Hey everyone,

It’s hard to believe that after edits, pandemic delays, printer shutdowns, and supply chain issues, Showtime will officially be released exactly 4 weeks from today! Copies have been printed and are waiting to be read, sniffed, and cradled in your waiting arms.

If you know anyone who still wants a copy, the easiest, cheapest, and best way to ensure that it arrives on time is to order directly from Inkshares. For those of you who are local, I’ll also have stock on hand to sell and deface with my signature. As a matter of fact, take a gander at what just arrived!

GETTING YOUR INKSHARES COPIES

If you ordered directly from Inkshares, make sure you log in to your Inkshares account and double check that your shipping address is accurate, especially since some of you have moved in the past few years. Once you sign in, click your profile circle like in the pic below, then SHIPPING ADDRESS. If it’s correct, you’re golden. If not, update it so your copies don’t go to the stranger squatting in your previous residence.

E-BOOK REMINDER

If you pre-ordered an eBook, you’ll be receiving it early, around November 22nd. The reasoning behind this is to give digital readers a chunk of time to read the book and post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads so we have a head start on press for release day.

More news in the coming weeks, but that’s all for now. Thanks again for your support and patience. Let the countdown begin!

Ricky

Hey everyone,

I’m temporarily pausing my search for the elusive pumpkin spice Belvita to pop in with a few exciting Showtime updates. For one, after combating delays related to pandemics, printer shutdowns, re-writes, active volcanoes, and swarms of locusts, Showtime will officially be released into the wild (and your hands) on December 6, 2022! For those of you who aren’t mathematically inclined (don’t worry, I’m right there with you), that’s less than two months from today. Zoinks, Scoob!

I can think of no better way to celebrate than by debuting the official cover. With its present-day character juxtaposed with an outdated TV, old wallpaper, and green tint, it has one foot firmly planted in the present and one in the 1970s, something that Jordan Jones might know a little about. I think it perfectly captures the flavor of the book (not to mention looking pretty snazzy).

If you were unable to sleep last night because you were stuck in an endless thought spiral while thinking, Jeeze, I wish I could read some of the final copy of Showtime RIGHT NOW!, you’re in luck! Wicked Horror is running an exclusive excerpt that can be found here: Here’s Your First Look at the Cover Art from Ricky Ruszin’s Novel ‘Showtime’ [Exclusive]

A quick note about pre-orders: If you already pre-ordered a copy of Showtime (first, pat yourself on the back and have a cookie), you’ll be receiving your copies on time. However, if you pre-ordered an eBook copy, you’ll be receiving it 2 weeks before the official release date. The reasoning behind this is to give digital readers a chunk of time to read the book and post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads so we have a head start on press for release day.

That’s all for now, but more good things ahead!

Ricky

Hey everyone,

Happy Corned Beef and Cabbage Day!

It looks like I haven’t sent out an update since August, which was…three, four years ago? I think many of you would agree that these past twelve months have seemed to stretch on forever. Hopefully as the vaccine rollout picks up steam, we’ll start to see more and more aspects of life from the Before Times returning to normal. You know, like people actually going to bookstores to buy books. Which was a really poor segue for a…

SHOWTIME UPDATE

I haven’t wanted to send out an update because, well, I don’t have much in the way of big updates to share. But I figured I should pop in just to let you know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.

Anyway, I checked in with Avalon, my copyeditor, this week and unfortunately Inkshares is still seeing some lags in the development processes of their books (thanks, COVID), causing their schedules to be set back by a couple months.

I don’t want to share any potential dates for copyediting or release since that would only be disappointing if we’re not able to meet those dates. But when we have something firmly set in stone, I will let you all know. However, Avalon assured me that Inkshares isn’t rushing any part of the process, and she’s excited about getting to work on Showtime.

In a bit of good news, Inkshares’s publishing schedule for the coming months looks to be pretty robust (take a look on Amazon) with a good number of delayed books being released. So while it’s not my turn yet, the fact that books from their back catalog are being released is a good sign that things are ramping up again.  

CONTEST AND NEW PROJECT

While news on the Showtime front is a bit quiet for now, my writing has not slowed down. The new book is done! It’s the most horror-centric thing I’ve written and is called Monsters. And no, it’s not about people who refuse to wear masks during a pandemic.

Inkshares is running a new contest, and I’ve entered Monsters.

Instead of pre-orders, Inkshares is choosing contest winners based on which books are nominated using the NOMINATION button that you’ll find on each individual book’s page.

Per the contest: “...we want to know what book projects have piqued your interest most. Which stories are the most compelling, and whose writing is the strongest?”

I’m not opening up the Monsters page for pre-orders (I cannot in good faith ask you to pre-order a new book when my previous one has not been published yet), but I am asking for something else. I’ve posted the first three chapters of Monsters and if you like what you read, please consider clicking the FOLLOW button, leaving a quick review, and, most importantly, clicking the NOMINATE button near the top of the page. It’s a short and sweet form that basically asks you why you like what you read and feel like it’s worthy for publication.

