Ladies and gentlemen, I have a huge announcement for Tantalus Depths!

Last week, my development editor, Matt Harry, sent me his notes on my last draft of Tantalus Depths. They were sparse this time and easy to address, so I made pretty short work of them. Last night I submitted my third full draft with the new changes added, and Matt gave this draft his seal of approval. We are officially done with the development edit stage!

So what does that mean? Well, for the moment it means we wait. In case you hadn’t gathered by now, the editing process is very much a “hurry up and wait” kind of deal. There is a queue for the copy editing stage, I’ve been told by the Inkshares staff that my copy edits probably won’t start for a month or so.

That might seem like a bummer, but it’s not. Once the copy editing begins, the gears start spinning a lot faster. I’ll be given a full production schedule, and we’ll finally be put on a set time table, with hard deadlines. We are almost at the top of the roller coaster now, and when we get over this hill, we’re going to seriously move.

I’m personally grateful for this downtime, for one very specific reason: Proteus.

I’ve had Proteus’s campaign extended one more time, and it now runs until the end of August. I didn’t want to, but we were down to just under two weeks to go and about 270 orders to go, so there’s just no way I was going to be able to hit that goal without driving myself insane. Fortunately, with the extension, I should absolutely be able to finish funding Proteus on time, and with this gap between Tantalus Depths’ editing phases, I should be able to finish the Proteus campaign before Tantalus Depths goes to the next stage of edits. I’ll finally be able to give Tantalus Depths my full attention during one of the craziest parts of the editing process.

The development editing process for Tantalus Depths was stressful, but absolutely worthwhile. I can’t wait to see what the next few steps in this process are like, or to see the finished product that is steadily creeping closer. Thank you all so much for supporting me this far. I know it’s often felt like nothing is moving anywhere, but fortunately I can say we’ve made major progress getting through this stage.

So, the manuscript for Murder Happens was submitted about 4-weeks ago and they have a 2-month turn before reading for the first assessment. If readers and/or authors are interested in learning more about the process, try following Murder Happens. No obligation and once the dev edits come back, I’ll be posting more discussion-worthy updates.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

It’s been a long time coming, friends, but these little ladies have arrived. By now those of you who ordered physical copies should have received shipping notifications. When your books arrive, I’d love it if you posted a photo of them. I can’t wait to see how far the mech crew has spread.  

This is a book that was driven entirely by you, the readers. Without the interest in this book, it wouldn’t exist. It would still be a jumble of graphic novel pages, barely a whisper of what it would become. 

So today I celebrate you. Thank you for this gift of a book. 

May the Code replicate eternal.

Dear friends and followers,

Things are really progressing! We have:

• Galleys! And a new cover!
  
• Reviews! Blurbs!
• Interviews! (You’ll want to check this out.)

So, first off, the galleys. LOOK! Inkshares posted this to Twitter a few days ago:

Yes, there’s a blurb there from Andy Lewis of The Hollywood Reporter. It says, "A mystery that recalls the best of Golden Age detective fiction. With fresh characters and unique twists, Huang has created a whodunit with just the right mix of old and new."

If you head over to one of the online retail outlets like Amazon, you’ll see a few other blurbs too: 

• "Dorothy Sayers is alive and well and writing under the name of Christopher Huang. A Gentleman’s Murder echoes the traditional mysteries in the best sense: no car chases or explosions, just great characters and a feel for time and place." - Rhys Bowen, author
• "Settings and atmosphere captured perfectly from nearly a century ago, complex characters, and a compelling mystery―Christopher Huang’s A Gentleman’s Murder is a must read for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry." - Daryl Maxwell, Los Angeles Public Library
• "A dazzlingly atmospheric debut that transports you to 1920s London. A Gentleman’s Murder is a meticulous mystery that will keep you guessing until the end and please fans of both Agatha Christie and Gillian Flynn." - Sarah Nivala, Book Soup

Over on Goodreads, Advance Reader reviews are already coming in.

And interviews. Well, interview, singular ... for now. I exchanged a few friendly words with Jacqui Castle, author of The Seclusion, on her blog. Here’s the link. (While you’re at it, why not also check out The Seclusion? It’s quite the disturbing little dystopian epic.)

