It’s Friday!

 

Well, at least it’s been a week. At this very moment, 64 of you amazing backers have pre-ordered 86 copies of A Beast Requires! Yes, it gives me the grins. Well, I’ll be grinning once I have coffee, seeing as all my brain’s energy right now is focused on typing. 

This week I have a couple of tidbits for you. Yesterday I uploaded a video talking about some of the world building in A Beast Requires. Now, being as I am on Team Fat Kid, all of my world building, whether it’s for a book or an RPG campaign stems from food. Yes, I actually do world build from my gut. 

I’ve also uploaded an audio of me reading the Prologue. I’ll upload more chapters as the weeks go by, featuring some special guests so you’ll have a bit more variety than just my voice.

So watch them, share them, and laugh.

Yesterday, A Beast Requires pushed past 60 backers, and now 61 amazing people are behind me and my dream of making the world laugh their asses off. This is fantastic!

I’m taking a moment away from my notes on world building, which have been meticulously curated from bar napkins and legal pads, to talk about a few projects that I’m head over heels for. 

 

I love She is the End. Like, really love it. Like, holy crap I am anxiously awaiting my beta copy so I can sink my teeth in and revel in the universe A.C. Weston has created. A space opera with a kick ass female protagonist, this is a book you need to read, and need to own. Currently it’s taking pre-orders on Inkshares.

 

My excitement for Terminus grows every day, as the setting tickles the inner workings of my brain. A world where technology enables us to talk to the dead? Yea, the premise alone sold me, and Jaye Milius’ writing blows me away. This is some seriously good science fiction, and right now it’s 44 backers short of meeting it’s light publishing goal. This book needs to be out there.

 

I wish I had known about Lucky earlier,. In a relatively short time I’ve become addicted to Cassandra "Lucky" Luckenbac, and need to see where this story goes. This book reads like an 80’s action sci-fi, and totally hits me in my nostalgia feels. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good conspiracy, and RH Webster looks to have crafted herself a doozy. The campaign ends in 15 days, so now is the time to jump on board and grab this book for a steal of a price.

Well, we’ve reached another Monday.

 

Just a few, brief, early week tidbits before my day starts in earnest.

First off, holy shit! The WHY SO SERIOUS? Syndicate has selected A Beast Requires as their 1st selection!

 

I’m blown away, and incredibly honored that two amazing humor writers think A Beast Requires is not only funny, but a great book as well. Writing humor is a game of rough shot, and going in, you know that not every joke is going to land. The greatest joy I get from my readers is when they tell me about all the inopportune times they burst out laughing.

Secondly, I will be doing another awkward author video this week, talking about the world building that went into A Beast Requires. I mentioned it briefly forever and a day ago, but I feel it deserves a bit more of an in depth conversation. So stay tuned for that, and hit me up with any questions you have about A Beast Requires, or me, on Twitter @EremiticFool

And the last tidbit, my newest article is up on Killer Moose. This month I’m talking about Guardians of Order’s Game of Thrones RPG, GURPS Discworld, and the Dresden Files RPG. Yea, I go deep into settings, discussing if a game can stay true to its fandom while bringing in new players. So if you’re into tabletop RPGs, definitely check it out.

Also, can I mention how awesome the word tidbit is? So freaking glorious.

- Jay

Two weeks in and 58 of you have so far jumped on and backed A Beast Requires! By your powers combined, you’ve pre-ordered 79 books, which is fantastic!

 

This week I also uploaded my first awkward author video, where I break down a bit more of A Beast Requires. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, pop on over to the campaign page. Listening to my attempt at diction makes an ideal companion to refreshing your email or checking the latest Olympic medal counts.

This week is going to be all about the push. To paraphrase the bards, Salt-N-Pepa, we’re going to "push it real good." 

 

Here’s what I need you to do. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, random strangers on the bus, and everyone waiting for their morning latte about A Beast Requires, and why you think it’s fantastic. I know this book has been tickling funny bones and making many of you laugh, so spread that laughter like a virus. Lie in wait for them to read the sample chapters, because you know what’s coming. Will they snort? Attempt to muffle their grin? Will they burst out with a laugh from their gut that resonates the ceiling tiles? The possibilities are endless. 

A Beast Requires needs to be unleashed, and we can make that happen.

- Jay

Well, I now have an awkward author video up on the campaign page. Yes, that is my hair, and not, sadly most of it is not coming back.

