Well, ladies & gents, it’s been an action-packed 45 days. In that short span of time, I found myself campaigning on social media, rapping in book trailers, scattering SideScroller adverts all over the city of Toronto, and (surprisingly) being accused of being in league with Voldemort (which I can still neither confirm nor deny).
The video game contest has come to an end, and my final ranking is 8th place. All I can say is...thank you. All of you. I may not have won, but I was part of something crazy & wild, something I’d always dreamed to be a part of. And I never could have gotten here without the support of every one of you crazy kids! (Also, 8 is totally my favourite number, so there’s that!)
Special shout-outs go to fellow Inksharians James Rasile and Tabi Card, for all their technical help, support, beautiful graphics, and gracious advice, and to Robin Williams for filming my book trailers. I’ve also got to thank Prescott Harvey, Regina McNemony, and Peter Ryan; all three of them were kind & supportive to me throughout this contest, even though their own awesome works were also currently in the running. And thanks to the Inkvengers for their podcast shout-out as well. All in all, I’m proud to have come in 8th when the people ranked above me are such admirable, excellent wordsmiths. Congrats to everyone who competed. Pat yourself on the back; whether you win or not, YOU WROTE A BOOK. Let that sink in, homies. You made something special out of nothing. And that’s ALWAYS a win.
Of course, then there’s YOU: you, who pre-ordered SideScroller and helped a brother try to achieve his dreams. You, who put your faith in a book that exists solely in a small, lonely Word file on my crappy Sony Vaio. You, who clicked on a little green button and literally MADE MY DAY. Thank you. Your love & support is appreciated more than I could possibly say.
So, the contest is done. But SideScroller can still be pre-ordered for another 40 days. We can still get this book past its Quill goal and out into the world. If you haven’t ordered yet, now’s your chance. Like any good video game character, SideScroller’s still got a few lives left in her before the screen goes blank.
CONTINUE?...3...2...1...