Hello, readers!
I hope that by now, you will have had a notification in your inbox of something exciting: Witherfist has officially gone into ’production’. What does this mean? It doesn’t mean that the book will start printing and shipping immediately, but it does mean that Inkshares have committed to producing and distributing the books to you all. You can read more about the Quill imprint, which Witherfist has joined, on Inkshares blog.
So what’s happening now? Well, currently, I’m working on writing the book! In May, I’ll be giving the manuscript to my editor for evaluation. Some time after that, I’ll hand it over to Inkshares - who will, in their own time, deliver the book to you. I can’t be any more specific with when at this stage because I haven’t even begun to have that discussion with Inkshares, but I will certainly keep you updated as and when I have more to share.
Barring any unusual happenings, I’ll send you all an update on a monthly basis. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please do get in touch.
~ Jenny
The contest is almost over!
By 12pm PST / 7pm GMT the Geek & Sundry fantasy contest will be over. That means you have only a few more hours to get your signed paperback copy of Witherfist and support the book as it punches higher up the top 10.
http://www.inkshares.com/books/witherfist
As a little end of contest treat, here is the last in the current series of character portraits. It’s time for Empress Lian to make her grand entrance...
~ Jenny
The Geek & Sundry fantasy contest ends on November 1st. Eek! Though Witherfist is a good 100 readers shy of reaching the top 3 - and the prize of guaranteed full publication from Inkshares - I am so thrilled and humbled by the amount of support the book has received. While the contest is active, I want to push the book as high as possible in the top 10. At the time of writing, Witherfist is tantalisingly close to the number 7 spot in the top 10, thanks in part to all of the new readers who have joined the campaign this week.
I shared in a previous update some work in progress art, and now I’m happy to present the finished piece. Here is Karaben the Imperial interogator in all her glory.
~ Jenny
Just a small update on this chilly Tuesday evening. Three new readers threw their support behind Witherfist earlier today, putting us ever-closer to 7th place in the contest top 10.
It occurred to me this morning that I’ve yet to share on Inkshares the character art of Sunderei, the Imperial scribe who appears in the third excerpt on the Witherfist project page - so here he is!
~ Jenny
Happy Monday, all! Guess what? We’re now at 152 copies, 132 readers. This means Witherfist is now less than 100 copies away from Quill publication. I hope you’re excited about that as I am!
With new readers joining us, Witherfist has now taken the 8th spot in the Geek & Sundry top 10. There’s a narrow margin between myself and ’The Delicate Art of Soulripping’ - and ’Sorcery for Beginners’ is hot on both of our tails! Ahead, ’The Living God’ has a decent but not unshakeable hold on 7th place. I guess what I’m saying is - the final week of this contest is going to be exciting and every preorder now could mean the difference between shimmying up or sliding down the top 10.
I had a great weekend at a local convention, giving out postcards and printed samples of Witherfist. I was one of only a few authors at the convention - the big draw of the day was the actor Jerome Flynn, who plays Bronn on Game of Thrones - but there were plenty of people interested in finding out more about the book and Inkshares in general.
Here’s a picture of me, manning my little stall, wearing my Witherfist t-shirt. (Not pictured: my glamorous assistants or the unspeakable amount of Haribo that was consumed over the course of the two days at the convention.)
A couple of dozen people took my sample chapters (which were printed by the AwesomeMerchandise company, check them out if you’re in the UK!). Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend and I’m hoping that many of the people I spoke to will be joining my list of followers and readers on Inkshares very soon. I think I might even have recruited a few would-be authors into joining the community.
Thanks for reading and, as always, for your support!
~ Jenny
PS. Here’s a bonus work in progress bit of character art, this time of one of the book’s antagonists: Karaben. She is a peer and former ally of Irusai’s who has also made an ink pact with an ancient spirit. Unlike Irusai, whose tattoo is on her hand and arm, Karaben’s tattoo extends from her lower lip down over her throat and connects her to a crow spirit. I won’t tell you exactly what ’power’ she gains from the spirit she’s connected to, but I will say this: Karaben acts as a spy and interrogator of sorts for the Empress and the people she questions are often found as eyeless corpses.