And we’re on track for the official publication date of 31 July 2018. TALLY HO!

My amazing friends and supporters, 

I have good news for you about Curio Citizen! 

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I have the privilege of working with Matt Harry, Inkshares’ Head of Story Development, as my editor. During the past few weeks, we have discussed my manuscript and decided on a few specific changes to strengthen the book. I am excited to start writing those changes based on Matt’s expert advice, and I know Curio Citizen will be an even better book come publishing time. 

Day one of writing those changes was not without distraction. This little Curio showed up in our attic this morning--I’m afraid we will not be integrating him into our society as Carmen wishes the paz would do for her, but something tells me this snake would prefer it that way also.

    .

But I will power through this and any other distractions thrown my way to get Curio Citizen into your hands as soon as possible, and in the best quality possible. Thank you again for all of your support and patience! I will continue to keep you updated as the process continues.

If you or anyone you know would like to pre-order a copy of Curio Citizen, follow this link! 

 https://www.inkshares.com/books/curio-citizen

--Katherine

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS! QUICK!

In honor of #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek you can pick up a digital copy of #SunshineisForever for $0.99 through the publisher! Please spread the word!

https://www.inkshares.com/books/sunshine-is-forever

Be sure to review it on Amazon and Goodreads when you are done! Thanks!

Kyle T. Cowan

Quick update. 

The manuscript for Murder Happens is ready to submit into the Inkshares queue soon as the questionnaire and creative brief are complete. Got a couple beta readers lined up, so things are progressing toward a finished book

Wanted to share a couple Mothra’s Day specials of fine reading on your Kindle. If you haven’t tried Joan Reginaldo’s Take Your Daughter to Work Day, here’s your chance to get the 1st story in the series FREE this weekend.  

Take Your Daughter to Work Day, a sci-fi Arthurian fantasy hybrid.

As well as her chilling tale of a mother who has lost her skin to a skin thief:

The Skin

Dean

Oh hi, how you doing? Feeling good? Having a good spring? Do you even have spring where you live?

Here in Alabama the flowers are in bloom, the trees are green again, and the pollen plague is in full effect. I’ve been nose down in writing projects, but none of them have been the Circuit sequel because alas they’re for my day job. But hey, we got our first game launched, so that feels good. 

This week I negotiated terms for the Sister of the Circuit audiobook. I’m happy to announce that the amazing Jill Crenshaw will be narrating for Isidore, Dax, and CRI-LUX. I could NOT be more excited. I can’t wait to hear this story with her incredible acting ability. All is lined up to have the audiobook launched the same time as the other formats, so July is going to be a BIG month.

Have I mentioned the launch team to ya’ll? I’m pre-building the book launch team now, you know, reviews and such, but I am giving away mugs, bookmarks, shirts, and a huge prize at the end for one lucky member. Want to be part of this? Head on over and sign up!

Greetings, Faoii! It’s been another month, and this one has been our best one to date! Look at what we’ve done, my warriors!

Do you see that? 345 copies in one month. For every one of you that spread the word and left a review-- I thank you. This is your doing, and thus I raise my mug.

Actually, if you’d like to raise a mug or drinking horn with me in person, consider coming to The Montana Renaissance Festival in Billings on June 2 and 3rd. It’s at Zoo Montana, and I’ll be there with books, a booth, a quill, and a brand new set of armor. I would love to meet some of you in person, Faoii. Put a face to the warriors that have carried us so far. 

One more thing: If you haven’t already followed Faoii Betrayer do so now! We’re going to make this sequel real one way or another. But sequels only matter if people know the original book is out there. Keep shouting your battle-cry, Faoii. Tell the world! Rate, review, share! Ask your local library if they can get a copy in. Give The Last Faoii as gifts. Faoii Betrayer will never become real if people aren’t excited, but we know that they should be excited. You’ve seen Faoii-Kaiya’s journey. You know she’s worthy of your support. Keep pushing. Let me hear your battle-cry!

And, as always-- Keep those shields up.

Faoii-Tahani