I still can’t believe it. I’m trying and failing to process the fact that I won the Space Opera contest. Incredible.

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge all of the other wonderful entries. I’m not going to be as bold as others have been to name favorites, but I want to summarize it all very simply:

EVERY BOOK IN THE CONTEST IS AMAZING. Take the time to peruse the entries. if there’s nothing that strikes your fancy, then you are entirely too picky and weird to be here...GO HOME!

Seriously...there are some incredible ideas out there, and I hope everyone puts all of their effort and love into taking them as far as they can. I know I have. I’ve had a few people email me directly to ask about the "secret to my success," and my answer is simply this:

Do you know anyone who doesn’t know you’re a writer? Do you know anyone who doesn’t know you have a book that could be published unless it doesn’t reach a certain number of pre-orders? 

If your answer is "no" to either question, then you aren’t doing enough. This is your life, your story, your career as an author. Nearly all of my neighbors and every single one of my wonderful friends on Facebook and Twitter bought a copy of my book. Why? Because I asked them very nicely and directly, and I am a good person and a good writer. I believe in myself, and I told everyone I possibly could that I do. Have you done that yet? If you haven’t, you should. 

That is all for now, as far as advice goes. I hope I didn’t come off as cocky; I only want the best for all of our stories, and that is seriously what has worked for me thus far.

Otherwise, my week has been exceptionally amazing in that I have also been invited to be a writer for Renderosity Magazine! Renderosity is a site that mostly focuses on computer-generated animation and art, but the magazine branches out and includes many subjects, including an article featuring yours truly. I will be starting an arts forum on their website, so look out for that...

Also worth noting is another amazing happenstance of this week in receiving a shipment of other Inkshares published books:

If you haven’t, then please go and get these works:

"An Unattractive Vampire" by Jim McDoniel

"The Life Engineered" by J.F. Dubeau

"Abomination" by Gary Whitta

"Asteroid Made Of Dragons" by G. Derek Adams

These books represent our future, and if they aren’t well received, then what should you expect? Get as many Inkshares published books as you can, and then please review them on Amazon and wherever they appear. Why? Because Inkshares is a label, and the more sales and the better reputation Inkshares gets, the better off everyone who gets published by them is!!! Do it! Got extra credits? Buy a book you’ll get in your own hands in a few days! 

The contest is over...the campaign continues. With great sincerity, to all of you who have pre-ordered PIPERVERSE so far...    

Hey, folks. We’ve come to the the last day of the Nerdist Space Opera Book Contest. As of this writing, my book PIPERVERSE has an iron grip on ranking #23. Unless the folks at Nerdist.com suddenly go crazy and change the rules of the contest to award their publishing deals to the top 23 spots, my little space book will not be crowned a champion at this time. 

This is not the end! This contest was a shortcut to greatness, but greatness is still achievable. I will still be pushing PIPERVERSE here on Inkshares for the next few months and hope to reach the goals that will get it published. Please keep recommending it to all the bookworms in your social circles.

I want to thank all of you who have pre-ordered the book so far...and I must say I was blown away by all of you who bought the book this past week! That sudden surge of support was a true delight!

So...onward! More sample chapters to come. More strange Character Cards to see. More shameless nagging directed at all of you who HAVEN’T bought the book yet. More, more, more...

Thanks again, everyone! I’ll end this update with a new Piperverse Character Card (#5 - The Mindworm)...with a quote that just might serve as a fortune cookie message for the future.