Lore update: 

The moral implications of a completely customizeable human genome have not been resolved by the time of Tantalus Depths. Most parents only want to use this technology to ensure the lifelong health of their children, but some may make alterations that are morally ambiguous. Where would you stand on this issue? And how does this technology play into the lives of the Diamelen’s crew?

I mentioned that I was going to give a portion of the proceeds from my pre-orders to charity, so I guess I should explain what I meant by that. Some authors will give away free t-shirts, or coffee mugs with their cover art on it. I figure if you’re anything like me, you already have a closet brimming with clothes and a cupboard full of novelty ceramics. You don’t need more stuff that you’ll probably never use.

Instead, I’d like to give back the money that I’d waste on swag to help support those who take care of our animal friends. The highest law among the Ancestor Spirits in my book is the care of their totems, because without them they would be lost and helpless. I decided I couldn’t do any less. I haven’t made a final decision yet, but likely donation candidates are the Humane Society and AWRE. (They can put the money toward updating their website from the nineties.)

Now this is where it gets a little complicated. Because of the way the Inkshares funding structure works, there are three possible scenarios:

1. The book sells less than 250 pre-orders. – In this case, the book is not published and you are not charged any money. After a good cry, I’ll probably put the book up on Amazon or Smashwords. You can get it there if you’re still interested.
2. The book sells more than 250 pre-orders, but less than 750. – This makes the book eligible for the ebook-only Quill collection. Inkshares takes the money from the first 250 copies to cover production expenses, but the rest is split 70/30 between me and them.

• For 250-350 copies, I’ll donate a $100 flat amount.
• For 300-749 copies, I will give $1 from each book sold after the 250 mark, up to the maximum of $500.

• For 750-1000 copies, I’ll donate a flat $500 out of my own pocket because I’ll just be so damned happy that I got published.
• For more than 1,000 copies, I will give $2 from each book sold after the 750 mark, no maximum.

I hope that makes sense. Honestly, if I could give all the money away, I would, but I still need to do things like eat and pay rent. Also, writing books takes a lot of time, and I need to be able to justify all that work with a paycheck of some kind so I can bring you the sequels.

This offer is for pre-orders only, so you must purchase before October 2, 2016. Also any amount over a few hundred dollars may be delayed pending payment from Inkshares. Proof of donation will be provided by a public posting of receipts.

Even if you can’t afford to order now, your recommendations and reviews help keep this project alive by increasing its visibility. Please follow and share. Thanks and keep reading.