My Thank You Note To You

As we enter a new decade, I just want to say a huge thank you for your support, your readership, and your encouragement. Thank you, so very, very much, for sticking around—embarking on my different endeavours in the past years.

Since 2011, I’ve transitioned from fanfiction to original fiction to crowd-funding novels and to videos. And honestly, I wouldn’t have done it all if I didn’t have you by my side. So whether you’ve just come on-board or have been around since the start, I hope you know that your presence means a whole lot to me. After all, everything I do would be in vain if not for you! For if I make no difference through my words, it would all be for nothing.

With that being said, I’m moving into this new decade with an exciting new plan for this blog, more videos on my Facebook page, and a book series I intend to keep writing. And though I do not know what the future holds, I do know that I’ll have you—or at least, some of you—who would still stick around until the very end. So thank you in advance for another decade—who knows where we’ll all be in 2030. Perhaps… in space!

Keeping this short and sweet, I’d like to wish you a Happy New Year! And may your next decade be filled with amazing adventures, wild escapades, and a great story worth telling for generations to come. Stay awesome and keep dreaming, my friend!

With lots of love, Jeyna ❤️

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A New Year, A New Journey

2015 has been good.

It was a year I self-published my novella, Dr. Slubgob’s Letters, and crowd-published my novel, The Battle for Oz. It was a year I started to earn royalties… for the first time in my authoring career! And a year I pulled through The Clubhouse series. 2015 was also a year I finished the first book of my first trilogy. It’s safe to say, I wrote a lot this year.

So what’s up for 2016?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know where my authoring career would go in 2016. I don’t know if there would be a 2nd print run of The Battle for Oz. I don’t know if The Slave Prince will be a success on Inkshares. And I don’t know if I should also crowd-fund the first book of my trilogy. But what I do know is the change I want to incorporate on this blog.

Blogging in 2015 was slow. The growth in readership wasn’t large. But that isn’t what’s bothering me. To be honest, the interaction with you is what I’ve missed throughout 2015. So for 2016, I intend to change things up.

Being that The Clubhouse series has to finish (as I don’t like leaving stories hanging), I’ll be posting a new chapter every fortnightly in 2016. In the weeks in between those chapters, I’ll either post short stories, talk about my experiences, voice opinions, and maybe share personal tips and tricks – all under the sun of writing and fiction. I hope that this variety will get you responding again. I won’t deny, it’s been lonely having no one to talk to. And I’ve thoroughly missed you.

Do I sound like a clingy ex? We haven’t broken up yet, have we? Oh, no, we haven’t. If you’re still here, we haven’t. So let’s rekindle this love affair. If you have any topics you’d like me to cover, do let me know. Having a livelier blog is my goal for 2016. Speak up if you have something to say, I’m all ears! If you don’t like commenting, because it’s not your thing, my inbox is always open to emails and I check it everyday.

With that being said, I just want to add a thank you for your faithful following of my blog. I know I didn’t do much in 2015, but I’ll make sure 2016 is better. Thank you for staying on board in this slow current and thank you for the constant support. Please remain seated because the ride isn’t over.

Cheers to a Happy New Year, my dear reader. May your 2016 be filled with lots of adventure and fantastical experiences. I hope it would be a great year for you, as I hope it would also be for me. Let’s have a memorable year together! *cue imaginary fireworks*

Celebrating (Almost) 7K With A Giveaway!

This day has arrived. Never thought it ever would. I mean, 7,000 6,900 subscribers… who would imagine? Well, I have imagined, but I never thought I would reach it. A month or so ago, Big Bang had a concert in Malaysia. They had 15,000 attendees. 7,000 6,900 is less than half of 15,000, but the sight of half a stadium packed with people is still mind blowing. (No, I’m not a Big Bang fan. I didn’t attend the concert. But I think T.O.P is cute though.)

Anyway, that being said, I am just so honoured to have each and every one of you as my reader. I’m not sure how many of you are still reading my posts every week, but even if you don’t, you subscribing shows your support. Thank you for your support. It means a lot to me. Every single reader is a boost of morale. Thank you for being that one. Without you, it wouldn’t be 7,000 6,900. Thank you 🙂

So, to celebrate this awesome milestone, I have a special announcement to make.

As some of you might know, my latest novel, The Battle for Oz, will be out in September. It will be on bookshelves in the US and Canada. Some bookstores have already placed orders to have my book in stock. I’ll list them out in the near future. But that is not the special announcement today. As per the post title, there is a giveaway!

