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?!

Awesome news Destiny –followers,

The ‘For the Love of Fiction Syndicate’ has selected Destiny Imperfect as their book of the month! This is fantastic news and I’d like to say thanks so much to the Syndicate for choosing this book.  If you’re an Inkshares regular, then joining a syndicate like this one is a great way to meet new people and help authors get published. They really do make a difference. Follow the link above and see if it’s a syndicate you can get into!

The other good news is that Destiny Imperfect has broken through the 50 pre-order mark and is currently sitting second in the Inkshares/Nerdist contest. You guys rock! More than 50 pre-orders in a little over a week is sensational. But I still need all the help I can get as there are a bunch of excellent books right behind. If you are following Destiny Imperfect, I’d love it if you could pre-order and keep us ahead of the pack. It’d also be great if you could share the love and recommend it to friends and family.

Thanks again to the ‘For the Love of Fiction Syndicate’ and have a great day!

Cheers,

Peter

Hail, mighty warriors!

My brother sent me this and I think it’s a beautiful way to describe my book.  It’s almost exactly what I’m going for, only more roman than medieval, but also medieval,but really just a big mishmash of history with magic and volcanoes and at some point some spoilers will happen and it’ll be wonderful, heartbreaking and beautiful and you’ll love it.  That’s the plan.  If you’re in one of those states that needs to vote today, please get out there and do it.  You’re great!  The power is yours!

Earth, Sea, Empire,

-NDF

I know you’re busy. Trust me; I understand. So I won’t take long.

You’ve all been aggressively supportive of me and my work. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better group of readers. So take it from me when I say you’re going to want to take a look at this.

Too Many Controllers is an anthology I’m participating in with 14 other proven Inkshares authors. It’s going to be a fascinating book that brings together the varied imagination of authors so different but all gathered under the umbrella of a similar theme; video games.

"But J.F." you say, out loud, while reading this, which is weird. Seriously, keep it down. People are watching. "But J.F., I don’t care about video games."

Listen; I’ve read the outlines and synopsis of the stories going into this. Sure, there’s some that touch video game culture directly, but others that use the theme as a through line and backbone to tell a story in the genre of the author behind it. That’s the beauty of anthologies; while there is a nice bow that ties everything together, what’s inside the package is a collection, a sampler pack of different writers. You’re going to want to read this. So click on the links. Pre-order your copy. Trust me, having no less than fifteen authors feel like they owe you something? That’s worth the price of admission.

 Also, very important; review The Life Engineered on Amazon and don’t forget to follow Arch-Android.

As always; I owe you everything. Don’t abuse that power too much, but y’know; thanks.

JF

Dammit... I said I wouldn’t take long. Sorry?

Yesterday was a great day for Pre-Orders. "Squids In" held 3rd place for a good few hours before the wonderful "In Beta" by Prescott Harvey surged back up the leaderboard while the octopus and I slept. In an effort to win back 3rd place, I asked the octopus to jump on my laptop and hit the social networks to drum up support. I came back to find him doing this...

There is a special circle in hell reserved for Dust2 campers!!!

If you have not already pre-ordered "Squids In", I would really appreciate it if you could. Finishing 3rd is the only way I’m going to get the octopus out of here!

P.S. I have been speaking with some guys over on DeviantArt about drawing a couple of the scenes from my first chapter and what they have been coming back with has been amazeballs so far. "Squids In" is unlikely to morph into a graphic novel but a few drawings here and there won’t hurt. I will share them as and when they are completed.

Matthew