Finally ... finally got a new chapter of Uncharted Territory finished and posted a few minutes ago. I have to apologize for the delay, especially after expecting to have it finished much sooner. On the up side, I'm getting a few more hours at work than I was previously, which of course helps me pay the bills and keep a roof over my head, but it also cuts into time I'd prefer to use for writing and promoting finished books like Chaser and Project Revenant. But necessary evils and all that, heh.

Pile on top of that a mild case of writer's block and a number of other everyday-life stuff that got in the way, and ... well, if I could sum up the past couple of weeks in a single image, it'd be this one:

But here's hoping I'm getting back on track. I did make a New Year's resolution not to let myself get sidetracked like this, so I don't want to break it less than a week out of the gate. Still need to catch up on a couple of things, then the next project to finish is a new chapter of Harbinger. That'll be coming up soon, if nothing goes too horribly wrong. And after that will be the next chapter of Uncharted Territory.

In the meantime, thanks to everyone following and supporting my books here, and I hope your new year got off to an awesome start. :D 

Hey guys and gals,

Knights, Gravewalkers, Minstrels and mouldering corpses lying in the mud, tis’ high time we delivered an update worthy of your purview!

We’ve fought, clawed and scraped our way into 5th place, this parade of champions known as “The Sword and Laser Contest”, this morbid celebration concerning implements of death, but also of fantastic writers and their accompanying books – and we duly tip our hat to them.  

As such, the competition is fierce, but we shall fortify our gullets with our usual wine of ill-repute and ask for your favor, no, not *that* kind of favor, but the one that involves PRE-ORDERS. Steel thyselves and drag out your friends, family and animal companions (at least the ones in possession of e-mail addresses) and grant us victory! Er, with more PRE-ORDERS, that is! We grovel, we beg, we-

Ok, ok, enough of all that. But yes, the pre-orders. REALLY important.

We leave you with one last bit of THE KNIGHT PROPER trivia for you…  our rabble-rousing minstrel “Cass”, was originally “Cain”, inspired by a character that Matt had originally written for the game, Neverwinter Nights 2.
But Adam, sly agitator that is he is, had the great idea to turn “him” into a “her” and Matt cried and wept inconsolably at first, but then came to see that it was indeed for the better… and we think you’ll agree!

My wonderful Machiners! 

Tonight I have an important update for you which includes a call to action. 

Earlier today we reached our 170th unique reader! We continue to hold 2nd place in the standings. 170 is an amazing number, and to be quite honest, we have exceeded what I originally thought possible in this contest. However, with 10 days remaining, it has become clear that it will not be enough. Perhaps not close to enough. 

The standings remain incredibly close, and it's a testament to both the great talent in this contest and the great opportunity presented by Inkshares.

So, I must ask more of you. Having seen the tremendous support throughout this competition - including at least one new reader every day since I jumped in on December 2nd (which I’m particularly proud of) - I have great confidence that my friends, family, co-workers, associates, classmates, athletic team members, and the many supporters who I have no connection to other than through this story, will answer the call. 

Most importantly, please know that I continue to work. Heartened by your support, I am not asking myself, how can I hold onto 2nd place? I am asking myself, how can we make a run over these 10 days to win. I didn't really expect to be here. And now that I am here, why not go for it? It may not be possible. We face a considerable deficit. But the push continues, and in 10 days we let the chips fall where they may. 

So, if you haven’t yet pre-ordered, please jump in and join me. If you have pre-ordered, I need you to spread the word, and implore your nearest and dearest to jump in too. 

Thanks so much! 

Machiner-in-chief

Happy New Year!  Hope you had a great holiday time and that you get a good start on whatever goals you set for yourself.

So, updates for you!  I completed the developmental edit and submitted it to the editor for round two.  It was a fun task that involved a lot of juggling and slashing and gnashing of teeth and many, many, many hours of Civilization 5 keeping my focused with its turn based system of game play:-)

Also, we've settled on a concept for the cover, taking the original version and blending it with an idea suggested by a reader that touched on themes the publisher felt were significant.  

Rise Concept Cover

My thanks to the Inkshares and Girl Friday teams as well as to the artist, Chris McElfresh, for the work and care they've given to see this project come even closer to fruition.  September will be here before you know it!

