Every once in a while, something will happen that reassures me Tantalus Depths is really succeeding where it matters.

Getting picked by the Break the Bechdel Syndicate was one of those, as it reassured me that Tantalus Depths was doing an effective job of representing strong female characters, which was crucial for me. Getting picked by the Great Sci Fi Syndicate was another, as it reassured me that I was effectively creating a science fiction work that embodied the best aspects of this genre I love so much. There have been many little things along the way that provide similar assurances that I’m on the right track, either in the form of reviews, recommendations, or general feedback. Today I was honored in a totally new way.

 

KSU Trumbull, the university branch responsible for almost all of my college education, did me the great honor of coming to me and holding this interview to promote my book. This is the same college where I honed my writing skills, took advanced literature classes, learned character development from theatre classes...heck, Tantalus Depths was written for classes at this school. The fact that they’d honor me by highlighting my work is a tremendous honor that I’m still processing.
Please go ahead and check out this interview.
Also! Tantalus Depths is now only 87 pre-orders away from FULL PUBLISHING. We have a bit less than 13 days to get there. We are SO close, everyone. Keep pushing!

Every once in a while, something will happen that reassures me Tantalus Depths is really succeeding where it matters.

Getting picked by the Break the Bechdel Syndicate was one of those, as it reassured me that Tantalus Depths was doing an effective job of representing strong female characters, which was crucial for me. Getting picked by the Great Sci Fi Syndicate was another, as it reassured me that I was effectively creating a science fiction work that embodied the best aspects of this genre I love so much. There have been many little things along the way that provide similar assurances that I’m on the right track, either in the form of reviews, recommendations, or general feedback. Today I was honored in a totally new way.

 

KSU Trumbull, the university branch responsible for almost all of my college education, did me the great honor of coming to me and holding this interview to promote my book. This is the same college where I honed my writing skills, took advanced literature classes, learned character development from theatre classes...heck, Tantalus Depths was written for classes at this school. The fact that they’d honor me by highlighting my work is a tremendous honor that I’m still processing.
Please go ahead and check out this interview.
Also! Tantalus Depths is now only 87 pre-orders away from FULL PUBLISHING. We have a bit less than 13 days to get there. We are SO close, everyone. Keep pushing!

UPDATE!!!

First and most importantly is a reminder that An Unattractive Vampire will be An Unattractive Audiobook at Audible.com starting the 23rd! So if you’re tired of physically reading the book with your eyes and would rather have it read TO you like you were some kind of Roman Emperor/Empress, lying on a couch being fanned and fed grapes, head on over to Audible and preorder it today! (Fans, couch, grapes, and Roman titles not included.)

Next is the BIG NEWS!

That’s right! There’s a new book contest, this time with Geek and Sundry, producers of pretty much most of the shows I watch, and I’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring with my second book currently entitled, Morose: A Comedy.
The pitch: Death gets laid off at the end of the world.
The synopsis: The End is nigh. Armageddon has come. And with the four horseman taking over soul-collecting duties from the children of Death, the tragedy-masked member of the Reaper family most dedicated to his work, Morose, has something he never expected to possess: time. If only he had any idea what to do with it.

With the helpful prodding from his eternally irresponsible twin brother and vengeful, sometimes murder-god sister, not to mention those few humans who don’t immediately wet themselves in his presence, Morose will explore the most puzzling questions the mortal realm has to offer, like:
why caves don’t count as shelter,
why immortals shouldn’t be telemarketers,
pinball, 
proper wedding bouquet etiquette,
the meaning of life,
...and his brother’s insistence that he buy a television screen at least seventy-two inches wide.

However, Morose better find his answers soon, because the apocalypse is heating up and as the death toll rises, he might just be the only one who can stop it.

In the tradition of Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job and Terry Pratchett’s Reaper Man, Morose is a comic tale of life, Death, and the end of the world.

If you’d like to view a sample chapter or pre-order the book, you can head over to the project page for Morose: A Comedy.

A few of the contest details...
This contest is a little different than the last. Instead of total number of books, its based on number of unique readers buying books. So rather than buying a book for each of your coworkers, cousins, neighbors, and goth nieces and nephews, I need you to convince your coworkers, cousins, neighbors, and goth nieces and nephews to buy THEIR OWN copy.

The three books with the highest individual reader count by November 1st will be published by Inkshares and have the opportunity to be a part of GEEK AND SUNDRY! Have I mentioned how much I love Geek and Sundry? Let me count the ways.
How about this picture of me with Felicia Day?

Or this OTHER picture of me with Wil Wheaton while wearing a Tabletop t-shirt?

Or maybe there’s the Critical Role fan fiction I wrote? 

Yeah. I’m a fan. It would be a huge deal for me to be a part of their community. So what do you say? Let’s make Jim-erica Book Again!

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

"I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW ON AMAZON."

Is that you? Once that was me. Then one day seven years ago I put on my Grown-Up Pants, signed-in, and I wrote my first Amazon review. It was for capsules to prevent colds. Woohoo! The excitement never stopped. 

How many times do we ourselves use Amazon reviews? I only buy items on Amazon with great reviews. Ask my wife. I’m strictly a 4-star and up kinda Amazon shopper.

Why I am sharing all this with supporters and readers is because it’s time.

It is time to write an Amazon review of The Astronaut Instruction Manual.

Just sign-in and click here. (Or vice versa.) 

The AIM already has some great reviews, many of which came from Inkshare readers. To everyone who has written a review, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Everyone else, let’s do this. Click, sign-in, write. Remember, everyone has a first time.

Mike

Greetings All,

So it’s been awhile since last I updated, but it’s also been a hectic mess of conventions, deadlines, and submissions so...there.

CONvergence was great. All 250 ribbons I made were handed out. One of my fancy shmancy posters was vandal-eyesed, so clearly I made it. I played D&D for the first time and lots of people asked about my book (spurred on by said fancy shmancy posters.) All in all, it was a huge success.

But the BIG NEWS is: (Trumpet sound) An Unattractive Vampire is now available for preorder on Audible!  It will be released officially on August 23rd. So, if you need a bit of reading for when you’re stuck in traffic or catching Pokemon, you can listen to the sultry British tones of narrator Drew Campbell read my book to you. (Did I mention sultry British tones?)

Other news:

After eight seasons, Our Fair City just had the final read-through...EVER!   Oh the wonder and glory of watching actors squirm over their character’s fates. The power. THE POWER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If you want to catch up before the end, including checking out the current season head over to iTunes or visit www.ourfaircity.com.

Also, for those writers amongst you, the submission deadline for Deathscribe 2016 is quickly approaching. Scripts must be in by July 31st. So, if you’ve a scary story to tell (in radio play format), then throw it on some paper (digital paper) and send it to Chicago! (via e-mail)

THIS NEWS IS LEGENDARY