Grats on 2k! Looking forward to seing AGITS hitting 10k+

Hello friends!

When was the last time I updated you on things? A while ago I guess. We had the new cover and I might have bragged about being done with the editing at some point. Since then, we’ve had developments, but nothing I can share right away. Soon, I hope.

In the meantime, I have a favour to ask. I didn’t think A God in the Shed would be eligible for nomination for the Dragon Awards in 2017, but it turns out that the release date slips in just under the wire. Last year, my readers managed to get The Life Engineered nominated. It was an incredible honour and it gently convinced me to go to DragonCon in Atlanta. Well, I’m doing the same deal: help get A God in the Shed nominated in the Horror Novel category and I’ll once more drag myself to Atlanta, brave the crowds, and be present as someone else wins the Dragon Award.

All you have to do is click this link, follow the instructions and fill in the information, and you’ll be part of a potentially huge change in my life.

Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

JF

P.S.: There are other great books from Inkshares that you can nominate too! Pilot X, Rise, Rune of the Apprentice and several others. Make sure you enter all of the books you can and give as many authors a chance at being recognized.

 There’s a long list of things I didn’t think would ever happen when I first decided that writing fiction was going to be ’my thing’. Obviously, getting one of my books optioned and meeting an academy award screenwriter weren’t on this list because I hadn’t even conceived of that possibility at the time. 

That being said, I’ve always wanted an audiobook of one of my projects. What would that sound like? How would my characters feel coming out of someone else’s mouth? And an audiobook felt out of reach but still within the realm of possibility. Something to hope for without ever planning for it to happen. 

Well, today is the launch of the Audiobook for The Life Engineered. Produced by Blackstone Audio, featuring the amazing voice of actress Amy Landon and available on Amazon, Audible and probably several other places where audiobooks are usually purchased. 

It feels weird guys. I’ve listened to the sample on Amazon but I haven’t taken the plunge yet. I’m nervous. I’m 100% confident in the work that Amy did on the book (she is a veteran of over 200 audiobooks) but this is a milestone. Do I listen to this casually in the car? Do I set aside some time and enjoy the over six hours of audio in the dark with my eyes close? Just drinking in every detail, good and bad? 

If you’re looking for a way to experience The Life Engineered anew, maybe learn how to pronounce some of those complex names I picked for the characters, then hop over to your favourite purveyor of audio literature and get yourself a copy. If you’ve never been on Audible, there are countless ways of getting your first book for free and frankly, that might not be a bad one to start with.

If you want to learn more about the audiobook making process, Paul Inman and I had Amy as a guest in our latest episode of WriteBrain and it was fantastic having her on.

As always, thanks for your support. None of this would have happened without you. 

JF

NOTE: I should really update the header with the new cover image...

Hello my friends,

It’s been a while hasn’t it? Thing is, when preparing a book for publication, things can get pretty damn hectic. Toss in an option from a production company and the stakes get really high, which of course means more work.

That being said, I’d be remiss in not taking a moment to thank each and every one of you for your support in 2016. There’s no way I’d be anywhere near even this modest amount of success without you. I owe it all to you guys.

So I hope you all have incredible holidays with your friends and families. That 2017 will be an awesome year for you and that you get to accomplish your dreams the same way you’ve allowed me to accomplish mine. And to kick off the next year on a good note, I’d like to unveil the final (kinda) cover for A God in the Shed:

The designer did an amazing job in creating something iconic and striking that will be a great visual signature for the story. I’m really looking forward to seeing this cover, wrapped around a book, in your hands.

Thanks again for your support and happy Kwanzhannukmas everyone!

JF

Looking forward to seeing this on the box!
& that there’s this kind of interest in it is good for all of us.

Hello dear readers,

A lot has been going on and that’s kind of why I’ve been rather discreet in my communications. Also, I bet with three contests currently vying for attention, you get enough emails already. So what could possibly have taken up so much of my time?

Let’s start with how I had to do revisions to the manuscript for A God in the Shed. I had already handed it in but after a meeting at WeedRoad Pictures in L.A. a few weeks ago, several ideas to further improve the story demanded to be put to the page.

WeedRoad Pictures? What the hell is that? Well, that’s the second bit of paralyzing news. A God in the Shed has been optioned by Skydance Productions through the help of Akiva Goldsman from WeedRoad (props to Greg Lessans and Alexandra Neil for their part. Amazing people). I can’t do this news justice but you can read the article by The Tracking Board if you want to know more.

 So what does this mean? The short answer? I don’t know! It doesn’t mean that A God in the Shed is going to be a television show but rather that there are efforts behind making that happen. Needless to say that the book is in the hands of some incredibly talented and hard working people. I’m still reeling from the news and gathering the details myself, but as far as excuses for my silence, I think that’s the best I can do right now.

What’s next?

• I think it’s obvious that this has delayed my plans and promises for Arch-Android (Give it a follow why don’t you?), the sequel to The Life Engineered. I’m still a few chapters short of a full draft but that should be taken care of before the end of November. I’m giving myself some room to work with this time so I can keep that prediction.
  

• I’m also finishing another manuscript for The Ed Greenwood Group.

• Obviously, the sequel to A God in the Shed, currently titled ‘CoudFire’ is going to be the first thing I work on after I’ve cleared these other projects. CloudFire is half written already, but it’s going to undergo some serious changes. Let’s just say that I’ve got a good skeleton to work on but I have to tear away the flesh and start that part anew.

• I have some more good news coming up. Other cool opportunities and some new projects I want to toss out into the world.
  

Let me finish this with a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Adam Gomolin and Brooklyn Weaver who worked like tireless maniacs to make this happen, along with the rest of the Inkshares crew for their support and of course, you guys, the readers, without whom none of this would be possible.

On to the next step!

JF

The time has come!

We have until August 28th to get our votes in for my debut book, The Life Engineered, to maybe-perhaps-but-probably-not win a Dragon Award at Dragon Con!

The Life Engineered was, alongside books by Ann Leckie and Kim Stanley Robinson, in the science fiction category of the very first Dragon Awards. It’s a public vote so I ask of you; please vote for my robot book.

Sign up here and fill out the form. You’ll get a confirmation email and a few days after you prove you’re not a robot (discrimination, I know) you’ll get a survey ballot. Make sure you vote for The Life Engineered (and also my fellow Sword & Laser Collection authors’ books Asteroid Made of Dragons and Unattractive Vampire) and we’ll be all set.

Haven’t read The Life Engineered? Well, click on the name of the book and get yourself a digital copy for 0.99$.

I have some incredible news coming for A God in the Shed, so don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten what you all came here for. For now though: vote vote vote!

Cheers,

JF

 So huh... Remember when I asked all you beautiful people to help my first book, The Life Engineered, get nominated for a Dragon Award? Ha! Good times, gooooood times. What a laugh we had.

I didn’t think there was a tuna’s chance in a cattery of this happening but apparently I’m wrong. You guys did it. You got The Life Engineered nominated in the Science Fiction Category.

It would be a lie to pretend I’m not floored.

So I guess, the next logical step is to try to win? You’ve been kind enough to go vote for the nomination so perhaps I can impose upon you to follow this link and sign up to vote for The Life Engineered and perhaps, we can make some magic happen? It’s a long shot but so was getting nominated.

Wow, friend... you are amazing.

NOTE: My fellow Sword & Laser Collection authors are also nominated. So if you’re inclined to help push the Inkshares and Sword & Laser brands, give An Unattractive Vampire and Asteroid made of Dragons a bit of a vote? Thanks!

JF

So happy for you :D  What an awesome bit of news to discover!  Are you Rich and Famous yet????