The finish line is in sight! As of right now, The Walls are Closing In has received 619 PREORDERS, leaving 131 TO GO!
I want to take a breath to express the appreciation that I am feeling for all of you, for rallying behind me and this book. Some of you are family members and close friends who sprang in without hesitation when I asked. Some of you are friends from my past with whom I had lost touch, but you still supported me when I reached out or when you happened to see the book circulating on social media. And, most of you, were complete strangers before this campaign began, but who nevertheless clicked the preorder button to support an unknown author.
I started writing this story over a year ago when our current political reality didn’t yet seem probable. The idea for The Walls are Closing In came to me during the primary election campaign. It began as a short story, and it snowballed from there. The first draft was complete by mid-summer 2016. At the time, I sincerely thought that the story would forever reside in the ‘alternative future’ category, but as events unfolded, the story evolved.
The themes explored in The Walls are Closing In cut a bit deeper with each passing day. In fact, I am currently making notes to rewrite certain backstory sections because, well, they have more or less happened over recent weeks and months.
Though it does walk the line between fact and fiction, more than anything The Walls are Closing In, like other fictional stories, is about the characters. There is a splash of romance and a healthy dose of perseverance as the main characters explore what makes life worth living by rooting out the joy in unlikely places. It is about digging deep, figuring out how to tap your own truth, regardless of what society throws at you.
On an unrelated-to-storyline note, I have noticed that as the campaign approaches the end, several people have gone back and placed additional orders. Thank you! Also, I received confirmation from Inkshares that if multiple e-books are purchased, that you will have the ability to share the additional files with friends and family. Each person can order a maximum of 10 total books (ebooks or paperback).
This is also the last chance to receive your name in the back of the book by ordering a ’super reader’ package of 3 paperbacks. Once 750 order mark is passed, the window will close on this opportunity. Again, for those just joining, this is that would look like (from another Inkshares book).
Again, thank you for the support. Hopefully, only one or two more campaign updates, before we move on to the fun of "in production" updates.
Until next time,
Jacqui
P.S. - Running a bit behind on the chapter 2 recording, but check the site at the beginning of next week and it should be up.
An update for all of you - I have an exclusive bonus chapter for you to enjoy from "Dracula versus Hitler". Just as appreciation to all you backers. The book has sold very well in stores across the US and Canada, and I have you to thank for making it possible. The many kind reviews left on Amazon have helped reach even more readers. And I’m truly grateful for all of your support. I put my heart into the book and aimed to entertain. Having readers like you is a true gift.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the book and have many ideas for a follow up. In the meantime, please enjoy this bonus addition to the novel. You can download the new chapter here:
https://www.inkshares.com/books/dracula-v-hitler/downloads
It’s called "Download PDF "BONUS""
Patrick Duncan
Dear friends and followers,
It’s been a while since my last update. As I’ve said, it’s mostly a waiting game right now. Things are beginning to move, however: Inkshares has me reading up on various works of writing theory and working together with a few other authors to share and learn from each other. This is in preparation for the developmental edit round, perhaps so we’ll understand better how stories work and be better able to handle the developmental edits. It seems like a lot of additional effort, but I guess it’s in the interest of putting out a quality product ... and, perhaps, to groom a stable of talent? Does that mean they want me to write a sequel?
You know you want me to.
I’ve also been busy with another writing project, for Choice of Games: that’s been taking up all my attention for the past several months. I just submitted the completed draft for that project yesterday; it’s very exciting, and I expect there will be a lot of developmental edits on that front as well.
Looking around (because I can now afford to be distracted again) a couple of works here on Inkshares have definitely caught my interest.
First off, there’s "The Rise and Fall of Gods and Housewives", by Zachary Sergi. Apparently the ancient mythological gods are alive and well, incarnated as ... reality show housewives? If that premise doesn’t grab you, I don’t know what will. Sergi is also the author of the highly successful "Heroes Rise" series for Choice of Games, so this should be of additional interest to all those Interactive Fiction buffs among you.
