10/9/17

Well, it has been a day full of surprises, let me tell you!

First, I learned today (and it was confirmed by Elena), that the original deadline for Launchpad was incorrect! That’s right -- all this time I’ve been working towards a 10/10 finish when the real contest deadline is October 16 (that’s next Monday).

So I am psyched to have the chance to continue building my reader base over the next week, but I know all the other authors will be doing the same thing, so I will keep at it right until the end. The thing that terrifies me about this is that I built my entire marketing plan around that first date so now, I’m flying without a net a little. But that’s where the magic happens, right?

Second, I was thrilled to learn today that "The Devil You Don’t" was selected as the October pick for the Rite of Passage Syndicate on Inkshares. I am delighted and humbled that this wonderful group of folks has elected to throw their backing behind my book. 

Where does that leave things then?

As of right now--with one week left--I am in fourth place, and thanks to the syndicate and several orders that have come in over the past 24 hours, am working towards that elusive top three. But there is a lot of time left, and I can’t just kick back and assume orders will roll in. I know it takes a lot of focus and hard work to bring in pre-orders, and I’m up for the challenge.

If you haven’t ordered yet, the clock has reset, but it is still winding down. Please consider a pre-order -- if not for you, a gift for the book lover in your life? A donation to your local library? The possibilities are endless!

And if you have ordered, you know you have my constant and sincere thanks for your support.

I’ll update again soon. Until then, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more."

Best, 
Susan

Patient, patient backers,

I’m in the final phase of writing IN BETA. This is the part where I connect rogue story threads, thumb through my Thesaurus, and cut the boring stuff.

Before I turn chapters over to be edited, I’d appreciate your eyes. If you have time, please be my ‘beta’ readers (heh). Take a look at what I’ve posted so far. It’s under the ‘read’ tab on my IN BETA page. Let me know what drags and what doesn’t make sense. Sneak a peek at the last 1.75 years of my life, before it turns into a paperback.

This last phase is moving swiftly, so I’ll be posting chapters as I finish them. Expect a new one every two days or so. Once everything is posted and I’ve received you notes, I’ll hand the manuscript over to Inkshares. The rest is in someone’s—possibly God’s—hands.

Thank you again for your patience. I look forward to your thoughts and feedback. 

Prescott

10/8/17

Hi there, hope you’re all having a great weekend.

We’re now a little under 48 hours left in the Launchpad Competition. Thank you to everyone who has ordered so far -- you’ve managed to help "Devil" into fourth place as of today. Getting into third or better isn’t out of the question, but I’ve got to get a little momentum for that to happen.

Every pre-order counts in this competition so if you’ve been following this excellent adventure, you can totally make a difference by pre-ordering. I would really, REALLY appreciate the support: https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-devil-you-don-t

"The Devil You Don’t" would be a great holiday gift, too (yes, I realize that it isn’t even Halloween yet). For anyone who orders "Devil" -- if you’re considering giving the book as a holiday gift, after the competition is over (assuming, of course, that I’m in the Top 3) I’d be happy to send you a fancy certificate for you to give at the holiday!

And I have an update on the first raffle! First, congrats to Tracey Bigelow, the lucky winner of the $25 Amazon gift card. The winner of the signed copy of "Darkstar Rising" hasn’t contacted me yet, though -- I’ve emailed the winner twice, but no response so far. So if you have "gamerkitten" as part of your email, I’m looking for you! If this person doesn’t come forward by Tuesday (10/10), I’ll draw a second name for the prize.

Okay, that’s it for tonight. Again, please pre-order if you haven’t yet! I can’t do this alone!

Best,
Susan

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

First off, an apology. A few readers had issues with the Kindle files that went out last week. The Inkshares team quickly fixed the problem, and new e-files will be sent to everyone later today. 

Secondly, books are being printed! There was a slight snafu with the covers so physical copies will be shipping the week of October 17. This has been a tricky book to format and finish, so again, our apologies for the delay. I think you’ll be happy with the finished product, though. 

To thank you for your patience, we’ve put together a special treat that will be included with your physical book when it ships. (Extra thanks to our illustrator Juliane, who did all the work.) Here it is:

Once you read the book, you’ll get the full significance of this bookmark. For now, I’ll just say there’s a secret code on it that’s key to our heroes finding the Codex Arcanum bookstore.

