We did it! The Inkshares Mystery & Thriller Contest has ended, and with your help, I came in first place. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me since I ran a 10k race, New Year’s day in Toronto some years ago and it was so cold just about no one showed up. 

Thank you everyone who supported this creative project. It’s because of your support that Gumshoe Rules will be published by Inkshares. I couldn’t be more excited about this. In November, I pledged a donation of $5 per order to the non-profit NaNoWriMo.org that organizes National Novel Writing Month and then doubled that in December. I rounded up and donated $1,000 to NaNoWriMo.org,  a very good charity that encourages writing and creativity.  

As I understand it, the process from here is as follows: There’s still about half of the book left to edit for this latest draft, which will take until January. Then I’ll submit the manuscript to Inkshares and we’ll begin another round of editing. Depending on what input and feedback they have, I’ll have to rewrite some sections of the book. Then a cover is selected and there’s proofreading, copy-editing, marketing and so on. Eventually, many months from now the book will be formatted, printed and shipped out. Hopefully all that happens in 2019.

I’m fully committed to getting the book completed as fast and with the best quality possible. I will share updates as milestones are achieved, but communications will be less frequent. If you ever have questions about the book, you can shoot me email and I’ll do my best to respond.  
Thank for giving me this opportunity to publish my book.

—Z.Z. Traver
PS. It was a thrill to meet with Inkshares CEO & Publisher Adam Gomolin at their offices this week. He knows more about story structure and closing rights deals than I will ever know.   

Richly Drawn placed second in the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller competition. It will be published. And that is all because of you readers.

I am truly grateful, and quite frankly, still in shock. There is only one thing I can say, and that is thanks aplenty!

All the best,

Wolf Kraft

Friends, Family, and Supporters,

The contest has come to a close, and I‘m happy to announce that Inkshares will be publishing The Ghost Tracks! I want to thank each of you for supporting me throughout this process. It has been a truly rewarding experience, which has allowed me to both reconnect with old friends and make new ones. I will never forget the outpouring of support I have received the last few months.

For those who I talk to often, thank you for being there. For those who reached out and bought a book even though we may not have seen each other in many years, thank you for still caring enough to support me.  And to my family, thank you for being the first ones to step up and for advocating on my behalf.

There were many excellent books entered in both the Horror and Mystery/Thriller competitions. It is my great hope that they are published soon, because they surely deserve to be.

Also, a big congratulations to Patrick Delaney and Michael Saltenberger, fellow horror authors who are also going to be published. Please check out their awesome books, The House that fell from the Sky and Blind.

Even though the contest is now over, there is still much work to be done. In order to get the book into the best shape possible, additional re-writes and editing will have to take place. But I will definitely keep everyone up to date as the book proceeds towards publication. Thank you again for your support and for being a part of this experience with me.

Celso

We did it! We made it to December 14th!!! BLIND has landed in the top, along with 2 other authors! This bad boy is getting published! Thank you everyone for all of the support and helping get BLIND in front of as many people as possible!

Hello, readers.

Awesome news!

Grimalkin got a nod from the Inkshares syndicate, Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters, which means a lot to me because I value avoiding clichés and subverting expectations.  The 2018 Inkshares Horror contest also helped me overcome my latest bout with writer’s block. Now the only obstacle is time.

I had hoped to share Grimalkin up through a major cliffhanger that would hopefully elicit sales from people dying to find out if I really did what it looks like I did. Alas, it won’t be ready in time due to work, illness, and parental duties. It really is a killer cliffhanger, though. ;)

Thanks as always for your support!

PS. I did add Chapter 6.

The Horror Contest is down to a matter of hours now! I wanna express my deepest gratitude to you all for ordering, liking, following, reading, and putting up with these stupid messages. Congratulations to every contestant, its been a tough race, we should all be proud for getting out there and going after it. (That goes for the Mystery contestants as well). If you have time left on your pre-order campaigns, then the fight ain’t over ’til its over.

I wanna send a shout-out to the following authors for their feedback, advice, and in general being super cool:

Shane Lindemoen, Mia Carter, Christopher Huang, Celso Hurtado, Patrick R Delaney, Nick Nafpliotus, Tereyn Acevedo, Z.Z Traver, Chip Colquhoun, Tahani Nelson, Leo Valiquette, Michael James Welch, Paul Brad Logan, Dean Fearce, and if I forgot anybody right now, know that you’re awesome.

Thanks to my friends and family who ordered and have been putting up with me hocking Ereshk non-stop for the last couple months. Know that I still got a month to go. Bear with me guys.

And my warmest thanks goes double for Celia, Jena, Chelsea, Jaida, Tereyn, and Josh who is the owner of an exceptional mustache. You’re the best.

Thanks again everyone, good luck!

All, thank you for the support. Things have been progressing well..Good evening. I hope this finds you well as the holidays hurtle toward us.

First, the good news.At this moment, Bane of All Things (BoAT), is the top most recommended work by readers on the Inkshares site. And that is not just against other works that are in funding mode as I am, but published novels, too.

If you haven’t lately, check out the REVIEWS section of my Inkshares page to read the wonderful things other Inkshares authors have kindly written about BoAT. You can leave your own review, too, and help BoAT keep that top spot.

Second, the great news. In my last update, I raised the alarm about how pre-sales were not moving fast enough, but I did also raise the possibility of extensions to my campaign. Well, Inkshares has added 30 days. This puts the new deadline at Feb. 11. (Incidentally, my son’s birthday – here’s hoping we have added reason to celebrate!)

Does this extension warrant a sigh of relief?

Definitely.

Does it give me reason to take my foot off the gas?

Definitely not – we still have a lot of ground to make up.

Third, the bonus good news.Startup Canada will be running a concerted social media campaign for BoAT this week. As some of you know, some years ago I served on the board of directors of this non-profit that supports entrepreneurship across Canada and beyond. CEO Victoria Lennox has graciously offered Startup Canada’s social media clout to help spread the word. This is, after all, kind of my startup venture. I’ve always said the author’s journey, and the entrepreneur’s, are more alike than different.

In the meantime, you remain an essential player on this team. Please continue to spread the word and recruit any friends and family whom you think might also dig this story.

As always, your support is deeply appreciated. 

That’s all for now. Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo