Dear readers,

We’re at the three week mark for the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest, counting 71 individual people and a total of 102 books pre-ordered. We’ve still got some distance to go, and about five and a half weeks to make it in. There’s been an issue in the past couple of weeks of orders not being processed as expected, so please check to see if "Cat’s Paw" is listed on your account bookshelf under "Purchased". I make sure to send out thank you emails during this pre-order process, so if you think you’ve ordered but received no thanks from me, that’s usually a sign that something’s gone wrong somewhere.

Meanwhile, there is also the Inkshares Horror contest, with its own host of entries. The one that’s caught my eye at the moment is "Ereshk", by Frederick Street which pits "an alcoholic ex-cop, a washed-up arms dealer, and a fugitive stripper" against a mysterious cult. I guess I’m attracted to it because it borders on being a crime story, and, well, you know me and mysteries.

I was recently in touch with J. T. R. Russell, author of "Wake Up Call", which was returned to draft mode after its initial campaign a year and a half ago. I remember being disappointed then, as I was looking forward to this story. I thought it had a certain Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams quality about it -- perhaps it reminded me a bit of Adams’s "The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul". Not to worry: Russell apparently still has plans for the book, and I would recommend following it in case he opens up a new campaign or does anything else with it.

In the meantime, the available excerpts for "Cat’s Paw" has been updated with a new prologue. Check it out!

- Christopher Huang

Dear friends and followers,

We’re at the three week mark for the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest, with 71 readers counted and 102 pre-orders. We’ve still got some distance to go, and about five and a half weeks to make it in. There’s been an issue in the past couple of weeks of orders not being processed as expected, so please check to see if "Cat’s Paw" is listed on your account bookshelf under "Purchased". I make sure to send out thank you emails during this pre-order process, so if you think you’ve ordered but received no thanks from me, that’s usually a sign that something’s gone wrong somewhere.

Meanwhile, there is also the Inkshares Horror contest, with its own host of entries. The one that’s caught my eye at the moment is "Ereshk", by Frederick Street which pits "an alcoholic ex-cop, a washed-up arms dealer, and a fugitive stripper" against a mysterious cult. I guess I’m attracted to it because it borders on being a crime story, and, well, you know me and mysteries.

I was recently in touch with J. T. R. Russell, author of "Wake Up Call", which was returned to draft mode after its initial campaign a year and a half ago. I remember being disappointed then, as I was looking forward to this story. I thought it had a certain Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams quality about it -- perhaps it reminded me a bit of Adams’s "The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul". Not to worry: Russell apparently still has plans for the book, and I would recommend following it in case he opens up a new campaign or does anything else with it.

In the meantime, keep reading, and have fun.