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Howdy, Folks. It’s been six weeks since I announced the success of the campaign for Bane of All Things and I finally have an update to share. 

The next step in the process is the Editorial Letter. This will be an exhaustive evaluation of the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses in all dimensions – character, plot, pacing, tone and all that subtle stuff that most readers probably don’t want to know too much about because it’s kind of like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard in Oz. But damn, doesn’t a story sing when the author gets it right. 

I found out yesterday that my Editorial Letter will be coming in mid-August. Once I have this in hand, the revision process will begin in earnest.

Not that I have been sitting on my hands in the meantime. On the suggestion of Inkshares CEO Adam Gomolin, I have been digesting two classic works on the craft of writing that I hadn’t yet added to my reference library, John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction and Madison Smartt Bell’s Narrative Design. Taking the time to reflect on the current draft of BoAT will reading through these has given me some ideas for tweaks and refinements. I have until mid-July to make those changes and resubmit the manuscript to Inkshares so that only the latest best version goes under scrutiny for that Editorial Letter. This will certainly keep my nose to the grindstone!

Those giveaways and prizes I promised

Now I must apologize for being slow with those campaign mementos and prizes I had promised – the signed posters and canvas prints. I have started getting those out, so if you were a prize winner for a canvas, or a supporter who qualifies for a signed poster(s) for having pre-ordered multiple copies of BoAT, rest assured they will soon be on their way. If you live in the Ottawa area and I haven’t asked for your home mailing address, it’s because I plan to either mail to your workplace or drop by and deliver in person.

Other great Inkshares projects you may want to check out

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to a few fellow Inkshares authors currently in funding:

Ricky Ruzin has only nine days left on the campaign for Showtime! and is hoping that getting past the 400-pre-order mark will be enough to earn a publication offer from Inkshares as I did. Showtime! Is a spooky tale about the boob tube described as “America’s Got Talent meets Timeless with a dash of Carrie.”

Jacqui Castle is already a published Inkshares author and has launched her campaign for the second book in her series, The Seclusion. This is one of those cautionary tales about a dystopian future under a total surveillance state that’s looking all too likely these days.

And then there is Allison Basile’s The Little Book of Bad Intentions, described as Jane Austen meets The War of the Roses, in which an aging playboy races against the clock to murder his ruthless trophy wife—before Alzheimer’s sets in, and he can’t remember where he’s stashed the body.

And, again, thanks much!

Once again, my deepest thanks to each and every one of you for making all this possible. 

Cheers

Leo

Greetings, Faoii! I know it’s been a long time. I just wanted to let those of you who aren’t already following my Facebook Page what’s going on in the Faoii universe.

First off-- If you live in or near Montana, I will be selling/signing copies of The Last Faoii and "The Faoii of Ashwood" at the Montana Renaissance Festival at ZooMontana on June 1 and 2. I’m sorry I ran out of books so quickly last year (in, like, less than an hour). I’m more prepared this time, I promise! Come and say hi!

Second-- The Last Faoii has been nominated for the Independent Audiobook Awards (Part of the HEAR Now Festival) 2019!! 

This is such an honor. I almost didn’t believe it when I was first told, and my heart is filled with pride and gratitude. I looked over all of the books that were nominated along with Faoii for the Fantasy category, and they are all amazing. They each have hundreds of reviews on Amazon and an established following. Things that, a year ago, I wasn’t sure Faoii would ever have. But I have an amazing army behind me, and because of all of your support, I not only have a seriously kick-ass audiobook (voiced by the astonishingly-talented Sara Morsey) but I also get to fly to the HEAR Now Festival and stand alongside some truly talented people, knowing that our army earned our place there. Thank you. Thank you so so much.

If you’re not already following me on Facebook, please consider it. I’m moving afraid from the Inkshares platform for a lot of different reason (all of which I will be discussing in an upcoming interview. More on that soon), but I still want you to know about updates with The Last Faoii and Faoii Betrayer as they happen. We’ve gotten this far because of you. I want to finish this war with you still by my side.

Shields up

Faoii-Tahani

What’s up my patient supporters. Production on Under The Rug has been slightly delayed—a project in front of mine in the queue was held up a bit. But worry not. I’ve been informed that things should be moving forward for Under The Rug by late May/early June. I’m a little bummed, sure, but I’m trusting the process, and, well, it’s kind of how the publishing world goes. I hear remodeling homes sheds a similar skin. 