Finally, we’ve had some more great reviews! GeekMom praised the "compelling, engaging characters" and said you should "plan on reading the book twice." Nivi really got the spirit of what we were going for, and this is my favorite review so far.

Also, Ohio.com gave us a nice shout-out, calling the illustrations "refreshing" and the story "exciting and humorous." 

Hard to believe it, but we’re one week away from our first book events! Both Juliane and I will be at the Westlake, OH Barnes & Noble on Friday, October 13 at 7 PM EST, and at Magic Tree Books in Oak Park, IL on Saturday, October 14 at 4PM CST. If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you!

Thank you all again for your support and patience. Keep posting those reviews and pics of the book on social media, it means a lot to us!

mh

See you tomorrow Albuquerque! 

Thank you to Adrian Gomez at the Albuquerque Journal for doing an article about my signing at Barnes and Noble Coronado in Albuquerque tomorrow at 2PM. I hope to see some of you there! Share the article with this link: https://www.abqjournal.com/1073668/sunshine-is-forever-a-poignant-story-about-youthful-depression.html

Thanks everyone! 

Kyle T. Cowan

To all of you who’ve already been such great supporters of my upcoming debut novel, "Skavenger’s Hunt," I’m happy to say we’re closing in on the finish line. Everything’s good-to-go for our November 14th pre-holiday-season release date, with the printer about to push the button on our very first round of books. Today’s update, though, is one I’ve been looking forward to sending your way for quite awhile now, because I get to give you the first-ever look at the last component of the book itself: Will Staehle’s flat-out amazing cover. 

You’ve seen the front cover for awhile now; which, in my opinion, was so good we could have simply placed a blank cover on the back and we would have been okay. But, no surprise, Will reached into his bag of designing talent and pulled out a SECOND image that staggered me: a silhouette time-traveling image of the story’s main character, young Henry Babbitt, tumbling through an hour-glass from present-day New York on Christmas Eve, into summer-drenched New York from long ago. July 10th, 1885, to be exact, where the lion’s share of the adventurous story takes place.

Will - I’m grateful to you for giving my first book such a fantastic look. I’m dead-honest when I say it’s one of the best book covers I’ve seen in a long, long time, and I’m beyond thankful that it’s on mine. Thanks to Adam Gomolin who had the intuition to bring Will onboard. Thanks as well to Oscar-winning producer Mark Johnson, to the Wibberleys (writers of the film "National Treasure") and to Ocean’s 13 writer Brian Koppelman (creator of Showtime’s "Billions") for their incredible blurbs in support of the project. 

To all of you, the early backers of "Skavenger’s Hunt," stay tuned as we approach that November 14th release date, because I’ll be out pushing the book every opportunity I can get. And a special thanks to Inkshares marketing wiz Angela Melamud for helping spread the word. We’ll keep everyone posted on the when-and-where of bookstore reading-and-signing events. 

Until then, hope you enjoy this look at Will’s cover, which you’ll be holding in your hands just a few weeks from now. The "Hunt" is about to begin...

10/4/17

Hello -- a quick update for everyone on where we stand in the competition (we’re down to 6 days!)

First, I’m thrilled to announce that "The Devil You Don’t" was chosen by the Quill Brotherhood Syndicate as their selection to back in the month of October. Big thank you to the QBS for that -- there are lots of excellent books on Inkshares and I’m honored that you selected this one.

Second, we have passed the 50 order mark! Thanks to a random generator, I’ve selected my two raffle winners and notified them via email -- and I’ll announce names once they get back to me (one is listed as "reader writer" so until he/she responds, I don’t know who the winner actually is!).

And thanks to some recent activity, we’re now tied for 4th place in the competition!

Since I was in Launchpad last year as well, I am well aware of how much can change in the last week--and especially the last days--of this contest, so this is  not a time to start coasting. Fourth place is great, but third place or better is what I’m shooting for, so I’m going to keep looking for new readers right up until the end because every person makes a difference. 

Please share info about "The Devil You Don’t" with your friends or order a copy for yourself if you haven’t already!

Best,
Susan

Full link to my page in case anyone needs it: https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-devil-you-don-t