Tony Valdez liked an update for Exile, Magus
Feels like weeks since I last sent out an update, though I’m pretty sure its only been one week.  Hope everyone has been doing well in that time.

How have I been?  Good, though I’ve been at a loss on how to get past the wall which Magus has been stuck at in its funding.  I’ve been continuing to send out personal messages to make sure everyone is aware of the funding effort, but its a long list and slow process which unfortunately hasn’t been bearing much fruit.  I still have a lot of the list to go through though, so there’s still hope.  It does reinforce what I’ve known since the beginning though, that being that I’ll need your help to reach funded status.  That of course means your orders are helpful(and greatly appreciated for those of you who’ve already ordered), but more than that it means I need your help in finding others who are interested in the story I’m telling and would want to support it as well.

Its with this in mind that I’m slowly putting together rewards, and if the book funds will be giving the rewards away.  The 10 people who have referred the most other readers to Exile, Magus will have first pick of rewards(1 choice per person).  So if you do recommend it to someone else, make sure they order through your referral link so I have a way to track it back to you.  Also, when I’m doing the final tally I’ll add 3 to the effective number of referrals for anyone who has also ordered at least one copy(e-book or paperback) for themselves.

I’m continuing to try to build up the reward pool by getting signed prints whenever I commission new art for Magus, but here is where it stands currently:

  • Signed copy of Oliver J. Tooley’s "Children of the Wise Oak". (2 available)  Even if you don’t win this one you can always pick up a copy here on Amazon.
  • Signed print of the "Buscidia vs. the Cog Monster" scene by Lizzy Perez. (3 available)
  • Signed print of the Caldus family crest(the current cover art) by Rachel Donne. (3 available)
  • Wild card!  (20 available)
  • Currently in progress: new art of Talari(Exile, Magus’ other, better dwarven magus) by Lho Brockhoff.  This one’s still being worked on by the artist, but the sketches and in progress update images I’ve been getting have me super excited for this piece.  Can’t wait to actually share it with you.  There will also be 3 signed prints of this available when its ready. (Keep on eye on my Facebook page linked here for all art updates)
You’re probably wondering just what the Wild Card! entry in that list is.  Simple answer its anything that we can agree on.  In a previous update I’d mentioned that I would be willing to let people name some of the cities, rivers, mountains, forests, etc which I haven’t gotten around to naming myself yet as a possible wild card reward.  The idea of the wild card reward category started when I was sitting around thinking about gaming though, specifically D & D.

I’ve been playing D & D since 7th grade, and it wasn’t long before I moved from player to DM.  I love creating adventures, campaigns, custom worlds, custom character options, and on and on.  As I was thinking of my stacks of not yet used maps and not yet custom adventures, I was struck with what should have been an obvious idea - I could make custom D & D content as a reward.  I couldn’t plan out an entire campaign for you due to time constraints, but I’d be more than happy to create an 1-2 session adventure to your specifications as a wild card reward if desired.  My first love is 2nd edition, but I ran 3rd into 3.5 into Pathfinder for years so I could do that as well.  I never got around to trying out 4th, so I doubt I could manage an adventure for that.  Currently I’ve been hooked on 5th edition, so I could also definitely make adventures for it.

I’m going to be sharing a bit of custom D&D content in an update Friday, so keep an eye out for that as well.  I have taken up too much of your time with this update though, so for now I hope you’ll continue to help me get Exile, Magus funded.

As always, thank you for your support, keep reading(and gaming) and enjoying!
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    Tony Valdez liked an update for Beneath White Clouds

    Hi!

    Just  a little thing here I thought you might want to grokk: Beneath White Clouds now has a trailer!
    Woohoo! Yeah! It’s shiny! 
    And if you never knew: yes, making  a video is a pain in the butt. But sooooo much fun, and there are so many amazing open-source tools out there at the world’s disposal. I’m a director and editor! How cool is that?!
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      Tony Valdez liked an update for Fae Child

      Hello dear friends,

      You’ve taken the time to click "follow" or even "order" on my page, and there are many more of you than I hoped for when I started this campaign on what was essentially a dare. Still, from the nearly 70 of you (I’ve been desperately trying not to make a joke here, deleted several that were VERY amusing), Fae Child has just 23 readers/25 orders (thanks Mom and Dad!).

      Please look over my chapter samples - if a kid wandering around fairyland isn’t really your thing, try Chapter 3, where we meet Dan, her father, and the changeling back in the world. Fae Child at it’s heart is a story about a girl trying to get home, and a father trying to get her home.

      I played around with the Properties page, and it will let you add movies that are like your book - I of course went for Alice in Wonderland as the first pick, rather obvious, but then for the second one I ended up choosing Taken. Then I took them both down, because it looked ridiculous.


      "Alice has... a very particular set of skills..." or "I will look for the white rabbit. I will find the white rabbit. And I will kill the white rabbit." Feel free to message me all sorts of Taken/Alice mashed up quotes, I hope it makes you laugh as much as it did me.

      Fae Child has a facebook page here, I’d love it if you’d like it. I’ll be putting up some WIP quotes from bits of the book I’m working on, also highlighting some of the wonderful reviews it’s been getting.

