Hello dear readers,

A lot has been going on and that’s kind of why I’ve been rather discreet in my communications. Also, I bet with three contests currently vying for attention, you get enough emails already. So what could possibly have taken up so much of my time?

Let’s start with how I had to do revisions to the manuscript for A God in the Shed. I had already handed it in but after a meeting at WeedRoad Pictures in L.A. a few weeks ago, several ideas to further improve the story demanded to be put to the page.

WeedRoad Pictures? What the hell is that? Well, that’s the second bit of paralyzing news. A God in the Shed has been optioned by Skydance Productions through the help of Akiva Goldsman from WeedRoad (props to Greg Lessans and Alexandra Neil for their part. Amazing people). I can’t do this news justice but you can read the article by The Tracking Board if you want to know more.

 So what does this mean? The short answer? I don’t know! It doesn’t mean that A God in the Shed is going to be a television show but rather that there are efforts behind making that happen. Needless to say that the book is in the hands of some incredibly talented and hard working people. I’m still reeling from the news and gathering the details myself, but as far as excuses for my silence, I think that’s the best I can do right now.

What’s next?

• I think it’s obvious that this has delayed my plans and promises for Arch-Android (Give it a follow why don’t you?), the sequel to The Life Engineered. I’m still a few chapters short of a full draft but that should be taken care of before the end of November. I’m giving myself some room to work with this time so I can keep that prediction.
  

• I’m also finishing another manuscript for The Ed Greenwood Group.

• Obviously, the sequel to A God in the Shed, currently titled ‘CoudFire’ is going to be the first thing I work on after I’ve cleared these other projects. CloudFire is half written already, but it’s going to undergo some serious changes. Let’s just say that I’ve got a good skeleton to work on but I have to tear away the flesh and start that part anew.

• I have some more good news coming up. Other cool opportunities and some new projects I want to toss out into the world.
  

Let me finish this with a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Adam Gomolin and Brooklyn Weaver who worked like tireless maniacs to make this happen, along with the rest of the Inkshares crew for their support and of course, you guys, the readers, without whom none of this would be possible.

On to the next step!

JF

Happy Friday!

There are a few exciting things as far as news goes! We are 56 orders away from making Quill!! We did drop to 6th in the contest, but that’ isn’t so bad. 6th out of 366? I’ll take it. Unfortunately, my network has gone a bit dry. Aside from the stragglers I know who want to make pre-orders but are waiting until an opportune time, I don’t have many left. Well, at least not enough to shoot up to the 3rd place. Those authors knocked this contest out of the park! There is still a month left and miracles can happen, right? 

That being said, we are 56 orders away from making Quill and going into small publishing on Amazon and print-on-demand.  

I was Geekadelphia’s Geek of the Week! Isn’t that cool? Check out the article and you can find out more information about me and the book. 

Cover Art promotion is still going strong. I’m working hard on them. I’ve got a few things in life right now that have slowed down the process, but those of you I’m working with know that I’m still on top of those projects. I volunteer with the Young Friends of Independence National Historical Park as a committee member and every October we do a huge fund raiser to benefit something in Independence National Historical Park (where the liberty bell is). I’m the one in charge of setting up the information booklet for the big party that we throw. On top of that, I offered to donate a painting to be raffled off so.... I’m doing a lot of things right now. 

It is all for a good cause. We’re raising money to preserve a quilt from 1761 and ensuring George Washington’s chest doesn’t crack open again this winter. Seriously, his wooden statue splits like a CGI fault line in a bad disaster movie. We gotta help a Founding Father out. If you’re local to Philadelphia and want to support the project, you can place half-page ads in our event book or attend the Darkside of Philadelphia party on the 14th at 6:00PM. Booze, food, tarot card reader, and some ghostly historical figures. Going to be a fun night. 

There isn’t a character profile today, but I am attaching a link to the story that was created at the Collingswood Book Festival using the Story by Sentence game. I’ll be honest, it is... different. Check it out! 

Thanks everyone!  So, it has been a great week so far and I cannot thank everyone enough for the support.  A special shout out to J Graham Jones, who is the first person from outside of the states to support this project with her dollars (or pounds I suppose).  I am within striking distance of finishing my second draft and I’ll have more samples this weekend.  

As most of you know, I am in the Crypt TV horror contest which ends on Halloween.  Despite joining super late, your support has helped me move into 5th place in less than two weeks.  As I am making up for lost time, I’m hoping that those of you haven’t pre-ordered will do so this weekend if you believe this project belongs in the winner’s circle, which I certainly believe it does.  For those of you who have ordered, I thank you again.  If each of you can convince 2 others to pre-order over the weekend we will likely move up to the top three.  Again, thanks for everything.  You’re all amazing.  Also, if you don’t pre-order the terrorists win. 

Cheers,

Dan

Hello all -

A bit of a different sort of update today for Fae Child. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter Six, where we find Dan, Abbie’s father, again on the phone. This time he is calling up a friend from his past.

****

“How did you get this number?”

