Good evening everyone!

I have lots of news to share!

The copy editor finished working through my manuscript a week early, so I’m once again in full editing mode looking over proposed fixes and changes... Probably for the next two weeks. This round is looking at smaller stuff, so it’s more about improving word flow and fixing any remaining grammar mistakes, but also includes catching content that’s out of place or inconsistent. I can already say I’m very happy with the editor’s work and the manuscript is steadily improving even further!

In other news... The designer has come back with the final round of covers! We only have two to choose from this time. He’s incorporated the feedback I gave him and I think the end results are even stronger than before. 

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Good lord...I don’t even have words...

We did it. We finally did it.

After campaigning day and night since March...after losing literally hundreds of orders in the credit abuse scandall....after extending the campaign a whole two extra months...We’ve done it. We’ve reached the full publishing goal of 750 copies.

Tantalus Depths is a book now. It’s an honest to God book with a full publication deal. It’s happening.

It took 461 people and six syndicates to make this happen. Of particular note is the Idosyncraticate Syndicate, which swooped in out of absolutely nowhere and pushed us over the final line. Thank you all, from the depths of my heart. I love you all for this.

I’ll have more words soon, when I can process them. For now, I can only say: thank you.

My life changed forever today. I owe that to you.

So there is some news to share.   Rise is going to be an audio-book!  The deal is for Rise and a sequel, in this case Fall.  I can’t wait to get my hands on this.  Definitely will be listening to that on some runs.

In other news, Rise is closing in on 2000 copies sold.  And most of that buzz pushing the sales is coming from you.  Thank you so much!  If you’re reading your copy now, I’d appreciate a "Reading" mark on Goodreads.  And a review when you’re finished would be awesome.

In Fall news, I’m editing act 3 before sending it off to my editor.  After that, I got back and do a rework based on the edits I already have for acts 1 and 2.  If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, the sooner you do the sooner we can get it into production and in your hands.

You are all awesome!

Hello Blue Water followers.

Two things.  One, I hope you have been enjoying the look into the past of our protagonist Emily Hunter via her blog diary.  I hope I’m not spamming you guys with entries.

Secondly, and most amazingly, I am writing to you all to thank you for all you’ve done to support this book.  There were times I didn’t know if I could keep this rollercoaster called "Crowdfunding" going.  But you all kept me strong.  And thanks to you, as of 7:00pm eastern, Blue Water has gone from a dream to a reality.  I am so proud to say that because of you all, we have officially hit our Quill goal.  Blue Water is going to be published.  That sentence was so fun to type that I’m going to do it again.

Blue Water is going to be published.

Now, a few things to know.  The funding period for Blue Water still ends November 14.  Preorders for the book are still going to be sold until that date.  Once that date comes, Inkshares will get in touch with me to request the manuscript.  Currently the manuscript is still in a draft form, however, it’s very close to where it will be when I submit it.  I have a few last changes to make before I let it loose.

After Inkshares receives the manuscript, it has to go through a process with them, before it’s released during a scheduled period.  There are books ahead of mine that Inkshares will release first.  It’s likely your copy of Blue Water won’t be in your hands until sometime after mid 2017.

Between now and then, please continue to follow us here, or at our website (bluewaternovel.com) or our Facebook page (facebook.com/bluewaternovel) for updates, and for more fun surprises as we get closer to our official release.

Thank you all again, I cannot wait to share this story with you.  And thanks to you all, I can.

All my gratitude,
Joseph

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

We have officially completed the first week of our pre-order campaign. And thanks to you, we’ve already sold 63 copies! That’s 25% of our ’light’ publishing goal, but we still have 50 copies to go to crack the top ten of the Geek & Sundry contest.

For those who haven’t yet hit the pre-order button, we (or rather my graphic designer wife) drew up a formatting sample to entice you. Because SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS is a novel disguised as a "For Dummies" guide, it can be a bit confusing to read the sample chapters. But thanks to my bride’s mad skills on Adobe Illustrator, you don’t have to imagine the beauty of the finished book. You can view it here:

The finished book may look quite different, but it gives you a sense of what we’re going for. I’m also planning to put up a sample chapter later this week. But for now, keep those pre-orders rolling in! I really appreciate the support and I can’t wait to send you the finished book!

Thanks again,

mh

Hello lovely readers,

As I sit down to work on The War of Wind and Moon, today, I’ve been sipping my morning coffee and looking through some photos from my time in Japan for inspiration/research on the Kazemoto side of things. I came across this shot which I took while travelling at 300km/hr on the Shinkansen from Nagoya (where I lived at the time) to Tokyo (manual focus is king!) I thought I’d share it with you because it reminds me so much of the spiritual element of The War of Wind and Moon - an ancient Shinto god quietly, faithfully, lovingly watching over a modern industrial world that occasionally takes time to revere Fuji-zan’s beauty but has all but forgotten its true nature, and the destructive power that lies within.  

Industrial Fuji-zan

As always, wishing you courage and creativity in all you do.
Ganbatte!!

Darcy. 

Thoughts on Pet Semetary...

If you haven’t seen Pet Semetary then stop reading this and watch the film. It’s a beautiful, scary meditation on death, loss and grief told through he lens of a Stephen King story. It’s one of one a handful of his horror adaptations that really truly work. It’s scenes involving Zelda are among the most dread filled, nightmare inducing sequences in horror history. 

Why did I love it so much? Pet Semetary is the essence  of what makes great horror. Horror has to have a heart beating and bloody beneath the skin. Grief and death are the heart under the skin of King’s adaptation. The scene involving the death of their young son is both tragic and truly scary. The intercutting between the bloody shoe on the road and photos of the child makes the scene harrowing viewing. Compounded by the first hour which contextualises the concept of the Pet Semetary this scene offers a depth and pathos that allows you to be truly horrified by the films climax.

Ultimately, the point of this post is to tell you to watch this film. It has very little to do with The Congregation aside from sharing a few themes but man is it a good film. Of course, the book is fantastic too so I recommend it equally. If you wonderful readers enjoy this post then please comment and we can talk more about the films that inspire us!

#jointhecongregation