A HUGE THANK YOU FROM KILL CREEK...

With 4 days left in the campaign, I’ve reached my goal of 250 pre-orders (253 at the moment)!!!  I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.  I wrote the first draft of Kill Creek several years ago, so to know that it will finally be in print is a dream come true.

I’ll continue to update you about the process to get this thing into your hands, but for now, just know how much I appreciate your help!  I couldn’t have done it without you!

Best,

Scott Thomas

Dear E-Readers, and all others.

Today the e-books of Tears of the Assassin were released.  If you pre-ordered an e-reader, then check your e-mail for the arrival of your story.  Paper copies are set for distribution Feb. 7th.  E-readers can now enter the world of David Diegert. A world of intrigue, danger and betrayal, in which a young man must find his way with an underdeveloped moral compass that is spinning out of control.  The challenges before him will draw you into his heart and mind, where you will feel the frustration, the anger, the hope and the triumph of a man forced into conflicting missions.  Only a sharp, focused mind, with a heart of steel and a quick trigger finger, will survive and succeed in Tears of the Assassin.      

William Schiele

Followers of Kill Creek!

I’ve reached 90% of my light-publishing goal!  Only 25 more pre-orders to go.  But there’s also only 6 days left in the campaign!!!  If you haven’t ordered yet, please consider doing so now.  I could really use your help.  And to those who have ordered and/or helped spread the word, I wouldn’t be this close without YOU.  Thank you for supporting my dream.  

Or, should I say, nightmare...

See, I probably should have warned you.  Indulging the spirits that reside in the house on Kill Creek is to invite them into your life.  It doesn’t matter if you leave the house in your rearview mirror or close the book and set it on your nightstand.  Whatever this thing is that walks the dark, dusty halls of the Finch House, it knows you now.  It needs you.  That odd scratching sound you hear in the dark could just be your cat’s claws as it creeps across the hardwood floor.  But you’d be wise not to look.  Just close your eyes.  Do not peer over the edge of your bed.  Because it isn’t your cat (you don’t even have a cat, what were you thinking?!).  It’s that...thing from Kill Creek.  And it wants you to go back...

Good luck sleeping.

Scott Thomas

Hello everyone!

I want to apologize for being MIA for the last two months. Things have been rather crazy in life, with the holidays. But, I was also offered a new job as the lead graphic designer for 117-year-old engineering firm. I’m going to be heading up (starting up, really) the department. So, I’ve been spending the last few weeks getting all the loose ends tied up at my current job. On top of that, my fiance and I are looking at wedding venues and preparing to move in three months. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit out of sorts.

I can officially say we are getting published because now we have a brand spanking new layout in Inkshares and it is no longer the funding page! That is so exciting! I’ve got to take down the incentives and get those out to everyone. Fancy mugs are in for those spectacular backers who bought 10 copies. I’m ordering the bookmarks and posters to send out to the other backers tomorrow, so I’ll be contacting you for your address so that I can send you your incentives! 

Inkshares contacted me, but I have no real deadline for when the book will be published. Right now, they are working through a backlog, so it may be some time. The book is finished and it is almost completely edited after passing the first round of beta readers. As soon as I finish these edits I will be passing it off to the second round of beta readers. (If you’ve contacted me about beta reading, again, I haven’t forgotten)

I’ll be contacting those that I owe covers very shortly (today, hopefully) to discuss jumping back in to work on those. I’m looking forward to helping you guys out with them, and I apologize for the delay. 

For quicker updates, go like my Facebook Page! You’ll find lots of links to other books that I’ve done covers for, you’ll get up-to-date news about the book, the editing process, and sneak peaks!  https://www.facebook.com/KaytalinPlattAuthor/  Also, follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/KaytalinPlatt

That’s the end of the updates, so I’m going to move on to the sentimental, mushy, oversharing stuff that isn’t necessarily important to your interests, but still something I’d like to say. Rather, I’d like to share with you so that, if you are like me, you might not feel so alone in the weird need to disbelieve in the achievements you’ve made.

I suffer from imposter syndrome and have for pretty much a majority of my life and in everything that I do. If you don’t know what imposter syndrome is, it is where, no matter how well you do or what you achieve, you always feel like a fraud and that, eventually, everyone will realize how really crappy you are. Someone with imposter syndrome spends their life achieving things and expecting "the other shoe to drop". 

So, I’ve got an amazing fiance, I’m gaining a wonderful family, a company actually thinks I’m good enough to start a graphics department and gave me a job out of the blue, and a book that I’ve dreamed about for the last 10+ years is going to be published. All of this culminating in the last six months or so, really kicked the imposter syndrome into overdrive.

I’ve wanted to write to tell you how much being published means to me, but I’ve been afraid to acknowledge it is really happening. It’s even harder to look people in the eye when they congratulate me in person. It’s not that I’m not grateful, just genuinely afraid that I don’t deserve it or that what I’ve loved and created is unworthy. It is definitely something I need to work on, and I am. 

