Ooh! I should make an update! That should happen!

A lot of you already know this, but in my excitement, I neglected to make an official update about it, so here I am, finally doing that.

WE MADE IT!

Proteus is now completely funded! We reached our goal of 750 pre-orders, and the whole project has shifted into production mode. I’ve already been congratulated by Inkshares staff, and they’ve sent me some of the paperwork I’ll need to do in order to launch the book into the production process. It’s really happening!

So what happens next, in terms of Proteus? Well, as any of you who have ordered Tantalus Depths are already painfully aware, the production process takes a very long time. Also, since Tantalus Depths was my first project and people have been waiting the longest for it, it is still going to take most of my attention from now until it launches, so Proteus is something I will have to be working on in the background as I prioritize Tantalus Depths.

My plan is to get Proteus into the editing process shortly before Tantalus Depths is released. The whole intent behind launching my Proteus campaign when I did was to ensure that my second published novel came out no more than a year or two after my first, and my goal is to try and release new books on a yearly or bi-yearly schedule, consistently. Inkshares has finally given me a tentative release date of winter 2019 for Tantalus Depths. It’s much later than I thought it would be, but the delay is necessary to accommodate some new ideas that Inkshares’ CEO has in mind for it. It should be a particularly strong release next year, and Inkshares is showing a lot of confidence in it, so the delay will be worth it.

In the meantime, I’m not going to be idle. I have a surprise project I’m working on that should come out later this fall, to tide everyone over as we wait for Tantalus Depths. I also plan on building myself a proper website, which I’ll be loading with all manner of content related to the universe I’ve created, the art of writing, and the community we’ve formed. Now that the burden of campaigning is over, hopefully for good, I finally feel free to devote more of my time and energy into the parts of this process I actually enjoy: the writing, the creativity, and sharing my work to the world.

For now, I’m taking a week off, ‘cause by golly, I’ve earned it. But after that, work starts anew. We’re going to do great things together.

Greetings, Faoii.

Originally, I gave this campaign a year to fund. I figured our veterans from the first campaign would lead the charge and new soldiers would answer the call as word spread. I thought a second war would be easier, even if we did need three times as many blades to win. 

However, my warriors, we’re about halfway through the campaign, and only 13% of the way to our goal of making Faoii Betrayer real. It would be easy to say that it’s not going to happen. That the world or the writing or the army isn’t strong enough to pull this into being. That we’re going to fail.

But we still have 136 days.

136 days to find enough people to force this book into reality. You made it happen with The Last Faoii. And you kept battling after the initial war was won. You’ve read that book. You’ve reviewed it. You’ve rated it. You’ve asked your local library to get it in if you can’t afford your own copy. You’ve listened to the audiobook if you don’t have enough time to read. You’ve shared it on your social media pages pages. You’ve spread the word. You’ve shown the world that the first book was worthy and that the second book is worth it, too.

Right?

Because when I dubbed you Faoii, I did not give the title lightly. You’re a warrior now. You’re part of our army. And no one gets to rest until all the blades have been lifted.

There are many types of warriors. If you’re strong enough to pick up 10 swords (which is the maximum allowed by Inkshares) then do that. I’ve never had a champion of that magnitude before, but I know there are people out there who are capable of it, if we can only reach them. If you’re only able to lift one blade, then raise it high. If you’re only able to share the news on your social media pages, then shout your battle cry at the top of your lungs. I’m not asking you to mow down a thousand enemies on your own, my warrior. But I am telling you to fight for this. 

This dream might be mine, Faoii. But it depends on you. It will take an army to win this war. To make our cry heard over the millions of other authors out their scrabbling with toothpicks and cautious nips in a world that requires swords and shields. That require Faoii. And we’re the only army in the world that can boast that claim. This hill should be ours. It will be ours.

Keep those shields up.

Faoii-Tahani