Hi all,

LAUNCH PARTY PICTURESSSS!!!!

Hello, Space Crew!

I know it’s been too long since I’ve kept you in the loop, but I’ve been working hard to put a lot of things in place. Couldn’t sit through the day without this reminder though.

Podcasting Tonight! 

Yep, time is going that fast. Tonight I’ll be making a guest appearance on the SciFi Geeks Club podcast with the guys from Galactic Netcasts. I’m extremely pumped to be doing this. It’ll kick off at 9:45pm EST, but I’ll send you the link for your listening pleasure after it’s been posted on the site. 

And your backer prizes will be announced tomorrow! Had some last-minute details to work out, but I am looking forward to hitting your inbox with awesome.

Your Exuberantly Excited Space Emperor,
-AC

It’s time to answer the great question I’ve been asked several times: "When will the damned book come out?"

Here’s your unequivocal answer: "I’m not sure yet." 

Perhaps I was being a little lax about my use of the word "unequivocal." 

Here’s the deal: Inkshares is awesome. They want me to get my best work out to you. They are not rushing me. As of right now, I tentatively sent them a submission date for my manuscript for "sometime in May." (There I go, failing to be unequivocal again.) Once I submit my manuscript and submission packet (don’t worry about that, that’s for me to figure out), then the process begins. If you fish around on other books’ pages that are in the status of "in production," you will see a progress bar with an anticipated release date. I will only obtain such things after I submit my manuscript. So, it’s all up to me. 

And when will I be submitting my manuscript? I’m not sure yet. Hopefully by May. And then hopefully the book will be out in autumn...maybe by Christmas. I’m not sure yet. 

Sorry for the unequivocal level of ambiguity in this update...

The reasons for any delay are as follows, and I believe they are good reasons:

1) I want to submit the BEST book, not the fastest. I am a fast storyteller, I have written an entire novel in a month, but that does not mean that I want that version of the novel to be released upon the general public. You all are my backers, my loved ones, my friends...if there is a little longer wait, then it is out of respect for your investment. I believe Mr. Butler is an amazing story (it’s kind of grown a lot larger than I thought! It might even become a series...?), and I want it to be the best it can be. On the flip side of that coin, I promise not to be a perfectionist and keep polishing this thing into the ground up until the point of being released in 2019. I do know when to stop.

2) My son is due to be born in May. Could be any day now. Not sure. But he will require focus, and that might delay things, perhaps. Got a problem with that? 

In the meantime, I’m also enjoying my time as a staff writer for Renderosity Magazine. So far, I have four articles involving me: 

1) An interview with me as a novelist and my approach to writing

2) An interview with me as a new staff writer, and what I plan on bringing to the magazine

3) Four reasons why you should write every day

4) How writing improves all art

I plan on writing articles about Inkshares for the magazine, and I plan on featuring author interviews in the near future. I’m also going to be doing reviews of writing software. (I’m currently enjoying "Ulysses" for Mac and iPhone...amazing.)

I want to motivate all others to write, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at madmrbutler@gmail.com. Inkshares is an incredible opportunity if used wisely. So let’s all get wise. Also, don’t be offended if I don’t get back to you right away. I have filled my plate at present. 

Good luck to all who are involved in the new Geek & Sundry contest. Those contests are beasts, so let me know if you need any advice, and don’t be afraid to connect. 

Thank you all for your support and your patience. 

Have a wonderful day.

-Michael.

In case you missed it...Women Like Us’ journey to publish is progressing nicely. Take a look:

ISBN: 9781942645108 

Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN): 2016935239 

Format: Paperback Retail Price: $14.99 

And this: 

Copyedit due to Author for review: 4/22 Author return reviewed copyedit to GFP: 5/6

Remember if you haven’t liked the Women Like Us page on Facebook, here’s the link!

https://www.facebook.com/womenlikeusnovel/

And if anybody has any good marketing ideas, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks!

JP

All readers, authors and followers...and everyone!

Its been two weeks since my late update and were now 71 pre-orders in and 179 more orders needed to reach the quill goal.

In my previous update I mentioned that I had completed my edits and re-writes for the entire book, I wish to say that I would upload a chapter further along the book when we hit the 100 pre-order goal.

