Hello friends,
I apologize for the radio silence, but I’m back now with exciting news!
Despite the fact that I fell off the radar for a few weeks due to an unplanned hospitalization, the bus is pretty much driving itself at this point: Devil’s Call has gone off to the typesetter and has a lovely cover from the amazing David Drummond that includes several positive blurbs. Jerry Smith from Fangoria, James Demonaco (creator of The Purge series), and J-F. DuBeau (author of A God in the Shed) contributed lovely words about the novel. ARCs have gone out, and reviews are starting to trickle in on Goodreads.
Check out this cover!
One of the immediate impediments to my online presence is the lack of Internet at the transitional housing where I’m staying while I wait to hear back about a more permanent supportive apartment. (At risk of getting all TMI over everybody, part of the reason I was hospitalized had to do with a nosedive of a depressive episode that involved a relapse after 10 months of sobriety, so here we are.) While I am able and intend to go online using WiFi hot spots, the majority of my time is now devoted to recovery.
But! Devil’s Call still has a publication date of July 17, and I am very stoked to see where my little novel goes this summer. Will make more of an effort to keep y’all up to date from now on.
xoxo,
J.
Greetings hexers,
What I love most about Maria’s drawing technique is the balance she strikes between stylistic interpretation and realistic detail. Her innate sense of what’s too little and what’s too much resonates with me, it always has, which is why I’m so excited to be partnering with her in this way. Like me, she’s learning as she goes (or, as my partner Michael would say, she’s building the plane while flying it). Maria’s making great progress, and her illustrations look fantastic!
For those of you who missed Maria’s introduction in my last update, you can catch the video here.
Other news
I’ll be receiving my editor’s comments on May 3, which basically makes me this owl, right now, and for every second until then.
(Photo credit: Naldz Graphics)
(Very exciting. Blink blink. I might puke I’m so nervous.)
Also exciting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid Kitchener a visit yesterday. The folks at Vidyard hosted him. They took him on a tour of the office and chatted about many things.
I had the pleasure of tuning in to watch the livestream of the chat, which was fantastic (full recording here: http://demos.vidyard.com/watch/7VRMFw6CbkSfmFfPTsaaRH).
To everyone who pitched in to make yesterday seem so dreamy from the stands: Congratulations on doing an incredible job of hosting our country’s leader. Thank you for making such a lasting and positive impression. I’m proud to be part of a community where members push themselves to be compassionate and thoughtful, take risks, and behave transparently.
End of news.
You can probably surmise that the phrase ’Your book is in the mail’ is my dearest haunt. I can’t wait for the moment when I get to call you up (email or text, more likely) and say those words. So I thank you for your continued patience and understanding. Most of all, I want to thank you for reading!
Donna
Now for some fun bits... ;)
Maria’s creative process has been fascinating to observe. I mentioned how, like me, she’s figuring things out as she goes. Maria’s had to stretch her limits to overcome challenges, and in doing so, has developed her own techniques (read: hacked solutions together and I love it).
It’s my pleasure to be sharing with you some of her midstream work.
(^ ERMAGHERD!)
I hope you’re tantalized by these small flashes. Stay tuned for more detail in updates to come!
It is update time! Thank you to everyone that has followed and ordered so far. To the new followers and readers - welcome to the show!
The Walls are Closing In has presold 448 copies as of this morning, leaving just 302 to go, and 89 days left of the campaign. My calculator informs me that this leaves 3-4 copies per day. Considering that we are only 2 1/2 months in from the original start date, I am optimistic! But, the work is far from over and spreading the word is still greatly appreciated.
Now that the book is taking off, if you would like to reconsider ordering a few more copies and getting your name(or the name of your organization/business) displayed in the back of the book, far be it from me to try and stop you! The following is the acknowledgment page from a recently published Inkshares book (Tears of the Assassin by William Schiele) so that you can see what that would look like:
Currently, I am spending about 3 hours per day spreading the word. I will be beyond thankful to take a much-needed break from twitter and facebook come June, before jumping back in and keeping everyone updated with the production process.
As promised, I have added an audio version of Chapter 1 to the book’s main page. Check it out if you want, or you know, just go back to what you were doing before I interrupted you with this email.
A few other upcoming perks:
April 13th - Winner of Dystopian Book Bundle announced. If you have not entered yet, you can enter here.
500 Orders - Design revealed for signed postcard, bookmark, or bookplate that will be mailed to all backers (regardless of e-book or paperback purchase) as soon as the campaign ends!
600 Orders - Audio Version of Chapter 2
700 Orders - Audio Version of Chapter 3
750 Orders - Campaign ends, winner of $250 Airbnb gift card announced, and then I collapse into a heap for a day or two.
On the actual book front - in my spare moments I am perfecting the backstory (a never ending process as the news shifts from day to day), but the rest of the manuscript (all but approximately 10 pages) is finely tuned to my liking and ready to hand over to Inkshares for developmental editing as soon as the campaign portion of the programming is complete. I am eager to start the process that will get this book in your hands, so keep in mind that the sooner 750 is met, the sooner the making of the book can begin!
Until next time!
-Jacqui
