Because of all of you, we've crossed 50 backers AND $4,000! That means everyone is getting some bonus behind the scenes goodness from me when you get your books. And congrats to our 50th backer, Molly Sumridge, who gets a mystery bonus added to their pledge for getting us across that threshold.

So, what's next you ask?

Well, when we hit $5,000, we'll unlock one of my back catalog fantasy short stories. Which one is up to you! Be sure to vote in today's poll (it closes at midnight PST on September 10) to choose which one you want to unlock first!

The other day, I told you about my squirrelly beginnings as an author and that it eventually led me to my co-author, Molly. I promised that story for another day and so here it is.

Back in 2009, as I was just starting law school, I landed a literary agent for a young adult book. Said agent introduced me to one of his other clients, fellow author Molly Zenk. We struck up a fast friendship, emailing daily (like a LOT) as we went on this crazy publishing journey together. We made the decision back in 2010 to leave that agent as the relationship just wasn't working out. But we stayed in touch and we've maintained a long-distance friendship ever since. From marriages, to births of our kids, we've been through it all together and I can't imagine having gone through a lot of my publishing journey without her.

In 2018, I heard about a list-aiming multi-author collection being put together for fantasy books. It was paranormal romance focused and while I hadn't ever done something like that before, I thought that was something I wanted to try. Hitting the USA Today Bestseller list had been a dream of mine and so I gave it a go. But I didn't want to do it alone. So, I asked Molly if she'd be interested in writing a story with me.

And that story ended up being Captivity. It didn't quite go as planned (I'm looking at you Douglas and Xander) but we had such a blast crafting the world you're about to dive into and it also sparked a continued co-author journey across three different series. Each world we create is unique and offers up our flare for social justice and leaving the world better than when our characters first encounter it.

Molly has been a sounding board for me on so many things. She's pushed me to improve my craft and take risks I wasn't sure I was ready for. And because of that support, I'm sitting here writing this update as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of our first joint venture with 52 amazing backers.

But we know we're not done. This collective can still grow. So share it with your friends and family. Tell your co-workers. Let's bring this world to as many people as we possibly can.