January 2019

Good morning everyone. Just a quick update on a couple of things:

eNewsletter: I have finally managed to get an email attached to my web domain (susankhamilton.com), and now that I have a much larger mailing list, I’m going to be using a list service to help manage it more effectively. So that means updates will start coming from susan@susankhamilton.com -- please be sure you add that address to your spam filter so you don’t miss any news!

I’m working on my January update now, and will be sending that later this morning!

Arisia 2019: I will be attending the Arisia Convention at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. I’ll be volunteering at and selling Shadow King from the Broad Universe table in the vendor room -- I’ll let you know exact days and times I’ll be there as soon as have them. If you’ll be at Arisia please stop by and say hello!

Best,

Susan

Oh My Darlings, Happy New Year!

Sent version three of MINE back to the Inkshares Dev Editor today.

That Dev Letter document was a powerful learning vehicle for me. I’ve read it many, many times, and the guidance it provided should translate into an improved story for your enjoyment. (Not to mention my other secret weapon...)

Also, took time to work up another cover comp for the project entry. Can’t go back to the original title. Although nothing is for certain, the current title, MINE, is working well for me.

Check it out: https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

A lot of excitement around the recent contest winners here on Inkshares. Looks like a lot of original work and promising premises from talented authors. Looking forward to seeing those projects in print.

Also, picked up ESCAPE! Writers Bloc Anthology, available here: https://www.amazon.com/ESCAPE-Writing-Bloc-Anthology-Cooperative-ebook/dp/B07KPZRP39/ and savored a couple delicious stories already.

So, things are progressing. Thank you for your support, and your patience.

Dean Fearce

Greetings, Faoii.

As you probably know, our "Name A Character" contest ended last week. The orders were to share a post or pre-order a copy, and each warrior that performed their duty would be entered for the chance to name one of 15 new characters.

However, we didn’t even have 15 soldiers pick up their swords on this one, so I’m at a bit of a loss.

To those of you who have done your part to try and make FAOII BETRAYER real-- I thank you. I am aware of you, of what you’ve done for me, and I’m going to think of something better than a name in a story as a way to honor you for being at my back. Give me a couple days to create something worthy of you, Faoii. 

Until then, I hope that my love and gratitude is enough rings loud enough for you to know my sincerity. 

Keep your shields up.

Faoii-Tahani

Hello my friends, and Happy New Year!

I know I’ve been missing for a bit, but I’ve been hard at work. And I didn’t want to update you with nothing to update. Sorry for the prolonged absence. It’s been a crazy year. 

But 2019 is already starting out to be a big success. As I have several outlets to update to, I decided to condense everything into the following blog post: 
https://talltalestold.com/2019/01/01/the-tale-of-my-first-published-work/

Long story short, as far as The Man Who Stole The World goes, I’m still hard at work, and I thank you all for your love, support, and patience. 2018 was a rough year, a busy year, but ultimately a good year. The book is still on, it’s still going to be a while, but it’s going to be great. I promise. 

Let me know if you have any trouble reading the blog entry or if you have any questions. 

I’m still here, still working, and, as always, I love you all.

I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2019. 

-Michael

Just got off the phone with Inkshares and we have a plan. We’re hoping for an autumn release. To do that I need edit notes back in a couple weeks then turn around revisions. So yay!  We’re making progress finally! Sorry for the long time between updates but as the progress continues I’ll keep you updated.

It’s official: The Astronaut Instruction Manual is Amazon Best Seller 

As of today, The Astronaut Instruction Manual is an Amazon Best Seller. That’s Top-100 Children’s Books: Science: Astronomy & Space for all age groups. This is the big list. Here’s a screen shot:

Amazon Best Seller! Gosh! So today if you are receiving this message from me it’s because you have been with me all the way here. If you have enjoyed the ride and The Astronaut Instruction Manual, there is one thing and one thing only I am asking of you to keep the momentum going.

If you enjoyed it all, write and post a book review on Amazon for The Astronaut Instruction Manual.

Writing and posting a simple review is how you and I will get The Astronaut Instruction Manual into more hands of more kids who are readers. And that’s all I really want, for kids who love reading (and love Space) to read the book I wrote for them because I was them. Here’s the link.

Four years ago (!) we started this journey together. Today, we have an Amazon Best Seller. In my opinion the best is yet to come. And if you can write an Amazon review it will guarantee it.

Thank you, my friends, family, and supporters…

Oh my Google! What a day!
Mike

Hello, readers.

Awesome news!

Grimalkin got a nod from the Inkshares syndicate, Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters, which means a lot to me because I value avoiding clichés and subverting expectations.  The 2018 Inkshares Horror contest also helped me overcome my latest bout with writer’s block. Now the only obstacle is time.

I had hoped to share Grimalkin up through a major cliffhanger that would hopefully elicit sales from people dying to find out if I really did what it looks like I did. Alas, it won’t be ready in time due to work, illness, and parental duties. It really is a killer cliffhanger, though. ;)

Thanks as always for your support!

PS. I did add Chapter 6.

The Horror Contest is down to a matter of hours now! I wanna express my deepest gratitude to you all for ordering, liking, following, reading, and putting up with these stupid messages. Congratulations to every contestant, its been a tough race, we should all be proud for getting out there and going after it. (That goes for the Mystery contestants as well). If you have time left on your pre-order campaigns, then the fight ain’t over ’til its over.

I wanna send a shout-out to the following authors for their feedback, advice, and in general being super cool:

Shane Lindemoen, Mia Carter, Christopher Huang, Celso Hurtado, Patrick R Delaney, Nick Nafpliotus, Tereyn Acevedo, Z.Z Traver, Chip Colquhoun, Tahani Nelson, Leo Valiquette, Michael James Welch, Paul Brad Logan, Dean Fearce, and if I forgot anybody right now, know that you’re awesome.

Thanks to my friends and family who ordered and have been putting up with me hocking Ereshk non-stop for the last couple months. Know that I still got a month to go. Bear with me guys.

And my warmest thanks goes double for Celia, Jena, Chelsea, Jaida, Tereyn, and Josh who is the owner of an exceptional mustache. You’re the best.

Thanks again everyone, good luck!

Good evening. I hope this finds you well as the holidays hurtle toward us.

First, the good news. At this moment, Bane of All Things (BoAT), is the top most recommended work by readers on the Inkshares site. And that is not just against other works that are in funding mode as I am, but published novels, too.

If you haven’t lately, check out the REVIEWS section of my Inkshares page to read the wonderful things other Inkshares authors have kindly written about BoAT. You can leave your own review, too, and help BoAT keep that top spot.

Second, the great news. In my last update, I raised the alarm about how pre-sales were not moving fast enough, but I did also raise the possibility of extensions to my campaign. Well, Inkshares has added 30 days. This puts the new deadline at Feb. 11. (Incidentally, my son’s birthday – here’s hoping we have added reason to celebrate!)

Does this extension warrant a sigh of relief?

Definitely.

Does it give me reason to take my foot off the gas?

Definitely not – we still have a lot of ground to make up.

Third, the bonus good news. Startup Canada will be running a concerted social media campaign for BoAT this week. As some of you know, some years ago I served on the board of directors of this non-profit that supports entrepreneurship across Canada and beyond. CEO Victoria Lennox has graciously offered Startup Canada’s social media clout to help spread the word. This is, after all, kind of my startup venture. I’ve always said the author’s journey, and the entrepreneur’s, are more alike than different.

In the meantime, you remain an essential player on this team. Please continue to spread the word and recruit any friends and family whom you think might also dig this story.

As always, your support is deeply appreciated. 

That’s all for now. Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo