JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 2 likes

My dear sentients!

We are four days from the funding campaign for A God in the Shed being over. As I write this there are only 14 copies left of the 750 needed to fund. This is good news for me as the writer, obviously, and for those who have pre-ordered as they will get their signed and numbered copies with all the other perks.

The bad news is for those who haven’t ordered.

Judging from my experience with The Life Engineered, only the 750 who pre-order will get their copies signed and numbered. I might still try to sneak in a bookmark or signed print into other copies but that’s not a guarantee. Also, only readers who pre-order during the funding campaign have a chance to win the ’privilege’ of dying in the book. In effigy of course. I’m not actually murdering readers and magically infusing their essence into my books. Don’t believe the rumours.

This means that even with 4 days left to the campaign this might be your very last chance to pre-order A God in the Shed and benefit from all the perks. If you’ve been waiting for the last minute to get your signed and numbered copy with a bookmark and a chance to have a character modelled after you die in the story then this is IT. This is the last minute (Figuratively. You still have a few hours, maybe a day or two.). I hate to be the guy to say that ’supplies are running out!’ but each day I’m shocked at how quickly copies are getting ordered. There’s a very real possibility that this is the last day of this campaign.

So yeah... I thought you might want to know that. Also; tell your friends. Just in case I’m wrong.

Thanks again for the amazing support friends. Because of you I get to go through the process of editing another one of my book. Slowly, my dream of being a writer is becoming reality.

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 3 likes

"When are you going to shut up about that other book and go back to writing about robots!?!"

That’s a question that I haven’t had from anyone yet. Honestly I doubt I ever will because my supporters are ’super rad’ as the kids are saying. However, I will be talking about ’that other book’ here because...

Only 6 more days before the end of the campaign for A God in the Shed!

In 6 days I’ll be celebrating the end of this journey either as a success or a failure. This is why I pulled out these two bottles of whisky:

The first is the one from which I’ll be drinking if the campaign doesn’t fund. It is made from distilled sadness and the ashes of failed projects. The second is one of my favourite scotches and has a deep peaty flavour that I adore.

Let’s make sure I drink from the second bottle. Here’s what’s in it for you and for those you encourage in pre-ordering A God in the Shed:

Each pre-order enters you into the ‘I want to kill a reader’ raffle. The winner will have his name and likeness used in the book as a minor character that gets killed off. The author will work with the winner to find the appropriate means of demise to satisfy both the winner and the story.
Each physical copy of A God in the Shed will be signed and numbered as an exclusive first edition item.
Free, exclusive A God in the Shed bookmarks will be included with the physical copies and mailed to eBook supporters.
Orders of three or more copies guarantees your name to appear in the Patrons list printed at the end of the book.
You get to enjoy the satisfaction and pride at having supported both art and literature.

So go pick up a copy of A God in the Shed and force all your friends and family to do the same. It’s for a good cause.

And while you’re at it; pick up a copy of Pilot X by Tom Merritt. Tom (amongst others) has been very good to me in my career as a writer and Pilot X is a rad book. Check it out.

Thanks for the support. You’re all amazing guys/gals/sentient mechanical intelligences.

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago

Hi Joanna,

I confess that it’s a bit of a self branding mistake to go from Science Fiction to Horror-Fantasy before my reputation is built up. A God in the Shed is also terribly different from The Life Engineered in theme and mood. It’s much more character driven and less about the world building (though I’m still proud of that aspect) and more about the impact events have on each individual.

That being said, I still would love for you to support it (if you haven’t) but won’t hold it against you if you don’t.

Regarding the beta readers for Arch-Android, I have a small group of readers to whom I go to regularly because I trust their judgement or enjoy their comments. However, I try to always have about three new readers for each book so that I have fresh perspective on the story from people who aren’t invested in me as a friend yet and have no incentive in being nice to me. I’ll be calling out for beta readers in the next month or two and will be happy to see if I can include you on the list.

Joanna Lynn Brosius Chaplin · Reader · added over 9 years ago

I confess to not a lot of interest with A God in the Shed. But I confess to a good deal of interest in beta-reading for Arch-Android. I have performed this service for a couple of different authors now, and I like to think that I’ve got a basic idea of what sort of comments are informative.