If you’re on Goodreads, there’s a Goodreads giveaway happening right now. 20 copies of the book will be freely given to those living in US and Canada! Click HERE to join the giveaway – it ends on September 15th.

Unfortunately, it’s not open to all the countries in the world. So perhaps I’ll throw my own giveaway in the future. That being said, if you would like to get your hands on The Battle for Oz, you can find it listed on many online bookstores worldwide. If you live in Asia, Open Trolley in Singapore has my book listed. You can also get it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you want most of your money to be sent to me, you can buy it from Inkshares. I make the most profit from direct sales there. Inkshares also offers free shipping 🙂 Win-win!

On a side note, if you are a game developer, music composer, filmmaker, visual effects expert, artist, jewellery maker,  or anyone along those professions, that would like to collaborate on expanding the world of The Battle for Oz, send me an email. Let’s create another win-win situation 🙂

Well, that’s all for this post. Thanks again for your readership! Do continue to stick around for more awesome adventures ahead. And have a great weekend!

6500 & A New Book

When was the last time I did a thank you post? I think it was during the 5000’s. I decided not to write these posts so frequently, not because I’m not grateful for having you around, but because I don’t want to water down my gratitude. Hence, I have decided to say thank you every 500 new subscribers. So, here I am again!

A big thank you to all 6500 readers of my blog! Thank you for paying my blog a visit, reading my stories, liking and commenting on them, and for spending your precious time on my little space on the internet. The daily growth of my blog is a huge encouragement. Having you say you enjoy my stories, whether new or old, whether original or fanfic, really makes my day. Thank you so much for being my reader and I hope you will continue to support me as I tread the waters of this big ocean of writers.

Thank you!

Now apart from my little gratitude segment, I would also like to announce that I will be releasing a new book in May. No, this is not The Battle For Oz, but another spin off.

If you have been following me since 2013, you would have remembered the blog series called Dr. Slubgob’s Letters. It was written based off C. S Lewis’ book, Screwtape Letters. This year, I was happy to discover that C. S Lewis officially entered the public domain. Which means, I can now self-publish Dr. Slubgob’s Letters!

Of course, my writing style has changed since 2013. So, I’m spending a lot of time editing, editing, and editing this piece of work. Once I’m done, I’ll convert it into a novella. I also have a graphic designer friend working on the book cover. The moment both parts of the book are ready, I’ll put it for sale. Don’t worry, there will also be a giveaway.

The reason why I decided to ‘re-publish’ Dr. Slubgob’s Letters is because The Battle For Oz is still in the process of publication. It has just completed the editing stage and will take a while before it hits the shelves. I wanted to give you something else to read before that book is published.

My plans for my unpublished works has changed since The Battle For Oz was successfully crowd-funded. I might even crowd-fund another novel in the future but for now, I’m just going with the flow. I hope The Battle For Oz will propel me forward as an author and give me a chance to play with the big boys soon. So, if you’re interested in checking the book out, please do so. It’s on Inkshares, Amazon, and a few other online bookstores if you would like to pre-order it.

791 copies have been pre-ordered so far – only 209 before I hit the 1k mark! Would you lend a hand? It’s a milestone I have yet to achieve 🙂

Anyway, there will be more news to come as time goes by. For now, know that I’m releasing a novella soon. I don’t want to write a short story out of this, so I’ll end it here. Once again, thank you so much for your support and readership. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a good weekend and continue to stay awesome!

The Sixscriber Milestone

I know, what a bad play with words. ‘Six’ and ‘Sub’ do not sound alike, so forgive me. I tried. And failed.

ANYWAY, why the horrible title? Well… I’ve hit a milestone! The 6k subscriber milestone!

Thank you so much to all the sixscibers of my blog 🙂 Many of you have been around since the very beginning, while some of you have just hit the subscribe button, but each of you has helped make my blog grow. Thank you for being a reader of my works and thank you for supporting me. I’m always trying to improve and I’m really grateful that despite some horrible writing, you are still around. Thank you so, so very much!

