Phew! It’s been a busy first 10 days of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest. I’ve managed to get 225 orders for over 300 books, which is very exciting! This puts me around 40% of the way to the goal. We’re still early in the process, but thanks to all your support Gumshoe Rules is in the #1 position. 

A few people have asked me about Inkshares and why I chose this route to publication. There were several reasons, but perhaps the most important is that I know two successful authors who have used Inkshares: Tal Klein (The Punch Escrow) and Christopher Huang (A Gentleman’s Murder).  Their books are available in bookstores and on Amazon. Coincidentally, they both sold film or TV rights, which is awesome. If you like Science Fiction, The Punch Escrow is a real treat. For fans of “golden age” mysteries, A Gentleman’s Murder is a modern take on a classic 1920’s genre. But why choose? Buy ’em both!

The other reason I chose Inkshares is more subtle. The publishing industry has gone through tremendous consolidation over the last 10 years. With the advent of the Kindle, eBooks and self-publishing, it seemed like the old model of spending a year to find an agent, pitching publishers and eventually get a book deal seemed like a slow boat to nowhere. Inkshares is a disruptive approach to publishing that takes out the gatekeepers and lets readers decide what kind of books they want to read.  Inkshares seemed like a good middle ground between traditional publishing and the wild-west of self-publishing. They get good distribution through retail channels and the process moves faster than traditional publishing. Seems like a win-win to me!

I’ve spent several weeks emailing everyone I know  and I’ve found that to be 10x more effective than Linkedin or Slack and 100x more effective than Twitter or Facebook. If I can ask you to email two or three friends or colleagues about the book, that is greatly appreciated. Every unique order counts towards the contest, so no one should feel pressure to order multiple copies. Send them a link to:  https://www.inkshares.com/books/gumshoe-rules   With your help I know we can get to 400 orders and beyond.

In subsequent updates, I’ll talk more about the authors who have influenced this book, where readers are coming from as well as answer any questions you have.

Thank you so much for your support!
--Z.Z. Traver
PS. At the Bouchercon mystery writer’s conference, I was able to hang out with Christopher Huang, author of A Gentleman’s Murder, also published by Inkshares 

Hi Folks! 

Guess what? It’s been exactly one year today since The Punch Escrow was published and my life forever changed. The book has now been translated into several languages and I’ve been afforded the opportunity to travel around the world and meet with readers—something I would never have imagined. The process is still in effect! The Korean translation is being published next month. 

My little passion project went on to get starred reviews on Kirkus, Library Journal, and Foreword Reviews—where it ultimately was awarded their Gold Award for best indie sci-fi book of 2017. 

I wanted to take this time to thank you all, again. Thank you for making this possible. This adventure has been nothing short of amazing. I apologize for not personally replying to the many questions many of you have sent me about the film adaptation. It’s just that I don’t really have anything new to report. I’m in weekly communications with the film’s producers, but—as I’m discovering firsthand—it’s hard to make a movie. I promise to share movie updates as soon as anything solid happens on that front.

As for the sequel. Well, I have the whole thing pretty much outlined. I can tell you the working title is The Hash Collision. That’s news, I guess! I’m holding off putting pen to paper until Lionsgate finalizes the first book’s film adaptation so that I don’t risk breaking serious continuity with the sequel (some things will inevitably be different, but I don’t want to write major plot points in the sequel for characters that somehow end up dying in the film adaptation of The Punch Escrow). 

Last: In case you missed it. I’ve had a short story published in the Hugo and Nebula award winning Apex Magazine. It’s called Kerouac’s Renascence, and I invite you to read it. You’ll find it’s a very different tale than Punch. 

My deepest gratitude and well wishes,

Tal

We are 40% of the way to funding Trigor with 73 days left! This is funding almost as fast as Pilot X did, so HUGE thanks to everyone who has put faith in this book with a pre-order.

We have two sample chapters up. One is the first chapter and the other does not spoil major plot points from the rest of the book. They are only spoilery in that after having read them you will know what happens in them. 

And I’m willing to answer more questions too! Any th9oughts you have on Pilot X or what may be happening in Trigor fly them my way.

And of course big thanks to everyone who has been passing along the link and getting others to order it. I raise my cup of coffee to you and will buy a slice of pie in your honor!

Cheers,

Tom