Two months ago we submitted a final draft of "Metal Heart" - the first book in the trilogy - to an editor friend of the family who works for a local publishing company. 

She gave some great feedback and encouraged us to take Metal Heart to a writing conference and secure an agent. That’s the next step in the journey towards publication. 

The conference she suggested is the Society of Children’s Books and Writers and Illustrators "Between the Pages" happening in May 2016. 

Here is where we want to go!

And we need your help to get there. Consider donating to help us achieve our goal of the $400 registration fee. 

Anyone who donates now can get an advanced digital copy of the book and their name in the author acknowledgement page when we finally get published.

Follow us on Facebook! 
facebook.com/MetalHeartBook

I feel at this point that I will have to admit defeat. 
Yeah, there are a few people I can think of who will probably still pre-order, but honestly, nowhere near the 185 more needed, just to make quill. 
For everyone who has already pre-ordered you will obviously get your money back and this is not me giving up completely. 
I shall regroup and have another think. 
All the time that I am spending trying to promote "Children" is time I am not spending writing Women, or the fourth Time Tunnel book, or the biography of my Grandfather Frank Kingdon-Ward. 

Love y’all

Today is an amazing day...my daughter turns two! I cannot believe how quickly that happened! If you would, just wish her a quick happy birthday out loud to yourself. I’m sure she will feel the love. Thank you for that. 

Obviously, I will be quite busy today...which is why I’ve been quite busy this morning! 

Chapter 4 is up and ready for you to read, along with the prologue and other chapters. Please feel free to critique and chat with me about the material...this is first draft work, after all! I hope you enjoy the new chapter...chapter 5 is coming soon as well.

ALSO! There is a new entry posted in The Madness of Mr. Butler’s prequel, The Diary of Mr. Butler! This time, he reflects on his short-lived adventure in the sea. 

(For you new readers, I am posting entries from Mr. Butler’s journal that he kept prior to the events in The Madness of Mr. Butler. It is meant as supplementary material, and is not necessary for understanding the book. I’m writing it to give back to all of you wonderful readers, and it will always stay open and free to read!)

And, as always, let me know directly if you have a book that you would like to pitch to me! I’ve bought a few books on here that sound amazing, and I’m more than willing to trade pre-orders! In fact, trading pre-orders has become a great source of friendship on here. I’ve interacted with a few great people because of that initial interaction. It’s not just a business transaction, it’s networking! So, let’s help each other out!

I wish everyone the best on this, one of the greatest days of my life. 

If you’ll excuse me, I must go make sure my ER nursing skills aren’t put to the test by the mini trampoline we just got our toddler...

Peace, love, and happy reading/writing!

-Michael.