My dear animals,

I don’t have any words about "The Animal in Man" today. Instead, I have some things to say about a hard sci-fi, cosmic-horror thriller story I think you ought to be aware of: TANTALUS DEPTHS by Evan Graham.

Here’s part of what I said about Tantalus Depths in a review: Combining the immense scope of Mass Effect with the grittier, grounded, hard sci-fi feel of Alien is like a dream come true. ... What an absolutely uncanny, unfathomable universe we live in, where creative minds like Evan Graham’s can conjure stories from the dark unknown spaces between stars... I can’t wait to see where his story leads. 

Let me now say something about Evan Graham himself: ...I’ve met A LOT of hard-working authors around Inkshares, but NONE of them have busted their ass as much as this guy. He has SIX DAYS left to get ONE HUNDRED PRE-ORDERS. 

(Actually, make that ninety-nine since by the time you read this I’ll have already chipped in another order.) He deserves it, people. His book deserves it. I truly believe in this project. It’s not something I say lightly. If you’ve been on the fence about Tantalus Depths, just hangin’ out between Follower and Reader, it’s time to hop down and make the pre-order. You will not be disappointed.

Orders, Faoii! Listen up!

We’re getting close, Faoii. We’re only 40 or so pre-orders away from Quill and select publication. If nothing else, we can earn that victory.

It’s a little more sobering to realize that we’re 100 unique readers away from the top 3 in the Geek and Sundry contest. That hill is more challenging-- but I think we can make it, too. I know I keep telling you that I want our banner on that hill-- but it’s more than that. I want to be able to put The Last Faoii in the hands of girls across the nation. I want to give them a heroine that’s worthy of being emulated-- who’s more than a pretty face looking for a husband. Who’s strong and fierce and wearing armor that covers all of her vital organs. I want young LGBT people to have someone whose main characteristics isn’t that they’re LGBT. Kaiya is a warrior, a woman, a faoii-- she’s more than "just" a lesbian, and I want people to be okay with that.  And I think a lot of you do, too.

Prove it. Get this book out there, to as many people as you can. I want to win that contest because I want Kaiya to help us change the face of fantasy literature and heroines. We can do that. We are faoii.

-Faoii Tahani

Good morning everyone!

It’s Monday and time for another update. There are 21 days left in the Geek and Sundry Contest and The Living God has fallen to 7th. I knew, going into the contest, that it was a longshot that the book could stay in one of those coveted Top 3 positions. However, we did get there for a short time and we’ve held in the top 10 this entire contest, never dropping below 7th. I don’t like admitting defeat, but I also pride myself on being realistic. If each and every person who has backed the book so far could find one more person, a friend, a relative... Hell, I’d take a frenemy... we could shoot our way up to one of those Top 3 spots. 

But, this process has made me all too familiar with how hard it is to ask someone to invest in you, especially where money is concerned. So, if it is hard for me, as the author of this book, to ask for people to invest in it, I can only imagine how hard it is for others. But, if you enjoy The Living God, why not share that enthusiasm with the people in your life? 

Even still, with the contest being a bit out of reach, The Living God is 50 orders away from Quill! Just 50! Maybe, with a bit of guts, some daring, and a couple of shots of vodka, I might shoot for 750. There are 81 days left in the campaign, after all. 

I’m in talks with a friend on collaborating for a fantastic promotion that I think all writers will be interested in. Nothing is final yet, so I won’t reveal what it is, but I’m very excited about the possibilities. I hope to let you know on Friday’s update. 

Cover art promotion is going strong. I’m working on a few still. I also finished an amazing poster for Evan Graham’s Tantalus Depths. I’m not going to reveal it, but go follow him if you haven’t already and you may get a peek at it soon! 

Also, speaking of Tantalus Depths, it has 6 days left for funding and it is SO CLOSE to reaching 750 orders. Tantalus Depths needs as of right now 101 orders to make it to full publishing and distribution. I know I asked a lot earlier for the contest, but the likelihood of getting into the Top 3 is slim. Instead, consider throwing that support to Evan. He’s a fantastic member of this community and he has worked so hard to get Tantalus Depths published. 

That’s all for today! I hope you guys have a fantastic week and thank you for all of your support! 

We’re catching up...

We’re almost down to double-digits!

Since I’m trying to focus as many of my efforts on hunting down new supporters one by one as possible, and since I’ve largely run out of story-based content I can share without spoiling things I want to hold off on, there will be no new story or lore-based updates this week. However, since this campaign has been going for something like seven or eight months now, it occurs to me that newer readers may have missed earlier updates. So this week I’m compiling archives of previous updates for your convenient browsing. Just click each picture and you’ll be taken directly to the original update for that item.

