Hey, folks. I hope everyone had a great weekend and stayed dry, depending on where you are in relation to spring floods. A sincere thank you to everyone who has come on board since my last update on Friday.

Further to that update, here we are, with now only a day and a half left on the campaign. If I don’t hear from Inkshares this afternoon, I will be reaching out for tomorrow morning.

To help ease the nail-biting suspense in the meantime, why not go for an epic finish and aim for 500!

I have said before but can’t stress enough -- any and all last-minute support DOES matter to help swing a decision by Inkshares editors in my favour. Surely you have a friend or family member who appreciates the gift of a good (fantasy) read. Why not bump up your pre-order total with another copy for them as a gift?

Remember, there will be thank you gifts for everyone who has ordered two or more copies if this campaign succeeds. And if it doesn’t, you get a refund on all your pre-orders, no strings attached. Either way, I am making that donation to Autism Ontario on behalf of my son and nephews of one dollar for each pre-ordered copy.

Cheers

Leo

Good morning, dear supporters.

Well, we have been in this spot before – only a handful of days before the campaign for Bane of All Things expires, waiting for word on whether or not it’s made the grade.

Have you ever been in that situation where you’re waiting to find out if you’ve gotten that dream job, desperate to know but afraid to ask? 

Trust me, this is that times 10.

Who knows where this might go if Inkshares decides to publish BoAT? Take Tal M. Klein’s sci-fi novel, The Punch Escrow. To date, this novel has sold almost 22,000 copies through Inkshares. But that isn’t even the big news – before The Punch Escrow even hit bookstores, Inkshares had secured a 7-figure movie deal for the book with Hollywood studio Lionsgate.

I can only hope. It’s your support that will help make something like that happen.

As you know, when we crossed the 400 pre-order mark back on April 1, Inkshares editors committed to review the manuscript. I expected to have their decision by now, but these are busy folks with a lot on their plates. They may even be waiting to see how much higher that pre-order total can climb by Tuesday’s deadline before responding to me. 

What makes Inkshares so great is that it will support authors who are still diamonds in the rough. The editors will invest considerable time to help authors up their game and produce a strong novel that’s ready for the big time. 

But their willingness to commit to BoAT and to me, and invest that time and effort, very much depends on how much community support I have been able to muster. It’s your support that tells Inkshares my work, beyond its own merits, is worth their time.

After working on my own dime with a great developmental editor up here in Canada before ever launching BoAT’s campaign on Inkshares, I can only hope that this diamond shows some polish. But still, it is you who ultimately holds the power to swing that vote in my favour.

On Monday morning I will reach out to see if the editors have arrived at a decision. If I can beg your patience one more time, let me again ask that you pre-order another copy this weekend, if not for yourself than for someone else. If you have already done that, fantastic, and thank you very much.

Let’s get that pre-order total a little higher before I bite the bullet and send that email on Monday.

Cheers

Leo

Well, here we are into a long weekend and Bane of All Things’fate remains undecided. That’s the way it often goes in the publishing world. Editors are busy folk. It’s usually the busiest who are the ones an author wants to work with most. 

Getting a novel published and levering that into a career is a long game that demands patience and persistence. In the meantime, here is Smokey and Snowbelle to wish you a Happy Easter, even if neither of them was willing to play along and stay in that basket this morning for the photo opp ;)

Enjoy your time with friends and family this weekend, however you chose to observe it.

I will just leave you with the usual thought – so long as the jury is still out on BoAT, additional pre-orders continue to matter to help influence the editors in our favour. We are at 425 now, let’s nudge that total a little higher!

Cheers

Leo

Good evening. Well, this coming week may be the one we have been waiting for -- I might hear from Inkshares with their assessment of Bane of All Things and whether it has made the grade for publication. Stay tuned with fingers crossed!

Whatever the outcome, know that each and every one of you has my deepest thanks and appreciation for all that you have done and the patience and support you have so graciously provided.

Bane of All Things is of course not the only title in funding on Inkshares. Another is Steve Hermanos’s baseball/time travel mash up Going, Going Gone!, in which a trio of over-pampered, modern-day baseball players are thrust back in time to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Today, Steve hit the 750 pre-order funding goal, which immediately put GGG! into the production pipeline for publication! It’s a huge accomplishment and a testament to his hard work. Steve is a baseball guy and well tapped into that community. He’s done an excellent job of mustering support from baseball fans and the results speak for themselves.

As I have said before, many titles are selected for publication by Inkshares without hitting that 750 pre-order target and I am hoping BoAT will be the next one.

Until the very last minute before I get that fateful email from an Inkshares editor, every additional pre-order does count to help swing the vote in my favour. So, if you have any inclination at all to order another copy (or your first copy) of BoAT, now is the time! Right now, before you go to sleep tonight!

Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

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Howdy, folks. Only a day remains in that 72-Hour Challenge I announced on Saturday afternoon. So far, the response has been rather light. Please help me nudge that pre-order total a little higher. It will influence the editors’ decision whether or not to publish Bane of All Things.

