Well we are hanging in there at the back end of the Top 10, which is great. I appreciate the support. Now the goal has to be to get into the Top 3, which is a lot tougher now that some books are really taking off (and congratulations to those authors).  Still, the goal is very much in reach. Tell your friends about The Garden of Oroborous!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Chapters 4 & 5 have been added to the Inkshares page for The Children of the Forest. Looking ahead, I still have 3 more chapters to post, and I will try to have all 3 up by the end of the month. 

I've made some updates to my second book's page for The Darkest Places. The novel is equal parts science-fiction and horror, and the story combines elements of Boardwalk Empire, Indiana Jones, and H.P. Lovecraft. If you're a fan of the supernatural, any of the sources above, or my writing in general, go check it out @ https://www.inkshares.com/projects/the-darkest-places   and pre-order a copy today to help me win the Sword & Laser Contest (Part Deux).

Also, I've made the announcement before but I would like to remind all you savvy reader-folk that I am currently underway in holding a raffle for purchases of my books. Each sale of The Darkest Places & The Children of the Forest nets you a chance to win a $250.00 Amazon gift-card! 

The drawing will be held on December 10th, with a live video posted to youtube. So remember everyone, mark your calendars and be prepared for the inevitable horror of my terrible visage staring back and talking to you through your computer, while also announcing the winner.

~ Until next time! 

We've reached our first 10 readers and our first $10 Amazon Gift Card!

Hey Everybody, 

The beginning of the Sword & Laser: The Sequel contest has been amazing. I’m thrilled to be competing with so many excellent creative thinkers. To say I’ve been impressed by the community of authors on Inkshares is a mega understatement. Everyone has been so supportive of their fellow authors and competitors, with genuine desire that their neighbors achieve success with a rising tide lifts all boats sentiment. The beauty of the Inkshares model is that there is no reason that we can’t all win in the long run. With crowdfunding, the more traffic we bring to Inkshares, the more of us get published. Such a wonderful concept. So let’s get published! 

 OK, on to the fun… 

I’ve decided to start a raffle to promote The Last Machine in the Solar System. I am cracking open the vault of epic goodness in the spirit of the holiday season, and I hope you all enjoy the first two items that will be raffled as we reach upcoming milestones! 

First, when we reach 30 unique readers, I will raffle off a beautiful signed copy of Haunted Horror #12: The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics! There are a number of colorful stories from the early 1950s in this magazine published in August 2014. The magazine is signed by Jack Katz, the comic book artist and graphic novelist who created The First Kingdom. Jack drew “Bride of Death” (1952) in this Haunted Horror. Check out the images below. 

Then, when we reach 50 unique readers, I will raffle off my copy of Rudyard Kipling’s Mine Own People. Kipling published Mine Own People in 1891, three years before he wrote The Jungle Book. It is possible that the book is First Edition, though I’ve been unable to confirm one way or the other. I have read that books without a date on the title page are sometimes first edition and this book has no date inside (see below pics). But if you win and it turns out not to be first edition - well, all I’m saying is it’s super old and an early edition! I’d say it is in fair condition. After at least 111 years that’s not half bad. The light pencil writing by a former owner says 1904 - though it could be older than that. The book might be worth somewhere in the $25 - $50 range (that’s a rough guess). I hope that whoever wins will love this old book as a treasure and give it a prominent place on their bookshelf. 

Final details: Everybody who pre-orders The Last Machine up to the 30th reader will be entered into the raffle for Haunted Horror. If you order multiple books, you will receive one entry per ebook or paperback pre-ordered. When we get to the 50th unique reader for the Sword & Laser, I will raffle off Mine Own People - everyone who has pre-ordered back to the first person will once again be entered to win and receive one ticket per book ordered. 

Hope everyone has a great holiday season and keep on reading and writing! 

