Hello everyone!

I’m terribly sorry about being MIA. I’m sure some of you have been wondering where your promo items are, as well as the book.

The plan is for promo items to be out before Christmas. I know I promised sooner, but this year threw me a few curve balls that have been enormous stumbling blocks. The largest of all was my father being diagnosed with cancer. He ultimately passed away last month. It has been extremely difficult for me, as he was my buddy. But, each day I gather courage and strength to move forward and accomplish the goals I know he would have wanted for me to work towards. So, promos will be out before Christmas.

As far as the book goes, I’ll be honest… I’m not entirely sure what is going on with it. I sent an email out today asking if I could find out a status. I submitted it in July along with all the questionnaire information, but I haven’t really heard anything else about it. I know Inkshares has been swamped, so I didn’t want to be pushy. Once I hear anything, I’ll give you an update.

Thanks everyone, and I really do appreciate your patience.

Much love,
Kaytalin

It almost snuck past me entirely, but today marks the one year anniversary of hitting my full funding goal for Tantalus Depths! Things have moved a lot more slowly since then than I’d thought they would, but this remains one of the proudest achievements in my life, and I am still so far beyond grateful for the huge outpouring of help from all my friends and family that made this thing possible. 

No particular news on the editing process to speak of at the moment; I am continuing to work on integrating the feedback from my editor into the development draft and hope to have a new and improved draft for the next step of the process in the next week or two. I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on this landmark that got us to where we are today. I can’t wait until this editing stage is complete and you all have physical copies of the book in your hands. It’s been such a privilege being given this rare opportunity to share the passion of my heart with so many supportive people. Here’s to Tantalus Depths, Proteus, and many more such successes in the future!  

Greetings, Faoii! 

It’s been one week since publication day and I’m still so pleased with how everything is going with The Last Faoii. Our launch party was an incredible success and I still can’t believe how many people came out to support our efforts. But then I remembered that I raised an army to make this book happen and I couldn’t very well be surprised, could I? 

One week after publication and The Last Faoii’s Amazon page has nine reviews. This is the next hill we have to take on this battlefield, Faoii, and I’m telling you now-- we will take it. I know how nearly-impossible it is to get reviews on Amazon. There are amazingly talented authors here on Inkshares that have sold thousands of books and haven’t bee able to garner enough ratings to trip the algorithm. So what chance could our campaign have?

Well, those books don’t have an army full of Faoii, do they? 

We’re going to make this happen, Faoii. I know we will. But I need your blade again. After you read the story, head over to Amazon and tell me (and eventually the world) what you thought. That’s the only way we can ever fight our way out of obscurity. 

And I refuse to remain in obscurity. We are Faoii, after all.

Keep those shields up.

Faoii-Tahani

Greetings, Faoii!

I cannot even begin to describe what today has been like, my warriors. To know that The Last Faoii is finally a real book available to everyone. After so many years of hard work and uncertainty... it’s indescribable. 

People are already answering the call to fight the next wave. We currently have two reviews on Amazon and seven ratings on Goodreads. In addition to that, the amazingly-talented and incredibly supportive Evan Graham (Author of Tantalus Depths) wrote this wonderful and humbling update to honor our success. 

I’ve been posting reviews in an album on my Faoii Facebook Page (Like us if you haven’t already) but the newest one is a bit long for that. However, it’s too good not to share. So I’ll leave you with another Faoii’s battlecry and once again thank you for all of your continual and greatly appreciated support. This could not have happened without your help and will not go any further without you, either. 

Thank you, my warriors. Keep those shields up.

Review via Goodreads: 

 "An amazing first novel from a young voice. It’s apparent that Ms Nelson comes from a world that I have only glimpsed. Her characters are strong with personality; you will care about them and remember them. Her world is unique and it’s apparent that we’ve glimpsed only a bit of the whole. 

Initially, one might assume this to be a period in the world we know. It’s not. There are so many small signs, indicators, beliefs that simply aren’t part of what we see every day. This is a well conceived world of it’s own.

I enjoy varied books and movies. I read SF heavily and Fantasy occasionally. I have no direct comparison for this; it’s unique and fulfilling. In some instances, it reminded me of Asimov’s Foundation series, but mostly as you learn more of the running of the world.

Marketed as a YA book, I (a mid-50s male,) thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are vivid, the world interesting, the story fast and engrossing. As the main character is a woman of color, this is a bit unusual in today’s books and is inclusive, though natural within the world of the Faoii. 

Nothing here is quite what one expects; everything here is quite what it should be."

My friends, today is a very special day for a very special book.
But not one of mine this time.

Today is the official publication day for The Last Faoii. Some of you may recall I’ve been championing this book from the very beginning, and today, at long last, it is out and available for purchase.

I’d like to ask you all to consider supporting this new book, for a couple of reasons. For one, I helped design that kick-butt cover, so I have to brag about that at least a little. It’s also a really fine fantasy novel, so it deserves to be read for its own merits.

But beyond any of that, I’d like you to support the author. Tahani Nelson has been as big of a supporter for both Tantalus Depths and Proteus as I’ve been for her book, also from the very beginning. She’s been through some of the worst struggles imaginable during the process of campaigning her book and getting it through the production process, and the absolute tenacity with which she has tackled those obstacles deserves every reward. She’s inspired me tremendously on a personal level and has helped keep my spirits up during the various obstacles I’ve faced during my own campaigns and production processes. Heck, she inspired me enough to name a planet after her, so that should tell you all you need to know about how much I respect her.

It’d also just be nice for me to plug a book you can actually hold in your hands shortly after buying it, for a change. Tantalus Depths is coming, but still not any time especially soon. The Last Faoii is out right now (I have a copy on the desk in front of me). So yay for semi-instant gratification!

Anyway, I’d just like to make this the best Publication Day possible for The Last Faoii. The book is great, the author is even better, and they both deserve as much support as we can send their way.

Updates, Faoii! Listen up! You’re going to like these!

The Last Faoii becomes an officially launched book in just a few hours. In that moment, it will be widely available to anyone who wants to hear our tale, and you will have the opportunity to rate/review it on Amazon. Take the opportunity. We’ve already fought tooth and nail to take this hill, and I promised you a year ago that the world will know us. This is how that happens. We’ve fought too hard and come too far for The Last Faoii to be completely lost in the sea of novels already out there. Hitting those little stars is the only way to build our island in that sea. And we won’t just build an island. We will raise a mountain, Faoii, and our banner will stand at its peak. We have conquered every obstacle that’s come before. We will not stop now.

Other things are happening as well, of course. In an attempt to spread the word, I did an interview with Jessie’s Coffee Shop this evening. I will admit, my warriors, that I was nervous at first, and it shows at the very beginning of the set. Get through those first four minutes, however, and things go smoother. There’s a lot of interesting information packed away in there and I hope you find it of at least some interest.

Faoii-Kaiya, too, has been busy. She did her own interview for The Protagonist Speaks earlier tonight. Look through that as well and see what our young leader has to say about her world, her journey, and our army. Get to know the woman that started all of this.

It’s all finally happening, Faoii. I could not have done this without you. And I still can’t. More is coming. Be ready.

Shields Up.

Faoii-Tahani