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Hey, hey Bloodlings!

Just sending a quick update to remind our Smoke Testers to complete their surveys by 11:59 PM so everyone can get their 15% off coupon!

I'm only waiting on two people.  If you received one, please answer today. I'm counting on you because Smoke tests help me work out any glitches there might be in the survey, and the group is counting on you to get the coupon.

Remember: The smoke test allows me to collect your name for the acknowledgment page so I can uphold my promise to read your name in the audiobook.

It only takes a few seconds to fill out the survey, so I know we can do it!

So, what do you say? Do it for the group, and fill out those surveys! 

XOXO 

J.S. Living

Hey, hey Bloodlings!

Just sending a quick update to let you know that the smoke tests have been sent!

If you receive one, please answer immediately. Smoke tests help me work out any glitches there might be in the survey, and it allows me to prepare for sending surveys to everyone else.

More importantly: The smoke test allows me to collect your name for the acknowledgment page so I can uphold my promise to read your name in the audiobook.

I want to aim for Smoke Test completion no later than 4 April. Ideally, I would have sent this out last month, but life occurred and I tried to eliminate all issues from the pledge manager so it would be smooth sailing.

I know a week isn’t a lot of time; but we can do it!

And, for a bit of an incentive: If everyone completes their smoke test on time, I’ll send out a coupon for 15% off on my website to everyone who pledged to this campaign once I’m ready to distribute rewards.

Additionally: If everyone completes their surveys by 15 April, I’ll bump it up to a 25% off coupon! 

So, what are you waiting for? Get to filling out those surveys! 

XOXO 

J.S. Living

Hey, hey Bloodlings!

I hope you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy. Sorry I’ve waited so long to give you an update. I thought I’d sent an update last month, but only just realized that I hadn’t. Apologies for that.

Now that we’re in March, I do have quite a few things to update y’all on.

TLDR: Finding a narrator for Dmitri’s section has been a nightmare, but the third time is the charm. The audiobook is close to completion with just Dmitri’s section and the acknowledgements to be recorded, and a bit of housekeeping left to be done. If you pledged to a tier with Blood Lies, your order will be delayed. I’ll be sending out smoke tests some time this week or next week, and surveys right after the smoke tests are complete and I’ve worked out any glitches. Rewards, with the exception of Blood Lies are on track to be delivered by mid/end of April. However, there is a slight possibility it will be pushed to early May. I’ll keep you updated.

Narrator Challenges
In my last update, I asked you all to use the poll to choose a narrator, and one or two of you answered the poll. I chose the suggested narrator; however, there was a disconnect with communication and quality of work, so I had to let him go. This left me in a lurch in terms of getting the audiobook produced, so I had to go back to the drawing board.

After a ton of DMs on Instagram, scouring through Fiverr, and sending out cold calls via email to strangers who fit the bill for this job, I finally got a response!

I’m personally fond of the new narrators work, and I’m excited to have them on the team! That said, I’m going to hold the excitement in until the audio is complete because I don’t want to jinx this good news. Just know the person I’ve hired has an excellent voice and I believe he’ll do us all proud. I can’t wait to reveal who he is; but, again, I’m going to wait until the audio files are in my proverbial hand. 

Edits to the Blood Ties Book
I had to make some edits to Blood Ties, so Jynelle and Carlos have to re-record a few of their sentences. Since the changes are minor, most likely, I won’t have to categorize the book as a new edition—meaning I can order new copies with the edits to send to y’all. The edits are only slight deviations from the previous text, mostly eliminating words like “says” or “asks,” and I’ve included a book review page and an updated acknowledgements page. This should not impact production and distribution of rewards.

What’s Left
Now that we’ve secured a reliable narrator, I feel comfortable sending out smoke tests and surveys to collect names and order information because the next step is recording the acknowledgements section, which I can’t do until I’ve received everyone’s response on the surveys. Please note: If you do not complete the survey, you will automatically be listed as “Anonymous” in the acknowledgements section. So, please fill out your surveys ASAP. Outside of that, it’s just a matter of ordering the rewards and then distributing them out—with the exception of the book Blood Lies.

Blood Lies Book
Blood Lies is still in the editing stages. I hired an amazing editor named Megan to do line and copy edits. As long as we remain on schedule, the line edits should be complete by the end of March, beginning of April. After that is the round of copy editing, which should be complete by the first week of May. Sometime in between that, I have a section that needs to be sent to a sensitivity reader. I’ll be looking into finding someone who can do that job. After the editing and sensitivity reading is complete, I’ll apply for the LCCN. It will take a few weeks for the LCCN to be approved; but once it is, I can send off the copyright application and then officially publish the book!

After that, it’s just a matter of getting a proof copy and checking for any errors before ordering the book en masse. If you pledged to a tier with this book, you will receive all rewards except this one on time. This reward will be delayed. That said, if you’d like me to delay all rewards until Blood Lies is complete, you will have that option in your survey.

I truly apologize for the delay with this book. Between my day job, chronic fatigue, and general life, it’s taken me some time to get the book to where it’s at, and there’s still things to do. Please bare with me as I do them.


Smoke Tests and Surveys
Since I need an accurate count of rewards before I add the acknowledgements and order items, I will be sending out smoke tests between this week and next week. But, don’t worry, I’ll send out another update when it’s time to complete them.

Once the Smoke Tests are completed, I’ll send out the surveys. When surveys are sent, you should fill them out immediately! Filling out the surveys immediately allows me to order everything on time and keep production on track.

Overall, I’m so excited that we’re at the stage where the audiobook is almost complete and I’m able to send out surveys. Overall, we’re looking at reward completion by mid/late April. In the worst case scenario, early May, but I don’t think it will come to that. In the next post, I’ll give an update as to where we’re at overall—which will hopefully be complete! 

As always, I’ll keep you apprised of what’s going on with the project up to completion. Have a great night!

XOXO

J.S. Living

Hey, hey Bloodlings and Happy New Years!

I hope everyone is entering 2026 happy, healthy, wealthy, and full of joy. Since it's a holiday, I'll keep this super short: I need your help to choose a new voice actor for Dmitri!

Long story short, Prince Bolton will no longer be starring as Dmitri due to dereliction of duty. So, I've been holding auditions to recast the role. Now, I won't lie to you, finding a new voice actor on such short notice has been difficult, but I've narrowed it down to two individuals, and I'd love to have your input on who it should go to.

All you have to do is heart your favorite by 12:01 AM Sunday, 4 January and I'll send out the invitation and get the next section of the audiobook completed. Here's the link to vote:

 https://www.voices.com/shared_page/bb3a0e1424c89a5939259e7dca3fc7db

I can't wait to see who y'all choose. In the mean time, happy voting! I look forward to only sending good news from here on out. 

XOXO

J.S. Living