Today’s archive: crew dossiers. Read up on Exotech’s files for each member of The Diamelen’s crew, and their enigmatic robotic host, SCARAB.

 

As always, please remember to keep pushing for more support! We still need more than a hundred orders in the next six days, but I genuinely believe we can make it.

Dear Lucky Readers,

I’ve received a few questions about the status of Lucky recently, so I wanted to make sure everyone understands the "next steps" for this novel.

Firstly, I want to assure everyone that YES you will still receive your copy of this novel, once publication is complete. Since this is a crowd-funded project, production does not start until the funding period is over. (It’s like paying in advance for your subscription to National Geographic in that you send them the money, then in a month you get a new magazine.) 

So now we’re in the production phase of this process. This means that the first draft of the manuscript is currently being edited and rewritten. I sent the first seven chapters to my amazing Madam Editor Jessica this week, so content editing is well underway. After that, we will do a pass of line editing (the fancy grammar and spelling check). Then the manuscript will go to the Quill team for formatting, setting, and printing. All of this could take several months. My current estimation is that I will finish edits and rewrites by the end of November. From there, we will enter the production queue at Quill. My hope is that we will see production sometime in early 2017. 

I know this is all general information, but right now this is the best I have. I want to thank you all for your patience with, generosity to and faith in this project. I truly feel that I am the most blessed of all authors to have such supportive readers as all of you.

Stay tuned and happy reading!

Webster

Hello Knightmares!

Here’s a quick update for everyone on the progress of The Knightmares. I get asked all the time about when the book is coming out now that the campaign is over. The truth is, I don’t know, but I thought I’d update you all on the progress.

Firstly, the manuscript is done. The last few days I have been working towards gathering the additional information I need in order to submit the manuscript to Inkshares. This includes reviews by other authors, forewords, dedications, etc... 

Once that is done the process will start. This will include edits and a proofreader that will hopefully catch all the mistakes within the 202,000 words I wrote. 

When all of that is complete, and the new cover artwork has been set and ready to the specs they provided, the book will then go into publishing.

Beginning to end, it could take up anywhere between 6-8 months, depending on how fast I move to make the changes and get everything submitted. 

Those of you who qualify for t-shirts and posters will get them sometime around the time you receive the book.

Thanks again to everyone who ordered. Thanks for helping me achieve something that I have been working towards for a long time.

And don’t forget to continue to spread to the word to any friends, co-workers and family to buy a book! The more books that sell, the better chance I have of The Knightmares becoming a hit.

It’s Halloween time! The best time of the year, let’s all get drawn in by the hypnotic allure of the undead, pumpkin spice, and endlessly singing "This is Halloween" for the next 11 months. 

So here is my plan. Starting next weekend, I’m going to do one weekly update regarding Samhain lore and history leading up till the special event I’m hosting on 11/5 in Chicagoland set in the Seventh Age world. If you are interested in attending, find me on facebook for a one night LARP. 

Now, in other book news... there is actual news: 

1. I’ve been writing articles for Geek & Sundry for a while now. Mostly focused on gaming, rpging and storytelling. You can find them all located HERE. 
2. The Seventh Age has gotten an offer for an AudioBook! It’s going to be so weird hearing someone else read the lines that I wrote. I’ve got no real details at the moment. But more to come!
3. After watching Voltron the new Animated Show, I’ve decided that I’m perfectly okay with Aliens kidnapping me, knocking me out, and me waking up with white hair, an awesome scar of some kind, and a bad-ass cybernetic arm. 
4. As for my Sequel Dystopia, I’m going to let the funding on that run out I believe at this moment. The campaign page was designed for a contest and I’m just going to chill on that for now and keep writing. 
5. Release date is still 01/17/2017. If you haven’t read some of the sample chapters or picked up a copy... no better time than this month. 

Now, some Samhain News:

It’s celebrated from Sunset of October 31st to Sunrise on November 1st. So you’ve all got to update your trick-or-treating stuff. None of this "in by nighttime nonsense". Claim the night like proper monsters. 

Remember, on this night, it’s because Demons and Faeries roam the wild and the veil of the living and dead is thin. So you leave out food and wine and treats to placate them and leave your house alone. This is also why you dress up, less you be kidnapped and dragged off into the forests. 

I’ve been seeing a lot of candy, and sometimes some food. But I’m not finding a lot of offerings of wine being left out. Again, for you Chicagians. I drink Red Wine. 

Until next week!

Seven days....

We’ve seen a major surge in support so far this weekend. I’m not going to stop pushing for more, and you’ve all been helping to bring these last few in. With continued vigilance, I really think we can make it. Keep pressing on! The end is in sight at last...

Also, as a reward for passing the 600 mark once again, as promised, here is my reading of chapter three of Tantalus Depths! Enjoy!