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Andrew Avery liked an update for Yells For Ourselves

Holy Fonzie! A mere 24 hours after going live, YELLS FOR OURSELVES has achieved 20% of its preorder goal! That is a modest but important milestone, because it means YELLS FOR OURSELVES is officially over the Mendoza Line!

Many thanks to everyone who preordered the book and spread the word about on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere. As you probably know already, I’m working on a special preview for everyone who preordered and will have that ready very soon. In the meantime, I’ve posted the first for-real chapter of the book here at Inkshares. You can also check out this chapter at the link below, where it also has some spiffy pics and video and so forth. 

http://www.yellsforourselves.com/2017/04/05/chapter-1-some-assembly-required/

Thanks again!

— Matthew

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    Sanna Kulevska liked an update for Life Happens

    Hi all wonderful readers!

    By now you should all have received your copy of my novel Life Happens. I can’t thank you enough for supporting my book, and I really hope you will enjoy it:) If you have a minute to spare, please rate it/give a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. Both positive and negative feedback is welcome, it will help future readers to decide wether or not to give it a shot.

    My aim is to collect money for Irish Cancer Society, and every new copy sold will support that cause.

    Wish you all a nice evening.

    Love,

    Caroline

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      Peggy Hawpe Coffey liked an update for Kingdom of Dreams


      1. School Visit # 1
      2. I have a $10 Inkshares coupon burning a hole through my pocket and don’t know how to spend it?
      3. In production
      4. NEXT ISSUE...

      1.) School Visit #1

      Thanks to a KOD backer and parent, I was lucky enough to have a school visit in early January at the impressive ACE Academy in Austin, Texas. If you’re ever in need of a healthy dose of self-morale and an unbelievably energetic hour--no espresso needed--, visit a school! 

      I gave out a ton of illustrated bookmarks and they asked excellent questions the entire session. I look forward to my return visit in the Spring for a creative writing project! I promise I’ll bring a box of actual books down the road...

      When I told them my first significant piece of writing was for an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module, they all chanted "D&D! D&D!" How cool is that?


      They had no trouble spotting the "Easter Eggs" in my illustrations without any prompting whatsoever. 


      A future author! 

      2.) I have a $10 Inkshares coupon burning a hole through my pocket and don’t know how to spend it?

      I’ve been getting this question recently. You supported our project, and Inkshares sent you a $10 coupon to support another project. Now perhaps time is running out or you don’t know what to do with it, or what to spend it on? 

      Never fear. Open the mail with your Inkshares coupon. Go to Inkshares through the link in that message. You should see a $10 credit applied to your account. As time permits, I’ll be recommending projects that I think worthy of your support. 

      Here’s the first one:

      Fae Child by Jane-Holly Meissner. Like our project, it’s a fantasy intended for young adults. To quote the author: "A child slips through a portal into the land of the Fae and traverses the Otherworld with the help of a young elf, while her parents are left to deal with the changeling that was left in her place. ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets TAKEN"

      Perhaps you’ll never read this or any other project that you select on Inkshares, but know this: Don’t waste your coupon! And coupon or not, at the other end is a hopeful author that will be VERY appreciative of your support. This site can make dreams come true. 

      3.) In production...

      So things are moving along, but before I speed it up to ludicrous speed and involve a professional editor and get to finishing the illustrations, I wanted to get some meaningful feedback on the first few chapters. I think the prologue is covered, but please feel free to let me know what you like or don’t like about the new Chapter 1 I sent yesterday. Pretty please? You can leave comments, highlight certain sections, etc. Again, you can find Chapter 1 here.

      I’ve decided to post one more chapter in the villain’s voice to make sure we’re on target with tone, but then: it’s some quick editing and off to the races!

      4.) NEXT ISSUE...

      I grew up collecting comics, and one of the things I loved was to immediately flip to the back and preview the NEXT ISSUE page to see what might be coming. Sacrilege to some of you, I know. But hey, I had to walk a mile to the nearest 7-Eleven across a busy intersection to get my beloved comics. It was worth the peak in the store in case something happened on the way back! 

