Hello, readers and writers!

  Welcome to our 11th Detective Sunday! I hope everyone is doing well, and likewise to any projects some of you are currently doing. The first week of the pre-ordering campaign isn’t where it is supposed to be at the moment, but that’s because this is a first-time experience. However, this whole week, I’ve been focusing on grabbing the attention of friends, family, and potential authors to assist with our numbers. As I look at other projects with a big number of followers and recommendations that are around the same time as myself, I recognize the problem. Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t achieve my goal. Big things can start small, so help SPREAD THE WORD and ORDER followers! Also, for those who are interested in being a patron and supporting my current project and those to come, I’ll leave a link to my account. Oh, last thing, if any of you know any good artists who are good at drawing characters or backgrounds, let me know. I plan to send a restricted amount of art rewards to those who order in the specific category of prices, but it isn’t a solid idea at the moment. Thanks for attending and reading.

https://www.patreon.com/ajones5555

Until next time, A.J.III.

Good news. Out of hospital and my son is doing well, although with mono the next 6 weeks need to be taken really easy, and he can’t be biking, climbing, jumping round etc. As his summer fun is now strongly hindered, he has come to the conclusion that this is justification for an xbox one or playstation 4.

Argh!

Well, a bit of a stacked workload showed up on the creative side as well as in real life - I have my own shop in a tourist town, and Summer does bring them in - which means we missed on the pre-order deadline this time out.  Spit.  I trust all the brilliant, kind, and no doubt sexy folks who did pre-order (Woo! to you) have been refunded and the band has been cancelled.

But never mind that!  I am continuing to write Farm Boy, just at a much slower pace than I started at.  The hazards of assuming trends of the past will continue into the future, eh?  When Summer cools and crowds ease I’ll be able to ramp up the writing here.  I’m also writing one play, directing another, and adding a bookstore to my shop, so at the very least it’s going to be fun.  And who knows?  Maybe even successful!

So missing the mark sucks, but isn’t the end.  I’m going to get this closer to a finished work, then return it to the pre-order stage once again, likely (HA!) in September.  I’ll need to sneak the writing in there before hockey season really gets going...

Thanks so much for following this project, and I’m looking forward to getting it finished for you.  Things are getting broken, and people are getting weird (or I might have that backwards).  The outside world is making a stand against the school, and that’s making for tough decisions within...

Erin

Welcome followers to my literary swamp! 

Once more,  I’d like to thank all of you for your input into the novel, the cover, and my prose...all of it is useful and helps with the bestseller trajectory I’m aiming for.  

This is the latest and final cover before we launch.  I’d also like to use this update to point you towards the geniuses behind the cover design.  John Robin and Ave at Dreamscape Cover Designs.         

Contact them HERE    They did some fantastic work and were fast, and a pleasure to work with.  If you need a great cover for your book...and who doesn’t!  I suggest you check these guys out.  They are also getting into website design so bear that in mind when you speak to them.

I’d also like to point you towards Peter Ryan’s new book Destiny Imperfect which is punching above it’s weight in the present NERDIST competition.  It’s a fantastic read so why not hop over to his site and help push him up the ladder, he needs a few more pre-orders to keep him in the top three, preferably no 2!   So go  HERE and help the man out.  

And now...drum roll. THE COVER!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update on Human Resources, so I thought I should let you know how it is progressing.

The novel has received another two recommendations, which is exciting and flattering:

"Fast-paced and engaging, I can’t wait to see how Human Resources ends! Please check it out!"

"Add this to your reading list. Instantly you are drawn into this world, fighting for your life alongside the characters. Do it, check it out now!"

Most of my time has been focused on chapters not currently up on Inkshares, but I have made some small improvements to the two prologue excerpts (they provide a little extra information now, and a general cleanup), plus I’ve changed the ending to the fourth excerpt (Mission Report).

Call out to other Inkshares projects I think worth investigating:

• Tantalus Depths (Evan Graham, funding): This was the first book I pre-ordered on Inkshares and I’m really excited it has easily cruised past Quill to start closing in on a full publishing deal. Epic space opera with a massive amount of depth - sci-fi fans need to look this up.
• The Lamplighter’s Apprentice (Dash McCallum, funding): The Lamplighter’s Apprentice didn’t just draw me in, it swallowed me whole and without warning. Dash’s writing is fluid and beautifully descriptive as he unveils his premise for us. Even without the twist, providing a supernatural element that I can’t wait to explore, the story had me hooked. The characters are realised so well I feel I know them after only a few short paragraphs and the contemporary setting of a small indie developer thrust into a choice between accepting "the dream" offer, or staying true to their project, one that will resonate. This is a book that has me excited.
• Drift (Danielle Mohr, draft): I fell in love with the world of Drift from the first couple of sentences. Brought to life in an understated manner from an interesting viewpoint, the first chapters wrap themselves around you with their unanswered questions and intriguing plot. I completely lost myself in the available excerpts and am now waiting impatiently for my opportunity to order the full book.