Hey there!

So much news, but we’re gonna keep it efficient!

• The manuscript for A God in the Shed has been sent to Inkshares. It’s in the hands of editors right now. This is the Dark Times. The days when I worry that my editor won’t like my story. It’s always more fun/better when the editor likes the story. 
• Working feverishly on Arch-Android. I ; love working in this world again! Going back to the partial draft after so long I’ve decided on a few minor changes that have exploded into huge shifts in characters and plot lines and it’s simply the most awesome time working on it. Arch-Android is so much fun to work on. If it’s half as entertaining to read as it is to write I think you, my friends, will love it. 
• Arch-Android is the sequel to The Life Engineered. If you haven’t read this first book in the series I highly recommend that you do and, good news(!), the price for the digital version has been cut. 3.99$ will get you a DRM free eBook of The Life Engineered. You can have the future of humanity in your hands for less than a cup of coffee from a trendy barista. 
• IMPORTANT: In 8 tiny little days, the Nerdist Video Games Contest will be over. Not just that but so will the pre-order period for Too Many Controllers. I will have a story in this anthology and I’m honoured to be alongside 14 other awesome and talented writers. You do not want to miss out on this. Check it out and pre-order your copy today. 

That is all for now. As always, you’re all the best people in the world for being so supportive. Not only have I found amazing readers in you, but also a great community that I’m proud to call friends. 

I remain, as always, your humble servant, 

JF  

Oh, hi.

I know it’s been a while and I’m sorry. It’s just been very busy. So very, very busy. Turns out that manuscript that was ready to go for A God in the Shed? I’ve been increasing its level of readiness for the past month and a half. The good news is the end result is going to be that much better. The other good news is that it’s not going to noticeably slow down production. There’s no bad news. Not for you guys. Also, I feel fine now that I’ve forgotten what sleep feels like. 

So what’s the point of this update? Bullet time! 

• A God in the Shed is going to be in Inkshares and Girl Friday’s hands by the end of the week. This I vow. 
• The Life Engineered is 4 reviews away from 100 on Amazon. Have you read The Life Engineered? Liked it? Be one of the final four people to push it over 100 reviews. Rumour has it I get a unicorn when that happens. Amazon is vague about the benefits. 
• Most important, crucial to my survival and well being, please go check out Too Many Controllers. I’m supposed to be promoting this incredible project. The other amazing writers participating in the anthology are hustling like machines to get attention to this book. Meanwhile I’m not pulling my own weight. See above about not having time for anything. So give me a hand in not looking like the dead weight of the group and maybe pre-order a copy. It’s going to be a great book. Also, if I don’t do my part I’ll get murdered. I think I signed a thing that says that.

 Is that it? Oh yeah! Go follow Arch-Android. I’m going to be making some sweet announcements for that project in the coming weeks and you don’t want to miss out. 

Now I’m done. Back to work. 

Thank you for your support and patience. 

JF out.

I know you’re busy. Trust me; I understand. So I won’t take long. 

You’ve all been aggressively supportive of me and my work. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better group of readers. So take it from me when I say you’re going to want to take a look at this.

Too Many Controllers is an anthology I’m participating in with 14 other proven Inkshares authors. It’s going to be a fascinating book that brings together the varied imagination of authors so different but all gathered under the umbrella of a similar theme; video games. 

"But J.F." you say, out loud, while reading this, which is weird. Seriously, keep it down. People are watching. "But J.F., I don’t care about video games."

Listen; I’ve read the outlines and synopsis of the stories going into this. Sure, there’s some that touch video game culture directly, but others that use the theme as a through line and backbone to tell a story in the genre of the author behind it. That’s the beauty of anthologies; while there is a nice bow that ties everything together, what’s inside the package is a collection, a sampler pack of different writers. You’re going to want to read this. So click on the links. Pre-order your copy. Trust me, having no less than fifteen authors feel like they owe you something? That’s worth the price of admission.

 Also, very important; review The Life Engineered on Amazon and don’t forget to follow Arch-Android.

As always; I owe you everything. Don’t abuse that power too much, but y’know; thanks.

JF

Dammit... I said I wouldn’t take long. Sorry?

Hello friends,

Remember last update? Sure you do! I talked about a bunch of stuff. Asked you to review The Life Engineered on Amazon. Discussed the future of A God in the Shed. We had a blast! Do you remember me talking about the latest Nerdist contest and how I wasn’t going to participate but had something special I might be doing instead? Well, here we are...

Probably the best thing to have come out of the whole Inkshares experience is the community of writers that I now have the privilege of hanging out with. These are driven and creative individuals who love nothing better than to tell stories, so when the theme was announced, video games, many couldn’t resist. 

