Today has been a momentous day. Early this morning (Australian time) the latest round of finalists in The Launchpad Manuscript Competition were announced — The Judges’ Top 25.

I am ecstatic to confirm Human Resources has been included in this exclusive list! This competition started out with thousands of entries from twenty-four countries. To have HR selected by industry judges as being in the twenty-five best manuscripts from such an impressive cohort has me lost for words.

Moving forward, the judges will continue to whittle the finalists down. In a few short weeks they will announce the Top 10 and the judges’ winners! In parallel to that, the crowdfunding competition will continue until 16 December (PST). The three winners of the crowdfunding competition are guaranteed publication, regardless of the results of the main judging process, so if you are following the novel but haven’t pre-ordered yet, please consider putting in an order now.

The competition has been fierce, and even with the amazing support I have received, the pack is slowly reeling me in. If you are able to spread the word, to help me get HR in front of new eyes, it would be an enormous help.

Thank you, and fingers crossed,

Robert

Hey everybody!

First of all, thanks for supporting KILL CREEK!  It’s a classic haunted house story that gets pretty nasty in the best possible way.  Thanks to you, I’m close to hitting the 60 pre-order mark.  Thank you for helping me get this far, but I’d appreciate anything you can do to spread the word.  Share the link.  Tell a friend.  Anyone you think might dig a character-driven ghost story, this is the book for them.  

This is for anyone who’s ever seen the tallgrass rustle when there’s no breeze and wondered if there’s something moving beneath it, something unseen, something that should not be there...

This is for the shadow in the corner of the room that doesn’t seem to be cast by any obvious object...

This is for that noise you swear you heard when your eyes flash open at two in the morning, when you wonder if you should check the rest of the house, just to be sure...

This is for the darkness that hugs the bottom of the stairs and for the things that wait patiently beyond...

This is for your ankle that slips out of the covers in the middle of the night and for the twisted hand that reaches for it...

This is the itch in your bones, the cold in your spine, the story that gets under your skin, the book that you recommend to friends, the tale that must be told.

This is the house on Kill Creek.  It remains, to this day.  Waiting.  Patiently.  For us all to believe.

Best,

Scott Thomas

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Big news today. SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS has been chosen as the November selection for Gary Whitta’s Nomad Syndicate. Yes, THAT Gary Whitta! Writer of The Book of Eli, After Earth, and this little unseen, indie gem:

I won’t lie, my heart is beating like a scruffy-lookin’ Nerf herder right now. It’s been a pretty awesome six weeks since we started this campaign, and we’re not done yet. You can still pre-order SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS, get a signed copy, and an extra-special "early adopter" prize which we’ll be unveiling soon. But you have to purchase before January 1. Tell your friends, tweet it from the mountain tops, and pick up a copy if you haven’t already! Darth Vader will thank you.

May the Force be with you all --

mh

I wanted to share a quick roundup of great reviews of the book. And also appeal to you if you’ve read the book to go leave a quick review on the Amazon page. With a few dozen more reviews, Amazon will promote the book in a way that we can get the book out to more people. I would be so appreciative of the time you take out to add your recommendation:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M14SB5W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Reviews:

-We got an outstanding book review from Dread Central, one of the biggest horror sites,“One glorious badass story that will keep you wanting more.”

-Rave review in Diabolique Magazine: “Smart and engrossing...Duncan adroitly takes a preposterous theme to giddy heights, and tells a damn good story in the process.”

-Review on Bibliosanctum: “Suspenseful and literally explosive... an imaginative book with a dash of pulp and quirkiness.”

I also wrote a "Big Idea" post on John Scalzi’s fantastic blog if you’d like to take a look. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/10/28/the-big-idea-patrick-sheane-duncan/ 

Thanks again for any Amazon reviews you can add,

Pat