Happy Giving Thanks Day!

Dean Fearce is grateful and appreciative for many things not the least of which are you, my friends, family and supporters, who have gotten behind this project and have waited patiently for its fruition. Being Thanksgiving, it felt appropriate to provide an update on the status of the book:

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

The latest manuscript was submitted to Inkshares this past summer. It went through a read by the editor. It came back with interesting comments and observations. The bottom line was that the plot was not working. Recommendations on books to read were made. Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice was one. I tried to read it but failed. Tried to watch the film and failed. 

Moving on, I found a tattered copy of Gardner’s The Art of Fiction online. It’s on my bedside table held together with a rubber band. It was entertaining and informative with a side of anxious guilt that I hadn’t gotten a degree in literature and therefore knew not the high-browed references he made. But as I said it was informative. And entertaining. That was unexpected.

Read a few other books in that time that weren’t recommended by the editor. Breathless by Shane Lindemoen was good. It’s recommended reading. I originally backed the project on Inkshares but Shane chose to publish it elsewhere. He’s now started an independent publishing concern, which is intriguing.

Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Breathless-Shane-Lindemoen/dp/1949472620/

Bunches of authors like Mike Welch and Susan Hamilton, both met on Inkshares, are publishing themed short-stories. If you haven’t seen the Writing Bloc anthologies, you can find them on Facebook. The editor accepts submissions for projects well in advance of publication.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/383485668831888/

In regards to MINE, I took a break to absorb the feedback (it’s never easy to accept helpful criticism, but it’s always advisable) and do additional reading and watching to figure out how to plot the novel. I love good stories, so it’s not like work. Good news is I’ve arrived at a solution. Next steps are to read the manuscript through, then begin the re-write starting December 1st. Hopefully you will hear from me again next year with a loud and resounding cheer, something like Eureka!

Hugs and kisses,

Dean Fearce

Thanksgiving Day, 2019

Hello friends! It’s been a while. 

I’m here to announce that I’ve been busy! I recently published a short story within the Writing Bloc’s DECEPTION! Anthology called "Quibbles". You can purchase the entire anthology on paperback, or for your kindle, here!

OR! You can buy the standalone story for your kindle, here!

Synopsis - "The night Nikki ran away from home, she left under frustrating circumstances. A fight with her parents was the last straw and before midnight, she was gone—not that she had any idea where she was going. However, she may have taken a different path out of town if she had known of the dangers that would find her at the crossroads between Here and There."

Check out the promotional artwork below! And don’t forget to leave a review!

If you’d like to follow me more closely, go to GAFino.com and sign up for my newsletter! Or follow me on twitter!

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Knightmares too! Or grab a copy or two for holiday gifts!

Exciting new announcements coming soon!

-G.A.

 Happy October! I reread my latest draft and sent it back to my editor! She’s thinking she’ll be able to dive in in mid-November. I’ll keep you posted.
In other news, my short story, "Neighborhood Alert," was accepted for publication in the next issue of  Inlandia: A Literary Journey and I’m thrilled!
We’re preparing for a Halloween release of the new Writing Bloc Anthology, where you’ll be able to read "Rachel Rose, Semite."
I’ve posted a piece on my website about the punk scene in North Central West Virginia in the early 2000s. I was unhappy with the way the zine I submitted it to cut the last half, so you can read it in its entirety here. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences!
I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo this November, drafting a TOTALLY NEW project that I’m reall excited about! Let me know if you’re participating too so we can cheer each other on!
Thank you, as always for your support.  

We did it! The campaign has ended, I’ve had a wonderful talk with Adam, the CEO of the publishing company, and the sequel to The Seclusion is officially in production. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who supported over the past few months!

I’m going to give everyone’s inbox(and myself) a break for a bit, but there is exciting news in the pipeline and I will keep all of you updated as I can with news and behind-the-scenes developments every month or two. While I don’t have a timeline yet, my best guess after having been through this process before is a early/mid 2021 release. Again, I’ll let you know more as I do. Try and stop me. 

For now, I’m going to turn my attention to something I haven’t been able to focus on as much as I would have liked to these past couple months - finishing the story! Right now, it is about 85% of the way finished, and my goal is to have the first draft turned in to the developmental editor by the end of October or early November.

From there we will talk through how to make the story stronger. Then, we go through the old song and dance of revising, editing, revising, editing... and rinsing and repeating until everything is shiny and perfect. 