      Also, if you’re just following along and thinking there’s plenty of time to support the project later... there are only 63 days left! I’m not sure why I have so few when other books that started before me have about 90 days left, but here we are. An e-book is just $10, and the more we preorder now, the more momentum Fae Child will get. I don’t have to run faster than the bear (reach 250), I just need to run faster than whoever is in third place right now. We can do it, together!

      Much love,

      Jane-Holly

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        Tony Valdez liked an update for A Beast Requires

        It’s Wednesday! That solemn day we set aside for Woden, because what’s better than celebrating the middle of the work week than a day to remember the Norse god of the gallows. Granted, he did some other stuff too.  But, yea! Wednesday!

         

        As it stands, 81 backers have pre-ordered 103 copes of A Beast Requires, putting it at 41% of its Quill publishing goal. This is pretty great news, but the 91 days left in the campaign are going to go by super fast. I’m working on this week’s video right now, but after that, I’m leaving it open to you guys, the backers. 


        So, what do you want to see me talk? What aspects or parts of A Beast Requires are you interested in? I’ll touch on any subject, or can spend time answering each question individually. Every backer put their hard earned money behind me and my book, so I figure it’s a good opportunity for you all to be involved in the crowdfunding crazy train. Let me know on Twitter, or by DM, and let’s see what we can come up with for next week.

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          Tony Valdez liked an update for The Knightmares

          Hello Knightmares!

          With 30 days left in my campaign, there are just 13 pre-orders needed to fulfill Quill publishing!

          Thanks to everyone who has ordered so far! I appreciate everything everyone has done to help. 

          Now is the time for those last few book orders you’ve been meaning to purchase. Let’s not squeak by, merely hitting 250. Let’s blow past 250 and really put this campaign to rest! 

          To anyone out there on Inkshares that still wants to get in on THE KNIGHTMARES and the adventure, grab a copy now!



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            Tony Valdez liked an update for Lucky

            Dearest Readers,

            We’ve done it! I received an email last night letting me know that Lucky had reached her Quill goal of 250 copies. While this is a little (well, a lot) short of the 750 copies we were originally shooting for, there is still good news:

            LUCKY WILL BE A PUBLISHED NOVEL!!!

            None of this would ever have been possible without the support of all the readers and all those who showed faith in this campaign and pre-ordered the novel. You all have my most sincere, most undying gratitude.

            I’m currently working my way through all the important paperwork and will hopefully have a production timeline for you all soon!

            Thanks a bazillion,

            - RH Webster
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              Tony Valdez liked an update for Tantalus Depths

              Story Update:
              The mission to Tantalus 13 is, first and foremost, a mining expedition. Though SCARAB has done most of the work for them, Mary and the crew of The Diamelen still came prepared for some heavy work. What arsenal of mining equipment would be complete without some serious explosive ordinance?
               

              The crew has come to Tantalus 13 prepared to literally move mountains if they must. But when danger strikes their mission, will this devastating firepower help them or endanger them? Find out in the pages of Tantalus Depths!

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                Tony Valdez followed Tantalus Depths
                Tantalus Depths
                They found the universe’s greatest secret. They should have left it buried.
                Tony Valdez liked an update for Blue Water

                You guys may have noticed it’s been a little quiet here. There’s a reason, and it’s a long one, so I’ll sum it up before I get to the good stuff.

                First, all cards on the table: running a crowdfunding campaign is exhausting. Emotionally, it’s draining. You have a day where you crush it and you feel on top of the world. Then there are days, weeks, where nothing happens, and you wonder who you thought you were to even attempt something so ridiculous. We came out of the gate firing, and then I faded away. I feel like I owe you all an explanation as to why.

                Here’s the deal. Inkshares is in the middle of a leadership change, and the restructuring shook things up. I wasn’t sure if Inkshares was necessarily the right way to go in publishing Blue Water. And in the last few weeks, while the campaign sat stagnant, I started looking into self publishing, and any other options I could find so I could make an informed decision about what to do next.

                The campaign suffered for it.

                After a bit of soul searching, and a pep talk from another amazing Inkshares author to which I owe SO much for her support, (please, check out Amanda Orneck’s book “Deus Hex Machina,” currently available to pre-order on Inkshares. Unlike Blue Water, there’s no gamble here. Her book has crossed that finish line), I have decided to attack this Inkshares thing with all I have. I need this book to be in your hands. You all have helped me get this far. I’m not changing direction at this point.

                So, with that in mind, I contacted Inkshares to explain the situation, and was granted an extension.

                The new deadline for us to cross the finish line, be it 750 or 250, is now November 14, 2016. That’s our new target, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s also my daughter’s third birthday.

                Now we’re have 110 preorders to get, and we have 77 days left. That gives us a perfectly round number progress chart. Ten a week. 150 by next Monday, 160 by the Monday after that... if we stay at exactly that, order 250 comes in on day zero. So let’s stay above that. For safety’s sake. We’ve pulled off twenty in a day before. I’m quite optimistic about our chances.

                This now has my full attention, like it did during the first four weeks when we got halfway there. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff planned on this campaign. Things I’m very excited to show you. If you guys can keep fighting for this book, keep spreading the word around, keep telling your friends to buy this novel, I promise we can get there.

                More to come shortly.

                Thank you all for hanging in there with me.

                If you haven’t preordered Blue Water yet, click the button to purchase it now.

                Here we go.
                -Joseph
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