My Dear Animals,

It's been a whirlwind week! I've barely had time to check in with the inkshares community, but when I did, I found some downright amazing stories waiting to be told. I gladly spent some money on some handfuls of books yesterday. This website, this place, this platform, these people... It all means so much to me. I've found a measure of success here, and I want to give something back. 

That's why I'll be spending a little time tomorrow participating in the Inkshares Review-a-thon! Here are all the details:

Get ready for the inaugural Inkshares Review-a-Thon, an independent event, organized by Inkshares authors! On December 19th, all authors and readers are invited to leave reviews on currently funding Inkshares books using the Inkshares “leave a review” option. Throughout the day we’ll be hanging out on Twitter in the #InksharesReviews tag as we share our favorite book projects, answer author Q&As, debate the merits of astronauts with swords versus cavemen with lasers, and much, much more! 

From 6 - 8pm ET, JF Dubeau and Paul ‘such a nerd’ Inman will be hosting a Google+ Hangout livestream filled with author interviews, review readings, and live announcements of prize winners! 

Prizes?!?! Everyone who leaves a review on December 19th by 6pm ET will be eligible to win one of our fantastic general prizes: 

-Sword & Laser Contest Winners Package - print copies of the six winning books from the Sword & Laser Inkshares contest! 

-Nerdist Contest Winners Package - print copies of the five winning books from the Nerdist Inkshares contest! 

-An immediate pre-order of the book of their choice for five winners! 

-$30 in Inkshares credits! Readers: Peruse the “currently funding” books on Inkshares and leave as many reviews as you want. 

You could even start up a “must-have” list of books to order in case you win a free pre-order or the $30 in credits! 

And for my fellow Inkshares authors: Join the review exchange to leave three reviews in exchange for two guaranteed reviews on your Inkshares project and a chance at author-exclusive prizes! 

Email Cara Weston at cara.c.weston@gmail.com with questions, or simply to learn more.

Dear Blood Dawn backers,

Since many of you are also writers, I wanted to send this out today to highlight the author-exclusive prizes we have for the inaugural review-a-thon tomorrow. (Readers, be sure to join us too -- there are great prizes for you as well, as you'll see below!)

That's right, the big day is TOMORROW,  December 19th!

All authors and readers are invited to leave reviews on currently funding Inkshares books using the Inkshares "leave a review" option. I'll be on Twitter recommending books to review under the hashtag #InksharesReviews (@johnrobinrt)

There will be great prizes for everyone, but if you are an author, here are some of the great reasons to participate:

1. WIN A FREE COPY OF SCRIVENER for Mac and PC

Scrivener is a great program that gives writers an edge over Word. Authors who join the review exchange will have a chance to win a copy of Scrivener - we’re giving away one copy for Mac and one for PC!

Everyone who participates will get 20% off of the purchase of Scrivener, whether they win or not.

Want to know more about Scrivener? Here’s a video I made where I talk about the pros and cons of Scrivener (and why getting your hands on Scrivener will change how you write for the better):

2. WIN A FREE MONTH OF AUTHOR ACCELERATOR!

Want to write a solid first draft that’s equivalent to a fifth or sixth? The Author Accelerator program combines weekly pro editorial input with your drafting process to let you go from draft idea to rough draft successfully, and we’re giving away one FREE MONTH (valued at $199) of the program to one lucky author.

Find out more about the Author Accelerator program in this interview I did with the founder of the Author Accelerator program, Jennie Nash, to see how it has given me a true edge and how the Author Accelerator program works for writers who enter it:

AND OF COURSE, there are other GREAT prizes available for all:

• Sword & Laser Contest Winners Package - print copies of the six winning books from the Sword & Laser Inkshares contest!

• Nerdist Contest Winners Package - print copies of the five winning books from the Nerdist Inkshares contest!

• An immediate pre-order of the book of their choice for five winners!

• $30 in Inkshares credits!

