April 29, 2021

Hello!

I am beyond excited to let you know that your copy of The Devil Inside is coming soon! The official release date is May 11, 2021!

Back in the fall of 2017, you were kind enough to pre-order a copy as part of my funding effort to get the book published. It was supposed to release last year, but—as with many things—the pandemic delayed it.

I am grateful and appreciative of your support (and your patience) while the book waited in the queue for its turn with the editor and proofreader.

Right now, it is with the printer, and it should take about two weeks to print the hard copies. From there it will ship to the fulfillment center and then it will be on its way to you! If you ordered a paperback, you will also get a free e-book copy as well. The link for that will arrive in your email when it is ready for download. If you don’t see it, be sure to check your spam folder!

But I want to make sure you get your copy after all this time, so this next part is important: If you ordered a paperback and have moved to a new home since September 2017, you will need to make sure Inkshares has your shipping address and email. Otherwise, they will send your book to the wrong place.

If you have any trouble with that, contact Inkshares customer service at and they’ll be able to help you out.

Thank you again for all of your support. I’m looking forward to all of you getting your copies, and I hope you enjoy the story (and when you’re done, I would love to have you leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads!).

Take care,

Susan

PS. And if you also see this message via my author newsletter, I apologize for the double message. There are, however, a few people on the Inkshares platform that have not subscribed to my mailing list and I don’t want to accidentally overlook anyone!

October 2, 2018

Today’s the big day! Shadow King is now officially loose in the wilderness.

In celebration, I just finished a bowl of Fruit Loops at my office desk. I know, I know, Fruit Loops are a gateway cereal and I’m letting the fact that the book is published just go to my head and acting like a rock star.

In addition to excessive consumption of sugared cereal, I’m going to be busy promoting Shadow King in a bunch of different ways over the upcoming weeks and hopefully getting some media coverage and more reviews. My first book signing/author event is on Sunday (10/7) at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westboro, MA and I’m really excited for that. Event goes from 2 to 4 pm and I hope to see you there.

Please leave a review!
Reviews are SO important to an author and to a book’s success once launched. Once you’ve read Shadow King, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be long or involved, just a few sentences to let people know what you thought of the story. My goal is to reach at least 50 reviews on Amazon!

Join me at an event
I have three events scheduled right now:

• October 7 -- 2 to 4 pm at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westboro, MA
  
• October 24 -- 7 to 8:15 at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA
  
• January 18-21 -- Arisia Convention in Boston (more details to come)
  

What’s next?
Aside from promoting Shadow King, I’m starting to investigate having an audio book created via Audible. I’ll keep you all posted on that progress.

My next book with Inkshares -- The Devil Inside -- will hopefully go into production in Spring 2019, but I don’t have any definitive dates yet.

I will have a short story coming out in the ESCAPE anthology later this year (date also TBD). There are going to be some awesome stories from some great authors who I have a lot of respect for in this volume and I’m honored to be part of it.

And last, but certainly not least, my NaNoWriMo project this year will be to get the rough draft of a Shadow King follow up written (as opposed to the jumble of notes that it is at this moment).

One more thank you
I will never be able to say thank you to all of you nearly enough. Shadow King wouldn’t be launching today if you all hadn’t taken a leap of faith back in 2016. I appreciate each and every single one of you.

Take care,
Susan

September 25, 2018

One week left! Only seven days between now and the official "Shadow King" launch date.

At this point, everyone who supported this adventure during the funding period should have received their book in the mail or via download. If you have not, please let Inkshares know so they can sort that out for you (hello@inkshares.com). 

So, now what?

Post a review online!
Now that you have your copy, I truly hope you enjoy the story. Once you’re done, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It only takes a minute or two, and it doesn’t have to be long (one or two sentences is fine), but it is hugely important for the book.

Many people take reviews very seriously when considering what books to buy. Plus, the more Amazon reviews I have, the more likely, Shadow King will get recommended via Amazon’s algorithms to potential new readers.

As an FYI: Amazon will not let you review until the official launch day.

Join me at a launch month event!
I’ll be doing author events (readings/Q&A/book signings--plus there will be snacks) at two different locations in October, and hoping to find a third venue in November. Would love to see you there. 

