Dear Readers,

 

Dear Readers,

Since my campaign for Fae Child ended, SUCCESSFULLY, I’ve been a little quiet. Part of this is the fact that my family got a cold and then I got it (and still have it) and part has been just hunkering down to type out the last bit of the book. I have it all in my head, I merely need to transcribe it. I have also nailed down the last bits of my character motivations that were bugging me, which has led me to the realization that this could be a trilogy of books. But, of course, first things first.

I have secured an editor to help me polish the manuscript! I am very excited about this, and eager to see how much better the book can become with some professional notes.

Inkshares has also made the decision that they are discontinuing the practice of offering signed books. They fulfilled this in the past by mailing all the books to the author, and then shipping them back to Inkshares HQ for fulfillment. This cost Inkshares a lot of money (not necessarily covered by preorder dollars), and I can understand why they are stopping, but that doesn’t make it any easier for me, or for backers who purchased ’signed paperbacks.’ Unfortunately this means that once Fae Child is in physical form, I will not be sent the books to sign, and when you receive your copies they will not be signed. I am very sorry that this is the case, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.

Of course for backers local to me (Pacific NW) I will certainly sign any book I am within arms length of (even if they’re not mine!), and will probably be having a signing party after the book has been published. I am looking into bookplates, which are stickers with my signature that can be fixed into the book, but of course, first things first.

Thank you all for your continuing support,
Jane-Holly

p.s. You probably have noticed that the Cover has undergone several transformations. It is certainly closer to it’s ’final form’ but it may change again!

Hello everybody,

I hope everyone’s spring is going well, just wanted to take some time and provide an update on The Battle Within and a few other topics.

Timeline

The novel is proofread, final cover blurbs have been submitted, and the book is now in the stages of finalizing the cover, so very much on track. Media engagement has begun, with pitches of articles to various outlets, and this will become more intense as we draw nearer to the publication date. Some specific dates to mark in the calendar:

24 June 17:  Book Launch Party. This will be from 2:00 – 4:00 pm at Perfect Books, a wonderful independent bookstore located at 258 Elgin Street, Ottawa. It’s located in downtown Ottawa, close to many other sites and attractions, and it would be great to see as many people there as can make it. Check them out at www.perfectbooks.ca.

27 Jun 17: The publication date.

Developments

Very excited to say that The Battle Within is now available for pre-order at a number of sites:

Chapters / Indigo: http://bit.ly/2nBw2We

Amazon.ca: http://amzn.to/2ozYKEm

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/2mR1nWa

Chapters / Indigo has also pre-ordered a number of books, so I can’t wait to see The Battle Within in the wild. Maybe we’ll run an Instagram contest, #TBWInTheWild!

Lastly, The Battle Within is up on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ni6SbG

With The Battle Within being up on all these sites, a very easy way to help promote the book is to add it to your wish list or ‘to-read’ list for each respective site; more clicks helps draw more attention.

In other news, The Battle Within has received several endorsements and I’m very grateful to the early reviewers who took the time to read the book, and of course to those who provided a blurb. I won’t include the full texts here, but if you’d like to read the blurbs, please head to the link on my webpage at: http://alastairluft.com/books/

New Projects

Progress continues on my second novel, Jihadi Bride. I finished the second draft in January and since then have received some very valuable input from beta readers, so I’m very excited to improve this story even more.

I’m also happy to announce that I was accepted into the Creative Writing – Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry program at Humber College. This is a distance studio program that will see me partnering with a member of Humber College’s faculty for one-on-one writing mentorship on a manuscript. Needless to say, it’s a great opportunity for me to improve as a writer and I can’t wait.

That’s it for now, I look forward to sharing more updates as the launch date gets nearer.

All the best and my continued thanks for your support.

Alastair Luft

Hello everybody!

Apologies for the radio silence.  I owe you all an update on KILL CREEK, so...here it is!  The editing process is going well and I couldn’t be happier with the experience.  The Inkshares team has been insanely encouraging but also willing to push me to make this book as strong as it can be.  Their notes are smart and specific and always in the interest of making my story better.  I love the changes and feel you’re going to end up with a very cool, very scary, very satisfying horror novel, a book I hope you’ll enjoy and feel confident recommending to others.

Which brings me to my next bit of news: KILL CREEK will be published in October of this year!  That means paperbacks and/or ebooks will be shipped to those who pre-ordered during my fundraising campaign (a million thanks to you).  And my book will be available to the entire world via on-line booksellers and actual holy-crap-they-still-exist bookstores like Barnes & Noble.  Inkshares is backing this baby 100%, and I’m very excited to be a part of the team.

