Jul 10, 2016

Dear friends and followers,

We stand today at 388 orders. Things picked up a bit this week, and 400 is just around the corner. It’s very exciting, and I thank you all for getting us here. Somehow the thought of being in the 400s makes the achievement of 750 seem that much closer, that much more real.... I should reiterate, by the way, the we go into production as soon as we hit 750, not when we reach the final deadline. This means that the sooner we get there, the sooner everyone gets their books.

If you haven’t checked out the accompanying text adventure game, "Mustard, Music, and Murder", yet, I encourage you to do so.

Speaking of games, it’s the final week of the Nerdist contest. "Too Many Controllers" is currently in the lead, but, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, it ain’t Game Over till it’s Game Over.

Every order helps.

My own personal stake in "Too Many Controllers" aside, there are some worthy contenders in the top ten right now. "Squids In" should, I think, appeal to anyone who enjoyed Landon Crutcher’s "Monkey Business"--which I did. In a way, I see them as spiritual siblings, and it would be great to see them side-by-side on a shelf in matching formats ... part of a series of zoological comedy, perhaps.

In the last Inkshares blog post, the top ten contenders answered the question, "who would you cast in the movie/TV version of your book"? Well, my contribution to the anthology is clearly a John Cleese movie. But what about "Murder at the Veterans’ Club"?

I’d been thinking of Aidan Turner in the role of Eric Peterkin, based solely on Turner’s performance in the latest BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s "And Then There Were None", even if he’s technically too tall for the part. Thoughts?

Don’t give me that look, Mr. Turner. Sure, it’s a bit early to be thinking of casting actors in the roles, but some people like to be able to visualise this sort of thing.

With that in mind, I bid you all a good week. Have fun, and keep reading.