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

Hello everyone,

I guess I should talk about this shouldn’t I?

There’s a minuscule little article on The Tracking Board that talks about me and my upcoming book; A God in the Shed. Go read it. It’s fun. I’ll wait.

You’re back? Awesome. So what do you think? Yeah, I was a bit overwhelmed. Still sort of am. I’m not exactly wired to take compliments or bask in the glory of good news on that scale. I’d love to pretend that it’s because I’m humble and level-headed but in truth I’m just terrified of disappointment and incapable of processing success. My own issues aside, I think it’s important to know a few things about this announcement.

What this isn’t:

• The rights to A God in the Shed haven’t been sold.
• You’re not going to see A God in the Shed on TV any time soon.
• I’m not rich and famous.

What this is:

• An important step in the right direction.
  
• A sign that the rights might one day sell, which still wouldn’t mean a series would get produced, let alone distributed, but again; step in the right direction.
• Nic Pizzolatto is now my new best friend and can come to all my birthday parties.

The great Mike Mongo (Astronaut Instruction Manual) once told me; "However long you think this process is going to take, double that." and the awesome Adam Gomolin also shared this nugget of wisdom; "It’s a no until it’s a yes."

So I’m going to try and take it easy. Keep the day job and continue chipping away at my other projects (check out Arch-Android, the sequel to The Life Engineered, along with Too Many Controllers).

Thanks again for the support everyone. Go read that article again and while you do that, keep telling yourself; ’I’m part of this.’

Because you are.

JF

 Yup, here we are; the last day of the Nerdist Video Game Contest.

If you haven’t heard, I’m participating with 14 other extremely talented writers in an anthology that you can pre-order now. I feel privileged to part of this group of fantastic artists and I believe you will be impressed with what they have to offer. However, if you’re looking to be part of the action. If you want to get a signed copy with whatever other bonuses we throw in. If you’re the kind of person who likes to point at cool things and say "I was a part of this.", then you better hurry my friends. July 15th at 3pm EST, the contest is over.

We want to finish with a bang. You want to be part of the action. So follow this link and get yourself this 1-Up of a book. It’s your last chance. There are no save points.

Back to A God in the Shed content soon...

JF

As a side note: How did we not name the e-reader level ’DLC’ for our campaign?

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

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?

 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

Hello friend,

Sorry for the radio silence. I had forgotten how much work preparing a manuscript, even a fully written one, for the editorial process could be. The good news is; I’m but a few days away from handing in my manuscript for A God in the Shed. Even more good news is that once that’s done, I’ll be getting back to finishing off the first draft of Arch-Android, the sequel to The Life Engineered. 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