Jane-Holly Meissner recommended APEX
APEX feels a little like a Michael Critchon book - a smartly written thriller about when genetic engineering goes wrong. Can't wait to read more!
APEX
What is happening with the wolves in a small town in Oregon? Wildlife biologist, Jason Doyle, is determined to find out. Things quickly spiral out of control in a hard science thriller reminiscent of Jurassic Park and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Jane-Holly Meissner liked an update for APEX

I would like to thank all of you for following my book and extend a special thanks to those of you who have pre-ordered a copy. Day one went well with 25+ pre-orders, which was so gratifying to see as an author.

I’ve uploaded Chapter 1 as promised, which switches viewpoints to Jason, an under cover FBI agent investigating Claire. The next several chapters are in Jason’s POV to maintain the mystery and suspense. Enjoy!

Cheers, Debbie

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    Jane-Holly Meissner followed The London Empire
    The London Empire
    A servant of Fate, Violet Sainteclaire tries to fix a version of London which was never meant to exist.
    Jane-Holly Meissner followed CM Atkinson
    CM Atkinson
    A lover of all things magical; written or otherwise.
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    Jane-Holly Meissner liked the forum thread, Gollancz writers festival
    It was a great day! A bit of a fleeting visit to London for me, as I only attended the morning Writers Day session, but well worth the time.

    The morning started out with a moderated discussion between Tom Lloyd, Ben Aaronovitch and Joanne Harris. They discussed the idea of expanded universes, in particular what it’s like to write in the EU of a preexisting property, and also what they think about the concept of their being a true ’canon’ to a story. Joanne Harris had a particularly interesting take on this, as she deals a lot with Norse mythology. Amusingly, she described the ’original’ written versions of this mythology as Christian fanfic!

    Next, we heard from a literary agent named Juliet Mushens. She gave us a fascinating insight into what the role of an agent is, what an author can expect from an agent and so on. She stressed the importance of drafting, saying that you should expect to do many drafts before querying an agent, but that a submission is quite straight forward: a one-page cover letter, two-page synopsis and the first three chapters of your book. She also said not to worry about submitting to multiple agents, as they expect you will contact many agents at the same time. Also, if you’re submitting a book that’s part of a trilogy, that’s okay; she expects most SF&F books to be part of a series. She did stress however that if you’re submitting part of a series, the publisher will want to have confidence that you know where the series is going.

    Last, we did ’author speed dating’. We got 20 minutes per table of attendees (approx 4 people for table) with 4 of the authors in attendance. I got to speak to Alex Lamb, Joanne Harris, Ben Aaronovitch and Edward Cox. We spent a lot of this time discussing each authors approach to getting an agent, what they thought about writing outside of their own culture and how to combat writers block.

    After these chats, there was plenty of time to get books signed. I bought a few books by authors I hadn’t tried so far, including Edward Cox’s The Relic Guild. Edward was so lovely and supportive! He asked me to let him know how the Inkshares fantasy contest was going from time to time.

    It was great to meet and speak to so many authors - including the many dozens of attendees, most of whom were mid-way through writing fantasy books of their own. I also came away with a nice ’swag bag’ of book samplers and free Audible audiobooks!
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      Jane-Holly Meissner liked the forum thread, Recommendation vs. Review?
      I definitely can see the point that @Joseph Keeler made about the strength of recommendations - but they are a bit of a one-shot. They’re only sent to people who are following the recommending reader at the time that they send the recommendation, so if that author gets new followers, they won’t see the old recommendations. 

      Additionally, you can only see 10 recommendations on your project page. If you take a look at the page for my book Witherfist, you’ll see I have 17 recommendations - but I can only see the content of 10 of them. By contrast, all of my reviews (that I have approved) are visible. Additionally, if your book is published, the same applies - so you can see all reviews on the project page for (picking a random book that’s for sale right now) Single Version but not all the recommendations. 

      From a user interface design perspective... if you’re a user who’s not familiar with Inkshares but is familiar with shopping online, reviews are familiar. We’re all used to seeing reviews on Amazon etc, where recommendations are perhaps not quite so intuitive and obvious. They rely on the user actually interacting with the little image of the user who made the recommendation, while reviews are displayed regardless. 

      I’d say in the long run, reviews are probably more useful, but for short-term exposure, recommendations are good. 
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        Jane-Holly Meissner commented on Fae Child
        I don’t know why the update resized that last picture to be so big! Sorry everyone! On the other hand - giant happy unicorn says "order Fae Child"
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          Jane-Holly Meissner sent an update for Fae Child


          Dearest readers and followers -

          It’s like Finding Nemo crossed with the Chronicles of Narnia! It’s Alice in Wonderland mixed up with a PG-13 rated Taken plus Pan’s Labyrinth! What is this magical book? It’s FAE CHILD!

          Have you been waiting on buying your copy? Wait no more! We’re doing a GIVEAWAY! *tosses confetti*


          I will be giving away one of these mythical creatures (which you can find in the Otherworld, of course) to one of the next ten people to preorder Fae Child. We passed 50 orders, so when we reach 60 I will pick one name at random from orders 51-60 and that lucky person will get their pick of the three. 61-70’s winner will pick from the two remaining, and the last one will be forced upon someone from the range of 71-80*. Excited?? I AM! Preorder your copy now!

          I also have a ton of promotional bookmarks (pictured above), which I bought to give out/leave around at a local comic con. Alas, they arrived too late! I am still going to be sprinkling them around town, but I got a lot of them, and so everyone who orders a signed paperback will be getting at least one in their copy of the book. If I can’t slip them inside while I’m signing, then I’ll mail you some bookmarks. OR if you want some to hand out to friends to help promote Fae Child’s funding campaign right now, then message me and I’ll mail you some immediately.

          * BeanieBoos may be slightly hugged before shipping. Additionally "ty" is not affiliated with this giveaway or the book, this is self-sponsored

           

          Click the link below to order. If you don’t see a link, it’s because you already have. Thank you!

          Jane-Holly

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            Jane-Holly Meissner liked the forum thread, I have an idea... is it any good? Let me know Please
            Without having looked at your book... I’d say write it regardless. 

            This is some advice that I got from a literary agent at a writing conference I attended, just this past weekend: You should write something that you enjoy writing, rather than worrying about whether it is a story that readers are currently interested in or have an appetite for.  Generally, any idea can be a good idea, if executed well.  If you are enjoying writing your story, your passion will shine through and readers will enjoy it.

            That being said, I will have a look at your book ideas when I have more time, later this week :)
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            People who have liked this comment in the forum thread, I have an idea... is it any good? Let me know Please

              Jane-Holly Meissner liked the forum thread, Crowdfunding 102 - Tonight!
              Tonight Drinkshares:Last Call is airing the Crowdfunding 102 episode! In this one we’ll get into the real nitty gritty of crowdfunding on Inkshares.

              If you watch it live, be sure to join the live chat :)

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1aWrj4HUUU
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