Fellow Inksharians, we are throwing our hat into the ring! 

Our deepest appreciation for all of your support and friendship thus far, we now hope you'll consider pre-ordering our book, The Knight Proper. You can catch our promo video on our page or here - also, we'll have a special announcement tomorrow evening for all of the writer-screenwriter hybrids out there, steel thyselves! 

This past week was absolutely packed with things both related and unrelated to Inkshares.

Most of it was unrelated, which slowed work on the novel, but was mostly family-related and took top priority. Thankfully, I was able to pump out some reviews for the Review-a-Thon yesterday, but not nearly as many as I wanted.

A huge thanks to Jamison Stone, Yicheng Liu, Jeyna Grace, Joshua Griffith, Thea Tiffany Alger and Kelly Graniel, Stephen Carignan, Steve Soldwedel, and Jason Pomerance for posting reviews of my novel. All of your lovely words made this writer extremely happy!

As I said on the Facebook Review-a-Thon page, I promise to return the favor by writing reviews for all of your novels, but it takes awhile to read all of your wonderful projects, so please be patient with me. I want to give you the most honest and informed review possible. I already bounced back a couple reviews today, so hopefully that will help out your projects a little.

I'd also like to thank Cara Weston for putting the event together. The whole event generated nothing but positive results, and not only did I walk away from it with a page full of reviews, but I also won a copy of Scrivener software to help me organize my writing better! The event also exposed me to other projects that I'm glad I was able to discover through this experience. There's a lot of amazing stuff out there!

In regards to the novel, I am so happy to have bypassed the 30 pre-order mark! Boom! Thank you so much to all my supporters! You are the fuel to my wordsmithing fire.

I do have many words committed to Chapter 4 already as I've been combing through it again with new ideas. I'm constantly being inspired to explore new routes to the same story as I revisit old drafts of these chapters, and finding new ways to approach the universe I've built in my head. It is gratifying for me to deliver improved material to you and get good feedback in return. For Chapter 4 in particular, I decided to take it down a darker path than originally written. You will see when I post it.

Anyhow, I will update all of you with more as it comes along.

Have a good night, and happy dreaming!

Sunday, which means more of my recommended books to order(after you've ordered my own of course). Going for 5 again tonight, with a reposting of my reviews for the 4 I reviewed during yesterday's Review-a-thon. 

"Cancel the Ark" by Nicholas James West: Opening with a wonderful imagining of prehistory, Nicholas' writing immediately hooks you. From this opening scene we are taken to a future with which the past we have just witnessed is about to catch up in a most perilous manner. With well written characters and an excellent pace, this story never lets the hook release so that you remain eager to see what happens next. 

 "Storm of Fury" by Andrew Wood: A wonderfully immersive example of what epic fantasy should be. Whether describing the fury of a divinely created storm, the horrible nature of monsters and titans, or the love of pastries shared by a father and son who are soldiers by trade, Andrew does so in a fast paced yet highly detailed manner. It will leave you wanting to know more about what are both highly developed characters and a highly detailed world. I can't wait to read the entire book.

"Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine" by C. Brennecke: I can't help but be fascinated by the world presented here. The societal structure and seven cultures seem to have a depth that is only just scratched in the excerpts presented here, a fact which leaves me hungry for more. Add that to this book's diverse cast of well developed characters as well as its excellent narration, and this becomes a must read for me.

"Daughter of the Mara" by Alex Bittner: What if you were freed from a life of instutionalization only to discover that you where what many would consider to be a monster? This is the question which rolls around in my head when I read the excerpts for this book. Beyond that, I'm always excited to see little known demons/dark gods being used in new and interesting ways, which Alex does well with wonderfully horrific descriptions of the nightmares such a thing entails. I can't wait to get even more of a look into the mind of Jay, and find out just where her fate is taking her.

"Captain" by Artie Sievers: Immersion at its finest. To me the hardest of the 5 senses to make a reader experience is smell, but Artie shows with his opening that he is capable of even that. I now feel that I have actually walked amid the bustle and stench that was a port in Hook's time. Add to that his superb characterization and you have another addition to my own must read list.

Unless my count is off you have until 1/10 to order Cancel the Ark, 1/16 for Storm of Fury, 1/23 for Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine, 1/30 for Daughter of the Mara, and 2/3 for Captain. Don't wait until the last minute for any project you're interested in though.

Thanks for your time, and hopefully I can figure out what I plan to post on my blog by Tuesday.  Enjoy your week, only one more update before we're officially at holiday time.

Hey friends!

Did everyone have a great Saturday? I did! I was running back and forth between participating in the Inkshares Review-A-Thon, running errands, and deep cleaning the apartment for an ugly sweater Christmas party!

Needless to say, it was a busy day. But a fun one! And unfortunately, I didn't get to leave nearly as many reviews for my fellow authors as I wanted to, so I will most definitely be making up for that this week.

I DID however join in for JF Dubeau & Paul Inman's livestream broadcast. Many thanks to them, the other participating authors, and a massive thanks to A.C. Weston as well, the overworked mastermind behind this amazing event. You can watch the full video HERE. The Dax Harrison live-reading antics begin around 51:00, but I encourage you to watch the full stream if you have a chance. There are some great interviews with multiple authors and Inkshares co-founder Adam Gomolin!

