Hello readers! To start off, no I am not dead, nor has work on my novel ended. I apologize for taking a short leave from Inkshares and from updating my site, but work and other priorities recently kept me away from keeping you all as informed as I would have liked. 

Going forward, I will be returning focus to the Inkshares page in an effort to reach my funding goals in the next few months! I have taken the liberty of updating some things here and there, but this announcement is primarily to show off two new pieces of artwork that have been posted to my page! First up is a finished drawing of Rew and Fionna, along with a brand new cover.

On Monday morning, look for a total of 4 new chapters to be posted to the page, showcasing the new version of my novel. In addition I will be adding further updates to explain the work ahead, my schedule, and some other, interesting tidbits regarding my plans for the Children of the Forest. Lastly, I thought I would go ahead and attach the new artwork for the cover to this update, to show off the wonderful Ellie Yong's work! 

If you've been on the fence about pre-ordering my book, now is the time people! Big things are coming, and I can't wait to share them with you all! 

Until next time, 

So I have some news.

After a lot of thought I have switched the format of Ghosts of War from hardcover to paperback. This was done for several reasons, chief among them being the cost.

It's now $20 for the paperback of Ghosts of War for new backers, with free US shipping and $15 International shipping.

Now for those Internationals, you may not want to pay the $15 in shipping for the paperback, but fret not! Inkshares has implemented an awesome new tier that's just for an ebook. You'll find it labelled 'Recruit' on the Ghosts of War project page.

The price for a single ebook is $10, and of course there's no delivery charge. So if you've been hesitant due to the postage, now there's an option just for you.

Lastly, a bit of an update on the writing front: NaNoWriMo 2015 is going along well. I'm about a day behind on word count, sitting somewhere around 23,500 words. I'd like to say all that's fully developed prose, but a good chunk of it is my rewritten outlines for the remaining chapters and some for book 2. 

I know you're not supposed to count outlines for NaNo, but what can I say, I'm a rebel.

Dear readers,

Today I'm reaching out to get some feedback from you. I am weighing a big decision for Blood Dawn this weekend.

Option A: I get Blood Dawn published. Yes, that's right. I can make a simple decision by emailing Inkshares, and Blood Dawn will have met its funding goal. As many of you might know, under Inkshares' new funding model, I will have met my pre-order goal for Inkshares' new "light" imprint, Quill (read more about that imprint here). However, under the new funding model, buying a print book costs $19.99, an ebook costs $9.99, and there is the cost of shipping to non-US backers. Basically, this is the same as what you'd pay if the book were published. I'll still have until April 11th to get to 750 pre-orders and qualify for full Inkshares publishing. But should I fail to reach that goal, at least Blood Dawn will still be published and out there to generate momentum that might qualify it for further support by Inkshares at a later time.

Option B: I stick with the old funding model where I must reach 1,000 pre-orders to publish with Inkshares. There is no Quill option. I make it, or I don't get published. Period. However, sticking with this model means I will continue to offer new backers the $9.99 discount for ebook + signed print book.

This choice needs to be made soon, because if I choose Option A, then I will have to cancel all pre-orders that came in since October 30th when the system switched to the new model of funding. This will put me at 296 pre-orders. To the 3 GOD-KINGS who backed Blood Dawn after October 30th, since you'll be paying double to re-order, I will still honor your purchase by giving you "honorary" God-King status, but will ask that you re-order the book, just one copy, since that will be about the same amount you invested in the discounted purchase. To everyone who bought a copy since then, I'll be following up by email to be sure you know your order has been cancelled and what options you have (i.e. Inkshares allows you to order an ebook only, for the same price of $9.99).

I am personally leaning toward making this switch (OPTION A), because I know that many of you have expressed your excitement for this book and your desire to hold it in your hands. While I don't doubt that this book is going to continue to sell, if I know that it has a publication certainty, then I think backers who jump on board can do so with confidence. Our goal changes then from trying to get this book published, to trying to get this book published with Inkshares' full support.

Can we get this to 750 copies? Damn right we can!

Please, leave me comments. Let me know what you think. You are my readers and I will use your input to help me weigh this decision which is as much about me as it is about you. If you prefer to keep your comments private, email me: johnrobinrt@gmail.com.

Oh no! Someone let me talk about my CRAFT.

https://epicfantasywriter.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/world-builders-g-derek-adams/

I'm a guest today on World Builders, a site chronicling the world building process for tons of authors. I'm there at the largesse of fellow Inkshares author John Robin - a far more generous, thoughtful and diligent author than I. He also smells nice.

Hey Readers,

In the wake of the contest, I have since been trying to wrap up the final-ish draft of my manuscript, before sending it off to Inkshares to get shopped professionally. Expect a spring release. In the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know that I removed the old drafts of chapters one and two because they were, well, old and grievously not up to my current standards. In their place, I have uploaded a fancied-up version of Chapter One: The Smell of Rain if you would like to give it a re-read and leave me some comments.

I will not be posting any further excerpts from the book, as I'd like to keep everything a surprise until you're holding the physical copies in your hands.

Thanks for all the support, guys!

Adieu.

Hi Everyone!