Washington State native. Consumer of anything that offers a compelling story regardless of the medi...
Less than 100 orders to go!!! We are still just on pace to get those 750 preorders by the Oct 20th deadline. I’m confident we will make it and get a full publishing deal but it’s going to come down to the wire and every order is significant. Please do continue to share with friends; conversing in person or sending a personal email is always great and if you have Facebook you can invite friends to this nifty event I created that gives a pitch for the book: https://www.facebook.com/events/336202026717097/
As always, thanks for making all of this possible for me. I’ll leave you with a photo from Illegal; I took this from my front door in Latacunga, Ecuador at the start of what is now referred to as the ’citizens revolution.’ The entire city had been cut off from the rest of the country for three days and every intersection downtown burned. Within the week the government would agree to the protester’s demands and abruptly stop all trade negotiations with the United States. 
Hey everyone. Friendly helpful PSA time.
I ordered a physical book but was just told my ebook is ready to download. What happened?
Don’t worry. If you backed These Are My Friends on Politics, you’ll either have received or soon will receive an email informing you your ebook download is ready. That’s not a goof — every physical book comes with a complimentary ebook version you can load onto your preferred e-reader of choice. So you’re getting that right now while the physical books are being prepared for shipment. If you ordered a physical book (or three, or ten), that package will be heading your way before long. This is just a pre-order bonus.
Sounds good. So what’s a .mobi file?
If your experience with getting ebooks comes from buying them straight from Amazon’s or Apple’s store, you might be a little thrown by seeing two different formats presented for your consumption. The download page has all the instructions you’ll need, but here’s a bonus quick cheat sheet.
ePub version: This is the .mp3 of ebooks, and it works on anything not called a Kindle. So if you’re using iBooks for iOS/Mac, Google Books for Android, or a Sony Reader/Nook/Kobo/basically any e-reader ever made that isn’t a Kindle, this is the format for you.
Kindle (.mobi) version: This one is for anyone using a tablet made by Amazon -- be it a Kindle Fire, the regular monochrome Kindles (Paperwhite, whatever weird name that new one is called) or anything else that has the word "Kindle" stamped on it. It also will display nicely on the Kindle desktop app for PC and Mac. The one place it won’t load: the Kindle app for iOS, which uses a different file format that’s laden with DRM and requires purchase through Amazon’s own store to display books properly. Fortunately, if you’re an iOS person, the ePub version plays perfectly with iBooks.
So should I read this ebook now or wait for the physical book if I ordered one of those?
Honestly? If I’m being candid, I’d wait, because I think the physical book is the best experience. I love ebooks, but I don’t think heavily-illustrated books are best served by that format. I also hope this is the kind of book people open up and enjoy together, which is something the physical book better allows to happen. It’s up to you, of course, but if you’re waiting on a physical book and choose to ignore the email about the ebook as result, you’ll get no argument from me.
Dear Sweethearts,
Happy Tuesday! I am writing you from a very comfortable seat on an Amtrak train on my way from New York up to Boston. I was asked to speak at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, to college students about How to Get Run Over by a Truck and the importance of resiliency, and I have been staring out the window during this whole trip trying really hard not to cry. I am failing miserably.
I’m crying because I cannot believe that this is my life. Gratitude sometimes spills out of me via tears - which in this particular case makes people very unlikely to take the seat next to me!
Right now, some of you are already reading the ebook of this memoir, many of you will be receiving the hard copy of the book in a few days, in one week it will be in bookstores and in five days I will go with my family, my boyfriend and few friends to the corner where I was run over by a truck and I will drink champagne, I will cry, I will laugh and I will pour out some champagne for old Katie. Its going to be a full week :)
Thank you again for being a part of this process, and for joining me on this incredible journey. I cannot believe that just 9 months ago I went from being told that no one would be interested in reading this book, to having over 2,600 copies sold before its release date! You are the people who made this dream a reality. Without you, it would’ve stayed in the bottom drawer of my desk,collecting dust. You let it come into the light.
I hope that I will see many of you who are in the New York City area on October 4th at KGB Bar for the Book Launch party. I would love to hug you and thank you in person for believing in me and in this project!
I’ll be thinking of you on October 2nd, with gratitude in my heart, and champagne in my hand. Thank you for making my life a celebration.
Heart,
Katie
Good morning readers!!
It is Monday, time for the usual Monday Update. However, today is a special Monday because it is officially my birthday! I’m excited to have made it another year.
Nothing as far as numbers has changed from last weeks update. We are still #5 in the Geek & Sundry Contest. We are still 72 pre-orders from making Quil. So, since it is my birthday.... If you feel like making a girl super happy on her birthday, why not pre-order the book (or a second copy)?
So, the characters that I’m going to highlight going forward appear somewhere around chapter 10 or so. I suppose some of their bios might be a bit spoilery? However, I feel that, since you’re investing in helping me crowdfund this book, spoilers are a little treat that you deserve. So, I give you....
Xalen Okara was a Droven Masodite, an elite general for the country of Droves just south of Mavahan. He was gravely wounded and taken prisoner by the Mavahan army in one of the bloodiest battles the people of the First head ever seen. It is said to have permanently stained the sand of the desert red. Droves was conquered by Mavahan and its people enslaved. Xalen became a prized slave to the Mavahan royal family and earned Honor, as much as allowed to a slave, by competing in their gladiatorial games as a Champion. Xalen was later given a female Champion as a wife, as the royal family of Mavahan hoped to breed future Champions for their sport, treating the proud Droven Masodite like cattle. Xalen and his wife Aleira attempted to escape captivity in the hopes of finding a better future for their unborn child, but they were ultimately captured. Aleira lost the baby. When the time comes to seek freedom with the help of Keleir Ahriman, both Xalen and Aleira will risk everything to see Mavahan burn.
Everyone groovy? So this happened this weekend:
Yes, that’s me in full-on starstruck goober mode. Poor Bruce.
So Mr. Ash VS. The Evil Dead VS. Inkshares wished me well with my project. We might have had more of a meaningful conversation had I not been like Ralphie when he finally gets to see Santa in A Christmas Story. At least we had a nice battle of the chins.
But I didn’t get him to just sign my football, oh no. I have a special giveaway item to raffle just in time for Halloween: Authentic Ash Army of Darkness Evil Dead POP! Signed in person by Ash himself.
Check it out:
So the deal is this: We still need to push considerably to catch the lead pack. This Ash POP will be raffled away at the Quill marker, when I reach 250 pre-orders. Anyone who orders (including previous orders) until then will be eligible. Multiple pre-orders can receive multiple entries towards winning the prize. If someone comes from a referral, you will also get double weighted. Do I sound like S-Mart or what?
Until then, keep your boomsticks loaded, steer clear of Deadites and chew bubble gum.
70 preorders!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could have 80 by the end of this coming week?
After the excitement of last weekend’s Gollancz Festival, there’s another fantasy lit convention happening in the UK this weekend: Fantasy Con By The Sea. Witherfist is one of the books featured in the event programme booklet, so I’m hoping that we’ll see some #fcon2016 attendees joining the Witherfist reader count.
It’s still a while before October’s syndicate picks are made, but Witherfist has already gotten nominations in the Break the Bechdel syndicate and the Rite of Passage syndicate. Amazing!
Thanks for your continued support. If you like to read more of my thoughts on writing Witherfist, you can check out the second part of my interview with blogger and author Natacha Guyot and my chat with Jim Vines, on his blog Jim Vines Presents.
~ Jenny