Hello, readers! Long time no write. I haven’t been in touch for a while, and that’s mainly because I haven’t had a lot to write to you about!
Work on Witherfist continues at a steady pace. Right now, I’m in the process of some fairly large adjustments to the structure of the plot. I’ve heard from other authors in the Inkshares community that there is a lot happening in the way of preparing, polishing and publishing manuscripts - which is really promising. Given the timescales being quoted, and my current progress with Witherfist, it’s unlikely that the book will see publication before 2018, as I’m going to submit my manuscript to Inkshares in Autumn 2017 at the earliest.
In other news, Inkshares launched a new publishing contest this week, looking for the next big sci-fi novel. I’ve tossed my hat into the ring with an entry! Why not, eh? You can follow the book - tentatively titled 1000 Faces - and if you want to support it, you can preorder right now. 1000 Faces is set in the near future, in a society where all of the internets secrets have been revealed. To try and maintain a modicum of privacy and anonymity in public, people use ’digital avatars’ to mask their faces - imagine Snapchat filters that you wear all day! The book follows a digital avatar designer who ends up tangled in cyber terrorism, government conspiracies and a whole host of ethical chaos. It’s a dash of Mr. Robot meets A Scanner Darkly via Gattaca with an unplanned detour into Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
As a little bonus, I’d like to share with you a piece of ’flash fiction’ that I wrote for a sci-fi writing contest earlier this year. The World In A Teacup is a story that I wrote in just 48 hours, based on a handful of prompts. You can download it for free on Amazon / Amazon UK. If you don’t use a Kindle, there are other download options available via Pronoun.
Thanks for reading,
~ Jenny
How exciting! After the first day of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest, Mission 51 is in First Place!
As most of you may recall, I started this project on Inkshares last year, in Feb 2016 to be exact. I had discovered Inkshares at that time and impulsively jumped into a contest that was already half-way through. I had a story in my head and started writing it down. I was thrilled at the early response and amassed a good number of pre-orders, but I was also overwhelmed by the time commitment. Writing the book, campaigning for a contest, and my medical work were really three full-time jobs. I eventually came to the conclusion that to do a good job, I needed the time to complete and refine the novel with as little mental pressure as possible. I took Mission 51 out of funding in August 2016 and Inkshares refunded everyone for their generous pre-orders.
I’m very glad I did that. Mission 51 is now a mature project. It has gotten great feedback from laypersons and professionals who have read samples. Personally, I think it’s a fun read. It is intricate, old-school science fiction which honors a solid foundation of sci-fi lore. It is also a historical fiction and period piece within the time frame of 1954-1969. More importantly, Mission 51 dances around issues of immigration, intolerance, and personal/societal ethics. Those might be heavy issues, but I believe I have kept it light and fun. Aliens help do that! LOL
So, if you supported the project when it was in funding last year, I ask that you please support it again now. Mission 51 is actually way better than it was last year! Your pre-order is essential for it to stay on top of the Nerdist contest leaderboard. The time for Mission 51 has come! The time for your pre-order is now!
Thank you very much!
Ferd 👽
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.