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 3 likes

Fellow Sentients, Capeks and other assorted AIs,

My publisher, Inkshares, may one day accuse me of misusing this channel to promote the wrong book, but much like a rogue android, I do not respect such bonds!

In short: I’m here to encourage you once more to pre-order my other book currently funding. A God in the Shed is my next project and I’m excited about it and I believe you’ll love it too. While it’s thematically different from The Life Engineered and focuses on completely different subject matter, I’ve been told it’s a pretty damn good book.

"But what about the sequel to The Life Engineered." you ask, Mr. Strawman.

Don’t worry. Arch-Android is moving at steady pace and should be done with the first draft by mid-May. By the end of May I’ll be looking for beta readers and by June or July I should be launching the campaign for it. In fact, the only thing slowing me down is the amount of time I need to invest in getting A God in the Shed funded.

Aside from me holding Arch-Android hostage, why should you support A God in the Shed? Well, it’s a damn good book and the start to an ambitious trilogy of damn good books, but if you’re looking for gimmicks, well I’ve got gimmicks!

Each pre-order enters you into the ‘I want to kill a reader’ raffle. The winner will have his name and likeness used in the book as a minor character that gets killed off. The author will work with the winner to find the appropriate means of demise to satisfy both the winner and the story.
Each physical copy of A God in the Shed will be signed and numbered as an exclusive first edition item.
Free, exclusive A God in the Shed bookmarks will be included with the physical copies and mailed to eBook supporters.
Orders of three or more copies guarantees your name to appear in the Patrons list printed at the end of the book.
You get to enjoy the satisfaction and pride at having supported both art and literature.

We only have about 9 days left to get over 130 pre-orders, so don’t hesitate any further. Encourage literature, encourage good fiction and most of all encourage A God in the Shed.

End of line.

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 6 likes

Hello my fellow sentients!

Whoa! What’s with the banner? Where’s Dagir’s face? Did the author make a mistake?

Not at all my friends. The change of banner is intentional because I need to talk to you about something important (to me).

We’re entering the last few days of the funding campaign for my second book, A God in the Shed, but we are still far from the 750 pre-orders we need for the full publishing run.

"Yeah, but I’m more into the robots."

I get it. I’m into the robots too, obviously. However, the success of A God in the Shed will have an impact on the productions speed of the sequel to The Life Engineered. If you’re a fan of something I do, the best way to support that, at least until I get a little further and a little more confident in this career, is to support a few other things I do. Trust me; A God in the Shed is well worth your investment.

Have a look at the sample chapters. Check out the synopsis. Listen to Paul Inman’s reading of the prologue. Make sure you’ve pre-ordered your signed and numbered copy(ies). I have several incentives to show my gratitude to those who’ve supported the project and I’m adding more as the campaign draws to a close. Here’s one that might interest you: Anyone who gets me ten more pre-orders by the end of the campaign will get a signed, hand drawn illustration of a character or object of their choosing from either A God in the Shed or The Life Engineered. Ever wondered how I imagine a certain Capek to look like? Here’s your chance to be the first to know.

Speaking of Capeks and art, two of my buddies, both great cartoonists and artists have given me the coolest of cool gifts: Fan art. Check out these two interpretations of some space faring Capeks and click on the image to visit their websites!

Matthew Sargent

Phil Rood

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 4 likes

Greetings again dear sentients!

This week I want to talk to you guys about books. Obviously I want to slip in a quick reminder to go review The Life Engineered on Amazon and Goodreads and also to pre-order A God in the Shed (my next book on Inkshares should it fund), but I mostly want to point you to the books of three friends and acquaintances that I think you should look at.

Since you’re into Science Fiction, obviously, I want to first point you to my friend A.C. Baldwin’s currently funding project; The Traveller’s Cup. A.C. (Amanda) is a skilled and hard working writer with a vivid imagination framed by a solid logical outlook. A perfect combination for a Science Fiction author and it shows in her work.

Another Science Fiction project that deserves your attention, especially if you’re into having your mind blown by outlandish ideas that challenge how you see the future, is Pilot X by Tom Merritt. Tom tackles the often misused trope of Time Travel in this broadly imaginative and well thought out book about civilization living with time travel as a matter of fact. True to form, it is a very analytical and in depth exploration of the themes and their impact on society.

