Notable Readers
Thad Woodman
Kelsey Rae Barthel
Janna Grace
Matthew Isaac Sobin
Brian Fitzpatrick
Tony Valdez
Brian Guthrie
Peter Ryan
James Rasile
Joseph Asphahani
C. Brennecke
Craig A. Munro
Dave Barrett
Stephen Carignan
Greg Chen
Peter Birdsall
Michael Haase
Rick Heinz
Ricardo Henriquez
Fernando Crôtte
Hi all! This note is just going out to those who follow The Seclusion on Inkshares. If you follow my most recent project then you may have received a similar note already(if so, I apologize and you can ignore the rest of this message).
For everyone else-hi! I know it has been awhile. I will send out a full newsletter soon for those who are subscribed with an update regarding production for The Seclusion Part 2(still aiming for summer or early fall) and a rundown on what I have been up to lately. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and enjoying the beginning of the holiday season. I am looking forward to connecting with all of you when this insane year is behind us.
Now, for my news:
I’ve entered the novel IT STARTED BENEATH A SEPIA SKY into the Inkshares 2020 All Genre Manuscript Contest.
Unlike my other two novels which relied on preorders to secure a publishing contract, preorders are not necessary this time around, but are appreciated. Winners of this contest will be selected based on reader engagement. So, on that note, if you are up for checking out my posted chapters and leaving a comment or review, I would appreciate it!
This story is one that I’m incredibly excited to share with all of you. A pilot version of this story, that I have been editing alongside the novel, has already garnered a few accolades including:
I hope you enjoy it!
_____________________________________
In 2045, the forests are burning, the oceans are rising, corruption is growing, and a group of scientists take matters into their own hands.
This is their confession. Read first chapters here.
Hi everyone! This note is going out through Inkshares, specifically to backers and followers of my novel The Seclusion.
Thanks to you, The Seclusion, which has been out less than a year, has sold over 3,400 copies, is available in bookstores and libraries across the world, and was recently named a Foreword Indies Award Winner in Sci-Fi.
Pretty awesome for a crowdfunded book, yes?
Some of you are on my general mailing list, but I know that emails from third parties often get lost in the shuffle. I wanted to let all of you know that the campaign for The Seclusion Part 2 is live and more than a third of the way to its goal of 750 preorders!!!
If you have already supported - THANK YOU. If you haven’t, your support would mean the world to me and is instrumental in making the sequel a reality. Patch’s story isn’t over, and the conclusion is one I’m eager to share with you. So, please take the time to check out the campaign page.
If everyone who preordered The Seclusion participates in this campaign as well, we will reach the goal in no time and be well on the way to getting book two into your hands!
I have some great perks I’m offering to liven things up this go-around - including a free copy of book one(to keep or pass to a friend), opportunities to take part in behind-the-scenes polls on story development, and cross promotion on my twitter account and in my newsletter for other authors and artists!
If you haven’t checked out the campaign page yet, please do. If you have already preordered, can you let a SciFi, Dystopian-loving friend know? Each time someone refers a supporter, they are entered into a raffle for a $100 Airbnb gift card(unlimited entries).
So, one last time, please head on over and give it a looksie.
Thank you again for your continued support, and always know you can reach out to me directly - JacquiCastle@gmail.com
Is everyone having a lovely Friday!?
Unlike most of my recent updates, this one is just going out to the backers and followers of The Seclusion on Inkshares. I just wanted to send a brief check-in message to all of you, my original support team!
The book has now been out for two months, and a one pretty major thing happened recently that I wanted to share with everyone. The Seclusion received an official ’Starred Review’ from Kirkus Reviews! This is in addition to being named as one of the Best Sci-Fi releases back in September. These are both wonderful benchmarks for a new book from a first-time author. It wouldn’t have happened without all of you, and we hope to have more exciting news in the coming weeks and months.
Reviews continue to climb on Amazon and Goodreads. We are at a 4.26 star average with 111 reviews on Goodreads, and a 4.9 average with 39 reviews on Amazon! If you have had a chance to read the book, and have not left a review yet, it would mean the world to me if you could take a moment to leave a review. It is absolutely vital to the continued success of the book now that the ’new release’ energy is wavering. Especially on Amazon. Once we pass 50 on Amazon (only 11 more reviews!) the book will receive a bit more recommendation love from the sites algorithms.
I hope those of you that have had a chance to read the book, have enjoyed it! I appreciate all of you, and if you ever want to reach out with any comments or questions, I would love to hear from you - JacquiCastle@gmail.com
Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!
