Happy #NationalReadABookDay !!!

It has been a few weeks since I last sent out an update, on the day of Welcome to Deadland’s publication, and I wanted to send out a quick message to thank you all once again and say I hope you’ve all been enjoying the novel!

I also wanted to share a bit of a raffle I’ve put together. Some of you already know this about me, but I love and collect postcards. Whenever friends and family travel I only request a postcard as a souvenir, and the cover design elements for Welcome to Deadland were inspired by postcards as well. During the past few weeks I had the opportunity to travel through Europe, and while I was in Munich, London, and Paris I picked up postcards and used them for a handwritten short story set in the universe of Welcome to Deadland. I will be raffling off the postcards/short story, as well as a series of WtD inspired postcards I’m having made, and here’s how you can enter:

1. Order a copy of Welcome to Deadland through Inkshares.

2. Recommend Welcome to Deadland to a friend, and when they purchase a copy, you will both be entered.

3. Rate/Review Welcome to Deadland on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Each site you post a rating or review will count as one entry, by doing so on all three sites you will receive three entries. If you rate AND review the book, you will earn an extra entry.

4. Tweet me or post to Welcome to Deadland’s Facebook page fun pictures of your copy of the book or fan art from the story!

At the end of the month I will choose one winner who will receive the handwritten story and the Welcome to Deadland postcards, but I will also choose several additional winners for the WtD inspired postcards! There are multiple ways to win, and multiple ways to earn entries!

The best way to help a book, and author, achieve success is through leaving reviews and recommending the book to friends. Each review and rating matters. 

Thank you!

-Zac 

Happy National Book Lovers Day! Today also marks the official launch date for Welcome to Deadland! Next week will be the year anniversary of entering the Nerdist Collection Contest, and today this book no longer belongs to just me, but to all of you and to all of the future readers who pick up a copy. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take Welcome to Deadland to the source of its inspiration, where the initial seeds of imagination were planted in my mind. 

I had the privilege of launching Welcome to Deadland at a Barnes & Noble in Orlando. The turnout was beyond what I could have expected. I didn’t get a picture of the entire crowd, but this was about fifteen minutes before we started and the seats were filling up fast. I read the prologue and answered a series of questions. One of my close friends filmed the entire event and will be editing together a video of the event as well. I was overwhelmed with support, friends and family drove down and flew in from all over the country. Each time I was surprised by the appearance of one person, someone else unexpected would show up and surprise me all over again. 

Another awesome moment of the day was a stop by the tattoo parlor where my mom received the first Welcome to Deadland tattoo, and had it done in my handwriting! 

Also: Welcome to Deadland Ferris wheel tattoos!

My dad and stepmom drove over from Tampa, and I had my siblings by my side. 

I can’t say thank you enough to everyone who showed up, to those of you that backed and preordered my book, the readers who ordered the book beyond the funding campaign, and to Inkshares and Nerdist for giving me the opportunity to put Welcome to Deadland out in the world. From the bottom of my heart, I give you all my sincerest gratitude. 

And remember, the infected aren’t the only thing you have to watch out for in theme parks. Dinosaurs are right around the corner, too!!

July 21st.

This date is important to me for three reasons. 

First, at 12:01am on July 21, 2007 I was a recent high school graduate, counting down the days until I started my first semester as a college freshman, standing in a Barnes & Noble with my little sister and and cheering with a crowd of hundreds as cardboard boxes were opened and copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were lifted into the air. Years of reading and waiting were coming to an end as I entered adulthood, and the Boy Who Lived was facing off against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a final time.

Second, at 3:00pm on July 21, 2012 I ended my final shift as a Hogwarts student. I took off my robe, sweater vest, and Gryffindor tie and left the castle halls. I had graduated college a year previously, but now I was leaving school, leaving Florida, and achieving my childhood dream of moving to New York City and working in the film industry. Little did I know about what the future held for me. A literally rat infested apartment, Hurricane Sandy hitting the city (I thought I left Florida and the hurricanes behind?!), and the many, many, late nights and early mornings required when working on a film set.

