Hey there, I thought I’d update you on the progress with Pilot X as it’s been wending its way through the publishing process.

First our AMAZING cover is finalized. You’ll see it updated on the Pilot X page here. Let us know what you think!

Just got the copy-edited manuscript back. Copy edit is where they not only fix punctuation but also make sure the style is consistent and such. It’s less intensive than the developmental edit I told you about back in June. Just tightens things up so it all makes sense and looks good on the page. 

I sent that back Tuesday so we’ll hopefully be on our way to proofs and galleys soon!

All in all this means we’re still on target for a March 14 release. Thanks again so much for all the support.

Cheers,

Tom

5 until 5,000!!!

That’s my mantra for today. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Matthew Isaac Sobin and the members of the GREAT SCIFI for the 21st CENTURY and BEYOND SYNDICATE for selecting Welcome to Deadland as their September book!

My request for reviews and the raffle for the Welcome to Deadland short story and postcard set is still ongoing with several ways to enter!

1. Order a copy of Welcome to Deadland through Inkshares. 

 2. Recommend Welcome to Deadland to a friend, and when they purchase a copy, you will both be entered. 

 3. Rate/Review Welcome to Deadland on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Each site you post a rating or review will count as one entry, by doing so on all three sites you will receive three entries. If you rate AND review the book, you will earn an extra entry. 

 4. Tweet me or post to Welcome to Deadland’s Facebook page fun pictures of your copy of the book or fan art from the story!

If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, or need a copy for a friend, today would be an awesome time to place an order and help us cross that 5,000 line!

Thank you all,

Zac

Friends and drag enthusiasts

Funding campaigns are a lot like Jennifer Aniston’s career. Somedays people are raving and can’t get enough of you, and some others they roll their eyes and wonder why you just don’t quit. Same as Jennifer Aniston I’m not a quitter. Also, I have great hair and often have to explain to people that I’m not pregnant just bloated; but I digress.

The point is the last two weeks have been like Friends. I have enjoyed your encouragement and support and dreamed of the possibility of an undeserved Emmy. We still have many weeks to go, though, and I know that The Breakup times are yet to come.

There are many exciting things happening to make the eye-rolling days as short as possible. First, don’t forget about the chance of becoming a character in the book. If you already pre-ordered, send me your drag queen name. Every Friday I will randomly choose a name to join Bad Medicine’s cast of queens.

Also, we have great concept art coming our way. This is the first draft from Moises May.

Lastly, but super important, I have received messages from some very enthusiastic readers who want me to post more chapters. I hear you my pretties and I will. As soon as we hit 100 readers, the second chapter will go up. If there is anything I can say about the second chapter is that it is full of surprises.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow I’ll send a quick update with the winner’s name

Have a great day

It’s September 15th! 

To some, it’s the Mid-Autumn Festival. To me, even though I’m craving mooncakes, it’s the one year publication anniversary of The Battle for Oz! 

Can you believe it? It has been a year! After 3 months of crowd-funding, 9 months of production, The Battle for Oz hit the shelves on September 15th, 2015. Now one year later, the book has sold over 1000 copies, has been reviewed by Jack & Jill Magazine, has been chosen by the Inkshares Book Club, and maybe, just maybe, will end up as an audiobook in the future.  

But all those aside, I want you to know that I’ve not forgotten your support during the crowd-funding season. Your willingness to stand beside me and believe in my dreams made this book happen. Without you, I wouldn’t be writing this today. Without you, I wouldn’t have started another campaign on Inkshares. So thank you for your generosity and faith. 

If you’re a reader who’ve only hopped on after the publication of the book, I am still very grateful for your support. You’re keeping the book alive - making it relevant among the many books out there! So thank you for giving The Battle for Oz a chance. 

I’m extremely grateful to have you in my Oz adventure, and I’ll be continuing on my dream-chasing journey. If you’d like to come along, oh please do! You’re most welcomed. But if you’d like to get off here, know that I will always remember our camaraderie. 

Till the next epic tale, have a wonderful day!

*My new novel, The Slave Prince has entered the Geek & Sundry Fantasy Contest. Should you be interested in joining this adventure with me, visit https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-slave-prince and pre-order a copy!

Time to talk about the last of the Dwarven ethnic groups in the world of Exile, Magus.  This particular group is for the most part not really a group at all.  They could easily be seen as the most cosmopolitan of all the Dwarf types, having foregone the clustering into small communities of their own race in favor of direct coexistence with the other civilized races(mainly humans and elves).  This has lead to a great diversity among them, to the point where they do not have any true ethnic identity, being typically referred to merely as Dwarves or Common Dwarves.  Part of this diversity lies in the fact that so many of them had non-dwarf’s among their list of ancestors.  Such an inclusion of human or (far more rarely) elf to their lineage is limited to 3 or more generations back since anything more recent would place them among the half-dwarves.

Such a lack of notable traits often leads to them being underestimated or taken for granted(especially by those who choose to refer to them as "Common" Dwarves), but they are remarkable as well.  Unlike the other Dwarven groups, their approach to life has led to them being more capable of living with any race as well as adapted to a variety of tasks as opposed to filling only a few small niches.  You can of course find examples of them focusing on typically Dwarven tasks such as smithing and warfare, but just as often you’ll find them filling other roles such as merchants, sailors, farmers, bakers, and so on.  For an example of an exceptional Common Dwarf there is Karamos Daern in book 2 - Exile, Hunted.  Admittedly he does fill a more traditional role as a master armorer and priest for the primary Dwarven God, Hatrien Quin, but he is exceptional nonetheless.  You can have a brief encounter with him by reading this chapter in Exile, Hunted (which does have some spoilers for the current book, Exile, Magus, so be warned).

I’ll leave the description at that.  Thanks to everyone who has ordered Exile, Magus already, and I hope that those of  you who are following but haven’t ordered already will consider doing so.  Even if you can’t order be sure to refer the book to others, if the book funds you can still win one of the available awards for being a top 10 referrer even if you haven’t ordered a copy for yourself.

That’s all I’ve got for this week (other than the Common Dwarf racial option for D&D 5th edition which I’ll be posting below for my fellow players/DM’s), so I’ll once again thank you all for your support and wish you enjoyable reading and whatever else you may desire.

• Ability Score Increase:  +1 Constitution; and +1 in 2 Ability Scores other than Dexterity or Constitution.
  
• Age:  Typically reach adulthood at around 60-70 years and live up to 450-500 years(though most die in battle before this).
• Alignment:  Any.
• Size:  Medium, stand between 3’8" - 4’8".
• Speed:  30’.  Living amongst the taller races has taught them the importance of keeping up.
• Dwarven Toughness:  +1 to Maximum HP at every level.
• Skill Training:  You gain proficiency in any 2 skills of your choice.
• Tool Training:  You gain proficiency in any 1 artisan’s tool of your choice.
• Versatility:  You can choose to either gain Dwarven Armor Training(proficiency in both Light and Medium Armors) or gain 1 bonus Language and 1 bonus Proficiency in either a skill or artisan’s tool.
• Weapn Training:  Proficient with any 4 of the following - Greataxe, Greatsword, Heavy Crossbow, Light Crossbow, Longbow, Longsword, Maul, Pike, Rapier, Shortsword, Shortbow, Warhammer, War Pick.
• Languages:  Common, and 1 of the following - Dwarven, Elven, Giant, or Gnomish.