Tony Valdez liked an update for The Catcher’s Trap


(Picture: Halloween night 2001)

Hello friends, family, and fellow authors

We are three months away from the release of The Catcher’s Trap and this humbling journey continues to fill me with joy.

Last week Out Traveler’s editor, Brian Van Gorder, had this to say about my book: “In his fast-paced and tense first novel, The Catcher’s Trap, Ricardo Henriquez introduces us to an entirely original, richly detailed universe filled with strong, well-developed characters trying to survive their nightmarish new world. Sure, there are plenty of horrible monsters lurking on every page, but it’s the glimmers of joy found in the despair, the humor poking through the inhumane, that may just be the book’s cruelest beasts.”

As I read his words, I couldn’t help to feel emotional and reflect on the past 15 years of my life. On October 2nd, 2001 I arrived in the U.S. like many other immigrants: full of dreams and hopes for a life of unlimited possibilities. During my first 2 years, I rented a small bedroom where everything that I owned fitted with room to spare. I worked as a waiter from noon until 1 A.M. 6 days a week while learning English by attending free adult education classes, reading children books and watching Will and Grace.

Those days were hard. Money was not enough to live comfortably and, as time passed, I started questioning the decision of leaving my country.

Fast-forward to August 2016. Thanks to the love and support of many, many people, today I’m writing to you, my readers; friends who either cared enough about me to pre-order a book that didn’t exist yet, or strangers who read a couple of chapters and thought they would take a chance on this weird fantasy/horror idea.

Mister Van Gorder’s words not only made me reflect on this journey and feel thankful for all of you. They also gave me much-needed fuel to continue working on The Catcher’s Trap sequel, Worlds Walker and continue pushing to make sure my book is a success.

So there are two things I will do in the coming months:


  1. I will start a campaign to get The Catcher’s Trap to sell 1000 copies before its release day (November 8th)
  2. I will finish writing Worlds Walker before the end of the year.


Both goals are bold. But I feel energized and ready for them.

If you are on this list and haven’t pre-order a copy of The Catcher’s Trap, please consider doing it.

If you are on this list and have not check yet Worlds Walker, check it out here and consider following the project.

 

Have a fantastic week.


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    Tony Valdez liked an update for To Live and Die in Avalon

    THIS IS IT EVERYONE!

    The last 7 DAYS OF MY CAMPAIGN!

    No more extensions left, it’s all or nothing!

    I would love to make Quill within the next seven days and I NEED your help! If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, please do so before time runs out! If you have already pre-ordered (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU), spread the word to everyone you know and maybe consider picking up another copy (if you can). 

    I have to tell you guys, throughout the revision process this book has blossomed far beyond my expectations into something I can really be proud to have my name on. Beyond the action, adventure and intrigue there are some themes about family, loss, friendship and defying expectations placed upon you because of your race, gender or background. I’ve seen my villain evolve beyond a two-dimensional, hand-wringing bad guy and my heroes struggle to find common ground with each other while they try and save humanity’s new home among the stars. 

    I’ve also learned a hell of a lot about being not just a competent writer, but also an adventurous storyteller and the support from my Inkshares comrades has been a constant inspiration. 

    PLEASE help me cross the finish line before the week is up! I promise you a book worth investing your time and money in and the eternal gratitude of this little, hopeful author. If anything, this entire experience has only further validated that this is what I was meant to do...tell stories. Regardless of the outcome, I will keep pressing forward and keep chasing the next story and the next and learn from every success and near-success (I prefer that term over "failure" don’t you?)

    THANK YOU everyone, truly from the bottom of my heart!

    Jason
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      Tony Valdez liked an update for The Life Engineered

      Hello everyone,

      I guess I should talk about this shouldn’t I? 

       

      There’s a minuscule little article on The Tracking Board that talks about me and my upcoming book; A God in the Shed. Go read it. It’s fun. I’ll wait. 

      You’re back? Awesome. So what do you think? Yeah, I was a bit overwhelmed. Still sort of am. I’m not exactly wired to take compliments or bask in the glory of good news on that scale. I’d love to pretend that it’s because I’m humble and level-headed but in truth I’m just terrified of disappointment and incapable of processing success. My own issues aside, I think it’s important to know a few things about this announcement. 