This year, I’m looking forward to more awesome adventures with you. There will be more book releases, one even in paperback, and I just cannot wait to see how 2015 will play out. I do hope you would still be with me when the year ends. Chasing dreams can get lonely and tiring, but knowing that you enjoy my works will keep pushing me forward 🙂

Lastly, BUY MY BOOK! BUY IT NOW! BUY! BUY! BUY! Lend me a hand and pre-order my soon to be released novel. It would help a lot! Thank you in advance! (Now you have to buy it 😛 )

Keeping this extremely short and sweet, I just want to say another big thank you. I don’t know what else to add to express my gratitude, but do know that I’m really thankful for you… thank you for being here!

*If you have suggestions, questions and comments, you can leave them down below or send me an email. I’m always happy to hear from you. Which writer does not want to hear from their readers, am I right?

Have a good week! 

2015, Here We Go!

The crowd-funding project for The Battle For Oz is over and guess what? It is a success!

I have never imagined raising this much money in such a short time and I’m just so excited! I had a super huge backer a few days before it ended, who practically gave enough to cover the remaining shortage. Thank God! Yes, thank God and that backer!

But they are not the only ones that deserve my gratitude. Firstly, I want to thank my parents for their support. They really went out of their way and helped me seek potential funders among their friends. They were more gung ho than me, boldly getting their friends on board. It’s safe to say, the majority of funds were raised because of their friends. And to be honest, I did not even ask them to do so, they just did. Thanks mum and dad ❤

Secondly, I want to say thank you to every casual adventurer, realm traveller, and chosen one. The project was funded by 147 people, but the actual number is more than that. A lot of people handed me cash, and though their names are not in the system, I’m extremely grateful for their support.

And lastly, thank YOU 🙂 All those who tweeted, Facebooked, reblogged and funded the project, thank you so, so much.

That being said, I promised to do a lucky draw for subscribers who funded a minimum of 5USD to the project during the crowd-funding stage. But since not many participated, I’ve decided to just give a free copy to each subscriber that funded the project. I have sent you guys an email about it, so be sure to hit reply with your details 🙂 *If I left you out, let me know.

If you are new to my blog and would like to know more about The Battle For Oz, you can pre-order the book HERE. It is currently priced at 17.99$, which includes shipping. I would definitely update you on the progress of publication through this blog as days go by. Hopefully, I would be able to hold the book in my hands soon. Gosh, I can’t wait!

The Battle For Oz could finally be my big break. But even though I do not know where this book will take me or how my career as an author will take off after this, I know I could not have done it without the faith I’ve gotten from every supporter. My journey might still be a long one, but I know that dreams CAN come true, if you and I believe 🙂

Thank you once again! Now, excuse me while I digest the fact that this is really happening.

*Shameless plugging time: it has been awhile so… like me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter!
#TheBattleForOz if you have any questions or would like to find updates through social media. O.k, goodbye!

2014 Annual Report by Monkeys

My blog has been viewed in 126 countries! That’s more than half of the world! More importantly, I could not have done it without you. So thank you, for being a part of my blogging experience 🙂

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Writing & Milestones

I’ve recently been posting ‘thank you’ posts at very random milestones, but I’ll be setting it straight soon.

Anyway, since we’re on this topic, I just want to say thank you to all 5,690 subscribers! It’s nice to know that even though I’ve completely moved out of fan fiction and started my own blog series, new readers are still coming on board. Thank you for that! I really appreciate the support. I’m not a great writer, but I certainly have great readers 🙂

Now, on to random updates…

#1 The Battle For Oz Project

The crowd-funding project is currently at the 58% mark and I have 37 days left to complete the funding. Do you think I can do it? Could this finally be my big break? For one, I surely can’t do it without you!

So if you feel like spreading the cheer this season by giving a passionate dreamer an early Christmas gift (or birthday gift cause my birthday is just around the corner, tee hee), do head to the project page and pre-order a copy of the novel. Your support will leave a ripple in my life and I would greatly appreciate it.

*If you don’t know what this project is about, the project page will fill you in. Just spare me an extra 5 minutes and give it a read.

#2 The Clubhouse

How has it been for you? It gets better, I promise. The beginning is a little slow as I myself have very little control over how the story evolves, but I do hope to include some interesting twists along the way. Honestly, it has not been easy writing those chapters but I’m glad you still read them and vote every week.

I can only gauge the number of readers based on the votes, and though it may only be a few, I’ll still keep it up. The goal of The Clubhouse is for me to practice character development and I’m just happy you’re tagging along 🙂 Besides, once I start something I make sure to finish it. No one likes it when a TV series gets cancelled halfway, am I right?

