Hey everyone, I have exciting news!

Firstly, an update for Storm of Fury. The rewrite process is slowly moving forward. I’ve ran into several issues, but as this is my first attempt at a second draft/deep revisions, the majority of them stem from lack of experience. However, I’m learning as I go, and while I’m not confident that Storm of Fury will be published by the end of the year, I can promise you that it won’t be long after.

Now, onto the exciting news; I have a new book project on Inkshares!

Entitled the Ballad of Zion Stone, this is an adventure novel set in 1850’s Colorado. My father is the co-creator of this book, and the main theme was his idea. We’re working together on the first draft, and let me tell you, it is exciting! 

The book tells the story of Sheriff Zion Stone and his encounter with the dreaded Desert Pirates. But, there’s something about Zion Stone that the pirates may not realize until it is far too late.

I won’t tell you what the twist is, check it out here! (Read to the end of the prologue to discover Zion Stone’s secret!)

At this point in time, we are not selling pre-orders. But please, if you like what you’re seeing, follow the page and recommend the book. And if you’re feeling especially generous, comment on prologue or right a review! Start spreading the word so that when we begin the campaign, we can really push the Ballad of Zion Stone towards the full Inkshares publising!

Stay tuned for more information!

-Andrew

Hail, mighty warriors!

My brother sent me this and I think it’s a beautiful way to describe my book.  It’s almost exactly what I’m going for, only more roman than medieval, but also medieval,but really just a big mishmash of history with magic and volcanoes and at some point some spoilers will happen and it’ll be wonderful, heartbreaking and beautiful and you’ll love it.  That’s the plan.  If you’re in one of those states that needs to vote today, please get out there and do it.  You’re great!  The power is yours!

Earth, Sea, Empire,

-NDF

Hi Followers of Monkeys,

Monkey Business is done, published and out in the world. Backers who are getting signed copies should have them by next week at the latest. I want to say thank you one more time for the interest and support. I hope you like the book.

Couple of things. Elan Samuel of theWarblerBooks.com and One fame was kind enough to interview me for his site. I’m not sure when that’s going up but I’ll let you know. Huge thanks to Elan who was a super cool guy whom I hope to talk to again soon. I urge you to go check out theWarblerBooks.com.

I’m also doing a small interview for Inkshares. Not sure when that will be up but I’ll let you know. Monkey Business was the first Quill Publication so if anybody has any questions, thoughts, concerns or jokes feel free to get in touch.

And now for the big ask. Would you consider going to Amazon and leaving a review of Monkey Business? As many authors who are much smarter than me have pointed out, Amazon reviews are crucial to getting your book out there. If you could take a minute and leave one for Monkey Business, that would be radically awesome, borderline superfly.

And if you enjoy the book, please tell someone you know. Or everyone you know. Thank you all!

Yes, I’m still alive (though you wouldn’t know it from my lack posts recently) and working hard on finishing up the novel so that it can be submitted for final edits. It’s a long process, and time-consuming, so I haven’t had many opportunities to post here. 

Looking ahead, I’ll be doing some update work to the main page for "CotF" - which includes adding additional artwork, along with updated versions of the entire first act of the novel (15 chapters, fully edited and finalized). This should serve as a healthy preview of the final book, giving readers an entire arc to work their way through as the novel prepares for wide-distribution. 

I’m also scheduling my first con appearances, so be on the lookout for videos and promotional-material I’ll be posting in the upcoming weeks. That’s pretty much it for now - I’m hoping to have the updated samples and everything else up by the end of next week, though things can always change. 

P.S. 

I do have one treat for everyone, although it’s still only a WIP, I think the quality (by the lovely Ellie Yong) speaks for itself. Taken from Fionna Cohmwell’s encounter with the Spirit of the Forest, from about half-way through the book. 

Enjoy ~

Good morning all!

This weekend has been a wild ride of networking at Awesome con DC, which has already started to pay off, but will continue to I’m sure. The campaign itself is going extremely well, and the actual orders are beating the projection still. Right now we have a hundred days left for the whole campaign, and we’re a hundred orders away from Quill.