Anyway, while waiting on Inkshares to get Under The Rug out ASAP, I’m not sitting on my ass. Well, I have been sitting on my ass, but I’ve been writing while sitting on my ass. The new book is called, "Counterpunch", a story about four friends: brain injured Jack, his best friend Rodney, Tommy the Asian priest/world famous stand up comedian, and Jose the gay latino mixed martial arts champion. Led by Rodney, the four friends set out to make all their childhood dreams come true, but neither of them can do it without the help of the others. It’ll make you feel happy, sad, and pleasantly appalled. Good day. 

Talk to ya’ll real soon. As always, thanks for the love.

To my incredibly patient followers and readers,

Let me begin by thanking you profusely. Thank you for your continued support and interest, for messaging me, stopping me in the office, or spotting me randomly in a store and asking me when the Hell After Death is going to come out.

It makes me feel terrible for the long wait, but it also makes me feel good that so many people are excited to read this novel on which I’ve now spent ten years of my life.

I apologize for the delay. Much of that is simply out of my hands, as I’m merely one of many talented authors whose work is being developed and published by Inkshares, and each of them are as anxious and as deserving of attention as I. 

That said, my number has been called. And over several conversations with Inkshares CEO Adam Gomolin — over email, phone, text, and in person — a plan has been hatched to, yes, once again restructure the novel, this time sharpening its focus on the characters of Cara Lindley and her grandmother Meryem Nurzhan. 

The character of Icara Lightfeather and her entire storyline is going to be cut from the book. (Boy am I glad I didn’t pull the trigger on that tattoo of the compass from the map of Icara’s planet!)

Let’s please take a moment to admire the incredible work of artist Andy Gouveia, who created the map for me.

To those beta-readers who considered this aspect of the book their favorite part, I can say only that Icara and her world will most certainly one day see the light of day in some other shape or form (these things almost always eventually do), and that I have every intention of cannibalizing the crucial plot elements from her storyline in service of this more honed concept.

Meryem’s backstory will be expanded even further, going into deeper detail regarding the previous outbreak of the plague in Kazakhstan and her life in the years between then and her emergence as the world’s preeminent expert on the Fever. 

Some of the novel’s trippier aspects will survive, but will be made far less prominent, and the book will center more on how three generations of one family were affected by a disease, becoming less Cloud Atlas and more Sharp Objects, which — you know what? — is going to be pretty cool and a lot more accessible.

This will take time, of course. Adam’s hope is that further developmental editing will take eight months or so, with our eyes set on a potential July 2020 release date. Whether that comes to pass obviously depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is my own ability to pull it off. 

But I am eternally humbled and grateful to all of you who have stuck by me through this, and who continue to anticipate this novel’s eventual publication. It means so much more to me than you can possibly know, particularly at this moment in my life.

In the meantime, please consider picking up a copy of Writing Bloc’s ESCAPE! An Anthology. It’s packed with twenty gripping tales of escape, including my short story "The Grave Ordeal of Jawbone John South," about an 1885 bank robbery gone very wrong when an outlaw attempts to evade the authorities by ordering his gang to bury him alive with the stolen loot.

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If you are so inclined, you can also pick up a copy of my short story "The Equestrian," the slim tale of a jockey and his horse, and the night of horror that would bestow upon both an incredible ability and a terrible curse.

I’ve also gone and uploaded a bunch of my poetry, essays, and film criticism to my website, Dan-Lee.net, including my poem "Ode," which was previously published in the Santa Clara Review literary journal, "Incidents in a Traffic Jam," the piece that made me a California state finalist for the National Poetry Slam, and my critique of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which went unexpectedly viral a couple of years ago. 

If you have some free time, please do check that stuff out!

You are all so wonderful. And I can’t say enough how much I appreciate not only your support and patience, but that of the friends I’ve made through being part of the Inkshares community. I’ve never met a more supportive group of writers.

I’ll try to do a better job of updating more frequently, but if you don’t hear from me, please be assured that I am hunkered down, doing the work. And that one day in the not-too-distant future, you will find out what happens After Death.

This month’s update is a few days late because I wanted to wait until I could say I FINISHED THE REWRITE! 

That’s the second complete rewrite, for those keeping track. This one changed the whole book from first person to third, focused on the quality of prose, and added lots of historical detail. 

I’ve treated the last six months or so as a giant research project for the historical parts, reading, watching films, and interviewing people. The novel now stands at 115,416 words! The last draft was 90-something thousand, and the original manuscript I sent to Inkshares was 54k!

I’m letting the draft stand for a week before I go back and read the whole thing out loud to polish it and send it in. Please send me "take a break" vibes and also "don’t lose your mind while you’re waiting for feedback on this thing you’ve worked your ass off on for half a year" vibes. 

Thank you, as always, for your support!