Dear friends and followers,

Happy new year! By now, you should all have gotten the news that we’ve made our goal, a month early. Or, more precisely, that we’ve made the top three on The List, which means the same result without having to actually hit the full 750 orders. This is pretty awesome, and it’s all thanks to you. Every one of you who pre-ordered, who spread the word, who got your friends to pre-order or even just to look at the book: thank you. Thank you so much.

So, now that we’re "in production", what does that mean? When will you get your books?

I know I’ve been saying that books will probably be out around November 2017, and that was a conservative estimate back in March when I started. But the volume of books going through Inkshares of late means that the production process is longer now than it used to be. Here is what Inkshares has to say about the production process. According to this, it could be twelve to eighteen months from the moment I submit my manuscript before the book comes out. In short: between January and June 2018.

I know. I’m a little dismayed too. But it’s still miles better than not getting it out at all, so it’s still a cause for celebration.

Again, thank you for everything. Let’s party like it’s 1925!

My heartfelt congratulations to the winners of Inkshares’ first-ever The List contest! @James Rasile for Cape’s Side Bay, @Christopher Huang for Murder at the Veterans’ Club, and @Matt Harry for Sorcery for Beginners. Awesome books! Well-deserved!! Wow!!! :D

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick reminder that this is the LAST day of Inkshares’ The List contest! It’s my last chance to get a full publishing deal, so if you haven’t ordered yet or have someone you’ve been nagging to order, today’s the day!

Thanks so much for your support this year. I’m so grateful for everyone who’s supported my project. There’s an awful lot of this that I didn’t expect would happen: that people who weren’t obligated to be nice would like my work, that I’d end up in the running for two different contests, or that I’d manage to sell 250 copies to people who weren’t my mom. So thank you for making my dream come true! I’m thrilled to get to bring you my book.

Happy New Year!

Maggie

Happy New Year, Knightmares!

I wanted to send out a quick message before the New Year to update you on what’s going on. So here’s the update: Inkshares has quite a bit of backlog going on right now with books waiting to be published. This log-jam, I am hoping, will get some clarity sometime within the first few weeks of the year. 

That’s really the entirety of it. I am waiting my turn while I work on other projects, both artistic and written.  If you have a chance, check out Vexed or Masked, both new projects listed here on Inkshares.

In the meantime, I wanted to wish all of you a very happy close to 2016, and a very prosperous and exciting 2017! 

Thanks again for all your support! And remember, the book is still on sale, so if you haven’t yet, grab a copy!

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

I’ve been here before, sitting in the quiet before the end, wondering what lies on the other side of the storm. I am the crazy person who has entered four contests on Inkshares, one of which I won with a group of amazing talents much larger than mine.  Four contests in a year. I can mark them like seasons in my life on Inkshares.

The first contest was my introduction to Inkshares as a whole. The Nerdist contest came along at a time when I was waiting for my final edit to return on Shadow of the Owl, when I had already written a book, created a cover, bought my ISBNs and prepared to self-publish. I hit submit assuming many things, not the least of which was that it would easy (not unlike self-publishing on its own).

Next I tossed Deus Hex Machina into the Sword & Laser the Sequel contest, largely because I already had a funding campaign for Shadow of the Panther up on the site and didn’t want to resubmit. I’m glad I made that choice, because while I didn’t win that contest, I did get far enough to grab interest in the project from outside and even eventually get the book a light publishing contract. The outside interest ended up pushing me to write a book while I was funding it (something I highly suggest no one ever do), writing a book I originally thought would never see the light of day. It was at this point that I promised I would never do another contest, by the way.

When the Nerdist Video Game contest came along, I was at the right place at the right time with a group of writing colleagues who wanted to try something crazy -- submit an anthology. The result was a first place win for Too Many Controllers, to which I submitted a story I had been working on for years that is currently titled "Final Boss." I am incredibly proud of that story, mostly because it represents my overcoming a huge fear of short fiction that’s hounded me since I let fear push me out of the fiction side  of my creative writing degree at USC. 

And now, The List 2016 is drawing to a close. In little under six hours I will be ending my first year with Inkshares the way I began it: Watching a contest end. I  find myself introspective (obviously) rather than dejected at the results of this contest. Sitting seventh in a contest that I was invited into is a rather big honor. I have a finished manuscript waiting until the contest closes today, one that I firmly believe is the best writing I’ve ever done.  No matter what result happens from this contest, I will be able to look back at this year with Inkshares and smile. I have one book published, two more in production once I send in DHM, and many more projects. I have found a community of disparate writers from around the world, and a strange and wonderful company that links them all together in this crazy publishing fever dream. 

