Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Much has happened in the last month. We’re about six weeks away from publication, and the momentum is increasing. First, we’ve booked several more signing events in October. You can click on the links below to attend. It would be great to see as many of you in person as possible!

13 October, 2017 - Westlake, OH

14 October, 2017 - Oak Park, IL

18 October, 2017 - Redlands, CA

21 October, 2017 - Burbank, CA

30 October, 2017 - Pasadena, CA 

We will let you know as more events are added. If anyone knows people who work at bookstores, libraries, or middle schools, especially on the West Coast, please let us know. We’d love to set up as many events as possible to build buzz, and personal connections are incredibly helpful in such a crowded marketplace. 

Secondly, reviews have been coming in from early readers on Goodreads and NetGalley. Some highlights:

“Absolutely amazing! After reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down, even when I reached the last word.” (5 out of 5 stars)

“I could not put this book down … hopefully the author will expand on the universe.” (5 out of 5 stars)

“I loved the way the story was peppered with spells and footnotes…I can see this quickly becoming a cult classic and I hope this becomes a series with more volumes to follow!” (4 out of 5 stars)

“JK Rowling meets VE Schwab. Highly recommend!” (4 out of 5 stars)

It’s really humbling and awesome to see people we don’t know enjoying the book, especially since everyone involved worked so hard on it. And speaking of hard work…the final cover is FINISHED. I will be able to reveal that in about a week or so, but it looks really amazing and unique. My first thought when I saw it was, “If I found this in a bookstore when I was 10, it would have blown my mind.” 

And honestly, that’s my real hope with this book—that some kid I don’t know will pick it up and be as excited as I was to discover the Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Dark is Rising, or Harry Potter. (Not that I expect to sell anywhere near that many copies, I just want kids to enjoy it.) 

If you haven’t yet, please put Sorcery for Beginners on your wish lists at Amazon, Goodreads, Powell’s, Walmart, or wherever you buy books. It really helps us in terms of bookstore preorders. Thanks again for all the support, and we’ll have another update soon!

mh

Just a quick update to let everyone know that the beginning stages of the developmental editing process are proceeding nicely. I promised a behind-the-scenes look, so read on if you’re interested in hearing more....

My developmental editor, Matt Harry, and I have spent the past month passing an 11-page outline back and forth. At this point, we have settled on the arc for the story as a whole, and the arcs of the main characters.

I am thrilled with the tweaks to the original storyboard and feel that the alterations and additions to the initial plot will serve to reinforce the themes. I am eager to see where it leads.

Now that the outline is complete, we are moving on. I am currently spending a few hours a day working on rewriting and editing the first 100 pages to turn over to Matt so that he can provide page-specific notes. As of now, I have worked through about 60% of the first section, and hope to complete it within a week.

Matt will then work through the first 100 pages as I edit and rewrite the next 100 pages. We will then do this with a final section (the book will likely end up between 250 and 300 pages). Because we are adding new scenes and drastically altering others, the second and third segments will take a bit longer to work through.

After the first round is complete, we will rinse and repeat a couple of times until we are both happy with the story.

So, there you have it. As always, thank you for the support. Every day that I sit down and write, I think of all of you. I am forever grateful for this opportunity.

Until next time,

-Jacqui

Hi everyone,

This weekend I had an amazing event at Austin’s Book People. Each book store I’ve visited thus far has exemplified the unique literary flare of its city, and Book People did not disappoint. The highlight, for me, was receiving a watermelon carving of The Punch Escrow’s cover. I sent it to M.S. Corley, the cover designer, and he and I agreed that we should have shipped all the books with watermelon rind covers in lieu of foil. Unfortunately, this was not a stock option offered by our printer.

Many of you have been asking me about the "secret" chapter. I am very close to releasing it to you. I have every intention of keeping my word that, as soon as we hit  101 reviews on Amazon, I will send a special out-of-band reader update containing the "secret" chapter. In the mean time, with the help of my friend and 22nd century legal expert Jay Wolman, I’m taking this opportunity to "clean up" some of the future legalese. There are 727 of you on this distribution, only 26 of you who haven’t yet need to post a review on Amazon, and the "secret" chapter is yours!Also! More exciting movie news is forthcoming this week. I am sworn to secrecy (sorry for being so clandestine lately), but the news should be public on the early side of the week (I hope!).  

Peas,

Tal

Happy Friday!

Well, I know it’s been a severely long time since I’ve sent a reader update, and I’ve been waiting right along with you guys. I sent in the manuscript of The Sleeping Man shortly after the campaign ended and I’m waiting to hear back. Every now and then Inkshares will ask for something, which I supply, but as of right now, nothing. 

In the meantime, feel free to hit me up in the meantime for reviews on your pieces, beta reading, or whatever I can help with. I also haven’t been just sailing the seven seas, visiting new countries, and trying to maintain some sort of discipline over an energetic six year old. There may or may not be another story in the works for our favorite Dreamwalker.

Thank you for your patience, I know this process is certainly testing mine, but I cannot thank you enough for your support.

Sweet Dreams, 

Stephen

Greetings followers of the Space Sloth. As promised here is an update on the manuscript’s status in the Launch Pad Manuscript Competition. 

;

Fortunes of the Space Sloth has been selected for the Top 75 of the competition! The full announcement can be found here. The competition is tough. There are several names you may recognize and several books I’ve supported myself on Inkshares. It’s an exciting process and I look forward to what will happen next.

PT

Dear Faithful Followers of the reluctant assassin David Diegert, 

 Recently Tears of the Assassin was read by the Kirkus Review. You can read the whole review through the link, but here’s a juicy sentence in which they sum up their reaction to the story. 

 A whirlwind debut, packed with excitement, espionage, and an increasingly dangerous main character who never lets up. - Kirkus Review

 Kirkus Review of Tears of the Assassin: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/william-schiele/tears-assassin/

For all my readers who’ve completed Tears of the Assassin, I’m writing the sequel as fast as I can.  You will soon see how David’s life takes an unexpected turn requiring him to rely on his skills, while his sense of purpose is torn. 

As always, I appreciate your support. 

Sincerely, 

Bill Brewer (William Schiele)