I have some great new for those of you who supported Mission 51 during the Inkshares/Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest of 2017. It’s been a long time coming, but HERE IT COMES! A link to download your ebook will be arriving to your email this Friday, Feb 4! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to reach this moment.

Many of you also purchased physical books in 2017, and they will be mailed closer to the official publication day of Feb 15, which is less than 2 weeks away. As promised, I signed those books, and they are at the Inkshares fulfillment center as we speak, ready to be mailed to you at the right time. I will be forever grateful for your support during the contest. That is what made this book possible.

As a 3rd and final reminder, if you have moved or changed your email address since 2017, please update your profile on the Inkshares site, so they know where to send your book and/or download link. If you have any trouble at all, they are glad to help you at hello@inkshares.com.

Thanks again for joining me in this wild ride!

Ferd

Hello! We’re a month in -- Death as a Living was published just over a month ago, and we’re selling! Thanks to all of you for your support of our project, particularly those of you who bought early knowing there was a wait. That’s showing faith in us, and we deeply appreciate it.

That being said, because the book is moving faster than we expected, the publisher has told us this has led to some further delays in shipping the book to some of you who pre-ordered. Here’s what the publisher’s representative has told us:

"The Ingram warehouse is signaling to us that they’re almost out of stock, and it seems that the copies allotted to ship to Inkshares pre-orders were dipped into for shipping to retailers. This means a few people have not received their copy yet. We’ve heard from several and are setting up re-orders for them. We’re working to get more copies in stock as soon as possible, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. As soon as those are available, we’ll ship copies to those who’ve contacted us about not receiving their book."

If you’re still haven’t gotten your book, feel free to email us at death.as.a.living@gmail.com and we’ll let the publisher know. 

Thanks again for your continued support.

Doyle and Lou

Welcome to the morning after the snowiest winter blast that we’ve seen in six years in my neck of the woods. I have some exciting news today – the release of the first ever podcast episode where I am featured as the guest author!

It still feels strange to say that out loud – “guest author” – but here we are. 

I had a great time recording an epic fantasy episode of writingbloc.com’s Indie Writer Podcast with hosts Jacqui Castle and Cari Dubiel. 

You can access the podcast episode here.

Thank you again to Jacqui and Cari for having me! We talked about what makes epic fantasy epic, getting started as a writer of this weird stuff, my creative process, and some of the interesting aspects of world-building found in Bane of All Things.

Covered in local magazine

I was also humbled to earn some great coverage earlier this month from theHumm – my local arts and culture magazine. Thank you very much to editor Kris Riendeau and writer John Pigeau for making it happen.

You can read the full article at theHumm Online.

Giveaway on Goodreads.com

My publisher Inkshares also ran a Giveaway on Goodreads.com over the past few weeks. Up for grabs were 25 copies of the trade paperback edition of BoAT. Publishers run these Giveways in the hope attracting more readers (and buyers) who then will post reviews to drive that word-of-mouth buzz that is so vital to the success of any new novel.

I can’t say how successful this Giveaway will be in that regard, but I can tell you that by the time it ended last night, 3,815 people had entered to win one of those free copies! Here is hoping that a few of those folks who did not win a copy are now inclined to purchase one.

Reviews: Your opinion matters sooo very much

As I have noted before, reviews on the big sites Amazon and Goodreads are also crucial to drive that word-of-mouth buzz and help BoAT stand out in a crowded field. 

When you have had a chance to read BoAT, please post a rating/review online. Don’t fear to give your honest opinion – I can take it. No author can expect to please everyone all the time. What matters is having a sufficient volume of ratings/reviews for BoAT to attract attention.

That’s all for now. I hope you are finding BoAT to have been worth the wait. You can reach out to me at any time with your comments. Soon it will be time to talk about what’s up with the next book in the series, The Crucible Tree.

Stay safe and keep reading!

P.S.: If you have still not received your pre-ordered copy or copies of BoAT, please contact hello@inkshares.com. And don’t hesitate to contact me if you need to confirm what you actually pre-ordered those many moons ago in terms of ebook vs. print and number of copies. 

Hello All,

Six months have passed since the publication of The Bird’s Road. It’s a little odd having no writing or editing to do but I am content that it’s over. 

I had an opportunity to add pictures to the memoir but that seemed to add a level of complication I didn’t want to be displeased with, so I declined. I have created an Instagram @thebirdsroad for those of you that might be interested.  I’m adding photos in chronological order. 