What’s next up for me in 2017? I am about to write another couple of short stories in the Shadow of the Owl universe. Once I have those done and published I’ll be planning out the sequel to DHM and then hammering out the next (and final) version of Shadow of the Panther. That book needs to be finished -- it’s been restarted so many times at this point that it must assume I don’t love it. Luckily I have the outline complete on what it’s going to look like, and I think I’ve settled on a premise that will fit the fantasy of the series while still innovating within it.

Two stories, two books, zero contests: that sounds like a great year to me. If 2016 was the year of funding books, I think 2017 will be the year of writing books, and maybe even publishing a couple too.  That sounds pretty great to me.

Hello everyone!

Funding for The Living God ends today. We didn’t make that Christmas Miracle, but that’s okay. We still made Quill. We are still getting published! Today is your absolute last chance to get in on the incentives if you haven’t backed the book yet. Head on over! 

To all of you, thank you so much for your support. I could not have made it this far without you. Part of me can’t truly be settled on the idea that this is happening until the end of the day, when the campaign closes, so it feels a bit premature to celebrate. However, I’m celebrating you, the contributors. You made this book possible. It’s been in my head, and in various stages of revision for nearly ten years. I’m beyond thankful and grateful that I get to share that story with you and others! 

Hopefully, I’ll be passing it off to the final round of beta readers soon. If you messaged me about beta reading, you’re definitely on the list of people it will go to! 

I’m also contemplating a different cover for marketing reasons. I got a lot of comments during the campaign where people were under the impression it was a children’s book, so the illustration may feel too juvenile. You’ll still be getting signed posters of the illustration as promised. However, I’ll be exploring other cover designs/illustrations for the finished release. 

I still owe two or three of you covers. Do not worry, I’ll be getting in touch with you in the next few weeks. If you ordered a book and have not received a cover or I haven’t spoken to you previously about it, please send me a DM or email. I don’t want anyone lost in the fray. 

I’ll be sending a sappier thank you message as soon as reality hits me, I promise! 

Greetings Jackolytes,

11 days ago I wrote to you about a January 17th publishing date for Sync City. Well, 11 days is not just a long time in politics, it’s also a long time in publishing. January 17th is now no longer the publishing date. Word is I’ll know the new date is in a couple of week’s time. I’ll then pass it on to you.

Cheers,

Peter

“Exciting times are incoming.” No other more obvious statement has ever been made when one considers the horror that was 2016. With this update, I want to draw your eyes to what I’m seeing in 2017, and I think you’ll have a lot to be excited for. At least three things for sure:

First: “The Animal in Man” continues to lurk in the dark recesses of my brain. I’ve already been thinking of more monuments I can build in the violent world of Herbridia. Literally, a monument of bloodletting and death, a coliseum at the heart of Crosswall, the Leoran capital city featured in the novel’s opening chapters. And more - the ideas just never stop coming. I’m utterly in love with this world, and even while I chomp at the bit to get my production timeline put together, I’m already getting edits written down. Stay tuned for further news as soon as I hear it!

Second: “Hunger.” I took a trip in 2013 to attend my graduation ceremony at Full Sail University in Florida, and during the flight I managed to craft and tighten a pretty fine piece of writing, a little 10-page short film script focused on the struggles of a father and son as they starve in a post apocalyptic world. What would you do if it meant you could eat, and survive? What part of yourself would you give up? “Hunger” has caught the attention of some film-makers based in Sydney, Australia, and WITH YOUR SUPPORT my beautiful little screenplay can be professionally produced and shown on the silver screen! Please visit the project’s Pozible page (a.k.a. The Aussie Kickstarter) and pledge what you can.

Third: “The White Shadow.” My thesis as part of Full Sail’s Masters program was a full-length video game design document, a project I very lovingly pitch as Cyberpunk Soul Reaver, blending traversal through the realm of spirits with a futuristic cyberpunk Japanese setting, a world dominated by omnipotent Megacorporations, pervasive fear, and destructive technology. I put “The White Shadow” on the back-burner while work on “Animal in Man” progressed, but I couldn’t help myself from wandering back into its grimy rain-soaked streets. I decided to turn the story into a novel - MY NEXT BIG PROJECT FOR 2017! - and just finished writing the first chapter today. Please visit my portfolio page right here, and then tell me what you think! Should I turn this into a draft on Inkshares? The possibility has more than certainly crossed my mind…

2016 was tough. I’m glad to be turning my back on it. I’m excited to be turning toward 2017, and I hope you are too. We’ve got plenty of things to look forward to, my dear readers. Rest assured I will be keeping myself ridiculously busy refining old chapters of “The Animal in Man” and completing new chapters of “The White Shadow.” And, with your help, getting a real-world Screenplay-By Credit for "Hunger".

See you in the New Year, Animals. Lets have a Happier one this time.