"Today, I did a crazy thing,” I said to Joan. She’s a Dev Editor, and one of my cohorts in the Black Hats Writers Group. She got me mixed up in this Inkshares meshugas in the first place. God bless her for that.

Last year when the Inkshares Horror Contest was heating up, Michael Welch and I had a friendly rivalry going. Some even called it a bromance. (That might have been me.) Mostly, he was kicking my ass. He floated the idea of collaborating on a project. We even discussed plot ideas, characterization, and what-not in some detail.

“Hell no,” I said back then. "Maybe later when this contest is over."

When it was over, I needed to write, and so did he, and now I’m re-writing and yes, I have high hopes that book might drop in 2019. I’m talking about MINE, of course, which started out as Murder Happens. I’m still not settled on the title, but MINE works for me right now.

Today, Mike floats the idea of putting the collaboration together again because Inkshares has a new contest going. The first of this year. Might be the only one of this year. And, it’s a Mystery Contest.

“I can’t ask my supporters to fork over for another book when the one I promised isn’t done yet,” I said. 

There might have been more swearing involved. Or maybe that’s a conversation that occurred in my head. Still, the excitement of the contest worked its way into my evil little brain. Next thing I know, Mike’s putting us up as a team. He even gave me first billing in the author profile. It should be him. The concept is his. But, I’m going to grab a hunk for myself. That’s how I roll. The creative tension between us will be epic. Definitely worth the price of admission, right? 

Oh, wait. I need to give you a link so you can go follow the book. I’m not going to ask, beg, extort or otherwise pressure anyone to pre-order. (But, shit happens.) I’ll throw this link out there, and let you decide what to do. The URL has 666 in it. That’s righteous. 

https://www.inkshares.com/books/ruining-boise-060666

There’s some serious talent running away with this contest already, and I’m sure I’ll support those projects, but hey, just call me crazy.

Hello My Lovelies,

Quick note to update progress on MINE, formerly titled Murder Happens. I’ve been plowing through the draft with the editor’s notes, and a crazy system of capturing story particulars via email.

Most ideas come to me either right before I fall asleep, or when I wake up first thing in the morning. These ideas are fleeting, so I grab a mobile device and tap out the gist of it. Then I roll over and go back to sleep.

When I read the note later, it’s usually gibberish without context, but somehow it still works. I’m a kinesthetic learner. I doodle in meetings. My work notes are complete nonsense, but I retain a lot of info in the old Fearce melon.

I work on the story every day. Once again, I’m closing in on the denouement of the manuscript. Second draft. I feel good about it, like it’s ratcheting up toward super tight. Like Dutch (a.k.a. Elmore Leonard) always said, cut out the parts no one reads. I been whacking the crap out of MINE with a hatchet.

If you’re not following along, go here now and do it.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

There’s quite a few of you I’ve told that I’ll check out your work, or have bought your book with the intention of reading it, even reviewing it. I fully intend to follow through on those promises, but this juggernaut needs to get finished. 

Also, there’s a lot of great books in the Staff Syndicate. The most recent selections are funding. Check them out, too. Pre-order a couple. Pay it forward for when your time comes.

https://www.inkshares.com/syndicates/staff

Dean Fearce

Bay Area Authors! Meet Dean Fearce and The Black Hats Writers Group at Mountain View Public Library, Sat. Aug. 25th, 2-4 pm. We’ll be signing and selling the Fresh Cuts Anthologies.

Wanted to share current events with my beautiful supporters regarding the project. The Dev Letter came with astute guidance on how to improve, basically, everything, and a few issues that needed to be addressed.

I’ve since outlined my proposed changes, sent them back, and have gotten the green light to proceed to draft #2 of the manuscript.

You may notice I’m not calling it Murder Happens. Been exploring other titles per the editor’s suggestion. Right now, Mine is making a lot of sense to me.

Very excited by how the story is evolving, and enjoying this writing, polishing stage. 

Thank you all for this opportunity. I appreciate it so much. And if you haven’t pre-ordered, consider it now while the price is right.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

And you can follow my author page on facebook because, why not?

https://www.facebook.com/authordeanfearce/

Also, wanted to mention Tonya Mitchell’s story, A Feigned Madness. I greatly enjoy historical fiction and the premise of Nellie Bly’s story is so juicy. Funding now, check it out:

https://www.inkshares.com/books/a-feigned-madness

So, the manuscript for Murder Happens was submitted about 4-weeks ago and they have a 2-month turn before reading for the first assessment. If readers and/or authors are interested in learning more about the process, try following Murder Happens. No obligation and once the dev edits come back, I’ll be posting more discussion-worthy updates.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens