Well sirs, 

I passed the 80,000 word mark, a major milestone. That was my goal for the total word count in the book, and I just squeaked past it. I’m working to wrap things up as quickly as possibly, without making the ending too abrupt. I figure I have maybe another 10,000 words or so to write, then I’m done.

The process hasn’t been harder than I anticipated, but it sure as hell has taken a lot longer. For that, I apologize. As I mentioned in my last update, I ended up tossing some 45,000 words, and though the story is much better for it, I can’t help feeling a little bad to keep everyone waiting so long. On the plus side, these newer ideas add excitement, fun characters, and a few WTF twists.

I’m going to finish this draft in the next 2 weeks (approximately), then spend a few more months smoothing out sections and tying it all together. As I complete sections, I will post them for you to finally start reading and (hopefully) enjoying. 

Thanks for the patience!

Hey all,

Been awhile. Sorry for the, uh, "conservative" backer updates.

I am not, for the record, lying dead in a gutter, presidential protests trampling my lifeless body, hand still clutching the rain and blood soaked pages of IN BETA. Nor am I in Tijuana, peeling off green leaves of Inkshare backer money to buy another round for the Los Locos biker gang.

I am working diligently on IN BETA, every day, and I’ve finally crossed the halfway point! As I mentioned forever ago, I originally wrote IN BETA as a feature film. I found early on, though, that the comedy and action from the script didn’t feel right for a novel. It reminded me of that novelization of Terminator 2 I read in back in fourth grade, which I didn’t enjoy even as a fourth grader, and would be embarrassed to hand over to you.

So there have been a few radical departures in the story to make it work. For instance, instead of Seattle, I moved the setting to a rural high school in the Cascade Mountains. This works better for a number of reasons, primarily because I can better draw on my own high school experience (fun times), and because a microcosm seems to help ground things and make the premise a little more believable. Gives it kind of a Truman Show-vibe. I’m watching Westworld, and yeah there are some similarities there, too (though much lighter in tone).

Thanks again for your patience everyone, and your support. This has been a lot of work, and a lot of fun, and I think you’ll get a kick out of it, once it’s ready.

TLDR; Good book. Coming along. Promise me be better re: updates.

Nerdist has officially announced their schedule for #Conival, their weekend long event in San Diego alongside San Diego Comic Con! This time next week I’ll be in San Diego, attending several of the events as well as prepping to participate in a panel on Sunday, July 24th, with Inkshares CEO Jeremy Thomas, and fellow Inkshares/Nerdist author Dave Barrett! The panel is at 11:30am on the main stage, and it is free to attend! So if you’re going to be in the area, make sure to stop by and hang out!

If you are unable to attend, but live in Orlando, Florida, or are able to travel to Orlando, a Barnes & Noble will be hosting a launch party for Welcome to Deadland on Saturday, August 6th, at 7:00pm! The address is 7900 W Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL 32819. I’ll be signing copies and celebrating with some of the wonderful people that believed in my book, supported my dream, and helped it come to fruition. 

I hope to see many of you in the very near future!

Zac

Good morning, backers!

I hope everyone had a great holiday week, and if you’re not American, I just hope you had  a great weekend in general. For those of you that backed Welcome to Deadland during the campaign, I have some exciting news to help you get through the rest of the week.

The eBook files will be available to download in PDF, mobi, and ePub formats on Friday, July 8th! If you have an eReader you’ll be able to start reading Welcome to Deadland a month and a day before the official release!

It’s been a long road, and I thank everyone for their patience, but there’s only a few more days to go!

And just as a reminder, make sure you have your current shipping address listed so your physical copies can be mailed out!

Thank you all,

Zac

Today, I hit the motherload of endorsements. 

"Prescott is one brilliant dude, and I cannot wait to see what he cooks up, in any medium!"

- JJ Abrams

Yes, that actually showed up in my inbox earlier this afternoon. I am incredibly flattered and more than a little shocked. What a vote of confidence! 

There are just days left in the contest, and the pressure is building. Please share this exciting news with social networks, and help me make IN BETA a thing!

Apparently some folks had trouble seeing this image in my earlier update so here it is again at a lower resolution. Plus why not take a second look? You got better things to do?

--Chris