Greetings wonderful followers, 

Sorry for the long silence. I’ve have my nose to the grind stone, working hard to make Beyond the Code the best it can be. But even with how hectic this time of year can be and how hard I’ve been working I just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas or happy which ever winter holiday you celebrate. 

I know it’s been one hell of a year for everyone but it’s almost to a close so try and take some time to reflect of the good things that have happened and the great things we still have. 

I, for one am grateful that I got the chance to connect with all of you. Thank you all for the fantastic support you all have given me and I wish you all the best in the coming year. 

Kelsey Rae Barthel  

I’ve been here before, sitting in the quiet before the end, wondering what lies on the other side of the storm. I am the crazy person who has entered four contests on Inkshares, one of which I won with a group of amazing talents much larger than mine.  Four contests in a year. I can mark them like seasons in my life on Inkshares.

The first contest was my introduction to Inkshares as a whole. The Nerdist contest came along at a time when I was waiting for my final edit to return on Shadow of the Owl, when I had already written a book, created a cover, bought my ISBNs and prepared to self-publish. I hit submit assuming many things, not the least of which was that it would easy (not unlike self-publishing on its own).

Next I tossed Deus Hex Machina into the Sword & Laser the Sequel contest, largely because I already had a funding campaign for Shadow of the Panther up on the site and didn’t want to resubmit. I’m glad I made that choice, because while I didn’t win that contest, I did get far enough to grab interest in the project from outside and even eventually get the book a light publishing contract. The outside interest ended up pushing me to write a book while I was funding it (something I highly suggest no one ever do), writing a book I originally thought would never see the light of day. It was at this point that I promised I would never do another contest, by the way.

When the Nerdist Video Game contest came along, I was at the right place at the right time with a group of writing colleagues who wanted to try something crazy -- submit an anthology. The result was a first place win for Too Many Controllers, to which I submitted a story I had been working on for years that is currently titled "Final Boss." I am incredibly proud of that story, mostly because it represents my overcoming a huge fear of short fiction that’s hounded me since I let fear push me out of the fiction side  of my creative writing degree at USC. 

And now, The List 2016 is drawing to a close. In little under six hours I will be ending my first year with Inkshares the way I began it: Watching a contest end. I  find myself introspective (obviously) rather than dejected at the results of this contest. Sitting seventh in a contest that I was invited into is a rather big honor. I have a finished manuscript waiting until the contest closes today, one that I firmly believe is the best writing I’ve ever done.  No matter what result happens from this contest, I will be able to look back at this year with Inkshares and smile. I have one book published, two more in production once I send in DHM, and many more projects. I have found a community of disparate writers from around the world, and a strange and wonderful company that links them all together in this crazy publishing fever dream. 

What’s next up for me in 2017? I am about to write another couple of short stories in the Shadow of the Owl universe. Once I have those done and published I’ll be planning out the sequel to DHM and then hammering out the next (and final) version of Shadow of the Panther. That book needs to be finished -- it’s been restarted so many times at this point that it must assume I don’t love it. Luckily I have the outline complete on what it’s going to look like, and I think I’ve settled on a premise that will fit the fantasy of the series while still innovating within it.

Two stories, two books, zero contests: that sounds like a great year to me. If 2016 was the year of funding books, I think 2017 will be the year of writing books, and maybe even publishing a couple too.  That sounds pretty great to me.

“Exciting times are incoming.” No other more obvious statement has ever been made when one considers the horror that was 2016. With this update, I want to draw your eyes to what I’m seeing in 2017, and I think you’ll have a lot to be excited for. At least three things for sure:

First: “The Animal in Man” continues to lurk in the dark recesses of my brain. I’ve already been thinking of more monuments I can build in the violent world of Herbridia. Literally, a monument of bloodletting and death, a coliseum at the heart of Crosswall, the Leoran capital city featured in the novel’s opening chapters. And more - the ideas just never stop coming. I’m utterly in love with this world, and even while I chomp at the bit to get my production timeline put together, I’m already getting edits written down. Stay tuned for further news as soon as I hear it!

