Cayla Keenan followed Billy O’Keefe
Billy O’Keefe
I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
Follow
Billy O’Keefe liked an update for Illegal

All of you have received an email from Inkshares this week informing you of a refund for ILLEGAL. It was sent out in error. I’ve been struggling to figure out what is going on and how this will be fixed and I wish I could write and tell you what will happen but I can’t. Basically the Inkshares team says they don’t know what triggered the mass refund but they can recharge credit cards and get those orders back. However, they do not want to re-issue orders that used credits--when the campaign began the platform gave you credits to encourage participation and they have since discontinued that practice. This seems unfair to me and I’m trying to reach out to them to come up with a better resolution. I don’t know what that will be but I’m also not sure how long it will take to figure out and I know many people were confused and curious about what was happening and I wanted to be transparent and share all I know. As you can imagine this is a very frustrating situation for me and I appreciate your patience and support, probably more now than ever. 

like · liked by Kelsey and 21 others

People who have liked this reader update

    Billy O’Keefe sent an update for These are my Friends on Politics

    Greetings from Hell frozen over, home of the World Series-hosting Chicago Cubs...

    First, the good news

    Okay folks, this is it. By now, if you ordered a physical book, you should have received notice that it’s in the sky or on the highway and en route to your front door. (It may have even arrived already.) The books took a little longer than we’d hoped to get from the printer to the office, but I think the wait is worth it. Speaking honestly, they look even better than I’d hoped they would. I’m delighted with the finished product, and I hope you are too when it reaches your door. (Quick note: Despite what the email said, they are jacketed hardback copies and not paperback.)

    (Quick note #2: If you haven’t received a shipping notice, check your spam folder, and if nothing’s there, let me know and I’ll pass the word on to Inkshares. They’re a small but terrific group of folks and they’ll get it sorted.)


    Now some bad news, followed immediately by good news

    Due to circumstances and scheduling issues, there was no time to reschedule my September flight to Inkshares HQ to sign the books. But because I want to make good on that, I commissioned a big sheet of personalized illustrated bookplates (fancy word for sticker) that I’ve signed and will send out to all who want them for their copies. Just send your address to me via email (billyok@mac.com) and I’ll take care of the rest. It’s not quite the same as me writing my name in your book, but it’s close. (Alternatively, if you’re local, let’s just meet up and I’ll sign it right before your eyes.)

    Now some more good news

    In fact, if you’re in the Chicago area on the evening of Saturday, November 5th, you can get them signed in person by attending a launch party at one of Chicago’s best independent bookstores. I’ll be at Lincoln Square’s The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., starting at 6 p.m. It’s right down the street from the Western Brown Line stop and there’s plenty of street parking in the vicinity as well. Come on by, say hi, and celebrate the imminent passing of this horrid election season.

    And finally, a quick but hugely important favor

    I’ll spare you the details and make this quick, but I cannot emphasize enough how crucial reviews are to an author’s ability to attract new readers on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble. The benefits of receiving at least 100 ratings/reviews on each are tangible, and given how much weight those three sites carry, those benefits can be of make-or-break importance. So if you have accounts on any or all of these sites and can spare a few more minutes, I’m asking for your help in hitting that magic number. Even just a click on the star rating thing helps (though if you have some kind words to throw in, those are of course appreciated).

    Here are links to take you straight to all three, all of which are accepting reviews now. Thank you so much (yet again) for whatever you can do.

    — Amazon: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942645236#customerReviews]

    — Goodreads: [https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/30007120] 

    — Barnes & Noble: [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/these-are-my-friends-on-politics-billy-okeefe/1123852462?ean=9781942645238] 

    That’s all for now. Be nice to each other. November 9 is almost here.

    like · liked by Gina and 23 others

    People who have liked this reader update

      T. Gregory Argall followed Billy O’Keefe
      Billy O’Keefe
      I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
      Follow
      Merlin Patrick O’Toole followed Billy O’Keefe
      Billy O’Keefe
      I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
      Follow
      Salcido Ivan followed Billy O’Keefe
      Billy O’Keefe
      I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
      Follow
      Billy O’Keefe joined The Idiosyncraticate Syndicate
      • Backed 6 books
      • 0 members
      • The Idiosyncraticate Syndicate
      • Billy O’Keefe
      • A syndicate championing unsung projects (in any genre), as well as those that may not necessarily dabble in Inkshares' more popular genres. Here's to the crazy ones, as that old computer commercial's saying goes. Looking especially for h...
      • Genres Backed:
      Billy O’Keefe liked an update for Exile, Magus

      Happy Wednesday everybody!  I hope it finds you well.

