Zombies, Knights, Witches, Cantankerous Bards, Vengeful Daughters and Over-Protective Dads…  put all this together and you get Fantasy Books HQ’s Best Fantasy Book for August 2016!!!

Also, a quick update for our backers, for those of you who haven’t received the paperback version yet, they should now be on their way (thanks, Inkshares!) and kindle/electronic versions should be available for download shortly – and Southern California friends, don’t forget our book launch/signing this Saturday, August 13th, at Barnes and Noble in Chino Hills, from 2 pm - 4 pm!

Hey Campers,

I just posted Chapter 8, which features even more of my favorite character, Corin. I also added a quick guide to the main page so that you can easily navigate through the chapters.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/sunshine-is-forever

There are 290 people following the book, but only 234 preorders. I would love it if the 56 of you, who haven’t preordered Sunshine is Forever, would take the leap of faith today.

Remember: At 250 preorders, the book is guaranteed a publishing deal, and at 750 preorders, the book is guaranteed to be in bookstores nationally. Right now we are on track to make 750 preorders! With your help, THIS WILL HAPPEN! 

Keep spreading the word, and convince a friend to preorder the book today!

Thank you so much for your support!

Kyle T. Cowan

Quill Achieved....

Dear Friends,

Today we crossed the Quill Goal threshold at 3:00PM PDT with our 250th order of I Am Waltz being ordered. 

so..... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, TIME 1 MILLION MORE "THANK YOUS"....

With this the book will be published both in digital and print form. A very special thanks to each and everyone of you who pre-ordered, talked with friends and family and were supportive of the journey thus far. 

We are still going strong and are at 255 orders now. We COULD still reach 750 orders in before September the 5th. That is the ultimate goal. 750 orders will mean full publication in book stores nationally. So we have won today and accomplished a ton but more can still be done.

If you’ve not ordered yet, please do. If you have, thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate each and every one of you so much. 

I am now pouring into one last draft of the book to ensure the arc and structure are exactly as I want before I send the manuscript off to be edited. 

aa

Another exciting announcement: The Write Out Loud Syndicate has selected the book to be their August book of the month. I am excited and honored by their selection. The book focuses on being discriminated and outcasted by society. These themes I believe fit the mold of what so many members of the LGBTQ community endure throughout their lives.

Keep up all the good work and thank you all for your continued support. I wont let you down with this first book. 

-Matt

Time for my first real update of this campaign/contest.  First off the progress report.  Preorders have been going well, but unfortunately not well enough to prevent Magus from slipping out of the top 10 today.  There are still a lot of you following the project who haven’t ordered yet, so even if only even a few of you were to hit that order button we could get back into the top 10 easily enough.  Now on to other news.

Now on to the art.  Magus has an episodic structure, due to my original vision of it as serialized short stories following Pentaz as he struggles to make a life for himself.  My dream has always been for each of the 13 parts to have its own title page featuring full page art to either capture a scene, character, or idea from that part.  The cover which Magus has been sporting for the past several months is one of my favorite scenes from part 4 (Llanchland) where Buscidia prepares to defend Pentaz from an inscrutable enemy made of cogs(aside from its hair and beard of cables).  I’ve always thought of it as "Buscidia vs. the Cog Monster", and the scene was captured perfectly by the incredibly talented Lizzy Perez. 

As much as I love that as a cover, I always knew that it wouldn’t remain there.  For the outer cover I’ve long wanted something which encompassed the entire story more fully, and a few months back I finally decided just what that would be.  The Caldus family plays a large role in Pentaz’ life, being at the center of the two of the three events which occur in Magus to shape him.  So it’s only appropriate that their family crest would serve as the symbol for the entirety of Exile, Magus.  I’ve been sitting on the reveal of that family crest for a couple of months now.  The art below was done by Rachel Donne(you can check out more of her work by clicking on her name), and her interpretation of the crest I described was even better than I imagined. 

