People have been sending me screenshots of their shipping information for The Life Engineered.

The backer copies are shipping.

I’ve also seen a few Amazon email confirmations with expected dates of delivery.

It’s a very humbling moment in the life cycle of this book. It feels very much like that moment when the wind picks up a little but everything feels more quiet and the smell of rain is in the air but the downpour is still a few hours away. It’s that second when the wave is cresting too high for it to roll back peacefully but not quite enough to break yet. It would be easy for me to sit back and look on in awe at the impending spectacle, but I can’t.

This is the time when I need to turn you, my awesome supporters, into an active militia once more. The gears of the machine must be brought to turn once again to offer one more shove. You’ve supported me so far and it feels demanding to ask for more, but I must.

What you can do:

1. Leave reviews. Whether it’s on Amazon or Goodreads or both, please leave a review of The Life Engineered. I want to know what you think of my story and good reviews help promote visibility.
2. Post pictures of the book. Take a photo of you copy of the book and Tweet it to @jfdubeau or post it on my Facebook page. I want to make an album. It’s one of the rare times I indulge in narcissism.
3. Share your copy. If you bought extra copies and don’t know what to do with them, give them to friends. Lend yours out. I want people to read and enjoy my story. It’s one of the joys of physical books that they can be shared. Take advantage.

As a parting note, I want to thank you all for your support. This is an incredible ride and I couldn’t have done it without you all. That’s why I thought it was worth flying out to San Francisco this past weekend to sign your copies of the book and just knowing that people appreciate that makes it all worthwhile.

(Find out more about my San Francisco trip here)

Cheers,

JF

Dear friends and backers, sentients of all class and model, it is an important day indeed. While The Life Engineered is only releasing to the general public on March 1st, to those of you that have supported this project and have been the pillars upon which this dream has been built, the digital copies are being released today.

If you haven’t already, you will soon receive an email from Inkshares with instructions on how to get your digital version of The Life Engineered. It’s my sincere hope that you will read and enjoy it. Writing and editing it has brought me great pleasure, logic should dictate that you the readers are next in line for that joyful process.

However, I do have one more favour to ask.

Once you’ve read it, if you enjoyed the book, it would mean the world to me (and be favourable to book sales and thus my writing career) if you would be so kind as to rate and review The Life Engineered on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

Rankings are insanely important and reviews are a large part of it all. You wonderful intelligences have already done a lot for me but I know I can count on you to help with yet another step.

Again, thank you so much. I won’t lie; a big part of why I want these reviews is because I’m dying of curiosity to know what you thought of the book. I’m eager to engage in conversation about this story and, if you want to discuss it with me or other readers, join me on Facebook at my writer’s page.

Cheers my friends, and good reading.

J-F Dubeau

"God dammit JF..."

I'd like to thank everyone who was polite enough not to point out this stupid, stupid mistake.

I'm nailing it.

JF

 Dear readers and supporters, friends,

The day nears! In about a month’s time The Life Engineered is going to launch. While I thank you with every breath I take these days there is no time for lengthy speeches about gratitude. Indeed, the time is for action! My friends, in the next weeks I need to drum up as much interest in The Life Engineered as I possibly can and I’m kicking it off with a bang.

On February 4th, 5th and 6th I will begin San Fransisco. My mission? I want to personally sign each and every copy of The Life Engineered going to supporters. All of them. Like a maniac or some kind of machine.

While I’m on the West Coast however, I might as well try to hang out with a few of you that are in the area. So on Saturday February 6th I will be hanging out at Borderlands Books. I don’t know if that’s going to be an official event or just me sitting at a table drinking all their coffee. I’m still working out the details. All I can tell you is that starting at 3pm, maybe earlier, I’ll be at Borderlands Books in San Fransisco. I’ll probably have prints or at least papers and I’ll answer questions about The Life Engineered, Inkshares, why I think robots are awesome, I’ll tell the story of my car accident and why the top of my feet tickle all the time (the secret is nerve damage).

As I get more details I’ll send out more updates but I’ll also be Tweeting about it and posting to my writer’s Facebook page, so why don’t you follow me on these platforms?

Guys, gals, sentient machines masquerading as humans… there is some cool stuff down the pipes and I really want you to be involved.

 Cheers, JF

This is where my being an awkward nerd really bites me in the arse and the first hints of my being a bad writer start showing: I'm at a loss for words from reading that review from JoniDee. Gratitude of course but also bewilderment. I'm thrilled that people are liking The Life Engineered. Makes working on the sequel so much more fun and that much easier.

I received the privileged to review "the Life Engineered" from NetGalley. i thought it was brilliant. here's the full review (posted on Amazon.co.uk today) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R3DC23F5ZP5NGT/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PIYDKUA .. best of luck! 

There’s no other way to describe 2015 other than ‘eventful’. I’m still reeling from the chain of events that have brought me to this point. From entering the first Sword & Laser Collection contest, becoming a runner up and being chosen for the collection, it’s all been an insane ride. I’ve discovered the near-euphoric joy of working with a good editor, had my book read and reviewed by a plethora of people, got an awesome cover blurb and will soon be seeing my book in the hands of readers. Started Paul Inman and I’s podcast, WriteBrain. Most of all though, I’ve been able to forge relationships with people I admire as well as meet so many new and awesome people that it’s hard to keep track of everyone.

None of this would have happened without your support. The silver lining of 2015 is completely your doing, and I'm forever grateful for that.

But, it wouldn’t be January 1st without resolutions. Like everyone I have the standard weight loss, increase in physical activity and maybe yelling a little less about robots in public places, but I have some creatively driven goals that I think might be interesting.

• Finish my first book for The Ed Greenwood Group (as per contractually demanded)

• Get A God in the Shed to 750 copies by April 1st and get it published

• Finish the sequel to The Life Engineered and start the funding campaign for it

• Write another book (I have ideas) and start giving it out to beta readers

• Write four short stories (I’m not good at short stories. I need the practice)

What are you guys looking forward to in this new year? Apart from more robots that it.

JF

So.  Awesome!  Congrats!

Happy all the things!

I don’t care what you celebrate, just make sure you enjoy yourself.

Before I go off and eat all the food and drink all the alcohol, I have some cool news to share with all of you. It’s done. I’ve approved the printer-ready files for both the interior and cover of The Life Engineered. This baby is going to press. The final cover is maybe a little different than you remember though. Have a look:

Oh what’s that? Can’t make out the blurb there? Here, enjoy a close up:

I’m a pretty big Battlestar Galactica fan, so you can imagine how awesome this feels for me. If you don't know who Leah Cairns is, look it up. She's awesome.

As always; I couldn’t have done it without you and hopefully this train keeps rolling forward. I’ll see you guys in the new year. In the meantime, do me a favour; stay safe.

JF