Hey Everyone!

I wanted to provide all of you with an update on RESURGENCE and the pathway I have been on since you placed your order. As I mentioned in a previous email, I have been at work on rewrites since publication was confirmed in early 2020. I received some incredible feedback from the editors at Inkshares, and I have been planning out a story that will certainly leave all of you at the edges of your seats until the very last page. That being said, I am still working on transferring these ideas into the story. While I had hoped to have been done with these edits and rewrites at this point in the process, the pandemic has totally transformed my career as an educator.

The teaching profession has been extremely challenging since the pandemic hit in early 2020. Passionate educators like myself have poured our hearts and souls into our students, hoping to ensure a positive, productive, safe, and caring learning environment. While there have certainly been some incredible moments, some of which I will detail below, the task of working with students both online and in-person has left all of us completely drained...not to mention the fact that kids all across the nation are in need of far more support than they are currently receiving. All of this being said, I absolutely love teaching and working with future innovators, leaders, and inventors on a daily basis. I am determined to do everything I can to help them lead successful lives, including seeking better ways to instruct my students.

At the height of the pandemic, I was offered half-off tuition to obtain an educational technology degree from Central Michigan University. While I had planned to wait until the publication process was over to pursue higher education, the offer was too good to pass up on. After a year and a half program, I am proud to say that I have graduated from CMU with a degree in learning, design, and technology. The skills I have throughout this program have been extraordinary. As a result, I have been able to provide students with a truly innovative technology learning experience, one that allows students to collaborate with local businesses, write meaningful fiction, display their learning in local bookstores, etc. 

I am proud to share with all of you that my efforts have been acknowledged by the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). On March 17th, I will be awarded the MACUL Innovative Teacher of the year award at DeVos Place. Please check out the official press release. I was asked to share this with local radio, newspaper, or other media outlets. If you know of anyone, I would be incredibly grateful if you shared it with them!

While these past two years have been exhausting, I now see light at the end of the tunnel, and I can’t wait to get back into RESURGENCE. I don’t like to provide excuses, but I thought it was important to share the journey I have been on since first connecting with you. I appreciate your understanding. Stay tuned for more updates as I move forward and let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you,

Alec

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I want to say that I hope all of you are safe and well. This is truly an ever-changing situation in which we live in, and I know all of us are doing our best to navigate the murky waters. The purpose of this message is to update you on my progress with, RESURGENCE.

Before the pandemic, I didn’t have much time to work on my edits. Teaching required my full attention. What I didn’t expect is for the school shut down to do the same. While I may not have been teaching in the classroom, I was constantly grading, answering emails, checking in with students’ wellness, and packing up my classroom in preparation for the big move into our new middle school next year. With that being said, however, I do believe the delay was a gift from God. Here is why.

Our country is broken. No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall, no matter your opinion on how our country’s leaders have handled the pandemic, no matter your take on the riots sweeping the country after the horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others, millions of people are hurting. I have been given the opportunity to take all of this in and use RESURGENCE to bring a sense of unity back to this world and most importantly, inspire youth for generations. The characters in RESURGENCE will bring to life the emotional struggle we are all facing and hopefully inspire people to create an inviting world for all, regardless of who you are or where you come from. 

The beginning of a book is always the toughest to write. Especially when it comes to science fiction. I have to find the perfect balance between prose and world-building, oh, and not to mention, keep the reader in suspense the entire time. I have written the first four chapters of this new draft, and you will find them uploaded to Inkshares. If anyone is willing to read them and provide me with feedback on the STORY (grammar mistakes are a given), I would greatly appreciate it. And if not, well, I look forward to finishing the story this summer. 

Head to Inkshares.com/books/resurgence and click on the "read" tab to begin reading the new draft!

Best wishes,

Alec Michael Dood

*Corrected Update*

Hello Resurgence Supporters!

Thank you so much for helping fund my book and making my dream a reality. As of January 4, 2020, Resurgence hit the 750 mark to confirm publication with Inkshares. Since then, seven more people have preordered the book, and if you know any still looking for a great read, Resurgence is now available to order at a discounted price. 

