Hello Friends

My childhood is filled with sweet memories of a big and loving family, but also terrifying episodes of bullying. I grew up knowing I was different, and other children noticed it and tortured me because of it.

While I started re-imagining myself, I also met the most amazing man, and I convinced him to marry me.

Yay, the very first piece of artwork for SQUIDS IN has just been completed. It depicts the very first scene in the book where Toby dives into the pool and first encounters Hendrix the octopus. I hope you love it as much as I do...

This artwork was done by "Eugene Karasz" over at "DeviantArt" and he will be doing some more illustrations for SQUIDS IN that you will see in the coming weeks.

If you would like to see more of Eugene’s work, head on over to his DeviantArt page - http://www.deviantart.com/browse/all/?section=&global=1&q=karasz

Hopefully this extra content will convince a few more of you to pre-order the book!!!

Matthew

Hey, everybody. Surely you’ve heard, by now, that Disintegration will be published. Some of you have asked me directly: when?

Hey Everyone,

Pixilated Obsidian Roses has been selected for the new Library of Alexandria collection. I’m thankful for the invite. We hope that with our combined efforts we can get the book to at least a Quill status (with all your support, of course). Here a part of what has been said by the collection lead:

"This is one of those rare books that speaks to the reader. The imagery R.F. Martin uses is poignant and provocative. The way he has created this creeping sense of dread throughout the chapters that are up is pervading. He has obviously spent the time to create a detailed and well thought out world for the characters, inventing back stories, interspersing memorabilia from their lives in a way that makes you forget it’s fiction. Chernosoren hovers around the edges of the main characters like those dark shadows that H.P. Lovecraft made famous - the feeling of some unknown sinister motive is present, but not overwhelming, preferring to sneak into you and wait for the moment to reveal itself. If the writing is any indication, the reveal won’t be some explosion of action or flurry of plot points, it will be insidious."

We also put up some new cover art.

Thanks to all of you who have supported the project.

Rob

Some good news for me, and a big up for Inkshares. 

Here’s the thing; I missed my funding goal, didn’t even make Quill. Because I am impatient, and because the book itself was already finished, I just couldn’t wait to try another route to crowdfund my novel. 

So, I went to Kickstarter, and I did reach my funding goal. The book itself is being printed now and backers will be getting their copies before the end of June. Digital launch is set for 1st July on all platforms, advance orders available now. Paperbacks should be on Amazon around the same date. 

So does that mean I turn my back on Inkshares? Well no. 
Obviously I haven’t been as active on here as when I was funding, but part of the reason for that is the massive amount of work involved in self publishing. 

While I was funding, I read some comments on a Kindle forum criticising the Inkshares model, saying it wasn’t good value. An INkshares spokesperson pointed out that self publishers spend on average $2,000 (or thereabouts) getting their book to market. 
Another person said it was nothing like that. 

Well I raised £1,666 (£1,800 before deductions) on Kickstarter, and I have spent it all and then some.

I set up a publishing imprint "Blue Poppy Publishing", I had an artist paint a picture for the cover £450, I spent £350 on ISBNs, £360 on editing (it only had one editor), £300 on cover and other design work, £900 on printing, and a bunch of other sundry stuff.

I have had to format the interior file and convert it to PDF, which included learning more about Word sections, embedding fonts, and all sorts of painful stuff like that than I ever expected to do. I had to liaise between the printer and the designer over the exact specs for the two different cover templates, and check silly details like which way round the title goes on the spine. 

I also had to find out how to convert the file into a digital type layout with internal links and approved fonts, then get it converted into .mobi .pdf .txt .rtf .epub dot dot dot you get the idea? 
Also had to upload a special version to Createspace because otherwise I will have to jump through hoops and pay through the nose to get the paperback available on Amazon. 

So while I may be a lot more experienced at producing a book now than I was six months ago, I would still drop it all and leave the hard work to experts if I could. The difficulty for me, living in the UK is the cost of postage for physical books to the vast majority of my friends. Other than that, I think Inkshares is a brilliant idea, and I hope it goes from strength to strength. Well done for making so many authors dreams come true. 

Hey everyone, I have exciting news!

Firstly, an update for Storm of Fury. The rewrite process is slowly moving forward. I’ve ran into several issues, but as this is my first attempt at a second draft/deep revisions, the majority of them stem from lack of experience. However, I’m learning as I go, and while I’m not confident that Storm of Fury will be published by the end of the year, I can promise you that it won’t be long after.

Now, onto the exciting news; I have a new book project on Inkshares!

Entitled the Ballad of Zion Stone, this is an adventure novel set in 1850’s Colorado. My father is the co-creator of this book, and the main theme was his idea. We’re working together on the first draft, and let me tell you, it is exciting! 

The book tells the story of Sheriff Zion Stone and his encounter with the dreaded Desert Pirates. But, there’s something about Zion Stone that the pirates may not realize until it is far too late.

I won’t tell you what the twist is, check it out here! (Read to the end of the prologue to discover Zion Stone’s secret!)

At this point in time, we are not selling pre-orders. But please, if you like what you’re seeing, follow the page and recommend the book. And if you’re feeling especially generous, comment on prologue or right a review! Start spreading the word so that when we begin the campaign, we can really push the Ballad of Zion Stone towards the full Inkshares publising!

Stay tuned for more information!

-Andrew

Time to report in to my Pokemon Trainers, Veronica and Tom - have I lived up or sorely disappointed?!