Hi Everybody! We reached 50 reviews on Amazon! That’s amazing!

You guys are amazing! At least, 50 of you are amazing, the rest of you have SO MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE AMAZING! Do you want to live up to your potential today? Do you want to be a part of the miracle? Do you want to stand up and cast your vote for the funniest book on Inkshares?

If you do, click on this little linky here and leave your own review of Monkey Business!

And once you’re done with that, share the book with someone. Share the laughter, share the joy, share the monkeys! Do you know we’ve sold over 400 hundred copies? I don’t know exactly how many because the Amazon reporting isn’t in yet but it’s definitely over 400. I have all of you to thank for that. You’re the best!

So thank you, from the bottom of my silly, monkey-filled heart.

- Landon

You know how in Parks and Rec when they’re in city council meetings, and Jeremy Jamm says something like,

"Let the record show, there was a standing ovation," and there wasn’t?

Well... let the record show, I sent out my manuscript to my beta readers on the 1-year anniversary of my joining Inkshares!

Haha jk no I didn’t, I sent the first half of it out LAST NIGHT!



I’m so excited, you guys. SO. EXCITED. And nervous. But mostly excited. I really think there are at least a few people out there who will end up truly loving my story and characters, and my brilliant and generous beta readers will increase my book’s chance of reaching those people.

The first half of my book is 82K words long, so it’s plenty for them to chew on. (My book is long, okay? It is full of wonder and emotion and excitement, so I’m hoping it is the good kind of long - the kind where you don’t want it to end, even after 150K words.)

Here are the episode titles for the entire book, for your intrigue:

Episode I: Wake
Episode II: Ally
Episode III: Foe
Episode IV: Earth
Episode V: Consequences
Episode VI: Tower
Episode VII: Prophecy
Episode VIII: Rest
Episode IX: Rescue
Episode X: Whole
Episode XI: Dock
Episode XII: Wake

***

Alex and I will be finishing up the second half of She Is the End in the next few weeks and sending them out to betas, as well. Then... while we wait... I will be doing the illustrations for the book! I think I’ll do one illustration per episode, maybe two here and there, and it’s going to be a lot of work. I’ll keep you updated on my progress and probably give away a few more of the originals as a prize.

Stay tuned!

Map!!!

Okay, maybe my initial excitement was overblown as I’m clearly not the best cartographer.  I hope that one day my topographical sketching/watercoloring skills improve, but that is not today.  At least this time its a map that none of you have seen before.

The bulk of this map covers the western half of the Zaltruscan empire.  They control most of the Sea of Serpents, the exception being the Isle of Karpa which is controlled(mostly) by Pentaz’ home country - Thierdenvolgenlund.  Pentaz’ journey first takes him south along this sea and onto the plains near the river.  During an ordeal on these plans he meets Buscidia who guides him safely around the swamp and to the city of Jacirst(you can read more about these events starting at this collection of chapters).  She continues acting as his guide and bodyguard afterwards, doing her best to improve his knowledge of the mainland and its languages on their way to Llanchland.

Llanchland(near the left edge) is also not part of the Zaltruscan empire, being an independent city-state ruled by Llargas Llanch II, son of the city’s founder Llargas Llanch and one of a long line of Llargas Llanch’s who will rule over a city which has a far larger part to play in the future of the world than one may suspect from such a seemingly insignificant city-state.  Buscidia and Pentaz go through another ordeal while under the employ of Llargas Llanch II, growing closer to one another in the process(you can read more about Llanchland and the ordeal starting at this collection of chapters).

From here they sail around the unnaturally circular island(which you can find out more about in this collection of chapters), and south off of this particular map.  They eventually find their way back to this map, heading north along the purple road you see winding through the mountains to the Calden barony, home to the Magus Baron Caldus whose family crest graces the book’s cover.  Pentaz makes his way north out of the Calden barony, into the foothills then mountains of the Frozen North, eventually reaching the tip of the Dragon’s Head Peninsula for the book’s conclusion.  The Zaltruscan empire also claims the Frozen North as their territory, but this is an entirely unenforced claim as the landscape is too treacherous and the environment a bit too hostile to easily field/garrison an army with which to truly hold the area.

