Hello Folks!

This video is a little update I would like to share with you. In it I describe “five things I would like you to know about my campaign.” I had fun creating it and I hope you have fun watching it. I’m starting to get the hang of this whole putting myself on video thing, I think. Although I never fail to get nervous. But this time I had the help of my sister, Ola, who was behind the camera and offered many great ideas and helped me to feel comfortable.

This video was created on Friday, Feb. 20, when there were 20 days left in my campaign, and now we’re down to 18. Time flies, I tell you. So please spread the word: share this video! Your shares and likes on Facebook and Twitter are worth gold to me. They lift my heart and help to refresh my determination to keep on track with my goal of writing and publishing this book.

And I hope you join me for the event detailed below! Even if you are not able to donate, just showing up and showing your support will fill my heart with joy. I plan on having some fun, and I hope you will too. See you there!

Go to my Kickstarter campaign page to learn more.

Cheers,

Tamu

Shooting for the Stars!

Local author to give reading of upcoming science fiction/fantasy novel

Dear Kickstarter community, family and friends,

I would like to invite you to a reading of my upcoming science fiction/fantasy novel upstairs at the Longwood Pub, 5775 Turner Road, Nanaimo B.C., on Monday, March 9, 2015, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m.!

Hello, my name is Tamu Miles, and I am a freelance journalist, writer, and author who lives with her husband and daughter in Lake Cowichan, B.C.

I am Shooting for the Stars as I work to complete my first science fiction/fantasy novel! In this yet-to-be-titled work, the 12 main characters are each an incarnation of one of the 12 signs of the zodiac. This is an idea that formed while writing a bi-weekly horoscope column over the last six years (see my Navigating the Stars Horoscope Blog).

The Shooting for the Stars party on March 9, is to let people know about my project and have some fun at the same time. It will include a reading of the novel, a chance for participants to help me choose its title, door prizes, and a chance to view initial sketches of the characters by my daughter, and local artist, Jenna Rose. Event goers are also encouraged to dress up in whatever way they feel best represents their sign. I want people to have fun with this and be as outrageous or accurate as they want.

This Shooting for the Stars event has a second purpose, and that is to raise funds to help my husband support us while I finish the book, set to be editor ready by April of this year, and publisher ready by the end of 2015.

Seating is limited, so if you would like to attend, please email me at tamumiles@gmail.com, phone me at 250-749-6406, or let me know on my Facebook page at Facebook.com/tamu.miles.

My campaign runs until March 13, 2015, and as with all Kickstarter campaigns, I will only see the funding if I reach my goal of $2,500. Any and all help is much appreciated!

I am super excited about this project. It has been seven years in the making and has seen many transformations in terms of characters and setting, but never in terms of underlying plot.

Novel synopsis:

The novel takes place on a planet called Pleione, located in the Pleiades Cluster. The story follows Aiyana (princess of the Gitanyow and one of the twelve main characters who are bodied incarnations of the twelve signs of the zodiac) as she struggles to own and then fulfill her destiny. The queen of the Atlanteans will do anything in her power to stop Aiyana as the princess races to complete her task to open dormant genetic traits that will ultimately link the planet, its animal species, and its human populations, pushing them to the next step along the path of evolution and beginning a process that shatters the peoples’ concept of reality and propels Pleione and her sister planet, Earth, along a path of no-return.

I plan to self-publish, and I hope that the final product will contain fun things like maps of Pleione and its many cities and inhabitants—including the land of the elves and the underwater world of the sea dragons and their riders—as well as illustrations of the characters themselves. Illustrations and any artwork will be done by my talented daughter, Jenna Rose. Eventually I will also offer fun merchandise such as t-shirts and horoscope greeting cards.

This will be the first of three novels. The series will take readers across the galaxy and back home to Earth where they will be able to follow a new set of characters on a quest of epic proportions as they change what it means to be human in the Milky Way Galaxy, forever.

I would love to see you at my Shooting for the Stars event and would appreciate your help in getting the word out to your community.