iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Axum carries a god’s mark that isn’t his. He and his sister flee to New Akkad, ruled by God-King Gilgamesh, who’s been alive for thousands of years and still can’t stand to lose anything. A man in a black suit stalks him. He’s been trying to be humane about it. #DVpit #YA #F

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Detention keeps sixteen-year-old Axum from walking his sister home. That afternoon she’s kidnapped. The note says he’ll find her where his fear is greatest. His only help: his best friend, who can control sand with her mind and scours Detroit. A CHANCE AT LIFE #DVpit #YA #F

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Axum dies saving his sister. Wakes up with an ancient god’s stolen power. Then is somehow still 30 minutes late for school. “Power. Choice. Death.” Would you trust a teenager to choose who lives and dies? Neither do his friends. A CHANCE AT LIFE #DVpit #YA #F

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

lol I like how the checklist just keeps eacalating

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A teenager is given an ancient god's stolen power to keep him alive after dying to save his sister and will kill for the people he loves as quickly as he will die for them. Mesopotamian myth. Percy Jackson with consequences and an antihero in the making. #DVpit #YA #F

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

What do you do when you take away the only thing a God cares about? A CHANCE AT LIFE, Book II #DVParty #YA #Fantasy

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Vikings is the best. Thats the kind of image I was hoping for 🛡️

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Opening line of A CHANCE AT LIFE, my #YA #Fantasy book: “Shields Up!” is all he can hear as thousands of bodies collide on the bleeding sand-covered sea of battle. #DVparty

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I haven’t read that yet, sounds like I’m adding it to the shelf 📚

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Thank you! It’s kinda like Percy Jackson with heavy consequences ⚡️🌊

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I love that. When I was younger my favourite game was Kingdom Hearts so your book is going to be on my reading list 📚

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Yes they do! One of the most beautiful places being the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

And they are from less written about pantheons. I am curious how the bodhisattvas would fit in. Assuming they’d be the peacemakers in this war

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The mood board for A CHANCE AT LIFE which is my #YA #Fantasy book I am currently querying! #DVparty

Dark moodboard linking modern Detroit to ancient Babylon. Top: the Detroit skyline lit up at night across the river, the bearded stone head and wing of a winged guardian in shadow, and a bright painted reconstruction of Babylon with a stepped ziggurat in bands of blue, gold, red and orange. Middle: John Martin's engraving of Belshazzar's Feast, a vast palace hall in darkness with a blast of white light breaking in. Bottom: a headless black stone statue with clasped hands, a bronze sword in low light, the roaring head of a blue and gold glazed-brick lion from Babylon's Ishtar Gate, and an ivory carving of a young man fighting a griffin. Public domain and CC0 images from The Met, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and Wikimedia Commons.

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’m a sucker for a good fairytale…🧚‍♂️

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Few things better than an unreliable narrator

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Oooooh I don’t want to assume incorrectly. Which gods?

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

That sounds deep. If you could make any mention of that, something like “Every Neurodivergent’s future hangs in the balance.” This book sounds like it is a serious page turner

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I love Pirates Of The Caribbean! You might even be able to say "Something has to break first, a curse or the bargain" since that sounds like the stakes. Either way, I like this

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This sounds like an interesting story and I like that you moved it to a place that I don't read about as often. You are very clear in your pitch, you could probably combine that first sentence mentioning the trip with the fact she went to Baghdad for the well. Only mention the trip once

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This sounds like a unique concept and my kind of story! Is there a way to give a little more of a cliffhanger? Maybe mention what they lose or what they gain instead of the question?

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I like the competing elements between her specter and her friend who has their own bet going. Is there a way to shorten this and even mention what the bet is or the outcome?

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I like the sound of this. Mulan level excitement with magic. 🔥I'm not sure if there is a way to include it, but can we mention whether her power hasn't been seen in women for centuries or if her power just hasn't been seen in centuries at all.

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I appreciate how you set this up. Plus the cultural tie in sounds like it will be a good read.

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Congrats! I’m with you. I wrote my book 3 years ago and kept telling myself it wasn’t ready. Funny thing is, nothings ever “ready” until we are

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I just finished book 3 and I’m still hooked

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is such a good book. Congrats on another job well done!

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

What is one conversation you keep avoiding that you know would change everything? You do not have to have it today. Just name it. ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Sandy Johnson told me the best mentors do not come from networking events. They come from organic connection and showing up as yourself. Full conversation: ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Sandy Johnson told me the best mentors do not come from networking events. They come from organic connection and showing up as yourself. Full conversation: ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Communication is not a soft skill. It is the skill that makes every other skill visible. If you want to lead, sell, or build anything meaningful, this is where you start. ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Sandy Johnson spent two hours on the phone with a grieving fan she had never met. No agenda. No script. Just presence. That is what communication that counts looks like. ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Vulnerability is not a weakness in communication. It is the willingness to be seen before you are understood. Sandy Johnson taught me that. ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

The most important communication skill a leader can have isn’t giving great speeches. It’s building the kind of culture where honest news can actually travel up.

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Sandy Johnson delivered one word in Halloween that became cinema history. But off screen, her real superpower is vulnerability. Our full conversation: ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Most podcasts fail for the same reason most managers fail: talking TO people instead of WITH them. Communication isn't a broadcast. It's a conversation. ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

The loudest person in the room isn’t usually doing the most important work. The skill nobody trains for? Learning to hear what isn’t being said.

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Which of these 5 patterns do you use most? Which one do you struggle with? ctcpodcast.media

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David Shaft | YA Fantasy @davidshaftofficial.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Sandy Johnson, Jean Belcher, Nappi Devi — and 57+ more guests all confirmed these patterns. Full conversations: ctcpodcast.media

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