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Hello there! Been a while, hasn’t it! I wanted to pop in and let you all know about my latest project, The Red Opera RPG which is currently in its last 24 hours on Kickstarter! This book was a collaborative effort with some other awesome authors you all may know, Rick Heinz, Pat Edwards, Joseph Asphahani, and others! Come take a look!
We’ve got a lot of awesome stuff over on our Kickstarter, even a handmade Leather version of the book, too! So epic!
Additionally, as our last Stretch Goal, we even have a guest appearance by Domadred Steele, one of the main characters from my novel, Rune of the Apprentice! So head on over to our Kickstarter page and...
Masters and Apprentices!
So excited to announce we are approaching the two-year publication anniversary of Rune of the Apprentice! How cool! In the coming months, I will have some awesome news about RUNE’s sequel, Oath of the Apprentice, and an illustrated novella called Shadow of the Moon, which takes place between RUNE and OATH!
Before I tell you about all that, however, I am first proud to announce that my next book, a graphic novel entitled The Last Amazon, will be published this November, right on the two year anniversary of RUNE!
The Last Amazon is set in the same universe as The Rune Chronicles and serves as a prequel to RUNE. Truth be told, I could not be happier to share this book (and exclusive Inkshares 20% discount below) with all of you!
David Granjo (the illustrator) and I have poured our heart and souls into this book and I could not be more proud of it! We’ve crafted a book par excellence, and our printer onthemark has produced an epic "making of" video of our foil covers. Click HERE to watch the video and see our press proofs comes to life!
Better yet, to celebrate all you awesome people who supported RUNE, I am excited to offer a 20% pre-order discount on The Last Amazon. Just enter "INKSHARES" in the Apotheosis Studios checkout screen! EZPZ!
The code will only work for a little while longer! So don’t wait! Snag your signed copy by clicking HERE now!
Again, this book is set in the same universe as Rune of the Apprentice and sheds light on how our planet was first shaped by catastrophe, and then molded by a few brave souls into the fantastical world of Terra--which you all have come to know so well.
Filled with Artifical Intelligence, post-apocalyptic espionage, and art that will blow your mind, The Last Amazon is a photo-realistic graphic novel, the kind of which has never been seen before!
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Fellow Masters and Apprentices, this is a book you will not want to miss out on. And don’t forget to snag your 20% pre-order discount! Just enter "INKSHARES" in the Apotheosis Studios checkout screen! The code will only work for a little while longer! So don’t wait! Snag your signed copy by clicking HERE now!
Your support--both on RUNE, and now on The Last Amazon--means the world to me! THANK YOU!
RUNE’s Two Year Crowdfunding Anniversary and a New Crowdfunding Campaign is Live!
Hello fellow Apprentices and Masters! I just got back from Baltimore Comic Con where we celebrated the 2 year anniversary of our first RUNE Booth! It was also Freya’s very first Comic Con this weekend, and yes, she is sporting a “Straight Outta Asgard” shirt! #WinningAtParenting ?
So wild, just over two years ago we started this whole crowd funding thing, and you all have been with us every step of the way! What a trip it has been! Even as I type these words, I can hear Becca and Freya laughing in the other room! From the bottom of my heart I thank you! The picture below (my first booth ever!) makes be both smile and cringe, but I have learned a lot, and look forward to many more books, booths—and maybe—babies :) But I digress...
I wish to thank all of you for making Rune of the Apprentice possible. If reading it gave you even a fraction of the joy I had writing it, then I consider it a wild success! In that vein, I also would like to humbly request that you leave RUNE a quick review on Amazon by clicking here or by going to www.RuneOfTheApprentice.com It will only take you a moment and will ensure that I can publish many more books in the future—both sequels AND prequels!
Which leads me to my next crowdfunding project called The Last Amazon and it just went LIVE! Yes, you heard right, on the 2 year anniversary of starting my crowdfunding campaign for Rune of the Apprentice I launched the crowdfunding campaign for The Last Amazon, an Epic Graphic Art Novel on Kickstarter! Yay! Go check it out by clicking here!
Fear not, fans of RUNE, for The Last Amazon is a prequel to RUNE and The Rune Chronicles. This story arc not only shows how a desperate human race got from a broken earth to the technologically majestic world of Terra, but also chronicles the birth of Terra’s creator, Numen Consciousness! I am excited beyond words for this book and so proud to be partnered up with David Granjo, illustrator extraordinaire! He is a truly magnificent artist, and now, dear friend!
