Hello Not Afraid of the Fall team,

Now that the dust has settled from the stampede of last minute preorders that ultimately propelled us over the goal and into the land of full publishing... I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you once again.

Inkshares is unique. They take the time to find what I like to think of as "Diamonds in the rough". They give first time authors, like myself, an opportunity to prove that their book, their idea, their experience is worth the professional editing, marketing, creative direction and developing that Inkshares has to offer. They give people an opportunity to put in the time and effort required to convince people that this book is worth having on their bookshelf at home. None of this is guaranteed, it simply an opportunity.

This opportunity was very close to slipping away. 

As Ashley and I watched the clock tick away Saturday, with hundreds of preorders left to reach the goal, I thought it was over. I thought that there was no possible way to obtain the same amount of preorders in ONE DAY that we had in the last FOUR MONTHS COMBINED. 

Then you guys happened. 

We received an overwhelming amount of support from people like you. When numerous people reached out to tell us that they were tracking the preorder bar at home, at the bar, even at weddings... I could not believe how lucky Ashley and I are to have this support. 

Thank you. Thank you for not only preordering this book, but also sharing statuses, videos and the book itself to your friends and family. This is our accomplishment and I am excited to have you on the team as we continue this journey.

This is just the beginning and there is a lot of work to be done, but I am excited to see where this book will go.

I will keep you updated every step of the way on the progress of the editing, developing, marketing etc...

THANK YOU

Your inspired author,

Kyle James

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! I’m so grateful for all of the support I have been shown by indie retailers over the past few months. If you’re looking for something to do today, pop into your local store—there’s a lot going on!

I was recently interviewed about Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside by Jocelyn Eikenburg on her website, Speaking of China. We discussed how I conceived of Guillard and Daniel as well as the central themes of the book. Jocelyn’s own writing has been featured in two anthologies about expat life in China (Unsavory Elements and How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit?), and she’s currently working on a memoir, Red All Over.

I’m still waiting to hear the results from the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards, for which UMDC is a finalist in Literary Fiction, but they’ve just announced that there will be another medal this year: The Readers’ Choice. The title with the most comments on its finalist page will receive this award, so I’m hopeful that UMDC will do well, given my wonderful network of backers (read: YOU). To post a short endorsement of UMDC, click here and scroll down.

UMDC currently has 48 reviews on Amazon! I went to a wedding in Santa Barbara recently and sat down next to a woman who turned out to be one of the site’s Top 500 Reviewers. In an incredible act of kindness, she bought, read and reviewed the book in under a week. Just goes to show you (or, in this case, me) that you never know who’s out there willing to help. I would love to get to 50 reviews. If you haven’t left one yet and would be willing to do so, the link can be found here. Thanks!

Happy Independent Bookstore Day! I’m so grateful for all of the support I have been shown by indie retailers over the past few months. If you’re looking for something to do today, pop into your local store—there’s a lot going on!

I was recently interviewed about Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside by Jocelyn Eikenburg on her website, Speaking of China. We discussed how I conceived of Guillard and Daniel as well as the central themes of the book. Jocelyn’s own writing has been featured in two anthologies about expat life in China (Unsavory Elements and How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit?), and she’s currently working on a memoir, Red All Over.

I’m still waiting to hear the results from the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards, for which UMDC is a finalist in Literary Fiction, but they’ve just announced that there will be another medal this year: The Readers’ Choice. The title with the most comments on its finalist page will receive this award, so I’m hopeful that UMDC will do well, given my wonderful network of backers (read: YOU). To post a short endorsement of UMDC, click here and scroll down.

UMDC currently has 48 reviews on Amazon! I went to a wedding in Santa Barbara recently and sat down next to a woman who turned out to be one of the site’s Top 500 Reviewers. In an incredible act of kindness, she bought, read and reviewed the book in under a week. Just goes to show you (or, in this case, me) that you never know who’s out there willing to help. I would love to get to 50 reviews. If you haven’t left one yet and would be willing to do so, the link can be found here. Thanks!

Happy April! I’m back in Oakland after a week on the East Coast and have a few updates to share with you:

1) I read two excerpts from UMDC at the Boston Public Library on April 7th. Thank you to everyone who came out (despite the rain) to support me! If you weren’t able to make it, here is a short recap from the library’s website:

http://www.bpl.org/press/2016/04/08/quincy-carroll-author-of-up-to-the-mountains-and-down-to-the-countryside-brings-a-captive-audience-to-rural-china/

2) UMDC recently won the Silver Medal for Contemporary Fiction in the IPPY Book Award Competition! First established in 1996, the IPPYs are considered one of the highest honors for books published by independent authors:

http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=2045&urltitle=2016%20Independent%20Publisher%20Book%20Awards%20Results

3) WorldTeach, the program through which I volunteered in China, has agreed to purchase a copy of UMDC for each of their teachers in 2016! Applications are still open, so if you are interested in living/working abroad, check out their website:

http://www.worldteach.org/programs/china/

That’s all for now! If you could mention the book to 1 person this week, I’d really appreciate it. Also, here are the Amazon and Goodreads pages for the book, if you have time to leave a review. Thanks for your continued support!

Quincy