Music.

Music good.

Billy Joel.

Billy Joel good.

Listen.

Listening?

Good.

News time.

News good.

---

January has been an exciting month filled with fantasy and goodness for all. I mean, not really, but it’s been great for me at least.

Work at the Ascended Scribery has picked up a good deal, and yet I’m writing faster than usual. It’s a nice feeling when you finally work out your problems and come to a solution both yourself and your poor discipline can agree on.

Let’s take a peek at the big news around town.

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Release of the month:

NOTHING!

You betcha.

I’m so face deep in Substation 7 that I can hardly lift it up without an automaton running up, holding me at gunpoint, and then initiating a pseudo-intellectual eschatological-foreshadowing-themed monologue before suddenly and inexplicably being unable to shoot at me.

I try gosh darn hard to get all my ducks in a row, but sometimes I just have too much to do. Sorry.

Oh! But my Royal Road fiction page has been regularly updated! Check it out for some neat chapters in either ongoing or totally not ongoing fiction!

I’ll try to whip something up for next month, but no promises~

 

Spooky Ghost-Robot Action 4: Carrie Learns Typing

Okay. We’re at the edge of the precipice.

It’s been a little over a year since I started Substation 7, and it’s been an exceptionally beautiful, terrifying… mostly just terrifying journey. The time has come to unveil the fourth and final book in the series, culminating in a ton of huge revelations, a lot of death, and approximately only one (1) good ending for a pair of characters.

That’s it. Everyone else steps on legos. Hope you like it.

Here’s the cover!

Oh, Emancipation cover, you are so beautiful.

Book four: Emancipation is everything you’ve been waiting for in a mind-bending, fatal conclusion in the thrilling Substation 7 series. Finally, Clare finds her mom.

*knowing laughter*

Oh man, it’s gonna be bad. It sure isn’t the only thing she’s going to find.

Find out the awesome final twists along with a bevy of other stupendously dark secrets on August 20th!

“Wow, a whole series published in under a year!? Kell, you are so cool!” – nonexistent reader

Haha yes. Yes I’m amazing, thank you.

After book three comes out on March 21st, I’m going to start pushing the series super hard in promotions. That’s when I’ll really need your help in spreading the word. It’s going to be a big deal.

Preorder it here for literally five bucks. You won’t regret it if you’re into thrillers, fantasy, or just people going through emotional situations.

 

Getting Paid TM: a reflection

Before I get onto the next update. I’d like to take a moment to appreciate you all for your support.

This month has been pretty big, as I said, and it’s for more than one reason. A big thing that happened was that I got royalty checks for about $100 between all versions and books.

I’m technically still super small time money-wise, so I guess in a way we’re still in that really tight cool club stage where you guys can point at your chests a few years down the line and say “Heh, yeahhhhh I knew Kell when he was selling a book a month,” and you wouldn’t be wrong. I mean, if you said it that way, the person you’re talking to probably wouldn’t like you any more or be impressed at all. In fact it would probably hurt your credibility as an enjoyable person somewhat, but I’m not going to get on your case about that, you do you.

All that said, I’m very, very greateful for your ongoing support, and I really look forward to what the future brings.

I mean, hey! At this pace, I’ll be writing full time in only a few years! $100 a month is 10x more than what I made per month last year, so perhaps 2020 will be the beginning of the $1000 month! and then… AND THEN….

*ehem*

No, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

It’s a very validating feeling getting paid somewhat for your art, and though we’re not quite at the point where we’re pulling even between costs and income, it’s only a matter of time before the scales tilt inexorably, everlastingly in the other direction.

I’ll keep writing if you keep reading: that is the rule, the covenant, and the law. I mean, I’ll keep writing no matter what, but your eyes and thoughts are what makes it so worthwhile.

Again, and I know I’ve said it a million times, but thank you for at helping me pursue my dream.

That said, I’m too far gone by this point to quit. So either:

A: I write my magnum opus literary universe and get discovered after I’m dead

OR

B: I write my magnum opus literary universe and get discovered while I’m alive

The choice is yours (but mostly mine)!

 

A long-awaited improvement: The LORE TAB!

Okay, so I get it.

The Inkrealm is a pretty big, multi-book, multi-genre kind of place.

With so many hundreds of characters, locations, magics and relationships going on, how exactly do you keep yourself from getting overwhelmed?

