Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

Hi, Everyone!

Super short update, I promise. Are you ready for this?

THE LAST FAOII HAS 100 PRE-ORDERS!

Oh, goodness. I’m not sure I actually expected to hit that milestone. When I started this campaign I had told a total of maybe 5 people that I’d written a book. Now, people I’ve never met or heard of are supporting the endeavor! It’s so... humbling. And amazing.

The milestone is amazing and awesome, but we’re not there yet. We have right around 25 days to get 150 more pre-orders if we want to hit quill goal and select publishing. I think we can do it. I really do. But I need your help.

Keep sharing. Keep your heads up. Keep being awesome.

Keep having hope.

Love always,
T
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    Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

    Hey, everyone!

    Just a couple of things:

    1) There’s a new review up for The Last Faoii. It’s pretty neat:
      "The Last Faoii redefines modern fantasy. Finally we have a protagonist that can bolster young girls no matter their age, background, or sexuality. Gone are the days of bikini mail and helpless princesses. It could not have come soon enough."
    -Amanda Tester 

    Awesome, right?

    2) We’re at 97 Pre-orders with 29 days left. It’ll be close, but I’m hopeful!

    3) There are 24 hours left to enter for the original artwork raffle. Pre-order your copy of The Last Faoii before the drawing tomorrow at midnight for your chance to win!

    That’s it for now. I’ll send out an update with the winners tomorrow night! :D

    Take care of yourselves.
    T 
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      Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

      Hi, everyone!

      As always, I want to start off by thanking you for your support of The Last Faoii. It’s a tough road, but I have so many people keeping me going that I know we’ll make it. :)

      Today was eventful. I stared putting up flyers about The Last Faoii in my hometown. Combined with the advertisements I’ve purchased, I’m really hoping that pre-orders start picking up. I also set up a meeting with a local bookstore owner so that we can talk about when/how I can offer a reading for The Last Faoii. Thrilling and terrifying, that.

      Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put up any sort of information at my local library, but several people made up for that by stepping forward and volunteering to put up flyers in their hometowns. Can you believe it? People all around the country are going to start seeing The Last Faoii flyers! If you want to join in that fun, send me an e-mail (tahani.nelson@gmail.com) or find me on Facebook (Tahani Nelson) and I’ll send you a digital or hard copy of the flyers. I would love the support!

      The Last Faoii was recently nominated for the Break the Beschdel with Strong Female Characters syndicate again, which is exciting. However, so was Evan Graham’s super-awesome Tantalus Depths and I kind of want to see him win. He really deserves it. Still, it was an honor to be nominated again.

      On top of that, I guess The Last Faoii was also nominated for a different syndicate, too. But I don’t know which one or how that’s going. I hear weird things through the grapevine sometimes. If anyone has more information, drop me a line, please.

      Anyway, I’m going to try to put up more flyers tomorrow, but I also have a protest to go to, so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have. Still, I stayed up for days at a time writing The Last Faoii, so I should be able to stay up days at a time trying to promote it, right?

      Take care of yourselves. Follow The Last Faoii on FB if you haven’t already. I’d love to see you!

      Love always,
      T
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        Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

        Hello, Everyone!

        Working on The Last Faoii and towards publication has been an absolute BLAST for me, but I realized that most of you only have the option to... wait. So, let’s add some excitement, yes?

        Two weeks from today, I’m going to pick 5 random people that have pre-ordered The Last Faoii and send them a signed piece of original artwork that I made! Each piece is of a character in the book and will include a little blurb about him or her.

        So, if you haven’t yet, make sure you pre-order soon!

        You’ll get your name in the drawing for every copy that you pre-order, so those of you that have already purchased multiple copies have a higher chance to win. Exciting, right? 

        Good luck!

        (Also, here are some samples. There are more, too. So if you win you’ll either get one of these or a SURPRISE!)


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          Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

          Hey, everyone!

