people can use it as entry into this universe as well, and not a direct sequel.
Why did you join The Book Bazaar 2025?
Well… I sort of started it. It’d be kind of a bad thing if I didn’t feel confident in my own collaborative efforts! I say “sort of” because a few of us indie authors are working behind the scenes to make The Book Bazaar 2025 happen… And to keep it going for years to come. I may be the so-called “whip” for 2025, the initiator in this collaborative space, but I may not be in the future. The key takeaway is that we’re all working together to make the project clear and get everyone on the boat and FUNDED! And we hope to bring this same energy no matter who is running the project or how many projects we bring on in the future.
Have you crowdfunded before? What do you hope to achieve with your project?
This will be my 7th crowdfunding campaign. I hope to bring a lovely sort of chaotic “what’s next?” energy to my project that people can really engage with me throughout. We did it last year, with building a bot and drawing a butt and such, but I’d love even more of that this year. I’m planning to do a bunch of live streaming stuff, as well as the slightly less intense poll and comment stuff, so I can be more available to chatting with everyone and really connecting with both current and new readers. I love all you folks – you’re the best! As a sneak preview, we’re going to be deciding on fashion choices from Inix, so you better bring your most unhinged ideas to my backers comments section!
Tease us with your Backerkit campaign! What rewards can we expect?
Ooooh boy. So you’re going to see paperback, hardcover, and ebook options for The Lucky Machine right out of the gate. There’s also an option for one of those 90’s era paper dolls ( I drew her myself 😉 ) of Inix that can double as a bookmark. Backers will be able to force me to make more weird fashion choices to use for this paper doll. There’s also more rewards including some that are left over from The Warm Machine like a metal bookmark of laborbot beau Sterling. There are stretch goals of digital unlockables for Photoshop brushes and even an art book.
Why did you decide to self-publish/publish with a small press and what has been your biggest success so far?
Well, the biggest boon of self-publishing is that you have the opportunity to do whatever you want in the formatting of your book. I put supplemental illustrations at the beginning of each book, and I’m allowed to do that! I also like to use fun formatting for things like digital conversations. While I didn’t get to do a whole lot of that for The Lucky Machine, there is still a bit where I could fit it. Keep an eye out. 😉
What is your favourite thing about being an indie author?
Freedom, right? Just like I said before, it’s fantastic being able to do what you want. That means you have a freedom for your publishing schedule, the ability to join in on crowdfunders like this and group collaborative efforts, and really get to get down and dirty with fellow authors, connect with new people, and get personal. That’s so much fun, in my opinion.
What tips can you share on self-publishing or crowdfunding with your fellow indies?
Have fun. No, seriously. The best thing you can do when it comes to self-publishing and crowdfunding is have fun. Marketing is a total chore and no one likes doing it, so think of the way you can personally have as much fun as possible while doing it. Trust me – it makes it a lot easier to make social media posts when you’re not raking yourself over the coals to sound As PrOfEsSiOnAl As PoSsIbLe. Post the unhinged meme. Talk about your characters like you love them (You do, don’t you?). Connect with others in a meaningful way and build a support system. It’ll feel a lot less like work once you get into groove of it.
Can you recommend a few of your favourite SFF books from indie/self-published authors?
Okay okay, how about:
- Coal Gets In Your Veins – Cat Rector
- Transference – Ian Patterson
- Bookstories – Sarah Tollok
- The Finding Machine – Lucy Lyons
- The Dark Side of Super – Matthew Siadak (also on The Book Bazaar funding as an audiobook!)
- Everdark – N.A. Soleil (currently undergoing a restructure for health of the series, stay tuned!)
What are you working on after your campaign?
Probably shooting some things up onto a page for a 3rd book in this universe and hoping people will be interested in it. I might have to surprise folks with what comes next (or, perhaps, what’s happening concurrently in another part of the world).
I’m also still working on querying an urban sci-fi/fantasy title, and writing the followup for that particular title. There’s just so much I can see into the future for, and it’s so exciting to work towards!
Do you have any last words?
I hope you’ll join me for The Book Bazaar 2025. These indie authors have all put MAXIMUM EFFORT into not just the end product of a book/story, but also their campaigns in hoping to really show you who they are and why you should stand behind them. The time to support indies in this way — especially in the arts — is now. Even if you can’t afford to back any of the projects, your shares to friends and family help a colossal amount. We thank you so much for your support in any form!
About the Author
Aimee Cozza is a freelance illustrator, web designer, and author from New England. She graduated from New England College (Formerly New Hampshire Institute of Art) in 2012 with a BFA in illustration. Aimee primarily focuses on subjects regarding the dark-beautiful, surreal, and unsettling, within genres of sci-fi and fantasy, often mixing or blurring the two. She enjoys exploring themes such as duality, disconnection, doomed romance, and mental illness/trauma. Her debut sci-fi novella, The Warm Machine, was published with a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2024 to a positive reception.
- Website: AimeeCozza.com
- Bluesky: aimeecozza.com
- Facebook: aimeecozza
- Instagram: @aimeecozza