I have yet to watch the replay of the live-reading myself, but apparently we must have done something right! Dax scored 12 more orders yesterday, and 4 today! I also took the opportunity last night to bug a few folks at the Christmas party. *mwah ha ha ha!*

Let's take a look at the countdown: 6 days left, 22 orders to go!

Oh, we've got this. We've SO got this! There's some more good stuff brewing at Camp Dax for this final week. Stay tuned!

-Tony

P.S.: I know I'm a bit behind on the latest mug giveaways. After this final push, I will get caught up, probably in one big grand finale video. See ya soon! :)

Hey people, what do you do when you're procrastinating instead of writing? You make your own book trailer of course. It's only a minute long, but I tried to capture some of the feel of the book as best as I could. I hope you like.

In other PWP news, Chapter Three is up on Inkshares. This chapter introduces the B plot and a couple of new characters, including the main antagonist and her reluctant gnome priest. Here's just a taste:

* * *

Chapter Three

The crash of nearby thunder woke the tired old gnome from his uneasy slumber. He’d hoped that the storm was going to pass him by this time. His luck being what it was, however, he should have known better. His rickety lean-to of dead branches and dirty straw wouldn’t be enough to keep out the heavy rain, and that meant he’d have to take refuge in the temple.

He hated that place, preferring to face the cold nights bundled in rags and dead leaves rather than be near that evil altar. The shrine was what kept him bound to this ruined fortress and this miserable life. Countless generations ago, one of his ancestors had insulted K’lu Satal, a demi-goddess and powerful mage. She had bound his blood and forced him to serve as her priest in retaliation, a curse passed down through the family line to this day. He took some comfort that the suffering of a thousand years would end with him – he had no children to pass on his tainted legacy to – but the shrine was, as his old bones constantly reminded him, the only building in the fortress left with an intact roof.

He gathered the hot embers from what remained of his fire just as the clouds burst, and ran as fast as his frail legs would carry him into the temple. He took one last breath of fresh air before forcing the door closed to block out the wind.

The dim red glow was the first indication that something had changed. It was hard to see inside even at midday without the braziers being lit, and the money for candles had run out a decades ago. The chamber should have been pitch black.

On a dais opposite the doors, a ten foot tall statue of his mistress stood with arms outstretched toward the empty room. The pews and other furniture had been sold off or burned for warmth by his predecessors long ago, but no one had ever wanted the hideous lump of carved granite with the skeletal face. Not that the curse would have permitted him to get rid of it, but he always imagined it would make a most effective scarecrow. Especially now when it was glowing ominously with magical energy.

* * *

You can read more at The Problem with Prophecy on Inkshares. Please help by following, recommending, reviewing, sharing or pre-ordering. You you can earn credits towards FREE BOOKS for things like reviews and recommendations on Inkkshares projects, or if you pre-order a book that sells over 2000 copies you get $10, so that's like getting two for one. See the Inkshares FAQ for details.

Next week: Chapter Four

Wow, Sensationnel, 와우, 哇, Beeindruckend, ワオ, வாவ், Guau!

First, a huge ACKNOWLEDGEMENT to my fellow inksharesians - A.C. Weston (She is the End), J.F. Dubeau (The Life Engineered), Paul Inman (Ageless), John Robin (I have probably left out a few important people, and while I shudder to lump you into 'everyone else', it is out of pure necessity... and thus, please accept my sincere apologies) and everyone else who had been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make this inaugural review-a-thon a success! Give yourself a pat on the back (even if you just shared on facebook or tweeted)!

Also, congratulations to all the winners! Yes, that's everyone, not just the prize winners!

Special thank-yous Jamison Stone (Rune of the Apprentice), John Robin (Blood Dawn) and Joseph Asphahani (The Animal in Man) for reviewing Genesis. You humble me, my fellow story-tellers!

Lastly, to all my supporters - past, present and future, thank you for sharing this very eventful journey with me.  Genesis is still far from being complete, but I solemnly swear that I will work as hard as I possibly could, in the next 77 days, to tell you my story in the best way possible!

So, to everyone...

This morning, my alarm rang the cliche Nokia (not a sponsor) alarm at 6am. 

I crawled out of bed with the ghosts of my strange dreams and made myself a cup of coffee (of course, only after I've brushed my teeth). Then, I got ready for the review-a-thon live stream!

Don't worry, if you didn't manage to catch the live stream while it was still live, you can watch it on YouTube. 

My interview starts around 10:20. I spoke a little about The Battle for Oz and The Slave Prince, as well as what I do as my day job.

But wait... don't just watch mine. Watch the whole thing! We also had Gary Whitta (scriptwriter of The Book of Eli and the upcoming Rogue One) and Adam Gomolin (Inkshares VP) with us. Aside from that, there were mentions of many books worth supporting on Inkshares. So if you have a couple of hours to spare, check it out!

By the way, I know I mentioned in the interview that The Slave Prince is ranked #10 in the Sword & Laser Collection contest, but I just realised it has been bumped to #11. 

 
If you have yet to see what it's all about, please do :) I've added a new chapter too, and will continue to do so as more people come along for the adventure.

I hope you had a great weekend! I know I did :) Oh, and an advance Merry Christmas to all!