Okay, so I was trying to hit 150 preorders by the end of this week, but unless a flurry comes in, not quite going to make it. Fellow Inkshares authors if you have credits to spare, by all means pre-order again! Give it to your friends for the holidays. In the meantime, let's have another favorite cocktail from the book to go along with Susan's daiquiri recipe. But first here's a brief history of the Manhattan. By most accounts the cocktail was concocted in, where else, Manhattan. Some have it being invented in the 1870's for a banquet that honored Jennie Jerome, a Brooklyn-born socialite who was also the mother of Sir Winston Churchill. Other accounts credit a bar on Broadway near Houston Street as inventing it. Well, whatever the source, the Manhattan is surely a delicious cocktail. It's easy to make, and it's perfect for chilly winter nights because it kind of warms you up. So cheers to Edith Vale, and let's have a Manhattan.

Manhattan (Makes one. Feel free to double, or triple this recipe, depending on mood!)

2 parts whiskey (Maker's Mark is preferred)

1 part sweet vermouth

1-2 parts Angostura Bitters

1-2 Maraschino cherries

Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add in whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with cherries and serve.

Every time I visit inkshares to delete my wip, work in progress, I find that someone else has taken interest, and I just can't delete my book yet. As only a few books have sold and I only have sixty days left, the odds of meeting the publishing goal is looking slimmer and slimmer. 

I have not been promoting this book at all, due to how intense it is to write and the strange reactions I get from folks in the real world. When I begin speaking about my crowdfunding book that I am working on, and that it is a sci-fi book about an alien woman who helps free humanity from their enslaved dictators, eyes begin to glaze over, then they look at me, differently. When I excitedly share with my loved ones and friends the subjects in this book, they actually get upset. Hmm. Especially when I tell them that some of the subject matter is in fact, more real than fiction! Then they really start stepping away from me at that point, lol! They just shake their head, kind of look at me sadly, and then make some excuse to end the conversation, so they can get away, without me noticing that they did all that just to not have to hear more about Genevra and her adventures, which makes humanity uncomfortable, of course. Therefore, I am not exactly marketing it, and really don't even talk about this project to anyone in my life anymore.

But, as the characters keep speaking to me, I still have not been able to push the delete button. The main character, Genevra, keeps appearing to tell me to tell her story (no, she is not real, just part of this book, and in my head, and no, I'm not nuts, so to speak, just so amazingly creative through God's power that flows through me, that this world is hard on me).

 Eventually, one of the following will occur: the book will magically get done on time and amazingly get its quota filled, the book will get finished on time, but not funded, or as I have tried to do a number of times, I will get here and will hit the delete button to put this book on the back burner for now.

I don't even know what this outcome shall be, but for today, I have written a few more words, that claimed their place in the book. 

Merry Christmas, Thank You, and God Bless Every One of  You and Yours, and the Earth!

Thursday update time.

First off a reminder that the Review-a-thon is Saturday, only two days away.  I'm going to make every effort to be a very active participant and hopefully you will as well.  

As for the book campaign, it is progressing though still more slowly than I would like but orders and followers are still coming in so I certainly can't complain.

Saturday after the Review-a-thon I will be releasing adding new content to either the Exile, Magus or Exile, Hunted page.  I have been enjoying the release method I'm using for Exile, Hunted, and it gave me an idea on how to continue releasing more of Exile, Magus.  Instead of waiting for large milestones in order to release whole Chapters, I will now instead release by sections of those Chapters.  For every 10 orders or 20 follows I will release a new section.  At this point that means that at 70 orders or 250 follows I will release the first section of Chapter 6, at 80 orders or 270 follows I will release the second section, and so on.

Also, there's been some good talk going on in John Robin's Epic Fantasy Syndicate.  The first book we support will be chosen 1/15.  We really would like to get as many epic fantasy lovers on board as possible so that our syndicate can support more epic fantasy books with promise.

Here is the link to the syndicate: https://www.inkshares.com/syndicates/john-robin-s-epic-fantasy-syndicate

If you like this idea but don't want to commit financially, you can still support us by becoming an affiliate. We have a Goodreads group you can join where we discuss books on Inkshares, as well as ways to get the word out about our syndicate. You can join the syndicate at any time, but there's numerous ways you can help us, and plus, it's just plain fun for epic fantasy enthusiasts to come together and chat about what we love!

Here's the link to the Goodreads group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/177754-john-robin-s-epic-fantasy-syndicate

That's all I've really got for this week.  Once again, thanks for all of your support, keep reading,recommending, and enjoying.