This is story, and while it is short, it holds a lot of truth.

It is the origin of the Ice Cream Harem.

Long ago, when I had more hair, I ran anime conventions. It was my entire life. There was no such thing as a 40 hour week, or an 8 hour shift. It was a job that required every waking moment, and it drove me mad. It wasn’t the stress, or the work, but the sense that there was no escape. No refuge. No quarter.

Late one night, when the world came closing in, I did what any queer kid would; when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. So off I went with my band of miscreant housemates to the only pace open at 3:30 in the morning. My ass flailed and twirled through the grocery store aisles, frolicking the produce section and slinging insults at the meat cases.

It was somewhere between the lonely frozen dinners and the dairy penal colony that an idea formed. A single thought, glorious in its prospect, came into my mind. I screamed at the large man with a beard who lived in my attic to get me a cart. Wrapping my arms around one of my best friends, I whispered, "do you see it? Do you see what I see?"

"Yea," she said, shuffling her feet from the obvious nature of her lie.

When the cart returned, I piled it in. 25 pints of ice cream were liberated from the store that night. 25 pints of ice cream survived the 7 minute car ride home. Popping their tops, I lined them on the counter, 5 x 5, and pulled out a specific spoon. A special spoon born of one purpose. A spoon made to murder ice cream.

 

Well, I told you my hair was longer. That was the night the Ice Cream Harem was born, and I learned I could fit 25 pints of it in my freezer. It wouldn’t be for a few more years until I understood its power, or how important it was to my well being. This is just an origin story. One that has been waiting to be told.

And I so murdered all that ice cream. It was worth it.

Hello Cape’s Side Bayers!

When I first started writing Cape’s Side Bay it was called The Woods or something like that, and it was a screenplay. I realized that I would never be able to raise a budget for such a film, and so I reworked it as a novel and gave it the title: Cape’s Side Bay.

I had no idea what I would do with it once it was written. I had never written a novel before. Then I was on twitter one day and saw something about a book called Abomination by Gary Whitta. I was intrigued, and so I looked for the book on Amazon, but it wasn’t there. I googled it and it took me to this site called Inkshares. I signed up, bought the book, then over the next couple of months got to know the site better and ordered some books I otherwise never would have found.

I decided in July 2015 that Inkshares would be the perfect place to publish Cape’s Side Bay.  Over the next six months I stayed onboard, writing and rewriting the manuscript, and watching other campaigns unfold on the site. What books succeeded, which didn’t (I was guilty of being gun shy on more than a few books, regrettably).  

I’m glad I dove into this wonderful world of Inkshares. I’ve come across some fantastic books, and better people. I look forward to sticking around long after my books campaign has come and gone, and the book is published (fingers crossed full-publishing).

26 days remain in this campaign. As I said before, I am exhausted, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!

I want to just send a couple notes to a few of my fellow authors on this site who have been extremely supportive and have some books you NEED to check out!

The Knightmares, by  G. A. Finocchiaro. I absolutely love this book, and think you will as well!  52 days left and almost at Quill! You don’t have to take my word for it, check out his guest post at Apotheosis Studios:  http://apotheosisstudios.com/blog/2016/8/5/the-knightmares-guest-post-by-inkshares-author-hopeful-g-a-finocchiaro

Squids In, by Matthew Poat. Yes, it’s a ridiculous premise. Yes, it’s awesome! Check this one out, and don’t be afraid of it! Squids don’t bite (not that I know of) and this one is well worth your time! 31 days left to order! Don’t wait!

SideScroller, by Andrew Fantasia. I’ve known Andrew for around 10 years, so maybe I’m a bit biased, but I’m not. This is another Video Game book, and its a doozy. Andrew’s an exceptionally talented writer, I’ve read a bunch of his other work, and he will always have my support. He has 21 days left with over 100 orders needed to hit Quill!

That’s all for me. Enjoy your day and take care!

James

https://www.inkshares.com/books/cape-s-side-bay