While potential publication for Monsters would be farther out, securing a slot in the Inkshares publication queue would give it a head start, effectively cutting out the long, grueling process of another pre-order campaign.

The nomination process will close on May 1st (with winners selected the month after), and here’s the page for Monsters: CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE.

ALL ABOARD THE DIABEETUS EXPRESS

As a fun side project, I started doing homemade sugar cookies with commissioned designs. If you have a need for custom sugar cookies in your life, let me know at rruszin17@aol.com.

AND NOW FOR THE COMEDY PORTION OF THE SHOW…

Q: What do you say to console an English major?

A: There, their, they’re

Thanks again for your support and patience, and I’m excited to share more news with you all when I have it!

Ricky

Hey everyone,

I hope your summer is going well and that you’re able to take some time to relax, eat some good food, and read some good books. I finished Stephen King’s If It Bleeds and am now about halfway through Michael Crichton’s The Lost World. So far, it’s even better than Jurassic Park.

I just wanted to drop in to say that Adam has finished reading Showtime and is pleased with the amount of developmental revisions that I’ve done with Sarah. Because of this, I’m thrilled to say we’re finished with macro-level editing (plot, character development, pacing, etc.) and moving on to the next stage of production: line and copy edits!

“More editing?” you might say. “What’s the difference between line and copy editing? Isn’t all editing the same?”

I’m glad you asked, because no, it’s not!

Line editing involves combing through the manuscript at the sentence level, focusing on the use of language—Is it clear? Is it easy to read? Does your diction convey what you originally meant? Good stuff like that to hone and polish the prose.

Copy editing, on the other hand, covers the mechanics of writing like spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

I’m not sure when I’ll have a new line edited draft to look through (I’ll send out another update when I do), but I’m optimistic that these next two stages will take less time than the previous rounds of developmental edits since we’re funneling down into the smaller pieces of editing now.

Showtime’s release date (like all Inkshares books in production right now) is still uncertain, but we’re looking at fall of 2021, which is pretty much what I expected when Showtime was greenlit for publication last summer. Regardless of the publisher, it takes around two years for a book to get from manuscript to finish product. Fall of 2021 puts it around that mark. If it weren’t for COVID, it would undoubtedly be released into the wild earlier. Oh well, that just gives us time to cast the movie. Any takers? ;)

Thanks again for your support, and enjoy your afternoon!

Ricky

Hey everyone,

I ate the cookies.

I finished the Doritos.

I am running low on chocolate.

How is it possible that two weeks of quarantine snacks only lasted a few days?

While you ponder that, I wanted to drop in with a quick note to let you all know that I recently completed and turned in re-writes for the most recent draft of Showtime. With everything (including my job) shut down due to Coronavirus concerns, I’ve been able to devote all the time I would’ve been spending at work on doing re-writes. Between having two solid weeks to work on it, as well as having less to do with it in general this time around, this draft took about half the time as the last one.

From here I’ll wait for Sarah to get back to me with another editorial letter and we’ll see what else—if anything—we need to work on to make sure the characters, plot, and the book in general is as perfect as possible when it plops out of the sky and into your gloved, sanitized hands (you know, since we’re social distancing).

Thanks again for your patience, support, and enthusiasm. Stock up on snacks and wash your hands!

Ricky

Hi everyone,

I’m happy to say that, as of last night, Showtime re-writes have been completed and sent back to my editor for review. From there she’ll let me know her thoughts and we’ll see if anything else needs additional work. I’m anticipating another round, but this current revision (aside from actually writing and successfully crowdfunding the book) is undoubtedly the biggest hoop to jump through before getting Showtime to publication and finally into your hands. Even if there’s additionally work to be done, I doubt it’ll be as much as this round.

With this revision, I ended up adding about 17,000 additional words to the manuscript—meatier descriptions, more dialogue, enhanced backstory and character relationships, among others—for a total of 126,000 words and roughly 490 pages. I anticipate a little being cut, but overall I’m pretty excited with the changes and really think the book is even better than before.

The next step is getting some feedback from my editor about the new draft (hopefully within the next couple months) and we’ll take it from there. I’ll be sure to send out new information when I have it, but for now, thanks again for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Ricky

Hey everyone! 

Just wanted to take minute and update everyone on our progress. After the official 1-month mark since beginning, we have passed 150+ pre-orders! “Showtime” is still the #1 trending funding title on Inkshares, the #2 spot for amount of followers, and #3 for amount of pre-orders! Thanks to all of you for your orders, continued support, and enthusiasm!

As always, remember to share, tag, and forward to friends and family who you think might be interested in the book, and stay tuned to Facebook on 2/22/19 for the Dunkin’ Donuts gift card(s) giveaway(s)! If you’ve already ordered, you’re already entered (each order=1 entry). If not, there’s still time to be entered!

Thanks again, guys and girls. Here’s to the next milestone!

Ricky