Broke the 100-copy barrier earlier today! Right now, I'm at a decent pace to make the long-term goal of 1,000 copies(10% of the way there with 88% of the campaign remaining). Thank you so much for your support.

As far as the contest is concerned, I still need all the help I can get; I've got 65 readers which puts me only 17 shy of 20th place as of this writing. Can we win? Maybe. If I could get a big push somewhere but, even with little nudges, if I could make the top 20 by the end, after starting three-weeks late ... I'd be beside myself.

Please keep your recommendations coming. Please, to crib from A.C. Weston (support her if you haven't already!), tell your mailman (or -woman)! Tell everyone that they can get a hard-copy at either $5 or $0, an absolute steal, either way. Hell, even $9.99 is a bargain!

I'm working on revising "Chapter 5: The Raid" and hope to post it either tonight or tomorrow evening.

In my revisions, I had the realization that I never came up with either a corren batch- or given-name for my protagonist, A'arilon Ray.  His present name is the corren word for "forsaken" and a human forename given to him after he defected from the Confederation military. Want to help me come up with his original name?

The correns I've named have batch- and fore-names with a lot of vowels, lots of "I" and "A" sounds: Alesh, Inishi'i, Irva'a, Derotevia, Asharan, Antal, Lutan. There's a Ji'ilaad (Star Trek fans will probably recognize this as an homage to the TNG episode "Darmok"). So, I'd like to keep it thematically similar.

Not to reveal too much of Ray's backstory, but he's the only one of his batch. I'm thinking his name could be a close cognate of "one" (in any language) but in the non-Anglo style of the other names.

Winner gets an acknowledgement, should we go to press! Please keep pushing for Disintegration!

"What do the "RUNES" from RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE look like?" I have been asked this many times over the past few weeks. Here is my answer--please take a look for yourself:

This RUNE is entitled "Your Deeds Define Your Destiny" and is attributed to Master Rudra, a prominent figure in the world of Terra and to the story of RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE. 

This is but one of many RUNES and while it's quotation is seen above, you will need to read the novel to begin to understand its full significance and meaning. So, if you have not done so already,  Pre-order RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE now so you can begin to unlock the mystical mysteries of RUNES for yourself!

Stay curious my friends...

Hi everybody! I've been a little quiet here in terms of activity/updates/content, mainly because my wife and I welcomed a baby boy last week. Anyone among you who has kids or watches kids or is aware of kids knows that while this is a very joyful and exciting time, it's an extremely draining time as well. I'm devoting most of my attention to my family at the moment (and snatching minutes here and there to send appeal emails and do a bit of writing).

I just wanted to update you and let you know that I am most definitely NOT resting on my laurels...or really resting at all. I'm still in this thing til the end, just not at the computer a whole lot.

That said, this is when I need help more than ever. Sharing the project link and word of mouth are great ways to do that. Tell a family member, a friend, your spouse, a colleague, your book club compatriots, exterminator...especially your exterminator. Please help spread the word about SINGLE VERSION!!

Encourage people to read the sample chapters (I continue to get great feedback on them so I feel they are effective), and to add their names to the reader list!

https://www.inkshares.com/projects/single-version

With love and many many thanks,

Scott

Hello Friends

This is just a quick update to thank you for your support. I remember when the contest started a month ago, and I thought, “If I receive 200 pre-orders I’ll have a chance to rank in the top 5.” A couple of weeks later I thought the number was 250, and I knew that would be an uphill battle. Today I have 270 readers, and I know I still need many more if I want to win this prize.

But quoting the most important man in the universe, The Doctor, “I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.” So I think this is not impossible.

I want to encourage those of you who are following me but have not pre-ordered yet to please do it. If you are on the fence about it, feel free to reach out to me by e-mail (ricardophenriquez@yahoo.com) or through my twitter @RHfromTheGlen. I am always happy to talk to readers or other authors.

This weekend I will not be posting another funny video because I will be out of town (I know most of you are devastated by this news :-)  ) I will be running 18 miles around Central Park in preparation for my upcoming marathon. So wish me luck.

Have a wonderful weekend!

It’s a question of ’conversions’.

At least that’s what my bare-bones marketing training and experience tells me.

I spend an unusual amount of time thinking about how to get more readers. How do I convince people to take a chance on ‘A God in the Shed’? Should I do character sketches? Another video? A giveaway?

While these are all good methods and have their merits, I think I need to get back to basics and stick to what’s important.

This is going to be a good book. 

‘A God in the Shed’ has gone through a few revisions already and been in the hands of several test readers and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been told it doesn’t need it, but the story is going to get another re-write and with the experience I have working with editors and Inkshares I know they won’t let me get away with anything less than an excellent novel.

The characters are compelling.

What I love about ‘A God in the Shed’ is the cast of characters. The core group is a few ordinary kids that deal with the extraordinary events of the book. Venus is a genius level girl who’s spent her whole life as a fish-out-of-water, either because of her intelligence or eccentric parents. Penelope is a fiercely independent and ambitious young woman who has difficulty with her set life plans being interrupted by the supernatural happenings. Donald is the kind of guy who’s always had it easy in life but still managed not to let himself be spoiled by things while Abraham has maintained a facade as the strong-but-dumb kid, caring for his ailing father. 

Surrounding them is a second layer of main characters, mainly the families of the young cast. Venus’ uncle is a bizarre man with strange secrets while the village idiot, Sam Finnegan is quickly revealed to be a layered onion. First affable, then a monster but then a victim again.

The magic is fascinating.

The gods have their magic but so do mortals. Either by using loopholes in the functioning of reality or by creating pieces of Art so convincing as to trick the universe itself, old disciplines have opened up the door to strange magics. Not to mention that objects and people touched by gods are irrevocably changed.

There’s a tight majesty to how magic works in St-Ferdinand and the world of ‘A God in the Shed’.

Mainly, it’s a story about beauty.

I use the expression ‘a story about terrible beauty and beautiful terror’ and I mean it. ‘A God in the Shed’ is about that place in between horror and majesty where you can’t be sure what is light and what is shadow. It’s from that doubt that the ‘horror’ of this fantasy tale comes from.

I’ve added Chapters 7 through 9 to the project page. I’ll try to give out more information about the setting and about the story, without too many spoilers, as we get closer to the end of the Nerdist Collection contest.

Help make this book happen. Talk to your friends and family and get them on Inkshares. They’ll get 5$ credit just for signing up and if they use your reference link, you’ll get 15$ of credits yourself!

Support the arts. Support my dream. Pre-order ‘A God in the Shed’.

And if you’re already a supporter: thank you. You’re the kind of person who makes things happen.

JF