Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Much has happened in the last month. We’re about six weeks away from publication, and the momentum is increasing. First, we’ve booked several more signing events in October. You can click on the links below to attend. It would be great to see as many of you in person as possible!

13 October, 2017 - Westlake, OH

14 October, 2017 - Oak Park, IL

18 October, 2017 - Redlands, CA

21 October, 2017 - Burbank, CA

30 October, 2017 - Pasadena, CA 

We will let you know as more events are added. If anyone knows people who work at bookstores, libraries, or middle schools, especially on the West Coast, please let us know. We’d love to set up as many events as possible to build buzz, and personal connections are incredibly helpful in such a crowded marketplace. 

Secondly, reviews have been coming in from early readers on Goodreads and NetGalley. Some highlights:

“Absolutely amazing! After reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down, even when I reached the last word.” (5 out of 5 stars)

“I could not put this book down … hopefully the author will expand on the universe.” (5 out of 5 stars)

“I loved the way the story was peppered with spells and footnotes…I can see this quickly becoming a cult classic and I hope this becomes a series with more volumes to follow!” (4 out of 5 stars)

“JK Rowling meets VE Schwab. Highly recommend!” (4 out of 5 stars)

It’s really humbling and awesome to see people we don’t know enjoying the book, especially since everyone involved worked so hard on it. And speaking of hard work…the final cover is FINISHED. I will be able to reveal that in about a week or so, but it looks really amazing and unique. My first thought when I saw it was, “If I found this in a bookstore when I was 10, it would have blown my mind.” 

And honestly, that’s my real hope with this book—that some kid I don’t know will pick it up and be as excited as I was to discover the Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Dark is Rising, or Harry Potter. (Not that I expect to sell anywhere near that many copies, I just want kids to enjoy it.) 

If you haven’t yet, please put Sorcery for Beginners on your wish lists at Amazon, Goodreads, Powell’s, Walmart, or wherever you buy books. It really helps us in terms of bookstore preorders. Thanks again for all the support, and we’ll have another update soon!

mh

My apologies for being out of the loop for the past 10 months. It’s amazing how life gets in the way. I swear the biggest obstacle in my life is myself. But finally have some time to reboot The Bully Book 

I’m officially launching my campaign today in hopes to reach the top 3 in the 2017 Inkshares Horror Contest.

Pre-order Incentive for Writers:

For every pre-order, I will be offering a free beta-read / critique of any author’s first 3 chapters. That is at least a $50 value for a minimum of $10. Just post your chapters on Inkshares and provide me with your approval to add thoughts and comments to your project page. (Or if it’s better for you, please send me a MS Word file and I’ll update it with comments and red-lines).

I am also an amateur, so take my critique however you like. No one way is the right or wrong way, but having others’ insight can help jog your brain to come up with new and interesting ways to get your story across.

My schedule for the campaign:

I have a day job from 9am-5pm so will be busy most of the day. However, every night I plan to send out x5 Personal Messages to friends and family for support. I will also allocate time to read and critique x1 Inkshares Project every night, in the order which pre-orders are received. Every weekend, I will plan to post updates with my novel’s status and interesting stories behind what inspired the tale. I’ll also reach out to online communities (subreddits, etc.) who may be interested as well.

Place a pre-order today and receive a free beta-read with comments, feedback, and suggestions on your first 3 chapters on Inkshares.

Nauselbaum,

M.R.R.

Happy Friday!

Hello Followers, 

The Dark Mountain is officially part of the 2017 Inkshares Horror Contest. 

I’m currently away in the mountains with spotty wi-fi and didn’t realize the book was in draft mode. Sorry for the confusion. I’m hard at work on a final version of my book. I waited almost 2 years to have my novel reviewed by Catherine York at critiquemynovel.com...and it was worth the wait. I’ve got several new ideas how to streamline and make the book "work" better...which includes a new opening chapter that combines the best parts of chapters 1 and 2. 

I will get back to campaigning soon, but for now my abilities are limited. I am working with my company on a feature/interview about the project, which should reach over 200,000 employees worldwide. Bear with me as this feature may not go live until Sept/Oct time-frame. Until then I will ring out as many orders as I can from my limited network.

The good thing is this contest features many professional judges that read the works and have the ability to choose novels even if they don’t reach the goal. So all the support you can give will help: follow, post a review, and place a pre-order if you can. All support is welcome!

Nauselbaum,

M.R.R.

Well, I know it’s been a severely long time since I’ve sent a reader update, and I’ve been waiting right along with you guys. I sent in the manuscript of The Sleeping Man shortly after the campaign ended and I’m waiting to hear back. Every now and then Inkshares will ask for something, which I supply, but as of right now, nothing. 

In the meantime, feel free to hit me up in the meantime for reviews on your pieces, beta reading, or whatever I can help with. I also haven’t been just sailing the seven seas, visiting new countries, and trying to maintain some sort of discipline over an energetic six year old. There may or may not be another story in the works for our favorite Dreamwalker.

Thank you for your patience, I know this process is certainly testing mine, but I cannot thank you enough for your support.

Sweet Dreams, 

Stephen