TODAY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUbEcwQ7xU

Join me and three other epic ladies of Inkshares on a LIVE Google Hangout as we discuss our science fiction stories, answer age old questions about women’s roles as creators in the genre, and probably make at least a dozen Firefly references.

Featuring:

Me!, author of She Is the End
@acwestonwrites

Elayna Mae Darcy, author of They Are the Last
@elaynamae

RH Webster, author of Lucky
@RH_Webster

Amanda Orneck, author of Deus Hex Machina and others
@amandaorneck

Submit your questions as a post on the facebook event page here, or message any of us on twitter! Follow the action using #WomenSlayingScifi! You can always watch later, if you can’t make the live event.

I hope you’ll check it out!

:) :) :)

Well, here we are: 72 hours left to FEYSIDE’s crowdfunding run. Because of the many of you who have shown such generous support for the project, its inclusion in Inkshares’ Quill publishing line is a foregone conclusion - thank you, truly.

Nevertheless, there is something to be said for finishing strong. If any of you followers have been eyeing this book as a possible purchase, now would be an ideal time to place a preorder. If you have friends or relatives you think might enjoy the story, this is , for now, your last opportunity to steer them to it or make a gift of it for them. And if you’re suddenly seized by the impulse to contribute to the cause of indie fiction and world peace (through flights of fancy, admittedly indirectly) then I likewise welcome your last-minute contribution!

FEYSIDE... it all awaits you at the click of a mouse, at the following link:
https://www.inkshares.com/projects/feyside?referral_code=50f74721

P.S. to my fellow Inkshares authors... I am happy as ever to exchange preorders, my work for yours. Contact me via the usual means or just go ahead and order - I will happily and immediately reciprocate!

Hey all:

As part of the campaign to get Women Like Us to its publish goal, some of you might be aware there was a contest that involved one our dogs, Derric of the Beagle Freedom Project. Derric spent the first five years of his life caged up in a lab, and during this time, before Beagle Freedom Project secured his release, he was known by the numbers and letters tattooed in his ear -- BCT-8. Some others who have fostered and adopted these dogs have gotten tattoos of their own that somehow incorporate the beagle’s tattoo as a way of honoring the dog, and I’ve always loved that idea. I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: I consider Derric to be so very brave and courageous. Seriously, how many of us could survive being caged up pretty much our entire lives and still emerge to become the happy, sweet little man we have today. Anyway, Victoria Weaver, also a BFP adopter, won the contest, which allowed her to chime in on the tattoo design and placement on my person. So here it is, folks!  

All hail The Beagle Freedom Tat! Thank you Derrek (!) at Broken Art Tattoos in Silver Lake. This, by the way, takes car of the last of the Women Like Us contest loose ends! News about publication date should be coming soon, so stay tuned!

[No Easter Bunnies were harmed in the writing of this update] [...but there might be a hollowed-out bunny-human ribcage or two in the latest scene I wrote for “The Animal in Man.” No joke… Happy Easter.]

Good day, animals. **

Just a quick update to let all The Animal in Man’s followers know that its author is still alive and semi-well (wife just passed her flu to me, I suspect). Some of you have messaged me directly, wondering when the book will be released. Well, I cannot say for certain, and I hesitate to confirm anything, but by my best guesstimate you will have the completed story at your fingertips no sooner than late-2016. (In the meantime, there are PLENTY of other books on inkshares to blow your mind!) I might have mentioned this in a previous update… when I got back into writing it, I revitalized my outline and discovered that this story is much more massive than I realized.

“Why not cut it into a trilogy then, Joe?” Good question! The reason I won’t do so is because it’s ONE complete story, an epic adventure that ramps up quickly and never slows down, start to finish, all within about two week’s time (I think). It is, however, diced up into three parts… Maybe three and a half.

Some of the characters you’ll meet along the way, besides our heroic and cunning fox Maxan, include:

• A white wolf wizard (seen in chapter 1)
• His apprentices, twin squirrels
• An octopus samurai (guess how many swords)
• A one-winged eagle preacher
• A rhino who charges through buildings
• A grey horned owl sorcerer who never blinks
• A thousand-year old [senile?] snapping turtle
• A grizzly bear wasted away by poison

And more… I promise this is not going to be a cutesy tale of anthropomorphic, cuddly snugglemongers. No. It’s a tale about killers. Because in case we’ve forgotten… Animals are killers.

Are we any better?

Peace to you and yours this holiday.

** (My mom was wondering why I’m calling her an animal with every update... Kind of awkward... When I call you animals, please know that I do so with the utmost endearment, and remember that the question of whether or not mankind is any better than animal-kind is one of the central questions driving the story. Animals are also capable of love, I believe, and I do so love each and every one of you.Thank you for your support and attention.

Well, I’m not dead, and neither is A Beast Requires. 

