Jim McDoniel's latest update for An Unattractive Vampire

Dec 11, 2015

Good morning all (he says at midnight, assuming you'll be reading this when you wake)

Lots of news and good things to go over. First and foremost, the Sword and Laser, the reason yours truly is still talking to you about this dandy little fiction he's concocted (I've spent a good portion of today writing. Does it show?) has returned with another book contest! More authors are being given the same opportunity to get their book published and distributed just as I have. Books like:

The Darkest Places by Byron Gillan
The discovery of an ancient artifact, buried deep below Cairo, brings three individuals together in a race against an ever-ticking clock to stop an ancient and eldritch evil.  

You had me at eldritch Byron. Go here to check it out this tale of 1920s adventurous Lovecraftian horror:
https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-darkest-places?recommended=true

I also would like to recommend a book that is not actually in the Sword and Laser contest, but looks immensely fun.

Dax Harrison by Tony Valdez
In a space-faring future, an alien war criminal seeks vengeance on humanity, and a celebrated-but-bumbling hero is forced back into action... whether he likes it or not.  

It looks like a great, golden-age style space adventure with plenty of humor to go around. You can read excerpts here. Just remember to do so soon, it only has 15 days to meet its Quill publishing goal:
https://www.inkshares.com/projects/dax-harrison-2276

There will be more recommendations to come I promise.

Meanwhile, because of the new contest, people have been asking me and the winners of last Sword and Laser contest J.F. Dubeau and G. Derek Adams lots of fun questions about our books and our experience with Inkshares. First, Alicia Smock from the Examiner wrote this wonderful article highlighting each of us:

http://www.examiner.com/article/inkshares-and-sword-laser-team-up-for-new-publishing-contest

And the Inkshares team asked us to contribute our insights for their blog on the new contest here:

http://blog.inkshares.com/post/134876312095/insights-from-the-winners-of-the-first-sword

AND I know many of you have been asking when your books will be arriving. Well, the release date is March 15. But if you'd like to see what they look like ahead of time, you can see an advanced galley being unboxed by Tom Merritt of the Sword and Laser by following this link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0RmQf9h5oM&feature=youtu.be&a

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to have more good news to tell you soon. Until then, dear readers...