So, in moving past the imposter syndrome, let me tell you how incredibly happy I am. Let me acknowledge that happiness, let me announce it to you and to the world, and not be afraid. Nothing is ever perfect, least of all books. But, when you’ve worked so hard for something, when you’ve dreamed and fought and spent every spare second you had working on it, even people with imposter syndrome deserve to celebrate those accomplishments. I’ve day-dreamed half my life about sharing stories with the world, and you all made it possible.

Thank you. From the bottom of the heart, forever and always, thank you.  

What is this madness!! An update on Tuesday!!?

Why. Yes. It’s officially publication day!

Even the Audio Book is live today. It’s AWESOME! (might be biased). If Audiobooks are your jam, you can totally find it here: Seventh Age Audio Book

Also, if you can, please share that with other people who might like the Audio Book. 

In other news, on Launch Day I’ve got two great links! 

An amazing review of the book: Click Here

A feature article on Dread Central! Avalon over at Inkshares nailed the perfect place to feature the book. 

Just in case you DON’T have your book yet, and I know many of you still haven’t gotten them yet; (particularly super readers); You can always email Hello@Inkshares.com and double check that it was shipped. It should be any day now. 

So now... enjoy the read! Let me know what you think! I’ll be asking for reviews in a month or so. I’ll even do an entire update about the importance of them and why it’s critical that readers leave them. 

Otherwise.... maybe you can spot me, or the booth imp, at a con!

Hello drag enthusiasts and beautiful people in general

I wanted to give you a quick update on the state of Bad Medicine: Slay it, Queen. I am furiously writing the story and I’m very excited about it. It has been harder than I anticipated to keep the balance between campy and scary, but I can tell you the result is a hell of a ride.

My original plan was to deliver a finished manuscript to Inkshares mid-January. Unfortunately, life got a tad complicated, and I was not able to meet that deadline. The folks at Inkshares were very understanding and encouraged me to take my time so I can produce the best manuscript I can write. I’m planning on finishing writing Bad Medicine in the spring.

If you supported my efforts to publish The Catcher’s Trap, then you know that the publishing process is very long; you should probably expect to get your copy of Bad Medicine some time in 2018. The reason for the long production schedule is very simple: making a great book takes time. Trust me; you don’t want to read a poorly edited and designed book. On my end, I want Inkshares to dedicate as much of their resources as possible to promote my book, and for that, we need to be strategic about the release date.

In the meantime, I encourage you to browse the hallways of Inkshares and look at the many books that they have published so far and that you can enjoy right away.

Finally, I have many side projects happening this year. One I’m excited about is the monthly release of short stories through Amazon Kindle starting in March. The stories will range on genre and style. Some will be connected to my Inkshares projects; some will not. I’ll let you know when the first one is out.

That’s it, for now, friends!

Have a great rest of your week and don’t forget, keep it fierce and keep it cute.

Greetings Jackolytes,

Well now, where are we at exactly? In the twisting, turning world of publishing, Jack finally has a fixed date for release on the unsuspecting public. And that date is February 28th, 2017. If you have pre-ordered the paperback version of Sync City, then your copy(ies) should appear around that time. If you are an international person of mystery (i.e. a non North American), they may take a touch longer to get to you.

For those of you who went the ebook route, things should be a little more straightforward, and you’ll just need to follow the instructions in the email sent to you at that time.

So what’s new in Jack’s world? Well, my website is new. Or at least tremendously updated. If you click here, you can see my new home page. And if you follow this link, you can read the first two of chapters of Sync City to whet your appetite. Many thanks to my lovely wife, Nicola, for doing all the heavy lifting on this one.

One of the sexy things you’ll notice on the home page is all the online booksellers from which you can now pre-order Sync City. Of course, if you want to get in on the ground floor, then you can very much pre-order it here (and please share with those who have yet to meet Jack). And if you are familiar with the opening scene of Sync City (read here and don’t be shy!), then make sure you come in on the ground floor and not the basement. The basement is a bad place to be!

Cheers,

Peter

Dear Readers,

It. Is. DONE! The Phantom Forest has reached its Quill publishing goal, which means the book will have a limited release in both print and digital! I’ve talked to a number of authors who have gone through this process before me, and the timeline is pretty similar to a traditional publishing calendar: there’s going to be an editing phase, beta-readers, design, and marketing planning, so the actual release date might not be for another 7-12 months, even though the manuscript itself is complete. But rest assured, as soon as I have an official release date, I’ll update everyone! You will have those signed copies in your hands and I will have callouses after signing all of them for you and I will love every minute of it.

Okay, so here is the part where I rattle off about a hundred thank yous... so sit tight!

