Michael Haase sent an update for The Madness of Mr. Butler

Thank you for your patience, everyone. This is a big update, but an important one!

A FULL DRAFT IS FINISHED!!!

Here’s what the timeline has been like:

Throughout the summer, Inkshares has guided me through a developmental edit of the manuscript, guided by my editor, Matt Harry. I’ve been working with a group of other amazing authors as we’ve all helped each other improve the structure of our stories. What I ended up with at the end of this process was a detailed outline of my story, as I decided to rewrite it for the most part.

In mid-September, I got the green light from Matt to go ahead and write the book all over again.

From September through the end of October, I expanded upon the outline I worked on with Matt, writing character sheets involving their personalities and background, as well as fun little things that won’t ever turn up in the story other than being guiding factors in the characters’ actions and decisions. I also wrote in details of the different settings, and I expanded the outline of the story itself into individual scenes. Basically, I was getting to know the world of the story I built. Part of fleshing that out was writing the prologue, which is still up on the book’s Inkshares page.

Approaching November, I made a big decision based on what I learned about my own story. I changed the entire perspective of how it is told. I was writing in third person, as an omniscient narrator, but I felt this was not personal enough. The writing was dry, the humor fell flat, and the characters just felt detached. I was slowing down and feeling a bit uninspired. Then, I decided to experiment with first person, and I wrote a few passages from the perspective of George, the main character in the story. Suddenly, the story felt warm, personal, and it had depth. I was excited for my tale once more!

This was great timing, as November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for short). For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is a free challenge to write a story of 50,000 words within the span of November. I participated, and I sacrificed a lot of sleep, and I completed the task! I FINISHED MY DRAFT! THE NOVEL IS FINISHED!!! And, I kicked NaNoWriMo’s ass by writing 86,298 words in a single month!

So...what now?

After the initial wave of emotion crashed over me as I typed the last words on the epilogue, I was finally able to talk without choking up. One of the first things I said to my wife was "I have birthed the child, now it’s time to raise it." And that’s actually a great little analogy. The book is here. It is born. It is readable and the story all makes sense. But I need to edit it, nurture it, make it great enough to release. I need to feed it and wipe its butt every time I look into its diaper and find a poop. It needs to be in a condition where, if you don’t like it, then it’s because of completely subjective things, not objective problems such as incoherence, plot holes, characters that don’t really make sense, or, God forbid, typos (gasp!).

So, it’s on to the edits. Right now that means I’m going to be combing through the manuscript myself, but I’m getting by with a little help from my friends. Namely, my wife, and the incredible Peter Ryan (you need to check out his book, for real). I’m hunting down a few others, but if you are reading this and feel excited to give what I have a read in exchange for constructive criticism, don’t be afraid to reach out to me.

I feel that I’ll be able to turn in the latest and greatest draft of this thing to Inkshares by January. I’ll let you know when I get it in. After that, I’ll be able to give you updates on the finishing of the developmental edit, the copyedit, and the proofread. When that happens, we’ll also be getting into fun stuff like cover design and planning book signings and release parties and any other tricks I might have up my sleeve. The release date is estimated to be in September at this point, and I will do my absolute best to make that happen.

I am proud of this story as it is now. It’s fun, it’s funny, but it’s also just a good story. I laughed and cried as I wrote it, though that might just be my crazy showing. I hope when this thing gets into your hands next year, you laugh and enjoy the story. But it’s okay if you cry, too.

Thank you for your support, as always. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

I love you all. For reals.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and Happy New Year!

2018 is going to be amazing.

Love always,

-Michael.

Pleeze give my Facebook author page a "like," why don’t ya? It’s here: Tall Tales Told

Or, if you’re more stoked about the extra characters on Twitter, I’m over there at times as well: @Tall_Tales_Told

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Michael Haase liked an update for Sister of the Circuit

It’s taken me nearly three months, but I am proud to say that the latest draft of this novel has been submitted to the editor.

If you recall, during the spring 2017 I was invited into the first Cohort for Inkshares novel production. Part of that process was looking at the story from the bones up, and during all the work I did for the cohort I realized that the current title of the book doesn’t really fit what it’s become.

Initially this was a graphic novel, a sort of retooling of Akira except with mechs. As I continued to write, the story morphed into something deeper, an exploration of what it means to treat technology as a sort of religion, and what would happen should it actually become one. As such, Isidore’s journey became much more tightly focused on her relationship with the Church of Technology. And the title of the novel, one that used to be about this fun sort of sci-fi romp, didn’t make sense anymore for her story.

As I wrote this latest draft (number 4), I started thinking about the title and if it still served the story. I came to the realization that it did not. Therefore, I’ve decided to change the title of this book. Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the new title: Sister of the Circuit. As soon as I made the commitment to the new title, I got super excited about how it connects to the themes of the current iteration of the novel.

Now I step back in the editing queue to wait my turn to see what Inkshares thinks of the book. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’m going to pass the time working on another project to give myself some space from Circuit.

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Michael Haase liked an update for The Devil You Don’t

11/21/17

Hi everyone, just a quick update before we hit the Thanksgiving holiday.

First, I am delighted to announce (and tremendously thankful) that "Devil You Don’t" was selected by Inkshares’ Staff Syndicate as their pick of the month for November!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all the members of that syndicate for their support. I truly appreciate your enthusiasm for this manuscript, and am really looking forward to getting it into your hands as an actual book.

What does this syndicate selection mean? Well, it means that between now and December 31, I still need to get about 60 copies pre-ordered (before the selection that number was much higher!). I’ve had a few verbal commitments that I’m excited about, but I can’t just kick back and put my feet up. After Thanksgiving, I’ll be announcing another giveaway and updating my "about" page on Inkshares to officially kick-off my homestretch efforts.

