Chapter Seventeen of BLACKSTONE now live.  This covers pages 179-186.

Chapter Sixteen of BLACKSTONE now live.  This covers pages 172-178.

In which Byron and Bruce investigate the admin building, and we learn how Foster came into Byron’s life.

Look for Chapter 17 to drop on Sunday.

-j.s.

Daily Definition - Aos Sí

Hello drag enthusiasts

It is Friday and time to announce a new queen joining the cast of Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen!

But first! I want to share with you my interview with WNPR. I was featured as part of a new series of immigrant stories, where I talked about coming to the U.S. my struggles as an immigrant and the story behind my first novel The Catcher’s Trap. If you want to learn more about yours truly, click the link below.

WNPR interview

And now what you’ve been waiting for, the winner of this week is… Ivy Drip (aka Miss Julie Freddino).

Ivy Drip is a queen with a mysterious past who is trying to re-invent herself as a Bette Midler impersonator. Miss Drip will bring lots of fun and shady business to this story.

That is it for this week. If you have not ordered yet, please consider supporting this crazy and fabulous idea. I can assure you that Bad Medicine will be a fun and terrifying ride; you won’t regret supporting it.

If you already pre-ordered your copy, thank you very much and please feel free to spread the word.

The world of horror needs more glitter and needs more high heels

Have a fierce weekend!

Happy Friday!

I don’t know about you, but this week was exhausting. I’d say I’m happy for the weekend, but I’ve got to work on Saturday (part-time wedding photographer/videographer). It’s time to rally and keep pushing, both with this campaign and staying awake while interacting with humans. I find that when I get this rundown, I just got to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I think that’s a good solution for a lot of things in life. 

Campaign Update: We are 64 orders from making Quill! That is super exciting! We are still 5th in the contest. Help me out by recommending the book on Inkshares. It’s that cool black Recommend button next to those colorful social media icons at the top of The Living God page. While you’re there, why don’t you share on your social media as well? 

And, this is really important! If you haven’t already, why don’t you leave a review? Its as easy as clicking the link right there and typing, "This book is really interesting! Check it out!" 

Book Cover promotion is still going strong. If you haven’t yet placed a pre-order, and happen to need a flashy cover designed by a professional cover artist, a cover that isn’t pixilated or potentially going to get you sued for copyright infringement, I’m your girl. Here is just a PSA about copyright infringement. I point out the copyright thing because many authors don’t know that taking images from Google and using them in their promotions, whether as a book cover, a poster, or banner ad is illegal and it can really get you into trouble with copyright laws. I am part of a number of author web and Facebook groups and I can’t tell you the number of times I see copyrighted content being used by an author. This includes artwork found on Deviant Art (or any artist’s website). You have to have written permission (often a contract) to use artwork from an artist, and it often includes payment upfront or commission from book sales. Unless the artist is a friend, and then that is between you guys. Memes or GIFs are totally different and not included in this PSA, just images taken and passed off as belonging to some you or related to a work that you created, when in fact it was created for someone and something else. If you need imagery for your book or promotions I highly recommend stock photography websites. There are some free and some paid. My favorite free one is, I kid you not, Free Images.com.  My favorite paid one is Deposit Photos.com, it is reasonably priced. Okay, end of PSA and sorry, that made this update got pretty long, but I thought it was something that would be helpful to you guys in the future. 

Aleira Ritan

Aleira grew up in Adrid, on its border with Mavahan. When she was five her family tried to flee the poverty and civil war in Adrid as refugees, her family was slaughtered and she was captured during a border skirmish with Mavhan forces. Aleira was sold as a slave to a small facility that specified in training Champions and Challengers. Since she was small and frail, she was branded with the mark of a Sparring slave, and never meant to be anything other than disposable practice meat. But, Aleira did not die. She fought, she killed, she lived. She survived to become the reigning champion of the female Challengers and was later bought by the royal family and given to Xalen as a wife. She did not know Xalen’s kindness at the time, but saught to show him that she was no man’s property. She beat him senseless on his wedding night, which earned his respect as well as his admiration. They grew to love each other. After losing her child, Aleira vowed that she would make Mavahan pay and that, when the time came, every slave would taste freedom.

Hello Knightmares!

My campaign ends in 24 hours! If you still want to grab a book before all the perks end, do so today! They’ll be gone tomorrow!

Updates to come as I enter into the next phase of publishing The Knightmares. 

In the meantime, check out my other project, VEXED!

Thanks again to everyone who helped me reach my goal. I can’t thank you enough!

Hey Campers!

