To whom it may concern... meaning you...

As you know, our debut book comes out this October. October 28th to be exact. Which means that, for the next four months, I am very focused on our pre-order campaign. Because, as we have talked about before:

• Pre-Orders count toward a book's first week sales. Meaning a successful pre-order campaign can help propel a book towards early success.

• Strong Pre-Order numbers help to impress retailers who we are asking to stock the book.

• Pre-Orders play a huge factor in most books reaching best-sellers lists and obtaining early recognition

While best-sellers lists are not our primary objective, Elaine's debut book making a massive splash absolutely is. We want to see this book on shelves all around the country. We want to see it being talked about, celebrated and discussed everywhere books are popular. Because all of that is necessary for us to reach our number one objective. Which is for Cry, Voidbringer to reach as many people as possible.

I knew that I had to be a part of bringing this book into the world by the time I had finished reading the first chapter. And now that I have read the entire book multiple times, I am as convinced as ever that this is exactly the kind of book that I want this community to be known for. It is filled with desperately needed conversations, dangerously relevant questions, complicated and relatable characters and horrifying circumstances that many of us are just as terrified to face as the characters Elaine forces to within the pages of this story. Cry, Voidbringer is anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, anti-empire and as anarchist as any fantasy I have read in recent years. I am in love and I'm certain that many of you will be as well.

Before I drop a pre-order link, here is a little bit about the story, for those of you who haven't seen previous descriptions:

Cry, Voidbringer follows a warrior who was stolen from her home as a child and raised in a neighboring nation, who not only erased her language and culture, but forced her to become a warrior in their conquest to reclaim pieces of their broken empire that were conquered by a fading colonial power generations before. Now, decades into conscripted service, she comes across a little girl who has been blessed by the gods with a devastating amount of supernatural power. When she is chosen to protect the girl by the Queen, who hopes to turn her into a weapon that can finally help win the war, she objects to being complicit in someone else's oppression. But her options are very limited. As a slave, she has no power to say no to the Queen. So her choices are to run, condemning everyone she loves; to stay and work toward reforming a corrupt crown that cares only about reclaiming its own undeserved glory; or burn everything to the ground and wait to see what rises from the ashes. This is the first in a Duology and what I believe will be one of, if not the, best fantasies of the year.

I know, I know... sounds too good to be true. Well, luckily for you, it's true. We really found a story that checks all of the boxes. Magic, war, gods, devastating political circumstances and impossible moral dilemmas. I could not have dreamed up a better book to launch our publishing journey as a community.

Which is where you all come in.

There are three THOUSAND people subscribed to this community. And each and every one of you are here because you believe in what we are fighting for and because you want to be a part of it. So my ask is, if this book sounds like something you'd enjoy reading, and it is within your budget, please don't wait for launch. Order it now. Pre-sales play a significant role in our plans for this book and I would love it if we set Elaine up for the massive success she deserves right from the jump.

I know that many of you have already ordered your copy, but if you haven't, here is a link, please go grab your copy now: https://bookshop.org/a/87137/9781964721521

I would also love it if you would join me tomorrow, in a massive push on social media. The book launches on the 28th of October. That gives us 18 weeks to take this book and make it everyone's most anticipated book of the year. So I would appreciate it if you would join me in a weekly social media take-over. If even a fraction of this community posts about this book once every Friday, we can easily hit our goals and ensure that this book is being talked about by thousands of people before its launch date.

THE ASK:

I am asking that if you have social media of any kind, you post about Cry, Voidbringer tomorrow and then every Friday through October 28th. I will post here and in our community discord every Thursday to remind you and to provide you with fresh updates, graphics, sales pitches, blurbs, creative ideas and new sales happening through various retailers:

Here are some short summaries you can use if you don't want to summarize the book yourself:

• Cry, Voidbringer is an anarchist dark fantasy that challenges readers to wrestle with the cost of complicity in the face of tyranny and systemic injustice.

• Cry, Voidbringer is an anarchist story about powerful women who are fighting to resist tyranny, both from the colonial empire they are at war with, and the ruler who oppresses them in the name of her own liberation.

• Cry, Voidbringer is an anarchist dark fantasy about a conscripted warrior who was taken from her home and raised to be a soldier in someone else's war against a colonial empire. Now, decades later, she is being asked to train a child who has been gifted by the gods with supernatural power to become a weapon for that same army. A task she has no intention of honoring. But resistance means choosing between either fighting to reform a broken and corrupt system that never had her freedom in mind, or burning it all to the ground and seeing what rises from the ashes.

LINK YOU CAN USE:

• If you have a bookshop affiliate link, please use your link. If you don't, you are welcome to use mine: https://bookshop.org/a/87137/9781964721521

  • It is also available everywhere else books are sold. I am primarily using bookshop and various indie bookshops. And my bookshop link also supports a Black bookstore in Chicago, which is local to me.

  • It is also helpful to talk about the book and encourage pre-ordering even if you don't post a link. It is available wherever books are sold. They can find it. lol

AND here are some photos & graphics you can use if you prefer to post photos:

Also keep in mind that our paid subscribers have access to the entire publishing process. If you are interested in regular updates on our progress, our goals and our marketing efforts/plans, upgrade to at least the $5 tier and join us for our weekly family meeting to hear what we are working on. Thanks!