Murder at the Veterans' Club (Inkshares Publishing)

Hi. This is Christopher Huang, author of “An Act of Murder” (among other works of IF) and writer of the Breakfast Reviews for the annual IFcomp.

I’m dipping my toes into traditional static fiction, and I’ve written a book, “Murder at the Veterans’ Club”, which I expect to see published by Inkshares Publishing next year and released in the latter half of 2017. As the title implies, it’s a traditional detective story, and it focuses on the puzzle of whodunnit. (I’ve always been fond of puzzles in IF, and I’m fond of puzzles in mystery fiction too. The two may be related.) The story itself is set in 1924, at a gentlemen’s club for war veterans; it’s a time when half the population is suffering from PTSD in one way or another, but no-one really understands what’s going on.

But here’s the thing: in order for this book to happen, Inkshares asks that I obtain a certain number of pre-orders. It’s essentially crowdfunding, with the focus being less on how much money I can drum up and more on how many pre-orders I can drum up. (And no, I’m not allowed to pre-order my own book.)

So please … if you’ve enjoyed any of my IF, or if you’ve enjoyed the Breakfast Reviews–or if you simply enjoy mystery/historical fiction in general–please consider backing this project. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

The project page on the Inkshares website is https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-at-the-veterans-club. You can read the first three chapters and pre-order from there.

Cover design by our own Marco Innocenti, author of “Andromeda Awakening” and “Andromeda Apocalypse”.

Looks cool! I’m in!

I award this book two croissants and a pancake with syrup!

Well, I haven’t read it yet, but now I will :slight_smile:.

Thanks to everyone who has ordered so far. It occurs to me that I should probably say a bit more here about the story I’m telling.

As mentioned earlier, the story is set in 1924 England, at a gentlemen’s club for war veterans. The newest member, Patrick Benson, is found stabbed to death in the vault under the club, and our hero, Eric Peterkin, soon discovers that the investigating police inspector might be actively hiding his own connection to the case. It emerges that Benson was investigating the 1918 disappearances of two volunteer nurses from a temporary war hospital, a case that implicates not only the police inspector, but the club’s board of officers as well.

Eric Peterkin (originally inspired by C.S. Lewis’s Reepicheep, now with added influence from Kipling’s Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and Kenneth Grahame’s Water Rat) is an idealistic young fellow who arrived in Flanders too late to see much more than a month of the Great War. He still has some idea that he missed out on proving himself on the battlefield; he has yet to understand the price his peers have paid, and are still paying, for that “proof”. As the investigation progresses, he learns that the men around him are not so carefree as they pretend, and their odd personal quirks may in fact be signs of a deeper problem.

Thanks. This is kind of a big deal for me, so I’m really hoping I can count on the community’s support.

Ich bin ein Murder at the Veterans’ Club prefunder.

-Wade

I enjoyed An Act of Murder and Muse, as well as this book’s preview chapters and the short stories on the accompanying website. So, I’ll definitely pre-order at least the ebook.

I’d like to order the paperback version, but the shipping costs to Germany are rather high (15 $). Are there any people from Europe around here who’d like to participate in a multi-copy order so that we could divide the shipping costs? It’d be a bit of a hassle, and there would of course also be some additional postage due for distributing the copies among us, but it would also be pretty cool. If someone is interested, please send me a pm or maybe reply here.

  • Michael

Michael, have you gotten in touch with Tale? That’s Marius Muller; I know he’s in Germany, but I’m not sure exactly where.

This looks amazing, ordering my copy tomorrow. Looks amazing.

Hi guys. Just a reminder that this is still a thing. A very big, important thing to me, so any help will be appreciated.

Chris has mentioned in his most recent update that there may be an Interactive Fiction game tie-in also. I think that would be pretty cool. So if you are on the fence about this, maybe this is your excuse to pre-order.

inkshares.com/books/murder- … e=528348a2

Still a thing, guys! Still seeking support!

Also, the IF game tie-ins are at http://www.peterkin-investigates.com/game/index.html.

I am really looking forward to your book.

Exciting news!

“Murder at the Veterans’ Club” has been selected for THE LIST. This is a contest for book projects on Inkshares that have caught the eye of the Powers That Be–unlike other contests, participation is by invitation only. On 31 December, the three book projects with the most unique readers will win the Full Publication deal … you know, that thing that normally happens only when you get 750 pre-orders.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

It means that on 31 December, if “Murder at the Veterans’ Club” is still in the top three–it’s currently in second position–we can go into production with the Full Publication deal right then and there. It means people could get their books a month earlier than expected. It means the current focus is no longer on the great 750, but on maintaining a position at the top of the heap.

It means that people think “Murder at the Veterans’ Club” is a book worthy of note, in case you had any doubts before.

But wait! Is there any doubt that we can make it? Is there any doubt that we can maintain our position in the top three? Well … yes. A handful of the competition is only just now starting: they’re blank slates, and anything could happen with them. The first few weeks of a campaign always see a huge spike in orders, so any one of these fresh-faced young recruits could pole-vault right over us. And then there are those veterans infused with fresh enthusiasm. We have to keep moving!

So if you’ve been on the fence before, now is the time to place your order! Stand up and be counted, because that’s the only way we can stay in the top three and make this happen! Order link HERE.

…look, do I have to hold Breakfast for ransom?