      So coming up: I have a long awaited blog forthcoming. A pretty crazy casting call, and well... I’ll save the other news for down the road and not get too far ahead of myself. 

      Thanks everyone. Stay well, and continue to tell new backers about our project!

      Best,

      Kevin

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        Lauren Turner liked an update for Disintegration

        Hey, everybody. I was browsing the interwebs this morning, looking for things to distract me from what I’m sure all Americans and probably everyone else in the world knows is happening today ... 

        ARMAGEDDON!

        No, no, just kidding. Kind of.

        In my browsing, I came across a story about a child being born to three parents, and it made me think of James Holden, whom I know from The Expanse television show. The character, however, originated in the book Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (a pen name shared by two authors) and is referred to as "Jim."

        But that’s not the only difference between the book and the series. I’m loath to admit I still haven’t gotten around to reading Leviathan Wakes (it’s next on my list), but I just discovered today that, in the book, Holden had a relationship with a fellow crew member of the Canterbury, just as he did in the show. Except, in the book, his lover is of Nigerian descent and, in the show, they whitewashed her into a blonde Scandinavian.

        I’d say this boils my blood, but that would be melodramatic. I disappoints me, though, certainly. Significantly. For many reasons.

        For one, a role that could and should have gone to a black actress was eliminated in favor of a white, blonde woman. For another, the depiction of an interracial relationship was eschewed, and I can’t help but think that it was a cynical choice, so not to alienate viewers who would have found it distasteful.

        And, yes, I know that Holden and Naomi Nagata get involved and that the actress who portrays Naomi, Dominique Tipper, is of Dominican descent, so there’s an interracial relationship right there and you might be thinking "No harm, no foul" ... but Ms. Tipper is very many shades lighter than a Nigerian woman typically would be. Ms. Tipper is, to use a current term, "mixed race." I still can’t help but feel that the tone of Ms. Tipper’s complexion and the Anglo influence on her appearance was thought to be more palatable to these same audience members (whom I’m imagining, I realize; it’s all conjecture) who would have been less receptive to a dark-skinned woman with more "obviously" African features.

        Now, maybe, if you’ve gotten this far, you’re wondering: "Why is this white guy all up in arms about this?"

        There are a number of reasons, too many to list, but to relate it to my own book, I have a vast number of characters who do not have two white parents. While I’m over the moon to even be published (and I would be figuratively catapulted to Andromeda to have Disintegration made into a series), I would be livid if the roles of Carina, or any of her sisters, were given to a white woman. I’d also be upset if Anjali were given to anyone but an actress of Indian descent.

        Essentially, I want all characters in all media to remain however they were written by whomever wrote them, because these characters’ ethnicities are an important part of them, as our own traits are important parts of any of us. Sure, these characters are imaginary, but they are real in our minds. They are probably even more real to their creators. And who among us would want to have our children remade by some stranger who’s decided our progeny isn’t white enough or pretty enough for consumption by the general public?

        A person’s culture influences their lives, as does the way other people perceive them, and appearance is a big part of perception. And I don’t think anyone should have to change the way they look or the way they speak to try and please someone who takes issue with difference. Yet such people exist--those who wish only to see themselves reflected in their media--which is surely why a white woman was chosen over a Nigerian woman to play Ade, whose surname was "Tokunbo" in the book and "Nygaard" in the show.

        Heaven forbid we show anyone what it looks like for a white man and a dark-skinned black woman to have a sexual relationship. In a Science Fiction show set in the far future, even! And what about the converse? Ha! Like the America that voted for the guy taking office today could handle that.

        Thank goodness for Loving, at least.

        And I am grateful, too, that the role of Naomi in The Expanse didn’t also get whitewashed. Ms. Tipper is absolutely marvelous in the role. I, for one, really enjoy for there to be a variety of humans from all over the world not only depicted in my fiction, but also participating in my daily life.
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          KW Soldwedel liked an update for Disintegration

          Hey, all. Happy New Year.

