
Dear friends and followers,
Today, 12 June, is day number 85 in the campaign. The suggested timeframe for a campaign is 90 days, which means that, had I not specified my timeframe, this thing would be over this coming Friday night / Saturday morning. At present, we are at 349 pre-orders, and you know what? It would be really nice to end Friday night at the halfway point of 375. That’s doable, right? If you know anyone who might be able to help, please encourage them to do so ... and if you’re still on the fence about ordering, I encourage you to come down on this side of it. The grass is greener here.
With the writing for "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" done and simmering on the back burner, I’m focussing more on my short story for "Too Many Controllers". How does a Wodehouse-inspired tale of a VR gaming companies, ruined castles, and stuffy aristocrats strike you? Well, if not Wodehouse, then at least Westlake ... that should give an idea of where I’m thinking of going with this.
With the Nerdist contest going on, I thought we might take a look at a couple of the other books in the contest:
1) "Reb1rth", by Xavier Auger-Mailhot. I remember reading one of Auger-Mailhot’s works, once upon a time: a very rough thing hot off the NaNoWriMo press. I remember thinking to myself as I went along, "my goodness but this reads like a video game". And now he’s written something that’s actually about the fusion of reality with video games, and I know he’s pushing his strengths on this one.
2) "Squids In", by Matthew Poat. An octopus gets hold of a controller and proceeds to dominate the video game circuit. Poat has some prime comedy material invested in this, and, from what I’ve seen, it is indeed hilarious. I get the impression that this is going to be a madcap caper with wacky hijinks in abundance, and I’m looking forward to see this book happen for real.
That’s it for this update. Until next week, have fun and keep reading. Cheers! And here’s hoping to hit that 375 milestone by Friday night!

It is with a very heavy heart that I write today’s Reader Update. As I’m sure many/most of you have seen, the worst mass shooting in US History took place in the early hours of today at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub, in Orlando, FL.
Orlando holds a huge chunk of my heart. It’s where I lived for six years, where I return several times a year, and the inspiration and setting of Welcome to Deadland. Orlando is still home to me. And as a member of the LGBT community, this attack has hit me to the core. I’ve been lucky enough to contact a vast majority of friends and people I consider family, and have confirmed their safety. This is something many friends and family inside and out of Orlando will not be able to say.
Many of my readers are still living in and around Orlando. If you can, I urge you to find a nearby location to donate blood. It could save another life. If you can’t, a page has been set up to monetarily donate support to the victims of this hate-filled tragedy. I will also be donating 100% of my royalties from the upcoming week to help those that need it far more than I do.
With love,
Zac
Greetings Destiny-followers,
Thanks so much for your excellent support. I awoke this morning (Seoul time) to see a pack of excellent writers nipping at the heels of Destiny Imperfect (third place is only two away). It would be tremendous if we could put some daylight between us and them. If you’re following Destiny Imperfect but have yet to hit the pre-order button, I’d love it if you could check it out again and consider doing so. If you have already pre-ordered Destiny Imperfect, grab your nearest and dearest and explain to them the critical nature of a video game-based book and its significance within the wider framework of reality. And then get them to pre-order! The contest has a long way to go and I could do with your help!
Have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Peter