Gah I was mentioned on the Sword & Laser podcast!  Deus Hex Machina is officially FAMOUS! If you haven't watched the latest episode, they interview the current top three Inkshares finalists, and then mention my book at the end.  Very exciting stuff.  I loved Craig's story about his wife and how he started writing.

We are currently at 94 orders, and the incomparable A.C. Weston has graciously decided to run a little contest in support of DHM. If we get ten more people ordering, up to 104, then she will raffle off an original inked panel she's creating from the DHM graphic novel to one of those ten people.  So awesome, I cannot handle it!  Check out just one of the awesome panels here:

She's just so good, isn't she? I was so honored when she said she wanted to try her hand at a page from the old script. This sort of makes me want to update the script with the changes from the novel and get the whole thing drawn...but novel first! Focus Mandie!

Anyway, if you want a chance be one of the next ten people to order the DHM!  

Lastly, we are halfway to my next novel giveaway raffle, and only 65 orders away from 5th place. I know it seems like a long way to go, but we have a lot of followers so maybe these two contests will pull some lurkers out of the woodwork. I would love nothing more than to end this contest in 5th and maybe even 4th place. I think it's important to have a woman in the top five, don't you?

Alright, I hope I get the chance to do a raffle drawing today, so I'll say see ya later rather than goodbye.  Cheers!

Ah hah! We hit 90 readers!  That means I get to give away a signed copy of Shadow of the Owl!  

Today's update is a short one. I just wanted to remind those that are following the book that there are three days left in the Sword & Laser the Sequel contest, and Deus Hex Machina is only three people away from 6th place. Only ONE order away from our next giveaway!  Gah! I want to give away a book today! Can we do that please??

 99 copies of DHM on the wall, 99 copies of DHM! Share the book, pass it around, 100 copies of DHM on the wall!

Sorry, I'm a little loopy right now having only gotten an hour of sleep last night (Yay insomnia).  

Despite my best efforts, I am starting to see the end of the contest and really understanding the likelihood of me ending up not anywhere near the top three. I was hoping for 2nd, eager for 4th, but at this point even the numbers between 7th and 5th are pretty insurmountable.  And I think I am coming to peace with that. 

I am going to make a few more pleas with friends for orders, and this one is to those who are following DHM but haven't backed it yet.  There are 125 followers for DHM but 86 backers.  If each of you 39 people backed the book today, we would be back in the race, at least the race for 4th place. My son is sitting at my shoulder reading this, saying "I want to be in the race." Yeah, me too, kid. Me too.

So if you have been waiting to order DHM, now is the time. Please preorder the book today!

Incentive wise, we are four people away from our next raffle, 1 order away from 100 books ordered today, and six orders away from sixth place. 

Psst. Isn't that pic of Cri-Lux awesome? I bet you'd love to know who she is! How about another incentive. If we get to 125 backers, then I'll release chapter 2, and you'll meet not only Cri-Lux but also Daxas Piers, our street wise mech racer. Now I have to go race with my toddler. He says "we have to get all the way to the finish line." Wise words.

Going to need to be speedy about this because I woke up with some killer pain in my right shoulder, which means computer work is rough right now.  But we got our 80th reader this morning, which means I get to giveaway another copy of Shadow of the Owl!  

We hit our 70 reader mark! It's time for another raffle!  Congrats to....

Penguinpowerster! You've just won a signed copy of Shadow of the Owl! So many exclamation points! I guess it's a Victor Borge kind of morning.

We are only 8 orders away from the next raffle, so let's get to 80 readers! 

Have a wonderful Tuesday,

Amanda

Happy Monday everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to give you a bit of a status report on DHM.  

1. Chapter One is finished, unexpectedly.  I had started writing scenes and realized, once I finished them, that they naturally ended our chapter on a great intriguing note.  It's available in its entirety on the Inkshares page, and I would love it if you read it and let me know what you think.  

2. To date, no one has figured out the DHM ARG.  We have a couple of people playing, but no one has crossed the finish line.  The clues start with the book trailer I posted a while back.  Will you be the first to finish the game and save Timble Ada?

3. Here's some general math on how the campaign is going: We are 2 orders away from our next raffle, 45 orders from fifth place, 92 orders from 2nd, and 182 orders from 250 -- which is my goal. The road is long, and the chances for winning dim, I have to be honest.  I felt really good seeing all the people who came on board this weekend - 10 orders in just two days! - until I saw that the other guys are getting dozens of orders per day. That knocks the winds out of my sails a bit, I must admit.

HOWEVER, there are 11 days, and I plan on working on this until January 16th. I also have a contingency in case this doesn't pan out, the Sword & Laser contest I mean. I believe in Deus Hex Machina, I see it being a successful book read by thousands of people.  I would like those thousands of people to read it with an Inkshares label on the back, but even if that does not happen, I will be working to make sure it is published properly.

You can help!

If you believe in this book as much as I do, there are things you can do to help.  You can share DHM on your own Inkshares updates, should you be an Inkshares author.  If anyone out there wants to work on a cross promotion with me, I would be more than happy to help.

Anyone who is on the fence, intending on ordering but hasn't yet, please make the plunge and order today. Isidore and Dax need your help.

Even if you are not an Inkshares author (or heck, even if you are), you can still help push DHM into the top three. All you have to do is reach out to three of your friends and ask them to order.  Send them to this Facebook post on instructions how to order the book for free. 

What I am doing:

I am continuing to write Chapter 2. This 366 days of writing is exhilerating. I should be getting to Dax soon. 

I am reaching out to everyone I know, something I did not do with Shadow of the Owl. That's how much I believe in this book -- I'm facing my social anxiety to ensure that DHM wins this contest. 

Phew, that was longer than I expected.  Guess it's not such a quick update after all!

Have a great Monday!

We did it! We hit 70 orders!  Time for the next raffle! *Cracks knuckles and pulls out the random number generator.*

Hi friends!  We hit 60 orders!  That means it's time to give away another signed copy of Shadow of the Owl!  

And the winner is...Chris Robinson!  Our own Ghosts of War author now has another (former) Inkshares book to put on his shelf!  Congrats Chris!

Also, I realize that I dropped absolutely zero hints about the game yesterday, and I can't expect people to play something they don't know about so...in the interest of getting people to have fun, I wrote a game this weekend!  It's set in the world of DHM and starts from the video that I posted yesterday!  My hope is that by playing it those that are following the book will fall so much in love with the game that they will preorder.  

And speaking of preorders, what should we do for our 70 backer raffle?  I will give you two choices: 

Option A: I post chapter 2

Option B: I raffle off another signed novel

Comment on the update (or you can tweet me @amandaorneck if that's easier) about which option you want!  It's all up to you!