QUILL ACHIEVED, SPACE CREW. 

We hit 250 last night, which means this book is going to be published. Let’s take a moment to breathe. This was made possible by all of you (our relentless Crew), with the last Quill order going to our honourary Quill Captain, Micah Baker. 

If you want to pick up his intriguing book, which is a sinister sort of space opera, you can do that here.

So What Happens Now?

First, the good. 

• Once the campaign ends I’ll be working with the crew at Inkshares to talk deadlines and a publishing schedule. This is happening!
  
  
• I can now officially pledge funds to BuildOn, the literacy charity I’ve partnered with. They’ll be getting 25% of my profits. 
  
  
• Your prizes are guaranteed. All the prizes that don’t rely on numbers of pre-orders will be happening. 
  
  

And the reality: 

•  This is where we are right now. Yes, The Traveller’s Cup is getting published, but it’s not fully funded
  
  
• Fully-funded means that Inkshares will take care of a lot of the publishing "dirty work". Editing, marketing, distribution, etc. 

• Since they’ll take on those services it frees me up to give more time to producing a solid book, and leaves me with more funds to give to prizes, and to increase my BuildOn donation from 25% to 50. 

So while we hit a major milestone, you can’t expect the ship to stop here. 

If you’re a member of this Crew, I need you to make it your personal responsibility to help me boost this to 750. Tell a friend. Order a copy for your mom. You can make a huge difference. 

Your Cautiously Celebratory Space Captain,
-AC

I’m excited to announce that The Body of Chris was named a Finalist in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for TWO categories: "Religious Non-Fiction" and "Spirituality." The Indie Book Awards are open to independent authors and publishers, excluding major publishing houses. Some have referred to it as the "Sundance" of the book publishing world. Fun times!

Thank you all for making this possible. There’s no telling what could be in the future for this book. Over the last few months, I’ve realized how difficult it can be to market a book about mental illness and spiritual awakening. The mental health community has mixed feelings about the spiritual stuff, and the spiritual community has reservations about the mental illness stuff. They are two very different ideas for most, but I’m hoping this book might play some small role in bridging the gap. 

I recently read a review that my story was not quite inspirational, probably because it ends with a great deal of ambiguity. Truth is, I didn’t want to give too many answers or solutions, mostly because I’m still finding my own. But on a deeper level, the real antidote is being able to stay with the gray, to sit with the diversity of human experience. And so I hope readers are left with an open invitation of sorts. Suffering is the tinder that ignites the flames of transformation. Pain, or trauma, or heartbreak, or disillusionment, is what burns us up, revealing our true nature beyond form and conception. We all have our own trials. No two are the same. Each holds the promise of transformation. May you know yours.