Good news. Out of hospital and my son is doing well, although with mono the next 6 weeks need to be taken really easy, and he can’t be biking, climbing, jumping round etc. As his summer fun is now strongly hindered, he has come to the conclusion that this is justification for an xbox one or playstation 4.

Wonderful updates! 

First, the initial manuscript for The Madness of Mr. Butler, albeit not finished, is going quite well. I’ve even enrolled in Camp NaNoWriMo in order to hold myself accountable. The story has blossomed into something far beyond what I originally thought. It is becoming a story that surprises me as I bring it all together. I know that once I am done I will be handing in my best work. So, on with your much deserved apology, my dear readers. 

I am sorry that the story is taking a while to submit, but I’m also not sorry...and he’s why: 

Beyond it just being a busy place around here with infants and toddlers and new jobs and obligations, I am intentionally not rushing the story. This in no way means I’m being lazy. In the stats for Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m averaging 2300 words per day that I have occasionally sacrificed sleep in order to write, as there is no other time. I am putting in a ton of work on this book, and it’s all good work. The way I see it, when you all supported me and helped me win the contest, what I won was a publishing deal. A MAJOR publishing deal. And that means I work until I think the manuscript is the best it can be. I’m not going to hurry and get it done just to get you a book. That is not the habit of a professional author, and by being honored with a contest win, I intend to behave like a professional author. The great folks at Girl Friday are going to do their best with my book once I submit it, they can’t make it good when it’s not. 

This is a positive thing. I’m not down on myself or being perfectionistic. In fact, I’ve become quite flexible when it comes to the story. A lot of it has admittedly changed for the better, because once I got these characters interacting, the story became something much more than just about some crazy guy. At this rate, my little 241 page satire might push 300 pages. I’m not sure. Right now I’m just growing everything in the garden until I have to go back, transplant, weed, and mulch. 

So I’m not making promises about release dates yet. I’m making promises about quality. You will receive a great book when it’s all said and done. But I do apologize about the wait. It honestly takes a long time to produce any book. You just happened to be there for the moment the agent approved to sell the idea, which is waaaay ahead of publication for any book. 

In the meantime, I still have stuff for you to read. 

I want to give you a free book if you’d like. It’s only a first draft, but if you email me at madmrbutler@gmail.com, I’ll send you a PDF of An Adventure with Dada, a book I finished during last NaNoWriMo. I’m not bugging you to buy it this time. I’ve been told that I was crazy to try and fund another book, and perhaps those who said that were right. The funding campaign ends in 9 days, and I have 143 copies left to sell in order to make Quill. I could ask for an extension, like so many others have, but I’m going to respectfully bow out and let this one expire and revert to draft. This means those of you who invested (THANK YOU!!!!) will get your money back (unless it completes a Hail Mary in the next week), and the book reverts to draft format. Those of you who chose to follow the book will still be followers, if you wish to be. My plan for that book is to maybe try again after I submit the Butler manuscript. I just need to give Mr. Butler my full attention right now, so it’s time for that campaign to be done. Thank you for your time, support, and attention. If you want a free copy, like I said, just let me know. (I’ve been told it’s quite a fun book with a great story, actually.)

On a side note, I started a draft for an idea I’ve kicked around for a little while. It’s called "The Widower’s Wife," and it’s going to be a bizarre comedy. It’s about a grumpy curmudgeon whose nagging wife dies suddenly, and just as he thinks he is about to get to spend his last years in peace, her ghost starts haunting him relentlessly. It’s just an idea, but if you want to follow that or check it out, I’d appreciate it. 

If you’re curious about some of the changes I’ve made to The Madness of Mr. Butler, head on over to the page, because several days ago I quite sneakily updated the teaser, synopsis, and I took down the old chapters and put up a new draft of the prologue. 

I hope you enjoy!

Have a great summer everyone!

-Michael

Only 21 days of funding remain for Mission 51. I would love to see 9 pre-orders over the weekend. Can you help? Here is how:

1. If you have not yet pre-ordered, please click the green button below and follow the pre-order links. Time is of the essence. I need 4.2 pre-orders a day to qualify for Inkshares’ Quill publication services!

