Hello Not Afraid of the Fall team,
Now that the dust has settled from the stampede of last minute preorders that ultimately propelled us over the goal and into the land of full publishing... I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you once again.
Inkshares is unique. They take the time to find what I like to think of as "Diamonds in the rough". They give first time authors, like myself, an opportunity to prove that their book, their idea, their experience is worth the professional editing, marketing, creative direction and developing that Inkshares has to offer. They give people an opportunity to put in the time and effort required to convince people that this book is worth having on their bookshelf at home. None of this is guaranteed, it simply an opportunity.
This opportunity was very close to slipping away.
As Ashley and I watched the clock tick away Saturday, with hundreds of preorders left to reach the goal, I thought it was over. I thought that there was no possible way to obtain the same amount of preorders in ONE DAY that we had in the last FOUR MONTHS COMBINED.
Then you guys happened.
We received an overwhelming amount of support from people like you. When numerous people reached out to tell us that they were tracking the preorder bar at home, at the bar, even at weddings... I could not believe how lucky Ashley and I are to have this support.
Thank you. Thank you for not only preordering this book, but also sharing statuses, videos and the book itself to your friends and family. This is our accomplishment and I am excited to have you on the team as we continue this journey.
This is just the beginning and there is a lot of work to be done, but I am excited to see where this book will go.
I will keep you updated every step of the way on the progress of the editing, developing, marketing etc...
THANK YOU
Your inspired author,
Kyle James
The Amaranth Chronicles has always been more to me then just a little novel. To it’s an entire universe as rich and diverse and exciting as any mainstream Sci-Fi phenomenon and why shouldn’t it be? My mind helped will it.
With the Inkshares campaign coming to an end this week we’re still 50 or so Pre-orders short from getting published. It’s been a long and exhausting journey making it this far but should we not make it to our Quill goal I have an unrelenting faith that this is not the end of Chris and I’s Sci-Fi universe. After all, it would be a shame if the kids didn’t get to play with the toy line. ;)
....
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! I’m so grateful for all of the support I have been shown by indie retailers over the past few months. If you’re looking for something to do today, pop into your local store—there’s a lot going on!

I was recently interviewed about Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside by Jocelyn Eikenburg on her website, Speaking of China. We discussed how I conceived of Guillard and Daniel as well as the central themes of the book. Jocelyn’s own writing has been featured in two anthologies about expat life in China (Unsavory Elements and How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit?), and she’s currently working on a memoir, Red All Over.

I’m still waiting to hear the results from the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards, for which UMDC is a finalist in Literary Fiction, but they’ve just announced that there will be another medal this year: The Readers’ Choice. The title with the most comments on its finalist page will receive this award, so I’m hopeful that UMDC will do well, given my wonderful network of backers (read: YOU). To post a short endorsement of UMDC, click here and scroll down.

UMDC currently has 48 reviews on Amazon! I went to a wedding in Santa Barbara recently and sat down next to a woman who turned out to be one of the site’s Top 500 Reviewers. In an incredible act of kindness, she bought, read and reviewed the book in under a week. Just goes to show you (or, in this case, me) that you never know who’s out there willing to help. I would love to get to 50 reviews. If you haven’t left one yet and would be willing to do so, the link can be found here. Thanks!

Short and sweet updates work best! Cover Voting Options!
Help decide the fate of which direction we are going to roll in. Send me an email to CrankyBolt@gmail.com or reach out on twitter @CrankyBolt with what you like!
If you are a follower as well, that hasn’t picked up a copy of the Seventh Age yet... hop in so you can vote! If you’re a fellow author who is in the fantasy genre, reach out to me via direct messages as well.
One note: These covers are not complete yet. There is still another round of direction after this.
Cover #1
Cover #2
Cover #3
Hey guys,
My god....
Once upon a time I held a raffle every ten orders. Do you remember those days? They seem so long ago, when we were all young, and the book hadn’t even really started being a draft. Fun times.
Yessiree, I’m shipping out the raffle prizes!
It’s officially getting competitive up in here! Seems like all three of the top entries in the Geek & Sundry contest have hit triple digits. And speaking of triple digits, I intercepted this unbroadcast Paco The Puppet video from International Transport:
Apparently they were going to release it when I hit 250 individual readers (which just happened!) but the word on the street is that Paco disappeared! They are offering a huge reward for his return. I, on the other hand, am offering huge rewards for your referrals. Every book purchase you make or refer will get you into a weekly raffle where I’ll be giving away Punch Escrow vintage International Transport t-shirts, teleporting coffee mugs, hoodies, and much more! You can find your referral code on any book page by clicking on one of the share options on a book page. Not only will referring your friends to buy the book enter you in the weekly raffles, but you’ll also earn a $10 Inkshares referral credit!
Thank you for your help in getting here. We’ve still got almost three weeks until the contest is over and I can’t win without your support!