The ebook is finally here! If you pre-ordered, you should have got an email with the download link. If not, let me know so I can remedy that. The paperbacks will arrive in two weeks! I couldn’t have done this without YOU. I will never forget your generosity. Thank you! I won’t take any more of your time, well except for the 280 pages I’m hoping you’ll read. If you enjoy it, reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, basically anywhere, help tremendously. Thank you! You’ve got a friend for life and someone who thinks you’re a hero.

Sincerely,

Jake

Happy and Healthy Summer to all of you! I’m sure you’re aware because I won’t shut up about it, but in less than a month, my book will finally be out! July 20th is the release date of the paperbook. You may get the ebook earlier, but I can’t guarantee that. A THOUSAND THANK YOUS for all your support, generosity, and patience! Although the delay was extended and I worried if it would ever happen, now that it’s around the corner I’m freaking out. I’m sure there’s a lot I’d change about the book now, but you know what, I support the me who wrote it, just like you did. So thanks for being the model. 

Anyway, I wanted to give you this little update and to say that you may want to change your address on file if you have moved since it’s not only been three years, but also three years with a world-upending pandemic in the mix. You can sign in at Inkshares, then click on your icon in the upper right and there will be a Shipping Address option. I’d happily change it for you, but they won’t let me. Your other option is to send me your new address and I’ll send you the book from stack of author copies I get. It’s a small stack and I plan on sneaking some into libraries so I wouldn’t bank on this option, but I’ll do my best. Ok, that’s all. Thank you again! Hope you’re well and I’m excited to see/talk to you in 2021. 

All the best,

Jake 

What a year it’s been. I don’t think anyone would have elected for this last year given the choice. It’s difficult on my heart when I sit with my thoughts of everyone who suffered, struggled, cried, grieved or worse. I hope as we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel you can find some light in your life, a little hope, a little happiness, a little relief. My own frustrations this last year were rooted in my book being put on hold (oh and the government, police, the elimination of joy, etc). While Stephen King and Elizabeth Gilbert thrived, book sales for new authors plummeted and hikes in costs for publishing and marketing made publishing my little book a no-go for 2020. I didn’t realize how stunted I felt not having this book out there. My own idiosyncrasies made it very difficult to start new projects with one big unfinished one looming over me. I felt frustrated with my own creative output and guilty for not delivering on something so many of you supported me on. 

But a little hope has has arrived alongside the larger hope that we may see a more active community. The copyedit is finished (Turns out the Chicago Manual of Style prefers LA to L.A. among many other little tweaks) and I just received the I initial pour (like a drink but words fixed on a page)! The book awaits a proofread, and then we’ll have our release date! A date that will be within the window to read on a beach or on vacation (hint hint summer hint hint)

As soon as I have that date, I’ll be shouting it from the digital rooftop! My gratitude for your support and patience is limitless. Whether or not you know it, you were a hero this last year, just calmly waiting, passively or actively supporting me while the days go by and the book I wrote three years ago nears publication. It’s a commitment and not an easy one considering everything we’ve been asked to endure. This year has been so devastating. There are folks who supported me who are no longer with us. The idea that this communication will be sent out to people who are not around to receive it deeply saddens me. Not for my little project but for all the projects and all the connections and all the community that will pick up not where they left off, but with a void that is irreplaceable. It makes all the creating and presenting and all the self-indulgence feel slightly silly. The real value feels like it should be in experiences. Something I wrestle with in the book. Something I’m learning that I’m still learning.

That’s all to say that having the experience of being supported by you, having someone at the other end wanting to read my words, or at the very least nurturing my need to write down my ideas has been immensely powerful in preserving some sort of peace and appreciation during all this. So thank you. Thank you for not just being here for me, but for being here. On this planet. Existing. Living. You’re good company and your presence is important. I hope we get to connect in person in the future. And even though I fear that I will be so distant from the ideas in my book that it will be like publishing an old journal and I’ll want nothing more than to board up the doors and windows and wait for the humiliation to pass, I can’t imagine wasting any more time not sharing a laugh (even at my expense) with all the people I’m lucky to know. So as we continue to wait, continue to navigate and continue to adapt, I’m so beyond thrilled that you’re here to do it with. 

So you’ll be hearing from me very soon. And in the meantime, if you know any reputable authors or infamous writers with time on their hands and patience in the hearts, maybe I can court them to read an advanced copy for a neutral or better review for the marketing. Looking for anything more flattering than "It works for squishing and squashing bugs." -Dean Koontz