Well, 2016 is on its deathbed.  Appropriate analogy all things considered.  We’ve said goodbye to many this year, although to be honest the famous deaths of this year didn’t really register in my ecosystem until the very end.  Seeing as I don’t remember a world that didn’t have Princess Leia or Singing in the Rain in it, I definitely felt something when those two passed.  To have them do so within days of my grandmother passing away definitely put a more subdued end on a year filled with frustration and stress.  That said, there were some things I enjoyed about this year.  Here are some highlights.

• Highlight moment of the year: Holding my very own book in my hands for the first time on Sept 13.
• Highlight moment runner-ups: 15th wedding anniversary (such a fun evening Michelle), Finishing the manuscript for Fall on Jan 18, appearing on the Current Geek podcast with Scott Johnson (I’ve been listening to him since 2009; yeah that mattered); winning two more contests on Inkshares; Publishers Weekly review; Audible book deals for Rise and Fall
• Best Movie: Toss-up between Civil War and Rogue One for me. honorable mention to Zootopia
• Best TV Series (started this year): Toss up here between Stranger Things and Orphan Black. Honorable mention to the new Muppets and Voltron
• Best Book I read: not touching that with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole.  Too many friends published books this year.  So instead:

1. Most Surprising Book: Unattractive Vampire (did not see myself enjoying this)
2. Most Difficult to read: tie between Ageless and Rune of the Apprentice for entirely different reasons (Note: I still enjoyed them ;-))
3. Most Inspiring: Push

• Best Game played: I’d have to say Munchkin (adventure time or Cthulu versions); yes I hadn’t played it before
• Best Video Game played: I spend a lot of time in Civilization VI so that is a good answer.  Stellaris is another really good one.  That said, I think I’ll choose Crashlands.  My daughter and I have spent hours playing concurrent games (no multi-player) throughout this year
• Highlight Verse I read: Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (ESV)
  

 So, yeah it’s been an interesting year.  Rounding out the year watching the entire Harry Potter series with my daughter was another moment, including giving her book one in both German and English for Christmas.  I’m so proud of her development as a linguist.  Watching her interact with those in need on Christmas Eve, seeing the smiles on their faces when she spoke with them.  It warmed the heart.

2017.

Looking straight at you now.  What’s coming?  Well, I don’t know.  2016 definitely did not go according to plan (except the release of Rise.  That did happen as planned.)  So, who knows what will happen but here’s what I intend on doing.

1. By the end of 2017, the first drafts of Shatter and Unite will be done.  
2. I will be able to lead discussions and do live translations without fear in Arabic.  
3. And I’ll be able to hold my own in a conversation in German.
   

Onward!

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ronald E. Osborn

Well, 2016 is on its deathbed.  Appropriate analogy all things considered.  We’ve said goodbye to many this year, although to be honest the famous deaths of this year didn’t really register in my ecosystem until the very end.  Seeing as I don’t remember a world that didn’t have Princess Leia or Singing in the Rain in it, I definitely felt something when those two passed.  To have them do so within days of my grandmother passing away definitely put a more subdued end on a year filled with frustration and stress.  That said, there were some things I enjoyed about this year.  Here are some highlights.

• Highlight moment of the year: Holding my very own book in my hands for the first time on Sept 13.
• Highlight moment runner-ups: 15th wedding anniversary (such a fun evening Michelle), Finishing the manuscript for Fall on Jan 18, appearing on the Current Geek podcast with Scott Johnson (I’ve been listening to him since 2009; yeah that mattered); winning two more contests on Inkshares; Publishers Weekly review; Audible book deals for Rise and Fall
• Best Movie: Toss-up between Civil War and Rogue One for me. honorable mention to Zootopia
• Best TV Series (started this year): Toss up here between Stranger Things and Orphan Black. Honorable mention to the new Muppets and Voltron
• Best Book I read: not touching that with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole.  Too many friends published books this year.  So instead:

1. Most Surprising Book: Unattractive Vampire (did not see myself enjoying this)
2. Most Difficult to read: tie between Ageless and Rune of the Apprentice for entirely different reasons (Note: I still enjoyed them ;-))
3. Most Inspiring: Push