All you have to do for a chance to win is LEAVE A REVIEW to enter the draw for these prizes. Throughout the day we'll be hanging out on Twitter in the #InksharesReviews tag as we share our favorite book projects, answer author Q&As, debate the merits of astronauts with swords versus cavemen with lasers, and much, much more!

Also, from 6 - 8pm ET, JF Dubeau and Paul ‘such a nerd’ Inman will be hosting a Google+ Hangout livestream filled with author interviews, review readings, and live announcements of prize winners! I will be there making a brief appearance, along with other authors like Gary Whitta, Rick Heinz, and Jeyna Grace, so come join us for the fun!

Email AC Weston at cara.c.weston@gmail.com to learn more and join the review exchange.

Hope to see you all there!

(And please share this with as many people as possible.)

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.

It was... no. I need to do a separate post on Star Wars. This is no time for sentimentality. I have a rebellion - I mean, a Review-a-Thon to lead.

For now:

It's tomorrow, the thing is tomorrow! Ahh! It's gonna be so fun. 

Here's the youtube link you can use to view the livestream: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pSOpnFYGMM

And John Robin has a message for you about the author-exclusive prizes:

Since many of you are also writers, I wanted to send this out today to highlight the author-exclusive prizes we have for the inaugural review-a-thon tomorrow. (Readers, be sure to join us too -- there are great prizes for you as well, as you'll see below!)

That's right, the big day is TOMORROW,  December 19th!

All authors and readers are invited to leave reviews on currently funding Inkshares books using the Inkshares "leave a review" option. I'll be on Twitter recommending books to review under the hashtag #InksharesReviews (@johnrobinrt)

There will be great prizes for everyone, but if you are an author, here are some of the great reasons to participate:

1. WIN A FREE COPY OF SCRIVENER for Mac and PC

Scrivener is a great program that gives writers an edge over Word. Authors who join the review exchange will have a chance to win a copy of Scrivener - we’re giving away one copy for Mac and one for PC!

Everyone who participates will get 20% off of the purchase of Scrivener, whether they win or not.

Want to know more about Scrivener? Here’s a video I made where I talk about the pros and cons of Scrivener (and why getting your hands on Scrivener will change how you write for the better):

2. WIN A FREE MONTH OF AUTHOR ACCELERATOR!

Want to write a solid first draft that’s equivalent to a fifth or sixth? The Author Accelerator program combines weekly pro editorial input with your drafting process to let you go from draft idea to rough draft successfully, and we’re giving away one FREE MONTH (valued at $199) of the program to one lucky author.

Find out more about the Author Accelerator program in this interview I did with the founder of the Author Accelerator program, Jennie Nash, to see how it has given me a true edge and how the Author Accelerator program works for writers who enter it:

AND OF COURSE, there are other GREAT prizes available for all:

• Sword & Laser Contest Winners Package - print copies of the six winning books from the Sword & Laser Inkshares contest!

• Nerdist Contest Winners Package - print copies of the five winning books from the Nerdist Inkshares contest!

• An immediate pre-order of the book of their choice for five winners!

• $30 in Inkshares credits!

All you have to do for a chance to win is LEAVE A REVIEW to enter the draw for these prizes. Throughout the day we'll be hanging out on Twitter in the #InksharesReviews tag as we share our favorite book projects, answer author Q&As, debate the merits of astronauts with swords versus cavemen with lasers, and much, much more!

Also, from 6 - 8pm ET, JF Dubeau and Paul Inman will be hosting a Google+ Hangout livestream filled with author interviews, review readings, and live announcements of prize winners! I will be there making a brief appearance, along with other authors like Gary Whitta, Rick Heinz, and Jeyna Grace, so come join us for the fun!

Email AC Weston at cara.c.weston@gmail.com to learn more and join the review exchange.

Hope to see you all there!

(And please share this with as many people as possible.)

So, I totally "borrowed" this update from Cara Weston.  I couldn't have said it better so why try...

Guess what's coming up sooner than soon?