• October 7 at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, MA (2 pm to 4 pm)
  
• October 24 at Belmont Books in Belmont, MA (7 pm to 8 pm)
  

Beyond launch month...
Plans are not set yet, but I’m planning on being at the Arisia convention in Boston (Jan. 18 - 21), and am looking into attending Boskone (Feb. 15-17) and Readercon (date tbd). More info to come on this in the upcoming months.

I also have a short story that will be included in the "Escape" Anthology, which will have stories from a number of outstanding writers. I’ll keep you posted on when that will be available.

Thank you.
That’s it for this update. Thank you all again for being part of bringing Shadow King from idea to reality.

Best,
Susan

September 15, 2018

Great news! I just heard from a friend that she has received her printed copy of "Shadow King."

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That means if you ordered a printed copy, you should get yours over the next several days (if you haven’t already). And if the emails letting you know your ebooks are available have not gone out yet, you should get that in the near future.

Reviews rule! Once you’ve had a chance to read "Shadow King," please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews are hugely important when it comes to promoting a book -- and the magic number on Amazon is 50. Once a book gets 50 reviews, it will start appearing in the Amazon recommendations.

I’ll update again soon with more news!

Best,

Susan

September 6, 2018

August 2018

Hello everyone -- apologies for the recent radio silence on "The Devil Inside." It is still in the pre-production queue, but with "Shadow King" ramping up for its October 2 launch, I’ve really been focusing my attention there.

I have learned from Inkshares that there are about 8 books, give or take, ahead of Devil in the line for the editor. That means official production won’t kick off until sometime in 2019, which is what I had anticipated.

I know many of you also follow my adventures with "Shadow King" but there are several who joined this intrepid band after the Shadow King funding adventure wrapped up. I’d like to invite those who aren’t as familiar with it to stop over at the Shadow King page and check it out (and if you purchased a copy, that would also be amazing!). 

I’ll send another Devil update when I have some news to share on production status -- thank you all so much for being so patient while the production process unfolds!

Best,
Susan

July 20, 2018

Hello, hello! Hope you’re all having a wonderful summer. I just wanted to share a few quick updates on "Shadow King."

The Manuscript
The book itself continues to move through the process. It is with the typesetter now and I should get my first look at the layout on or around July 30. From there we have a few more reviews as we close in on having a final book ready for physical production and release.

Cover
The cover has been proofread, and once we know the spine size, my cover designer (the wonderful Charlene Maguire!) will be able to complete the final template that Inkshares will need.

Important: Have you moved?
Everyone who has pre-ordered will get their copies of "Shadow King" in advance of the October 2 release date (yay!). If you ordered a hard copy, and have moved in the last 365 days, please contact Inkshares to update your shipping address! I’d hate to see your copy go to the wrong address!

Interview
I was interviewed by Writing Bloc about "Shadow King" and writing dark fantasy as a genre. Please check it out!

Spread the Word
Like all writers, I’m always interested in spreading the word about "Shadow King." Please share what you know about "Shadow King" with friends, family, your hair stylist, dog walker, and mailman (mailperson?). And if you’re following my adventures here but haven’t ordered yet, now would be a most auspicious time! 

Thanks again for all of your support, and I’ll update again in August!

Best,
Susan

4/17/18

Hello, everyone.

I’d wish you all a happy spring, but so far, spring seems reluctant to truly show up around here. Hopefully that will change soon!

In the meantime,  I wanted to share a quick update on Shadow King...

There are now only two books ahead of Shadow King in the queue (at my last update, I think that number was seven), so things are moving along. 

I’m HOPING this means a summer kick off for my project, which will get Shadow King into the hands of the Inkshares editor for the line-edit portion of development. Once we have an official kick-off, I should be able to get a better approximation of when my release date will be--and I’ll be sure to let you all know as soon as I know!

I’m very excited that we’re a few steps closer to official production! Thank you again for sticking with me through this excellent adventure. Looking forward to updating you with more news soon. 

Best,
Susan

March 26

Hello everyone!

Today I’m really excited to share two things with you: the new title of "The Devil You Don’t" and the cover art, done by the wonderful and talented Charlene Maguire!

The new title is "The Devil Inside." Not a tremendous change, but it more accurately hits on a recurring theme throughout the book. And the cover is...

Charlene was kind enough to give me an image designed to look like a real, honest-to-goodness book and I got all giddy over it.

We’ve still got a ways to go in the queue for the editor, but as new developments or milestones come up, I’ll let you know.

Best,
Susan