I also wanted to share the new cover art with you.  I think it perfectly captures the creepy, elevated haunted house story I’ve written.

Thank you SO MUCH for your support and your patience during this process.  October will be here before we know it!

Best,

Scott Thomas

March is winding up and significant work is progressing on Human Resources. During the past month, my developmental editor was assigned and read the manuscript. Since then, we’ve been working furiously on the planned edits to whip the book into shape. Matt, my editor, is brilliant. He’s been deconstructing the manuscript with insightful observations, making great suggestions, and generally keeping me working hard. With his support, a new outline for the novel is emerging, that trims away unnecessary distractions, crystallises the themes, and adds extra punch to the plot. The unfortunate outcome of this effort is more work, but I’m excited by the improvements. Human Resources will be dramatically improved by the time it reaches your hands. On a related note: feel free to send me all your caffeine, I’m going to need it :).

If you haven’t already done so, it would be great for everyone to follow my various online accounts — it feeds my ego, staving off the crushing self-doubt of a writer!

• Follow my Facebook page.
  
• Follow me on Goodreads.
  
• Follow me on Amazon.
  
• Sign up to my newsletter (covers more than these HR updates).
  

Finally, I wanted to point your attention towards two particular projects on Inkshares:

Sorcery for Beginners

A 13-year-old boy finds an easy-to-read, how-to manual for magic. Now he just has to prevent everyone else from stealing it.

Sorcery for Beginners is in production and written by my talented editor. It’s a fun premise and is going to be a great read.

Rule Britannia 

A female airship Captain and her crew work to prevent a despotic Queen Victoria expanding her empire.

This new project is by a fellow Tasmanian and now funding. There isn’t enough steampunk in my life, and Rule Britannia will fill that void in an epic manner. The excerpts have me bouncing up and down for more.   

Hey everyone! I have news! Important News!

Every year, debut books and new books that JUST came out are eligible for awards! One of them, is easy to vote for, and has a huge impact!

If you think that the Seventh Age: Dawn is your favorite Apocalyptic Novel of the year, let the Dragon people know! There are a ton of categories so you can nominate your favorite stuff all over the spectrum. 

Click Here - to nominate things. You can fill out the entire thing, or only one, and even come back later and add stuff. It’s free. There are a ton of great writers and books to nominate, and it’s one of the bigger Sci-Fi Fantasy awards so even a nomination really matters!

Thank you so much for your time!

Hello loyal Derric followers! Arrrooooooo, as the beagles would say! I know, I know...you’ve probably been wondering what’s up with the book, because things have been a bit quiet, and with beagles that’s always suspect...they’re usually getting into some sort of trouble.

Well, the truth is it’s me -- dad’s -- bad. I launched this campaign in the middle of finishing up a second novel -- a follow up to WOMEN LIKE US -- and it took way more of my time and attention than I figured it would to get it ready to get it shopped around. (Side note: if you don’t have a copy of WOMEN LIKE US, why not order one?  10% of all royalties still go the Beagle Freedom). Anyway, now that the bulk of work on the second novel is out of the way, I can focus back on helping Derric get his story out. To that end, the kind folks at Inkshares have extended the campaign for the book, which gives me and the beagle more time to work. 

So...couple of things to announce soon -- first and foremost news on a chapter that will be about The Beagle Freedom Project itself, so thank you everybody for your kind patience and please stay tuned for more!! 

Love, Derric (and, of course, me Jason!) 

Hey everyone! It’s been a moment hasn’t it!? Well... I’ve got my Emerald City Comic Con brief notes ready to go!

We hit Seattle and got to the Comic Con!

Then Zac and I set up shop!

There was a significant amount of food and drinks in between with Andy Ainsworth (These Old Bones) and then our Seattle family went and explored neat stuff. 

The con was a success! Not only did we have a fantastic time, we also sold out. 

So, now I get ready for the next set of conventions: COD Con (In April) and ACEN (In May). If you are reading this and in Chicagoland area for these cons, let me know. 

As always, we are still questing for reviews on Amazon (Click Here) and Goodreads (Click Here) and Audible (Click Here). Please please please leave a review after you finish. It’s how little books get wings and go off to be bigger books. 

Finally. I took an online personality quiz and found out I’m a metal bender.

 

Hell fucking yes. 

Hi Readers!