Good morning, everyone.

Still chugging along.

I got a couple nibbles about beta readers, but could certainly use some more. I know you’re all getting a lot of Inkshares email if you follow half as many people as I do but, if you happen to catch a glimpse of this update, let me know whether you’d like to join the beta crowd. I expect to have something for you by August.

I promised if Tantalus Depths reached 500 pre-orders by July 16, I would upload the first chapter for all to read. Well, as promised, here it is.

I also promised I would upload a special video of me reading it to you. Also as promised, here it is.
 

I hope you all enjoy. It is a shorter chapter, and mainly consists of setting the stage and making introductions to our cast (which is why I chose to use chapter 3 as my main sample chapter instead of chapter 1, since I felt it gave a better impression of the book’s overall tone).
When Tantalus Depths reaches 600 pre-orders, I’ll release chapter 2 and another video reading. I might even throw in a video of me reading chapter 3, if it’s something people want.

Keep up the good work everyone! This insurmountable task is starting to feel really doable. Thanks to all your help, we’ve made it this far. We can make it the rest of the way too.

Hey, readers!

  This is unexpected, but I wanted to give a big thanks to Elena Stofle for making Detective Diaries a Staff Pick! Of course, I give my thanks to those who have ordered already, and the encouragement is well received! I hope to impress, so thanks once again! Also, I want to mention that I’m interested in the upcoming competition: 2016 Launch Pad Manuscript. The competition seems like a good way to expose myself and potentially learn quite a bit from entering. I’ll update you guys about that when Detective Sunday comes around. Remember, spread the word and order if you haven’t, but also good luck in all your future endeavors.

Until next time, A.J.III.

Hello everyone,

Two quick updates, the first being confirmation that Alban Fischer is the artist who is designing the cover for The Battle Within. Had a great phone call with Alban last week, as well as with Emily Zach from Girl Friday Productions, and I’m excited to see what the first round of designs will bring. For a taste of what Alban can do, please check out his portfolio at: http://cargocollective.com/albanfischer.

The second update is that I’ve just launched my official author page, www.AlastairLuft.com. It’s a fairly simple page, but I think it will meet the intent of providing a virtual shingle for me to hang out while also hosting a blog that I’ve started. I’d love to get feedback on usability and layout, so please check out the site, send me critiques and feel free to share.

That’s it for today, as always, thanks so much for your support.

All the best,

Alastair Luft

Readers, Friends, Family, Enemies, Everyone Else,

I have 79 more orders needed to reach the Quill Goal and Guarantee Publication. 

I need ALL your help to do this. If you have not yet ordered, PLEASE do so tonight and support me!

If you have already ordered, thank you again. Please post a link to the book at www.iamwaltz.com to your facebook/twitter/Instagram asking your friends to support.

Once we reach 250 orders we will make a few more big pushes to 750 and get this thing in stores!

Thanks again,

Matt

Tantalus Depths has just received one of the biggest conceivable honors it could have been given on Inkshares.
I am indescribably honored to announce that Tantalus Depths has been selected as the July pick by the Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters Syndicate.
 
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears mentioning again now: one of the primary reasons why Tantalus Depths was written in the first place was to create a story with a strong female lead. I wanted to do my part to break the gender imbalance in sci-fi media. I wanted to write a female lead that could inspire and impress male and female readers alike. I took great pains throughout the entire writing process to make Mary Ketch feel like a real person, her experiences relatable and accessible.
To be honored by the Bechdel Syndicate is to be assured that I have, at least in part, realized my goal. Truthfully, this moment is almost as important to me as earning my full publication goal. If Tantalus Depths hadn’t been worthy of an honor like this, in my own eyes it wouldn’t be worthy of publication either.
With the support of the Bechdel Syndicate, Tantalus Depths is now ahead of schedule. We’re only 214 pre-orders away from our full publishing goal, and we will not settle for anything less than 100% success.
To the Depths!

Hello everyone! 

Sorry about the radio silence over here, but I’ve been busy with my revisions. As for that, I am approximately one third of the way through all of my re-writes and revisions for the final draft. I’m still optimistic for an early 2017 publication date. 

In other news, thanks to the services rendered by John Robin -the author of Blood Dawn here on Inkshares- and his team of people, I am pleased to unveil the official cover for Storm of Fury! Thanks for following and reading, and remember, if you know anyone who would like a good fantasy book, direct them to Storm of Fury!

Thanks,

Andrew

Wow! @Kendra Namednil has reached the Quill publication mark for her book, Borehole Bazaar! Further proof to me that the Universe shines on happy, positive, generous people!

Okay, whew. I ran out last Friday to pick up my son, and then we left for a camping trip. I didn’t get the chance to do proper thank yous, so here it goes:

A huge, huge thank you to my supporters. It was amazing on Friday at 11:30 am to have people come out of the woodwork and push me into 2nd place. I absolutely could not have done it without you all. Thanks to my wife for finding this contest and encouraging me to enter. And thanks to all the Harveys and the Clearys and the Mills who bit their nails alongside us. Thank you to Simon Winchester, Brian Baldwin, Sean Garcia, Hannah Davis, and Ryan Weilert. In the end, it was your willpower that won me 2nd place. I’m in awe of all of you.

Great work to everyone else in the competition. There was some serious talent I was competing against. Alisa King ran a fierce campaign. Congrats to Peter Ryan, who really does seem like a genuinely nice guy. I can’t wait to read Too Many Controllers. And as I’ve said before, Andrew Fantasia is a great writer. I hope his novel Sidescroller gets funded so we can all give it a read. I also want to give a shout-out to G.A. Finocchiaro and his book Knightmares. He helped me a ton, and his book looks awesome. 

So what’s next? Sweeping changes. I’ll soon be deleting the prologue that’s up on Inkshares. Years ago, I had written IN BETA as a feature film. At the start of this contest, I was simply adapting the film into novel form. The farther I went down that path, the more I realized I wasn’t excited about a book that followed the rigid formula of a Hollywood comedy. So during this contest, I made significant revisions to IN BETA’s setting and plot. The concept and the characters are the same, but I’ve moved the locale from Seattle, WA to a rural town in the Cascades. The setting works better for a number of reasons. If anyone is interested in the mechanics of "why", ask and I’ll happily distract myself from writing by geeking out over my decisions. Otherwise, just satisfy yourself with the knowledge that I’m not content to deliver a shit novel.

I’m very excited about IN BETA, and I can’t wait to share the new prologue with the world. Thanks everyone for this amazing opportunity. I’ll try to be regular with my updates, and I’ll let you know the timeline of this process once I figure that out.