And second, there’s "Lost in the Fog", by Michael Ostrowski. It’s a caper in which a down-on-his-luck journalist is recruited to steal a bunch of sculptures, only to have someone else beat him to it. And no, the people who recruited him don’t believe a word of it. I firmly believe that we need more madcap mystery capers in the world, and this promises to deliver.
For now, though, I’m going to sit back and relax. I see a lot of developmental editing in my near future, so I better grab my binge-marathons of "Masterchef" while I still can.
Dear Readers of Nowhere Else I Want to Be:
Good news! I just received word that my memoir has been chosen as a finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, in the Autobiography/Memoir Category.
Thanks for all your support - and feel free to spread the word on your facebook pages, Twitter, and to friends.
Your book group may want to read and study the book - I can schedule a Skype author talk with you when the group meets. Contact me: carol@caroldmarsh.com.
Thank you, and have a good day,
Carol
March is over, and it was incredibly busy but rewarding. Work on Human Resources has continued at pace, with an important milestone being achieved.
Developmental Edit
I’ve been working with my developmental editor to turn the draft manuscript into something that will truly shine. It’s been hard work, but during the last month we reached an important milestone — we finished work on the change plan (completed the new outline) and I have now started the rewrite. I wrote a blog about the developmental edit process and reaching this milestone on my website. I’m now flat out writing every night, preparing a new version of the manuscript. There are numerous new scenes, a lot of changes to existing scenes, and writing them will progress at an uneven rate (as a general rule, new scenes will take much longer to write than updating an existing scene). However, I’ll keep you informed (and myself on the hook) by reporting progress as I go! The chart below shows the current status of the rewrite.
Cover design
Work is commencing on the new cover design! Inkshares have an amazing cover designer working on this for me. Right now he’s gathering information before producing concepts to work through.
Schedule
We don’t have a firm production schedule for the book — this stage of the editing process is just too fluid. What I can tell you is it should be sometime (early) in 2018. It is unlikely to be January at this stage, but I hope we’ll get everything in order to get the book out during the first quarter. I’ll keep everyone informed as we progress — the further along the process we get, the more reliable the predicted release date will become.
Say hello!
Don’t forget to jump on my Facebook page and hit like. I’m also on Twitter and Instagram.
“Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to makes speeches. Just believing is usually enough.”
-Stephen King, from On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft
Hi All,
A huge thank you for being the first to pre-order my new novel Lost in the Fog. It’s been up on Inkshares for a little over a week, and thus far I have 76 orders. Not exactly Stephen King-type numbers, but still a very good early showing!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!
Speaking of Stephen King, I love that quote I referenced above from his On Writing. I read that book back in 2001 when I was living in LA, and as I sat down to write this update the paperback was right there on the shelf just a few feet away from my laptop. A nice omen and the quote is so true. Through the years I have received amazing support my family, my friends and many strangers who read something I wrote. It’s hard to properly describe how much that means.
Because there is always going to be criticism when you put your work out into the public realm. And you not only have to cope with it, you must embrace it to get better. I certainly do and am grateful for negative feedback. However, positive encouragement will always be a huge motivator that gets you through the moments of doubt.
Once again, I thank you for ordering my new book and for sharing the link with your friends and family! I am very grateful. My initial goal is to get at least 250 pre-orders in the next three months. Inkshares will only publish your book if you reach that minimum threshold (if I don’t you’ll all get a full refund), and if you can get to 750 they’ll give you the full advertising and marketing treatment. With the support of friends, family, and strangers I know Lost in the Fog can get there!
I’ve put the first chapter up on the site, and I’ll be adding the second chapter as a further sneak preview for you soon. If you want to read a little about the history of Lost in the Fog, you can check out my blog post at https://underdiamondhead.com/2017/04/24/lost-in-the-fog-my-new-novel/
Thanks!