thank you! Thank you!! Thank You!!!
After one full week of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest, Mission 51 is sitting in First Place! That is fantastic!
I am sincerely grateful for the outpouring of support for me and Mission 51 this past week. The whole thing is a bit scary. It’s scary just putting the story out there. It’s scary asking for pre-orders. It’s even scary being in 1st place. And believe me, I’m not the scary sort. This is just way different than anything I do in my usual life.
I do feel very good about the book. It has a fun feel, with serious undertones. The historical fiction side includes plenty of real people, places, and things. My hope is that readers want to check Wikipedia and other sources frequently while reading the book, to get a better and better feel for Mat’s world in 1954-1969. It has a lot of fun detail.
I’m proud of the "Staff Pick" and the "The Great Sci-Fi for the 21st Century and Beyond Syndicate" badges. It’s also humbling and cool to read the great recommendations Mission 51 has garnered. I’m grateful for it all!
There are still five weeks remaining in the contest, and there are now almost 70 projects participating. Twenty of them are now on the leaderboard. So I am grateful for where Mission 51 is right now, but I am still asking for your support. Many thanks to those who have already placed their pre-order. For those of you who have not, I humbly ask that you please take a moment to consider, and then another moment to go ahead and pre-order Mission 51. I would be forever grateful! :-)
Thanks again, and Peace!
Ferd 👽
This update is for all the wonderful people who supported me and Mission 51 with a pre-order in 2016. Those pre-orders are gone!
Greetings followers of the CSV Space Sloth!
The latest news on the story is that I’ve entered it into the Launchpad 2017 Manuscript Competition. I’m looking forward to getting some useful feedback from the process to improve the story.
While we all wait for news on how it ranks in the competition you may want to saunter over to my other story, Crow’s Gambit. I’ve just thrown it into the deep end with the Nerdist SciFi Contest! It’s a little different than Space Sloth and takes place on an Earth where aliens have grounded all aviation and aerospace activities. If you like hard edged science with a hint of political intrigue give it a look.
We did it. 750 copies sold. This. Is. Amazing.
Thank you, a million times over. The past few months have been challenging, invigorating, frustrating, and inspiring. I have made several new friends and reconnected with old ones. Nothing quite like the raw experience of putting yourself and your work out there.
I am excited to embark on the production journey and to give you sneak peeks behind the scenes along the way. So, what goes into the production of a book with a full-scale publishing house, before it makes its way to a bookstore near you? Glad you asked! I made the following to break it down, and will also add it to my revamped book page for future reference:
As I make my way through these phases, I will aim to send you updates every month or so, or when something particularly exciting happens, so as to not drive all of you up the wall. Also, since I know it will be a long wait, I have decided that once the edits are complete, I will send all of you (my original backers) an electronic uncorrected proof. This means that you will have the ability to read the book months before it is released while waiting for your official copy.
Several, if not most, of you, found the book through my Twitter account @WritesAsheville - I have created a separate handle specifically for book-related news - @TWACI2090 Feel free to follow!
And last, but not least, the winner of the $250 Airbnb gift card (chosen by random number generator) is ......
Just in time for summer! Enjoy!
Cheers! -Jacqui
Machiners!
Can you believe we flew past the one month mark since publication? Crazy times! This will be a quick update with some goodies to report.
First, The Last Machine AUDIOBOOK is coming! You read that correctly, this is going to be epic! And I don’t expect it to take very long to produce. After a highly competitive audition process - 60 narrators submitted recordings to read Jonathan’s story - I’ve selected the voice to read our story! Look for an update in the next month or so about a release date. Shooting for around July 1.
Super important: Have you read the story? Have you not left a review on Amazon?
Then I need your help. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. I liked the Last Machine for x and y reason, etc. One or two sentences will do the trick. Want to write a longer response to the story? Please do - Reviews come in all shapes and sizes! We need to get to 100 on Amazon, and at the moment, we have 16. Many thanks in advance!
Amazon page for reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Machine-Solar-System-ebook/dp/B06XRSS26Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8
Goodreads page for reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30221887-the-last-machine-in-the-solar-system
Lastly, pics! From the book launch at Book Passage in the San Francisco Ferry Building. Oh, and the book in Huntington, NY at Book Revue next to some guy named George R.R. Martin.... I told you these were crazy times :-)
This is the final countdown!
Only 26 orders to go. The champagne is in the fridge beckoning me to open it. If you have not ordered yet and would like to be a backer for The Walls are Closing In, now would be a fabulous time to jump in. If you would like your name in the back of the book, this is your final chance to buy a "Super Reader" package before that ship sails.
Once The Walls are Closing In hits 750, a few exciting things will happen:
1) The book will officially switch from "Funding" to "In Production," and I’ll await word from Inkshares on when to turn in my manuscript for the first round of developmental editing.
2) I will announce the winner of the $250 Airbnb gift card.
3) I will send out the limited edition bookmarks. Please send me your address if you would like one. Either DM through Inkshares, or to jacquicastle@gmail.com
Stay tuned! -Jacqui