Guest Post | World in a Satin Bag's Shaun Duke

In 2006, I started writing a dark young adult fantasy novel called The World in the Satin Bag on my blog (http://wisb.blogspot.com/). It was an experiment. A wild, nutty thing I decided to do to see if I could actually finish a novel (and to see if I could keep a blog going for a long time). I was a new writer then, and new writers, as far as I can tell, have a tendency to start lots of long projects and then let them die. Perhaps that's why professional writers always tell us to finish what we write...

The good news is that I finished that novel after a year and I'm still blogging at WISB. My blog changed shape and I left the novel sitting there for four years, telling myself that maybe I'd make a podcast. But I kept putting it off, reminding myself it was a lot of work or that I should focus on publishing short stories. Four years later, I got myself in a financial pickle with a very sick lizard (aww) and I realized that I would much rather try to make my way to financial safety through a creative project than to take my chances in the food industry (been there, done that).

And so, The World in the Satin Bag podcast arrived on my metaphorical doorstep. WISB follows James, a 13-year-old boy who wants to lead a life of simplicity. No wandering around at night. No creepy mansions. And definitely no adventures. But then his best friend is dragged to another world by strange and terrifying magic. James soon discovers that his parents and home town are somehow involved and that he's the only one who can, and is willing, to save her. It's an epic young adult fantasy novel with a dark twist, and a novel that I suspect all fantasy fans will love.

Since the last week of May, I've been rewriting and editing WISB and recording the chapters for public consumption (an audiobook, if you will, but chapter by chapter). But there's more than that. I'm also running a donation drive to meet a $1,000 goal by the 1st of July (to pay vet bills and rent, if I'm going to be honest). Better yet, when you donate, you get free stuff, including free copies of the finished ebook, silly handwritten letters from me, paperbacks, signed books, and you can even have a town named after you or a character based on you added to the world. And for every $250 I receive, I'll write a new short story set in the same world and make it available through my blog as an ebook and podcast.

And if that weren't enough, I've also agreed to embarrass myself publicly if I meet my goal. So far, I've agreed to record myself doing the Truffle Shuffle (from The Goonies) and Peanut Butter Jelly Time...on camera. Something tells me I'll regret agreeing to such a thing, but if embarrassment is what does it for you, then I'm obliged to make my readers happy.

All of the information about what you get for donating can be found here (http://wisb.blogspot.com/2011/06/wisb-podcast-sweetening-pot-or-donation.html). But you should probably check out the podcast first. All of the chapters are available on my blog (either via the WISB Podcast tag (http://wisb.blogspot.com/search/label/WISB%20Podcast/) or on the Podcast page (http://wisb.blogspot.com/p/podcast.html)) or on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-world-in-the-satin-bag/id442124401). I hope you'll check out the show and considering supporting me. If not, then I don't have to record myself looking like a fool, which is probably a good thing for me...

Happy reading (or listening)!