THANK YOU so much for supporting Pilot X. We are halfway to the first milestone, the "Quill" goal that gets it published! I can’t believe it’s only been a week.
To celebrate the halfway mark, I’ve added a second sample chapter. This is the opening chapter of the book. It’s called Prologue 1 because the first few chapters set you up to tell X’s story, although they take place at the end of his adventures. It’s all part of the time travel fun!
Anyway hope you enjoy it and let me know if you’re curious about other parts of the book! The first thing in the manuscript right now is a section on the three major races of the universe ripped from the Encyclopedia Alendia. Man the librarian was mad at me about that.
Thanks again!
Tom
Happy Saturday!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve sent an update, and I hope most of you are out enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
I wanted to let everyone know that a final cover has been decided on, and is being finalized before I can release it for you all to see! Developmental editing is complete, and I’m halfway through my copyedits right now. If you visit Welcome to Deadland’s Inkshares page you can see the production schedule off to the righthand side that keeps you up to date with where we are in the process.
Although WtD isn’t 100% complete yet, while it’s been with the editors I’ve been able to get to work on the sequel. I have a rough outline, and roughly 10,000 words down. The story takes off like a bullet and I’m really excited with how it’s opening and where it’s going, and once you all finish Welcome to Deadland you can rest assured that the momentum won’t be slowing down.
Have a great weekend, thank you all for your support, and the next time you hear from me it’ll be with the finalized cover!
-Zac
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:
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.
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
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?