Consider this:

“If half the people in the world who are trying to publish a novel disappeared tomorrow, publishers and agents probably wouldn’t notice.”

No, that’s not a twist on Thanos and his finger snap in Avengers. This is the hard truth spoken by a friend of mine in one of his writer workshops. As someone who is a published author and also works in the industry, he knows what he’s talking about.

His point is that publishers are overwhelmed by hopeful authors in waiting. There are more great manuscripts on their doorstep than they have the capacity to publish. Making the hard choice between this great manuscript or that one often comes down to the author – are they reliable, professional and not an a-hole?

If this sounds like an interview for that dream job everyone wants, you’re right.

Inkshares is different than a traditional publisher. Here, it is the potential of the manuscript, the character of the author AND that pre-order total. A strong pre-order total shows there is a community willing to support the author and their work. This grass-roots validation influences the Inkshares editors’ opinion about the potential of the manuscript to do well.

It’s fair to say that 400+ is a strong pre-order total, but we have the opportunity to make it even stronger as we wait for the editors to complete their review of BoAT.

So, I am asking you, hat humbly in hand, to help me nudge that pre-order total just a little higher by placing another pre-order or recruiting a friend/family member to the cause.

Cheers

Leo

Howdy, folks. I’ve got a new contest for you – a 72-hour challenge. The prize will be a personal memento that has graced my office wall and served as my writing inspiration for two decades.

It’s a map.

Not just any map. It’s the laminated and dry-mounted wall hanger version of the map of Islaria that adorns the Story Page for Bane of All Things on Inkshares. The prize winner will get this unique item, signed by me.

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But I am not going to just give this baby away.

Here are the contest rules:

1.     To qualify for the draw, you must order one or more additional copies of BoAT, and/or bring on board a new supporter, between now and Tuesday at 5 pm EST. Do both, and your name is entered twice.

(If you are currently following BoAT but haven’t yet pre-ordered any copies, you must pre-order at least two to qualify, or, pre-order one copy and get a friend to do so, too.)

2.     We must achieve two milestones for the draw to proceed:

i)     First, there must be new pre-orders placed by at least 15 people (both existing and new supporters) within this 72-hour period. (Last weekend, we had 14 people rise to the challenge and pre-order a total of 30 copies within 52 hours).

ii)    Second, BoAT must be chosen for publication by Inkshares. If it isn’t, you all know how this works – everyone gets a full and unconditional refund.

For my 5+ pre-orders crowd

I also hinted yesterday about an additional thank you, should BoAT be chosen for publication, for everyone who has pre-ordered five or more copies.

In addition to the signed 12x18 poster of The Sword & The Skull artwork for anyone who has pre-ordered two or more copies, five+ supporters will also receive a signed poster version of the map. So, if you are sitting at four pre-orders right now, all it takes is one more ebook.

What is the story with this map?

I’ve always thought a great fantasy tale must have a map. In my youth, the first thing I would do when I picked up a new book was flip to the map –  Feist’s Midkemia, Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Brook’s Four Lands, McKiernan’s Mithgar, Donaldson’s The Land, even Varley’s living space station, Gaea (OK, that’s science fiction).

Inspired by these mythic places and the characters who inhabited them, any story I set out to write of course had to begin with a map of its own. This once involved sheets of poster board and a fresh stock of markers and art pencils. Then I went digital.

Way back in 1999, I was working at the Kingston Whig-Standard (the daily newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, for those of you who haven’t heard of it) doing photo and graphics work. In my spare time, I employed my skills in Photoshop to create the map of Islaria. 

Yep – this story has been gestating for that long. The current version is in fact the second reboot of the original. 

The story may have substantially changed, by the world in which it takes place has not. Sure, I’ve made some tweaks. The world of BoAT was originally comparable to 14th century Europe in terms of its socio-political structure and technology. Now it’s more like the 17th century, with muskets and cannon and the first hints of a steam-driven industrial revolution to come. It’s a world where Dumas’s musketeers might fit, though it is better suited to Howard’s moody and grim Solomon Kane.

It’s a world I hope to share with you, but first, we have to give Inkshares every reason to publish BoAT. Help me make this happen by nudging up that pre-order total just a little more. 

Cheers

Leo

Happy Friday, everyone. As promised, today I announce the winners of our various draws.

But first, allow me to re-emphasize that this campaign is not yet over. We do need to keep driving that pre-order total up! It’s been quiet since Monday ... too quiet.

Inkshares editors want to see that pre-order total continue to rise as they review the manuscript. Should Bane of All Things be chosen for publication, that pre-order revenue is used to offset the production/marketing/distribution costs, which allows Inkshares to pay me, the author, higher royalties than the industry norm once the book is out there. 