-Jacqui
Happy autumn! It is beautiful here in the Blue Ridge Mountains as the leaves start to shift and the morning and evening temperatures start to drop slightly. My writing lately has been taking place inside a fort of boxes, as my family and I prepare for a move at the beginning of October. We are still staying in the Ashville area, just moving up the street.
This will be a quick announcement, and then I will give everyone’s inbox a rest for a month or two.
It has been three weeks since The Seclusion hit shelves, and everything has been going swimmingly. The book is selling, reviews are piling up on Amazon and Goodreads, and the launch event was a big success! Thank you to everyone for all of your support and help along the way.
I had the pleasure of having two other Inkshares authors in attendance at the launch - Ferd Crotte, author of upcoming Mission 51 and Katherine Forrester, author of upcoming Curio Citizen. Both of their books are in production and should be coming out next year.
On October 7th, I will be a guest on a WordPlay Radio segment with Asheville FM (103.3) from 3pm until 4pm. Tune in to 103.3 if you are local to Western North Carolina.
I’m about 17k words into the first draft and hope to use National Novel Writing Month in November as a chance to burn through a large chunk of the project, and then wrap up the first draft by the end of the year.
There will likely be another Inkshares campaign for the book, but I will run it a bit differently than the last one and incorporate what I learned during the first go around. My goal is to have at least 300 followers on the Inkshares page for book 2 before beginning, so the campaign starts off strong and proceeds more quickly than the last one. Expect additional perks and prizes, and some free and unique content to accompany the campaign.
You can sign up to receive updates by following the Inkshares page for The Seclusion: Part 2.
I will also post updates in my newsletter, but will keep them to a minimum.
That’s it for today!
Until next time,
Jacqui
It’s Launch Day!
Today, The Seclusion is officially available through all major online retailers, and at bookstores nationwide!
Last week, I signed all of the backer copies on my visit to Inkshares in Oakland, CA. It was so wonderful to meet the publishing team in person - people who I have spent hours and hours communicating with from across the country.
The press circuit for The Seclusion has been phenomenal, so much has been happening, and my head won’t stop spinning.
The Seclusion was listed as one of the "Best Science Fiction Books of September" by Kirkus Reviews. For anyone who is not familiar with the industry, this is HUGE. Kirkus is one of the major players, and bookstores and libraries often turn to them for recommendations. This is an incredible honor and I’ll admit I’m still in a bit of shock from it all.
io9, an offshoot of Gizmodo, listed The Seclusion as one of the "New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books You Need to Put on Your Radar This Fall." Again, major player, and major honor. Following this update, I have included the full list of press mentions over the last two weeks. Check them out if you have time!
If you are a backer and have had a chance to read your electronic copy of The Seclusion, please consider leaving reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It would mean the world.If you are waiting for a print copy, it should be arriving in your mailbox soon! If you didn’t receive a shipping notification, feel free to reach out to hello@Inkshares.com with any questions.
If you are local to Asheville, NC please stop by the official launch event at Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe at 6pm tonight!
Until next time,
-Jacqui
Kirkus Reviews names The Seclusion as one of "The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books of September
All the New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books You Need to Put On Your Radar This Fall
Author Jacqui Castle discusses her debut dystopian novel
Malaprop’s celebrates NC heritage food, explores life behind border walls
How to Create a Dystopian Novelist: Add Psychology, Political Unrest, Encouraging Friends, and Stir
12 Days left until Pub day! In 3 days I will be jetting off to CA to sign the backer copies of The Seclusion, which are being printed now. I have also received word that E-book copies will be distributed as early as tomorrow. If you ordered a paperback, and you receive an E-Book file download link, don’t fear! The E-Book is just an extra perk.
Though I will send a larger email to my full mailing list on September 4th, I wanted to send a note through Inkshares to all of you - the original backers of a manuscript that was once titled The Walls are Closing In.
It has been a long 16 months since the campaign ended in May of 2017. The story has since been renamed and had countless hours of work poured into it by me and the amazing team at Inkshares. We have reached the end of the road.
I don’t know if I can adequately express how much I appreciate all of you, and the leap of faith you took for me when you backed this book. In 12 days The Seclusion will appear on bookstore shelves across the country and I will forever be a published author. I just want all of you to know that I realize I couldn’t have done this without you.
Thank you.
-Jacqui
Happy July to all of my amazing followers. I hope that all of you are having a lovely summer.
Production Update on The Seclusion
Getting down to the wire folks! The publishing date is less than two months away, and so much has been happening between each update. Galleys have been printed, and we have already received 33 goodreads reviews from NetGalley reviewers and early readers, with an average of 4.55 stars. With the underlying political themes present in the novel, I’ve steeled myself for a wide range of reactions, but overall the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Below are a few of my favorite snippets from NetGalley reviewers.