Hey all,
It's a Saturday, but not a lazy one. Shaking the dust off of long-disused video production skills and putting them to use working feverishly on a video pitch for FEYSIDE. Hopefully it turns out well. (If not, my employer is desperately burning the midnight oil cranking out SHANNARA CHRONICLES f/x shots, suppose I can always donate this stuff or something.) Trying to strike a balance between generating a visually interesting shot or two to differentiate FEYSIDE from other offerings and to hint to prospective readers at the worlds living in my head... and producing a quick 'n' dirty video that can actually be ready in a matter of days, rather than the weeks or months that actual pro quality work necessitates.
Meanwhile, I'm stretching a little on social media, trying to reach out more and present myself, my story and my novel to the broadest possible audience. Time (and that all-important follower count) will tell whether that's been a worthwhile effort. 
I've tried to do some actual writing/editing work as well, lest those skills atrophy, and because despite the demands of this crowdfunding campaign thing the foremost goal is still hopefully a good book in the end, and chapters in the meanwhile for you good folk to consider and critique. Should have another one of those ready for your consideration shortly!
Lastly, haven't neglected the demands of everyday life - parenting, work, house n home, holiday prep, etc. While outside the scope of this update, activities like this are the mainstay of my day and the bedrock that enables everything else. Hopefully the joy and the satisfaction that I take in all of that comes through in the creative materials that I do send through to y'all.

Think that's about it for the present. Be well, keep the faith, and look for good things soon!

-Peter

Wow, what a week!

First of all, let me give a huge THANKS to everyone who has already placed a pre-order. You have no idea how much it means to me! I will never forget my early adopters. You are the ones who took a chance on me, and obviously something with me or my writing resonated with you enough to click the button. That is extremely flattering, and I am so thankful for you believing in me.

A lot of the supporters this week were family and friends, and so I count myself a lucky man to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who rally around me when I need them. Even though I already knew you were amazing people, it's still such a happy reminder.

I was astonished to see my book hover in the top 5 of the Sword & Laser Contest for most of this week. I am in the company of some truly great authors. There is a lot of talent on this site, so that is also a huge compliment to be among their ranks.

Congrats to Joseph Asphahani for absolutely crushing the contest so far! He is completely deserving of it, so I tip my hat to him. Also, I hope that if I ever meet him in person, I say his last name correctly.

This contest has me doing strange things. I've started using Twitter, which is a different sensation for me (brevity is foreign to me). I also jump at every e-mail when my phone buzzes, hoping it's something novel-related. But most importantly, it has forced me out of my shell, which is a pretty thick layer to crack. Putting myself out there is extremely scary for me, so this is a bigger deal than you could imagine.

I'm also going to be a first-time father in May, and so I feel like this is probably the best time to focus my time and effort on something that is near and dear to me before taking on the role of "Dad" in five months. What a hectic (but fun) time! If you see me in person and I'm in a bit of a daze, please forgive me. I've got quite a few important things bouncing around in my brain right now.

For those of you who are following the novel, but haven't opted to pre-order it yet, I truly hope at some point I can convince you that this is a project worth your investment. If there's something specific you'd like to see from me or this book, please reach out to me and let me know. I am more than happy to answer questions or share with you whatever it is you want to know. The only thing that is off limits is the ending of the book. ;)

I am a few chapters deep, and constantly in a state of figuring out how I can make something better. Jacob's journey will be a bit trippy, no doubt about it. But I want the reader to walk away from the book with a certain degree of paranoia that perhaps something is always lurking in the dark corners of our world. Those small oddities we ignore could be part of something much greater.

As you may have noticed, Chapter 2 takes a bit of a breather after Chapter 1. This is before shoving Jacob further down a twisted path in Chapter 3 (yet to be seen by you). He isn't exactly a willing participate in anything going on around him, but he doesn't mind humoring something that might improve his current condition.

I plan on posting Chapter 3 on Wednesday. If I hit 25 pre-orders before then, I will post it at that milestone. It would mean the world to me to see this book's numbers start to rise again.

Thanks again, and happy dreaming!

So, it's officially official of the officialness. (I'm a writer! I use words!) I have turned everything into Inkshares. Now I do the waiting game and see what the Girl Friday Productions team thinks of the manuscript and prep myself for editing. 

If anyone wants a copy of the manuscript I sent in, (since backers are totally able to get access to author drafts) just send me an email over to Crankybolt@gmail.com and I'll gladly share it with you. Maybe you can offer feedback as well before the final product. 

My next step is to start tackling the creation of a website, look into starting my own Inskhares Syndicate with some author friends and start emailing conventions about tablespace. 

Although, I secretly kinda just want to binge watch my guilty pleasure of iZombie and Gotham Season 2 for a day and feast upon the sweet smell of chilli being slow cooked today 10' away from me. 

It's kinda like torture actually. I'm going to start gnawing on human flesh I'm so damn hungry.