I will begin with the obligatory thank you to all readers, old and new.  Your support is, as always, both overwhelming and motivating.

That said, I'm far better at writing than marketing, so I am going to focus less on the obsessive strain to promote The Defeated and win this contest and instead plunge into the next pages.

To describe this project in further depth to each of my supporters, the basic idea goes something like this:

A string of shorter stories with bookended prologues and epilogues that tell a continuous tale in the "present" while past episodes occur in the pages between in novella form.  An eventual compendium more in line with the conventional length of a fantasy tome culminating in the conclusion of the "present" story would tell the whole of the Something Like A Hero tale (which would certainly not be the only collection of stories to occur in this world I've spent so many years building).  My hope is to deliver tightly plotted, exhilarating fantasy adventures rife with social commentary and a whole mess of fun without dragging them and spending any more words than necessary.

Did you ever find yourself reading or viewing a modern fantasy tale and thoroughly appreciating the grim dark realism, but yearning, aching for a larger than life hero like Zoro or Robin Hood to break in and set things right?  To do it naturally, without it feeling contrived or absurd, despite the confines of a cruel corrupt world?  That's what I'm going for with Something Like A Hero and later projects, and what you can find already in The Defeated.

To prep myself for today's pages I have spent an entire morning watching Inigo Montoya face The Dread Pirate Roberts.  Rob Roy MacGregor conquer Archibald Cunningham.  Errol Flynn snark at Basil Rathbone as their blades clash.  Antonio Banderas and Sir Anthony Hopkins rescue California with charm and intellect and swords.

Dear Readers, your support is encouraging.  If you'd like to see this type of work reach the presses and foster the continuations, please keep spreading the word with friends, family, and co-workers.  As for me, I have adventures to write.
-Joe

I had real cause to celebrate today!

We hit 100 pre-orders! Thank you so much to those who stepped up in the last few days in response to my request to help us reach this important milestone. Now onto the next one -- more coming soon about the fun I have in mind for us to reach that.

Watching the pre-orders creep up to 100 was exciting for me today. Sunday is usually the day when I write my 15 pages for Blood Dawn. I began writing today with Blood Dawn sitting at 96 pre-orders, so I thought I'd stir up some coals and ask on my social media channels for 4 people to help.

Half of my writing day was spent in one of my favorite Starbucks here in Winnipeg. I completed a Lantis chapter, one that nearly had me in tears. Darn, why does storytelling make me so emotional? I've guess it's because I've walked with these characters for a year, so now that they are going through their dark moments, I really feel their pain. Well, I did my writing then went home for dinner -- and I was so pleased to see I had two pre-orders!

I only had a bit more to write, so I hauled my butt off to a Tim Hortons. This was a Jane chapter. Jane, Rena's adoptive mother, is a lot of fun to write. Think of her like a sort of posh, conniving incarnation of Hallmark's Francine. I didn't think the Jane chapter would be more than 4-6 pages, but I was wrong. I also didn't think it would be hilarious -- and I was wrong about that too. I had a hard time restraining my laughter as I wrote my way to the end of her chapter.

It was nearly midnight, and I hit 23 manuscript pages for the day. This one is a record! But if that wasn't enough, I checked my email and saw ... pre-order #100!

I really don't know what to say, so I'll hand it over to Wilson again.

Thanks, folks! You all rock!