Two days into our campaign for Proteus, and we’ve already worked our way to tenth place in the contest, out of 150 entrants. The support we’ve seen already is phenomenal, and it personally warms my heart to see how much faith so many of you have in me that you’d be willing to rally for me a second time even though the first book is still in production. I promise you, I won’t let you down.
We’ve made it to the top ten in record time, but now we have to climb through them. At the time of writing, 17 pre-orders stand between Proteus and the coveted third place position, and I fully expect those numbers to rise significantly by the end of the contest. We mustn’t lose momentum!
Only 18 days remain in this contest, and after that, we’ve either won or we’re done. There will be no long pre-order campaign this time; it’s total victory or defeat. We’ll be getting Tantalus Depths no matter what, but with this contest won, we’ll have the beginning of a franchise rather than a single novel. If you can spare as little as ten dollars, please lend Proteus your support, and tell all your family and friends about it. I’m passionate about this story, and I am so eager to share it with you.
Expect to see some new story content updates in the next coming days. We’re exploring a completely different side of the galaxy that we were introduced to in Tantalus Depths so expect to see some brand new story elements with a familiar feel to them. For now, I leave you with this new promotional video for Proteus. Please feel free to share it with anyone, anywhere!


Six orders stand between 1000 Faces and the top 3 of the Nerdist contest
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces
If you’re following this project because you enjoy the concept, because you enjoy my writing, please consider preordering today. If you haven’t checked out the sample content from 1000 Faces yet, you can find them under the ’Read’ tab on the project page - or at the links below!
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-1-
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-2-
~ Jenny
Well sirs,
I passed the 80,000 word mark, a major milestone. That was my goal for the total word count in the book, and I just squeaked past it. I’m working to wrap things up as quickly as possibly, without making the ending too abrupt. I figure I have maybe another 10,000 words or so to write, then I’m done.
The process hasn’t been harder than I anticipated, but it sure as hell has taken a lot longer. For that, I apologize. As I mentioned in my last update, I ended up tossing some 45,000 words, and though the story is much better for it, I can’t help feeling a little bad to keep everyone waiting so long. On the plus side, these newer ideas add excitement, fun characters, and a few WTF twists.
I’m going to finish this draft in the next 2 weeks (approximately), then spend a few more months smoothing out sections and tying it all together. As I complete sections, I will post them for you to finally start reading and (hopefully) enjoying.
Thanks for the patience!

IT IS OFFICIAL:
’THE AIM’ TV SERIES OPTION CONTRACT SIGNED SEALED & DELIVERED
The long-form contract for The Astronaut Instruction Manual tv series option by Legendary Entertainment (ie the studio behind such massive blockbuster films as Pacific Rim, The Dark Knight, Godzilla, Superman vs Batman, and Jurassic World) has been signed!

ENORMOUS THANKS to the Team who made this happen:
-Howie Sanders at United Talent Agency,
-Matt Tolmach & Tolmach Productions,
-the indispensable Brooklyn Weaver,
-my amazing lawyer Howard Abramson at Behr & Abramson,
-and most of all Inkshares and Adam Gomolin (!!!) who from Day One believed in The Astronaut Instruction Manual.
What happens next? As I understand there will be an announcement upcoming of the The Astronaut Instruction Manual series’ showrunner (television writer) about whom I’m sworn to secrecy.
(However, to "see what’s next" just do some networking and keep a lookout for someone worthy of adding daredevil to their credit. Got it?)
Stay tuned, the best is yet to come,
Mike Mongo
This update is about a part of Mission 51 that I did not anticipate when I first put "pencil to paper."
There came a moment during the writing of Mission 51 when I thought a real picture would be a fun way to describe a part of the story. I made a very brief effort to draw something on my own, but I quickly realized my drawing skills were not good enough. So I began to look elsewhere. My search for a compatible artist eventually took me to DeviantArt, where I proceeded to look at the work of hundreds of artists. I found two who I believed could interpret moments in Mission 51 in a way that would be compatible with the spirit of the story: Idan Carré and Chris Pyke. It has been a sheer pleasure working with these two talented individuals.
The process of creating the images in Mission 51 starts with countless emails back and forth. Chris lives in England, so there is also the matter of working around time zones. I takes a lot of planning and time to get the moment of the story, the important elements, the framing, the angle of view, the expressions, and the feeling just right. Idan and Chris have an amazing ability to capture those kinds of things in their painting and drawing.
By way of example, I’ll share this portrait of Dr. Linda Deltare, an important character in Mission 51. The time period would be in the late 1950s or early 1960s, so she appears much younger than the old lady who approaches me in the Preface of the book. In fact, at that time she was close in age to the story’s protagonist, Mat. Deltare has a PhD in linguistics. She is a crossdresser and a chain smoker. But most importantly, she was Mat’s best, and perhaps only friend during those early years. In this phenomenal pen and ink drawing, Chris Pyke has captured Deltare in her office in Area 51, right down the hall from Mat’s cell. Awesome detail!
A last step that I have added more recently is expert digital colorization by a young colorist in Israel. Lea is able to add color and life to these drawings without taking anything away. The subtle shading, the hash lines, everything in the original drawing is still there. Magical!

I am fortunate beyond words to have the chance to work with such talented people, and I cannot wait to share the rest of their work with you. Please help me make Mission 51 a reality. I need your pre-order to stay in the top three of the Nerdist contest. That will get the book published.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration and support!
Peace!
Ferd