Here it is...the final three days of the contest! Now is the time to act if you haven’t supported "The Madness of Mr. Butler" with a pre-order yet! 

The competition is still tight, and I need everyone’s help. There is no guaranteed place in this contest until it is over. I wish everyone in the contest the absolute best. I know I’m exhausted from how difficult this journey has been...

...but I’m not too exhausted to write! I have more!

Chapter 8 is posted, and you can read it here.

"The Diary of Mr. Butler" has a new entry, and you can read it here.

I also want to reiterate how honored I am to have reached quill already, an achievement hoped for by every author on this site. I am humbled. I want to thank every single person who has supported my journey thus far. Thank you.

Composing The Madness of Mr. Butler has been an amazing experience. I love this book. I love writing it. I love reading and editing it. I love watching it evolve, and I love the characters. I truly feel that this is a book that deserves publishing. I am 100% confident in this novel, and I feel in my heart that you will, too. This novel is my child, and like any good mother, I want the best for my child. So please, if you haven’t ordered a copy, do so today. If you’ve already ordered a copy, I am compelled to ask you to spread the word. Every reader counts, and these last couple of days will count heavily. I need you all. Mr. Butler needs you. Let’s make this thing happen. 

As always, feel free to contact me. I am willing to help with anyone else’s novel as well, so do not hesitate to write to me: madmrbutler@gmail.com

I wish everyone the best in this contest. Thank you for your support. 

Love, 

-Michael

You all have no idea what this means to me...I just passed quill, so no matter what happens in the contest, I’m a published author. I am literally crying right now. Perfect strangers are going to be holding and reading my book...

...unreal. I am uncontrollably happy right now. Thank you for all of your support. 

I will not disappoint. I promise you that. I will uphold my end of the promise of becoming a published author.

I love you all. Truly.

-Michael

It’s been a relatively long time since the last time I updated everyone (like maybe a couple of days...haha), but so much has happened! 

First, I was interviewed by Renderosity Magazine about my views on writing. I cover some personal perspectives, the process of composing a novel, and some little advice I’ve gathered over the years. It’s a fairly extensive interview, and I promote Inkshares a little bit, too. You can read the interview by clicking here.

I was honored to be part of the last blog interview for the Space Opera contest as well. This time, I had to cast Mr. Butler for the movie version. What a difficult question...I did my best, and you can read it here.

Also, I’m working hard to get more material written and posted. I will do so as I feel it’s ready, and it’s all open to be talked about and critiqued. Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think. 

While we’re on the subject, I’d like to help other authors on here with support and critiquing. I put up the offer on the new Goodwill Train 2.0 thread on Goodreads. Basically, let’s reach out more directly to one another. Email me at madmrbutler@gmail.com and let me know what I can do for you, especially if you just want me to know more about your novel! Let’s network and help each other get published! There’s no reason everyone can’t reach their goals. Just let me know what I can do. 

Finally, I wish everyone the best. This contest experience has been emotional and exhausting, and it’s coming down to the final days. If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy of The Madness of Mr. Butler, please consider doing so by clicking here. 

I look forward to hearing from everyone, and please push your book in my direction...I have credits I’d like to use!

All of my love,

-Michael

First things first: THANK YOU!!! I’m overwhelmed by the love and support. As it is already March 6th, I have high hopes for holding my position in the top three and achieving one of my dreams. I owe a debt of gratitude to each and every one of you who has purchased Mr. Butler basically on a whim, as you have purchased a book that hasn’t been published yet, nor is there an absolute promise yet that it will be...

...but you put your faith in my work. Thank you for that. I promise not to disappoint. 

In the meantime, I will continue to post first-draft versions of the chapters and diary entries for your perusal and enjoyment, and they are all open to critique. Please let me know what you think. And if you’re a fellow author, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We can all help each other on here. I will admit that some of my time will be limited in this home-stretch of the contest, but I still want to connect and network. Let me know if you have a book you believe in that I just haven’t seen. I’m here as a reader, too, so push your books my way! Email me for whatever you need at madmrbutler@gmail.com.

Until then, Chapter 7 is up and you can read it here. There is also a new entry in Mr. Butler’s diary, which you can read here.

Have a great day, everybody. Don’t hesitate to reach out. 

-Michael

We are ankle deep in the sea of March, all of us Nerdist contest participants...

I could go on and on about how you should order my book, but instead, I just want to wish everyone in the contest the best of luck. It’s been an exhausting, stressful, amazing journey thus far, and I can’t believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel. 

I’ve met some amazing people/writers through participating in this contest. If you haven’t taken the time to peruse the other entries, please take the time to do so. No matter how this contest turns out, everyone’s success will ultimately ride upon our combined networking efforts. 

So, as always, if anyone needs any help at all, please feel free to reach out: madmrbutler@gmail.com

And in the theme of this update, look forward to another inkshares blog entry from all of us in the top ten, as this time we each were asked to recommend another novel in the contest. I’ll let the blog be published before I reveal my choice, as I have a lot more to say on the subject of recommendations of other novels on here. 

