It’s been 9 days since I sent my last update, and a lot has happened since then. Remember Nico Rosberg, the F1 driver who trounced Lewis Hamilton in the final race of the season?

HE RETIRED!

TOTAL PLOT TWIST! (I called it, by the way.) (Just ask Michael, my husband. He knows that I predict the future.) A new world champion was crowned, he got his cake, and then ate it for all the world to see. Cheers to you, Nico Rosberg. Because I’m eating cake this December, too. 

Allow me to explain. 

For those of you that don’t already know: I’m sentimental. With pretty much everything. Case in point, I carry a personal museum of baubles and trinkets with me everywhere I go. Peeking out from my closet is a vast collection of drawings and scraps of paper that people gave me in preschool. Preschool. Which makes be a bona fide sentimental hoarder because I’ve moved a gagillion times since preschool. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that my favourite stories are the ones that have some special, hidden meaning. 

Where the Sun Sets is one such special story. And a special story needs a special cover. So I decided to launch a contest to find one. I put the book cover contest to my network (not many artists, few professional designers, lots of family that can’t de-friend me) and told myself to be patient. "Draw up a plan, pull the trigger, and trust in the process." Right?

Sort of. 

For the past few weeks I’ve been biting my nails, wondering if what I did was the right thing. I am trying to create a product that needs to sell, after all. Worries haunted. What if no one submits a thing? What if I detest them all? (I was more concerned with the first looming question because I’m generally easy to please, and I love a funny story.) 

The submission period closed on Sunday, December 4. I got 19 submissions, and I love them all! (In fact, I love some them so much that I suspect I’ll soon have dreams of eating cake off of them.) More importantly, knowing that the cover of Where the Sun Sets has been crafted by someone special to me is a huge relief. It’s an incredible feeling. And the reasons each of the entrants shared about why they entered are equally touching. 

So now it’s Show Time. Literally. I’m showing them to you, and asking that you help me select the one that best fits Where the Sun Sets. Because, frankly speaking, if it were left up to me, I’d choose them all. Which just isn’t practical. 

You can view the entries and pick one here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3LXR6CC I believe you’ll find them all to be unique and delightful in their own way. 

See what I mean?

Absolutely delightful!

The voting period ends this Sunday, and I can’t wait to reveal the final cover. That said, the cover will only make it onto a book if I hit my pre-order target. 

I’m at 180 as I type this, which means I’m 70 pre-orders short! 

You’re receiving this update because you’ve already put yourself out there for me, and I thank you for it. But I’m not quite there yet. So I ask that you please continue to send me well wishes, and consider recommending or sharing my story with those people you think would find it meaningful. I know it’s a lot to ask (and to keep asking) but every little bit helps and I won’t get there without you. 

Thank you for your consideration. Thank you for your time. And thank you for your continued support.

Donna
(I want to use #ALLTHEBOOKCOVERS!!!)

A year ago yesterday we started this Campaign. Its been a long uphill battle but in the last year we completely rewrote and edited this story, hit our sales goal and shipped the manuscript off to Inkshares. While we wait to hear of a release date I just wanted to thank everyone whose been a part of this since last year. thank you all so much and check out the Inkshares page. We’ve go ahead and thrown a few new Art piece up there!

Inkshares has had problems with refunds on other campaigns and I wanted to make sure everyone who bought Illegal has received their money back. The refund should have gone out on October 24th and reached your account a few days later. If you were not refunded please reach out to hello@inkshares.com and let them know. Also let me know and I’ll stay on their case.

On a related note, many of you have been asking if they should re-order. The answer is no. The team has done a very poor job handling their mass-refund mistake, and there are refund issues with at least one other campaign so I would not trust them with money at this point. I’ve lost a lot of trust in the platform and the team running it and at this point they would really have to go above and beyond for me to change my mind and still let them publish my book. That seems unlikely to happen at this point. Save your money.

I’m going to push them to give me a real answer next week about how they plan to resolve this. If they can’t tell me or it doesn’t include them going above and beyond, I’ll walk away and seek better options. 

Happy Cyber-Monday!!

Today should be a holiday. A day dedicated to searching online for the best bargains while wearing your pajamas and sipping on a strong cup of coffee. Unfortunately, it is not a holiday, so we all have to shop in between answering e-mails and reviewing spreadsheets.

In the spirit of Cyber-Monday Inkshares is running a massive sale. Most books published during 2016 are half off and ship for free in the U.S.

That means The Catcher’s Trap is only $6.99

Click the link below and get your copies. If you live in the tri-state area I’ll be happy to meet you and sign your copies.

Have a fantastic week my friends and take advantage of this great offer.

Good news to all those "Squids In" fans out there, the project may be given a new lease of life. More details to follow soon :D

 

Hello Readers and Followers,

Fae Child is currently at 89 copies sold. At this point I am no longer in any contests on Inkshares, only in the race to 250 copies sold before December 31st. 

My stuffed animal giveaway for orders 71-80 has been drawn, and Maria Aleman was the winner of the pink dragon! Thank you so much for your support, Maria. All three mythical creatures have now been boxed up, and I hope to send them out on Monday.

That being said, I am going to announce my next giveaway! This one will include referrals! For every 15 orders (so 81-95 is the next targeted group) I will be giving away another toy. I will also add in the names of everyone who referred one of those orders - if you have a friend you know has bought the book on your recommendation, email/PM/DM me their name and I will add yours to the hat. ADDITIONALLY - if you refer 10 or more orders before the end of the campaign I will send you a super special prize. I haven’t determined exactly what it will be yet, but probably a Pop! or Funko figure.

Don’t forget to review or recommend Fae Child through the Inkshares site. Every little bit helps. Thank you so much for all the support: having friends, family, and my new Inkshares family coming together and believing in me and Fae Child has been wonderful.

Jane-Holly