If you have any suggestion for the series, do let me know. The comments on those chapters are scarce and I could really use some feedback.

#3 New Books In 2015

Or at least I hope it will be 🙂

I have plans to release a bunch of new books next year. If The Battle For Oz project is a success, I might have the chance to use the profit from that book to publish my other books in paperback too!

Currently, I have a few books just waiting to hit the market. How far these books can go really boils down to the success of The Battle For Oz. So echoing what I’ve said earlier, please check out the crowd-funding project.

Books I plan to publish in 2015:
– The Slave Prince (Novel)
– Dr Slubgob’s Letters (Novella)
– Love Tank (Novelette)
– AND of course, The Battle For Oz (Novel)

#4 Thank You Again

To end, I just want to say thank you once again. I’ve come a long way as a writer and perhaps I still have a long journey ahead, but your support has helped me push forward. I honestly do not know if I would make it one day, but having readers like you remind me that I can. Thank you for simply being here. I hope you will continue to stick around, even if the only success I have as a writer is this blog 🙂

Thanks for being awesome and have a good weekend!

5,540 : 3,513

#5,540

I have reached 5540 subscribers today 🙂 Yippee yay! Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate all the comments, shares, likes, and re-blogs, and I’m grateful for your time spent at my little corner of the internet. I’m happy that you have decided to join me on my fictional adventures and I hope you will continue to stay on board. Thank you!

#3,513

As bloggers, you and I have a desire to share our voices with anyone who would listen. So, you understand me more than anyone else. If you’re an indie writer, you get me even more! Help me amplify my voice to the world. I know I’m asking you to support my dream when you have dreams of your own, but you also know that dreams don’t just come true by wishing on a star; dreams come true when you and I believe.

3513 is actually the exact number of dollars I’m short in completing The Battle For Oz crowd-funding project. I’m more than halfway funded, but I need your help to give me a boost. This is the time where I need just a little more from you.

I hate asking people for money, but to have you back me up would mean a lot. After all, you’ve subscribed because you believe in me, right? I would appreciate if you could have a little more faith 🙂 Trust that this would be a huge stepping stone and it would give me a good kick start to publish more books; books I hope to share with you.

I only have  65 days left to complete the funding project and time can really fly. Please check out the project when you have the time. I would appreciate it. You can also read more about the paperback giveaway should you be interested in winning a copy.

I hope you would give me your support. The world may not need me as another author, but the world could use a fresh conviction that dreams can come true when we stand together and believe 🙂

Keeping this short and sweet, thank you once again for staying with me. I’m looking forward to greater adventures with you!

Busy & Blessed

Let’s start with the blessed part of this post first.

I’m blessed to have all of your guys as my readers. Today, I’ve officially hit the 5,400 subscriber mark! A big thank you for all of your support and readership. I honestly don’t know what else to say, because there’s only gratitude for your subscription 🙂 I hope you will continue to support me in my future endeavours, as there are bigger adventures to come.

Now on to the busy part of this post.

I’ve been rather busy these past 10 days; contacting everyone I know, asking for funding for my crowd-funding project. I’ve exhausted my email and Facebook contacts, and I’ve even gone through 2,400 subscribers’ gravatar profiles in search for emails to send a personal message regarding the project. If you’ve gotten an email, please do consider funding me, if you have not, I’m so sorry. I could not find your email, but please consider funding me too! *I’ll still be going through the other 3,000 gravatar profiles, but it’ll take some time.*

So, how has the funding been going? Rather well actually.

In the first 10 days, today being the 10th day, I’ve hit 40% of my goal! So a huge thank you to all my family, friends and readers who have supported me so far. No matter what amount you guys gave, you helped me get this far in such a short period of time. For those who are still on the fence about backing this project, I would be so happy if you would hop on board and give me a hand. In other words, I NEED YOUR HELP! With your help, the project will be completely funded in no time! And that would mean a lot me 🙂

Click HERE to go to the project’s page.

The incentives have been tweaked to cater to smaller backers. Now, you can get an e-book for 5 USD and a paperback for 25 USD! If you would like to be the first few to read The Battle For Oz novel, don’t waste anymore time and visit the project page right now! Or at least check it out 🙂

Anyway, that’s all for this short post. Please do check out the project and thank you once again for all the support. Stay awesome guys and have a wonderful weekend!