“Does it matter?” Dan sat on the kitchen counter, tethered to the wall by the phone.

A sigh. “Was a time you could call me up and I would follow you through hell, Wodan. That was a long time ago.”

“I know. Things have changed since the Hunt -”

“The Hunt no longer exists.” Mathan said flatly. “The Gates were closed behind us when we came through, and the Boar runs wild in the worlds. And it’s not my problem, whatever it is. Don’t call me again.”

“There’s been an incursion. A changeling.”

The silence on the line went on so long, Dan wondered if Mathan had hung up already. Then, “How do you know?”

“It’s my daughter.”

Another pause, and then a weary sigh. “Killing it is -”

“I can’t do that. Not yet, anyway.” Dan frowned. “It’s existence is a violation of the truce.”

“Not much we can do about it from this side of the Gates.”

“You know as well as I do that it can’t be the first incursion since the Queens signed the Accords. Summer is making a move.”

“And if you keep the changeling around, one of them will have an agent who can access magic with impunity. The entire reason the Gates were sealed was to keep the Balance between Summer and Winter and stop these power plays in the world.”

“Well, one of them has decided the risk is worth it. Probably Summer.”

“Titania is too smart for that.”

“Too smart to get caught. The Gates are sealed. If Winter holds to the Accords they will never find out until it’s too late.”

“Global warming,” Mathan said suddenly. “I did wonder if perhaps Summer was growing in power, but if this is true, if they sent the changeling…” His deep voice trailed off.

Dan picked up where he left off. “It’s a long game she’s playing. One that could change this world forever.”

“She cares nothing for the human world, you know that. The elven lords of her court will follow her whims and fight over the scraps of what’s left.”

“Bold words, even for a bear,” Dan said with a smile that quickly faded. “I contacted the Cat.”

Mathan sucked in his breath in a hiss. “The Cat cares about nothing but herself.”

“She has access to the Otherworld,” pointed out Dan. “She has her magic, even here in the human world. She’s as close to a neutral party between Seasons as exists in the worlds.”

“The dragons are too capricious to trust. Neutral - or chaotic. Who can tell what they get out of their deals, until it’s too late?”

****

Fae Child is still stubbornly hanging near the top of the pack, but while we are closer to the top 10 than many other entrants in the FantasticInk contest, we aren’t that close. With your help we can change that - if you can each bring one more reader to the party we will be in great shape. The fact is that I’m at the end of my own social network (they’ve been thoroughly badgered!), and while I have a few promised future preorders, I don’t have 190. I love writing, and I like to think I’m good at it, but I should probably just admit I’m not great at crowdfunding!

Thanks to the great Christopher Lee, Fae Child should soon have a book trailer - I can’t thank you enough, Christopher, for taking on this project for me. Check out his book: The Lore of the Aos Sí. "It is 3002BCE. Mankind is subject to Fae law. Four young souls will rise as ancient forces continue their age-old feud. As MidSummer’s Eve approaches, one will be chosen to join the sacred Order of the Druids to keep the balance between Man and Fae." Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Thanks again to everyone, and don’t forget, our second random draw for one of the Beanie Boos will occur after we reach 70 orders. We’re at 65 - halfway there!

Jane-Holly

I have two surprises for you and one big thank you!

One. Last night I did an interview regarding the creation and inspiration of The Lore of the Aos Sí, with one of our own Bards! I have yet to finalize the transcript, but I will be posting the transcript here in a couple days, so look forward to that. 

Two. I have decided to compile the extra Lore and Content into a companion guide for The Lore of the Aos Sí on Wattpad. I will be gathering all related content from here and organizing it into the companion, called The Song of the Goddess. Give me a few days on that and I will have it up for you to peruse. Here is the cover art I designed for the companion projecct. 

Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone who supported me in the adventure thus far. ALL OF YOU, have been invaluable to the progress of this campaign and its story. 

Yesterday was a huge day for the campaign, as we pulled in 10 Pre-Orders. Big Thanks to everyone who stepped up and gave the project a big boost! I am eternally grateful for everyone’s support. 

Look for more content in the morning, I think I will present you with The Weefolk of the GreatWood Forest. 

Have a grand evening,

Blessed Be,

Christopher Lee

Hello, all! It seems like just yesterday I was writing to you, to share with you some character concept art from my book, Witherfist. (Oh, right, that’s because it was yesterday.)

I’ve unexpectedly got some more art to share with you. This is drawn in a different style and is another image of Witherfist herself, Irusai. This is a different Irusai to the one you can read about in the first chapter of Witherfist. A much more composed, calm woman, in her days as a respected provincial governor - before she tattooed the true name of an ancient spirit onto her arm and became the notorious fugitive she is today. 

Two weeks left! Thirty-seven orders to go! We can do this! 

As a special bonus, I’ve decided that beyond signing each book bought in this funding period I will also number each book in Esperanto. I’ll only ever number them like this for preorders. (Esperanto is a constructed language, meant to break down linguistic borders.) Order now and help me get this book published!

(E-books are great too, they help us reach toward 750 all the same.)

Onward!