So while not directly participating in the contest, it’s my honour to announce that I will be contributing to ’Too Many Controllers’, an anthology written by fifteen Inkshares authors who love video games. Each of us is passionate about video games in our own way and are bringing a story under that umbrella to the table. 

I’ve read some of the synopsis and they look amazing. To be honest, I came very close to declining the invitation because I couldn’t really come up with an idea that lived up to what was already on offer, but then... it hit me. Something that’s very much in the same voice as everything else I tend to write and I’m getting extremely excited for it. Go check it out. This thing is going to be a blast. 

Cheers, 

JF

Hey friends, 

It’s been busy. So very, very busy. I’m not exactly complaining but I do wish I had more time to devote to all the projects I have lying in front of me, begging for attention like mewling kittens each demanding his saucer of milk. Just so you know what’s preoccupying me this week, here’s a quick rundown of my existence outside of hobbies and the dreaded day job: 

1. A God in the Shed is getting close to be being sent to Inkshares for editing! What? It isn’t? Let me level with you guys. A God in the Shed has come to the attention of people who have fallen in love with it and are investing some time working with me to make it better. This is a book that was written before The Life Engineered and while I love the story and characters, it does demand a bit of tweaking before we can really get into it. This means copious amounts of notes are being considered, hours of brainstorming and pages of back and forth are being produced. The end result should, however, be a much tighter book that can open more doors for itself and my writing career. I had a fancy deadline of June 1st to hand in my manuscript, well now it’s July 15. This doesn’t mean the book release will be any further than expected however, since the lion’s share of editing will be done when the manuscript is handed in. 
2. Have you guys seen the new Nerdist contest that’s starting on June 1st? Video games! I have an amazing, epic idea for a video game inspired book that I’m simply itching to write. But it won’t be in this contest. I have, in the next six months, three books to finish and I’m not jumping into a publishing contest without either securing more time or having a finished manuscript. Hell, I had a finished manuscript for A God in the Shed and even that couldn’t just be handed in. However, keep your credits handy. There’s talks of a book that has me pretty excited that I want to point you towards when the contest starts and, if there are enough pre-orders from my recommendation, I might be able to contribute a little something to the book. 
3. The Life Engineered has, of this writing, 87 reviews on Amazon. 13 more to breach the golden doors and into the 100 review territory. If you haven’t reviewed The Life Engineered yet, consider doing it soon. It’s more important than you might think. 
4. Arch-Android is coming... As soon as I’m done with the manuscript for A God in the Shed, I’ll be jumping all over the sequel to The Life Engineered and, with the time I’ve had to think of the story, what I hoped would be an excellent book might end up even better. I’m not one to pat myself on the back, but I kinda like this one a lot. Follow it so you won’t miss out. 

Thanks for your support my friends, you’ve made a huge difference in my life, one that keeps having an impact on everything I do. 

 JF  

Greetings again sentients!

Sorry for the radio silence. I don’t want to brag but I’ve been busy. I don’t know why that would qualify as bragging but it certainly has been taking away from my slumber. The good news, if you’re into the Horror/Fantasy genre, is that I’m but a few days away from handing in my manuscript for A God in the Shed. Even if you’re not into that genre and you’re right this moment screaming into your monitor "Make with the robots Dubeau!" then you’ll be happy to know that as soon as A God in the Shed is in the magical hands of editors I will be going back to finishing the first draft of Arch-Android. In fact, you should probably follow the page for Arch-Android on Inkshares immediately as things will start happening there soon (like beta reader selection).

 As things are progressing on my side that doesn’t mean I still don’t need your help. I’ve recently been able to witness first hand the impact getting to 100 reviews on Amazon does for a book and it’s impressive. As of this writing, we have 83 reviews. There is no rational reason we couldn’t get to 100 in a very short amount of time. So if you’ve read The Life Engineered, don’t waste another minute; go write a review. Doesn’t even need to be long or complex. "I liked it." is enough.

 I’m also hoping for a nomination at the Dragon Awards, so if you haven’t done so yet, consider nominating The Life Engineered for Science Fiction Novel and perhaps some of my friends from Inkshares in some of the other categories (Ageless, Asteroid Made of Dragons, An Unattractive Vampire).

 Finally, I want to share with you my updated writing schedule. What you see on the graphic above is the estimated release dates of my books. These only show books that I plan to fund on Inkshares along with the two books I’ll be writing for the Ed Greenwood Group. Obviously, this is subject to change. If books fund faster or slower than anticipated, or the production schedules don’t line up with my estimates, etc. However it gives you, and especially me, an idea of what I have to look forward to. Immediately when I look at it, I want to get a better distribution of publishing, but that’s something I can course correct on the way there.

