Readers,

Dear friends and followers,

We are at 6 weeks in, with 223 orders. We’re very close to the 250 mark now; I have every confidence that we will cross it this month. Which means that at the end of the month, I will be writing my first cheque for a donation to Chez Doris! These people do good work, and of course if any of you wants to make a donation, you should feel free to do so.

The sooner we cross that line, and the further we go beyond, the better. And that’s going to take a bit of help from all of you. If each person could get a friend interested in picking up an order, we’d overshoot that 250 line by a mile and I’ll have a pretty sum to put on that cheque. I’ll also have to scramble to identify that second charity I want to add on at the 450 mark....

Anyway! Let’s see what’s-what on the bookshelves this week.

1) "Scribbles", by Tabi Card. This was among the first books I decided I wanted, once I began taking an active part on Inkshares. Short stories are really handy things, bite-sized pieces of fiction that you can consume on the go or when you otherwise don’t have a lot of time to commit; and I promise you, Ms Card knows how to turn a phrase. She doesn’t have a lot of time, though: 13 days to get 119 orders. It seems terribly daunting. Still, it’s happened before, at least twice in the past month, and it could happen again.

2) "Wings of the Pirate", by Eric H. Heisner. Pulp adventure! I admit I was on a bit of a pulp adventure kick once, and the attraction of the genre still lingers a bit. The story involves treasure-hunting in the south pacific while being chased by pirates. The opening paragraph implies a 1920s/1930s setting.  Also, the book has the word "pirate" in its title. Arr.

3) Have I never mentioned "Cape’s Side Bay", by James Rasile, before? Well, I’m mentioning it now. Like Mike Donald, Rasile hails from a film making background; and like JF Dubeau, he’s telling a story of something unearthly in an idyllic rural setting. It’s billed as science-fiction, because of the nature of that something unearthly, but I think it could fit just as comfortably into the horror niche. In any case, expect cinematic suspense.

Until next week, friends and followers: have fun, and keep reading.

Dear friends and faithful followers,

Yesterday, I received an order from someone who told me he thought he’d placed an order ages ago, and only just realised that he had in fact forgotten to do so. As such, I should like to ask you, all those of you who think you’ve placed an order, to please check to be sure you have in fact done so. The easiest way is to simply go to the project page to see if the buttons say "pre-order" (you haven’t, so do it now or you’ll forget again) or "pre-order again" (you have, but why not a second time?)

That said, we seem to be doing well. We’re at 186 orders, and 99 readers. So the question is: who will be reader 100? And will I be able to work this person’s name into the fabric of the story somehow?

Now, on to the weekly what’s-what around the bookshelves.

1) "Louisiana Blood", by Mike Donald. It’s a fresh take on the Jack the Ripper mystery: what happens when vital evidence surfaces a century after the fact in, of all places, the sweltering bayous of Louisiana? Donald comes from a film-making background, and it shows in the attention to visual detail. Expect to be properly immersed in the action. This book is just 10 pre-orders short of its Quill goal right now, and the clock is ticking. Go get it.

2) "Goodbye, Angel", by Ryan Smith. This one just started its campaign, and I swear it went from "draft" to "funding" at the same instant I clicked to follow it. It’s a hardboiled noir set against a backdrop of sunny beaches and rolling surf. Smith used to work as a crime reporter in Florida, so he knows what he’s writing about.

3) "Pixilated Obsidian Roses", by RF Martin. If you liked JF Dubeau’s "A God in the Shed", you’ll love this one. It’s a dark fantasy, several shades darker; or maybe it’s horror. It’s about unearthly supernatural beings meddling in the lives of two men separated by history, manipulating their fates into a sort of twisted concordance. It’s ... well, it’s worth a look, anyway.

Until next week, friends and faithful followers. Have fun, and keep reading.

Oh, and don’t forget to pre-order.