I was fortunate to get an enormous boost this week from not one, not two, but THREE Inkshares syndicates! You’ll see little "medals" for each on the book’s main page - there’s the Staff Syndicate, which is run by members of the Inkshares team, then there’s the Fantasy syndicate, which backs that specific genre, and the Break the Bechdel Syndicate, which specializes in books with strong female leads. A huge, heartfelt thank you goes out to all the syndicate members who nominated the book and pushed it into the spotlight. You made a huge difference this week and helped it reach the tipping point!

Another thanks to the awesome folks who put together the book trailer for me, which made a major impact: there’s director David Diperstein, whose work you can check out here, and our lovely actress Jess Nurse.  I’m still so flattered that they made this beautiful trailer for me and I think it really helped to give everyone an idea of all the cinematic potential in this story. 

And then of course, there’s all of you, the readers! You thought you were just going online and buying some book you’d never heard of, but you also helped me accomplish a huge goal 5+ years in the making, you helped support an awesome new publishing startup, you graciously helped me raise money for the ACLU when I started feeling conflicted about the ethics of crowdfunding for a time, and you gave emerging filmmakers and artists exposure by watching and sharing our trailer and giving our cover artist the green light! 

Thank you, whether you’re an old, dear friend or a new supporter on the internet I’ve yet to meet in person. I can’t wait to start the next phase of this adventure! 

Love,

Liz

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since my last update, but today marks a special anniversary for me – exactly one year ago, The Bones of the Past won a publishing contract. This is going to be a long update, so bear with me!

There has been far more work involved in getting the book into shape for publishing than I ever expected – I’m just now working on my review of the last proofread – but it has been an amazing experience and the book has evolved into something I am extremely proud of.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you once again for your continued support and interest. I would never have made it this far without you!

Now, I do believe I owe you some news about the book including when and where you’ll finally be able to get your hands on it!

First of all, you’ll see in the attached picture that we have the back cover and spine of the book finalised and we’re just missing the “placeholder attributions”. These mini reviews are from authors who read the book in a raw form (still full of typos) and who had some positive things to say about it!

I’m very proud to say that I received some “cover blurbs” from three really amazing authors and I am truly humbled that people as talented as they are would have such positive things to say about my book.

Joseph Asphahani’s excellent SciFi/Fantasy novel - The Animal in Man - secured publishing through the same contest that I was in. His book isn’t out yet, but I’ve had the privilege of reading an early copy of it and I can’t recommend it highly enough. So, keep an eye out for it!

Rick Heinz’s The Seventh Age: Dawn is an incredibly exciting take on urban fantasy vampires and demons. It kept me up late on more than one occasion and is a book that anyone with even a passing interest in the genre should run out and buy right now!

Alan Campbell is the author of a number of bestselling novels. Most notable is his Deepgate Codex series. He does fantasy differently than any other author I’ve read and the result is something you won’t soon forget. I’ve been reading his books for at least ten years, so having him read mine (and like it!) is more than a little surreal. The Deepgate Codex is a trilogy that’s available in its entirety right now and should be on any fantasy fan’s ‘to read’ list.

So… what did they have to say about The Bones of the Past? I’ll share that closer to publication date or let you read the blurbs on the book for yourselves!

And so, we come to the publication date. The process is still on track for a May 30, 2017 publication. That means that you should get your copies a little bit before that if you ordered through Inkshares. If you haven’t or if you’d like to pick up a hardcopy, please go ahead and pre-order it through your local bookstore! That will make one store that’s more likely to keep my book in stock and on its shelves! All the major chains have it listed already, and most independent bookstores can get their hands on it easily enough :)

Book sales, and more specifically launches, are all about creating buzz. So more pre-orders and more attendees to the launch event go a long way toward making a book stand out and succeed (second only to reviews!).  The launch event will be held in Ottawa at a date somewhere around May 30th. Work has already started on nailing down exactly where and when. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something solid.

Thank you all yet again!!!

Hello "Wings of the Pirate" supporters!

I have been asked a good question by one of the supporters: 

"Can you please tell me when the book I ordered back about 6 months ago will be mailed?????"

That is an excellent question! 

Thank you so much for your order and support of my new adventure book "Wings of the Pirate".  Without you it wouldn’t have hit its preorder goal of 250 copies.  The publisher I am working with (Inkshares) on this title is a crowd supported publisher.  The author runs a preorder campaign and if they hit their goal, the publisher knows there is interest in the book and they publish it.  I turned in my completed manuscript to them after my campaign was completed and now they are in the process of publishing the book.  Production includes:  editing, cover design, formatting and proofing, etc.

I was informed that they are currently working on a lot of titles and mine should be completed in about 8-12 months.  Ugh, that’s as long as my traditional NY Publisher takes with my novels. My primary goal with publishing with Inkshares was to gain connections to their Film/TV agent UTA (United Talent Agency) who is one of the top three agencies in Los Angeles.  I’m working toward making my stories into films, so this was an important step.  I will keep you updated as the info is presented to me.

Thank you for your patience,

Sincerely, Eric H. Heisner

Author of "Wings of the Pirate", "West to Bravo" & "T.H. Elkman" www.leandogproductions.com