Good news. I finished the book. 

Well, technically I reached the end of the book, which is still good, if a little less ’final’.

See? Chapter 32 is done. I wrote the end of the book.

For reference, the final words are: "Thank you." And don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler. 

If anyone could guess who says it, to whom and the context, I wouldn’t be doing my job. Rest assured it’s a very satisfying thank you with some nice "Book 2" implications to boot.

I also wrote 1000 words in a single day (just) for the first time in what feels like months, which felt good. With November coming up, and NaNoWriMo with it, it’s promising that I’m getting back in a groove. I still haven’t decided if I’m participating, but we’ll see how it goes. I would like to get some work done on LandFall...

Goals for the next week: Finish chapter 23, get to work on chapter 26 and maybe even, y’know, finish the book.

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!

It’s Friday time!

So, here’s how the week went: 

It’s snazzy, and a little slim on the words unfortunately. Things were a little all over the place schedule wise this last week, but next week is looking calmer so ’writing time’ has actually been given allotted hours.

But it’s not all bad, I was able to finish Chapter 30 and get a nice chunk of Chapter 31 done and I went over the 95k threshold. So yes, good progress was made, not much, but it was good. I should be able to finish off 31 this week and maybe 32 as well, they are shorter chapters after all.

Then it’s on to finishing off 23 & 26, which will be a bit more work, 26 might be the longest (and most important) one in the book.

And then it’s on to tidying things up for beta reading time...

See you next week.

The Animal in Man is done. I can hardly believe it. No one doubted that this day would ever actually arrive more than me, I assure you. After months of what I called Radio Silence, I’m back - fingers trembling - to send out this reader update.

So what happens now? Well, I’ve sent all 350+ pages to Inkshares just an hour ago, and from there they’ll put together my production timeline and all the other wonderful things they provide. I’ll collaborate with them to nail down some ideas for the final cover design. In the months that follow there will be edits… load upon load of edits. The more meticulous work, you see, is really just starting.

I’ve never finished a project this massive in all my life, and yet, it’s not entirely finished. Still, I can’t contain my excitement. This is a turning point for me, and I couldn’t have done it without all the follows, all the interest (all the pre-orders!) for The Animal in Man. I just wanted to thank you all for your continued support. You’ll be hearing from me on the reg from now on!

(“Natural Collapse” - Design by Diogo Hornburg via threadless.com)  

Milestone Update!

I am pleased to report that a good draft of Mission 51’s final chapter is now complete! I am so very pleased with how the story has turned out! I can’t wait for you all to read it someday, and I hope that day is soon.

Now I will review and edit, embellish and improve, cut and paste, drag and drop, twist and shout, etc, etc.

Even after edits I anticipate the story will remain at around 80,000 words. That’s not a bad number for a sci-fi story that did not require a ton of world-building. But of course there has to be some. Mat is an alien after all, and this story is a second-hand recounting of the actual events, so I have details for you!

The book will be back in Inkshares funding, hopefully in the near future. I am waiting for a suitable contest. When that happens, I hope that you, my cherished Inkshares family, will help Mission 51 blastoff!

Peace and love to all,

Ferd   :-)

Hello, fine readers and followers. How are all of you on this dreary, gray, New York day? I hope you’re somewhere sunnier than I.

Okay, ladies and gentle men, time for an update on all things Ghost-y.

You may have noticed last time I said a thing about having the book done and submitted by the end of July. Well, that didn’t happen, but there are reasons, some good, some less so. Let’s begin.

I was talking to Inkshares around the time of the last update and mentioned my intention to submit at the end of July. Inkshares have a lot on their plate at the moment with a bunch of books in production and some behind the scenes changes, and they felt it would be in the best interests for my book if I took a bit more time to work on things, and not rush it so that when it came time to submit they could give it the appropriate attention. 

So what this essentially means is the book is about 95% certain to not be coming out in 2016 which, while disappointing, is best for the books future. Rest assured though, it will be coming as soon as humanly possible in 2017.

One side effect of this "take your time" directive was that my brain went into "oh you can put this off for a while" mode (among many other unhelpful modes)...and here we are: three months later and no finished draft.

This is a problem. For me. For you. For Inkshares. 

It is not, however, a problem without a solution and that solutions name is accountability. It’s all well and good to give myself deadlines, but if I’m the only one I’m beholden to, then I tend to fall between the cracks. So I figure having near on 400 people on my case should be a good motivator.

So, starting next Friday I’ll be sending out weekly updates that will include the daily word totals for the previous week. They’ll continue until the first draft is done (which is close mind you) and then I’ll reassess the schedule as things head into beta reading and revisions and such.

Current Stats

Word Count: 94,203

Chapters Finished: 27 of 32 

What’s Left: 23, 26 & 30 need to be finished and I have yet to start on 31 & 32 (though they are fully outlined)

Estimated Final Word Count: somewhere around 110,000

I’ll see you all next week. 

Short update just to show I’m still alive. Writing is continuing steadily as the end draws ever closer for the final draft of The Children of the Forest. In the meantime, enjoy another preview of a possible cover for the final version. Have a great week everyone ~

P.S. Preoders are always welcome. If you’ve followed along with my little passion project but have yet to grab a copy, I’d suggest taking a look at the sample chapters provided, and if you enjoy what you see, why not grab a digital version (or 10) I’m just saying...