• Best Game played: I’d have to say Munchkin (adventure time or Cthulu versions); yes I hadn’t played it before
• Best Video Game played: I spend a lot of time in Civilization VI so that is a good answer.  Stellaris is another really good one.  That said, I think I’ll choose Crashlands.  My daughter and I have spent hours playing concurrent games (no multi-player) throughout this year
• Highlight Verse I read: Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (ESV)
  

 So, yeah it’s been an interesting year.  Rounding out the year watching the entire Harry Potter series with my daughter was another moment, including giving her book one in both German and English for Christmas.  I’m so proud of her development as a linguist.  Watching her interact with those in need on Christmas Eve, seeing the smiles on their faces when she spoke with them.  It warmed the heart.

2017.

Looking straight at you now.  What’s coming?  Well, I don’t know.  2016 definitely did not go according to plan (except the release of Rise.  That did happen as planned.)  So, who knows what will happen but here’s what I intend on doing.

1. By the end of 2017, the first drafts of Shatter and Unite will be done.  
2. I will be able to lead discussions and do live translations without fear in Arabic.  
3. And I’ll be able to hold my own in a conversation in German.
   

Onward!

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ronald E. Osborn

Well, 2016 is on its deathbed.  Appropriate analogy all things considered.  We’ve said goodbye to many this year, although to be honest the famous deaths of this year didn’t really register in my ecosystem until the very end.  Seeing as I don’t remember a world that didn’t have Princess Leia or Singing in the Rain in it, I definitely felt something when those two passed.  To have them do so within days of my grandmother passing away definitely put a more subdued end on a year filled with frustration and stress.  That said, there were some things I enjoyed about this year.  Here are some highlights.

• Highlight moment of the year: Holding my very own book in my hands for the first time on Sept 13.
• Highlight moment runner-ups: 15th wedding anniversary (such a fun evening Michelle), Finishing the manuscript for Fall on Jan 18, appearing on the Current Geek podcast with Scott Johnson (I’ve been listening to him since 2009; yeah that mattered); winning two more contests on Inkshares; Publishers Weekly review; Audible book deals for Rise and Fall
• Best Movie: Toss-up between Civil War and Rogue One for me. honorable mention to Zootopia
• Best TV Series (started this year): Toss up here between Stranger Things and Orphan Black. Honorable mention to the new Muppets and Voltron
• Best Book I read: not touching that with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole.  Too many friends published books this year.  So instead:

1. Most Surprising Book: Unattractive Vampire (did not see myself enjoying this)
2. Most Difficult to read: tie between Ageless and Rune of the Apprentice for entirely different reasons (Note: I still enjoyed them ;-))
3. Most Inspiring: Push

• Best Game played: I’d have to say Munchkin (adventure time or Cthulu versions); yes I hadn’t played it before
• Best Video Game played: I spend a lot of time in Civilization VI so that is a good answer.  Stellaris is another really good one.  That said, I think I’ll choose Crashlands.  My daughter and I have spent hours playing concurrent games (no multi-player) throughout this year
• Highlight Verse I read: Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (ESV)
  

 So, yeah it’s been an interesting year.  Rounding out the year watching the entire Harry Potter series with my daughter was another moment, including giving her book one in both German and English for Christmas.  I’m so proud of her development as a linguist.  Watching her interact with those in need on Christmas Eve, seeing the smiles on their faces when she spoke with them.  It warmed the heart.

2017.

Looking straight at you now.  What’s coming?  Well, I don’t know.  2016 definitely did not go according to plan (except the release of Rise.  That did happen as planned.)  So, who knows what will happen but here’s what I intend on doing.

1. By the end of 2017, the first drafts of Shatter and Unite will be done.  
2. I will be able to lead discussions and do live translations without fear in Arabic.  
3. And I’ll be able to hold my own in a conversation in German.
   

Onward!

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ronald E. Osborn

Hey gang! Been a while...right to it then! But first, thanks for being the best! Seriously, I couldn’t do these awesome things without you.

First of all: merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

Second: we’ve passed 300 readers, which means I can start talking about how I’m defending my position on The List with 300, like King Leonidas at Thermopylae. Have you looked at The List’s leaderboard today, though? The contenders from the Launchpad competition have just been transferred in, at 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. While the top three Launchpad entries are, according to the rules, probably going to be taken out again, there’s still that one contender, the fourth Launchpad entry, currently in 6th on The List, who’s just 10 readers below me and still taking orders....