Press releases have started to go out to local as well as national outlets. The official launch party has been set, and will be held at:
Malaprops Bookstore and Cafe
Tuesday, September 4th at 6:00pm
Asheville, NC
The launch will include a reading, signing, and refreshments. It would be my honor to meet as many of you in person as possible. The book will be avaible for preorder directly from Malaprop’s, and also through Indie Bound (support your local bookstore), Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
The kids are almost done with school for the year, and then before we know it summer will be in full swing. Our family will be kicking it off with a week on the South Carolina coast with good friends - playing in the ocean, eating seafood, and hopefully I’ll be making progress on my massive to-be-read pile.
With June just a few days away, I’m realizing that in just over three months, my book will be out in the wild. We’ve almost made it people! I realize that this update is coming a few days earlier than usual, but that is because a lot has been happening on this end. So, today I have an exciting production update for you, and interviews with authors Jason Pomerance and Christopher Huang to share.
The Seclusion Production Update
The book is finished with copy edit and layout, and Advanced Reader Copies are being printed shortly. I have received a couple of amazing blurbs from authors that I respect greatly! These will be printed on the galleys, and possibly on the final books as well.
One of the secrets to a strong launch is early reviews. A while back I promised that those who have already preordered a copy of the book and would like to receive an early PDF version, would be offered that opportunity as soon as review copies were ready. Well, that day has come. I need as many of you as possible to be on my early review team!!!
Shoot me a message if you are one of the original 570 backers to have already preordered the book and would like an early review copy.What would being on the early review team mean?
Well, Goodreads allows reviews any time, including before the publication date, and Amazon begins allowing reviews on the date of publication. So, the goal would be to post Goodreads reviews asap, and then mark your calendars with a reminder to leave an Amazon review on September 4th. My personal goal will be fifty Goodreads reviews prior to publication, and fifty Amazon reviews within the first week after publication. This accomplishment will change the way Amazon ranks the book, so it will start showing up in the "if you like this, you might like this" section when people are browsing.
Remember, reviews don’t need to be incredibly detailed, they just need to exist. Detailed is great! But, a simple star rating is better than nothing. Have I told you recently how much I appreciate all of you?
I am hoping in the next few weeks to finalize my travel plans for my trip out to the west coast to sign all of the backer copies. If any of you are in the San Franscisco area and would like to grab a cup of coffee, let me know.
The Seclusion
Cover Reveal!
Above is the cover I just received from my publisher after several rounds of back-and-forth with the amazing designers at Cover Kitchen to get it just right! I absolutely love it, and I hope you do too. Over the next couple months, Inkshares will be reaching out to others in the industry for review quotes to use on the book. So, the only thing that will change is there will likely be a praise quote on the top and/or the bottom.
Book Production
I don’t have much else to report (we are still shooting for that developmental edit deadline of April 1st before moving on to copy edit), but I didn’t want to wait an extra day without sharing the cover with all of you!
Oh! I thought of something else I can share. We’ve settled on the description for the book, and it now appears on sales websites such as Amazon, Indie Bound, and others. Here it is! My 85,000 word book, condensed down to two paragraphs.
That’s it for updates! I’m taking part in another giveaway this month. Details below for those who are interested.
Star Wars Expanded Universe Giveaway
This month I’m joining up with 27 other authors(including fellow Inkshares author Robert Batten) to offer a prize package with over $250 of Star Wars goodies!
Enter Here!
A quick February update!
1)Edits continue to move along, we’re on track to move onto copy edits by April 1st, and I should have some fun developments to share in March (possibly including the finished cover reveal).
2)To amp up my media presence and mailing list numbers before the launch this fall, I’ve teamed up with several other authors to offer a fantastic giveaway!
If you’re a fan of Stephen King or know someone who is, you won’t want to miss this. We’re giving a ton of Dark Tower swag to one lucky winner!
Prizes:
Participating authors:
Russell Nohelty, Devyn Jayse, Shane W. Smith, Russell Newquist, Caleb Thusat, Kyrun Silva, Eli Constant, Katrina Kunstmann, Shane Thomas, Frankie Blooding, Jacqui Castle, Christopher Lee, J.L. Gipson, Susan May, Jason Franks, Joshua Robertson, JD Oliva, Andre Gonzalez, Big Tim Stiles, Dani Dixon, Scott Austin, James Mascia, Craig Taillefer, RJ Blain, and Deborah Munro!