Today I produce an answer.

Replacing the (FREEBIES OR DIE!) tab (you can find that short story for it in the “Shorts” tab) you will now find the “Lore” tab!

This new section of kellinkston.com will help new readers get acquainted with the Inkverse, and old veterans gain pretentious levels of fictional-world knowledge!

The Lore tab will be regularly updated with pieces of lore and knowledge to help make new and old readers have a better time making sense of everything.

You can get your hands on some slick analyst knowledge by visiting the lore tab right here.

 

Big Boy Risky Releasey

Hey, Occult Vengeance looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

I sure think so.

What if I told you that it’s going to be released not only on Amazon, but kobo, apple books, smashwords, b&n and more?

“But Kell: If you publish it to other outlets then how will Amazon give you kdp exclusive status for the bo-”

HOGWASH!

I hardly ever use their sales, and their monthly “budget” is something that only really assists the heaviest performers.

It’s been some years since I made the decision to keep it close to the Amazon jungle, but now it’s time for my books to see the world, starting with Occult Vengeance!

To my kdp select readers, sorry, but you’re going to have to square up with me for this one, because I realize I should be focusing most on finding new people, rather than wriggling out in the sun like I have been. I can’t give amazon all the glory. It may be where most of the money is, very true, but even so it is not where all the readers are.

Getting back in-line with my personal beliefs, I don’t think it’s all that cool to serve an overlord unless that sort happens to be Chaos, and even that’s a stretch.

The publishing landscape moves fast, and some people are here purely to make money. I realize now, however, that the money was never my primary motivation. Over the years I made decisions clouded by that judgement, but now it’s as though the lenses are becoming clearer by the day. Delivering an excellent story to as many people as possible is my priority, not having a ton of well selling tits-and-chest-out pieces of business.

Call me a fool if you will, but I can tell this is the right way for me. At least, I can tell it’s right so long as it works 😀

Coming December 10th, you can get your hands on my latest in all sorts of neat websites! I’ll fill you in soon.

Occult Vengeance will be my biggest release yet. It’s gonna be longer than my usual book, filled to the brim is sick-brutal action, sassy fairies, highly awkward romantic tension and a god that is literally a slug covered in salt. I’ll remind you guys about it leading up to release so you can tell all your slug-hating friends about it. You can preorder it here.

Now then, onto the main event.

 

The 2020 Release List!

The moment you’ve been waiting for!

2020 Isn’t going to be an exceptional year for releases, but it’s gonna be good for sure.

Here’s all the releases planned for this year:

 

March 21st: Reclamation (preorder)

April 10th: Secret project #1 (just wait til next month!)

June 10th: Secret project #2 (Oh maaaaan will you be surprised!)

August 21st: Emancipation (preorder)

 

-BIG MAYBE ZONE BEGINS-

October 20th: Xtreme Force #1 (Yes. If I can work it into the calendar, it will finally, actually, really truly happen.)

-BIG MAYBE ZONE ENDS-

 

November 20th: The Scar (preorder)

December 10th: Occult Vengeance (preorder)

Couple this with a few cool surprise hellos here and there, and you can expect a 2020 worth remembering! Your friends are gonna be so jealous when you show up to school with the newest in gory action fantasy thriller sci-fi loaded into your fortnite device: they’ll probably shower you with V-bucks.

I can already see it:

Significantly-less-cool-by-comparison friend: “Wow ‘reader’s name’, how come your mom buys you ALL of Kell Inkston’s amazing adventures?!”

You, looking over laxly as you pull down your aviator glasses the same moment you finish showing an impressed Barack Obama how to do a kickflip: “Yeahhhh, I guessssssss.”

Significantly-less-cool-by-comparison friend: “Uh… that doesn’t answer my question, though. How did you get your mom to-”

“Yeahhhh, I guessssssss,” you’ll respond yet again, taking a quick, listless sip from your teal/purple solo cup containing three different caffeinated sodas, even though your mom said you couldn’t have any because it’s close to your bedtime.

That’s how I imagine it, at least. I’m sure your day-to-day life is just as cool as that.

 

Anyway, I’ll contact you again soon with more deeply important news. Big greetings and well-wishes from the Scribery. I hope you’re having the time of your life wherever you are. A-and remember, support the arts!

All the best,

Kell Inkston

(P.S. Is it better to be loved or respected?)