      I had originally intended to talk a bit about the Frost Giants of my world today, but over the past week I went on a bit of a map converting spree.  As a result I have two maps to share with you all, one today and the other this time next week.  My talk on Frost Giants will thus be postponed until Friday.  Now to the map!

      I know, not a lot of land on this one.  Unfortunately the large southwestern peninsula stabbing so far into the ocean forced that to be the case.  That peninsula is known as the Blade for what I feel are fairly obvious reasons.  The large port town indicated on the tip of the Blade is called Lyceria, and it is where Llargas takes  Pentaz and Buscidia to during the Cruise section of the book (read it here for more insight on that), and they travel inland through the jungle from there where they eventually settle in with a tribe of Wilder Elves so that Pentaz can further his magical training along with a small cast of other Magi under the tribe’s shamaness, Laohna (you can read a bit about that in the Academy section of the book which starts here).

      The jungle is home to a number of different sylvan races and tribes, no one group holding so much sway as to form a true nation.  The centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, dryads, wilder elves, gnomes, and other assorted fey/sylvan peoples prefer it that way, valuing their freedom above all else.  The closest thing to a true nation are those human tribes who have formed alliances with one another, most prominent among these being the Taehls.

      The Taehls originally formed their alliance in defense against a Zaltruscan invasion over 4 centuries ago.  According to the legends, a group of Zaltruscan noblemen had decided to saddle up their dragons and lead their armies to conquer the Blade.  The many jungle nations banded together to resist, with the bulk of the fighting occurring in the northern Blade.  Ultimately the battle was only won by the inhabitants of the Blade thanks to the awakening of their guardian spirit, the massive and magnificent rainbow winged serpent Quzaeltical.

      Normally a non-physical nature spirit, it is said that Quzaeltical takes a physical form once every thousand years in times of great need.  In this instance it slew all of the nobles and their dragons, and all but obliterated the Zaltruscan army before withdrawing into a deep and still, undisturbed slumber in order to heal the grievous wounds it had suffered that day.  Whether this slumber is in its physical form or a return to its physical form the tribesman will not say.

      Some of the tribes left the alliance after the threat was over, but many stayed and the alliance is still the strongest power in the region today.  The tribes have a distinct caste system, with everyone being born into their life roles.  The ruling caste are the spirit guides, those said to be able to commune with all nature spirits, especially Quzaeltical.  Through this bond they have also learned to use magic which enables them to take on the shapes of the various beasts of the jungle, a feat which Quelzhumi Taehls puts to great use during the Graduation section of the book (which you can read starting here).

      Quelzhumi is not just a spirit guide, but next in line as chief spirit guide for the most powerful tribe in the alliance, making him for all intents the heir to the throne, albeit a throne with less direct control over the tribal nation than one finds in the kingdoms of the "civilized" world outside the Blade.  He has come to the Academy to expand his magical knowledge, hoping that his people can learn more than just their shapeshifting magic and become more able to defend themselves should Zaltruscas ever invade again.

      The next notable students are D’naeshira.  A human, she was left abandoned in the jungles by her Lycerian parents when she began to manifest as a Wyrdlim.  Most humans can learn to use magic, but are not especially talented at it.  Occasionally a human will be born with a deeper connection to the world’s energies, such that they can use primal magics in much the same way as dragons and giants can.  Unlike giants and dragons, however, the Wyrdlim find it very hard to control these magics, which has led to chaotic (and occasionally catastrophic) outbursts over the ages.  For this reason most "civilized" human cultures view Wyrdlim with a great deal of superstition, and tend to punish them even to the point of execution for being born.

      The final notable student is Kitden Zutden, a sylvan gnome.  His pack(as they like to be called) wander the jungles constantly, being seen only when they want to and never laying their head down in the same spot as any previous night.  Unlike their "civilized" cousins, they do not feel the need to endlessly invent new machines.  Instead they channel their nervous energy into endless pranks and other shenanigans.

      After the events of the Academy and Graduation sections, Pentaz and Buscidia leave the Blade behind traveling east to the region known as the Badlands, going through the outer reaches of the Restless Bog to reach the small walled community known as Last Stop before following the trail to the closest thing the Badlands has to a capital city, Caasan.

      This update has gone on a bit longer than I intended, so I’ll leave my discussion of the Badlands for the next week when I post the next map.  You can read a bit more about the Badlands(mainly the Restless Bog and Caasan) starting here if you want.

      As always, thanks for your time and support!  Keep reading and enjoying!
      like · liked by S.T. and 3 others

      People who have liked this reader update

        Josiah Daniel Golojuh followed Billy O’Keefe
        Billy O’Keefe
        I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
        Follow
        Ben Thomas followed Billy O’Keefe
        Billy O’Keefe
        I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
        Follow
        More items