I’ll send another update when all that’s ready for prime time.

Wishing all of you who celebrate it a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with your friends and families. Please know that you are all on my list of things and people that I am grateful for!

Best,
Susan

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Michael Haase liked an update for Disintegration

It’s been a long time.

I haven’t had much to say, so I’ve laid off bombarding you with updates that contained no news. However, a few months back, I was told that Inkshares is ready to begin producing Disintegration.

I was overjoyed at the news, as it’s been quite a long road, but the road is yet longer. Alas. Inkshares has asked that I pare by 50,000 words the manuscript I submitted. This is no small feat. I managed to trim 20k by eliminating some character backstory and world-building, by sacrificing some parts that I felt were illuminating but weren’t essential to the overall plot. But another 30k remain to be pared. And that task is much more daunting.

Of course I’m in love with my own words, but I do realize that they’re not all golden and they’re not all necessary. That’s why the first cut was relatively easy. I want the story to be full and rich and chock with the kinds of connections and background that make it an epic, immersive experience, but the logistics don’t really allow that, since this is my first commercial book. The business of books asks "Who the hell is this?" of an unknown author, and "Why the hell is his book so long?"

Inkshares believes that my book will have wider appeal if it is narrower of width. That perhaps a skinny spine might entice a casual reader to pick it, on a whim, from a bookshelf ... where a fat one would not. I would like my book to be published, so I accede. Or, I am attempting to. It’s been slow going because I’m a full-time public school teacher and a graduate student and my "free" time is the time I spent looking at the backs of my eyelids.

But the book is coming. A version of it, anyway. A heavily abridged version that will, I hope, be a leaner, meaner, quicker, punchier version than my originally submitted draft. It’ll be such a rousing success, flying off bookshelves due to its striking black and red, and thin, spine, that the big, fat, unabridged version may well follow due to overwhelming demand.

A man can dream. And, while this man dreams, he is working on paring a novella’s worth of words from Disintegration so, like a boxer, the book meets its target weight and is ready to fight for science fiction supremacy.

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Michael Haase liked an update for Shadow King

11/12/17

Hello!

Sorry for the recent radio silence on "Shadow King." For much of the fall, I was engrossed in the new Launchpad competition and "Shadow King" was (im)patiently waiting in the queue for Inkshares’ editor.

I decided to invest in a development edit for "Shadow King." And I’m so glad I did. I just got my edits back, and I’m thrilled with what this editing team had to say. They had a lot of very good things to say about the manuscript, and also pointed out several areas where I have an opportunity to expand scenes and make the story even more robust than it already is.

I am about 2/3 of the way through these updates and have a goal of having the updated manuscript to Inkshares by the start of December (although Thanksgiving may alter that by a day or two).

I’ll send another update when there’s some more news to share. In the meantime, have an awesome fall!

Best,
Susan

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Michael Haase liked an update for The Devil You Don’t

11/12/17

Hello, everyone.

Wanted to just give you all a quick update on what’s going on with "Devil You Don’t." After Launchpad wrapped up, I confess I paused my campaign. My brain needed a break, and you all probably needed a break from me. :-)

Right now, we are 84 copies away from "The Devil You Don’t" qualifying for Inkshares’ Quill publishing level.

I’ve asked for (and received) an extension on my funding window until the end of this year. So at midnight on December 31, the funding window will close. At that point, either I’ll be qualified for Quill--or, I won’t be and you’ll all receive a refund for your pre-ordered copies.

I’m going to start digging up more intrepid readers. Of course, I’d love to have everyone’s continued support so if you know anyone who might be interested, please share my page: https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-devil-you-don-t.

If you’ve ordered, consider ordering a second copy--anyone who orders a copy that they’re planning to give as a gift, please let me know once you’ve ordered. If you’d like, i’ll send you a certificate you can give while the book is in production!

That’s it for now -- thank you as always for your continued support. I’ll send an update as we get into the start of December to let you know how everything is unfolding.

Best,
Susan

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Michael Haase liked an update for The Bones of the Past

Lots more happening this week - The eBook for The Bones of the Past has seen a significant (and permanent) price cut! It’s now listed at $3.99 in the US and $5.00 in Canada!

Also, on December 19th, the audio book will be available on CD in stores and online! It’s a great option for those of you who haven’t been tempted by an Audible subscription. The strangest thing about it all? The book on CD is significantly cheaper than the digital download (literally half the price!).

Work continues on the Tide of Madness. I went through a short burn out phase in late October/early November and progress slowed down somewhat, but I’m rested and back at it now. I’m planing to have a new teaser posted on my Inkshares page and my website sometime in January. I’m taking a week off work so I can lock myself in and get some serious writing done as well as edit and clean up the new teaser chapter(s). There is some absolutely insane stuff happening in this book - the characters keep going off and doing things I had never planed on before but somehow it all ends up working far better for the story.

Thank you all for your patience - it’s going to be worth the wait!

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Michael Haase liked an update for The Life Engineered

Hello dear readers!

I come to you with a humble request. My horror novel, A God in the Shed, has the honour of being a semi-finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards 2017. This is a big deal. What would make it an even bigger deal is making it to the next round as a finalist. A huge deal. Gargantuan really.

All I as of you, is a few clicks.

First, click here to get to the voting page. Then, while logged into Goodreads, click on the red VOTE button under A God in the Shed.

There you go. With that simple gesture, you participate in what can be a huge step in my writing career and that makes you awesome. Hurry! You only have up to November 12, 2017 to vote!

Thanks for the support!

You’re the best.

JF

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