So, we're in the last hour and 30-or-so minutes of the contest. Disintegration is in 15th and I'm hoping we can hold onto that spot, even though it's really just symbolic; only the top-5 win anything. The rest of us are the also-rans.

But, still, if you haven't ordered yet, please do. If your wife, husband, brother, cousin, uncle, mother, father, godfather and -mother, priest, rabbi, imam, yoga instructor, fitness coach and anyone else I can't think of right now hasn't been roped in yet, rope them in! Nana needs a copy!

The contest may be ending, but there's a long road ahead. I need 700 copies sold by 12/6 and I want to make that goal. I want this book published and I'm hoping you do, too. You've invested in the book's (and therefore my) success already ... please continue by spreading the word, recruiting new supporters and getting them behind the project. That's the only way it's going to happen.

Finally, please check out the following books (my five faves), if you've any interest in supporting worthy writers who share the same dream that I do. Give them a bump before the contest ends, at 3 p.m. Eastern, 12 p.m. Pacific.

The Hide

She Is the End

ENHANCED

Ghosts of War

Single Version

IT"S DONE!

The 100 for $100 contest has 100 entrants. That's right, Blood Dawn is at 204 pre-orders! Less than a month ago I was at 104 pre-orders. This is amazing! Blood Dawn's support nearly doubled in a month, which was exactly what I'd hoped to do. To all of you who jumped on board during this time, you're AWESOME. Thank you so much!

Stay tuned for what comes next -- I have a exciting announcement for you all.

But first, stay tuned tonight for the results of the draw. As promised, I will be printing out the 100 names of the entrants and putting them in a blue wizard's hat, then drawing the one who will be the lucky winner. I'll post a short video on Vine so you can see the process and know the contest wasn't rigged.

Please continue to spread the word. I'm just thrilled to see the momentum growing!

Hey, nerds! Look I did an interview about the coloring book for the Inkshares blog looook!

I had a bunch of new ideas for collaborative projects while I was writing it, so... be prepared for more cool stuff to come along...

In other news, I decided Tuesday should be Museday. I'll highlight things that inspire my writing! Get it? 

Hello to all my supporters. 

In my area, the leaves are about to turn and fall. School is back in session and to me, the year is terrifyingly close to the end. Most of you were introduced to this work mid-year when the rollercoaster of funding started, but back in January this work began with a simple goal, publish a book in 2015 by any means necessary.

I could not know where this would all lead me when I started, but it's been an adventure, at times stressful, at times incredible and illuminating, and I'm glad you've all come along on this experience.

With happiness and relief, I say to you all that the book is nearly ready to be handed off to the capable hands at Inkshares. In the next month, I am reading the book, smoothing out the lines, and making sure the content is in the best shape I can put it in before the editors get it. To see the novel in the condition it is now is very inspiring, and I am excited for you all to get your hands on it.

I'll share more chapters with you, but not until I'm certain I don't want to tweak them much more. For now, here is a passage about thirty percent into the book. In this version, I've altered out any spoilers, so you can read it without fear.

Snow fell in heavy sheets and blanketed Hammond Bay all in white. Rooftops took on an icing glaze and the coverage blurred the divide between the walking paths and roads all but for the fire hydrants, little red markers with white caps in a row. By way of the heavy grey clouds in the sky and how light cast itself against the fluffy covering, the days looked much like the nights except for the way the shadows moved. And when the darkness did come, it came so gently that eyes did not perceive it until the there was a calm moment to look around and take in your surroundings. 

Along the road a taxi carefully crawled, leaving fresh treads, two long lines to mark its path. It moved along the roads in the district where the buildings once stood. The roughshod buildings replaced by with solid foundation, infrastructure, electric strung along the lines above, a network of webbing that brought modern convenience to a place where there was once none. The taxi stopped in front of a social club, The Turned Coin, and idled in its place. The engine hummed with soft revolutions. 