Right now Sunshine is Forever is sitting at 690/750 preorders. You’re probably thinking, "That’s awesome! He is for sure going to make it!" And you’re probably right, but I won’t make it without your help! If every single one of you convinces one person to buy the book this week, I will be done! There are also some of you out there who are still just following the book, and haven’t preordered yet. What are you waiting for?Preorder! https://www.inkshares.com/books/sunshine-is-forever

So what happens when I hit 750? First, I’ll send the manuscript to Inkshares’ assigned editor. We will rework whatever needs to be reworked. Once it is ready, a cover designer will redesign the cover. After that, the book with be printed and shipped directly to you. The faster I get to 750, the faster I can start working on getting the book into your hands. Help me reach my goal!

I came across this awesome explanation of Inkshares as a company: "Recently called ’The future of publishing’ by The Wall Street Journal, Inkshares is a book publisher that uses a crowdfunding model instead of agents and acquisitions editors to decide what to publish. Their community of readers can pre-order a book project on Inkshares.com, and if the project hits its funding limit, Inkshares brings the book to life by providing editorial services, design, production, national distribution, and marketing."

And in case you missed it, here are links to all of the interviews I have done about the book.

Interview 1: http://apotheosisstudios.com/blog/2016/8/24/sunshine-is-forever-guest-post-by-kyle-t-cowan

Interview 2: http://www.foxforcefivenews.com/kyle-t-cowan-tackles-depression-with-sunshine-is-forever-talks-preacher-interview/

Interview 3: https://eyesandearsbooks.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/author-interview-kyle-t-cowan/

Interview 4: http://www.alastairluft.com/blog/author-interview-kyle-t-cowan

You’ve helped me get this far, now please help me finish this campaign this week! You are all the best!

And remember, you can’t have a rainbow without sunshine!

Kyle T. Cowan

Greetings Bards!

I have just sent the opening scene of Man’s Damnation to your inbox. As always your feedback is welcomed with open arms. This scene is the book’s opening and thus sets the tone for the novel, I do hope you enjoy!

Cheers!

Christopher Lee

Dear lovely readers,

I’m writing to you here at the end of September with wonderful news: We’re under 40 orders away from reaching Quill! What’s that, you say? Quill is Inkshares’ light publishing goal. As long as I sell 250 pre-orders, you get a book! Woohoo! Can we sell 40 books in one month? You bet we can!

However, Quill isn’t the whole shebang. I’d still be responsible for some difficult things, like marketing, developmental editing, and cover art. That’s where the Geek and Sundry contest comes in. If I land in the top 3 of the contest, The Fairy Stepmother, Inc. gets the full publishing treatment! And, guess what? We’re only about 30 orders away from the 3rd place book.

I’m so excited I can hardly sleep at night! I’m reaching out to everyone I know, and even some people I don’t know (Gaaaah!). If you know anyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales, cool female characters, or even just someone who owes you one, I would be so, so grateful if you passed the word along. So many of you have been amazing at steering your friends and family my way. Thank you! And if you’re following along but haven’t ordered yet, I would LOVE to have you join in the fun!

Thanks for supporting me and my dreams! Impossible things are happening every day. (Bonus Internet points if you know the reference.)

Your friendly author,

Maggie

Feedback Tuesday!  

Bards, Ovydds, Druids lend me your voice! I need your feedback! 

What I need from you if you are following this book. Please take some time to let me know what you think thus far. That’s right I am looking for Feedback!

Specifically the Following : (What you like and don’t like about :)

1 : The Pre-Order Page - It’s overall feel and design.
2 : The Title
3 : The Cover
4 : The Tagline - At the Top of the Page Under the Title
5 : The Synopsis - In the About Section
6 : The Video - Some liked the Trailer, other’s think the artwork trailer is better. 
7 : The Excerpts
8 : The Campaign - Which parts have you enjoyed, Lore? Character Profiles? Chapter Reading? Artwork? Let me know what got you to click Pre-Order. If you haven’t, let me know what will get you to click it!

I am asking you to take a little time to help me make this better, help me get this book into your hands and many others. I believe in this project, in this book. It is larger than just a fantasy novel, it is an examination of the human condition, of the big questions in life. I hope that you will help me by providing me a wealth of feedback that I can use to retool this campaign. 

I have extended the campaign for Man’s Damnation to January 1st of 2017. My reasoning, because this is going to get published, that’s why. I have garnered orders from 40, reviews from many, and recommendations from many. If I retool this campaign with what you all enjoy then I feel I will have greater success. Not that our success thus far isn’t fantastic, I just want to see more!

Have a Wonderful Afternoon and I hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers!

Christopher Lee