Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for Illegal

Two weeks left! Thirty-seven orders to go! We can do this! 

As a special bonus, I’ve decided that beyond signing each book bought in this funding period I will also number each book in Esperanto. I’ll only ever number them like this for preorders. (Esperanto is a constructed language, meant to break down linguistic borders.) Order now and help me get this book published!

(E-books are great too, they help us reach toward 750 all the same.)

Onward!

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    Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for Sorcery for Beginners

    WOW. It’s only been one day, but we already sold 30 BOOKS thanks to you guys! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the shares, likes, and most importantly, PRE-ORDERS. If you know anyone who might like a fun book about magic, or haven’t gotten around to pre-ordering yet, the link is here:

    https://www.inkshares.com/books/sorcery-for-beginners

    We have 29 days left to get around 300 buyers. If we hit that milestone, the publisher will provide full marketing, editing, and distribution support. SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS will be sold in real bookstores, on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find the printed word. But we need to sell more books!

    I promise I won’t bug you too much about this over the next month, but any help is greatly appreciated. If you can’t afford to buy a copy yourself, please share the link, Tweet about it, etc. Every bit moves us forward. Huge thanks again to all who bought a copy! I can’t wait for you all to see it!

    mh
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      Jane-Holly Meissner followed Human Resources
      Blood Capital
      The Blight changed everything, sweeping the globe, leaving humanity on the brink of extinction. The melior, with their immunity and fortified walls, stepped in to provide sanctuary. Now, the last of the human race are enslaved, but alive.
      Jane-Holly Meissner liked a review for Tantalus Depths
      The world of Tantalus Depths is all encompassing. I was transfixed from the first moments on the ship through the journey the crew takes exploring the planet. The story captured my imagination, driving me to constantly guess at the next complication the crew might face, and question the big picture, often wondering aloud what would come next. I instantly connected to Mary feeling a deep kinship I only feel with the most profoundly crafted characters. Evan Graham delivers an engaging story told through beautiful prose, the absolute definition of great literature. 
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        Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for The Last Faoii

        Greetings, Faoii.

        We have just enough time for one more raffle before the end of the Geek and Sundry Contest. And, I’ll be honest, this is the raffle I’m most excited about. Hopefully you’ll feel the same. 


        Do you have a name you’d like to see honored in our campaign’s history? Or, maybe YOU want to be featured in the tomes that will tell of our battle to publication for all eternity. This is your chance, faoii. On November 1, the day after we finish the contest (hopefully with our banner at the top of the hill, our foes lying defeated at our feet), I will pick 3 random pre-orders and give those faoii the honor of naming one of the men or women that Faoii-Kaiya meets in her journey. Whether it be your name or one you like, I would be honored to chronicle it amongst those of our heroes in their fight. 

        The other available prize is the only thing I can think of to help give back for everything you’ve all done for me. If you know of my day-to-day life, you know I don’t always lead armies up hills while screaming curse words and battle cries. In fact, most of my days are taken up by one of my several occupations-- not the least of which is beta reading and editing other people’s work. 

        Now-- I’m not a professional editor. I do have a degree in English, and (after getting rejected by 200 literary agents in the past) I’ve tried to use that knowledge to find out exactly what kinds of changes need to happen before something is publishable. Of the 46 full-length novels I’ve looked over and made suggestions for, 9 have gone on to find an agent or publisher. I specifically look for spelling/grammar, plot continuity, pacing, and (my personal favorite) oft-repeated words or information in a manuscript. Mostly, though, I just love being part of the creation of a world, no matter how small my part in it is. 

        I wish I could offer a character name and my editorial services to everyone that supports this campaign. But, honestly, there aren’t that many characters in the story, and we’ve already talked about how many jobs I have just to cover rent. Each book I edit takes an additional 20 to 60 hours on top of my regular work hours--there just isn’t enough time in the day. But I can make room for 3 new character names and 3 new manuscripts. Yours could be one of them.

        This fight is drawing to a close, faoii. We’ve come so far in so little time--just a little more and we can celebrate our victory with pride. Do not lose hope.

