For the past several nights, I've been putting together my game plan. It's a sick form of procrastination from which my writer friends know I suffer: Instead of just sitting down and writing the actual story, I'll write pages and pages of outlines, timelines, character backstories, and all kinds of 'preparative' work. (Wow, that's actually a word.)

You see, so much of "The Animal in Man" has changed since I first started writing it. ...before I can pick up where I left off, I thought it would be a good idea to get my notes straight. 

But to hell with that.

For the past several nights, I've skipped the damn preparative work and just re-wrote chapter one. I only meant to tweak a sentence here or there, but I ended up tossing out and rebuilding probably 90% of the words from the ground up. No lie. The shape of the chapter is the same, you'll see, but everything changed.

And I think it's better. My god do I think it's better! I worked really hard on this first chapter. It would be an honor if you would spend a little time reading it. (Inkshares says 33 minutes...?) Please enjoy. 

CLICK HERE to go straight to Chapter One of "The Animal in Man".

And I swear my next update will be further along in time... next time. But just so you know, I will be working tirelessly every night, armed with a Jameson and Ginger Ale in one hand, a keyboard in the other. (...That makes little sense. Must be the Jameson.) Cheers!

Hello, my dear animals! This will be the last update you’ll hear from me for a while, fortunately or unfortunately. I’ll be dialing down the frequency from twice a week to once a month. And this update in particular will go by fast, so don’t blink!

I shot (and heavily edited!) my last Reader-Raffle drawing earlier today. I got my kids to fill the starring roles again, and I could barely contain the chaos that ensued. I want you to know that after the 5 minute drawing, I had an extra minute in which I thank everyone one more time and then plug two inkshares books worth your time, attention, and money (including extra inkshares credits if you got ‘em!). They were “Deus Hex Machina” by Amanda Orneck - a book I have been really, really looking forward to since I first visited the website - and “Transilience” by Kevin Bragg - a book I just recently discovered and instantly fell in love with. 

Look, don’t let your purchase of “The Animal in Man” be the only interaction you have with Inkshares. Get back to the website and check in on the hundreds of other books they offer. Great books by great authors who have great stories to tell, who are working really hard to get published. I know a great majority of my followers probably still have credits attached to their inkshares accounts, credits still unclaimed in their emails, and more still potential credits to earn by signing in and clicking “Recommend via Inkshares.” Why the heck wouldn’t you want to spend free money?

Finally, I want you to know I’ve been busy this weekend. I had kind of like a nesting instinct. My baby’s going to be born soon, right, so I rearranged the basement, I dug out my outline document, revised it a bit, and made a poster. Hung up a poster, a calendar. Most importantly I taped my favorite fortune cookie on the wall, the one I’ve carried in my wallet for three years or more: “Do Not Fear Failure.” This is where The Animal in Man will be born. 

...also there’s a kid watching Frozen, again, in the background. Again. Please don’t think I’m staging that for cuteness’ sake. I’m really not. I. Am. In. Frozen. Hell. Writing this book might help me thaw my way out. Hopefully.

We won!!!!

 I can’t seem to make myself fully believe it, still so I have to keep saying it! :)

I am incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for all the help and support getting word out about my book. The last month has been one of the most exhausting experiences I can remember – Sleep? No time for that, I have to message people in other time zones! Writing? After work, there’s only time for promoting the book!

I would like to take a moment to thank my family who went above and beyond in getting me through this contest, in particular - my sisters Kirsty and Laura, my brother Keith and my brother-in-law Cyril who each worked at least as hard as I did promoting the book; my parents Scott and Elaine who reached out to more people than I can count; and of course my lovely wife Margo who not only worked tirelessly alongside me, but also somehow managed to keep me sane.

I was also greatly helped in my efforts by a number of great friends including Sebastien Genest, Mathieu Pralus, Sara Hernandez, Isabelle Pottier, Eddy Lesert and so many others that I just can’t list everyone. Again, I am grateful beyond words.

And I can’t leave out the amazing authors who helped me out and made (and continue to make) the Inkshares experience as amazing as it is – John Robin the author of Blood Dawn and backbone of the whole author community, Julian Green the co-author of Suffrage – the First World Key, Cara Weston the author of She is the End, Billy O’Keefe author of These Are My Friends on Politics, Michal Sebby author of The Inhabitants: An Unremembered Life, and Janna Grace author of the Talkers are Talking, not to mention my co-winners Joseph Asphahani author of The Animal in Man, and Matthew Sobin the author of the Last Machine in the Solar System. All of their books are amazing and well worth checking out if you’re looking for something else to read!

 And now, I’d like to make my small gesture of thanks to my supporters: here is the video link of the 4X50$ gift card draws, and the draw for a themed cake by Lolai’s Yummies. Congratulations to the winners!

 I’m looking forward to a little break - picking up Fallout 4, maybe even making it in to see the new Star Wars movie, and most importantly getting back to my writing! I’ve started to miss my characters and wonder what they’ve gotten up to in my absence! There are also still some edits and rewrites I need to finish before the manuscript is ready to be turned over to Inkshares so that the process of getting it published can get under way :)

 Thank you all!!!!

Dear royals,

A congratulations is in order. To Joseph Asphahani, Matthew Isaac Sobin, and Craig Munro, congratulations on winning the Sword & Laser Collection Contest! I wish you a great success in the publication of your book and may it be the nitro to your authoring dreams :)

To all the royals who have claimed a title, thank you so much for showing support during the duration of this contest. I might not have won, but I'm a winner already - having you backing me (as cliche as it sounds, it's true). So thank you! 

Now, what happens to The Slave Prince? Being that it was launched for the Sword & Laser Collection Contest, and being that the contest is now over, this book will return to being a draft project. The crowd-funding will be briefly put on hold, hence all your funds will be returned to you. As to when the project will go live again, I'm still considering the best time to do so. 

Crowd-funding is much more difficult this time around (and I thought the first time was tough already). Gathering support from readers is harder than from family and friends. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. Based on my 'findings' during the Sword & Laser Collection Contest, I discovered that less than 50% of followers of this project pre-ordered. So in order for me to reach the minimum publishing level of 250 pre-orders, I'll need 500 or more followers. Should I reach that number of followers, it's a guarantee I'll launch the project. But should I not, I'll have to think of something else.

If you'd like to lend an extra hand, please share this project with your bookish family and friends. Share it with lovers of adaptations and retellings. Share it with your book club over some tea. And share it with your cat-lady neighbour with the enviable book collection. Help bring the follower count to 500 so I wouldn't have to think of something else. I'm really hoping to have another book published this year, and I would really love for The Slave Prince to be it. Having your support would mean a great deal to me.

With all that said, I'll still be adding new chapters to The Slave Prince (should it be permitted in the project draft stage). And I'll be sure to let you know prior to relaunching the project too. If you have any suggestion or feedback, feel free to send me an email at jeynagrace[at]gmail.com. I'll be more than happy to hear from you :)

Once again, congrats to the winners! And to the rest, have a wonderful weekend!