I wish everyone a restful Thursday, and please let me know if you need anything. 

Love, and love,

-Michael

Ricardo Henriquez · Author · added over 9 years ago
love it! " we are all stories, just make it a good one, eh?" The Doctor. :-)

Just a positive thought for today. 

Keep dreaming, fellow authors.

That is all. 

-Michael

As I turned the calendar this morning, I saw the word "March" heralding in the new month. I’ve never reacted to seeing the word "March" with such anxiety before...

15 days left in this contest. What an exhausting, crazy ride it’s been thus far. I had no idea when I started this contest what a fantastic experience it would be. There are so many great authors on this site. I’ve never bought so many independent books in my life, and I look forward to reading them all, which means this will all stretch into helping as many as I can reach their publishing goals. 

No matter what happens, I know that I will become a regular presence on inkshares. This place is great. I have made a lot of new friends, and we are all working together. This is happiness.

On to business: 

-A new diary entry is up, and you can read it here. It is entitled "A Contemplative Stroll," and it provides a bit more description of Mr. Butler’s world and his perspective on living there. I hope you enjoy. 

-You can still get in touch with me for anything via madmrbutler@gmail.com . I am a little behind on a couple of emails, as this whole writing process and contest business is a little bit in the way, but I swear I write everyone back. 

Now that business is out of the way, I want to share with you one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received. I have been bugging my friends on Facebook to no end about this contest, and they’ve all been extremely supportive. I was already feeling overwhelmed with love and support, and then one of my friends posted this:

"So, I met this guy at a breastfeeding class... Sounds like a good joke, eh?

Actually, I was at work in the ER one day when this nurse comes up and says, "This might be kinda weird, but didn’t I see you at a breastfeeding class?"

Turns out our daughters share the same birthday and we were with our wives at that class. But, the opening line of our first conversation is right in line with the sense of humor of this nurse, one Michael Haase.

Getting to know Mike over the last year has been pretty cool, especially finding we share some of the same interests: music, art, writing... creating, in general. In writing, he is much more invested than me - he writes constantly, and he is a great storyteller. He has a fantastic poetry blog, and even had one novel in editing stages already when I invited him to participate in NaNoWrimo (a noveling challenge) back in November, where he finished another fresh novel draft.

And now he has found himself soul deep into yet another novel, born of a contest where the top 3 novels get full publishing treatment.

Determined to see himself through to his dream of being a published author, he spends the wee hours of every morning pounding out his current story, and even developing a deep back story on a companion blog to generate interest.

Mike is one of the most personable, genuinely funny guys I know. So, when he tells me he is tackling a comedic novel in the ’space opera’ genre, then I’ve got a pretty good idea it’s going to be a hoot and a darn interesting read.

...as a big supporter of anyone in the creative arts, and in being an admirer of anyone who dares to tackle a novel, I’m writing this to help him out.

If anyone has an interest in the ’space’ genre, is looking for a good read, a new author, or just wishes to lend support, please do check out Michael Haase’s "The Madness of Mr. Butler."

I know it’s hard to sell something that’s not quite finished yet, but Mike has the first 6 chapters posted for perusal, as well as an excellent supporting blog for background info, in the form of ’The Diary of Mr. Butler.’

...and consider that one day you might be able to say "the new Michael Haase novel is out! You know, I actually helped him get his start." It could happen - I believe in Mike’s passion to become a published author.

But, I’ve said enough. I’ll let Mike’s words speak. Check out the following links, and have a look for yourself. And, if you like what you see, please consider a pre-order."

I actually teared up reading that. I have amazing friends. And I’m making more here. 

I hope everyone has an amazing day. 

Love to all,

-Michael

P.S.-Yes, I even make friends at breastfeeding class. haha

Happy Leap Day! This means that March starts tomorrow, which means it is crunch time as far as this contest is concerned. 

So, if any of you out there are still on the fence about ordering, please do not hesitate starting a conversation with me, especially if you have a book to tell me about as well! Email me at madmrbutler@gmail.com .

A few orders of business:

The Diary of Mr. Butler has a new entry, "The Violent Visitors." If you get a moment, click here to read the journal.

I have the next few days off, so look forward to a new chapter being posted. 

And the votes thus far are in favor of Mr. Butler’s diary entries being scattered across the novel, intermingling with the chapters. And so it shall be. I can definitely see this augmenting the story and being a unique way to add details. Thank you to everyone who voted! 

Other than that, I just want to reiterate what a wonderful contest this has been, and how valuable inkshares has become to the writer in me. There are many great books and writers out there, and I have had the honor of "meeting" several of you through this inkshares experience. I owe a few of you a return email, and I will write you back soon. Please do not think I have ignored you. 

I hope everyone has a great day. 

Love always,

-Michael.
Michael Haase · Author · added over 9 years ago
I’ve gotten a few comments about intermingling the diary entries throughout the novel...this adds a new depth to consider. I like it very much. Thank you for your input! The "intros to chapters" technique is a new approach I hadn’t considered yet...thank you, Amanda!
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