I am so incredibly excited that Mr. Huang is working on “Cat’s Paw.” The cover a top this paid reminds me, in the most wonderful way, of “The Castle of Otranto,” another glorious gothic classic. I hope this is indeed a dark novel!
The winners of the Inkshares Mystery Contest have been announced, and I’m happy to say that "Cat’s Paw" is on the list! This means we will be going forward with all the editing and rewriting and nosegrinding that goes into the publication process, and, probably a year from today, the book will make it into your hands.
Onwards!
The 14th has come and gone, and the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller Contest is over. Unfortunately for us, both "Richly Drawn" and "Ripe for Execution" put on a last-minute spurt and forged ahead, leaving us in fourth place and off the winners’ podium.
HOWEVER
While we don’t have a guaranteed publishing deal, we still have a chance. Inkshares is currently evaluating each of the entrants for inclusion as an "additional winner". A number of contest entries have been counting on this "additional winner" spot, I believe; but I also believe that fighting for a top three spot (even if we failed!) has put us in a much better position to get it.
We should know by January whether we’re going to get the go-ahead after all.
In the meantime, pre-orders remain open on "Cat’s Paw" until the end of January, and Christmas is almost upon us. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to let any of this get me down. May the new year bring all the best we could hope for!
Less than one week to go!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have less than one week before the end of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest. We’re currently at second place with 119 readers, but anything can happen in a week, and our friends down in 3rd and 4th are just hitting their second wind. Do we have a second wind? I hope we do. If you know anyone who might be interested in a tale of suspense -- of murder, conspiracy, and suspicion -- be sure to point them this way. Don’t forget to check to see if you really have placed your order.
And remember, pre-ordering a physical copy of the book also gets you the e-book bundled in together!
Today is the 20th of November. In the original scheme of things, the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest would have ended on the 24th of November, four days from now; however, the deadline was extended some time back to the 14th of December, which means we have a little more breathing room.
Or, it means other people have the breathing room to catch up to us....
Well, we passed the Hundred Reader mark a few days ago, and just yesterday, we received the backing of the Staff Syndicate. That’s great news. If we can reach 250 readers by the 14th of December, it’s publication and no questions asked. It seems like a big hurdle, but hope springs eternal, and an honest effort could still count for much.
Remember to check your online Inkshares bookshelf, especially if you’ve not received a personal thank you email from me. It would be terrible to miss out on things simply due to "technical difficulties".
For now, though, I have a novel to write. You’re going to love it.
Welcome to November. The days are noticeably shorter now, and the trees are beginning to shed their red and gold. Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK; a week from now, Remembrance Day or Veterans Day or Armistice Day, depending on where you are. And for writers, it’s National Novel Writing Month, embraced by many as a means of getting themselves in gear to get the first drafts of their story down on the page.
I’ve stepped away from my outlining and begun putting words on paper, too. I’ve learnt a lot since "A Gentleman’s Murder", and I expect the process now to go significantly more smoothly than before. I expect to see "Cat’s Paw" published by November 2019, if this contest works out. And whether the contest works out for me depends heavily on you.
I hope you’re telling your friends about this.
For me, though, it’s back to hitting the keyboard -- sometimes literally. The important thing, after all, is the creation of the story, and the plan is to make it all definitely worth your while.
Cheers,
- Christopher Huang
Dear friends,
We’re at the halfway mark of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest with "Cat’s Paw" in second place. Nothing’s for certain, so do please check to see that your order’s been counted. If you can, ask a friend if they’d be interested in pre-ordering a copy as well. Remember that when you pre-order a print copy of this book, you also get an ebook download bundled with it.
So let’s go make this book happen!
Speaking of making books happen, there seems to be some good stuff happening on Inkshares right now.
Top of the leader board for the Mystery & Thriller contest is "Gumshoe Rules", a hardboiled detective story set in the middle of the Cold War. The author knows his noir, so you might want to check it out.
Over in the Horror contest, "The House That Fell From the Sky" features a house that appears in the middle of the city out of nowhere. A bunch of people are set to enter and investigate, and you know that nothing good can possibly come out of it.
And for those of you who prefer epic fantasy, there’s "Bane of All Things". The tech level’s a little more advanced than usual -- they’ve got gunpowder -- and I found the excerpts to be a pretty easy read despite this being not normally my thing.
Don’t forget to come back home to "Cat’s Paw", though. I’m counting on you!
- Christopher Huang
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