Hello everyone,

Two quick updates, the first being confirmation that Alban Fischer is the artist who is designing the cover for The Battle Within. Had a great phone call with Alban last week, as well as with Emily Zach from Girl Friday Productions, and I’m excited to see what the first round of designs will bring. For a taste of what Alban can do, please check out his portfolio at: http://cargocollective.com/albanfischer.

The second update is that I’ve just launched my official author page, www.AlastairLuft.com. It’s a fairly simple page, but I think it will meet the intent of providing a virtual shingle for me to hang out while also hosting a blog that I’ve started. I’d love to get feedback on usability and layout, so please check out the site, send me critiques and feel free to share.

That’s it for today, as always, thanks so much for your support.

All the best,

Alastair Luft

Tantalus Depths has just received one of the biggest conceivable honors it could have been given on Inkshares.
I am indescribably honored to announce that Tantalus Depths has been selected as the July pick by the Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters Syndicate.
 
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears mentioning again now: one of the primary reasons why Tantalus Depths was written in the first place was to create a story with a strong female lead. I wanted to do my part to break the gender imbalance in sci-fi media. I wanted to write a female lead that could inspire and impress male and female readers alike. I took great pains throughout the entire writing process to make Mary Ketch feel like a real person, her experiences relatable and accessible.
To be honored by the Bechdel Syndicate is to be assured that I have, at least in part, realized my goal. Truthfully, this moment is almost as important to me as earning my full publication goal. If Tantalus Depths hadn’t been worthy of an honor like this, in my own eyes it wouldn’t be worthy of publication either.
With the support of the Bechdel Syndicate, Tantalus Depths is now ahead of schedule. We’re only 214 pre-orders away from our full publishing goal, and we will not settle for anything less than 100% success.
To the Depths!

Readers, Friends, Family, Enemies, Everyone Else,

I have 79 more orders needed to reach the Quill Goal and Guarantee Publication. 

I need ALL your help to do this. If you have not yet ordered, PLEASE do so tonight and support me!

If you have already ordered, thank you again. Please post a link to the book at www.iamwaltz.com to your facebook/twitter/Instagram asking your friends to support.

Once we reach 250 orders we will make a few more big pushes to 750 and get this thing in stores!

Thanks again,

Matt

Good day to you all.  Just a quick one today.

First, our GET YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK contest is going strong.  It ends tonight at 3am EST (midnight Pacific.)  If you want to have a character in BLUE WATER named after you, get those preorders in.  If you’ve already ordered, refer someone else, and your name is in the running.  But the clock is ticking.  Get ’em in.

Secondly, BLUE WATER has been in the running for funding for less than two weeks, but this is the second time we’ve tried for publishing.  Our first round was during the Nerdist’s first contest.  The campaign was rushed previously, and we fell short mainly because I had no plan.  This time is different.  

But something is still here from before.  Something rushed that took no planning.  Our COVER.  The jacket for BLUE WATER was pulled from a teaser for the webseries, and hastily photoshopped together, so that we didn’t have to use the generic Inkshares cover.  It served it’s purpose at being a replacement, but honestly, hasn’t done much for us in terms of grabbing attention.  And since Inkshares works by grabbing attention, it’s time to retire it.

So with that in mind, in the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D. (to borrow a phrase from another successful crowdfunding campaign in hopes that some of their good fortune rubs off on us) we’re debuting the NEW BLUE WATER COVER.  I promise you, it will turn some heads, which will in turn snag some clicks.

So tune in next week, and see it here folks.  In the mean time, get those preorders and referrals in to BE A CHARACTER IN BLUE WATER!

Thanks a bunch,

Joseph

Good morning Dreamers,

Thank you everyone, for the fantastic support. I’ve just had the campaign extended to January 1st, in order to help bring in more preorders.

Progress is going great on the book. The latest chapter I’m working on introduces a lot more world-building as Jonathan finds himself thicker and thicker in the weeds of the case.

I’m going to put out another challenge to the subscribers out there: If we hit 75 readers, I’ll release Chapter 3 exclusively to people who have preordered. I look forward to sharing more of the book with you!