I know many of you are probably wondering what happens from here. Better yet, when you will get your hands on the digital and physical copies of my debut novel. I am here to answer your questions and update you on my progress. 

Once I hit the preorder goal, Resurgence was sent to the editors at Inkshares. This is the very first step in the publication process. I received a twelve-page editorial letter that began with the following: "I’m excited by the potential that I see in Resurgence. Young readers will be very interested in a group of characters who are looking to overthrow a corrupt government, especially given that those characters will be around the same age as them. With a lot of work, your novel will make an entire generation of young readers devour your stories and rally behind your lead characters as they try to accomplish seemingly insurmountable tasks." As you can see, Inkshares is excited to publish Resurgence in the near future, but like with any good novel, it’s going to take some hard work to reach that point. I will be honest, with the thousands of dollars I have paid on editors over the years, I expected smaller rewrites this time around. I am finding that not to be the case. It’s going to take some time, maybe even a few months to rewrite the weak parts of the story, mostly due to the demands of my teaching schedule. HOWEVER, I am so excited about the new direction. These changes will strengthen characters, create a sharper view of this dystopian world, and leave you inside a plot that will keep you guessing until the end. If you are someone who has read the story before, don’t be too alarmed. The meat of the plot will remain, along with many characters. Everything I am doing will make the story that much more worth the wait. When I am done with the current rewrite, Resurgence will be sent back for another review. Eventually, I will reach a point in which both parties are happy with the story. While this is going on, the cover design will also be taking place at Inkshares (the cover I had on my page was just a placeholder.) 

I know many of you were looking to get your hands on the story in early 2020, and I am sorry if I am disappointing you. According to the contract, books take between 9-12 months to reach publication. That means we are looking at the end of 2020. I promise the wait will be worth it. 

Thank you again for your support! I will be here to update you throughout the process.

Best, 

Alec Michael Dood

Hello Resurgence Supporters!

Thank you so much for helping fund my book and making my dream a reality. As of January 4, 2020, Resurgence hit the 750 mark to confirm publication with Inkshares. Since then, seven more people have preordered the book, and if you know any still looking for a great read, Resurgence is now available to order at a discounted price. 

I know many of you are probably wondering what happens from here. Better yet, when you will get your hands on the digital and physical copies of my debut novel. I am here to answer your questions and update you on my progress. 

Once I hit the preorder goal, Resurgence was sent to the editors at Inkshares. This is the very first step in the publication process. I received a twelve-page editorial letter that began with the following: "I’m excited by the potential that I see in Resurgence. Young readers will be very interested in a group of characters who are looking to overthrow a corrupt government, especially given that those characters will be around the same age as them. With a lot of work, your novel will make an entire generation of young readers devour your stories and rally behind your lead characters as they try to accomplish seemingly insurmountable tasks." As you can see, Inkshares is excited to publish Resurgence in the near future, but like with any good novel, it’s going to take some hard work to reach that point. I will be honest, with the thousands of dollars I have paid on editors over the years, I expected smaller rewrites this time around. I am finding that not to be the case. It’s going to take some time, maybe even a few months to rewrite the weak parts of students, mostly due to the demands of my teaching schedule. HOWEVER, I am so excited about the new direction. These changes will strengthen characters, create a sharper view of this dystopian world, and leave you inside a plot that will keep you guessing until the end. If you are someone has read the story before, don’t be too alarmed. The meat of the plot will remain, along with many characters. Everything I am doing will make the story that much more worth the wait. When I am done with the current rewrite, Resurgence will be sent back for another review. Eventually, I will reach a point in which both parties are happy with the story. While this is going on, the cover design will also be taking place at Inkshares (the cover I had on my page was just a placeholder.) 

I know many of you were looking to get your hands on the story in early 2020, and I am sorry if I am disappointing you. According to the contract, books take between 9-12 months to reach publication. That means we are looking at the end of 2020. I promise the wait will be worth it. 

Thank you again for your support! I will be here to update you throughout the process.

Best, 

Alec Michael Dood