Discussion

January 2019

Good morning everyone. Just a quick update on a couple of things:

eNewsletter: I have finally managed to get an email attached to my web domain (susankhamilton.com), and now that I have a much larger mailing list, I’m going to be using a list service to help manage it more effectively. So that means updates will start coming from susan@susankhamilton.com -- please be sure you add that address to your spam filter so you don’t miss any news!

I’m working on my January update now, and will be sending that later this morning!

Arisia 2019: I will be attending the Arisia Convention at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. I’ll be volunteering at and selling Shadow King from the Broad Universe table in the vendor room -- I’ll let you know exact days and times I’ll be there as soon as have them. If you’ll be at Arisia please stop by and say hello!

Best,

Susan

November 30, 2018

Good morning. Just a really quick update for everyone.

First, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Jan Lewis for her Local Public TV (Upton Community Television) segment, "Be My Guest." It was my first on-camera interview and I learned a lot, and am pretty happy with how it turned out (although there are a couple places I would have edited differently).

If you’re interested, you can see the spot on their YouTube channel:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z34uf0NGNA&feature=youtu.be

Second, for updates I’m considering moving to a mailing list format rather than Inkshares updates. One main reason is I’m starting to get a few more followers outside this platform, and need a central place to keep in touch with everyone.

I’ll be testing this out in December, and the updates will come from my Yahoo account: susankhamilton@yahoo.com.

Best,
Susan

November 24, 2018

Hello, hello! For those who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hosted at our house and it was really nice to have everyone together.

I wanted to share a couple quick updates with you all. 

NEW PROJECT! My short story, Chrysalis, is part of the Writing Bloc’s upcoming ESCAPE! Anthology. This is an amazing collection of stories from some tremendous writers -- and I’m honored to be part of it. You can pre-order your e-copy now (for $2.99 -- price will go to $5.99 on January 1). The e-book version will come out first but there are plans for a print release as well. I really encourage you to grab a copy -- you’ll be glad you did!

Interviews: First, I had a delightful conversation with Sarah from the GSMC Book Review Podcast the other day. The interview is now live, please check it out!

Reviews: Reviews are coming in slowly, but remain very, very positive (latest one on Amazon is 5 star, whoo hoo!). If you have read your copy of Shadow King -- please consider taking a moment or two and putting a review up on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are really valuable. 

Events: The Arisia Convention has changed hotels in Boston and that may affect the days I’m in attendance. I’ll keep you posted on exactly which days when things get a little clearer.

That’s it for now -- have a great rest of your day!

Best,

Susan

PS. On the off-chance any of the above links are wonky, here are the full ones:

ESCAPE! Anthology: https://www.books2read.com/u/m2vWaO 

GSMC Book Review Podcast: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gsmcbookreview/2018/11/23/gsmc-book-review-podcast-episode-124-interview-with-susan-k-hamilton


November 2018

Good morning, everyone.

I hope you’ve been well! We’re a little past one month since Shadow King launched and it has been quite the ride. I had two successful book signing/author events in October and hope to have more in the future. Right now, I’m planning to be at Arisia in January (in Boston). I’ll keep you posted on that.

I was also interviewed by WBZ-AM Radio’s Laurie Kirby for her Women’s Watch segment. You can listen to the interview on the WBZ website if you’re interested.

IMPORTANT:
 If you were one of my early backers and have not yet received your copy of Shadow King OR a link to download the e-book (or both), please contact Inkshares customer service at hello@inkshares.com and they will be able to help you out.

I’ve had a few people ask about their copies -- in most cases, people thought they ordered a hard copy but only ordered the e-book version. But you were all so kind as to support me early on in this adventure, I want to make sure you get your book!

Have a great weekend - and I’ll update again soon (I have two other interviews coming up and will share those links when they’re available!)

Best,
Susan

October 17, 2018

Good morning, everyone!

I meant to send an update yesterday but life happened so I’m a day late on this one. It is officially two weeks since Shadow King launched, so I wanted to just give a quick update on how things are going.

Book Reviews
A few reviews have started to come in on Goodreads and Amazon. The majority are 4 and 5 star, so that’s outstanding. However, I’d like to get a lot more! When you finish reading Shadow King, please consider leaving a review on one of the sites. It only takes a few minutes of your time and they’re really important for helping a book pick up momentum!

Events
My first author event at Tatnuck Booksellers went well. Small group but there were a TON of questions in the q/a part, and I really enjoyed that. My next author event is October 24 (next week) at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA. Event starts at 7:00 pm.

I’ll also be attending Arisia in Boston in January. More details to come on that!

Press & Interviews
I was interviewed by WBZ AM Radio in Boston for their "Women’s Watch" segment. The interview was taped and will be aired/posted in the upcoming weeks. I will share a link as soon as it is available.

Upcoming interviews include:

  • November 17: interviewed on the Golden State Media Concepts podcast
  • November  28: interviewed for "Be My Guest," a local podcast/local cable news show

Once links to those or specific times are available, I’ll be sure to share that with everyone!

Future Work
I’m happy to say that progress on the ESCAPE Anthology (which will contain one of my short stories) is going well. The contributing authors are all in the process of reviewing the content, and I’m very excited to be included in this group of excellent writers. When production is finalized, I’ll be sure to let you know when the pub date is!

The Devil Inside is still in the pre-production queue with Inkshares. I am hoping that it will reach the editor in Spring 2019, but that will depend on how quickly the books ahead of it progress.

And, I am planning to kick off work on a new manuscript -- a follow-up to Shadow King -- during November.

That about covers the highlights for now. I’ll send another update when there is news to share!

Best,
Susan



October 2, 2018

Today’s the big day! Shadow King is now officially loose in the wilderness.

