Done! We do not allow users to delete their own accounts for fear that they will accidentally delete important stuff, but we are happy to help if you email hello(at)inkshares.com
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
Thank you for all of the follows, messages, and feedback thus far.
Happy to announce that Coltrane’s Cross and the Irretrievable Ones will be available for preorder as of March 1st. It’s been a long journey but I’m extremely excited to have you all step onboard along for these next steps - of hopefully many. Stay tuned for plenty of amazing things coming this way.
Happy New Year, everyone! A lot of things are now transpiring with Kingdom of Dreams...
1.) Officially In Production!
Has everyone noticed the new page? We have shifted from funding to in production. Because Kingdom of Dreams will be published, you’ll notice the book has also been slightly reduced in price.
We have earned a third badge as well, 
this one as part of the Quill collection. What is Quill? Well, it’s an opt in publishing option that Inkshares offers for projects like this one that didn’t hit the full publishing quota of 750 pre-orders, but did reach a minimum threshold of support that suggests there is enough backing to publish. Read more here for a complete breakdown.
2.) What now?
When will my readers have the book in hand? 8-12 months from now minimum. Though it sounds morbidly slow, it’s pretty typical for publishing dates. There is a significant queue of books to be published in front of this one. But I will try to expedite this process as much as possible by completing the following steps in short order:
Casting Call: Now that the project is official, I have an open casting call for 4 roles to help complete illustrations for the book:
If anyone knows any kids close to this age range that might be interested, please contact me as I will pay them to use their likeness. I hope to have the children cast by the end of the month. All ethnicities are welcome and encouraged.
3.) Next Steps...
Thanks again to everyone for backing Kingdom of Dreams to a guaranteed publishing deal. That said, we have a ton of work to do to get this project known to the masses. The more pre-orders we can get as this project gets closer to completion, the better the chance Inkshares will give it full marketing attention and start a distribution plan of getting it in bookstores, and supporting it at key conferences.
I’ll keep you up to date on my progress, but please continue to evangelize as much as possible. Look for new updates as significant milestones occur. Thanks again, be productive and stay well!
Best Wishes,
Dear friends
How’s 2017 treating you so far? For me, the last couple of months have been an interesting time of struggle and opportunity. I won’t bore you with details of my up and downs, but I do want to share the lesson I learned.
Pouring your entire soul into what you love is essential to achieve your dreams, but also essential is to be kind to yourself. At some point in the last two years, in between attempting to write three novels, holding a full-time job and trying to launch a writing career, I stopped listening to my body. As a result, my physical and mental health declined to a point in which I was not able to do any of the things I love. I couldn’t run the New York City Marathon, and I didn’t finish writing Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen!
Fear not, this is not a sad update. This update is about discovery and opportunity. I’m not the kind of guy who makes New Year resolutions, but this year I made one: I will be kind and patient with myself and with others. I will tune out the negative noise that surrounds us and walk the road that leads to my dreams with no rush.
I have many projects and ideas that I’m excited about. Worlds Walker is done, and Bad Medicine will be a scary and hysterical ride. My hope is to deliver the manuscript to the patience folks at Inkshares sometime in the spring. I also have a stack of short stories that I will be releasing for free on Amazon Kindle starting in March.
I’ve been reminded through this struggle that my goal was never to become a famous writer. That my goal was not for The Catcher’s Trap to be turned into a movie or sell a million copies. My goal is to share the stories swirling in my brain. My dream is for those stories to find people who connect with them and enjoy them. Many of you have reached out to me to tell me how much you enjoyed The Catcher’s Trap, for me, that’s winning.
So here’s to a great year ahead of us. A year of creativity, magical thinking and kindness.
As always, let’s end this update with wisdom from my favorite hero
One more update, and then I promise I will give your inbox a break. It has been a fast moving day and a half.
The Walls are Closing In was just selected as this month’s pick for the Thriller Night Syndicate on Inkshares.
Syndicates are made up of Inkshares members that pool together to support one book a month, and this month they selected my book. I am incredibly honored and grateful for the boost that this will give my campaign.
You will now see this lovely badge underneath the title on the page for The Walls are Closing In.