But I’m also quite excited as I have just received my Wacom Intuos art tablet, I’ve just got to get to grips with it but hopefully some artwork will follow and it will give everybody an idea of what to expect landscape and character wise.

I wish to part my thanks to everybody who has supported me thus far and I wish everybody a successes into their projects too!

If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy please do and help me support my dream and make this become a reality for me.

P.S. don’t forget to check out my blog www.fantasyscifiwriter.blogspot.co.uk if you haven’t already for author interviews, guest blogs and new and upcoming books and authors.

Matrilineal Societies: The backbone of reproduction in an all female world.

In this first post discussing the science, culture, anthropology and more from the world of After Man’s earth, we’re going to focus on a unique method of reproduction and child rearing that was adopted worldwide in a response to the sudden loss of all men and a drastic contraction of society after the events of the late 21st century.

Begin Entry

What is a Matrilineal society?  According to Brittanica, it is a "group adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines (the latter being termed patrilineage or patriliny). Every society incorporates some basic components in its system of reckoning kinship: family, marriage, postmarital residence, rules that prohibit sexual relations (and therefore marriage) between certain categories of kin, descent, and the terms used to label kin. A lineage is a group of individuals who trace descent from a common ancestor; thus, in a matrilineage, individuals are related as kin through the female line of descent." (http://www.britannica.com/topic/matrilineal-society) 

In the world of After Man, this form of society became the dominant method around which all means of reproduction were determined after the initial rapid adoption of artificial insemination on a worldwide scale to prevent the loss of the species.  Vast swaths of society were lost before emergency methods could be used to spread this technology around the world.  Centers for fertilization were placed on ships and sailed around the world and eventually major city centers became the gravitational centers of habitation and survival.  Inside these major city centers, smaller societies were encouraged based on the concept of matrilineal societies seen in Earth’s cultures around the world, most notably the Mosuo people of western China.  This enabled various cultures and ethnicity groups to preserve their unique past while ensuring the optimal setting for support through child-birth and rearing.

As an example, the city of New York, famous for its boroughs, became one of three major metropolitan centers around which the surviving species in North America were moved to along Washington City and San Francisco.  Other cities eventually were able to establish smaller centers for reproductive services and adopted a similar system of encouraging these smaller societies inside the cities to form.  These societies vary based on culture or ethnicity, however they all share a few common elements.  First, each shares the responsibility of child-rearing among all of the members of the society.  Second, all members of the society must provide as least one egg or carry one child to term.  This is a legal obligation of all citizens of the cities.  Third, each society occupies a communal structure that includes schools, hospitals, stores as well as libraries and other centers for communal activity and is maintained by the members of that society with service support from the city when needed. 

Not all members of each city belong to a society but all make use of them for child-care and support during child birth.  All members of a city are required at the very minimum to work a period of 2 years in service to a society of their choice in varying capacity from administrative duties to educational roles to actual child-care.  Those that choose to bear a child to term either for her own requirement or to bring another woman’s child to term for her are considered to have fulfilled that obligatory service.  Those who choose to fulfill their obligatory service in either of these ways are guaranteed the time necessary away from their chosen careers without loss of pay or position.  Some women choose to join in service to that society in a full-time capacity.  In those instances, their position in another career is guaranteed to them to return to up to a minimum period of five years.

Some women who wish to remain in a professional position outside of a society choose to volunteer to be surrogate mothers for other women who wish to only give the minimum service to a society.  These women have their obligatory service waived permanently and receive guaranteed time away from their profession for all medical needs and for the period of birth and recovery up to one year after birth.  As these women will most likely carry multiple children to term throughout their careers, they work flexible hours in their profession but receive full pay for their time spent caring for their bodies during and after pregnancy.

Societies like these dominate all of the major population centers across the world.  The largest of these are New York City, Washington City, San Francisco, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Dubai, New Delhi, Cairo, Cape Town, Accra, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Sydney with smaller cities spread out across the continents, more so in North America, Europe, and east Asia.

End Entry

Please stay tuned for more information about the world of After Man.  A portal/wiki will be created soon as a reference for this data.  If you are interested in contributing to the studies of what this world looks like after such an event occurs, contact me via email.  Be sure to share this project around so we can keep the momentum up and get this novel in your hands sooner!

tiny.cc/aftermannovel