Second: “Hunger.” I took a trip in 2013 to attend my graduation ceremony at Full Sail University in Florida, and during the flight I managed to craft and tighten a pretty fine piece of writing, a little 10-page short film script focused on the struggles of a father and son as they starve in a post apocalyptic world. What would you do if it meant you could eat, and survive? What part of yourself would you give up? “Hunger” has caught the attention of some film-makers based in Sydney, Australia, and WITH YOUR SUPPORT my beautiful little screenplay can be professionally produced and shown on the silver screen! Please visit the project’s Pozible page (a.k.a. The Aussie Kickstarter) and pledge what you can.

Third: “The White Shadow.” My thesis as part of Full Sail’s Masters program was a full-length video game design document, a project I very lovingly pitch as Cyberpunk Soul Reaver, blending traversal through the realm of spirits with a futuristic cyberpunk Japanese setting, a world dominated by omnipotent Megacorporations, pervasive fear, and destructive technology. I put “The White Shadow” on the back-burner while work on “Animal in Man” progressed, but I couldn’t help myself from wandering back into its grimy rain-soaked streets. I decided to turn the story into a novel - MY NEXT BIG PROJECT FOR 2017! - and just finished writing the first chapter today. Please visit my portfolio page right here, and then tell me what you think! Should I turn this into a draft on Inkshares? The possibility has more than certainly crossed my mind…

2016 was tough. I’m glad to be turning my back on it. I’m excited to be turning toward 2017, and I hope you are too. We’ve got plenty of things to look forward to, my dear readers. Rest assured I will be keeping myself ridiculously busy refining old chapters of “The Animal in Man” and completing new chapters of “The White Shadow.” And, with your help, getting a real-world Screenplay-By Credit for "Hunger".

See you in the New Year, Animals. Lets have a Happier one this time.

What’s up Pirates!!

First and foremost, a meme because today marks the last Wednesday of 2016:

It’s been a long time since my last update! To be honest, the last few months have been a whirlwind of working on the manuscript, various supporting documents, etc, to get this book into production. Every time I started to write an update, something amazing happened that made me think, "I’ll finish this later so I can tell them more." As a new novel writer, it’s something I’ve never experienced before, but I’m very thankful for the Inkshares team’s support and encouragement. The Pirates of Montana is going to be amazing, and I’m really excited for you to read it!

I submitted my second rewrite just a few days ago, and I’ll be working over next 6 to 8 weeks to really tighten the manuscript. It’s already much stronger than what I originally worked on last May, and I’m very excited for where its going. I’ll be posting my new 1st and 2nd chapters very soon, so stay tuned!

As it stood on Christmas Eve, when I emailed this monster to Inkshares (their request, they are a hardworking bunch!), this is what I submitted:

88,796 total words and (although you can’t see it on the above graphic) 23 total chapters. That means that when printed, I guesstimate the book will be around ~350 pages long. Writing this document was a mixture of stress, joy, and excitement. I’m happy that the next big step has been taken! So is my family, who got really used to tiptoeing around me after 7 pm when I’d finally have time to work.

As it stands, the book will be published by September 2017. Yay! I’ve been proofing my back copy and bio, and we should have those finished in early January.  

Inkshares wrote a wonderful blog post about crowdfunding books. Please read it, as it explains the writing/editing/publishing process, including their timelines for authors (a.k.a ’Why is it taking a year to get my book?’): 

http://blog.inkshares.com/post/154475375840/a-note-on-pub-dates-from-the-inkshares-production

2016 wasn’t easy for a lot of people, myself included, but I KNOW that 2017 will be AMAZING, and it’s all thanks to you: your support, your encouragement, and your indefatigable tolerance of my dinosaur memes. 

Cheers to a wonderful 2017!

Erin