          It’s a nice lazy weekend here, so I decided to celebrate by putting up the next three chapters of the Last Faoii. I know, I know. I’ve been saying this entire time that I was only going to tease people with the first three, but then I remembered that one of my favorite scenes happens at the end of Chapter 5, and you finally get to truly meet the antagonist in 6. So I’m changing my mind and putting up a few more chapters today. Must be the nice weather getting to me. ;)

          In case you didn’t know, chapters 1-3 have been up since I joined inkshares, but if you haven’t read those yet then start there. 4 just went up a little bit ago. 5 and 6 should go up in the next hour or so. Have fun reading!

          Love always,

          T

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            Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

            Hello, Friends!

            I’m sorry that I haven’t really given an update in awhile. I finally realized that I was running myself ragged with this book, and I had to take a break from it (and everything else) for a few days. My health and sanity are now once again intact (or as close to intact as they’ve ever been) and I’m back and ready to build the bridge that leads from here to publication!

            I realize now, of course, that at least a few bricks in the bridge are going to have to be public readings (cue scary music). Reading my own book in public terrifies me. Even more than birds terrify me (which is way more than they should). It’s not because I don’t think the book is worthy of being read-- It is able to stand on its own merits-- but because I am not really one to sing the praises of my own work in a face-to-face situation. I don’t ever want to sound... arrogant, so instead I tend to come off as too meek to make an impression. Which probably means that I shouldn’t have used this route to try and get published. 20/20 hindsight, I guess. XD

            But, you know what? A lot of things terrify me. And I’ve faced all of them before. I even walk by the bird cages in the pet store now. So why wouldn’t I face this terror when it might help me reach my goal of actually seeing The Last Faoii in the hands of readers like you?

            So I’m going to do it. I’m not sure where or how, yet, but I’ll figure it out and I’ll send you another update when I get to that point. Until then, however, I would love LOVE love any advice you all could give me. You’re interested in The Last Faoii-- what would you like to hear at a reading? What questions would you want to ask? Would you like to see a fight scene? A sad one? A funny one? Would you like to meet a bunch of different characters or focus on the backstories of one or two? How long would you expect a reading to go on for?

            Was that enough questions? Can you tell I’m new at this? haha. 

            Take care of yourselves. 

            Love always,
            T

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              Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

              Hello, friends! 

              I’m not sure if this is the type of update you’re interested in, but I’m going to share it with you anyway.

              I’m actually, literally crying right now because I just wrote the most beautiful and heart-wrenching passage I’ve ever had to write. It finally brought two characters to a point that I have been building up for... well, since I conceived them. It’s perfect. I want you all to read it more than any passage I’ve written up until this point.

              But... it’s in the sequel to The Last Faoii. You know, the second book. The one I probably shouldn’t have started writing until I was sure the first one would make it. lol. Because I just wrote an amazing culmination to characters you’ve only barely been introduced to, and I am keenly aware that exactly no one else will ever see it if I don’t first publish The Last Faoii. 

              The good news is that I’m 25% of the way to my quill goal, but there’s still a lot of room for failure. And I’m more aware of that now than I was 45 minutes ago.

              But, I thought you’d want to know that if we do succeed in getting Faoii out there... it doesn’t end here. There’s so much more to see!

              Love always

              T

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                Vonda Ellis liked an update for The Last Faoii

                Hi, faoii supporters! 

                Today I am humbled. The Last Faoii was nominated for book of the month by the syndicate Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters. As one of my supporters mentioned, "Kaiya’s ready to cut through that test with a sword." haha. I love you guys. Thanks for being awesome.

                If you don’t know about syndicates, or are looking for one to join, I highly recommend Break the Bechdel. Because the world needs more strong female leads. Our young girls need more Sabriels and less Bellas. And we need ones that care about something more than a man that may or may not bed her in the third act. Because, if you want my opinion, nothing is more annoying when this awesome woman stops in the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield to make out with some guy with a too-large sword (compensating, handsome?). Contrary to popular belief, blood, sweat, and armor is not sexy. 

                Anyway, thank you all for your continued support. Keep being amazing!

                Love always,
                T

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                  Vonda Ellis followed The Last Faoii
                  The Last Faoii
                  After her monastery is attacked and her sisters slaughtered, young Kaiya is left alone to fight back against a dark army and darker betrayal.