Eventually I will have a better one up, something with bells, whistles, and if I’m lucky, a craft services table. So if you’ve ever wondered what I sounded like, or what the cluttered charm of my home office looks like, then this is the video for you! Alas, no cats in the video. They were too busy sleeping to be bothered to make a guest appearance. Also, feel free to judge me on my books. I do it all the time.

This is story, and while it is short, it holds a lot of truth.

It is the origin of the Ice Cream Harem.

Long ago, when I had more hair, I ran anime conventions. It was my entire life. There was no such thing as a 40 hour week, or an 8 hour shift. It was a job that required every waking moment, and it drove me mad. It wasn’t the stress, or the work, but the sense that there was no escape. No refuge. No quarter.

Late one night, when the world came closing in, I did what any queer kid would; when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. So off I went with my band of miscreant housemates to the only pace open at 3:30 in the morning. My ass flailed and twirled through the grocery store aisles, frolicking the produce section and slinging insults at the meat cases.

It was somewhere between the lonely frozen dinners and the dairy penal colony that an idea formed. A single thought, glorious in its prospect, came into my mind. I screamed at the large man with a beard who lived in my attic to get me a cart. Wrapping my arms around one of my best friends, I whispered, "do you see it? Do you see what I see?"

"Yea," she said, shuffling her feet from the obvious nature of her lie.

When the cart returned, I piled it in. 25 pints of ice cream were liberated from the store that night. 25 pints of ice cream survived the 7 minute car ride home. Popping their tops, I lined them on the counter, 5 x 5, and pulled out a specific spoon. A special spoon born of one purpose. A spoon made to murder ice cream.

 

Well, I told you my hair was longer. That was the night the Ice Cream Harem was born, and I learned I could fit 25 pints of it in my freezer. It wouldn’t be for a few more years until I understood its power, or how important it was to my well being. This is just an origin story. One that has been waiting to be told.

And I so murdered all that ice cream. It was worth it.

I’m on chapter 3 right now and really loving it but I can’t seem to leave a Review. I cant find the button anywhere. Is anyone else having the same problem?

Monday.

With the first week of the contest down, I’m still in the Top Ten with 41 pre-orders. I’m thrilled, but I know I can do more. A Beast Requires received two amazing reviews, and it is now up to 19 recommendations.  I crave reviews and recommendations. They’re crack to a writer, and feed my need to ensure that everyone is laughing their asses off. 

Good news. Laughing your ass off is an amazing weight loss program.

Speaking of asses, my ass will never be an artist. I have created concept art for a lot of the locations in A Beast Requires, and some of them aren’t completely awful. 

 

This is the Effenwood, because even an enchanted forest is ripe for urban renewal.

Thank you everyone for following me, and supporting my endeavor to publish A Beast Requires, and make it into one hell of a melee weapon.

- Jay

There’s a lot of double and triple meaning in A Beast Requires, mostly because I’m twisted like that, but also because I so strongly believe in the power of words. There is one that will always stand out to me, as it towers over the fountain plaza outside the constabulary.

Why a flying pig?

They’re my spirit animal. Ok, sure it’s a little bit because I grew up in Cincinnati. I know, right? Queer kid growing up in the concrete sprawls of John Boehner country? No wonder I escaped the moment I had the chance.

See, when I was a kid I loved writing. Loved it more than anything in the world. Problem was, I couldn’t write for shit. My words, they made no sense. Letters were backwards, the spacing was off, and I couldn’t form sentences to save my life. So you can imagine the responses of my parents and my teachers when I told them I wanted to be a writer. 

I’ll write a book when pigs fly.

It’s taken me the better part of four years to write A Beast Requires. I’d show people the original draft, but it’d make no sense unless you spoke the secret language of my pencil scratch. The time put in was worth it. I think I’ve managed to write an amazing book, one that I hope will make you laugh, and occasionally scream at Albicon’s poor choices. For those that have backed me, thank you. And for those still considering, I hope you sign on and help make this dream become a reality.

- Jay

I just got off work, so my brain is pretty much tapioca at this point, but I wanted to reinforce how thankful I am to everyone that’s signed on and backed A Beast Requires. You’re support means the world to me, and I hope you are all enjoying the chapters I have uploaded.

To those of you who are still on the fence, there are still other ways you can help me out. If you have the time, write a recommendation or a review. They really are important, and can go a long way with helping others make a decision. And if anyone has any questions, or wants to drop me a line, either direct message me on Inkshares of hunt be down on Twitter.

I’ll have much more to say tomorrow, but for now, I just want to reinforce my gratitude to you all.

- Jay