"Oh I do believe in you, yes I do...Live without your heartbeat. Love without your sunlight. I, I can't live within you."

Grieving for the man who stole my world. Much love to all readers who are feeling the same! Here's a pic of my fiance and I from this past Halloween, as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (as close as we could make it as we were traveling abroad...so we stole some influences from Halloween Jack). An update on Talkers will follow soon. R.I.P Starman. 

Hello again, dear readers. 

In the spirit of camaraderie, I had a call tonight with author Matthew Isaac Sobin, whose book "The Last Machine in the Solar System" is currently in the #2 spot of the Sword and Laser contest. I've been a fan of Matt's book ever since it entered the race, gladly putting down my money for a copy (now three copies, actually) on the second day of the contest. Although he is my competitor, I wish his book all the best. It's worth your attention as well, so help him get it funded!  I'm glad we got together on the phone line. Mostly, we just talked shop about writing, and blew off some steam about the tireless campaign to earn your support. We commiserated about my failed attempts at plastering the city with my AiM posters, and I heard about the fun he had delivering Last Machine holiday cards - both of which netted us about 0-1 readers, maybe... We had a really good time. I can see this as an ongoing thing...

...Ongoing straight to tomorrow (and beyond!) when Matt and I and fellow S&L leader Craig Munro (author of "Bones of the Past") are guests on the Sword and Laser podcast! That's right! My crazy voice will be broadcast for all to hear, so tune in when the episode airs. I'll be sure to post another reader update when it's live.

Look, as far as I see it, there are so many amazing authors and amazing stories here on Inkshares - and especially so for the books gathered in this S&L contest. I mean I even told Matt just before we hung up that I'm a huge fan of Amanda Orneck's "Deus Hex Machina." I think that book is so unique... Ah, I could talk your ear off all evening about my admiration for that work and for so many others, but I'd rather inform you that I... 

...just posted three more chapters of "The Animal in Man". Chapter Two. Chapter Three. And Chapter Six. ....hold on... Six? Yeah. That's right. Chapters 4 and 5 are done, but being the perfectionist I am, they don't make me so happy in their current state. I was picking at them with a fine tooth comb, and I saw just way too many spots that needed changing to be consistent with the world as it's evolved throughout this project. I believe you will enjoy 2, 3, and 6 since you'll see meet some new friends, discover the fate of everyone's favorite hyena (sorry, Rick), and perhaps even catch a glimpsssse of the villain's agent (or the villain himself, or both?).

I'd like to leave you with a disclaimer as this update draws to a close: Please please please excuse any inconsistencies or bad grammatical errors you find. "The Animal in Man" is a work in progress. The scale of this project is massive, perhaps you might say Aigaion-sized. It's a lot of work, but I am excited to see it through - to get the first draft finished and then leap back in with the bloody red pen (my students know what I'm talking about!). So please, don't be so critical of the small things that don't add up. Just enjoy.