In short, my position is Extremely Precarious, and I’m probably going to need a bunch of new readers within the next week to ensure my place.

In book news, the manuscript is complete and ready for submission. So is a brand new plan of the Veterans’ Club ground floor--and yes, the manuscript has been edited to take into account the new layout.

In short, we’re ready to roll. It’s just a question of what happens over the course of the next week. Now, more than ever: tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell your complete strangers. King Leonidas may have made an impressive defence of Thermopylae with his 300 Spartans, but that ultimately ended in defeat. Let’s hope the same doesn’t happen with my 300 readers.

Hello my friends,

It’s been a while hasn’t it? Thing is, when preparing a book for publication, things can get pretty damn hectic. Toss in an option from a production company and the stakes get really high, which of course means more work.

That being said, I’d be remiss in not taking a moment to thank each and every one of you for your support in 2016. There’s no way I’d be anywhere near even this modest amount of success without you. I owe it all to you guys.

So I hope you all have incredible holidays with your friends and families. That 2017 will be an awesome year for you and that you get to accomplish your dreams the same way you’ve allowed me to accomplish mine. And to kick off the next year on a good note, I’d like to unveil the final (kinda) cover for A God in the Shed:

The designer did an amazing job in creating something iconic and striking that will be a great visual signature for the story. I’m really looking forward to seeing this cover, wrapped around a book, in your hands.

Thanks again for your support and happy Kwanzhannukmas everyone!

JF

Dear friends

 Happy Holidays

I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and those you love. No matter which holiday you celebrate, I think we can all agree that the theme this time of the year is love. Love those around you, love the people who love you and support you through the tough times, and love what life has given you. Every day we live is a gift, so let’s enjoy them all.

I am excited about 2017. I have three writing projects to work on during the coming year. Too Many Controllers, the short stories anthology which won the Nerdist video games contest. Bad Medicine, my latest horror novel which won the Crypt TV horror contest and, of course, Worlds Walker, the sequel to The Catcher’s Trap.

Next year will be busy and exciting, and I hope you are still on board to continue this journey by my side. After all, it is because of you that I can call myself a published author.

If the Holidays put you in a giving mood, please check out my other projects, especially Worlds Walker. Many people have asked me for the sequel to The Catcher’s Trap. The manuscript is ready, but I don’t have a publishing deal yet. You can change that. Click here to follow the project or pre-order.

We’ll talk again next year!

Love you all, have a wonderful Holiday!

Dear friends and followers:

Christmas is coming. So is my birthday. If you’re following the Julian calendar, those are on the same day. I think it’s pretty clear what I’d like for Christmas....

Well, the List contest continues apace. Thanks to you, I’m still in second. There’s no place for complacency, though, as I am not convinced that the numbers are entirely accurate: I believe that some of the books behind me have uncounted readers, which puts them a lot closer to knocking me out of position than I’m comfortable with. And things could easily change over the next month.

I’m grateful to all of you for having gotten me this far.

Meanwhile, I have not been neglecting the book itself in favour of selling it. I’ve updated the first two chapters on the site; I’ve worked out the actual calendar-date timeline for the events of the novel, and I am happy to say that the story officially begins on 31 October 1924. I’d very much like to be able to hand this in first thing in the new year, but that’s all dependent on what happens with the List.

Speaking of timelines and the upcoming New Year, it’s been a while since I made any recommendations. So here are a couple that I believe you’d enjoy, and whose authors would also appreciate the Christmas gift of your vote of confidence.

1) "Manifesto", by Daniel Poort. This one’s a psychological thriller about a small-town cop on the trail of a serial killer. Poort promises an escalating body count; and of course nothing says edge-of-your-seat like murder and betrayal.

2) "Shady Place", by David Byrne. A more light-hearted take, I think. A police detective and a mobster retire to the same seniors’ community, and find they have to work together to prevent a murder. If they play "good cop/bad cop", I wonder which would be which....

Until next time: have fun, and keep reading. And tell all your friends!

