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. 

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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

Happy National Book Lovers Day! Today also marks the official launch date for Welcome to Deadland! Next week will be the year anniversary of entering the Nerdist Collection Contest, and today this book no longer belongs to just me, but to all of you and to all of the future readers who pick up a copy. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take Welcome to Deadland to the source of its inspiration, where the initial seeds of imagination were planted in my mind. 

I had the privilege of launching Welcome to Deadland at a Barnes & Noble in Orlando. The turnout was beyond what I could have expected. I didn’t get a picture of the entire crowd, but this was about fifteen minutes before we started and the seats were filling up fast. I read the prologue and answered a series of questions. One of my close friends filmed the entire event and will be editing together a video of the event as well. I was overwhelmed with support, friends and family drove down and flew in from all over the country. Each time I was surprised by the appearance of one person, someone else unexpected would show up and surprise me all over again. 

Another awesome moment of the day was a stop by the tattoo parlor where my mom received the first Welcome to Deadland tattoo, and had it done in my handwriting! 

Also: Welcome to Deadland Ferris wheel tattoos!

My dad and stepmom drove over from Tampa, and I had my siblings by my side. 

I can’t say thank you enough to everyone who showed up, to those of you that backed and preordered my book, the readers who ordered the book beyond the funding campaign, and to Inkshares and Nerdist for giving me the opportunity to put Welcome to Deadland out in the world. From the bottom of my heart, I give you all my sincerest gratitude. 

And remember, the infected aren’t the only thing you have to watch out for in theme parks. Dinosaurs are right around the corner, too!!

Hello my fellow Knightmares!

As I start off every update, I thank you for all the support! You are all the reason why this project is 44 pre-orders away from Quill publishing, and I can’t thank you enough.

With that said, we have 51 days to get those last 44 pre-orders.

So, this is that time to jump on this train if you’re still on the fence. This is the time to grab that additional copy for a friend, for your local library, for that special girl or boy in your life. I say, "give them the gift of KNIGHTMARES!" No, really, they’ll thank you.

And remember:

• Each order of a softcover book gets a FREE bookmark (design pending).
• Order 3 or more, and you’ll get a FREE poster version of the new cover art (almost done!)
• Buy a book and get 2 people to buy, and get a FREE t-shirt!

Want to see that t-shirt?

I recently did a guest blog post on the Apotheosis Blog, you can read that here. And while you’re at it, check out the blog owner’s book:

Rune of the Apprentice - by Jamison Stone - Filled with magic and mystery, Rune of the Apprentice is an action-packed novel of adventure, love, and self-discovery.

I ordered a copy, and you should too.

BOOKS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON:

This week launched a new contest here on Inkshares for fantasy writers, and the site is inundated with new authors. Digging through all the new content has been overwhelming, and there’s so much good stuff that’s getting buried under the chaos. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Big Bad Beautiful by Daniel Garvin - She is a monster enslaved, the Wolf.  He is her reluctant handler, the Red.  Together they are the protectors of their leader, their savior, their tyrant, Grandmother.  This is their pilgrimage.

The Living God by Kaytalin Platt - When Saran’s magic is stolen, she must confront a life without the ability to manipulate time, struggle to see a rebellion finished, and keep Keleir  from falling ever closer to becoming The Living God.

The Delicate Art of Soulripping by Sara Polk - When you die your soul doesn’t just leave your body. There’s a process: ripping, reaping, replacing.

The Hunter Saga by H.A. Paaso - A seer in ancient Greece has a dream of monsters wiping out humans. With the help of divinities and mythical beasts, will our heroes save the future of humanity? History, magic, legend, comedy and tragedy, all will be included in this epic adventure.

Crowdfunding is hard, and the ONLY time it’s fun is when things start falling into place and you see all your hard work paying off. So if you have a few extra Alexander Hamilton’s hanging around, throw one or two at one or two, or all four of these projects. These are people’s dreams you’re supporting. Support independent artists because these are the true gems of the world. These are the people with jobs, families, priorities and still manage to put 20-40 hours a week into their dream.