HEY AGAIN, READERS!
Of course I hit SEND on my last update and immediately realized I forgot to mention something:
The illustrious Elena Stofle, Operations Manager at Inkshares, has posted an article on the official Inkshares blog featuring the top 10 contestants in THE LIST 2016. There you’ll find a quick blurb from each of the authors chatting about their books, their writing inspirations, etc.
Take a look and get to know the contestants! You might find Dax isn’t the only new read to pique your interest...
Sitting Down with the Top 10 Authors in The List 2016 Contest (so far)
Cheers,
Tony V.
Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,


Dear friends and followers:
Christmas is coming. So is my birthday. If you’re following the Julian calendar, those are on the same day. I think it’s pretty clear what I’d like for Christmas....
Well, the List contest continues apace. Thanks to you, I’m still in second. There’s no place for complacency, though, as I am not convinced that the numbers are entirely accurate: I believe that some of the books behind me have uncounted readers, which puts them a lot closer to knocking me out of position than I’m comfortable with. And things could easily change over the next month.
I’m grateful to all of you for having gotten me this far.
Meanwhile, I have not been neglecting the book itself in favour of selling it. I’ve updated the first two chapters on the site; I’ve worked out the actual calendar-date timeline for the events of the novel, and I am happy to say that the story officially begins on 31 October 1924. I’d very much like to be able to hand this in first thing in the new year, but that’s all dependent on what happens with the List.
Speaking of timelines and the upcoming New Year, it’s been a while since I made any recommendations. So here are a couple that I believe you’d enjoy, and whose authors would also appreciate the Christmas gift of your vote of confidence.
1) "Manifesto", by Daniel Poort. This one’s a psychological thriller about a small-town cop on the trail of a serial killer. Poort promises an escalating body count; and of course nothing says edge-of-your-seat like murder and betrayal.
2) "Shady Place", by David Byrne. A more light-hearted take, I think. A police detective and a mobster retire to the same seniors’ community, and find they have to work together to prevent a murder. If they play "good cop/bad cop", I wonder which would be which....
Until next time: have fun, and keep reading. And tell all your friends!