Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Okay!

So, around 92% of you want the slightly delayed autographed book, and that is what you shall get. On July 24th I will enter Inkshares’ office with a bunch of special pens and not leave until every pre-ordered signed book is numbered and autographed. For the few of you who wanted your books early but unautographed, I’ve discussed the matter with Inkshares and they asked that you simply pop them an email at: hello@inkshares.com and let them know that you pre-ordered a signed copy of The Punch Escrow, but you’d rather get an unsigned copy sooner.

More news soon! We’re almost at the finish line. We’ve crossed the 4,000 pre-orders threshold. Tell you what, if we break 5,000 by July 24, I’ll add something extra for all of you early backers.

More soon!

-Tal 

I’d like for you all to meet my editor, Matt Harry. He has been amazing in the journey toward getting The Madness of Mr. Butler published. As I’ve said, it is a long process, but that process is all in the best interests of the story, and in your best interests as my readers, investors, and friends. This man is doing great things to help make Mr. Butler a great story. He is challenging me and pushing toward making the final product the absolute best it can be. He is behind the greatest successes at Inkshares, and Inkshares decided that my little book deserves the attention of an incredible editor. Please enjoy the blog entry and video regarding one of his recent releases, "A God in the Shed" by J.F. Dubeau, here: http://blog.inkshares.com/post/162717697220/it-all-comes-back-to-story

As for Mr. Butler, great things are happening, and I appreciate your patience as everything remains under construction. We are still looking at an early 2018 release date.

Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to email me at info@talltalestold.com

Why the new email address? Because I am running an internet thing called "Tall Tales Told" now. It’s a home for everything I’m writing and thinking. I’m featuring music, stories of both fiction and nonfiction, and illustrated poetry. Please take a moment and visit if you haven’t already. You can visit by clicking here.

Thanks again for your support and patience. 

Love always, 

Michael.

I am still reeling with emotions after the crazy finish of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest. It is gradually sinking in that Mission 51 will be a published book and I will be a published author! It feels surreal. I am grateful beyond words for all of you. Inkshares publishes books only with the pre-order "approval" of the crowd. Mission 51’s publication could only happen on Inkshares with the support of wonderful people like you! Thank you very, very much!

I am truly not quite back to myself yet. I feel off-balance in a good, exciting way. I know this is a transitional feeling. For the past year and a half, I have been focused on writing and preparing myself for exactly this sort of contest. Now I will shift my focus to the goal of editing and publication. It feels like a brand new day full of hope and promise!

Inkshares has sent me a detailed questionnaire to help them help me through the process of editing, cover design, and marketing. I am to hand it in with my manuscript. I informed them I want to review it one last time and tidy up some loose ends before they start their process. I will let you all know when I have delivered the manuscript to Inkshares. It won’t be long.

Meanwhile, Mission 51 is now considered an Inkshares "property." I have a page on their "Properties" section, which is available to third parties in the entertainment industry who may be interested in the story. That’s pretty exciting, too! I haven’t completely tweaked that page, but if you are interested in what I have so far, you can check it out here.

Once I turn in the manuscript, I will join a few other works that have merited publication on Inkshares and are waiting for them to focus their professional resources on editing, layout, cover design, marketing, production, and distribution. It’s a thorough process that will take some time, quite possibly a year. I hope to have a better handle on the timeline once I hand in the manuscript. I will always inform you as soon as I know anything relating to the production of Mission 51.

Again, thank you for this incredible opportunity. I literally could not have done it without you!

Peace!

~Ferd  👽

This is the best update of them all!

WE DID IT!!!

With the help of you who are receiving this email (the “follower” list,) we finished the contest in the top three and have won the publishing prize! That is the dream of every writer, to be published. I have ONLY YOU to thank for that. There are many excellent writers who never have this opportunity. The difference here was YOU!

Here are the numbers: Mission 51 has an awesome number of “Followers” on Inkshares: 419. Most of you helped with a pre-order. Mission 51 would not be getting published like this without those pre-orders! Pre-orders is what Inkshares uses to determine who merits publication. It can’t be done on Inkshares without your vote of confidence and crowdfunding support! - Many followers helped with public exposure and awareness by simply “liking,” and “sharing,” and “commenting” on the Inkshares site, facebook, twitter, and instagram. Even without purchasing a pre-order, drumming up support for Mission 51 like that was enormously helpful. The level of interest and enthusiasm for Mission 51 was phenomenal! I will point out proof of that in just a bit.

Of the 419 Followers, 246 of you purchased a pre-order. Wow!!! That’s the number that counted for the contest. That’s the number that was top three out more than 180 submissions.

Those 246 fabulous supporters purchased a total of 267 copies, as some people purchased multiple copies of the book. That’s the crowdfunding Inkshares is looking for to: 1. prove the project is worth it, and 2. provide funds so they can at least start the expensive process of pre-production and production.

Those 267 copies broke down like this: 63% ordered ebooks, and 37% ordered physical books. That amounts to over $3,600 worth of crowdfunding support!!! That’s HUGE!!! Inkshares will use all of that and more to provide world-class editing, layout, production, marketing, and distribution services. I will update you all later on the timeframe of this exhaustive and comprehensive process. 