        Shields up.
        -Faoii-Tahani
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          Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for How to Get Run Over by a Truck

          Dear Sweethearts,

          I got up yesterday morning at 5 am to workout. As I dressed in the gray morning light, it reminded me of the years that I would force myself to get up at 5 am and drag myself to my computer to bang out bits and pieces of my memoir for the 2 hours I had before commuting into work. It was the quietest that my Brooklyn neighborhood was all day. It felt like I was the only person awake in the world. It was lonely, but it felt right.

          I struggled to put my feelings into words. I wanted to be honest with myself about who I was, how I felt and who I was trying to be. I did my best not to flinch about my ugly feelings, to stare deeply into my own mortality, fragility and also to dive in deeper past the negativity, to the beautiful hidden places where joy lived. 

           I spent my lunch hours tucked out of sight in unused cubicles in the back of the open trading desk where I worked - editing, crying, laughing. My evenings would bring me back to the same spot at the little desk in my bedroom, eating pretzels sipping tea and trying to get all of my memories out, writing with the fervor of a dying woman who didn’t want her life to get lost to time. 

          I wrote to make the pain more comprehensible, I wrote for old Katie because her story deserved to be told, and I wrote for the the stranger living somewhere in the world who might need a story like this, when they are feeling particularly hopeless. I wanted to tell them that the impossible happens all the time, we just don’t talk about it. It’s ok to be scared, it’s ok to laugh, it’s ok to cry - I usually do those three things in tandem. Even though I was writing this at my little desk by myself in Williamsburg - I wanted for the stranger to know, that they aren’t alone.  I’ve been there too. 

          I tried to make this book possible by myself, I sent it out to 75 agents across the country, I received their rejections, their emails and letters that told me that I wasn’t a good enough writer that the story wasn’t compelling enough, that no one would ever buy this book, I should hire a ghost writer. I took it to heart and I swallowed the rejection alone. 

          Then, I found Inkshares, and suddenly other writers were telling me that this book was something they thought was worth reading. From there, I found all of you, and I heard you saying "We believe in you. We’ll make this happen - we can do it together." And just like that, I wasn’t alone any more.  How to Get Run Over by a Truck stopped being just my story - it became all of ours. 

          I know that it is an imperfect piece of art, but it is a reflection of me and all of the pieces I tried to fit back together.  I love you for opening up your hearts to this story, to this book, and to me. There is no other way I could imagine bringing this book into the world today. Thank you for standing with me. To me, you are perfection. 

          Thank you for making this book possible. Yesterday was one of the proudest days of my life. I saw the book I have worked so hard on for years in the hands of people that I love, I got to read from the book in front of over 100 people who packed themselves into the KGB Bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I cried and I laughed with people I knew, and with strangers. It was incredible.  Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. I hope that you are enjoying your books! If you are, if you’d be willing to take a moment to leave a short review here on amazon.com’s website, I would be SO grateful! It will direct new people to the book, and hopefully get it into the hands of more people who need to hear this kind of a story! 

          I will be forever grateful for your kindness and for your support - thank you for changing the course of my life

          Heart,
          Katie 
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            Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for Human Resources

            Thank you everyone that has been following Human Resources here on Inkshares. Today I received some exciting news. Actually, "exciting" doesn’t cut the mustard in this circumstance. 

            Today, The Launchpad Manuscript competition announced its Top 75 finalists -- and Human Resources is in the list! I am humbled, excited, and a little intimidated -- but I am strapped in and ready for the ride now taking off.


            If you don’t know about the Launchpad Manuscript Competition -- it is one of the "Inkshares" competitions, but a little different to their others. This one is run independently in conjunction with Energy Entertainment and  Scott Free Productions 

            (yes, *that* Scott). 

            Apart from being a partnership, this competition differs from Inkshares regular fair by having an expert judging phase -- entrants had to submit a traditional synopsis and up to 50 pages of manuscript for industry judges to assess. 

            The Top 75 have been selected by that panel.

             You get to pick the winners (hint -- pick me). 

            At some point there will be a more traditional Inkshares crowdfunding competition -- I’ll be reaching out to you when that happens. For now, I’m just too excited not to share the news!

            Robert

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              Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for A Beast Requires

              Woo! 103 backers and 126 pre-orders!

