6 Days to Launch - Updates Various

Hello Friends

Quick update to let you know that I made a decision.

This is the direction I selected for the book’s cover. Thank you all for your input it truly helped me select the right cover and give feedback to the designer.

And the work continues. We are onto copyedits, and the second round of cover proposals based on my feedback will be sent to me in the coming weeks (I will share that with you as well.)

The folks at Inkshares, Girl Friday Productions and I, are working hard to make sure you get a great book this coming fall.

In the mean time go to Inkshares and check out the work of other authors. There are great books in there; some of them available for purchase and some of them in the process of funding.

Don’t forget that if you want to support LGBTQ aspiring authors you can join my Write Out Loud syndicate. For $10 or $20 a month you will get a great book and will support the community and its allies.

Have a fantastic week.

News news news! 

It’s much sooner than I expected, but I’m ready to rock your world with an amazing update. 

As many of you know, the hardest part of this whole funding campaign has been, well, asking for help. I’ve often said that I wish this had nothing to do with money, because the monetary value is of little significance to me. Yet it feels a bit like asking for handouts when I’m trying to gather support. 

So, after talking with the crew at Inkshares and a lot of research and pitching, I’ve got great news. 

Proceeds from The Traveller’s Cup will now be going to BuildOn—a charity that focuses on education and world literacy. 

I’ve partnered with BuildOn’s adult literacy program, which helps adults in developing countries learn to read and write. We as avid readers often take the skills we have for granted. But imagine what your life would look like if you couldn’t decipher words, or even letters—if you were never expected to learn something our society considers essential. BuildOn is working to change that, and it’s a movement I want to be a part of. 

Once the Quill goal is met (250 pre-orders) 25% of the proceeds that would normally go to me will be given to them. At 750 orders I’ll increase that number to 50%. The reason for the different scale is because until I get to 750 orders I am responsible for my own editing and marketing, and there are fees associated with that to make sure you readers get something of quality. 

Funding on Inkshares to me was never about the money—it was about making sure this book gets into as many hands as possible. By partnering with BuildOn we’ll be able to do something good with these funds and make that happen sooner.

If you’d like to find out more about BuildOn, their website has information on their various programs.

And remember, every order counts. Your bulk orders will have a huge impact. 

Thanks for being a crew I can count on.  

Your Elatedly Eager and Enthusiastic Captain,
-AC 

Many of you have seen the great Blood Dawn fan video (if you haven’t, click here to watch it now – it’s amazing!). In this video, several Inkshares authors talk about what they love about Blood Dawn.

However, the fan video is short. In order to build excitement, Cara Weston and her husband, Alex, brilliantly picked pieces of longer videos made by each of these authors. I wanted to take a quick moment today to share links to where you can find the other videos in their full form:

Craig Munro, author of The Bones of the Past and a winner of the second Sword & Laser Contest, talks about how excited he is about the new epic fantasy world of Blood Dawn. I’m indebted to Craig for initiating the push to get Blood Dawn fully funded at 750 copies and for his ongoing support.

Matthew Sobin, author of The Last Machine in the Solar System and another winner of the second Sword & Laser Contest, recommends in his video that you buy two copies of the new epic fantasy, Blood Dawn. Here’s a couple reasons why:

#1 - You’re going to wear out the first copy from over reading it again and again and will later on have to put it in a plastic bag on your shelf.

#2 - After finishing with number one you’ll be happy twenty years down the road that you bought that second copy when it’s a collector’s item.

Michael Sebby, author of The Inhabitants: An Unremembered Life, focuses on me as a leader in the Inkshares community and what he loves about Blood Dawn – the idea of a world where art is taken away from us is thought provoking to imagine; how I immerse myself into my characters and their stories, putting so much heart and care to make the world so rich with wonder. He also talks about my maps and calls them “Tolkein quality”, which is absolutely flattering!

Joseph Asphahani, author of The Animal in Man, also shares why he’s excited about Blood Dawn in his video. One thing I found particularly moving about Joe’s video is his comment on how I can breathe life into a world and move the story forward all in a single sentence.

Tyler Sparrow, a beta reader for Blood Dawn, mentions the mysterious and rich settings in Blood Dawn, calling it a character driven story with similar plotting to "Game of Thrones". Tyler has been so helpful in his feedback on Blood Dawn -- so be sure to watch his video to get the take of a die hard epic fantasy fan on what Blood Dawn is like to read.

Finally, Paul Inman, author of Ageless, talks about why he fell in love with the Blood Dawn. Paul’s book is coming out in a matter of days (you can help him get more exposure by voting on it here), and I’ve been grateful to Paul for his support and enthusiasm for Blood Dawn right from the day he surprised me with an email where he’d recorded the opening Rena chapter.

I hope you enjoy these videos, and please, if you haven’t already, order a copy of Blood Dawn now to help us toward the 750 pre-order funding goal.

Don’t forget: you can pledge your pre-order to one of our dragons or houses for the game. Please email me: johnrobinrt@gmail.com if you’d like to do that with your order (otherwise, all unpledged pre-orders will go in a special pool for the game’s surprise twist.)