Dear friends and followers,

I delivered the first cheque to Chez Doris on Wednesday, for $74. I was given a quick tour of the place. They do some good work there, providing meals and legal services to women who need it. $74 isn’t a lot, I’m embarrassed to say, but every dollar counts.

Things have been getting steadily crazier without my realising it. To everyone who has contacted me recently about anything, I apologise. I’ll make time somehow.

On the writing front: well, "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" is complete but for some minor editing, and I can set it aside to concentrate on other business. I’d have liked to move on to "Best Man for Murder", the sequel, but--some good news, actually--I’m working on something for Choice Of Games, and that’s taking up a good portion of my creative writing energy. And also some of my logic-coding energy. Don’t worry, though: a first draft for "Best Man for Murder" has in fact been completed, and what I should be working on there will actually be a complete rewrite--changing names, key plot elements, and maybe even whodunnit. What’s the point of a second draft if you don’t rethink everything, right?

(Those of you who’ve read the second chapter of "Murder at the Veterans’ Club", did you know that in the original first draft, the thing Benson had stashed away in his safe deposit box was a Gutenberg Bible? Fascinating little Macguffin, but it ended up making no sense.)

Also on the writing front, I am involved in this: "Too Many Controllers", a submission for the current Nerdist contest.

Now, what could a guy whose writing is mostly set in a video-free era possibly have to offer in anthology of video game stories, you must be wondering. Well ... all will be revealed in time. At the very least, follow the book to keep tabs on the news. Or better yet, pre-order a copy. It could be worth noting that this book will almost certainly see daylight before "Murder at the Veterans’ Club"; and short stories can so easily be thought of as little appetisers before the main course.

Until next week: have fun, and keep reading. (Seriously, crazy as things are, I wish I had time to read more.)

Dear Machiners! 

We have an important decision before us. And I need your help because this is just too tough a call. As my benefactors, your support cannot be understated, and therefore you have a voice in the direction our book takes. 

With little further ado…. the cover concepts! Sweeeet, right? Artist Dan Stiles did an outstanding job capturing the essence of The Last Machine in the Solar System. 

Now we need to provide feedback to the production team at Girl Friday and Dan so he can refine one or two of the options as we move toward a final cover. Send me your feedback: Vote #1, #2 or #3 by messaging me with a DM on Inkshares or emailing me at matthew.sobin@gmail.com. Thanks!! 

Readers and followers of The Seventh Age! I bring you:

                                                    ART!

Check out how the cover is coming along. This is a higher resolution image than I’ve usually been sharing. The final artwork for this and the back cover should be done before the end of June. 

After the cover, the first character sketch has come in from my prior request looking for art commissions. The talented artist Lizzy Perez has read the Seventh Age and deemed the character Akira her favorite one. She nailed it! Stay tuned for future updates as Lizzy also has some more artwork and scenes coming in as well. 

The final part of this quick update is: I’m 38 readers / copies away from clearing the major benchmark of 1000. If you know anyone who is interested in urban fantasy, conspiracy, and street-tacos, send them over. I’ll be holding a series of 7 raffles after I hit 1000 for all readers on my dashboard. From reader #1 all the way to the final order. Everyone will be eligible. So if you want to be in: you’ve got 38 spots left. 

Prizes will range from artwork, tarot-decks, occult books, and some other Seventh-Age themed works. More info on that stuff as we get closer to 1k!

38 more! We can do this.