               

              A Beast Requires is the Write Out Loud Syndicate’s selection for October, which also happens to be LGBTQIA+ History Month! You have no idea how much this means to me. When I was a tiny little queerling, my life was an absolute mess. The late 80’s and early 90’s weren’t particularly kind, especially to a kid growing up in the suburban sprawl of Cincinnati. There weren’t a whole lot of LGBTQIA+ people in media, especially positive ones. Most of the time they were either stock villains, AIDS patients, or some sinister force serving as an antagonist. Of course, there was Divine, but at 8, I had no clue who Divine was, let alone had even seen a John Waters movie.

              As I got older, and was able to find queer cinema, it improved, but there was still a lack of a LGBTQIA+ presence in fantasy and scifi, which were my go to genres of escapism. It wasn’t until the revival of a popular British tv show that I saw an actual representation of me in the media, someone who wasn’t 100% straight or 100% gay, and I fell in love with Captain Jack the moment my baby blue eyes first saw him.

              Diversity does not exist in a vacuum, and any character’s defining characteristics should never be their race, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. When I started A Beast Requires, it was without question that the city of Aurum would be a diverse place, and part of that diversity was having LGBTQIA+ characters. Deputy Rilley, resident alchemist and mail order academic, is a trans man, and in a world where dragons are bankers and wizards use magic to grow pineapples in winter, no one bats an eye. Diversity in Aurum is a part of life, and when the nice troll drag queen asks you if she looks pretty in her dress, you say yes.

              Then there’s Priz, who openly states with pride that he, in fact, loves everybody. Having a pansexual character, who loves without limitations, wasn’t difficult for me to write. Hells, Priz himself wasn’t difficult for me to write, since I was Priz for most of my life pre-2010. Out of all the things Priz is, and trust me in that there are a lot of them, his sexual orientation is the least interesting thing about him. I could have gone the entire book without mentioning it, but I had to. Agency is important, and by having that one line, he becomes a visible member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

              Being selected by the Write Out Loud Syndicate means the world to me. It’s an absolute honor, and I am damn proud to be part of the community.

              - Jay

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                Jane-Holly Meissner liked Tantalus Depths
                Wow - campaigning since March is an incredibly long time. Hang in there!
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                  Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for Tantalus Depths

                  Meh Update:
                  Those of you who follow these updates regularly (and I genuinely have no idea how many of you do) may have noticed that I haven’t had much to say over the past two-ish weeks. You may also have noticed that my pre-orders have barely moved at all. So what’s the deal with that?

                  I’ll be honest. I’m exhausted.

                   

                  I’ve been working this campaign since March now. This has taken up the majority of my year. We’ve come an incredible distance in that time, but the distance to our goal is still vast. We’ve sold six pre-orders in the past ten days, and only eleven days remain to get the remaining 158 we need, which is virtually impossible barring a miracle. I’ve been told I can get another extension if I need one, (and if I need one I will get one) but...good lord am I ever tired....

                  I’ve poured my life, heart, and soul into this campaign, and right now there’s just not much of me left. My brain is fried and I’m having a hard time thinking of new interesting story-based content to update with that won’t spoil anything I want to keep secret, or lore-related content that isn’t completely disconnected from this story. I have a few ideas left, but I haven’t had the energy to put them together cohesively yet (expect some soon though).

                  I miss having a life outside of campaigning. I’ve had to put a lot of the things I love on hold for the duration, and I miss those things. I miss being able to hang out with friends regularly on my days off. I miss going to see movies in the theatre. I miss acting in plays. I miss DMing my custom Star Wars tabletop campaign on Friday nights. I miss...just life in general.

                  I probably sound whiny in this update, but honestly, I’m saying this more for my own benefit than anyone else’s. I’m still confident this is all going to be worth it. I have a literal lifelong dream within reach, and I’m not about to let it slip out of my reach. If I can get my campaign finished within the next eleven days and get back to having a real life, that’s fantastic. If I need to ask for another month or so, I will do so, and probably die young of old age shortly thereafter, but I’ll die happy.

                  Obviously I’m not giving up. I’m too stubborn, this is too important, and Tantalus Depths is too freaking good. But man am I ever tired.


                  P.S. I have something else really cool that I am working on, but it’s nowhere near ready, so I’m just going to be really obnoxiously vague about it for now. But stay tuned.

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