Early end-of-week update! I usually try and give you a nice send off into the weekend with one, but I have really exciting news to tell you!  Sorry for the length!

The Epic Fantasy Syndicate chose The Living God as their September book to support. I woke up this morning with this lovely email waiting for me in my inbox! I’m honored and ecstatic to have their support this month. (And you unknowingly gave me an amazing birthday present! Sept. 26th!)

Magic, multiple universes, fantastic writing, and best of all it’s just the first in a series of four books. The Living God is everything The Epic Fantasy Syndicate could possibly ask for.

There are so many wonderful books and authors and I’m honestly just really warm and fuzzy from the support I’ve received from both the Syndicate and the other members of the Inkshares community this week. You guys are fantastic. 

As you know, I’ve got the book cover incentive running, where if you pre-order The Living God you get cover art designs for as little as $10. A pretty good deal considering a cover designed by a professional cover artist can run you upwards of $150 - $200. The initial goal was to help get The Living God closer to its Quill goal, but it has also given me immense fulfillment. 

I’m a graphic designer by trade, and an illustrator and writer by passion. I got into graphic design because of books and a desperate calling towards the publication design field. There are slim pickings in that area right now as far as a career, so I veered off into web work because... bills. I  freelance doing publication design and cover design just to maintain the connection to that part of my soul. 

Doing these covers for authors has brought me so much joy. I love making them. I love the excitement those authors show when they get that shiny new cover. I put a face to their book, if you will. I just really love helping authors. So, check out the authors who have supported The Living God in more ways than simply pre-ordering. They’ve given fuel to my soul.

Storm Song by Allison Griner
A Tale of Ghosts and Guardians by Ryan Cook
The Spark Internal by Jacob Browning
Squeaky Clean by Steven Barrie
Are You Sure You Want To Quit? Alisa King

There are a few others that are in the queue for production: a chapter illustration for Sunshine is Forever by Kyle T. Cowan, and covers for Merlin Unmasked by Christina Enquist and Awakening by Michelle Morone. 

News:
Did an interview for the Inkshares blog where they asked the Top 10: What fantasy world would you live in and why? 

I did an interview with Geekadelpia and I am just waiting on that one to role out so I can share it with you.

Also, I was told not to put more than three or four chapters up because not many people would be interested in them until they got their copy of the book. What is your oppinion on that? Do you want to see more? Is your decision hanging on that next chapter posting? Let me know with a DM!

Character Bio:

ODAN MARKI

Odan Marki was an orphan Ice Mage taken in by the army, as most children with the promise of power are. He was raised within the palace walls from infancy to adulthood and views the King with reverence. He sees Yarin as his father figure. He hates Saran because of her willful defiance of her father and her disrespect. He silently holds a competitive need to outshine her in the hopes of winning Yarin’s favor.

I debated with myself whether I should do an author spotlight this week or not, since I made that my focus last week, and I don’t want to overwhelm you with information about projects that you’re not directly following. However, I do have one particular project I really want to support.

I’ve already made this book the subject of a previous author spotlight, but it’s worthy of a second one. 

You may ask yourself "Evan, why are you, an unmarried, childless man, so invested in a memoir about a woman raising her toddler?" Well, you’d be right to assume that it isn’t my genre of choice. Other than being a gamer as well, I have little to tie myself to the subject matter of Mothering: The Game. However, interestingly, there are quite a few parallels between that book and Tantalus Depths.

Tantalus Depths saw its origins in Geek and Sundry’s Hard Science Fiction competition. It placed in the top ten, but failed to win, and ever since then I’ve been working overtime to see it hit the full funding goal the hard way. One by one I’ve seen every other entrant in that contest either give up or fall short, their campaigns dropping left and right until the only ones left standing are the winners of that contest, and me.

Mothering: The Game saw its origins in Nerdist’s Video Games competition. Regina also managed to claw her way into the top ten, but not quite to the top. Since then, she’s been working hard to try and scrape together the support she needs to make it to the Quill goal the hard way. One by one, the other entrants in her contest gave up or failed, until the only ones left standing are the winners, Alisa King’s "Are You Sure You Want To Quit" (which managed to make it to Quill and deserves your support as well), and Mothering: The Game. Only a few scattered stragglers remain, none of them with more than a couple dozen pre-orders.

I’ve seen a determination and tenacity in Regina’s campaign. She wants to finish it, she wants to hit that goal, and she’s been willing to work hard for it. She’s successfully earned the Break The Bechdel syndicate’s pick, a syndicate that focuses on books with strong female protagonists. Well...the protagonist of Mothering: The Game is Regina. The real Regina. She’s a strong female protagonist in the flesh, and she’s earned all the success she’s seen and much, much more she’s yet to see.

Her writing is personal and meaningful. The relationship between her and her daughter radiates off the page and warms the heart. I’ve backed this book, and I’ve been kicking her butt to keep trying for that goal ever since I first found Mothering: The Game. True, it’s not my genre. That doesn’t stop me from loving this book, though. And even if it did, it could not stop me from seeing the reality that Mothering: The Game is a book that must exist. There is nothing like it on Inkshares, and there are few books like it in existence. Please, please consider playing a part in bringing this book to its goal.

Mothering: The Game has only 14 days remaining in its campaign, and has already been extended once. It needs 47 more orders to reach Quill publication. If I had the cash and Inkshares allowed it, I’d buy all 47 myself.