Woot! Woot! We just hit 240 orders!  Thank you all for pushing it this far.  Why don’t we close the funding to Quill today...we only need 10 more orders to reach Quill and then I can focus on the editing and stop pestering you guys :)  You’ll gain more chances in the raffle and get the bonus script gift, so it’s all good.  

As an added bonus I’ll be sending another chapter to the final 10 pre-orderers...so let’s do this today and make it Quill sunday!  

Thank you in particular to both of the syndicates that have been singing my praises.  The Idiosyncraticate Syndicate  and The Thriller Night syndicate  why not join up with either or both of these fine establishments, they’re a great pair of organisations to have behind you if you want to get published.  Okay, back to editing and see you on the other side of the Quill border soon!  Hit HERE to pre-order LOUISIANA BLOOD.

Hello Champions,

Just a quick note to let you know I’m still writing! I usually write with a soundtrack playing in the background so I thought I’d share what Champions of the Third Planet sounds like to me.

First, this track from Two Steps From Hell, which was used in the Star Trek trailer a few years back. I picture a lot of the moments from the beginning of the story here, with the kids discovering the Orb. Milo says, "I found something in the woods" around the :38 mark and the Orb takes off around 1:02: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkJvYGP2qE

This track is from one of my favorite bands, the Dandy Warhols. It seems to get used a lot in movies and trailers. It’s pretty high energy and a lot of the very original images for Champions came to me with this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuFtfhOipNQ

Whenever I’m thinking about the kids on the Dead Planet in their quieter, melancholy moments -- hanging around, missing home -- I think of this part of John William’s score from Star Wars, where Luke is looking up at the binary suns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gt8D8SXD_8

This track from Mad Max: Fury Road is something I’ve been using for a huge set piece late in the book that I can’t tell you about yet, but I love the furious intensity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gt8D8SXD_8

I don’t know if any of this music makes sense to you in terms of the book, but it’s all awesome and it all speaks to me for this story, which I guess is what counts.

Back to work!

--Chris

Hello all of my 220 slice and dicers...just a brief update. 

I’m at 234 pre-orders...so I only have a few days to scoop up the last 16 pre-orders to get over the Quill line.  So far I have nearly 100 of you entered into the $100 raffle...no that doesn’t mean one lucky winner will take home a $1.  One lucky winner will take home $100.  

Now simple maths dictates that if you pre-ordered more than one you will have double or more  chances of being picked.  But whatever you choose to throw your $10s at, I’d like to thank all of you for supporting me during the last three months. 

I’d especially like to give a big shout out to some of the many generous authors that have helped guide me through the treacherous waters of  crowd funding.  

Peter Ryan, the author of SYNC CITY, a great thriller and worth checking out.  Joni Dee, author of AND THE WOLF SHALL DWELL, a wonderful thriller, also Billy O’ Keefe author of  THESE ARE MY FRIENDS ON POLITICS a wickedly funny children’s book.  Christopher Huang’s MURDER AT THE VETERAN’S CLUB a lovely period detective novel and Kelsey Rae’s BEYOND THE CODE, an adventure in the fantasy genre ...

And last but not least the two great syndicates that helped raise my profile by picking me as their book of the month...THE IDIOSYNCRATICATE SYNDICATE  and the THRILLER NIGHT SYNDICATE check them out.  When I’m fully funded I will post a more effusive list of the wonderful people that have also helped me along the way.

Anyway, enough hyperbole...if you have some credits, or are feeling generous, why not throw a few dollars at the Louisiana Blood stagecoach and spur those horses over the Quill border.  Saddle up HERE!