I am sorry to write you, again, without being able to tell you how Illegal will go forward with Inkshares. I do, as always, want to be transparent with what’s been happening.

On October 14th, Illegal fully funded after selling over 750 copies. On October 24th, a computer glitch gave everyone a refund. I immediately reached out to Inkshares and they told me they were not sure what happened but they would be able to recharge credit cards. However, they would not honor orders that used credits. When the funding period began Inkshares issued credits to encourage participation. They have since discontinued that promotion in part because customers were using credits in ways they did not like. For most of the campaign when a customer made a purchase Inkshares gave a referral code on the site at time of purchase and again in the confirmation email with a message that told them they would receive credits when someone used their link. I believe this is the source of most credits used and sought to establish a baseline with Inkshares to determine what they found acceptable and what not. I’ve asked variations of this question many times over the past month and half and have never received a clear answer what the criteria would be and if the aforementioned example would be valid or not. From the start I told them I would be happy to work with them to resolve the situation but thought completely throwing away all credit orders regardless of criteria was unfair and unacceptable.

While this was going on I was reaching out to various funded authors on the Inkshares platform to try and make sense of this all. I was encouraged to hear that the issue was a big topic among authors who were curious to see how Inkshares would handle the situation. I assumed Inkshares would want to show they had their authors interests in mind. 

In the month and half since the bug that triggered the refund I have constantly been reaching out to Inkshares to try to determine what is happening and when I should expect everything to be resolved.  Not all my emails are answered and I have not been given few specific details, but in the last reply I did receive I was told that they will know more before the end of the year. At this point, I think too much time has elapsed to re-charge credit cards which may mean that ALL orders have been lost. I was cautiously optimistic in the immediate aftermath of the bug but as more time passes without resolution I’m beginning to lose that initial hope and patience. I never imagined that this would have dragged on into December.

I spent nearly a year fundraising for this--which is something I hated doing. So after reaching the goal and having all those efforts taken away stings. A LOT. But, there is a bright side. I have forged friendships with other authors and despite losing all the orders, to know that hundreds of people were willing to spend their money (and often their time) on Illegal is wonderful and validating. I do have the email of everyone who purchased a book and if anyone wants to get in touch with me they can reach me at: j.a.dennehy@gmail.com

I’ll update again when the situation is resolved.

1. 41 pre-orders needed for publication!
2. Toys For Tots
3. NEXT UP: New Chapters, Sponsors

 1.) 41 orders until publication! 

So we picked up a bit of progress in November, many thanks to my new followers and backers. But now we’re stuck on 209 orders with the finish line fast approaching. Admittedly, I’ve been a bit down of late and am trying to rally myself to help us get this thing over the finish line before the new year.

I’ve come up with a charity event to encourage more orders and more importantly, help children in need:

2.) Toys For Tots:

Is there anything better than riding a dragon? No way, but there are countless children that won’t have that opportunity this Christmas. Therefore, all of my orders received by Tuesday, December 20th will be donated to Toys For Tots. For those that didn’t know-like myself-books are also included in what they give to kids, not just toys. 

Already pre-ordered? No problem. Order more if you can, even if it’s just one book. As mentioned, on December 20th, I’ll post the donated amount here. And this gift will keep on giving! Per your request, Graham, (my son pictured) will help me donate the extra copies of Kingdom of Dreams to children in need when they become reality. I’m looking into a few child literacy programs that we can work in tandem with as well.

3.) NEXT UP: New Chapters, Sponsors

I was Fantasy Writer of the Day the day before Thanksgiving on Reddit; they treated me well and I met some nice fellow writers and fantasy fans. As stated before, I’ve been working on new, REALLY new chapters to give potential backers a larger sample size. If the fates cooperate, I’ll have two new chapters up simultaneously and will send them out to all of you. Please feel to critique and review. If you’ve been waiting and like what you read, why not order? (Or again, purchase one for a child that wants to read these types of books but doesn’t have the means to get them.)

I’ve talked to a couple of local sponsors to help distribute our book if it becomes a reality. I plan to continue to be more aggressive with these efforts, as the real battle will begin to get this book in as many avenues as possible. But the focus is on hitting 250 pre-orders. We are so close! 

Stay tuned and stay well,

Kevin