We aren't doing this in a vacuum.  All of us authors who are in development or production or who are already printed owe this community for the help and work each and every one does on their own projects.  We bring more eyes to this unique community with our successes and even our failures.  Taking the power of publication selection and giving it to you the reader is such a novel concept, pardon the pun, and I hope you take advantage of it to help expand Inkshares library of completed projects.  I, for one, am looking forward to an entire shelf of Inkshares books and that's saying something as my wife and I went digital a long time ago.  Be sure to check out all the funding projects, especially those competing in the Sword and Laser Sequel contest (https://www.inkshares.com/contests/the-sword-laser-collection-contest-the-sequel) as that competition ends in just over 10 days!

Onward and upward!

The next installment of "The Problem with Prophecy" as promised. In this chapter, we come face to face with the evil demi-goddesss who is a little cranky after being woken up from her thousand year nap. Also, some old-fashioned tomb raiding, dead things walking, and a barbarian with anger issues. (What a surprise!)

Read Chapter Five at:

https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-problem-with-prophecy-0166/book_segments/chapterfive

or start at the beginning:

https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-problem-with-prophecy-0166

Thanks for all your support! Please help by following, recommending, reviewing, sharing or pre-ordering.

Happy Monday everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to give you a bit of a status report on DHM.  

1. Chapter One is finished, unexpectedly.  I had started writing scenes and realized, once I finished them, that they naturally ended our chapter on a great intriguing note.  It's available in its entirety on the Inkshares page, and I would love it if you read it and let me know what you think.  

2. To date, no one has figured out the DHM ARG.  We have a couple of people playing, but no one has crossed the finish line.  The clues start with the book trailer I posted a while back.  Will you be the first to finish the game and save Timble Ada?

3. Here's some general math on how the campaign is going: We are 2 orders away from our next raffle, 45 orders from fifth place, 92 orders from 2nd, and 182 orders from 250 -- which is my goal. The road is long, and the chances for winning dim, I have to be honest.  I felt really good seeing all the people who came on board this weekend - 10 orders in just two days! - until I saw that the other guys are getting dozens of orders per day. That knocks the winds out of my sails a bit, I must admit.

HOWEVER, there are 11 days, and I plan on working on this until January 16th. I also have a contingency in case this doesn't pan out, the Sword & Laser contest I mean. I believe in Deus Hex Machina, I see it being a successful book read by thousands of people.  I would like those thousands of people to read it with an Inkshares label on the back, but even if that does not happen, I will be working to make sure it is published properly.

You can help!

If you believe in this book as much as I do, there are things you can do to help.  You can share DHM on your own Inkshares updates, should you be an Inkshares author.  If anyone out there wants to work on a cross promotion with me, I would be more than happy to help.

Anyone who is on the fence, intending on ordering but hasn't yet, please make the plunge and order today. Isidore and Dax need your help.

Even if you are not an Inkshares author (or heck, even if you are), you can still help push DHM into the top three. All you have to do is reach out to three of your friends and ask them to order.  Send them to this Facebook post on instructions how to order the book for free. 

What I am doing:

I am continuing to write Chapter 2. This 366 days of writing is exhilerating. I should be getting to Dax soon. 

I am reaching out to everyone I know, something I did not do with Shadow of the Owl. That's how much I believe in this book -- I'm facing my social anxiety to ensure that DHM wins this contest. 

Phew, that was longer than I expected.  Guess it's not such a quick update after all!

Have a great Monday!

Happy Monday, and Happy New year.

I hope you guys had a great time during this holiday season. I had :)

I am really happy. pre order are going well. working on finishing Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 is on the way and should be updated very shortly.

I am now back from vacation and going for the last run for this campaign.

Let me know  what you think of the content I uploaded so far, feedback are always appreciated.

Raffle : at 100 readers I will be giving out a 50$ gift card of the winner choice, of course it has to be ordered online.

share the word with your friends. :)

have a great week :)

Hey!  Happy Monday!!  Back to work, eh? Well, just wanted to let you know all slots filled in the Mugs raffle, so as soon as I can get it together to do it I will. Hopefully I'll get it on video for ya!  But if you're still interested in some swag and you haven't pre-ordered -- or you just want to again, I have few slots left in the Beagle Freedom Project Raffle.  Here's what you could win:

bfp swag

Yep, it's a scarf and cap to keep you warm in this chilly wet weather we're having.  Or maybe where you are you're even having snow.  You want to keep warm, don't ya?  Remember as well I am going to donate 10% of all sales to the Beagle Freedom Project if publish goal met.

Anyway, stay tuned for the raffle...