I started the campaign early. So I thought it would give me a paperback option when I restarted the campaign again. It did not. That is okay, maybe it’s a sign of how it needs to be released. This will be the second time of trying to release ’Tales From Mist Lake’ If this fails I may be self publishing, it all depends on what happens at the end. So let’s do this.

Joshua L. Covarrubio

February is almost over — I’m not quite sure how that happened. Human Resources is with the team at Inkshares, waiting for a developmental editor to tear it apart. I await the first structural edit notes with equal amounts excitement and trepidation. Having someone dissect my work will likely be challenging at times, but it will ensure the final product is the best it can be, and I’m confident I’ll learn a great deal from the experience. I don’t have a detailed production schedule yet, but the tentative release date remains Jan/Feb 2018. As soon as the schedule firms up I’ll let everyone know.

ISBNs, Goodreads and Stores
While waiting for my developmental edits, other activities have been progressing. The novel now has a registered ISBN (978-1942645788) and can be found on major sites such as Goodreads, Amazon, and Book Depository. I also now have recognised author profiles on both Goodreads and Amazon, which is an exciting development.

If you use Goodreads, it would be great if you hopped onto the book page here and added it to your "to-read" shelf. Doing so helps make the book more discoverable on the platform, adding it to feeds, improving search results, and highlighting interest in the book. If you feel inclined, you can also follow me as an author on Goodreads, or Amazon here.

The Jian
I’ve added a new bonus feature to my website — there’s now a new page looking at the Chinese Jian. This traditional short sword is the preferred weapon of my protagonist in Human Resources, and it’s a fitting weapon.

Event Update
AICon is Tasmania’s premier popular culture convention, celebrating TV, movies, anime, comics, and books. This year it will be held during the first weekend in March (4-5 March) at the Wrest Point Convention Centre. If you come along, you’ll find me in the Fan Trader area — I’ll have a table with some give-aways, and will be chatting to anyone who’s interested about my novel. If you’re in Hobart, come along and say hello!

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Some time ago, our fab artist Chris Pyke created this awesome double-paned pen and ink drawing for the chapter entitled The Press Conference. I plan to use this drawing as-is in the physical book. Now I have a colorized (or "colourized" as Chris would say) version. So here is my question to you: Should I use the same black and white/pen and ink version in the e-book as well, or should I use the colorized version? (Remember, this is old-school sci-fi. Perhaps black and white is more appropriate to the olden days of the 1950’s/1960’s.)

Here they are:

What do you say?

Another week of the campaign has come and gone! Knowing that The Walls are Closing In has passed the light-publishing goal and will be in your hands in the future is an amazing feeling, and reaching that milestone allowed me to take a few days to refocus and come up with advanced marketing plans.

To achieve the full goal of 750 orders, I can’t afford to slow down for long. The campaign halfway point is in a few days, and there are a couple of marketing efforts in the works. The Walls are Closing In will see some online publication attention in the coming weeks, and I will share those links as they become available.

To continue spreading the word on social media, I have started a giveaway. I invite all of you to enter for the chance to win a bundle of 5 dystopian books! All are eligible to enter in a variety of ways - those who have preordered already, and those who have not. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you again for your overwhelming support!