Discussion

Fiza Hasan · Author · added over 5 years ago
Hello,

Wow, I loved this chapter! I would enjoy reading more and finding out what will happen!

Thank you,

Fiza H.
Sean Sandulak · Author · added over 6 years ago
Hi, just letting everyone know that I’ve decided to put this project out myself. You can find links at:. https://seansandulak.com/  Also, I’m giving away some review copies for anyone who wants them. Just DM me. First come, first served.

Hello, everyone. Just a quick status update. Unfortunately, the book didn’t get enough pre-orders to make the cut to be published by Inkshares. That doesn’t mean it’s dead, however. This book will appear in some form, even if that means I have to do it all myself. There’s still some editing to do, but watch this space for updates in the future. Thanks to those who went to the trouble to make an order. I’ll be sure to send you all a free ebook as a reward for your support. Also, congrats to the Geek & Sundry Inkshares contest winners.

Okay, readers.This will be the last excerpt from this book since I don’t want to put the whole thing online, which is a shame because this is where it really starts to get interesting. There’s fights, talking animals, and more sexy times, plus this whole scene where Felicia gets attacked by a zombie…but I’m not going to spoil it.

Pre-orders haven’t been what I’d like. I figure my little book has gotten lost in the flood of entries for the Geek & Sundry contest. That’s understandable. There are a lot of really fine projects out there, and you only have so many dollars to spend. Remember, however, that the contest is running until November 1st, so you still have lots of time to buy my book. I’ll wait. I don’t mind really. Yup, I’ll still be here. Waiting.

Seriously though, I hope to send out some free shorts once I finish the other manuscript I’m working on at the moment. I might put that up on Inkshares as well, or I might just give it away. I haven’t decided yet. Until then please follow, recommend, review, and maybe even buy The Zookeeper’s Dilemma. Thanks.

It’s the Monday Update, so here’s the latest part of The Zookeeper’s Dilemma. After next week, that will be the first three chapters up and about a third of the book, so I won’t be posting any more from the book. You’ll just have to buy a copy to see what happens next. I’ll also link to e-reader friendly version of all the sample chapters for those of you who don’t like reading books on the computer.

I know I hinted there might be a short story going up, but when I started working on it, I realized it was a much better fit with my other Inkshares project, The Problem with Prophecy which I will be re-releasing for pre-orders later this year. Please check it out and follow if you like. I’ll try to have something a different story up soon, but I’ll have to write it first. So much to do, so little time.

Also, watch for Unlikely & Other Stories, Book 2 of my serialized superhero series, to be released into the wild this fall. You can find Book 1, Unremarkable & Other Stories, available for free download via the links here. That’s all for now. Hopefully there will be more good news soon.

It must be Monday, because here’s another installment of Lucy’s adventures. This scene is the one that’s missing from most urban fantasy novels – having an awkward conversation with your mother about sex. Lucy goes to her mother’s horse ranch to ask about her father, sees a man about a horse, and gets invited to dinner by a cat.

If you missed any of the chapters, there are links at the bottom of the description section on the main project page. Enjoy, and maybe I’ll post a completely unrelated short story later this week, just for the hell of it. Until next time, readers.

I want to take a break from all the annoying fundraising and just talk about the book for a minute, specifically about the main character Lucy. I’m sure some people will be asking themselves why my main character is a black woman when I am neither of those things. To be honest, the choice at the time was almost arbitrary. When I started writing the first draft, I’d just read N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and had become aware of the absolute dearth of black writers and characters in genre fiction. I thought at the time it would be a challenge as a writer to find Lucy’s voice.

Public expectations can be strange sometimes. I could have written a story about a sentient gelatinous slime monster and no one would have raised an eyebrow. But a female person of color is somehow more problematic and unbelievable, at least to a certain segment of the audience. It challenges the middle-aged white male hero expectation that has been around since the early days of pulp novels, a time before feminism when racism was the de facto norm in many places.

To be clear, this is a novel about a woman who is black, and not a black woman’s story. The latter is not something I could or should write, because it’s important that story be told from her perspective and experience. While I can imagine her struggle and empathize with her, I will never truly understand. Instead I’ve tried to write a more universally sympathetic character, someone who is human and relatable. Her outward appearance is thus only a secondary aspect of her character, but I hope that by making her a woman of color, it might in some small part help pave the way for greater diversity in the future.

Anyway, back to the novel. It’s hard to talk in anything but generalizations without spoiling the book, but maybe this will give you an idea where I’m coming from. Much of Lucy’s struggle is a search for inner strength. She begins as most of us do, a normal person muddling her way through life, a job, and relationships. As she is challenged from the outside by powerful and dangerous figures, she has to reevaluate her goals and decide what she wants from life. She finds it difficult to trust when so many have hidden agendas and nearly unlimited wealth to back them up, but she must make a choice between the various factions and soon. When the situation becomes literally life or death, she has to draw upon all her resources just to survive, but in the process she discovers what is truly important to her.

I hope to do more little insight pieces like this in the future. It’s far more interesting for both of us than just banging the “buy my book” drum over and over. Also, while I still have a few more excerpts to post, I don’t want to put the whole novel online so I need something else to write about. I may do a short story or two if I have time, maybe in this universe, maybe not. I’ll dive into the ideas folder and see what percolates to the surface. It’ll depend on how much time I have to spare and how many orders I can get. There’s still a long time until the funding period ends, but that’s enough for now. Until next time.

P.S. N.K. Jemisin did a Twitter rant on diversity shortly after I finished writing this. You can find the Storified version here.

It’s Monday, so it’s time for another excerpt. Today’s scene finds us with Lucy dealing with the aftermath of her introduction to the hidden world of Ancestor Spirits. How will she fare when faced with the truth in the light of day? You’ll have to read to find out. I’ve also peppered the book with a bunch of nerdy Easter eggs. See if you can spot the Doctor Who reference in this scene. Also, if you haven’t already, check out the last Vaginal Fantasy Hangout. There’s a shout out from Felicia Day at the fourteen minute mark. That’s all for now.Stay safe and play nice.

Thanks to Felicia Day for the shout out in tonight’s Vaginal Fantasy Hangout. If you missed it, you can see the whole episode on You Tube. The mention happens at fourteen minutes in.

Okay, here we go again. Let me start by saying I knew this would happen. I’ve been subtly asking Felicia Day and Veronica Belmont for about a year whether or not they would be either running a contest or starting a collection that my book might be included in. I understand that they are busy and there is a tremendous amount of work involved, so I wasn’t surprised that it took so long to happen. I’d gotten tired of waiting, however, and launched my project, The Zookeeper’s Dilemma, last month which would make it technically ineligible for the new Geek & Sundry fantasy contest.

So, in order to be included in the new contest, I had to restart from scratch. This means if you did buy the book, that pre-order has been cancelled. If you’re still interested, and I hope you are, please reorder now. To anyone who used and lost Inkshares credits, I’m sorry but I don’t have any control over that. Please DM me if that is the case. The full reboot is necessary so that everyone in the contest is on a level playing field. It wouldn’t be fair if I started out with orders while everyone else had zero. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I think it was the right one. If any of you have changed your minds since you ordered, I certainly won’t hold it against you. You were kind enough to buy my book once; it’s a lot to ask you to do it twice.

Lastly, there is a new Vaginal Fantasy Hangout today, so I changed the video link. What’s gonna happen tonight? You never know till it happens. It’s been a long, weird day, so I’m going to go to sleep now.

tl;dr version: I had to restart campaign to join the G&S contest. If you ordered before, please reorder now. Everyone else, please check out the book.and watch Vaginal Fantasy.