Press Release - February 2023

International Ask A Question Day: March 14, 2023

New Series Delves Into The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang To Trump - Perfect For Inquisitive Readers!

How Did Life End Up With Us? How Did We Get To Be So Different? Why Do We All Behave In The Way We Do? So What Does It All Mean?

The Secrets of Life quartet addresses the big questions to spark conversations and debate for years to come!

Otium Press, UK paperback & eBook release of books 1 & 2 in the series, March 2023, books 2 & 3 out May 2023. Media enquiries & early review copy requests:dianaashlee@literallypr.com

Potential talking points!

• What would be your ultimate BIG LIFE question (if you could guarantee getting an answer in honour of International Ask A Question Day)? #SecretsOfLifeQs #AskAQuestionDay
• The Secrets of Life quartet addresses the 4 most important questions in life... what are they?
• Are there any remaining ‘secrets' to life or are they all really hiding in plain sight?
• Is it possible to ever address thebiggest questions in life: on purpose, free will, evolution, survival, consciousness?

The most frequently asked question on Google in 2022 was:What To Watch?

The question received a staggering 109,680,000 searches - that's over 9 million searches each month. International Ask A Question Day is a fun opportunity, held annually on 14^thMarch, to ponder perhaps slightly bigger questions you'd love answers to - and perhaps a good opportunity to spark a lively discussion online, at work, over the dinner table, or in the pub with friends?

#AskAQuestionDay coincides with the birthday of the famous theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. And, of course, no book on evolution and the BIG life questions, would be complete without at least a handful of references to Einstein! Enter SS O'Connor's series - The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang To Trump - due for release in the same month as Ask A Question Day.

The quartet explores many wonderful questions such as: how would you behave if you were offered £10,000 for an hour's work? Why does the Rock, Paper, Scissors game tell us how we shouldn't behave in life? How can you always win by drawing or coming second? And, why do we copy what others do? 

O'Connor does not claim to be an expert in any of the fields addressed within the four-book series, instead he aims to consolidate his extensive reading—and personal expertise—to answer many of the most pressing questions of our time. He is an amateur, a storyteller, liberated from the jargon, the science, and the rules of references and indices. The series is written for those of us who ponder the ‘bigger' life questions than what to watch on Netflix tonight, and is perfect for those who enjoy nothing more than a hearty discussion among friends - who are constantly on a quest to learn more.

In book one, O'Connor writes,‘[In writing this series, I found] something that kept me cheered through the long slog of writing. It was a realisation that so appealed to the optimist in me that I began to think of the books as an opportunity to give a boost to all those downbeat people one meets who see nothing but darkness, destruction, confusion and decline in the world.'Of course, to find out more you need to read Book 1 and we're happy to share review copies/pre-order links to help you find the answers!

In his first book,How Did Life End Up with Us?O'Connor considers how genetic evolution works, how it was uncovered, and what the gene-based theory of evolution actually means. The book ends with the emergence of an obscure new species... humans! It also poses questions such as, why are mutations like a gambling scam? And why, if DNA is just a bunch of chemical elements, does it behave like a sophisticated hedge fund manager?

Booktwo,Why Are We So Different?considers leadership and free will, examiningwhy our rulers were always so horrible yet we endlessly put up with them, and the cultural revolutions that combined to make humans what they are.

The third book in the series,Why Do We All Behave The Way We Do?examines the fascinating notion that life is like a poker game, and how this explains why organisms interact to their mutual advantage.

His final book,So What Does It All Mean?pulls the threads of evolutionary theory together to show there has indeed been an arc of development, which has taken us from the laws laid down at the moment of the Big Bang, right the way through the evolutionary process, to the present day. The final in this intriguing series explores human nature, free will and trust. And leaves us with a question that bucks the trend of the ‘global mood' right now: is the world actually getting better and could it be possible that we are in fact becoming happier?

O'Connor employs humour, wit, curiosity and analogies to cut through the scientific jargon and unwrap some of the most complex and interesting life questions. You won't find footnotes and lengthy case histories here. Instead, O'Connor guides the reader through common questions, concepts, ideas and objections, and the result is conversational, relatable and enlightening. The result is a book packed with questions... and answers!

About the author:

SS O'Connor spent more than twenty years as an advertising executive before becoming a serial entrepreneur, assembler of private equity projects, investor and corporate strategist. He has been chairman of a number of public and private companies, and a director of many others. His acclaimed novel, The Prisoner's Dilemma, was published in 2013. He lives in London and Somerset.

Notes to editors:

Media enquiries:helenlewis@literallypr.com/info@literallypr.com

Press releases, photos and more info:bit.ly/TheSecretsOfLifePR