          I hope that, despite the glut of bad news with which we were bombarded -- and the losses of more iconic people in one stretch than I can previously recall -- your 2016 was full of good news for you.

          On the second to last day of 2016, I decided to draw again for the first time in about 14 years, barring those few things I’ve sketched out over that long stretch of time. It’s a work in progress, but I’m pleased with the result. To draw the four sisters from Disintegration, I derived inspiration from that famous, yearly series of photographs of four sisters that’s been floating around the Internet.

          From left to right: Manon, Michele, Agnès, and Karin (Carina). If you click the image, you can see a less red version of it on my Instagram (please follow and like, and all that good social media whoring ;P ).

           

          While I work on the cover for the book and incorporate the edits I’m receiving, I’ll be working, too, on visually realizing the characters through drawings. I’ve always thought Carina’s backstory would make a compelling graphic novel. That’s a back-burner project I’d love to someday bring to life.

          The bulk of my time has been devoted to writing Integration and it’s surprising me how different a novel it is, and will be, from Disintegration. It’s so much more subtly science fiction. Not quite blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s much more rooted in (a close extrapolation of) contemporary life without the high-stakes drama of dystopic world war. It’s actually really nice to be able to describe the blue skies overhead. :D

          I hope you enjoy this glimpse of the lovely ladies of the Derouard / Duvais family. If you would like to join those who are currently reading the book (and, I’m happy to report, really liking it), let me know and I’ll send you the epub of the manuscript that John Robin was kind enough to make for me.

          To close, allow me to crib from one person that, thankfully, stuck with us through 2016:

          Excelsior!

          P.S. - Speaking of social media whoring, the facebook page for Disintegration has 69 likes. In the stilted English of my Russian cyborg Rozhenko: "Please to be the 70th" ... and beyond!

           

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            Hotlanta1980 liked an update for A Friend for Otter

            Dear readers, it has been a while since our last update. A lot goes on in the life of young author in a big family and whose co-author (dad) is also a pretty busy guy. That being said, our work continues, and we still plan to have "A Friend for Otter" completed and shipped in the first half of 2017. 

            One of the challenges we have been working through over the last several months was to commission cover art. In case you haven’t seen it, that art is complete, and it now adorns our Inkshares and social-media pages. Sylvia and I are extremely happy with it, and we hope you will also appreciate the inspired work of Natassia Scoresby, our illustrator.

            Beyond that, Sylvia and I remain really enthusiastic about telling you Otter’s story, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support we’ve received from our reader community. So please accept our gratitude as we redouble our efforts in 2017 to deliver a compelling and meaningful story to all of you. We couldn’t do it without you.

            Thanks!

            Sylvia and Jesse

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              Ahlmann Anna Susanna liked an update for Life Happens

              Hey guys,

              The novel Life Happens is now out for preorders on amazon.com and it’s all thanks to your amazing support! Barnes & Noble Inc also bought their first copy today.

              The publication date is still Jan 10th, 2017 and that is also the date you will receive your very own copy.  I can’t tell you how excited I am, I really hope you will enjoy reading it. I feel grateful to all of you, thank you for believing in me.

              Yours,

              Caroline


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                Crystal Kincaid liked a review for Fae Child
                Brilliant prose coupled with a young, naive main character makes for a otherworldly read, and one I cannot wait to get my hands on
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                  Laura E Jilka liked an update for A Prophecy for Two

                  Exciting update - Prophecy has been picked by the Write Out Loud Syndicate as their book for January! (Link here for more about Inkshares syndicates and what they do.)

                  This is wonderful for both more orders and for visibility and promotion, and I am so honored to be a choice - it means they thought this story was worth supporting, and that’s...well, that’s just really cool, is what that is. Thank you, on behalf of me and Oliver and Tir and everyone.  :-)

                  Here’s the little note I got: "Here’s why the syndicate lead chose your book: a great read and a creative and interesting premise. I also love the author’s sense of humor. I’m happy to support Prophecy for Two in January and I’m looking forward to read it."

                  I’m so excited - thank you again to the Write Out Loud members and everyone who’s supported Prophecy this far!


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