I’m especially looking forward to some of the plans and ideas I have in store right now. A God in the Shed is planned as a trilogy so that will end with the third book, but The Life Engineered is more of an anthology format with recurring characters and an overarching story to tell, so I’m less sure how many books will be in that series. I have other ideas but they’re in the pre-planning stage so it’s hard to tell if they’ll be Inkshares projects or not.

As you can tell, I plan on this journey I’m taking with you to last for quite a while and I hope I’ll have your support for the duration. So far, it’s been a pleasure to travel with you and I see rough but exciting seas ahead of us. Stick around and gather your friends; the next leg of the odyssey begins soon.

Extra notes: 

• Huge congratulations to Amanda Orneck for getting her novel Deus Hex Machina into the Sword & Laser Collection. Your book looks rad Amanda, glad they added you to our ranks. 
• I also want to congratulate Tom Merritt for fully funding his time travel book, Pilot X and getting it into the Sword & Laser Collection. I hear he has someone on the inside that helped with that.
• Finally, a shout out to my friend Paul Inman who officially launched his book, Ageless a few days ago.

Thanks again, 

JF

Good day sentients!

I’ll get to the news in a moment, but first I want to do a little push. Again. Don’t worry, this one won’t cost you a penny, just a few moments of your time.

You know what’s awesome about books? The best part some would say? Being able to chat about the book with your friends. A lot of you enjoyed The Life Engineered and that fact brings me immeasurable joy. But what if we could get more people? I’m not going to ask you to promote The Life Engineered. I mean, talk about it, by all means, but what I want from you is help getting my book nominated for the Dragon Awards.

DragonCon is huge and these awards are going to be huge. Just getting a nomination would be a tremendous honour, and since these are submitted by readers like you, why not give it a shot?

Just check out the nomination page and enter The Life Engineered in the Science Fiction Novel field, fill in the rest with whatever you feel is deserving and voila! You’re done. You’ve helped me. And think of it this way; if I get nominated, I kind of have to go to DragonCon. So this is a way you can force me to spend money.

The News:

As you probably know by now, my second book A God in the Shed has reached its funding goal and will be published on Inkshares. Over the coming weekend I’ll be hard at work filling out the paperwork and doing a final polish to the manuscript before sending everything out to Inkshares for editing.

While Inkshares and Girl Friday Productions are working on all this, I’ll be finishing the first draft for ArchAndroid. This means that we are rapidly approaching the day when I call out for beta readers. Parallel to that, I’m preparing the funding campaign for ArchAndroid which is both a terrifying and exciting endeavour. I’m eager to get this book out there but terrified at doing another funding campaign.

Thanks again for your support my friends. I’m working on a little promotional thing with Inkshares to distribute some more signed prints to readers.

Cheers,

JF

 Whoa! My fellow thinking beings, what a ride the last few weeks have been. 

In case you haven’t heard, my second book, A God in the Shed, on Inkshares has funded successfully and will be seeing publication in a few months. It’s pretty exciting stuff but unfortunately I have no time to dwell on it. What else is taking up my thoughts?

DragonCon is starting its own awards. I won’t bury the lead; I want to see The Life Engineered nominated. I mean, I’ll be happy if any Inkshares book gets a nomination but obviously I’d be deliriously happy if The Life Engineered got a nod in there. So this will fusion reaction powering my communications with you for the next little while: Let’s get Inkshares a Dragon Award. Have a look at the nomination page and please consider putting in The Life Engineered for the Science Fiction category. While you’re there, here are some suggestions for other categories if you feel like supporting the Inkshares platform:

• Fantasy: Asteroid Made of Dragons
  
• Horror: An Unattractive Vampire

Click here for the nomination page.

Next up: one of my friends is nearing the end of her funding campaign and she is so very close to her goal of 250 pre-orders. I know I’ve been asking a lot from you guys lately, but if you have a few credits rolling around or you’re just curious about her book, check out A.C. Baldwin’s The Traveller’s Cup. It’s a great book and A.C. is a tremendously promising author and a tireless artist. She deservers this.

Finally, while I’m still asking for favours, currently The Life Engineered is sitting at 80 reviews on Amazon.com. That’s awesome and I love to read the comments and critiques of readers. However, if I can get to 100 reviews, magical things start happening on Amazon. If you’ve read The Life Engineered and enjoyed it, consider leaving a review on Amazon. It helps me more than you can imagine and I’d love you forever.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go prep the funding campaign for Arch-Android.

JF