For those of you who supported by ordering 3 copies or more, look out for occasional emails from me regarding polls and surveys for behind-the-scenes decisions. 

Tomorrow evening I will be at the Author Reception and Signing at the NC School Library Media Association Conference in Winston-Salem. If you will be be there, let me know so we can connect! 

Thank you again, and until next time! 

-Jacqui

P.S. - The winner of the $100 Air BnB Gift Card is Jason Stokes who referred over ten supporters!!! Congrats Jason!

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Thank you to these final backers! 

Catherine Evans, Anya Pavelle, Mike Donald, Anthony Bassignani, and Glen Cantrell  

Check out some of their work below: 

September! I managed to rewrite a chapter every day and finished this draft on September 5! It’s up to over 141,000 words and I think (hope) my main character is more interesting, my setting is more immersive, and my prose is more engaging.
I’m rereading the whole thing before I send it back to my awesome editor, though I keep telling people it’s kind of like when you say a word over and over and it starts to sound ridiculous. It’s hard to gain enough distance after going through it so many times to imagine what it’s like to read it for the first time. So far I’ve mostly been removing unneccesary dialogue tags and the word "just."
We’ve been busy at Writing Bloc editing our Deception anthology and creating several cool episodes of the podcast. Check them out! I’m in the one on crowdfunding. 
I hope you are all having a fantastic month so far. Let me know what you’re up to!  
Thank you for your support!

 August!

I’m still working on the latest rewrite but I’ve been able to get through a chapter a day by writing before the kids wake up and in the afternoon while they relax with a TV show. I got ten chapters edited/rewritten on the writing retreat Jared sent me on for Mother’s Day! You can read about that and my tips for planning your own DIY retreat on the Writing Bloc blog. I am hoping to finish this draft by September 8! 

Speaking of Writing Bloc, there’s a new podcast episode up-- this one is on world building and features hosts Christopher Lee and Jacqui Castle along with guest author Rachel Sparks. I’m on the next one, which is about crowdfunding and should be up soon!

Jacqui Castle is currently crowdfuning the sequel to her award winning speculative dystopian novel The Seclusion, which has won a bunch of awards, and is timely and important. If you’ve got $10, consider supporting it-- you get a free copy of the first book and it helps bring new relevant literature into the world.

What else are you reading right now? I’ve been devouring novels on immigrants’ experiences:
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue,
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala, and
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez are all fantastic. 
I think that even if you really want to be a good person, it can sometimes be hard not to let hateful rhetoric seep into your brain. Fiction is a powerful way to hold onto empathy and compassion.

Thank you for your support!

Dear Followers and Supporters -

I have been radio silent for quite some time, but I do have news to announce regarding the status of Fae Child. 

Since the book funded in March 2017, I finished the first draft in July of that year. After that my family and I had several life changes that stole my energy and attention, including becoming small business owners and having a fourth child. The THIRD draft of the book is now underway with a few small tweaks to accomplish before I send the manuscript in to Inkshares.

At that point I will find out when they anticipate the book being published - there would be a copy edit to do and a few other miscellaneous things.

I have a cover for the book well underway with a talented artist, Aliana Wong ( www.alianawong.com ) and I have updated the cover on the Inkshares site to reflect the in progress work. I am in love with it already.

I also have had a short story accepted into an anthology which should be published later this year. Here is the link to the announcement: https://writingbloc.com/announcement-of-the-stories-and-authors-for-the-upcoming-deception-anthology/

That is all for now! I will send out another update when I am sending it off to Inkshares. 

Thank you all for your support and your patience,

Jane-Holly

July!

My editor loves my revised outline so I’m back to writing and feeling very motivated! I’ve also finished my edits for my Deception Anthology story!

Though I try to keep everyone updated about my revision process, I don’t usually go into too much depth about my emotions during it. If you’d like to hear me speak candidly about them, check out the latest Writing Bloc podcast where I talk to authors Christopher Lee and special guest Laney Wylde all about rewrites and being a neurotic writer.

Far more important than any of this, though, there are atrocities being committed in our country by our government and in our name and I am morally obligated to use whatever platform I have to speak out about it. I’ll be working with some local friends to organize a baby carrier drive, stuff backpacks, and write postcards to elected officials. We also just started a fundraiser for RAICES, and we’d love your support. People are people and borders are arbitrary. If you can’t give, please commit to some kind of action. 

I love all of you and am so thankful for your patience and encouragement as I create this book.