I cannot thank everyone enough for their support, and if the rest of my reader list pre-orders, we’re made and The Sleeping Man will publish! What are you waiting for, an Elizabethan-style invitation?

Dearest Reader,

I hope this letter finds you well. It has been many days since this campaign has begun and many more to go, and I find myself gazing wistfully o’er the morning greens wondering as to the location of your most important pre-order. Will thou not placeth thine order on the site of web hosted by the sharers of ink?

Ever at your service,

Stephen Carignan

Dear friends and followers,

I delivered the first cheque to Chez Doris on Wednesday, for $74. I was given a quick tour of the place. They do some good work there, providing meals and legal services to women who need it. $74 isn’t a lot, I’m embarrassed to say, but every dollar counts.

Things have been getting steadily crazier without my realising it. To everyone who has contacted me recently about anything, I apologise. I’ll make time somehow.

On the writing front: well, "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" is complete but for some minor editing, and I can set it aside to concentrate on other business. I’d have liked to move on to "Best Man for Murder", the sequel, but--some good news, actually--I’m working on something for Choice Of Games, and that’s taking up a good portion of my creative writing energy. And also some of my logic-coding energy. Don’t worry, though: a first draft for "Best Man for Murder" has in fact been completed, and what I should be working on there will actually be a complete rewrite--changing names, key plot elements, and maybe even whodunnit. What’s the point of a second draft if you don’t rethink everything, right?

(Those of you who’ve read the second chapter of "Murder at the Veterans’ Club", did you know that in the original first draft, the thing Benson had stashed away in his safe deposit box was a Gutenberg Bible? Fascinating little Macguffin, but it ended up making no sense.)

Also on the writing front, I am involved in this: "Too Many Controllers", a submission for the current Nerdist contest.

Now, what could a guy whose writing is mostly set in a video-free era possibly have to offer in anthology of video game stories, you must be wondering. Well ... all will be revealed in time. At the very least, follow the book to keep tabs on the news. Or better yet, pre-order a copy. It could be worth noting that this book will almost certainly see daylight before "Murder at the Veterans’ Club"; and short stories can so easily be thought of as little appetisers before the main course.

Until next week: have fun, and keep reading. (Seriously, crazy as things are, I wish I had time to read more.)

Hey, and Happy Friday!

Somebody went to the Women Like Us Amazon page and ordered 5 copies yesterday! Here, take a look:

Not sure who did that, but I would thank that person most heartily. Okay, sure, not 500 orders, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Production of the book continues toward that July 26th publish date, which is extremely exciting. In fact cover design is mostly complete, and there will be two blurbs on the back . Here’s a preview:

"If you have parents, if you have kids, if you have a heart, Women Like Us is the book for you. It’s like a great recipe for life."

This is from author Charles Dickinson, who wrote a novel called The Widows’ Adventures. I fell in love with this book from page one, and hopefully one day soon there’s going to be a movie version of it (full disclosure: I adapted the book and will co-produce the movie), but do yourself a favor if you love to read and get a copy. You too, I bet, will fall in love with Ina and Helene, two ladies who go on a kind of road-trip you haven’t seen before. Or look into one of Charles’ other books like A Shortcut in Time, or A Family in Time. Here’s a link to The Widows’ Adventures:

https://www.amazon.com/Widows-Adventures-Novel-Charles-Dickinson-ebook/dp/B00MEJYS0S?ie=UTF8&keywords=Charles%20Dickinson&qid=1464962085&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

Here’s the second blurb:

"Women Like Us is a wonderful and true examination of deep, real human emotion." 

This one comes from Joseph Asphahani, whose novel The Animal In Man, a Sword & Laser contest winner, is coming soon from Inkshares. If you haven’t pre-ordered a copy, consider doing so. Here’s a link:

https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-animal-in-man-7699

Speaking of other Inkshares books, there’s a Father’s Day sale going on -- there’s 50-75% off some cool books, so check that out. I can especially recommend director Jake Bender’s wonderful The Elephant in the Room, and Landon Crutcher’s Monkey Business, which is a super trippy head-trip of a book!

So that’s it for now. Stay tuned as publish day approaches because there will be more news to share about the book.  And, as always, thanks everybody for the support.

Hey everyone!