Good day! For all of you who so generously pre-ordered Bane of All Things those many moons ago, this update is for you. (If you did already hear from me earlier today about the sequel, The Crucible Tree, this is a whole different update.)

First, I want to again thank you for being so patient. Getting BoAT into your hands has taken far longer than I had hoped. COVID-19 is the principal culprit.

What’s happening now?

At present, BoAT is off to copy edit – its last nitpicking round of editing.

As I am writing this, Avalon Radys, Inkshares’ Director of Editorial & Publishing Operations, has emailed me a tip sheet to fill out. A tip sheet is one of the essential marketing pieces for a book. We will see how my notes compare to hers.

Cover design will be next – I can’t wait to see how this goes and who will be the cover artist! When it is ready, you will be the first to see. (That cover below which you have become so accustomed to is just a placeholder by me using an Adobe Stock image.)

So, what does this mean for you?

I had hoped by now to provide a firm release date you could mark on your calendar. I can’t yet, but I will soon – the Inkshares’ team is making that determination right now. 

What I can say is that we are now aiming for a December-January release window. 

I know, that seems a looong way off. Trust me when I say I feel your pain – I live it. On the other hand, that gives us plenty of time to get this done right – to ensure a jaw-dropping cover design and make sure those reviewers and bookstore buyers are suitably wooed and wowed. Build as much advance buzz and anticipation as possible.

Why the delayed release?

As I have said before, the past year has been good for established authors as people do more reading while under quarantine lockdown. For new authors who are not yet established, the disruption of the publishing industry and the impact on brick-and-mortar retail made it a not-so-good time to release a first book.

For these reasons, Inkshares choose to delay most of the titles it had planned to release through the last half of 2020 and the first half of 2021.

But the end is in sight. Inkshares is ramping up for a slew of new releases through the latter half of this year.

Inkshares’ sales and marketing team wants to avoid rushing this backlog of releases out the door too fast. They want to make sure that every new title, including mine, gets its fair share of marketing and promotion. I can’t argue with that.

Meanwhile, I continue to work away on revisions to the next book in the series, The Crucible Tree. If you haven’t yet checked it out, you can find and Follow it here.

Thank you again for making all this possible. I truly hope you will be pleased with the result and satisfied that the wait was worth it.

Stay safe and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo

Good morning! It’s a beautiful, crisp and sunny Saturday in my neck of the woods, but do I ever itch for spring. I hope you are keeping well, as the light at the end of this big dark COVID tunnel creeps ever-so-slowly closer.

Why is Homer topping this update? Because this contest into which I have entered The Crucible Tree ends one week from today.

Thank you again for lending your support. I am so grateful for anything and everything that you have so kindly chosen to do. If there is something you still meant to do and haven’t yet, now is definitely the time.

Here again is an overview of what can boost The Crucible Tree up the contest standings:

·       Recruit a friend or family member to also Follow the project and consider the other actions below …

·       Spend some time reading my sample chapters (the contest algorithm tracks that page time) and if you wish, post a Review/Recommendation (please be kind -- these are still early drafts :)

·       Take advantage of the new Nominate feature

Stay safe and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo