Hiya!  Thanks to everybody for following, plus Elena and Robert for those pre-orders!  Over the past week I’ve been struggling with the direction of my next chapter, but I’m happy to report I’ve had a breakthrough in both my research and concept, so chapter two will be up...not now, but soon.

With the Nerdist video game contest over, I don’t feel I need to spend quite so much time platform building, so that too will help get the pages cranked out.  I’m setting my sights on the 2016 Launch Pad Manuscript Competition, so quality and originality are my watchwords.  Meantime, I’m still going to be cranking out Inkshares Digests on my blog, ouratomictomorrow.com, along with indie, small press, and Big 5 reviews.

Despite my pledge to write more, tweet less, I would like to continue to connect with Inkshares readers and authors, especially on Facebook.  Could you take a moment to send a Friend Request?  I’m a real pushover, so you don’t even need to brace for disappointment. Find me at the link below, and party on!

https://www.facebook.com/dashmccallum

Tantalus Depths has just received one of the biggest conceivable honors it could have been given on Inkshares.
I am indescribably honored to announce that Tantalus Depths has been selected as the July pick by the Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters Syndicate.
 
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears mentioning again now: one of the primary reasons why Tantalus Depths was written in the first place was to create a story with a strong female lead. I wanted to do my part to break the gender imbalance in sci-fi media. I wanted to write a female lead that could inspire and impress male and female readers alike. I took great pains throughout the entire writing process to make Mary Ketch feel like a real person, her experiences relatable and accessible.
To be honored by the Bechdel Syndicate is to be assured that I have, at least in part, realized my goal. Truthfully, this moment is almost as important to me as earning my full publication goal. If Tantalus Depths hadn’t been worthy of an honor like this, in my own eyes it wouldn’t be worthy of publication either.
With the support of the Bechdel Syndicate, Tantalus Depths is now ahead of schedule. We’re only 214 pre-orders away from our full publishing goal, and we will not settle for anything less than 100% success.
To the Depths!

Okay, whew. I ran out last Friday to pick up my son, and then we left for a camping trip. I didn’t get the chance to do proper thank yous, so here it goes:

A huge, huge thank you to my supporters. It was amazing on Friday at 11:30 am to have people come out of the woodwork and push me into 2nd place. I absolutely could not have done it without you all. Thanks to my wife for finding this contest and encouraging me to enter. And thanks to all the Harveys and the Clearys and the Mills who bit their nails alongside us. Thank you to Simon Winchester, Brian Baldwin, Sean Garcia, Hannah Davis, and Ryan Weilert. In the end, it was your willpower that won me 2nd place. I’m in awe of all of you.

Great work to everyone else in the competition. There was some serious talent I was competing against. Alisa King ran a fierce campaign. Congrats to Peter Ryan, who really does seem like a genuinely nice guy. I can’t wait to read Too Many Controllers. And as I’ve said before, Andrew Fantasia is a great writer. I hope his novel Sidescroller gets funded so we can all give it a read. I also want to give a shout-out to G.A. Finocchiaro and his book Knightmares. He helped me a ton, and his book looks awesome. 

So what’s next? Sweeping changes. I’ll soon be deleting the prologue that’s up on Inkshares. Years ago, I had written IN BETA as a feature film. At the start of this contest, I was simply adapting the film into novel form. The farther I went down that path, the more I realized I wasn’t excited about a book that followed the rigid formula of a Hollywood comedy. So during this contest, I made significant revisions to IN BETA’s setting and plot. The concept and the characters are the same, but I’ve moved the locale from Seattle, WA to a rural town in the Cascades. The setting works better for a number of reasons. If anyone is interested in the mechanics of "why", ask and I’ll happily distract myself from writing by geeking out over my decisions. Otherwise, just satisfy yourself with the knowledge that I’m not content to deliver a shit novel.

I’m very excited about IN BETA, and I can’t wait to share the new prologue with the world. Thanks everyone for this amazing opportunity. I’ll try to be regular with my updates, and I’ll let you know the timeline of this process once I figure that out.

Holy $#(^!!!!!!  Okay, let me explain…  Hwa ha ha ha ha!!!!!  SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, YES!!!!!  Dreams are AWESOME!!!!!!!!  OWWWWWW!  Okay, dreams are awesome, and so is my next door neighbor, but running through my backyard to tell her that I just funded leads to splinters.  Geesh!  Well, it’s only a little blood, so… Worth It!!!

Okay, breathing.  Good.  Thank you all SO EXPLETIVE much!!!!!!!!!

I’m kinda glad I wrote the bulk of this letter yesterday.  I’m so excited I keep typing in circles but that’s okay cuz I HAVE FAITH IN EVERY LAST SOUL OF HUMANITY!!!  Seriously!  All of you are amazing, wonderful, PHENOMENAL PEOPLE OF WORTH!!!!!  OWW!  Doesn’t matter if my foot hurts from that twig-thorn, I’m too happy not to dance!!!!!  Okay, the rest is from yesterday, so it’s probably cogent.  Love y’all.  Genuinely.  Love.  I… I’m gonna paint mugs and work on my short story and tell people they’re awesome and make the whole world feel as amazing as I do RIGHT NOW!!!  

For anyone who was looking to get the limited-run prize, tomorrow is the last day to pick up two or more copies of Borehole Bazaar.  This is a super-awesome opportunity to get a uniquely hand-illustrated collection of cute short stories mailed diretly to your home well in advance of your copy of Borehole Bazaar.  That said, I’m hoping BB will be up and ready SUPER quickly so it can get into all your happy hands!

This week, I hit 250!!!  What this means is that I have yet another three RAFFLE WINNERS!!!  The lucky winners are Rebecca Rubin, Crwebber707 and Lauren Huffman!!!  I’ll be getting ahold of you to hear your choice of prizes, but they include an etched glass mug, a hand-painted ceramic mug, a laser-etched coaster (or four!) or an entirely wooden (with hinges) book from those listed below!  If there is something else you would prefer, please just let me know!  I’m fairly crafty and I love my small power-tools!

The list of books should all be child-friendly but I’d advise giving each a once-over, especially A Simple Game and Forgiveness in a Latte.  This week’s selection, Kalla Names a Pup, is indented and alludes to cannibalism and death, so use extra caution with it.

Kiki and the Cantaloupe

Kiki Angers Ambition

Kiki meets Tranquility

Pretty Girl and Luchadore

Bosco Follows his Nose

Forgiveness in a Latte

A Simple Game

Telles Catches Hope

---->;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Kalla Names a Pup

As always, please Chase Your Dreams.  It’s worth it, as are you.  

We’ve reached another landmark, at last. Late last night, Tantalus Depths finally reached and passed 500 pre-orders. That’s right: we are now three fourths of the way to the full-publishing goal.
 

We are now entering the final month of the campaign. As of right now, we have to bring in 247 more pre-orders within the next 29 days. It won’t be easy. We’re right about where we should be, but there’s still a whole lot more work to be done. If you’ve been holding out so far, now is the time to throw in your pre-order, or to bring your friends and families into the picture for their support. 
Also, even though the 500th order technically came after midnight, I’m still going to go ahead and put up chapter one and the video of my reading it, like I promised we’d do if Tantalus Depths hit 500 on the 16th. Expect those sometime tomorrow, along with our usual character update. :)
Keep pushing everyone! We’re almost home.