The Overlords

For those of you reading this for the first time, The Overlords is a trilogy written by Mike Squatrito.  It is set in the fantasy genre, and has been an ongoing project of mine for the past eleven years.  I either found your email address, got it from you, or got it from a friend of yours!  Please continue to read this newsletter, and visit my website!

What’s New

I’m sorry to have to start out my Newsletter this way, but there was a tragic loss suffered this past month.  Elizabeth Collins, the president of Gardenia Press, passed away unexpectedly last month.  She was the person I interfaced with at the publishing house, and she was the heart and soul of the business.  With her passing, Gardenia Press has been left in disarray.  Her husband and co-president, Bob, has told me that he does not intend to continue the business without her.  What does this mean for my manuscript?  The jury is still out on that.  Like I stated in last month’s newsletter, I received positive reviews, and I am continuing my work in order to resubmit it some time in January.  I’m just hoping it will be with Gardenia Press, or someone like them.  I am still in touch with people that worked for or with Gardenia Press, so I’m hoping that I can follow their lead and hook up with another publisher that has similar interests in first time authors.

 About The Project

Currently, I’m reworking Legend of the Treasure as outlined in my evaluation.  For those of you in the literary word, I had no idea the passive voice and the overuse of adverbs was so taboo!  I would say it took me the better half of two weeks to get my brain to think in the active verb tense.  Now, I’m up to chapter 8 with my edits, and it looks like I’ll be able to finish two chapters a week.  I’m shooting for a completion date of January 1st.  Don’t hold me to it though!

Acknowledgements

I want to thank one of my kid readers, Egan Muir.  Egan has taken a huge liking to the story, so much so that he has re-read the manuscript several times over.  He also is the only child to return their questionnaire!!!  Thanks, Egan!  I now know that I have at least one true fan that has read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’m sure there will be many more to follow.

Remember kids, if you finished the story, please fill out your questionnaire and return it to me.

Excerpt of the Month

I’m going to start adding a little snippet of my book in the newsletter every month.  Let me know if you like it or not.

            “You may be surprised at the power of prayer,” said Swinkle to Murdock.

            “Pray all you want,” retorted the ranger.  “When an ogre is ready to lop off your head, I’ll take my chances with my weapon rather than counting on your god.”

Contact Information

Send all correspondences to the-overlords@cox.net.  I have accumulated many email addresses over the years, and have used them to create my mailing list.  Please pass this newsletter along to anyone you feel might be interested in my project.  The more contacts I make, the better the chances of having all my hard work pay off!

If you wish for me to use a different address or to be removed from my mailing list, please send me an email and I will handle your request.  Please feel free to visit my website at www.the-overlords.com.  There you will find character biographies, more details on my books, and links to other sights.  Be sure to visit them too!