Hang tight readers. There is an internal error that I am getting resolved, and then will send out the official launch email!
Hang tight readers. There is an internal error that I am getting resolved, and then will send out the official launch email!
The Walls are Closing In has reached 100 followers! As promised, I have used a random generator to select a winner for a $50 Etsy Gift card.
And the winner is .... Jaclyn Young
Happy 2017 to all of my supportive followers out there!
I have a few exciting developments regarding The Walls are Closing In.
News headlines in recent weeks have provided no shortage of headaches, but also no shortage of ideas, and several new scenes have been added to a manuscript that I had originally thought was, for the most part, complete.
My husband, Artist Bart Castle, has worked up the national emblem that will be ever so prominent throughout the story. A new version of the map has also been uploaded to the book’s page.
The official pre-order campaign will begin next Friday, the 13th, and will run for three months. I am going to throw myself into this campaign completely, and am aiming for the gold, 750 pre-orders and a full publishing contract, which will place The Walls are Closing In on bookstore shelves across the country. Ideas from my fellow authors, friends, family, and followers are more than welcome!
Conversations are in the works regarding blog interviews and You-Tube channel features. Stay tuned.
The book has received several new reviews and recommendations, and for that I am incredibly grateful. I will share a selection of them here in closing.
After much deliberation, I have decided on a launch date for the pre-order campaign for The Walls are Closing In. To provide a nice buffer after the holidays before gouging everyone’s wallets, the pre-order campaign will commence on the 13th of January - also known as Friday, the 13th. Hopefully not too ominous.
"This is future shock delivered in real time and with max voltage. The most chilling part about "The Walls are Closing In" is that the walls really are closing in. We have just endured a presidential where truth was discarded and ignored, so it does not seem like such a leap to enter a world where truth, beyond what the powerful deem it to be, is unknown."
"Castle has crafted an eerily believable future for America that is reminiscent of George Orwell’s "1984". From the giant wall insulating America from the rest of the world, to the propaganda on mandatory, controlled television, to the cameras monitoring the protagonist’s every movement, I was chilled. This is a fascinating read about how 75 years from now, everything could be totally different in our world."
Don’t worry first 50 followers, you will automatically be entered into the drawing. Recipient will be chosen using a random generator. If you have someone who you think would be interested in The Walls are Closing In, please encourage them to follow!
It’s Alive!!!! The Walls are Closing In pre-order campaign is here! You can now read chapter two and three and pre-order your copy today!
I am overwhelmed by the reception that I have received for this book so far. I guess that many of us, myself included, are feeling the drive to support artistic reactions to the political turbulence that is spreading the globe. I began this book over a year ago (when the reality we are currently experiencing didn’t yet seem probable), and it started as a clearly fictional story exploring an alternative history. As the election cycle wore on, the plot continued to shift. Now, it’s poignancy becomes more apparent each day, and it is with bitter sweetness that I fine tune the words. This book simply represents my imagination’s answer to some of the many "what ifs."
Only about ten percent of my followers so far are people that I know out in the real world, and the rest are strangers who have not hesitated to provide support with open arms. This, in itself, has solidified my decision to use the reader-driven publisher, Inkshares, to get this book off the ground. The sense of community is unrivaled in the publishing world and the ability to garner feedback by those who resonate with the story is priceless. In the coming weeks, the book will be highlighted on various YouTube shows and blogs. I will be sharing those links as they become live.
The goal is to presell 750 copies before April 13th, which will get The Walls are Closing In full publishing and marketing rights, ensuring that it will appear in bookstores, receive full developmental and line editing, undergo professional book cover design, and be represented for television and movie rights. Ebooks are $10, and print copies are $20. Keep in mind that this is a campaign for a publishing contract, and the book will still need to go through the full publishing process, which you can read more about here.
I will be offering a few milestone perks as the campaign wears on! Below are the first three:
100 - Be one of the first 100 unique readers to order The Walls are Closing In, and you will be entered for the chance to have a minor character named after you! Or, alternately you can select the name of the character. Two winners will be chosen!
200- I will upload an excerpt from later in the book.
300 - I will share a new novel trailer, complete with mild teasers.
Thank you again for your incredible support. It is appreciated more than you know.
If, by chance, you want to do more to help, read on...
For those that are willing, there are numerous ways to help me reach my pre-order goal. Every little bit helps a great deal!
1) The greatest way to help, the method that has been shown to produce the best results, would be to select five to ten people that you know who would like this book (I think we all know those who would, and would not, like this book), and personally tell them about the book via email. Invite them to read the material that is up, and personally invite them to offer their support if they like what they read.
2) Share the information for my novel on any of your social networks (there are share buttons on my book’s page), tagging those who you think would be interested. Share updates, reviews the book has received, the link to my novel trailer, and/or share interviews and youtube links as they become available.
3) Become a backer for the book (pre-order 3 or more print copies, and receive your name in the back of the book).
4) Leave a recommendation on Inkshares if you notice that the novel has slipped off the front page of the site. Providing a recommendation places The Walls are Closing In under the "Recommended by Inkshares Readers" section on the front page of the website, thereby increasing exposure.
5) Nominate The Walls are Closing In if you happen to be a member of an Inkshares Syndicate. Syndicates members all pool together to support one book a month.
6)Send me any and all ideas that you have for getting this book 750 preorders!