We’re nearly there! A third [and my wife hopes final?] raffle drawing will fire off when we reach 250 readers! I’d thought perhaps I would finish it all right there, but I’ve just now spontaneously decided to hold another drawing when we get to 300. That’s right, I’m hitting the reset button on this goal of mine and moving it back. Why not? (Please don't tell the wife!)
As lost as I’ve been in the campaign for “The Animal in Man,” I haven’t been able to take as much time to really dive into the wealth of great stories on display at inkshares.com. Until recently.
Jason Pomerance’s “Women Like Us” completely blew me away. Normally I stick to fantasy and sci-fi, but his writing truly drew me in and didn’t let go. I left a review and several comments on this amazing book. Worth your attention and your credits.
And while it’s only in a Draft phase of production, Peter Ryan’s “Sync City” has crashed through the windowpanes of my psyche and left itself in a bloody glorious post-apocalyptic Mad Max fuel for survival kind of mess on the floor of my brainpan, in the best way possible. I highly urge you visit his page and let Peter know you feel the same way I do, with less gore if you like.
And finally, my fellow Sword & Laser contestant Edmond J. Wedge has a very intriguing first book in a nine-part series he’s planned called “Ocean Black: The Noble Exiles.” I found his mix of genres and settings and atmospheres very engaging. I hope you’ll toss some of your money his way and help get his book published.
Look, everybody… Full disclosure, many who are receiving this update might only be following my book. It is to you - not the other inkshares authors - that I am sending this message. Inkshares has been good to me. It is good for me, for my dream of getting “The Animal in Man” into your hands. And these three gentlemen are just like myself in that regard. Do what you can to get their stories told. You will not be disappointed.
(Final shout out to Vincent Lim, author of “The Cora Chronicles”, for raffling off a sweet wall poster for his book, which I shall gratefully receive, sir. And to Byron Gillan, author of “The Children of the Forest”, which is hitting me in all my nostalgia and love for Final Fantasy, Princess Mononoke, and even The Banner Saga with that amazing artwork. To you, sir, I will have a full review of your chapter soon!)
Peace! (....I hope all these links work!)
Swag alert!!
Okay, now that I've got your attention, there's 122 orders to go by mid-February so if you're following and you haven't ordered "Women Like Us", now's a good time!! And, hey, even if you have pre-ordered, there's no harm in snagging one for a friend, or if you're a fellow Inkshares author and you have any spare credits laying around, by all means -- after all, two is often better than one, no?
Speaking of two, and here's where the potential swag comes in, I think it's time for a raffle, and the prize will be these two beautiful mugs you see here, courtesy of my friends at Osoporto (more on this in a moment). But take a look at the mugs! You want these, don't ya? The next 10 people to pre-order will be entered automatically into this raffle, and one random winner will be drawn from...a mug! So take a look.
Why these mugs? Well, water is actually a pretty prevalent theme in "Women Like Us". Henry's first memory of his grandmother Edith Vale, for example, is of her tossing him into her pool so that he can learn how to swim. Yeah, it's a little rough, but that's how Edith rolls. Both Henry and his father Andrew surf occasionally. And Mrs. Vale also owns a ramshackle cottage at Trancas, which is at the north end of Malibu and was, back in the day, a far scruffier place than it is today. Much like El Porto, which once was its own little town but now is part of Manhattan Beach (although many would glare at you if you mention this so maybe don't). Osoporto, which is where the mugs come from, is a site devoted to El Porto, and it features a whole line of cool clothing artwork and other goods. The mugs just seem like a good fit, and I love the way they look. If you'd like to know more about Osoporto, and its creator Jon Berry, hit this link:
So that's it for now. C'mon and get in on this raffle! And stay tuned because there's a Beagle Freedom-themed swag coming up too.
So, I jumped into this only yesterday, and it seems like I have a ton to learn about crowdfunding - which is absolutely true. I'm not what you would call a natural salesman, or an expert marketer. I'm still learning that side of the fence, and it wouldn't be a lie to say that I still cringe when I send out updates, or teasers, in an effort to attract readers. It feels icky when I try to sell myself.
What I am, though, is an author. After a selection of short story publications, and the release of my own post-apocalyptic series, Ash & Flame, I know that I can write. I can create compelling characters, interesting worlds, and stories that stick with people. That's who I am, and what I want to do: I want to create fiction that entertains and captivates.
I want to thank you for taking a look, and for maybe taking a chance on me. That's all I can ask for. Give me that chance.
The rest is on me.
Hi friends! We hit 60 orders! That means it's time to give away another signed copy of Shadow of the Owl!
And the winner is...Chris Robinson! Our own Ghosts of War author now has another (former) Inkshares book to put on his shelf! Congrats Chris!
Also, I realize that I dropped absolutely zero hints about the game yesterday, and I can't expect people to play something they don't know about so...in the interest of getting people to have fun, I wrote a game this weekend! It's set in the world of DHM and starts from the video that I posted yesterday! My hope is that by playing it those that are following the book will fall so much in love with the game that they will preorder.
And speaking of preorders, what should we do for our 70 backer raffle? I will give you two choices:
Option A: I post chapter 2
Option B: I raffle off another signed novel
Comment on the update (or you can tweet me @amandaorneck if that's easier) about which option you want! It's all up to you!
