All, thank you for the support. The draft is over 75% completed. I hope you like what you have seen so far. I would appreciate hearing what you think.

Thank You!!!

As of bedtime-o'clock last night, Seven Shards has hit the Quill funding goal! This means it will be published!!!!!!!!

The little bundle of nerves that has been sitting in the pit of my stomach since August has now transformed into a miniature fireworks show. And not one of those blink-and-you-miss-it fireworks shows, but a fully choreographed, big-budget fireworks extravaganza. Coffee? Haha, who needs it!

I must extend my deepest gratitude to the members of the CEO Syndicate and John Robin's Epic Fantasy Syndicate for pushing Seven Shards over the edge. You (you beautiful people, you) surprised me and humble me and basically make me much more than a little verklempt.

There's probably more I could say, but right now the bottom line is Thank YOU!

Hey there wonderful people, 

I thought I would take the time to share some very kind and encouraging words from Joseph Asphahani the author of The Animal in Man. In his last update he spoke of three projects on Inkshares that he thought were worth your patronage. The projects were Exile, Magus by Thomas J.Arnold, Transilience by Kevin Bragg, and (to my utmost excitement) Beyond the Code by yours truly. Here's what he wrote. 

"Yesterday morning I was late to work because I literally could not stop reading Kelsey Rae Barthel’s “Beyond the Code”. Hot damn this story is full of action! At least the first chapter is, and I trust there's more. The whole thing is just one continuous fight between two badasses. I’ve told Ms. Barthel that the setting, the setup, the sword-swings all remind me of some of the darkest, most sinister places I’ve visited in my long career as a video gamer. The pace is just as riveting and intense as what I'd gladly call a GOTY (uh, that's Game of the Year). I know you’ll enjoy it. CLICK HERE to see for yourself how right I am about that."

Woot woot!! Thank you so much Joseph. Those words mean a great deal in keeping me going through this campaign. 

It's been a good campaign so far but we need to step it up. If your impressed by this glowing review or you've caught the BTC fever please pre-order so we can hit Quill and make this a reality. Whether you got some extra credits or you just love this book so far please pre-order while the campaign is still going. I'm even willing to do pre-order swaps with the other authors on Inkshares.

For those of you who have already supported my dream thank you soo much and I am working tirelessly to give you a fantastic read.

Thanks for your time 

Kelsey Rae Barthel 

Greetings Readers, Followers, Human Beings, and Advertising Algorithms,

I promised you this day would come. You didn't believe me. I didn't believe me. But it's here at last...

That's right! I finally figured out how to work the internet. No more free AOL homepages and half-hearted Tumblrs for me. www.jimmcdoniel.com is a thing. A thing that both exists and works. Go there now and behold the wonder and glory of me copy and pasting pictures onto Squarespace. Marvel at my ability to link you back here to Inkshares. Thrill as you view my Twitter account while not on Twitter. Ooooo. Aaaaah.

In other news, the Sword and Laser contest two is wrapping up this week. On Friday at noon (West Coast time, two o'clock here) three more authors will receive the full publishing treatment and one will join G. Derek Adams, J.F. Dubeau, and myself in the Sword and Laser collection. There are plenty of good books in the mix with plenty of time to make the jump so please, consider visiting the contest page and checking a few out like:

For dystopic cyberpunk, click Deus Hex Machina.
For epic demonic fantasy, click Bones of the Past.
For sci-fi action/adventure, click The Amaranth Chronicles: Deviant Rising.