      What this isn’t: 

      • The rights to A God in the Shed haven’t been sold. 
      • You’re not going to see A God in the Shed on TV any time soon. 
      • I’m not rich and famous. 

      What this is: 

      • An important step in the right direction. 
      • A sign that the rights might one day sell, which still wouldn’t mean a series would get produced, let alone distributed, but again; step in the right direction. 
      • Nic Pizzolatto is now my new best friend and can come to all my birthday parties. 

      The great Mike Mongo (Astronaut Instruction Manual) once told me; "However long you think this process is going to take, double that." and the awesome Adam Gomolin also shared this nugget of wisdom; "It’s a no until it’s a yes." 

      So I’m going to try and take it easy. Keep the day job and continue chipping away at my other projects (check out Arch-Android, the sequel to The Life Engineered, along with Too Many Controllers). 

      Thanks again for the support everyone. Go read that article again and while you do that, keep telling yourself; ’I’m part of this.’ 

      Because you are. 

      JF    



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        Tony Valdez liked an update for It’s All Fun and Games

        OMG 3 days left!

        Hi everyone!  Quick Saturday night post before I go to bed.

        1) Comic Con was awesome.  Met some great people, ate some great food, saw some great costumes, didn’t blow the royalties bank on souvenirs.  If you’d like to read more about my experiences out there, check out my blog post.

        2) If you are local to Maine, you will be able to see a review of It’s All Fun and Games on "The 207" on Monday evening on your local NBC station (in Portland and Bangor).  I believe it airs in the 7pm slot in both cities.  I also had a great interview with John Holyoke at the BDN, so there should be a review/interview coming out in the next several days from them as well.

        3) All backers should have by now received your book(s).  If you haven’t gotten yours yet, please email hello@inkshares.com.  The lovely folks out in Oakland will be happy to get things sorted out for you.  If you’ve read it (and liked it), the best way to tell me is to head over to Amazon and leave a review.  It doesn’t have to be long, or coherent, or even in English.  Even people shopping at their Friendly Local Bookstore (which I absolutely encourage!) check Amazon ratings before buying, so please take a minute or two and leave me a review.  

        For what it’s worth, if you’ve read it (and didn’t like it) the best way to tell me is to never tell me.

        So that’s the news from here.  I’ll have more to say in a few days.  In the meanwhile, enjoy the rest of the weekend, and read a book!

        Thanks for all your support
        Dave
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          Tony Valdez liked an update for The Madness of Mr. Butler

          Just a quick update to let you all know that I am still working quite hard on Mr. Butler. I enrolled in Camp NaNoWriMo for July and set a goal of writing 70,000 words for the book in 31 days...and I did it in 30:

          All 70,024 (and counting!) words were written for Butler. Every day I’m working to make this the best damn book I can make it. 

          Just thought you, my wonderful investors, my support system, and most importantly, my friends, should know that I am giving this project every single spare moment I have. I’m still aiming for a September manuscript submission. I will keep you updated!

          Thanks for hanging in there!

          Love to all.

          -Michael.

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            Tony Valdez liked an update for Monkey Business

            Hey. What’s up? You’re looking good today.

            Monkey Business is up to 45 Amazon reviews, which is awesome! I have you fine folks to thank for that. Unless you haven’t left a review in which case I just happen to have this handy little link right here:

            Review Monkey Business now?

            Also you can buy the ebook everywhere for $0.99 right now so please invite, beg, threaten and cajole your friends and loved ones to buy a copy. 

            Thank you! Hugs and Kisses,

            -Landon


            P.S. Sorry no fancy graphic today #sadface

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              Tony Valdez liked an update for Squids In

              Hendrix is still doing his bit to raise awareness for SQUIDS IN. Not only did he hang out in Times Square at stupid o’clock in the morning the other day, he managed to get a few of his minions a free ride on some Porsche Carrera Cup racing cars.


              It’s becoming very apparent that Hendrix and I will not manage our target of 250 pre-orders alone. If you know anyone who has a rude sense of humor, please point them to the sample SQUIDS IN chapters. Thanks!