This campaign could not be where it is without each and every one of you. Many of you have exceeded my expectations by ordering five, six even 10 copies of BoAT. That might leave the rest of you wondering what on earth can one person do with more than copy of a book. The answer is easy – gift them.

Books make excellent gifts, especially signed by the author. Inkshares e-books make convenient gifts, too. When a title on Inkshares publishes, anyone whose pre-order includes ebooks will receive an email giving them the option to download the digital file in whatever format they prefer. This makes it easy to pass ebook copies on to friends and family.

Remember, if BoAT is chosen for publication, everyone who ordered two or more copies will get a signed souvenir poster. And I am thinking there will be something extra for everyone who has ordered five or more copies, too.

Now for the prize draws

DRAW #1 – $50 gift card: On Feb. 18, we were still looking to cross the 300 pre-order mark. I announced at the time that anyone who referred a new supporter between then and when we hit 301 (which happened on March 4) would be entered in the draw. And the winner is … Iris Cox!

Draw #2 – $50 gift card: I then announced another draw for existing supporters who pre-ordered additional copies between March 4 and March 17. And the winner is … Yves Beauchamp!   

Draw #3 – $50 gift card: Then came last weekend, with the clock ticking on what I expected to have been the final deadline for this campaign. I called on you all to help me drive past 400. Anyone who brought in a new supporter or ordered additional copies on or between May 30 and April 1 qualified for this draw. The response blew my expectations. And the winner is … Megan Alink!   

Draw #4 – Crossing 300 Pre-Orders: Back in February, I promised a draw for The Sword & The Skull artwork on canvas, signed by me and the artist, Dominic Bercier, should we cross 300 pre-orders. Anyone who had pre-ordered as of March 4 was entered into this draw. And the winner is … Sandra Markus!   

Draw #5 – Crossing 400 Pre-Orders: And I promised another draw should we pass 400, though I didn’t specify what the prize would be. Let’s go for another piece of artwork because you can’t keep a dead demigod or a sentient sword down. And the winner is … Debra Ford!   

Congratulations, all! I will be reaching out to our five winners to sort the details. 

Onward and upward! 

Cheers

Leo

Hey, folks. I have news!

It’s NOT bad news. On the other hand, it’s not quite the “Grace Above, that’s awesome!” news we have been hoping for.

But you could say I have unlocked the next level. Getting past 400 pre-orders has earned Bane of All Things a full read by Inkshares editors. The manuscript is now in their hands. I expect a decision before the end of the month.

As I have said before, earning publication with Inkshares is dependent now on the “combined score” of three different things:

·     Pre-orders to date

·     The state of the manuscript

·     Those other non-pre-order metrics Inkshares is tracking behind the scenes

Of these three, pre-orders is the only one we can obviously influence. I said over the weekend that I wouldn’t extend this campaign unless some new development justified it. Well, I’d say we got justified this afternoon. 

Inkshares editors are still watching that pre-order total. They do want to see it continue to rise. So long as the jury is out on the manuscript itself, it only makes sense to keep the campaign active with an extension.

You will see a 30-day extension appear on the campaign clock this evening. It’s not time to take the foot off the gas quite yet – helping push up that pre-order total still matters. Maybe now more than ever.

I thank you all for your patience and your support and humbly ask that you stick with me just a little while longer.

As promised, I will send the note out this coming Friday about the prize draws and winners.

Cheers

Leo

Good morning! No, this is not an April Fool’s joke. Thanks to Linda S., Ian G. and Peter B., we reached 401 pre-orders last night.

And here we are, the last day of the campaign. What will happen next? I don’t know. Nothing is certain. If you still intended to place another pre-order or nudge a friend or family member to do so, please do. The campaign ends this evening, so don’t wait!

As I said in my updates over the weekend, there will be an additional prize draw now that we have reached 400. And there will be an additional thank you souvenir for each and every one of you who pre-ordered two or more copies and/or referred someone else, if  Inkshares agrees to publish Bane of All Things.

That’s all for now. Fingers crossed!

Cheers

Leo

Howdy, folks. A quick addendum to my update from yesterday. The 400+ pre-order mark is a lot closer than it was 24 hours ago. Thank you very much for the new and additional orders from Colin G. (and Tara C.), Megan A., Dr. Andrew N., Debra F. (and Kevin F.), Howard C., Brian and Eve-Ann R., and Ashley N.

Now, for everyone – an added bonus. If this campaign succeeds (meaning Inkshares agrees to take Bane of All Things into production for publication) there will be an extra thank you for everyone who a) pre-ordered two or more copies, and/or b) enlisted a friend or family member to join the cause.

That bonus will be a 12x18 poster, featuring that custom Sword and Skull artwork that I commissioned for this crowdfund from award-winning Ottawa graphic artist Dominic Bercier. Each poster will be personalized and signed by yours truly – it might actually be worth something, someday (my signature, I mean, Dominic’s work already is :).

Once again, my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you for all that you have done to help me get this far. 

Cheers

Leo