Aug 5, 2016

Happy Weekend (unless you are in the US, in which case I guess Happy Friday)!

I’ve been working hard at editing trying to prepare for the Launchpad Manuscript competition, for which entries close later this month. Two important details:

1. If the manuscript is lucky enough to be shortlisted in the competition, then it will enter a crowdfunding competition in October (this is how the winners will be selected). 
   
2. If it doesn’t get selected for the shortlist I none-the-less plan to launch the funding campaign before the end of the year - I’ll post more details once we are closer to the date.

Through this next period, while I focus on editing and preparing for the competition, my updates may be a little thinner on the ground.  The exciting news is this doesn’t mean I’ll be idle — I’ve negotiated with work to have reduced hours over the next couple months so I can dedicate significantly more time to my writing (something my amazing wife is supporting because she is the best)!

In the meantime, the Inkshares Fantasy contest is underway and you should all check out some of the excellent books in the running. I personally suggest looking at: Child of Secrets: If any of you enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora, check this out - an extremely promising fantasy thief romp.

Finally, I wanted to call your attention to Tantalus Depths - an epic sci-fi I’ve recommended before. Over the last week there have been issues with Inkshares discovering some purchasers have abused site mechanics, and as a result a number of pre-orders across Inkshares were cancelled. Unfortunately, through no fault of his, Evan Graham’s amazing book has been hit hard by this, losing a significant number of pre-orders. Thankfully, he still has enough for Quill publishing, but it must still be very frustrating. If you had previously pre-ordered Tantalus Depths - please make sure your pre-order still stands. If not, check out the book because it is worth your time!

Robert