Thank you for 100 pre-orders!!!

Big changes are afoot at Inkshares! Starting on October 30th, the price of a pre-order will go up and the goal that the project must meet will go down. (There are some other details, but that's the quick-and-easy version of it.)

This is great news for me, and perhaps not-so-great news for anyone pre-ordering after October 30th. A few take-aways:

• If you haven't ordered yet, do so before the 30th to take advantage of the current price. (Note: If you haven't received an emailed receipt, you haven't placed an order. The ordering process ends after you input your shipping address and submit/confirm.)

• If you've been thinking of ordering additional copies, go for it! Now that the contest is over, every single pre-order counts.

• If you've been meaning to mention it to a friend, let them know to act now!

In other news, I've been toiling away at the keyboard and have figured out some plot changes and developments that I think will be rewarding and fun for you, the readers! I will be updating the project page and posted updated chapters as the new material gets hammered out.

As NaNoWriMo (November) begins, be sure to check my website, where I'll be blogging about the NaNoWriMo experience: http://www.mythsmistsmusings.com

Thank you & Happy Halloween!

Hi everyone! Just a quick little (overdue?) update.

The contest is over, but the project is still live until January 2nd. I'm going to be focusing on writing through November (NaNoWriMo, baby!), so I'll likely be pretty quiet on Inkshares until December. 

I'd also like to announce the launch of my website, Myths Mists & Musings!

http://www.mythsmistsmusings.com

It's a bit bare right now, but going forward it will be the central hub for all of my creative endeavors, including updates on Seven Shards and some sporadic blogging. If any of my fellow writers out there are interested in being featured in an interview, hit me up!

Thank you again to everyone who has ordered and shown their support! And have a happy October!

As the contest winds down (there’s about 24 hours left!) I’d like to take this moment to say Thank You to each and every one of you. Whether you pre-ordered, shared, gave feedback, or followed, every moment of support has meant so much to me. There are a few people who went above and beyond that I’d like to acknowledge by name.

• Jack, Karen, and Joe Brennecke - They made the incredible video that most of you have probably seen by now. If you haven’t, go check it out now! (https://youtu.be/dhLMbM58STo) I’m still in awe and may have to re-watch it another 50 times ;)

• They were also a phenomenal force in rallying the troops. As were Dave Burns, Caitlin Brennecke, Kathleen Brennecke, Charlotte Robinson, Lynda Lichti, Diane Denesowicz, Michele Williams, Andy Hollstein, Heather Tankle, Katey McNamara, and Erica Beam. Asking others for time and money is an uncomfortable task at best, and having someone else help out made a world of difference.

• John Robin, author of Blood Dawn (https://www.inkshares.com/projects/blood-dawn?recommended=true) - He created a wonderful community for the writers of Inkshares; Somewhere we could go to share insights, do some cross-promotion, and cheer each other on. He also featured me on his blog: https://epicfantasywriter.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/world-builders-c-brennecke

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine will not be one of the five winners, but all is not lost! I will continue to leave the project live on Inkshares to see if it can make it to its long term goal. In the meantime, I will re-focus on the most important part: finishing the book!

This contest has truly been a wonderful experience, and was quite the crash-course in self-promotion as well! I’ve learned a lot and I’m so thankful for every moment. Here are a few highlights I’d like to share:

• I’ve done some major networking and will most likely have a group project or two in the works by this time next year. I can’t wait to get started on that and to tell you more!

• Someone I very much look up to, but have never met in real life, ordered a copy! She has been a huge source of inspiration to me, and is partly responsible for activating my writing bug, so you can imagine how exciting that moment was!

• I received three pre-orders from overseas! How cool is that? I’m not sure who they are, so you’re one of them - Hi! and thank you!

• I shared my writing publically for the very first time, and I survived! It was a scary step, but I’m so glad I did it.

That’s about all I have to say for now, other than THANK YOU all again!!!

Great news, ladies and gentlemen! Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine now has a video!

Many thanks to the wonderful and talented Jack Brennecke for all his hard work. Please enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhLMbM58STo

Credit to -

Photography by: Kimberly Bergan of Sapphire Digital Works (sapphireshots.com), Caitlin Brennecke, & John Thaddeus

Music by: Joseph Maxwell

Voiceover and Editing by: Jack Brennecke

Executive Producer: Karen Louise

In other news, I’ve been interviewed for another blog! Thank you to Amanda Orneck (author of https://www.inkshares.com/projects/shadow-of-the-owl) for being so kind and interviewing me. 

Please check it out and don’t miss the excerpt: http://amanda.orneck.com/blog.html

(fyi - the formatting issues will be fixed shortly)

Thank you to everyone once again for all the support and encouragement! And have a great weekend!

Let’s talk numbers. Okay, I’ll talk numbers and you just listen. I’ll try to make it quick and painless. :)

Right now Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine is placing 25th in the contest - the top 8% in fact. This is AMAZING and I owe it all to you. We also just hit pre-order #75, so as thanks the prologue has now been shared for your enjoyment.

There’s still a long way to go to the top, but we’ve been climbing higher all this time and I know I can get there with your help.

Please take a moment to think of the people in your lives: your spouse, your siblings, a roommate, a bestie, your coworkers, your friendly neighborhood bookworm. Surely one or two of them would be willing to spare five minutes if you asked. Let’s look at how that plays out:

• If half of you get one person to pre-order, it would kick me into the Top 20.
• If half of you get two people to pre-order, it would launch me into the Top 15 - aka The Leaderboard.
• And if all of you got two people to pre-order, it would rocket me into the Top 10!

Please consider going that extra mile. Think of the good karma. The favors I would happily owe you. The sight of your name printed in the Acknowledgements section of the book. The knowledge that you helped change my life for the better.

If you’re still with me, please reach out and recruit new readers. There’s only two weeks and 14 hours left, so now is the time to act. Ready. Set. Go!

Happy Labor Day!

In three days time a lot has happened, and I have to extend an enthusiastic thank you to everyone that helped! Because of you, I get to make this announcement: