I am still reeling with emotions after the crazy finish of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest. It is gradually sinking in that Mission 51 will be a published book and I will be a published author! It feels surreal. I am grateful beyond words for all of you. Inkshares publishes books only with the pre-order "approval" of the crowd. Mission 51’s publication could only happen on Inkshares with the support of wonderful people like you! Thank you very, very much!

I am truly not quite back to myself yet. I feel off-balance in a good, exciting way. I know this is a transitional feeling. For the past year and a half, I have been focused on writing and preparing myself for exactly this sort of contest. Now I will shift my focus to the goal of editing and publication. It feels like a brand new day full of hope and promise!

Inkshares has sent me a detailed questionnaire to help them help me through the process of editing, cover design, and marketing. I am to hand it in with my manuscript. I informed them I want to review it one last time and tidy up some loose ends before they start their process. I will let you all know when I have delivered the manuscript to Inkshares. It won’t be long.

Meanwhile, Mission 51 is now considered an Inkshares "property." I have a page on their "Properties" section, which is available to third parties in the entertainment industry who may be interested in the story. That’s pretty exciting, too! I haven’t completely tweaked that page, but if you are interested in what I have so far, you can check it out here.

Once I turn in the manuscript, I will join a few other works that have merited publication on Inkshares and are waiting for them to focus their professional resources on editing, layout, cover design, marketing, production, and distribution. It’s a thorough process that will take some time, quite possibly a year. I hope to have a better handle on the timeline once I hand in the manuscript. I will always inform you as soon as I know anything relating to the production of Mission 51.

Again, thank you for this incredible opportunity. I literally could not have done it without you!

Peace!

~Ferd  👽

Hey there readers!

Well, I said I’d have some updates coming for you soon. So guess what? I got updates. :)

If you haven’t already spotted me plastering these all over social media today, here are some progress photos of the artwork for the book!

These come courtesy of the artist, Jessica R. Van Hulle, who is in fact creating AN ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING for the book cover! Why? A) Because she is fantastic, and B) Because I am a crazy person and decided "go big or go home". She is without a doubt creating something that truly captures the old-school fanciful sci-fi spirit that I hoped for with Dax. Can’t wait to see the final piece! You can check out more of Jessica’s work at theladyjessica.com.

Also, while we still do not have an exact publishing date for the book, the editing team says we may likely be looking at sometime in October. I will keep you all posted as soon as I have more to share.

Until next time!

-Tony