Chapter Thirty of BLACKSTONE now live.  This is the final segment, folks.  I hope you enjoyed the book.

NOTE:  If you need to catch up on your reading, every chapter will be posted through Halloween.  After that, all bets are off.

-j.s.

The Geek & Sundry fantasy contest ends on November 1st. Eek! Though Witherfist is a good 100 readers shy of reaching the top 3 - and the prize of guaranteed full publication from Inkshares - I am so thrilled and humbled by the amount of support the book has received.  While the contest is active, I want to push the book as high as possible in the top 10.  At the time of writing, Witherfist is tantalisingly close to the number 7 spot in the top 10, thanks in part to all of the new readers who have joined the campaign this week.  

I shared in a previous update some work in progress art, and now I’m happy to present the finished piece. Here is Karaben the Imperial interogator in all her glory. 

~ Jenny

Hello, lovely readers!

We’ve almost reached the end! The Geek and Sundry contest ends on October 31st, which is just a few days away! We’re holding 4th place, but 5th place is making a determined run. I would LOVE to achieve that 4th place finish, so tell your friends to order! And if you haven’t ordered yet, time is running out, and I’d greatly appreciate your support.

At this point in the contest, many authors are offering incentives. The first place authors are even offering to critique your writing! How cool is that? Unfortunately, I can’t quite do that. So for what it’s worth, here’s my offer:

If you or someone you refer pre-orders my book before the contest ends, I will--wait for it--solve a math problem for you. That’s right! Send me a problem of any level through calculus, and I will explain how to solve it for you!

Hey, I’m a math tutor. I’m working with what I’ve got.

Now that I know people will be lining up in droves, I’d like to seriously say, thank you so much for your support. Honestly, with over 200 books in this contest, I did not expect to do this well. So thank you, and if you’ve got anyone else you can recommend The Fairy Stepmother, Inc. to, I’d be appreciative to the infinitieth power.

Best,

Maggie

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT! Thanks to your amazing support, we’re currently at 196 orders. To make the top three, we need to sell at least 100 more copies. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a pretty tough hill to climb. Twenty-five copies a day. We’ve done that before, but in these last days I need to sweeten the pot a little.

So, from now until Nov 1, I will match every copy sold with a $10 donation to a Breast Cancer Prevention fund. A friend of mine from high school was just diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer, so this is a particularly important issue for me. She’s having surgery next week, so good vibes for #teamJ9 are appreciated. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month, so your pre-orders will not only get you a fun novel about sorcery, but also put some cash toward a worthy cause.

Thank you all for sharing, tweeting, and especially placing those pre-orders. Only four more days, then I promise to get out of your hair for awhile. WE CAN DO THIS!

mh

Hi all! I wanted to send out an update because some people are not finding the signed headshot from Felicia Day in their hardback orders. To be clear, anyone who ordered a HARDBACK before the pre-orders ended should have a signed picture. Flip through the book to find the shot, because they were placed in the middle of the book as to not to bend. If you still cannot find the shot, email hello@inkshares.com with your issues. 

Just a few reviews to share.

-Powell’s Books picked Dracula vs Hitler as their book of the month for October. Their endorsement: “Imagine Inglourious Bastards mashed up with, well, Dracula. This fun, spooky romp is told in the same epistolary style as Stoker’s original and each voice in unique and well-written. It’s a blast.”

-The New York Journal of Books says about Dracula vs. Hitler: "It’s a novel worthy of being called the true sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Patrick Sheane Duncan a writer rightfully deserving to be considered that author’s successor."

Thank you all for making this possible!

Pat

Late update this week, Ghosts and Guardians... but it’s better than no update!

First, an actual update: Our followers are few (61) and our pre-orders are few (37) so I am not filled with a lot of confidence that I will reach my goal of 250 by November 15. That’s okay, because I am filled with the confidence that A Tale of Ghosts and Guardians is a captivating story with amazing characters that only requires more readers and more advocates. Grassroots, baby! If I do not reach my goal, you money will be refunded, but the campaign will not end. I will keep promoting my work. I will keep asking you to promote my work. I will keep asking everyone I see to fall in love with Kara and Hardy and Beth and Will and Chris and Monique and Maninder as much as I do.

With that said, I owe you another Monster File this week-- Faeries 

Before the end of the first common era millennium, the faerie and dragon populations rivaled humans. Many battles were fought for dominance and humans emerged the victor, with faeries facing near extinction and dragons completely wiped out. Today, because of their endangerment, most faeries are reclusive and only enter the human world to feed or reproduce. Faeries have different strengths and weaknesses, as well as different tastes. They are not a malicious species, rather they are fighting to survive in a world that has moved on from them.

Faeries are an ancillary force in A Tale of Ghosts and Guardians and become much more prominent in A Tale of Beasts and Brothers and later books in the series. 

Next week will be the final Monster File spotlight. It will be on the most powerful group in the world of A Tale of Ghosts and Guardians. It is the group that can turn dragons into myth, reduce faeries to folklore, and banish gods from the earth: Witches. 

See you on Halloween!

Chapter Twenty-Eight is now live.  Only two chapters left . . . 

In which Jack takes a trip, and the group has a visitor.

Look for Chapter 29 to be posted on Wednesday.

-j.s.

 Some of you have already ordered Manifesto: A Tale of Murder, and for that I am eternally grateful.  I am working hard and making progress on the current draft.  It is now a certainty that my manuscript will be ready to turn in for editing the day my funding campaign ends.  

Also, I have decided that the campaign could use a boost in the final days of the Crypt TV contest.  So, if we can get Manifesto: A Tale of Murder into the top three of Crypt TV when the contest closes, I am going to donate my first royalty payment from sales of the book to Wounded Warrior Project.  It is a charity that has helped personal friends of mine, and I have seen the difference they make in people’s lives. 

So, help me out, help out a good cause, and get an awesome book!  Everyone wins!