              Matthew 

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                Tony Valdez liked an update for The Seventh Age: Dawn

                                        I’m just going to open with the final cover for The Seventh Age:


                I want to thank all of you, the people who have supported me, in helping pick directions, refine options and taking the time to vote. 

                Ashley Marie Witter, the Illustrator, who crammed me into her intensely busy schedule of Squarriors. You can check out more of her artwork and rabid apocalyptic rodents by clicking HERE.

                Scott over at Cyantype Covers. They did a fantastic job making different options and helping pull everything together for the final version you see today. My finest metal (\m/ >;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;. salute goes to the work that they have done. 

                Lastly, to Emily, Avalon, and everyone at the joint Girl Friday / Inkshares production team for helping take the very nebulous concept of a cover into something this badass. 

                My sincerest thank you to everyone involved,


                ~Rick Heinz. 

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                  Tony Valdez liked an update for Are You Sure You Want to Quit?

                  Hello everyone!

                  Sorry for the long absence (I’ve been busy getting ready to move and all that) but I’m back with great news! First off, you may or may not have noticed that my project Are You Sure You Want to Quit?  is officially a member of the Quill collection (YAY!), which means you’ll all be getting a copy! If you haven’t yet, order a copy now (do it) :) I decided to end the campaign early and join Quill, which means the production phase will be commencing! I’ll be working my tail off till I finish that manuscript because I know some of you are dying to find out what happens next :) Once I know the timeline I’ll be sure to keep ya’ll updated on my progress.

                  Lastly, I want to individually thank specific people who’ve helped me along the way, especially during that intense Nerdist contest. I want to thank my fellow lady author friends Amanda Orneck, Elayna Mae Darcy, A.C. Weston, Kendra Namednil, Regina McMenomy, Jaye Milius, and C. Brennecke for being so kind to me as a newbie to the Inkshares community and encouraging me to keep fighting throughout the contest. I gained so much confidence as a lady author and was so glad to meet other women slaying as writers and/or gamers :D If you haven’t already go check out their projects (a few are SO close to reaching Quill) because they are badass! 

                  I also want to thank the Inkvengers for pulling behind me during the final days and Ferd Crotte for cheering me on and giving me words of encouragement that were enough to keep the juices flowing. Ferd has 8 days left on his campaign for Mission 51 so please help him reach Quill! You don’t want to miss out on a fantastic project. I want to give a huge thank you to Elena Stofle for being patient with me and answering a bajillion of my questions, and for purchasing multiple copies she is truly awesome! And of course, a HUGE thank you to Duncan Rafferty for accepting my project into the Thane Studios Collection, designing the cover, and believing in my project when I didn’t. At times when I was derailing, Duncan managed to keep my head straight and set me back on the correct path. 

                  Finally, I want to thank my wonderful immediate and extended family (especially my parents and sister), my friends, acquaintances, and lab family for all of their support. Without them, this project would not have been as successful and so for that I am grateful to have such a loving and supportive group. 

                  Sorry if I forgot anybody and for a particularly long update! If you need me I’m always an email or DM away! Have a great weekend all! And did I mention IT’S FRIDAY!!!! :D :D :D 

                  -Alisa
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                    Tony Valdez liked an update for Women Like Us

                    This will be quick!  You know when one of those dorks is on some awards show and forgets to thank a bunch of people?  Well, my bad here too. Yesterday I thanked a bunch of folks, and I was so focused on getting appreciation out for the actual production of the book, I forgot to mention a few very important people.  So pardon me, but I’m going to rectify this situation right now!  To Mom and Dad who are no longer here, the book is dedicated in your honor. Also to Sam, who has put up with a lot (Let’s move to Malibu! I’m taking up Surfing!! Get a Beagle, they said...Get two!!). Thanks to my big sister Jane Gallagher, my big brother John Pomerance, my stepmother Paula Diamond, who has always provided literary inspiration, all six of my nephews, Uncle Leo, all of my cousins, and all of their kids, Aunt Marlene, and to Sidney Sherman, a most extraordinary manager who has been there through thick and thin.  Okay, that’s it!  Now on with your day.

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