To those of you that have posted reviews here, on Goodreads, and Amazon, I appreciate it.

Thanks for your support,

Sharek

Hello everyone!

I have not reached out through this platform in a long time, but the publication of Mission 51 is imminent, and I wanted to mention a few things.

First of all, my heartfelt gratitude goes to everyone who purchased a pre-order, especially those who did so during the Inkshares/Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest of 2017. Those pre-orders kept Mission 51 in the top 3 of all contestants and garnered a full publishing contract. Since that time, Mission 51 has been in production, progressively improving the story. It is now fully polished and ready for publication.

The publication date is February 15, 2022.

I am signing the pre-ordered books as we speak.

IMPORTANT:

For those who pre-ordered here on Inkshares, like everyone did during the contest, it’s time to update your address. If you moved since that contest in the summer of 2017, you need to update your address with Inkshares so the book will find its way to you.

If you have not yet placed an order but wish to do so now, it remains available for purchase here on Inkshaers, and is also available on Amazon, B&N, Target…

Thanks again, everyone, for your support and your patience, and I do so hope you enjoy Mission 51!

Ferd Crôtte

Today is the day! Bane of All Things has at last left the nest!

It’s a rather surreal feeling, to say the least, considering this tale first began as a short story idea some 22 years ago. I have of course worked on other, unrelated stories during that time, which may eventually see the light of day. BoAT itself went through two full reboots to become the novel it is today, comparable to how the Planet of the Apes film franchise has been reinvented.

But here we are. Don’t forget tonight’s launch event at 7 pm EST – here again is the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3nZuswz 

If you have any issues or questions with receiving your pre-ordered copies of BoAT from Inkshares, please contact hello@inkshares.com

Help spread the word!

Word of mouth is vital to an author’s success. Any promotion today and in the coming days through your social media channels would be greatly appreciated. Reviews posted to Amazon and Goodreads are also critical to help a new novel stand out and get noticed.

Thank you again for your support and your patience. This day could not have come without you. I am eternally grateful.

Stay safe and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo

Good day! Here we are—less than three weeks from Bane of All Things’ release on Dec. 7.

It’s been a heck of a ride to get here. The pandemic delayed BoAT’s publication date by about eight months, while my ongoing contest with cancer has added fresh twists since August.

Despite all these speed bumps, it’s onward and upward!

None of it would have been possible without your patience and support. Thank you again for going on this adventure with me.

Unboxing pending 

Before Dec. 7, I will receive a box of books from my publisher, Inkshares. It will be my first time seeing the final product in its physical form. My wife, Natalie, is intent on filming this “unboxing” so that I can share it on social media. So, stay tuned for that. 

Save the date! Virtual launch event on Dec. 7

I had hoped to have a live launch event at a local bookstore or a pub. But given the continued concerns with the pandemic (and my own health), I will be foregoing that. Instead, I will host an hour-long virtual event on YouTube, at 7 p.m. EST on Dec. 7.

This event will feature me reading from BoAT, drawing for some prizes, and taking comments and questions from attendees. Details will soon follow.

Book giveaways

If you are reading this, odds are you already pre-ordered BoAT many moons ago and will have a copy or copies soon coming your way. But just so you know, my publisher is currently running a Book Giveaway on Goodreads.com with AmazonKindle.

This Giveaway runs until Nov. 29 and is open only to U.S. residents. I will, however, be doing other giveaways for my  Canadian (and overseas) supporters (also as part of the Virtual Launch Event on Dec. 7). Please stand by for more details.

Making sure you receive your print copies

Again, if you did pre-order print copies of BoAT, it was many moons ago. If you have had any change of address in the past couple of years, please log into your Inkshares account to verify the mailing address you provided with your original pre-order is still current. This may require a password reset.

If you have any issues with account access or a password reset, please contact hello@inkshares.com. And if you aren’t sure what email address you have associated with your Inkshares account, let me know and I can quickly look it up for you.

My health

Just yesterday, I had the first of my tri-weekly immunotherapy treatments, which are intended to bolster my body’s ability to target and destroy cancer cells on its own. This comes after my radiation therapy three weeks ago and follows the surgery for tumor removal that took place at the beginning of October.

Other than experiencing the same kind of fever response you may get following a flu or COVID shot, I am so far handling the immunotherapy meds well. My recovery overall continues to move along.  

That’s all for now. Stay safe and keep reading!

Cheers

Leo