Third, at 5:07pm on July 21, 2016 I walked to the mailbox, slid in the key, and opened the small metal door to discover a cardboard box wrapped in white tape covered in Inkshares logos. My heart skipped a beat, and I didn’t even wait until I was back in the house before ripping the package open. Nine years after I held the final Harry Potter book, a book I wrote was sliding out of it’s shipping box and into my hands for the very first time. 

Thank you, Inkshares. Thank you, Nerdist. Thank you, every single person who backed my dream, believed in my book, and brought me to this moment. If anyone told me a year ago that this would be happening today, I never would have believed them. I wrote a book, but you all made its publication possible. Thank you.

This is only the beginning.

-Zac

Happy Friday, y’all!

It’s here! I’m pleased to release the official cover of Welcome to Deadland! I hope you all love it and can’t wait for you to be able to hold it in your hands and dive into it’s pages! I’d like to thank David Drummond for his design work, the awesome folks over at Nerdist, Inkshares, and Girl Friday for their help and input reaching this monumental step! This was a great group effort! 

Thank you all for your support! Only a few more months to go!

-Zac

Happy Saturday!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve sent an update, and I hope most of you are out enjoying the beautiful spring weather. 

I wanted to let everyone know that a final cover has been decided on, and is being finalized before I can release it for you all to see! Developmental editing is complete, and I’m halfway through my copyedits right now. If you visit Welcome to Deadland’s Inkshares page you can see the production schedule off to the righthand side that keeps you up to date with where we are in the process.

Although WtD isn’t 100% complete yet, while it’s been with the editors I’ve been able to get to work on the sequel. I have a rough outline, and roughly 10,000 words down. The story takes off like a bullet and I’m really excited with how it’s opening and where it’s going, and once you all finish Welcome to Deadland you can rest assured that the momentum won’t be slowing down.

Have a great weekend, thank you all for your support, and the next time you hear from me it’ll be with the finalized cover!

-Zac

Wow. I don't even know what all to say other than thank you all so much and I'm blown away by this entire experience. 

The Nerdist Collection Contest wrapped up, and Welcome To Deadland finished out in first place, met the pre-order goal, AND was selected by The Nerdist for their collection! When I found out my jaw dropped and I was overcome with shock and excitement. I never would have reached these amazing goals and opportunities if it hadn't been for each and every single one of my readers. Family, friends (both old and new), fellow authors, and everyone that showed me and Welcome To Deadland support, this is all because of you!

The journey to bring the book to your hands is far from over, I'm both nervous and excited to see what the future holds and I can't wait until each of you are able to hold and read a copy for yourself. 

Thank you to InkShares and thank you Nerdist, without all of you this opportunity wouldn't have presented itself to all of us. 

One day soon you will all be graciously welcomed through the gates of Deadland.

-Zac

Only a little bit of time left in the Nerdist Collection Contest and I can't believe I hit 600 readers! At each milestone I hit I'm continuously shocked by the outpour of support from everyone, and even saying 'thank you' 600+ times doesn't seem like enough to convey what you've all done for me. There is still some time to go though, and hopefully we'll be bringing Welcome To Deadland to even more hands.

As per tradition, I'm including another photo to celebrate, this time I wanted to show my writing space where Welcome To Deadland came alive. I've spent countless hours in this chair and at this desk planning, writing, editing, and rewriting to make Welcome To Deadland what it is, and I know I still have countless more until it's exactly what it needs to be for all of you.(Rick, I see your photoshopped mustache from 400, your abundance of dinosaurs at 500, and raise you a writing space and an abundance of mustaches.)

Shout out to my homegirl, JK Rowling, for giving me the courage to write and the inspiration for my creative space. Without the impact of Harry Potter in my life, Welcome To Deadland might not have ever come to be what it is. 

As we gear up for the final few moments of the contest, I say thank you once more. We're nearly there, but for now, we press on. 

-Zac