Beyond this you may be able to make out the circles drawn on some of the coastlines, these being some of the more significant port towns.  There are certainly more settlements than I’ve marked on the map, but I tend to only mark those which are included in my books in an important manner.  Naming some of the unnamed features(rivers, lakes, bays, forests, etc) is among the list of "wild card" rewards that I would be willing to honor for anyone winning the referral giveaway or the preorder giveaway.  Hopefully by next week’s update I will have made a more reader friendly, bullet pointed list of rewards and how to win them.

I hope you enjoyed the map and my very abbreviated textual trek through it with you.  Keep reading, enjoying, and recommending!

Hello friends

It has been a while, I know!

Here is a recent picture of me so you know I’m still alive.

There is a lot going on but let’s start with what you signed up for, The Catcher’s Trap. This week we are putting the final touches on the cover so the book can, finally, go to the printer on August 30th. Just writing that gives me chills.

You will receive an e-mail with access to the e-version of The Catcher’s Trap on October 8th and the actual book around November 8th. Then we’ll embark on a new quest: reaching 100 reviews on Amazon! (I’ll let you know more about that when the time comes)

On other equally fun fronts. This weekend I’ll be at the Connecticut HorrorFest, so if you are in the area come and visit me. The legendary George Romero will be there, plus many other horror icons. And… talking about horror. I’m writing a campy horror novel called Bad Medicine: Slay it Queen.

Bad Medicine is the story of an up-and-coming New York drag-queen faced with a poorly timed zombie apocalypse. If the idea of a zombie-slaying-machete-wielding drag queen sounds interesting to you, please check out here. You can read the funny and scary first chapter. You can also follow the project for updates.

Finally, I want to bring your attention to another author’s project. Through the video game writing contest that just ended I made a new friend, the talented Jamison Stone. Jamison not only have given me great advice to promote my book, but he also wrote a very kind blurb that will go on the back cover of  The Catcher’s Trap.

“I don’t normally read horror, but could not resist Henriquez’s debut novel. Upon reading, I was reminded why I normally shy away from this genre—The Catchers Trap is truly terrifying. However, what kept me coming back, despite my palpable fear, was the profoundly deep inner journey of Andres, the main character, and his personal transformation during the course of the novel. I have to admit, however, that in-between reading sessions I did have to hide The Catchers Trap in the freezer. So, my one suggestion, before you start reading, make sure you have plenty of room in YOUR freezer. While I cannot promise this will keep you safe from Henriquez’s truly terrifying writing when it is time to close your eyes and go to sleep—you will at least be safer.” —Jamison Stone, author of Rune of the Apprentice

Don’t we all love the Friends reference?

I was lucky enough to read his book Rune of The Apprentice, and I can tell you that if epic fantasy is your thing, this is a must read. The book is available on Amazon so go and get your copy.

That’s it for now, folks. Have a fantastic week and remember:

“The universe is big. It’s vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen, and we call them miracles.” The Doctor.

Yay. It is Monday.

A lot of fantastic things happened last week, and I’m absolutely tickled pink. Ok, so it might be a sunburn, but I do have this adorable, pink sheen going on right now, which is a huge improvement over my greater shades of pale. 

As of this moment, 72 phenomenal people have backed A Beast Requires, pre-ordering 94 copies between them. If you haven’t backed it yet, take a look at all the content I have up there and watch my ridiculously awkward author video. If I make you laugh, even just the slightest of giggles, back it. Back it real good, and ensure my spastic flailing for the remainder of the week. If you’ve already backed me, you know that I already love you, so why not spread the love? Share the gift of laughter. Show them the funny. Tell them how badly you need A Beast Requires to be unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

If you haven’t checked out the video uploads yet, then why not now? There’s nothing in the world quite like starting the week off with some amused chuckling, so take a listen to me discus world building through food and reading the prologue to A Beast Requires out loud. I’ve got a few more things in the works, so expect those to be popping up online in the near future.

You all are amazing.

- Jay

Today is a big day, one that I have been dreading and anticipating in equal measure. Today, I officially start editing Deus Hex Machina and building my second draft.

Here’s what the process looks like. Staples is now my spirit animal: 

Good morning fellow readers .

I am terribly sorry for the long silence radio.  L&D is coming along nicely, we are currently at 70 % done. I will have a new excerpt for you shortly.

So now with my short story for Too Many Controllers submitted. I can focus on L&D and deliver my MS to Inkshares shortly.

This is the main reason why I cancelled my campaign for Arcadia in the current G&S Fantasy contest; I wanted to be fair to you guys who backed L&D, and not delayed it’s release by another project.