David and I have so many awesome things planned for this 96 page, 9 x 12 Landscape "Graphic Novel!" Art of this caliber deserves nothing less than the highest quality of inks, printing, hardcover, and care, something which Inkshares is unable to do. To learn more about this epic project click here or go to www.TheLastAmazon.com. If you want to bring this epic near-future sci-fi graphic novel to life, please back it now!
Again, our Kickstarter is now LIVE and taking pledges! How awesome! We are so excited to share more info about The Last Amazon with you in the coming days, so stay tuned. For now I will leave you with these awesome action illustrations below and give you this warning—the fall of liberty is upon us! Beware! To learn more go to www.TheLastAmazon.com
Please support my new book today at www.TheLastAmazon.com THANK YOU!
I’d love any advice you can give for pitching and making a deal with a game dev.
I can’t wait to see how this plays out for you- it’s going to be great!
-Brian
Baby Freya is now 2 months old! Jeez! The past few months has been a whirlwind of love, excitement, family, and sleep deprivation!
(Full post can be read on my blog HERE to see future posts sign up to my newsletter HERE)
Despite the newfound groggy-eyed joys of fatherhood, I have still been hard at work not only on RUNE’s sequel (Oath of the Apprentice), but also on an exciting new Indie Video Game project called Shadow of the Moon (which takes place chronologically between The Rune Chronicles books 1 and 2). I’m so excited to tell you about this game I’m shaking... Or is that the coffee which is currently keeping me awake?! The world may never know...
Many of you might remember Shadow of the Moon from the collaborative Inkshares video game anthology I was a part of called Too Many Controllers. Yes, that same book which "won" the Nerdist and Inkshares Video Game Publishing Contest. (And yes, thanks for asking, I am still sore about the book being canned.) Well, some friends and I were talking about how TMC being canceled shouldn’t be the death of such a great story. We were sad, however, because Shadow of the Moon was written with video game mechanics at its core, and therefore, did not really read well (make sense) as a stand alone literary work.
I kept on trying to figure out a way around this because Shadow of the Moon’s female protagonist, Zera, is featured heavily as a main character in The Rune Chronicles Book 2: Oath of the Apprentice. I could not get over how cool Zera’s background and unique motivations were and desperately wanted readers to have a chance, if they were interested, to know more about her and why she was such a bad ass. Sadly, try as I might, I could not find a good fix to the logistical story problems and was stumped for months!
Well, during the days following Freya’s birth I came to the crazy conclusion that if I could not "write" a solution for the story dilemma, the only "logical" course of action was to actually turn Shadow of the Moon into a full fledged indie video game! GG EZ Fix!
I must have been profoundly sleep deprived because changing mediums would add a huge, exponential multiplier to the amount of work required. Like, There are no words which can adequately describe how much more effort making a video game, even an indie, will be. But I have been working on this project for two months now, and trust me folks, Zera’s story is, hot damn, well worth it! Truly.
Seen above is Zera, the protagonist of Shadow of the Moon, and I have so much more I’m dying to share with you all! We have art, game design mechanics, real to life martial arts, and even code for our custom SDL game engine (which should run a playable demo soon.) Its crazy awesome how much cool shit will be in this game! And the story, oh how the story has grown and evolved!
All of this is thanks to our amazingly talented team. Despite my sleepless nights, I have been able to gather a super dedicated group over at Apotheosis Studios to help me transform my novella into a Rogue-like Action-Adventure, 2D Top Down, RPG Video Game of epic, pixelated proportions! (Think Hyper Light Drifter meets Darkest Dungeon meets Bastion. Yes, you heard me right--we are not fucking around. This game is the real deal.)
I am leading this fearless indie dev team as Creative Director/Writer and so far we have 2 other writers/designers, 1 programmer, 1 editor/marketer, 2 "interns", a wolf, and a viking baby! What could possibly go wrong?!?! If you want to join our ranks, hit me up at @StoneJamison (Currently we are looking for a pixel and/or sprite artist, and music composer, btw!)
I’m also super excited to say that I will documenting our game progress on my blog HERE with an Apotheosis Studios Indie Game Dev Blog Series! I have so much more to share (and some really killer art) but will save those additional details about the game for the "official" blog series, so stay tuned! And yes, I will be doing all of this with a new baby. Many believe I have lost my mind, which if true, should make this game and RUNE’s sequel pretty freaking awesome, haha!
All jokes aside, buckle up Masters and Apprentices and get ready for many more blog posts to come. I am so excited to not only share developments and updates on Shadow of the Moon game development, but also how my wife and I raise our Viking Ninja baby girl.
