A quick February update!

1)Edits continue to move along, we’re on track to move onto copy edits by April 1st, and I should have some fun developments to share in March (possibly including the finished cover reveal).

2)To amp up my media presence and mailing list numbers before the launch this fall, I’ve teamed up with several other authors to offer a fantastic giveaway!

If you’re a fan of Stephen King or know someone who is, you won’t want to miss this. We’re giving a ton of Dark Tower swag to one lucky winner!

Prizes:

• The Dark Tower 8-Book Boxed Set
  
• The Dark Tower Blu-ray.
  
• Charlie the Choo-Choo
  
• From the world of The Dark Tower Diamond Select Toys: the Dark Tower Movie Gallery: the Gunslinger Pvc Figure, Diamond Select Toys the Dark Tower Movie Gallery: the Man in Black Pvc Figure
• The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King’s Epic Fantasy
  
• Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Concordance
  
• The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King’s Magnum Opus
  
• The Dark Tower: The Art of the Film! 

Participating authors:

Russell Nohelty, Devyn Jayse, Shane W. Smith, Russell Newquist, Caleb Thusat, Kyrun Silva, Eli Constant, Katrina Kunstmann, Shane Thomas, Frankie Blooding, Jacqui Castle, Christopher Lee, J.L. Gipson, Susan May, Jason Franks, Joshua Robertson, JD Oliva, Andre Gonzalez, Big Tim Stiles, Dani Dixon, Scott Austin, James Mascia, Craig Taillefer, RJ Blain, and Deborah Munro!

Enter Here!

THE MANUSCRIPT IS IN!!!

After two months of rewriting and revising, with the help of my friends Peter Ryan and Cari Dubiel, and. of course, my wife, I’ve turned in a fine tuned 76,900-word manuscript after the first round of developmental editing. That’s nearly 10,000 darlings killed. It was probably closer to 15,000 of the original words that suffered their terrible fate, but I changed a couple of scenes and added about 5,000 words back in. It was all for the better, and I’m proud of what this book has become. 

I know I promised mid-January for turning in this manuscript, but I’m going to play the sympathy card, because I was hospitalized in January for acute abdominal pain and had my gallbladder removed and subsequently stolen. They wouldn’t bronze it and let me keep it, the jerks, they just took it God only knows where. But, I’m glad it’s out. The good news is that I got my author bio picture in the process: 

That’ll sell a lot of books on its own. Might even make it the cover of the book. Not sure my publisher would go for that, though. 

Speaking about the cover, design will start happening in a few months, but I already know one thing will be remarkably different when it’s done: the title. 

Yup, I am almost sure I’m changing the title. The book is in two parts now, and I’ve named part one "The Madness of Mr. Butler," while part two is "The Courage of Mr. Butler." As much as I love the title as it has been, it doesn’t really sound like a science fiction book, which it mostly is. I’m changing the title of the book to "The Man Who Stole the World," which, for those of you who are in need of improving your musical tastes, is a play on the title of a David Bowie song. (And David Bowie might have a cameo in the story, but I’m not at liberty to say at this point).

wink

So, what’s next? 

Right now, we wait. Matt Harry, my editor, already got back to me that he’s currently working on a few manuscripts and plans on starting on mine in a few weeks. So, it’s probably going to be a while before I can report on further progress. But, this means that this year will begin the next levels of edits on a manuscript that is actively in production. I feel great about it all. I’ve had a wonderful experience with Inkshares. 

Thank you all for your support. Your investment in me is something I think about and appreciate daily. I’m working my tail off to get you the best version of the book. Thank you for the opportunity. This is all because of you. I hug you.

In the meantime, if you wanna interact outside of email, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and fairly soon I’m getting my blog back up after some reconstruction. 

Hang in there, it’s all coming together!

Love always, 

-Michael

Hey, kids.

She Is the End is almost done.

My book! MY ACTUAL BOOK!!!

Thank you all so much for your support. I’m sorry the journey took so long... I think it’ll be worth it.

Hey. Hi there. 

I have news. A couple of bits actually. I shall save the best for last though.

New book title

Ghosts of War is now.....Ghosts of War: Retribution. The change was made by me to help the title stand out a little more, and it gels better with what the story is actually about (and with the titles of the series going forward). I’m quite pleased with the change. 

With that change though, means something else...

A new cover

Production Status

Very good news on this front. This last Monday, Ghosts of War: Retribution winged it’s way across the interwebs into the hands of it’s copy editor. That means it is getting a thorough going over as it moves ever closer to release later in the year. Typically the time frame is 6 months from kickoff to publication, so it should land somewhere around the middle of the year. 

I should be hearing back from Inkshares soon with some more solid dates related to the production schedule and release, and I’ll keep you guys updated where I can.

Praise for the book

I’ve been getting the first lots of feedback on Ghosts of War: Retribution in the last few weeks, here’s a few blurbs that’ll be showing up in various promo materials going forward.

"Imagine that bastard you hate. Got it? Now imagine yourself gut punching them then throwing them down the stairs, and stealing their last donut. Robinson’s debut novel takes arch-rivalvary up a notch while giving that oh-so-satisfying desire to chew bubblegum and kick ass." - Rick Heinz, Author of The Seventh Age: Dawn 

 "Sci-Fi action-adventure at its very, very best. Paul Robinson gives us complex characters facing complex conflict in a futuristic world that, although dystopian, always carries the ring of truth. There’s revenge, retribution, heroism and, sprinkled throughout, satisfying bits of wry humor. A winning combination, and a debut author worth watching." - Jason Pomerance, Author of Women Like Us 

 “Ghosts of War: Retribution is an adrenaline-fueled adventure perfect for fans of fast-paced action sci-fi.” - Robert Batten, Author of Blood Capital 

 "Paul Robinson thrills his readers in the style of James Rollins and John Grisham, and then brings them to another world in the style of Robert Heinlein. You should pick up Ghosts of War: Retribution, though be warned: it’s hard to put down. ★★★★★" - Jonathan Maas, Author of Flare

 What now?

As production finally ramps up on Ghosts of War: Retribution, I’ll be working hard with Inkshares to get it into your hands and I’ll also be continuing to work on the sequels which are now called Ghosts of War: Reprisal and Ghosts of War: Reckoning. 

As always, stay tuned for updates.

More news for my wonderful follower! 

We have booked a launch event at Happy Harbour comics in Edmonton, Alberta on Feb 11/17 at 11 am till 3 pm. If you’re in the area, come by and see what it’s all about. It’s a bit early but soon I’ll post more information about Happy Harbour and the event. Just wanted to give my wonderful followers a heads up. I hope to see some of you there. 

Kelsey Barthel

Hello again my wonderful followers, 

BIG NEWS!! The ebook for Beyond the Code is READY!!!! That means that anyone who pre-ordered the digital copy or the physical/digital combo can read the book RIGHT NOW!!! And if you have yet to join the club and want to see what all the fuss is about, you can order a digital copy of Beyond the Code for only $6.99 and download it right away. No more waiting! 

And remember, once you have read Beyond the Code, make sure to give it a review on amazon, goodreads, or the Indigo website. Reviews are an authors best friend and I am eager to know what you think of my first published novel. 

Thank you all for staying with me on this journey to publication and I hope you all enjoy reading Beyond the Code as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. 

Kelsey Rae Barthel