Machiners!

Can you believe we flew past the one month mark since publication? Crazy times! This will be a quick update with some goodies to report.

First, The Last Machine AUDIOBOOK is coming! You read that correctly, this is going to be epic! And I don’t expect it to take very long to produce. After a highly competitive audition process - 60 narrators submitted recordings to read Jonathan’s story - I’ve selected the voice to read our story! Look for an update in the next month or so about a release date. Shooting for around July 1.

Super important: Have you read the story? Have you not left a review on Amazon? 

Then I need your help. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. I liked the Last Machine for x and y reason, etc. One or two sentences will do the trick. Want to write a longer response to the story? Please do - Reviews come in all shapes and sizes! We need to get to 100 on Amazon, and at the moment, we have 16. Many thanks in advance!

Amazon page for reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Machine-Solar-System-ebook/dp/B06XRSS26Y/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Goodreads page for reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30221887-the-last-machine-in-the-solar-system

Lastly, pics! From the book launch at Book Passage in the San Francisco Ferry Building. Oh, and the book in Huntington, NY at Book Revue next to some guy named George R.R. Martin.... I told you these were crazy times :-)

FREE STUFF! If you haven’t gotten around to posting your Amazon review for THE KNIGHT PROPER, now is a great time to do so as we’re giving away FREE STUFF (again) to celebrate 300 followers on Adam’s Facebook Page! Over the next week, anyone who posts their Amazon Review of the Knight Proper on his page will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a signed copy of The Knight Proper and a signed poster for Matt’s movie Manhattan Undying, out June 6th - and we will gladly ship to you, FREE (one last time) of charge! 

How exciting! After the first day of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest, Mission 51 is in First Place!

As most of you may recall, I started this project on Inkshares last year, in Feb 2016 to be exact. I had discovered Inkshares at that time and impulsively jumped into a contest that was already half-way through. I had a story in my head and started writing it down. I was thrilled at the early response and amassed a good number of pre-orders, but I was also overwhelmed by the time commitment. Writing the book, campaigning for a contest, and my medical work were really three full-time jobs. I eventually came to the conclusion that to do a good job, I needed the time to complete and refine the novel with as little mental pressure as possible. I took Mission 51 out of funding in August 2016 and Inkshares refunded everyone for their generous pre-orders.

I’m very glad I did that. Mission 51 is now a mature project. It has gotten great feedback from laypersons and professionals who have read samples. Personally, I think it’s a fun read. It is intricate, old-school science fiction which honors a solid foundation of sci-fi lore. It is also a historical fiction and period piece within the time frame of 1954-1969. More importantly, Mission 51 dances around issues of immigration, intolerance, and personal/societal ethics. Those might be heavy issues, but I believe I have kept it light and fun. Aliens help do that! LOL

So, if you supported the project when it was in funding last year, I ask that you please support it again now. Mission 51 is actually way better than it was last year! Your pre-order is essential for it to stay on top of the Nerdist contest leaderboard. The time for Mission 51 has come! The time for your pre-order is now!

Thank you very much!

Ferd  👽

Hello Friends!

Great News! I was recently able to send in my manuscript to the people at inkshares! This was a big relief for me--at 33 weeks pregnant, I was anxious to get my product into the hands of the professionals before the baby arrives.  BTW- thanks to everyone who gave me input on which of these baby poems to include in the final draft! (note: I picked the Stork and Baby Rose.) 

At the same time, I got to write a bunch of book jacket information (Author Bio, short synopsis, etc..) This felt SUPER AWKWARD, but I got through it, and feel pretty pleased with the final product.

Katie

Hello friends,

I apologize for the radio silence, but I’m back now with exciting news!

Despite the fact that I fell off the radar for a few weeks due to an unplanned hospitalization, the bus is pretty much driving itself at this point: Devil’s Call has gone off to the typesetter and has a lovely cover from the amazing David Drummond that includes several positive blurbs. Jerry Smith from Fangoria, James Demonaco (creator of The Purge series), and J-F. DuBeau (author of A God in the Shed) contributed lovely words about the novel. ARCs have gone out, and reviews are starting to trickle in on Goodreads.

Check out this cover!

One of the immediate impediments to my online presence is the lack of Internet at the transitional housing where I’m staying while I wait to hear back about a more permanent supportive apartment. (At risk of getting all TMI over everybody, part of the reason I was hospitalized had to do with a nosedive of a depressive episode that involved a relapse after 10 months of sobriety, so here we are.) While I am able and intend to go online using WiFi hot spots, the majority of my time is now devoted to recovery.

But! Devil’s Call still has a publication date of July 17, and I am very stoked to see where my little novel goes this summer. Will make more of an effort to keep y’all up to date from now on.

xoxo,
J.