In celebration, I just finished a bowl of Fruit Loops at my office desk. I know, I know, Fruit Loops are a gateway cereal and I’m letting the fact that the book is published just go to my head and acting like a rock star.



In addition to excessive consumption of sugared cereal, I’m going to be busy promoting Shadow King in a bunch of different ways over the upcoming weeks and hopefully getting some media coverage and more reviews. My first book signing/author event is on Sunday (10/7) at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westboro, MA and I’m really excited for that. Event goes from 2 to 4 pm and I hope to see you there.

Please leave a review!
Reviews are SO important to an author and to a book’s success once launched. Once you’ve read Shadow King, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be long or involved, just a few sentences to let people know what you thought of the story. My goal is to reach at least 50 reviews on Amazon!

Join me at an event
I have three events scheduled right now:

  • October 7 -- 2 to 4 pm at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westboro, MA
  • October 24 -- 7 to 8:15 at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA
  • January 18-21 -- Arisia Convention in Boston (more details to come)


What’s next?
Aside from promoting Shadow King, I’m starting to investigate having an audio book created via Audible. I’ll keep you all posted on that progress.

My next book with Inkshares -- The Devil Inside -- will hopefully go into production in Spring 2019, but I don’t have any definitive dates yet.

I will have a short story coming out in the ESCAPE anthology later this year (date also TBD). There are going to be some awesome stories from some great authors who I have a lot of respect for in this volume and I’m honored to be part of it.

And last, but certainly not least, my NaNoWriMo project this year will be to get the rough draft of a Shadow King follow up written (as opposed to the jumble of notes that it is at this moment).

One more thank you
I will never be able to say thank you to all of you nearly enough. Shadow King wouldn’t be launching today if you all hadn’t taken a leap of faith back in 2016. I appreciate each and every single one of you.

Take care,
Susan




September 25, 2018

One week left! Only seven days between now and the official "Shadow King" launch date.

At this point, everyone who supported this adventure during the funding period should have received their book in the mail or via download. If you have not, please let Inkshares know so they can sort that out for you (hello@inkshares.com). 

So, now what?

Post a review online!
Now that you have your copy, I truly hope you enjoy the story. Once you’re done, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It only takes a minute or two, and it doesn’t have to be long (one or two sentences is fine), but it is hugely important for the book.

Many people take reviews very seriously when considering what books to buy. Plus, the more Amazon reviews I have, the more likely, Shadow King will get recommended via Amazon’s algorithms to potential new readers.

As an FYI: Amazon will not let you review until the official launch day.

Join me at a launch month event!
I’ll be doing author events (readings/Q&A/book signings--plus there will be snacks) at two different locations in October, and hoping to find a third venue in November. Would love to see you there. 

  • October 7 at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, MA (2 pm to 4 pm)
  • October 24 at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA (7 pm to 8 pm)

Beyond launch month...
Plans are not set yet, but I’m planning on being at the Arisia convention in Boston (Jan. 18 - 21), and am looking into attending Boskone (Feb. 15-17) and Readercon (date tbd). More info to come on this in the upcoming months.

I also have a short story that will be included in the "Escape" Anthology, which will have stories from a number of outstanding writers. I’ll keep you posted on when that will be available.

Thank you.
That’s it for this update. Thank you all again for being part of bringing Shadow King from idea to reality.

Best,
Susan





September 15, 2018

Great news! I just heard from a friend that she has received her printed copy of "Shadow King."

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That means if you ordered a printed copy, you should get yours over the next several days (if you haven’t already). And if the emails letting you know your ebooks are available have not gone out yet, you should get that in the near future.

Reviews rule! Once you’ve had a chance to read "Shadow King," please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are hugely important when it comes to promoting a book -- and the magic number on Amazon is 50. Once a book gets 50 reviews, it will start appearing in the Amazon recommendations.

I’ll update again soon with more news!

Best,

Susan


September 6, 2018

Exciting news! A few people have sent me notes and I’ve confirmed with Inkshares that the backer copies of "Shadow King" are back from the printer and being packaged up for shipment! I anticipate shipping will happen sometime next week, but will let you know when it has started. 

You should get a notice from Inkshares that it has shipped and/or a note to confirm your shipping address.

IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVE MOVED since ordering "Shadow King" during my campaign, please update your address in the Inkshares system (if you need help, contact hello@inkshares.com). I would hate to have your copy go astray after all this time!

For those of you who ordered the ebook version, I anticipate seeing the final proof of the ebook early next week, and once that is approved you should be receiving a notice from Inkshares when your ebook is ready to download.

Thanks so much -- really looking forward to getting this book into your hands!

Best,
Susan

August 25, 2018

Hello, hello! We are just a hair over 5 weeks away from official launch day, and wanted to send out a quick update.

Shadow King Production Update: I just had the opportunity to look at the final interior for Shadow King. I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The cover has also gone through a last few adjustments on the spine, and should be final now as well.

Next it is on to creation of the ebook version and prepping the whole thing for physical printing. After that, we’ll be on the countdown for when you’ll all be getting your copies!

Upcoming Events: I am still looking for a place to have a book signing event during launch week, but in the meantime, I do have a Q/A/Book signing on the calendar for October 24 (7 pm) at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA. If you are in the Massachusetts area, I hope you’ll be able to join us!

Haven’t Ordered Yet? Over the past few months, several awesome people have followed Shadow King on Inkshares. I would love to add all of you to my official reader list, so please considering ordering a copy today at: www.inkshares.com/books/shadow-king.

I’ll keep you posted as we move into September on how things are going.

Have a  great rest of your weekend!

Best,

Susan


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