Happy Saturday, everyone!

I have a few updates: First, I want to give a shout out to those who pre-ordered my story. (Check out the awesome works from the Inkshares writers). I appreciate it so much. Thank you! Again please share, follow, and/or pre-order We’re the Whiteheads: https://www.inkshares.com/books/we-re-the-whiteheads. 

Ferd Crôtte, author of Mission 51: https://www.inkshares.com/books/mission-51

A Reader (Corean Burns)

Dean Fearce, author of MINE: https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens          and Ruining Boise with fellow author Michael Welch for the 2018 Mystery and Thriller Contest: https://www.inkshares.com/books/ruining-boise-060666

Anonymous (Boni Burns) 

Frederick Street, author of Ereshk for the 2018 Horror Contest: https://www.inkshares.com/books/ereshk

Woody Burns

Celso Hurtado, author of The Ghost Tracks for the 2018 Horror Contest: https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-ghost-tracks

Second, I plan to update another chapter for We’re the Whiteheads. I should have the chapter posted either today or in the next few days. I’ll also be sending the updated chapter to the story’s followers.

And lastly, I have a short story tilted I Wish it Happened, one of twenty stories featured in the Writing Bloc’s ESCAPE! An Anthology ready for pre-order on Amazon (link here: https://amzn.to/2Kx04Ew ) for $2.99 ebook until the January 1, 2019 release date. The price will then be $5.99. I am so excited, appreciative, and honored to be a part of such talented writers and their amazing stories. If you love to read a blind of genres from science ficion, fantasy, westerns, contemporary to many more, ESCAPE! An Anthology is a reading to enjoy.

Thanks,

Durena Burns

November 24, 2018

Hello, hello! For those who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hosted at our house and it was really nice to have everyone together.

I wanted to share a couple quick updates with you all. 

NEW PROJECT! My short story, Chrysalis, is part of the Writing Bloc’s upcoming ESCAPE! Anthology. This is an amazing collection of stories from some tremendous writers -- and I’m honored to be part of it. You can pre-order your e-copy now (for $2.99 -- price will go to $5.99 on January 1). The e-book version will come out first but there are plans for a print release as well. I really encourage you to grab a copy -- you’ll be glad you did!

Interviews: First, I had a delightful conversation with Sarah from the GSMC Book Review Podcast the other day. The interview is now live, please check it out!

Reviews: Reviews are coming in slowly, but remain very, very positive (latest one on Amazon is 5 star, whoo hoo!). If you have read your copy of Shadow King -- please consider taking a moment or two and putting a review up on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are really valuable. 

Events: The Arisia Convention has changed hotels in Boston and that may affect the days I’m in attendance. I’ll keep you posted on exactly which days when things get a little clearer.

That’s it for now -- have a great rest of your day!

Best,

Susan

PS. On the off-chance any of the above links are wonky, here are the full ones:

ESCAPE! Anthology: https://www.books2read.com/u/m2vWaO 

GSMC Book Review Podcast: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gsmcbookreview/2018/11/23/gsmc-book-review-podcast-episode-124-interview-with-susan-k-hamilton

Hello, everyone! It’s beyond time for an update!

First, book news, since I know you’re all curious. HOW TO REMEMBER has now been through two complete rewrites, and we’re on to the third. The team at Inkshares is truly pushing me to make this book something special, as we work to focus on the novel’s emotional core. While I’m just as eager as you are to hold the completed work in my hands, I know that it’s so important to get it right - so hang tight and be patient with me while we work this. It’s going to be amazing.

To tide you over, though, I’ve got a special announcement. I’m part of the team at Writing Bloc, which is bringing you the Escape! anthology in 2019. It’s available for pre-order now, and there will be a price jump once it comes out, so don’t wait! There is some major talent in this book, and you won’t be disappointed.

On this day after Thanksgiving, I truly appreciate you all and the impact you have made on my life by supporting this book. I want to give you all the reading experience you truly deserve, and I promise you I won’t let you down. Happiest of holidays to all!

Well friends, we’re overdue for an update. I was holding off on sending one out until Tantalus Depths had officially been put into the copy editing phase, since I really wanted that to be the next news I could deliver, but unfortunately we’re still not there yet. I do have good news, though, so stick with me to the end of this update for that.

At the moment, Tantalus Depths is in a sort of limbo between the end of the development editing process and the beginning of the copy editing process. This is because Adam Gomolin, the CEO of Inkshares, has personally given me a new set of notes for further recommended revisions. Adam knows his stuff, and has helped other authors achieve enormous success with their debut novels, including getting TV and film deals. As much as I want to finish this process, get the book into stores and the hands of my longsuffering supporters, I have to take Adam’s feedback seriously. He wants this book to succeed as much as I do, and I owe it to all of you to make this book as strong as possible before wrapping up the editing process. He and I have been going back and forth over how to make improvements to the book for the past couple of weeks, and I should be able to deal with this final edit over the next couple weeks, aiming for an absolute final development draft by the end of the year.

So that’s where the book itself is sitting right now. I know it feels like it’s not going anywhere (believe me, I am painfully, intimately aware of that feeling), but progress is happening. That leads me to my first piece of really exciting news:

Tantalus Depths is going to have an audiobook!

We’ve signed a deal with Audible to produce Tantalus Depths as an Audible-exclusive audiobook. Audible will produce this audiobook in-house, with a professional narrator and crew. We don’t know any details about the juicy stuff like who the narrator will be yet, and production can’t really begin until we’ve fully finished the final draft of the manuscript, but this is really exciting news nonetheless. I’m a huge fan of audiobooks and have listened to them religiously on Audible for years, so I couldn’t be more thrilled. I’ll keep you all updated on this as it unfolds!

Finally, I have one more piece of exciting news. I’ve been keeping this one under my hat as a special surprise to you all, but the time has come to finally let the cat out of the bag!

I, along with 19 other published and soon-to-be-published authors, participated in a short story anthology, which will be released on New Years Day and is now available for pre-order. My brand new original short story, Breach, is a standalone story set in the same universe as Tantalus Depths and Proteus.

Breach is a tense, thrilling tale of desperation and peril as two starship crewmen struggle for survival in open space, trapped in a piece of debris when their ship is destroyed by pirates. Death surrounds them on all sides; can they hold it together long enough to survive the deadly debris field, their own diminishing air supply, and bloodthirsty space pirates intent on leaving no survivors? You’ll have to check out Escape: A Writing Bloc Anthology to find out.

After all these delays with Tantalus Depths, I am so glad I can finally present you a tiny peek into this universe of mine with this new short story. Beyond that, though, I am beyond thrilled that my work gets to appear alongside so many other incredibly talented authors in this anthology. I’ve read most of the other stories, and let me tell you, you’re in for a treat here.

Well, I’ve dumped way more than enough info on you all for now. I’ll give news on the final draft of Tantalus Depths, the audiobook, and the Escape anthology as soon as I’m able. Stay tuned!