So the Mission 51 project page on Inkshares suddenly changed at 3:00 AM EDT this morning as the contest ended. The part that said “Funding” now says “In Production.” I am so very, very happy and proud about that! The green funding bar has disappeared. But I’m happy that most of the content is still visible. 

There is now one new little badge which appeared under the title and description on the Mission 51 project page. It says, “#18 Community Interest in Science Fiction.” I am blown away by that!!! There are many Science Fiction projects on Inkshares. To be ranked as #18 in Community Interest is unbelievable! That’s the proof about "interest and enthusiasm" I was alluding to!

I am starting to receive emails from Inkshares about my next steps. I have a number of things to learn and to decide, as you might imagine. As I know more, I will continue to keep you all informed through this medium. I ask for your patience as Inkshares navigates Mission 51 through their pre-production process. The goal is to eventually have a professionally polished product in your hands as soon as humanly possible. It won’t be as soon as anyone of us would like, but I will do my part to make it happen as soon as possible. I’ll keep you informed.

Again, THANK YOU! From the bottom, middle, and top of my heart, THANK YOU!!!

Peace!

Ferd 👽

One last blurb...

We’ve gathered a lot of awesome praise from some pretty amazing people. In a few weeks we will be able to reveal the final cover design for the book(including the back). It’s time to get excited! Sunshine is Forever will be in your hands in about two months-August 29, 2017!

In the meantime, you can enter to win an advance copy of the book through Goodreads. Head to this link on your computer and click "Enter Giveaway."  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33534889-sunshine-is-forever

Finally, my plan is to publish with Inkshares again! Please head to this link and FOLLOW my next book-KARID. You can already read a synopsis and the first chapter! Head here and click FOLLOW: https://www.inkshares.com/books/karid

Thank you so much for your continued support and inspiration,

Kyle T. Cowan

I’m afraid I have some bad news, friends. For the first time in almost a week, Proteus is not in the top three. We had a long and trying battle with the book that had been in fourth place today, jumping back and forth between being one order ahead and one order behind. Then today, that book blasted right past us straight into the second place spot with more than a dozen orders in rapid succession. Quite an impressive feat, I must say.

The good news is that the book that was in second place that is now in third is now only three orders ahead of us, so we can retake our rightful place in the top three soon enough. But only with your help! I need a real outpouring of support, guys. The danger of not making it to the top three by the end of the contest is very real. Something like what happened today could happen at any moment, and there’s no way to see it coming.

Unless, that is, you’re the Crone of the Lower Decks, Marion Krieg: one of our story’s antagonists. She sees everything coming....

Marion Krieg

Marion Krieg was one of the most brilliant minds to come out of Crisium University. At the age of 18, Krieg graduated with twin PHDs in quantum computing and AI engineering, with minor focuses in cybernetic engineering and cyberneural integration.

Despite having a broad variety of career paths to choose from, young Marion Krieg opted to accept an invitation from the Expansionary Coalition to serve as head scientist aboard the newly built colony ship Somnambule. Not being a naturally social person, Krieg felt no particular qualms about spending the rest of her life aboard a starship thousands of light years from settled space. The opportunity to conduct unlimited scientific experiments with no government oversight or restriction was, to her, its own reward.

On The Somnambule, Marion spent the first several years developing technologies to assist future generations of the crew, including an exceptionally adaptive level-five AI designed as a universal tutor in any field of study on record. In spite of this invaluable educational resource, Marion also took to training her scientists personally.

Marion’s career on The Somnambule’s science staff spanned more than seven decades, and she taught and worked alongside four generations of scientists. She never considered retirement, nor did her impressive intellect dull with age. In fact, it was in the later years of her life that Krieg developed her most impressive, and most divisive, scientific breakthrough yet.

Krieg developed a quantum cortical implant so sophisticated, it could allow its user to literally see future events. Or at least, this is the claim Krieg made. The handful of initial volunteers who underwent the procedure to receive the new implant did demonstrate an uncanny ability to predict events several moments before they occurred, lending credence to her claim, incredible though it may have been.

Krieg was not satisfied with the implants’ performance, however. As impressive as they were, she believed she could enhance them to project even farther into the future. Following several waves of improved versions of the implant, she finally implanted one into herself, granting her the ability to see so far into the future that she could witness The Somnambule’s arrival on Bella Rosa.

The future she claimed to see was dire. She had witnessed a vague and terrible catastrophe at the journey’s end; some threat unknown and imperceptible, but utterly devastating to the mission and the lives of crew and colonists alike. Having witnessed this disaster, Marion insisted that the mission, already 70 years underway, must be aborted.

The captain refused to alter course for any reason, but Marion persisted. By this time she had amassed scores of followers among the scientific and civilian communities aboard The Somnambule and, after multiple fruitless attempts to convince the rest of the crew of the danger at mission’s end, Krieg declared outright mutiny.

She led her followers in an ill-fated attempt to seize control of the ship, but were ultimately repelled and temporarily subdued by The Somnambule’s loyalist security team. They managed to push Krieg and her rebels back to the lower decks of the ship. A stalemate was reached: Krieg’s forces had the advantage of precognitive enhancements, making them all but impossible to capture or kill, while the security team was far better armed for combat. Neither side would relent, and so began a long and bloody civil war for control of The Somnambule….