We all fall short sometimes. It sucks. It can be devastating. In the months since the campaign ended, life gave me constant reminders that time keeps moving on. I lost a war with a dying washing machine, celebrated the one year anniversary with one of my gaming groups, and failed once again at reading all seven volumes of In Search of Lost Time. 

I’ve also kept editing. It’s been a slow process, often times with complete rewrites of scenes. The brain lives in autocorrect mode, skipping over homonyms and dangling commas. I wish I could do it all via computer, but I need my dead trees and red pen. But after months of working at it, I have the first ten chapters done. 

You all were behind me in the campaign. You all bolstered my confidence, forming a wall of support that encouraged me to push forward even when my emotions were telling me otherwise. It meant the world to me. So I have this things. It’s up on Google Drive. If you want to read it, let me know. 

Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes.

Dear Readers,

"Time goes, you say? Ah no! / Alas, Time stays, we go." ~ Henry Austin Dobson  ... Until we return again from the strange and hefty obligations handed to us by life.

Hello, all:

Upon deciding to renew the campaign for The Northern Divide, I also came to the decision that, though the manuscript has changed slightly since I last updated the project, I will not be noting those changes nor adding any other chapters to the page. Instead, I will create PDF proofs upon request (muhu25@gmail.com) for any who wish to read the latest version of the manuscript. I would also ask that if a proof is requested... Please, kindly add a review of the work to the project page upon completion of pages sent.

I’ve also had an opportunity over the last four months, the end of the last campaign, to think over what I might offer supporters who not only follow along but also pre-order copies. For the Occultist, if you so wish, I will provide a free PDF copy (or notification of access to no cost Kindle edition on Free Book Promotion days) of my self-published poetic work: Dues for the Repose, from Words Much Like Poetry. For those with the capacity to be Wielders, a dedication to one and all in the form of a gothic villanelle lauding your assistance that will be included in the e-book. For those capable of bearing the burden of the Godkind, signed author copies with personal dedications, along with shout outs on my social media channels and personal websites.

"You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support." ~ Sabrina Bryan ... Here’s to it.

All at once - the time has come:

I’m ready for it. I’M PREPARED FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

Amazon has unlocked the ability to leave reviews for Asteroid Made of Dragons.

You all have the paperback and ebook - I need  you to go leave an honest review. Today, tomorrow - whenever you get done reading. It’s the most important thing you’ve done for me. As crass as it is to say - MORE important than backing the book in the first place.

Reviews on Goodreads are also great!

Even just clicking some stars is a huge help. Text reviews are monumental.

So please - as you finish reading, take a moment to leave a review. I want to know, I need to know - and if the book is going to stand a chance after the first couple of weeks, the world needs to know what you thought of it.

Other Articles of Note

• Spell/Sword and The Riddle Box FREE on Kindle 4/5-4/9.
  
• I still have download codes for the Audible audiobook of Spell/Sword - basically ask me for one if you want it? I will devise some sort of hoop for you to jump through.
• LAUNCH PARTY 4/5 Avid Bookshop - Athens, GA - 630p EST. (You all must be there. I’m going to drink too much and make people listen to me. It’s ALL I ever want.)
• Some upstart by the name of...*checks notes*...Thomas Ferret is taking the leap into getting his novel Pilot X published through Inkshares. I disapprove of this sort of rabble clogging up the halls here, but he’s a radio DJ and you know that medium is dying. Somewhere in the midwest, the Board and Grazer? It’s about farming and cows.  His alleged book is about time travel and I HATE THAT. https://www.inkshares.com/books/pilot-x

You’re going to be hearing a lot from me over the next few weeks. How are you? When are you all going to start calling in the tremendous backlog of favors I owe you?

Hail hexers!

Campaigning is hard.

Either you’re spending all your time working to find new backers or you’re worrying non-stop about not knowing where to look for new backers. I’m currently in later. One thing that is consistent however is the constant stress.

That being said, sometimes you get to do some fun things. Last week I was interviewed by the always charming Alicia Smock of Examiner.com about A God in the Shed. Being able to chat about the project with someone asking interesting questions about the book and story has reignited the fire of working on this story more than anything in recent memory. Check out the article for yourself. There’s some fun revelations about where I come up with some things and why I made some of the decisions for the story.

As always, if you know someone who might be interested in A God in the Shed, sit them down, look them straight in the eyes. Stare them down like you’re trying to see the color of their very soul. Look at them until they stop giggling and asking you what this is all about and instead start getting nervous. Then, tell them about how awesome supporting fantasy-horror books from independent publishers is and how A God in the Shed deserves their support.

Before I leave you, allow me to recommend a few books from friends on Inkshares: 

• A.C. Baldwin’s ’The Traveler’s Cup’
  
• Tom Merrit’s ’Pilot X’ 
• Christopher Huang’s ’Murder at the Veteran’s Club’

Thanks for supporting me and other independent writers.

JF