And in case you are wondering how one raises a little Viking Ninja baby girl in 2017... Well, I’m not really sure, but I figure age and gender appropriate toys (swords, obviously!); good role models (bad ass active duty Army musician mommy and Zera of Shadow of the Moon!); and a loving, strong, and supportive daddy (I’m still growing out my "Ragnar Viking haircut") is a good place to start!
Stay tuned via my news letter HERE and I’ll let you know how it all goes!
Oh, and P.S. if you have not yet posted a review for Rune of the Apprentice on Amazon Dear god, please do so! We currently have 66 reviews, but need 100+! It really helps! Seriously! Thank you!
Additionally, if you all remember, when my Inkshares campaign ended in October of 2015, I also made my own independent $10,000.00 discretionary grant to ’Our Military Kids’ to support their fabulous work. Although not connected to my RUNE campaign or my pre-order charity pledges, I had really wanted to do all in my power to aid these communities. ’Our Military Kids’ no doubt put those funds to good use, and will do likewise with their share the new funds they are soon to receive!
Please, please, please don’t wait! Your review is important and only with YOUR help will I hit the "magic Amazon algorithm number" of 100 reviews (again, we have 37/100). Hitting the 100 mark kicks Amazon marketing in to full gear and it will take you less than a minute to do. Click HERE to add your stars now, THANK YOU!
I know it may seem unrelated, but your Amazon review for RUNE is truly important, and actually has a deep impact on the sequel’s publication! For the sake of everyone on Terra, do not tarry! Please post your review NOW! THANK YOU!
(An excerpt of THE NERDY GIRL EXPRESS review is at the bottom of this update -- but click HERE to read the full version.)
Sadly, due to logistics outside of our control, we were unable to get the hardcovers signed by launch date. In fact, Inkshares actually had to perform some publishing magic to get the books printed and shipped to you on time.
BUT to make it up to you all, I have personally (at my own expense) designed and printed a special letter to be included in each physical copy of the novel. This letter includes the fateful and prophetic message to RUNE’s main character, Aleksi--sent by his exiled mentor, Master Rudra. This is the letter which not only spurs the epic journey of Rune of the Apprentice, but also serves as a cryptic guide to our young hero upon his tumultuous adventure.
Embedded within the letter is both guidance and warning to Aleksi, and although confusing (for both him and you, the reader!) it is my hope that having your own physical copy will help you discern, decipher, and be able to find each and every prophetic hint and reference hidden within Rudra’s message. Seriously, every line of this letter is in direct reference to the events of the story and directly correlate to Aleksi’s trials and tribulations. I think I will run a special giveaway for people who can find all of the references. Think you "catch’em" all?
The only way to get this physical version of the letter is either by pre-ordering the book like you all have, or meeting me in person at a convention or book signing. I have also included a brief thank you note from me at the end, too. I want to mention, I won’t be the one physically folding and inserting these letters into the books being shipped to you this week--that noble task was graciously accepted by Elena Stofle of Inkshares, who has truly earned over a thousand thank-you’s (there are a lot of books being sent out, folks.) I have been folding my own set of letters in preparation for upcoming signings, and I can tell you this is no small feat.
Which leads me to my next topic...
3. Signings / Events
- Oct 29th, Barnes & Noble Prudencial Center - Boston, MA (2:00 - 4:00)
- Nov 10th, Proctor Academy - Andover, NH (all day)
- Nov 11th, Buffalo Books - Ithaca, NY (5:30 - 7:00 pm)
- Nov 13th, South Maryland Comic Con (all day)
- Nov 18th Bookends & Beginnings - Evanston, IL (6:00 - 7:30 pm)
- Nov 19th, Barnes & Noble Napersville - Napersville, IL (12:00 - 2:00)
- Dec 1st, Fort Lee Exchange - Fort Lee, VA (all day)
- Dec 9th, Langley AFB - Hampton, VA (all day)
- Dec 12th Third Eye Comics - Annapolis, MD (7:00 pm)
I will be making Facebook events for each of these signings on RUNE’s Official Facebook page HERE so please head on over and hit it up with a "like" so you don’t miss the invite!4. Reviews
I cannot stress this enough: Rune of the Apprentice and I NEED NEED NEED your review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble! I know it’s a pain, and most people don’t know what to say--but just stars a few honest words is all that is required, and that small time investment from you will help both this project and me tendentiously. You can start posting reviews on all three sites NOW, so once you have read the book, PLEASE click the links below and share your stars and review. And if you have already read the book, please post your review NOW! It really means the world to me and will have a profound impact on the book’s success. THANK YOU!
This has already been a really long update, so I will keep my sign off quick: Words cannot convey the feelings in my heart. I am so humbled to be able to have my book in your hands. It is both an honor and privileged. Thank you.