After a moment, Duke stepped out from the taxi, snow already collecting, little flakes that clung to his shoulders and hat in speckled spots. In this time, the place he knew as a child had become unfamiliar. The dramatic collapse and reimagining made this a foreign place and as if anything, he was a stranger now.

I hope you like what you've read, and if you haven't pre-ordered, please consider doing so. I promise you will want to get comfortable with the characters and a place of Lost Generation.

P.S. I'd like you also to consider pre-ordering Andrew J. Ainsworth's These Old Bones. Click here to check out his book. Andrew has survived two Inkshares contests and is currently in fifth place. Your pre-order helps him cement his position and ensure publication. There are many talented and deserving writers in the Inkshares system, but Andrew has run the gauntlet and put himself out there so many times that he deserves a spot on the published list. Give his work a chance.

Thank You! More Soon!

Just a quick Tuesday update to clog up your inbox. A Beast Requires now has a Facebook page. Yea, it's a thing.

https://www.facebook.com/abeastrequires

I promised I'd follow up with a word of thanks to any author who generously helped me spread the word about Blood Dawn this weekend while I busied myself with the story. Well, I worked hard -- until 3am yesterday -- and I did it! 20 more page of Blood Dawn not just written, but, according to my editor in an email I just received an hour ago, I wrote one of the most fascinating dialogues in the book to date.

What I find AWESOME, is that while I buckled down, 10 new readers stepped up and bought a copy of Blood Dawn. To those readers who were following and decided to jump on board, thank you so much! And guess what? We're now at 196 copies, which means there are only 9 more pre-orders to go until ... the 100 for $100 draw!

A special thanks to Andrew J. Ainsworth, who spread word to his followers about Blood Dawn and generated some great momentum. Readers, if you haven't heard of These Old Bones, Andrew's great fantasy book which is currently doing amazingly in the Nerdist Collection Contest, go and show your support now. It is the final two days now of the contest, so at this point each and every new reader counts. If you like adventure fantasy with magic and awesome world building, then definitely check out this book.

Andrew isn't the only author who I owe a special thanks to. Pat Jamison, a new Inkshares author who is still feeling out the ground, has generously assisted me with graphics and web design over the last few weeks has offered to make me small graphics and banners, and to redesign my website as a thank you for connecting him to the growing Inkshares author community. Pat is just wonderful, and he is also one of my DRAGON backers (Patazamazzon). I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude at the support I've been shown from the Inkshares community. Blood Dawn would not be where it is today without it.

You can check out Pat's handiwork by visiting the new pages on my website. Although the whole site he made is great, I'm particularly fond of the Blood Dawn page he Here is the link:

http://www.epicfantasywriter.com/blood-dawn/

Pat also made me a timeline for Blood Dawn, as a visual way to share with readers my schedule and what I have lined up to ensure the manuscript I deliver to Inkshares this April is polished to perfection. Check it out:

Pat's novel is called The Stones of Ragnarok, about a CIA and CSIS worker who must stop the end of the world at the hands of ancient Viking stones. Although he's not funding yet, I'm sure Pat would love your support. Go and check his project out and please follow him if it interests you. Click here.

Finally, in spirit of the mad dash toward the finish for those who are in the Nerdist Collection Contest, I want to point out one special author who I also owe a great deal of thanks so: AC Weston, artist extraordinary, and my official dragon lady. You may recall an earlier update where I shared her excellent artwork -- my dragon logo. I am in the process of coloring it in and will soon share with you the colored Blood Dawn logo, which will be used on the t-shirts I'm giving out to DRAGON backers if Blood Dawn reaches its funding goal.

AC Weston's book, She is the End, is an excellent, action-packed space opera novel told in twelve episodes. Please go and have a look at this great book and consider showing your support while there is still time in the contest.

Thank you for your continued support. This is an amazing team we have, and I have every bit of confidence it's going to continue to grow, and together we will make the dream that is Blood Dawn a reality.

It is my hope also that as readers you will spread the word about Inkshares and the excellent, growing catalog of books they have, to help us not just see Blood Dawn as a real book on bookshelves, but to let this community where readers get to vote on which books get published thrive.