Like many people, I was shocked, sickened, and saddened to learn of the shooting that happened on Sunday near downtown Orlando. We have since learned that this was the worst mass shooting in US history and that it was an act of hatred, targeting a gay night club.

As you may or may not know, I live and work in central Florida. The shooting occurred not too far from my place of work. This was like a punch in the gut. My heart aches for everyone affected by this tragedy. Unfortunately these acts of violence have become all too common, but it does not diminish the fact that 49 people lost their lives and over fifty others were injured in a senseless act of hatred. I claim no special insight or closeness to what happened, other than physical proximity, and this has nothing to do with the book, but I also can’t just continue without addressing what happened.

I’m amazed to see the reaction of this community (and the whole world) – tons of people volunteering, giving blood, showing solidarity, and wanting to help in any way they can.

There have been tons of responses and ways to help. Here are some of them: GoFundMe, Planting Peace, OneBlood.

Hi all, some news today! (This is going out to 99 followers! Thank you for following!)

Firstly, I’ve put up a new main video for the page. It incorporates new images, different music, and some book reviews. Check it out.

Secondly, there’s a new web-site for the book. It has some a page with some concept art I’ve been working on. Check it out if you’re interested.

"First on Mars" now has 83 days left, which means we need to average a little more than two orders per day for the rest of the campaign to reach Quill.

I think it is definitely possible and I’ve had some new orders and recommends recently (Thank you!) but I can’t do it without your help!

If you have not yet pre-ordered, please check it out again (I’m frequently improving it). If you have pre-ordered, please tell at least one other person about it and tell them they can help me achieve this dream for the price of a coffee.

In case you haven’t noticed this isn’t just about this one book. "First on Mars" is important to me and it’s a story that needs to be told, but I’ve got a few more ideas in the works:

New Mars 

Sequel to "First on Mars." Follows the expansion of settlements on Mars.

Hiding Among the Stars 

Eya is looking for the hidden worlds of humanity’s offspring. Most have turned their back to the stars, but not all.

CARL 1.0

First person retrospective from the first super AI, CARL. His desire to protect humanity instead puts it in jeopardy. The team that created him needs to stop him, or die trying.

When you support this book, you’re also supporting my writing in general. Every pre-order inspires me and motivates me to keep going, so thank you for your support!

Thanks,

LT

Hello again, all! Short update. 

As you may or may not know, there’s a Video-game themed Nerdist contest going on. I’m relieved to not have a horse in the race this time, but I wanted to let you know about it. 

I actually created the cover for one of the books in the top ten, REB1RTH, so check it out. 

All of the books in the top ten (and even some below that) look like real contenders and I wish them all luck! 

Hello friends, family, and readers, 

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. 

Since it was Memorial Day (yesterday), I wanted to highlight some of the Veterans or currently serving people who are writing great stuff here on Inkshares as a small token of gratitude, and just because these are promising books: 

• The Battle Within, a thriller and suspense novel about struggling with PTSD.
  
• Taming the Sun, a memoir about recovery.
  
• Seven Days Dead, a hard science fiction novel about the beginning of a zombie outbreak in the Middle East.
  
• Cries of Battle: Selstra, science fiction about a galaxy at war and humanity fighting against genocide.
  
• (If I missed someone, please let me know)

 If you served, thank you for your service. 

 ... 

 PS...

1. DraftShares is here. 
2. The next Nerdist contest starts tomorrow.  
   

Hello all! 

Sorry I’ve been so quite over the past week (or you’re welcome I should say). I’ve been frantically writing and working on a secret project that I will tell you about later. I just posted Chapter 5 and part of 6. I was holding it back because it reveals so much of the plot, but then I just decided to share it, because ... reasons. 

You will notice some of this book is heavily influenced by the fact of the Presidential contest currently going on in this country. I want to be clear, this book is not meant to be some kind of political statement. It is not meant to pick sides, it’s only meant to reflect on the world as it is and probably will be. In fact, in Chapter 7, the other extreme of the political spectrum is protesting NASA. This was not done on purpose, it just happened naturally as part of the plot. 

Please take a look and let me know what you think: either by email, twitter, comment, or direct-message. I respond to feedback and I don’t bite, I promise. 

Thanks for your support! 

 Hello all! Today marks the final day of the contest. 

First of all, I want to congratulate the top three winners of the contest: 

 The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klien

 After Man by Brian Guthrie

 The Pirates of Montana by Erin S. Evan  

They are all deserving authors and all three have already passed more than 250 orders. I’m a firm believer that you can never have enough books, so check them out and pre-order if you are so inclined. Although I would have loved to be in the top three, I’m happy and humbled to have finished eighth out of over a hundred entries!

Now that the contest is over, it’s time for the real funding process to begin. In case you haven’t noticed, the book has until September 1st to reach its funding goal. That’s 107 days from now. It’s currently 25% of the way to Quill.

PS. Congrats to Michael Haase who won the T-shirt contest! Your shirt is on the way.

Happy Astronomy Day!   

Actual Real News from Your Actual Reality: (in case you missed it) 

China plans a Mars rover and orbiter for 2020 launch opportunity.

Departure of Europe’s first Mars rover delayed to 2020.

Evidence from Curiosity Rover Shows Mars Once Had Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere.

Robot built to aid astronauts nearly ready for Mars. 

Also, this.

Only two days left until the end of the contest! (and to Review and get a chance to win a shirt) 

Hello all! Things are going well... 

"First on Mars" now has several reviews. I want to thank each and every one of you that left a review! Michael, Stephen, Joy, and Joanna, thank you!

I’m still plugging away at the book. It’s coming along nicely although still not ready for prime-time. I’m still moving things around, renaming chapters, adding more detail, etc. 

"First on Mars" is only FOUR orders behind the book above in the contest and seven behind the next! If you haven’t yet pre-ordered, what are you waiting for? And if you have, please help me out by recommending, reviewing, referring people, or all of the above!

Meanwhile, here’s something pretty to look at:

Source (This is just a sample of some of the images I use for inspiration.)

Thanks again for your support!

Hello all!

The Inkshares blog has a new post where we talk about our "dream cast" for our books. It took me a while to come to my final selections, but by no means should you let this restrict your imagination of what these characters look like. This is just one possibility and, in reality, probably none of these actors would agree to be in a film version of this book ;)

I’m concerned that I’m still not getting any new reviews for the book, so rather than just beg, I’m going to build a three-legged stool for why you should review my book: 

1. It’s easy. Just click "Read more" under the first chapter, then click the "Leave a Review" link on the bottom of the screen. Then start typing. 
2. Not only are you entered in a raffle to win a free shirt, you get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside for helping me out. ;)
3. You would be helping me out tremendously. People look to reviews to see if a book is worth their time at all, so they are extremely important. 

I know it’s asking a lot of you to not only take the time to read three chapters of a book, but to also put forth the effort to write a review, so I understand your hesitation. At the same time, it’s critical for the book and I would owe you one. I certainly don’t want to tell you how to write a review, so here’s just one book with two short and sweet reviews as an example.  

Prefer to read a PDF? Well here then (the first three chapters plus a bonus chapter). Better get it fast, it’s only available for a couple days. Right now "First on Mars" has about 40 readers and 1 review. Don’t make me hunt down each and every one of you until you review this book! (metaphorically speaking)

Thanks again for your support!