Nov 17, 2020

Howdy! I hope this finds you well. 

I have entered The Crucible Tree, the sequel to Bane of All Things, into a new contest that my publisher, Inkshares, has just launched.

To help me win the contest, all you need to do is visit The Crucible Tree’s page and click Follow at https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-crucible-tree.

That’s it. Just follow. This contest is about community engagement, not pre-orders. 

What else can you do to help boost The Crucible Tree in the contest standings?

·      Post a Review or Recommend: I have posted sample chapters for your reading pleasure.

·      Share: Through Facebook, Twitter or by email to a friend.

If you already have followed The Crucible Tree, thank you very much. You are helping me to realize a dream I have been chasing since high school, to not just publish one novel, but to become a career author.

How does this contest work?

Inkshares will shortlist books for publication based on their level of community engagement. This is all about total number of Follows, Likes, Reviews and Shares.

Inkshares’ editorial board will then make final choices on which books to accept in the spring. (You can learn more about the contest and see the other entries here.)

So, why am I in this contest if Inkshares is already my publisher?

Bane of All Things is already pending publication next summer – it was entirely thanks to you that Inkshares agreed to publish it. (As noted in prior updates, we have the pandemic to thank for the delayed release.)

But … landing one deal for one book is no guarantee that your next book will be picked up, too. Book publishing is a business – publishers need to see a return on their investment. The great thing about Inkshares is that it doesn’t only look at dollars and cents – grass roots support is important, too.

This contest helps build buzz!!!

This contest gives me the opportunity to attract more attention to Bane of All Things ahead of its launch and earn The Crucible Tree some advance interest and attention, too. All of this will help Bane of All Things be a success when it hits store shelves and pave the way for the whole series to continue (it will be four books, BTW).

All you have to do to help make this happen is go and follow The Crucible Tree. And if you could get a couple of friends and family on board, too, that would be awesome.

Thank you again for all your patience and support. I truly hope you will find the same pleasurable escape in reading this story that I have found in writing it.

Cheers

Leo