Hey all. I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time and pre-ordering Dracula Vs Hitler. It really means a lot to see all the orders, we are so close to our e-book goal of 250, and then onto print goals beyond that. Very exciting.
If you've read my bio, you know this is a project that I've put a lot of effort and research into. My home has been filled with World War II books for years trying to make this the most accurate but fun novel I could write. There's romance and big war battles, vampire fights and everything in between. It's taken almost two years to get it to this point and I'm confident everyone will enjoy it, as soon as I can get it out into the world and in your hands.
I'll be sharing more excerpts after we hit that 250 goal, so look for those, and thank you again for your support. For a luddie person with very nice friends (thank you Felicia Day) it is heartwarming to experience this online community and see the support around my work.
Thanks.
Patrick
Hello Lovely Readers!! First, I just wanted to let you know that I updated my description page. I used some wonderful advice from John Robin in a thread on Goodread and hope that it is simplified and more useful. All critiques are welcome!!
Secondly, the preorders have definitely hit a lull, so I am thinking about just going for the Quill "light" option in order to move forward with production- what do you guys think? I'm a bit below halfway to the full option, and would love to make it, but am wondering what to do. If anyone wants to discuss/offer advice or criticisms, you can reach me at jliggan@gmail.com. I really appreciate all you have done so far and want to close by telling you that...I am so excited to participate in the inaugural Inkshares Review-a-Thon!
If you haven't heard about it yet, I am pasting the information about it from A.C. Weston below. Please share, spread the word and join in!
On December 19th, all authors and readers are invited to leave reviews on currently funding Inkshares books using the Inkshares "leave a review" option.
Throughout the day we'll be hanging out on Twitter in the#InksharesReviews tag as we share our favorite book projects, answer author Q&As, debate the merits of astronauts with swords versus cavemen with lasers, and more!
Then, from 6 - 8pm ET, JF Dubeau and Paul Inman of theWriteBrain Podcast will be hosting a video livestream filled with author interviews, review readings, and live announcements of prize winners!
Prizes?!?!
Everyone who leaves a review on December 19th by 6pm ET will be eligible to win one of our fantastic general prizes:
Readers: Peruse the "currently funding" books on Inkshares and leave as many reviews as you want on Dec 19th. You could even start up a "must-have" list of books to order in case you win a free pre-order or the $30 in credits!
Authors: Join our review exchange to leave three reviews in exchange for two guaranteed reviews on your Inkshares project and a chance at author-exclusive prizes! Email me at cara.c.weston@gmail.com to learn more and get on the list.
(And authors, if you're in, please copy the message above and include it in your next update!)
It's gonna be fun.
This is the final weekend in November and thus begins the countdown until I finish the first draft of Blood Dawn! I have approximately sixty pages left to write, and I complete twenty every weekend -- so I'll be done the second Monday in December!
There's still a lot of work to do once the first draft is finished. I'm getting some beta readers to give me feedback, I've got an editor already working on what I've written so far, and then I have to do rewrites. While there's still a mountain of work ahead, I am completely on schedule to have this finished and ready to hand into Inkshares in mid-April, when my campaign wraps up. And then, some months later, we'll all be holding a copy of Blood Dawn in our hands.
As I get closer and closer to that final date, it just seems to sink in more and more that I've accomplished writing Blood Dawn. I've had the ideas for this novel percolating in my head for decades and now it's finally out on paper. (Well, out on pixels on the screen.) But the story doesn't stop there -- Blood Dawn is the first in an epic series ... an epic series that has several more books ahead. If I get my way, I will be writing more stories for you for decades to come, and they will get more and more exciting with every book.
But none of this will happen without the support of wonderful, amazing, supportive readers like you.
So many people have already taken the time to pre-order a copy (or multiple copies) to ensure that Blood Dawn sees the light of day through the Quill imprint. For this, I am so grateful! But if we work together, we can get it up to the Inkshares imprint.
If you haven't already pre-ordered your copy, please consider doing so. Ebooks are $10 and print books start at $20. Click here for more info. And if you've already pre-ordered a copy, you have my eternal gratitude, and all I would ask is that if you have a friend or family member who loves epic fantasy, please share Blood Dawn with them and encourage them to pre-order a copy for themselves.
That's it. That's my sales pitch. Thank you for allowing me to share it with you.
And to reward you, I'm going to at last unveil the REAL mastermind behind Blood Dawn.
This is Wizard. Do you see now where I get all my ideas? Can you not just see the wheels turning in his eyes? All the plotting and conspiring? When he's not busy figuring out how to get up onto the newest unexplored ledge, he's on my laptop adding to the story, usually brief passages like sl;a;hjdfkjah;fjl;sdlafj;sdjf;sdk;jf and alksfj;ohouh. I hate to delete his earnest contributions, so I usually just move those to the outtakes file.
Now that you see that it's really WIZARD who is behind all this, why not support this cute kitty? Can you really look into that big, adorable stare and not support his desire to be heard?
Thank you! And to my American friends, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.
End of November update: I has finished my developmental edits and a quick round of copy editing. I've also filled out the Inkshares paperwork. For everyone out there, their initial packets they have you do are not light reading. It easily takes a few hours to fill out, and a few trips to book stores.
They ask about your target audience, excerpts you want, what kind of books you like, what covers are appealing to you, why are they appealing. What percentage of your presumed reader base are male or female? So on, and so forth.
I'm super curious to see how this process goes from here on out. On Tuesday, I turn everything over. I'm glad to see that Inkshares has a very robust initial packet. It's feels good to provide them with some meat.
I'll keep you guys posted! Now my next step is to continue with a two more rounds of editing. One more developmental edit, even though I already had that done, a second pass never hurt anyone. Then a round of copy editing. This last part, I'm super pumped for. I'm a storyteller, not a writer by trade. So I'm about to pick up a bunch of new skills and grammar rules I probably never even heard of.
Zac Linnville has already been busting my chops on comma usage in dialogue. :).
Tuesday, December 1, is World AIDS Day. To commemorate the day, we're making public a video about "Nowhere Else I Want to Be."
I wanted you, my Readers and early supporters, to see it first:
Click here to see the video on my Inkshares page.
And if you'd like to commemorate World AIDS Day in the same way, please feel free to post the link on facebook, twitter, or by email.
As always, thank you,
Carol
ps We now have 642 of the 750 pre-orders needed! Keep an eye out for our special January promotion, coming on December 31.
Greetings wonderful people.
Thank you so much for all your support. It's been a real coaster ride so far but I am working hard to spread the word and bring you a finished product.
Two things. First of all I have another double tap in the chapter updates. Chapters 8 and 9 are now available for your reading pleasure. It has deep life changing decisions from our hero and ominous plotting from our villain. Give it a gander and tell me what you think.
Second someone on Twitter is saying nice things. Elbot Carmen @Arctides has named Beyond the Code as a title worth backing on Inkshares. Thank you very much Elbot.
Don't forget to pre-order if you want to help make this book a reality. Thank you all for continuing to support me and my dream and to those followers in the US Happy Thanksgiving.