The Walls are Closing In has received 200 preorders within the first three weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And one more for good measure. Thank you!

First things first. I owe all of you a couple of things for helping me cross the 100 reader and the 200 order thresholds!

Using a random number generator and a spreadsheet of my first 100 readers, I have selected two winners to either have a minor character named after them or select the name for that character.

The winners are Robert Batten and K.L. Noon.

Congrats! Let me know what you would like to name your character!

As promised, I have also uploaded a mid-book excerpt to commemorate reaching 200 preorders. Experience Patricia and Rexx’s first steps into Zone 36, a town sealed off due to fracking-induced pollution and destruction, and meet my favorite character, Oliver.

The campaign, as it sits now, has a view of the full publishing contract with few obstacles in the way, but still has some hiking to do. If half of those who are following the book on Inkshares, but have not placed an order yet, order, then The Walls are Closing In will surpass the Quill light-publishing mark.

I have been working tirelessly to cross the Quill milestone early. It is important for a variety of reasons. It signifies that the book is happening! Though I am aiming for 750 preorders and a full publishing contract (think marketing, bookstore shelves, public book signing, cover design, and complete developmental edits), passing the Quill mark (think print-on-demand, ISBN, and Amazon listing) means that there will definitely be a book. Advanced promotion to reach outside of my already-tapped circle will then become much simpler, as those in the book-review world are understandably more willing to promote a sure-thing.

Thank you all again for rallying behind me and this book. A special thank you to both my grandfather Allen Ahearn and aunt Beth Fisher, of Quill and Brush, who shared The Walls are Closing In with their broad community of book lovers!

More milestone perks to come! At 300 orders I will release a new novel trailer with teasers.

-Jacqui

Hello everybody,

I hope everyone had a great holiday period and are off to a good start for 2017. It’s been a couple of months since the last update on The Battle Within, so here’s the latest information.

Timeline

We’re still on track for a book launch of 27 Jun 2017. At this moment the manuscript is about to enter the proofread stage and while that’s happening, advance reader copies are going out for endorsement. I’m happy to say that initial feedback has been very positive. We’re already starting to make plans for the book launch party, so if you’re going to be in Ottawa during the last week of June, please include that in your plans!

Upcoming Developments

Being new to the publication process, this experience has been great in learning everything that goes into marketing a book. One of those aspects is getting the book into brick and mortar stores (or their electronic equivalents). Believe it or not, but there’s great opportunity for an author to get involved here and one thing I’ll be working on over the next few months is engaging the regional distributors in the United States who provide books to the Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES – or the PX for a more familiar term).

Also, The Battle Within is featured on Goodreads at  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31922135-the-battle-within?from_search=true#other_reviews. If you have a minute, please click on the link and add the book to one of your shelves!

Other Projects

The big news on this front is that I’ll be finished the second draft of my next novel, Jihadi Bride, by the end of this coming week. After that comes the search for beta readers and then I’ll start the editing process in earnest. Still a lot of work to accomplish, but I’m very happy with how this novel is taking shape.

That’s it for this update, but as always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions. Thanks again for your support and patience, and all the best in 2017,

Alastair Luft

43 orders in just over 24 hours! Thank you to everyone who has preordered so far!

Weeks ago I made a promise. I told you that I would explain what hitting 250 pre-orders meant. I never intended for so much time to lapse between then and now. Thank you for being so patient. Most of all, thank you for not punishing me by taking your book order back. You may laugh, or groan, but that particular fear has denied me many hours of sleep, I swear. 

It’s high time that I make good on my promise. Now that I’ve obtained that magic number of pre-orders, Inkshares will publish Where the Sun Sets as part of their Quill Imprint. Books belonging to this collection receive light editing, limited distribution (including physical and digital on Amazon), and fulfillment of copies to backers. In short, hitting 250 was like flicking a switch. At that moment what went from “You might get this book,” transformed into, “You will get this book.”  

Since that day something else more marvellous has come to pass. My big dream has grown a bit bigger. It has grown to include the dreams of another. I’m over-the-moon-so-freakin’-happy to be sharing with you that Maria Laguna-Valenzuela, the artist responsible for the whimsical and wonderful seeding bloom that graces the cover of Where the Sun Sets, has agreed to partner with me as an illustrator! Over the next three months Maria will bring to life the enduring love and magic of the Gibbons’ world in ways I never expected. Furthermore, Maria is just as excited as I am to be creating with the goal to support other creators. What an outcome! I couldn’t be any happier. 

This partnership means that it will take three months longer for the book to get into production. Production won’t begin until April at the earliest. This prolonged timeframe means that I have another opportunity to try and gain enough pre-orders to receive full publishing services from Inkshares. But most of all, this partnership means that when you do finally get your copy of Where the Sun Sets, it will be that much richer in content and imagination. 

You’ve given me the opportunity. Now it’s up to me to not squander it. I’m tickled pink (and honoured as all hell) that Maria has chosen to help me make this story that much more special by throwing her creative weight behind it too. (I’ve elaborated more on this and other things here on my blog.)

Finally, when I kicked this whole thing off I had it in my head that publishing under two names was a good idea that would ultimately benefit future philanthropic initiatives. I’ve since realized that the distinction is arbitrary, and will be publishing all titles under Donna Litt. Rest assured, all author proceeds resulting from the publication of Where the Sun Sets are still dedicated to supporting creators in the Kitchener-Waterloo community.

I think that’s it! Please hit me back with any questions. Thank you Maria, and thank you all for your generous and kind support.

Donna
PS - Happy 2017 from the desk of Bill Watterson, comic available here.