Finally, a few people have compared The Life Engineered to a murder mystery of sorts. However, if you want a true murder mystery I highly recommend Christopher Huang’s Murder at the Veteran’s Club. Christopher is an incredibly talented writer that has a classic voice to his prose fitting of the time period and themes of his book.

Check out these three books and please, browse around the Inkshares catalogue. There’s a lot of great work in there and the selection is growing daily.

Cheers,

Jamison Stone · Author · added over 9 years ago

@JF Dubeau Just posed my review (lucky number 71!) You’ll get 100 for sure! Mine was short but sweet, and I encourage everyone else to review too, even if you don’t have much time. It only takes a moment and helps tremendously!

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 2 likes

Well hello there my fellow sentients!

I won’t take too much of your time today. I just want to hit on three things very quickly. So let’s be efficient and get started!

1. Thank you so much for your support. I know! I know! I keep saying it, but you have to look at events from my perspective; one day I have a self published book and a year later I have a professionally edited, distributed and marketed piece of literature to call my own. I owe that to you and I never want to take that for granted.

2. Alright, now that we’re done with the gushing; I still need your help. Have you read The Life Engineered yet? Awesome. Did you like it? Super-awesome. Do me a favour would you? Go review it on Amazon and/or Goodreads. If I’m learning anything is that these reviews are more important that almost anything else and are the key to getting books in front of more readers. The Life Engineered has 65 reviews as of this writing. At 100 it will start popping up in newsletters and suggested books for readers. That is a huge deal.

3. Did you know I have another book funding on Inkshares? It’s titled A God in the Shed and is a completely different style (Fantasy/Horror) but I’ve been told it’s very promising. I’m aiming to get 750 pre-orders for it and with a little over a month left in my campaign I still need 245 orders. Being able to fund this book is part of the process to being able to campaign for more books in the world of The Life Engineered. I’d be eternally grateful (see point 1) if you could take a look at it and pre-order a copy and perhaps even share with friends.

That’s it! That’s all I had to say this time around. Thanks, review The Life Engineered, pre-order A God in the Shed.

Thanks for your time,

JF Dubeau · Author · added over 9 years ago · 14 likes

The book. It is out. It is out officially and should, as of this writing, be in the hands of almost everyone who’s ordered it.

The launch party was small but fun. I’m thrilled by who managed to be there and sad about those who wanted to attend but were unable. It was a learning experience and I’m glad I got to try this out in a safe environment surrounded by familiar and supportive faces. Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m not exactly comfortable with some of the required self-promotion activities surrounding the publication of a novel. Amongst others, there’s reading from your own book which is helluva intimidating to me. However, it’s part and parcel of what I want to do and if it’s something readers want, I’ll do it.

First public reading: Done. The ice is broken. It wasn’t so bad. I think I’ll be fine doing it in the future.

For those who might have missed it; I was on Sword & Laser on the day of release of The Life Engineered and it was awesome. I really enjoy chatting with Tom and Veronica. I got to answer some questions from readers and I swear Veronica’s eyes lit up when I mentioned that sex between Capeks wasn’t impossible. Let me know if I hallucinated.

Speaking of Tom Merritt. I was a guest on his other podcast, Current Geek, hosted by Scott Johnson. Current Geek is the kind of podcast that sounds fun to be a guest on and it’s been on my bucket list of appearances for a while. Good news: Even more of a blast than anticipated. Give it a listen. Hell, go subscribe; it’s a hell of a good podcast.

That’s it for now. I want to thank everyone who was at the party, including fellow Inkshares writers A.C. Baldwin, André Brun and Christopher Huang. Check out their books. Now! I also want to highlight the efforts of Cara Weston who put together a Google Hangout so a few others could attend virtually. Check out her book too.

So what’s next?

Hopefully more media
Finishing the manuscript for the sequel to The Life Engineered
Maybe another short story in that universe to bridge the two books
Pushing really hard to get A God in the Shed to 750 pre-orders. Expect me to enlist your help very soon.

As always; thank you my fellow sentients. It’s a fascinating ride and I think there’s some really awesome stuff on the horizon for The Life Engineered. Never forget that you’re the ones who made it happen.

Cheers