Sep 25, 2015

THIS EMAIL CONTAINS A FREE COLORING BOOK. CLEAR YOUR MOTHER-LOVING SCHEDULE.

And now, something exciting and strange - a present for you on this gray Friday. Something that we all secretly crave, gazing at it longingly in the supermarket, but feel ourselves too proper, too adult to just purchase and face the wrinkled nose and skeptical questions of the checkout clerk. Yes, my friends. A coloring book.

Download the Fun

I would like to take credit and say that I created this for you all by myself with my secret art abilities, but that is not remotely the truth. Inkshares is becoming a wonderful eco-system of amazing, talented people - and I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in this project, the Inkshares Authors Showcase Coloring Book and Activity Pages, Nerdist Contest Edition.  This book  features art and activities to draw you into the worlds of:

Blood Dawn, by John Robin.

Prophecy of the Stars, by Melissa Berg (also an illustrator for the book, and the creator of our cover)

Asteroid Made of Dragons, by some dude.

A Beast Requires, by Jay Lockwood

Witches Undercover, by Rochelle Germano

Tournament of the Stars: Arbitration, by Victor Powell

Ageless (also winner of the Swords and Lasers contest) andMotor City Chronicles: Transgressions, by Paul Inman [This campaign is running a CONTEST around the book, check it!]

Rune of the Apprentice, by Jamison Stone

Shadow of the Owl, by Amanda Orneck

The Seventh Age, by Rick Heinz,

She Is the End, by A.C. Weston [[This campaign is running a CONTEST around the book, check it!]

You'll get to travel through mazes, challenge yourself withcrosswords and word searches, search and find hidden things,create a tournament patch that might be used in Victor's book, and color characters whose adventures you'll definitely want to read. So, if you haven't already, go pre-order these books!

Now - Serious Time.

This is a plea for all of you that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines of the Nerdist Contest to get in the game. I've had two conference calls this week - one with my editor from Girl Friday, another with the entire marketing team from Inkshares, my production editor from Girl Friday and a dedicated designer for the cover of AMOD.  As someone who's self-published two previous novels, this experience has been beyond astonishing, beyond important, beyond meaningful. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. 

There are so many deserving campaigns in this contest - take some time today, between bouts of coloring, and really look at the field, really consider the contestants. This contest ends on the 30th, but I know dozens and dozens of writers that are settling in for the long haul - they need your support, they need your attention, they need your MONEY.

This is a very unique place - a very unique confluence of events and people. You can directly influence art, you can directly promote the type of books you want to see more of out there in the world. It's kind of amazing - but it only works with more readers, more backers, more people and more eyeballs. Get in here and click some buttons and throw down some cabfare. The risk is low, but the reward - ah. Being able to reach  into the belly of the beast and pull out the kind of stories you want. No focus group, no demographic research, no publishing house in your way -- just reach in and give a new writer the opportunity to amaze you.

I'll have more updates about AMOD over the next few days - but I want you to keep your focus on the campaigns still funding right now. You've given me a shot - that means you like the weird, the strange, the other. I'm telling you now - there's a whole lot more of that stuff waiting for you right now to click on it.