2. If you have already pre-ordered a copy of Mission 51, thank you! Now please take a moment to gently encourage/persuade (harass!) a friend to do the same! :-)

3. If you have already pre-ordered a copy, consider purchasing another one, for a friend, family, or neighbor. It could be a birthday present, or an early Christmas present. Particularly good for readers! :-)

Thanks again, everyone! YOU are the ones launching Mission 51, and I greatly appreciate it!

So Monday, the 18th, is the big day. I’m going to open up Pre-orders for Battle Flag: The Road To Hell and I hope it takes off. If you haven’t read any of it yet take a look, maybe leave a comment, or just read The Battle Plan to see what my big pie in the sky hopes are for the series. I know the chapters are a little long but the book is pretty big because it needs to setup a lot of things for the series.

As I said in an earlier comment, the book is done and ready for publication, I’m just doing another read through to fix some spelling mistakes I saw in the sample chapters and to tweak one or two little things here and there.

Hey everyone! In just one week we have been able to garner the attention of 66 Preorders! Thank you for purchasing! Just remember that unless I hit that 250 goal, InkShares won’t publish the book at all. I need your help to spread the word! Please ask a friend to purchase the book this weekend and we can double that number in the next few days!

Thank you so much for supporting me! It means a lot and I appreciate each and every one of you!

Kyle

Hey everyone! I wanted to send out an update and apologize for said lack of updates etc. My full-time job has me on an overnight shift that has played havoc with my sleep and my health. But there is a silver lining! I had a meeting with my manager and within the next 30 days I will return to a day shift! Woohoo! Until then I will try to get a bit more updated but it may be slow going. Just wanted to keep you all in the loop. Thanks for not giving up on me!

Greetings wonderful people! Long time no update.

Yes I’m still technically alive.No I haven’t fallen into some kind of crazy worm hole. I’ve just been editing up a storm. Busy busy busy! And now I think I’ve done all I can. Now I need your help. I want to get some beta readers to help really make this book shine. If you want to put your input into Beyond the Codes final product drop me a line with any of the following

Email: Kelsey31@hotmail.com

Twitter: BTCInkshares

Or direct message on Inkshares or Facebook. 

In other news I was recently interviewed by Elan Samuel with the Warbler. Check it out. 

 http://www.thewarblerbooks.com/featured-author-kelsey-rae-barthel/

Thanks so much for following my story and my dream this far. I hope I can soon give you all a date for the final product. Exciting!! 

Have a great weekend and I hope to hear from you. 

Kelsey Rae Barthel

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...

The Nerdist contest is over. Wow! That was exciting!!

I want to send out a big congratulations to the multiple authors contributing to Too Many Controllers, and to @Prescott Harvey for In Beta, and to @Peter Ryan for Destiny Imperfect. Great job, everyone! I am looking forward to reading your stories!

I do want to congratulate @Alisa King for Are You Sure You Want To Quit?, @Regina McMenomy for Mothering: The Game, and @Matthew Poat for Squids In. That was a very good effort! Alisa just missed the top three, but she made Quill! That’s fantastic! And Regina and Matt are a good ways to that goal.

Congratulations!!! :-)

Greetings Destiny -followers,

Well wasn’t that a wild ride!?

First of all, thanks to the whole giant bunch of you for your support over the last 6 weeks. So many people from so many different places rallied behind Destiny to bring it to life. You are very much a part of the fabric of this book! I’m going to thank you all personally when my head stops spinning.

And well done to TMC and the terrific crew of authors behind this excellent anthology. I look forward to diving into this one! 

Also, congrats to In Beta. I didn’t get to know Prescott Harvey that well through the contest, but it would be awesome to do so in the tranquility that follows.

And finally, a huge congratulations to Are You Sure You Want to Quit? Alisa King never did quit and went on to achieve Quill level in 6 weeks - this is amazing! She is an author to support and look out for.

Thanks again everyone! I shall now go and find a bottle of beer ... Jack Trevayne finally has a drinking buddy.

Have a great day!

Cheers,

Peter