Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for She Is the End


HI EVERYONE

I CAN’T HANDLE ALL OF THE AMAZING STUFF HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

There’s so much. Too much! 

She Is the End progress - I expect to send the manuscript to my beta readers on March 12th! I know, I’m behind schedule... but just trust me on this - you want my book to be the best it can be.

(And it’s going to be pretty awesome.)


Blood Dawn Risk - John Robin made a game for Blood Dawn! Read his announcement about it here.

Those of us who have bought 3+ books will be playing as houses trying to defeat the dragons hiding in his map. We have to take over territories and fight the dragons, and we gain troops by getting people to pre-order his book! I am the Lady of House Vastaron.

The dragons represent each person who has bought 7+ copies of Blood Dawn.

I... AM ALSO A DRAGON!!!

So, if you want to help me dominate this fictional land as the Lady of House Vastaron, OR if you want to become my dragonchild, stay tuned. I will let you know when and how to swear loyalty to me.

(I am also such a fan of Blood Dawn that I made a lil fan video for John Robin which will be debuting soon...)



The Life Engineered by JF Dubeau - HAPPY RELEASE DAY!!!

If you like robots with feelings, and especially if themes of family and motherhood speak to you... but you also like it when things EXPLODE in SPACE, you need to go buy this book. Buy it on Amazon today! TODAY!

I got this book in the mail from Inkshares a few weeks ago and guys, it’s so beautiful. And it’s not just beautiful on the outside, it’s really good. It’s fun and exciting and I love how all the creative ideas are grounded in a very straightforward, sincere story. It’s exciting and optimistic and so very satisfying. I highly recommend it.

Elan Samuel recommends it on his blog, the Warbler, too!

And finally...


Lucky by RH Webster:

This book is pinging my next-big-thing radar. We love our space westerns and our space fantasies, but do we understand how much we’re going to love an awesome SPACE TRUCKERS STORY?? I really, really want to see this one finish in the top 3 of the current Nerdist contest. Pre-order this book!

...Until next time...


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    Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for Transilience

    In the spirit of making up for lost time, another update to grace your inboxes!

    Like many (most) authors, I listen to music while I write. I listen to music pretty much all day long, but I rarely write in total silence.

    One of the groups that has had a heavy influence on the creation of Transilience, is a Polish electro-jazz duo, Skalpel. Testament to this fact is their inclusion in Chapter 1. I first heard them whilst I still lived in Detroit. One of the DJs on the local public radio station, WDET, gave them high regard and played several tracks off their 2005 album Konfusion regularly.

    (Segue)

    Like many (most authors) - yep, here we go again - I have adopted the rather boring and unoriginal practice of giving my chapters naught but a number....officially. Unofficially, I’ve assigned a song title to each chapter. These songs represent groups that I tend to listen to whilst writing. They are also relevant to the chapter. They form a sort of soundtrack to the book.

    For this update, I’ve decided to share the track list and I’ll include hyperlinks to YouTube videos so you can listen along if you’d like. The list will, hopefully, give you some insight into me, as an author, and provide clues to plot and structure of Transilience.  Enjoy!

    1. "Infinity Girl" by Stereolab.

    2. "Asphodel" by Skalpel.

    3. "Here Comes the Moon Man" by Amon Tobin

    4. "Shivers" by Skalpel

    5. "Introductory Nomenclature" by Telefon Tel Aviv

    6. "Chain Reaction" by Steroid Maximus

    7. "Black Heart" by Calexico

    8. "Aftermath" by Ahmad Jamal

    9. "Tension" by Skalpel

    10. "Sex (I’m A)" by Lovage

    11. "Getting There" by Flying Lotus (ft. Niki Randa)

    12. "Towers" by Bonobo (ft. Szjerdene)

    13. "Break In (Paradowski Remix)" by Skapel

    14. "Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

    15. "Heard from Telegraph Lines" by Boards of Canada.

    16. "Silicon Jazz" by Wavescape

    17. "Fists of Curry" by Dan the Automater from Bombay the Hard Way Soundtrack

    18. "Never Never Land" by The Vince Guaraldi Trio

    19. "For Her Non-Place" by Prefuse 73 (I couldn’t actually find this on YouTube but it is on their album Interregnums, which I highly recommend).

    20. "Your presence" by Bill Van Loo & J. Schanble (Again, couldn’t find a YouTube video but here is a link to the album. Again, highly recommend it.)

    21. "Forces...Darling" by Koop

    22. "Soul Clap 2000" by Recloose.

    23. "Break Charmer" by Cujo

    24. "Evidence" by Thelonious Monk

    25. "At My Heels" by Daedalus

    26. "Hindsight" by DJ Shadow

    27. "Sculpture" by Skalpel (A great track to end a novel, methinks!)

    And there you have it. A soundtrack to my book!

    If you listened to any, or all, of the tracks, I hope you enjoyed them. As you may have noticed, Skalpel features five times, but again their music had an impact on the way I approached the material. It’s my way of thanking them,

    6 Days left in the funding campaign and no steps closer to 250. If you want to support my novel, now is a very good time to do so! If you have, I appreciate your help spreading the word. And if it isn’t too much to ask, keep it up!!

    Cheers!

    Kev



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      Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for The Catcher’s Trap

      Hello Friends


      As you may know, Inkshares is more than just a platform for authors to raise funds and get published; it is also a community where many aspiring authors share knowledge and support each other through the process of writing and finding a way to publish.


      Inkshares launched recently a feature called Syndicates, which are groups of people with similar interests pooling their resources to help the efforts of a different author every month. By supporting an author, you also get a copy of their book!

      Here is the description of Syndicates from Inkshares: 

      “It is inspired by the syndicate structure on AngelList. Members can come in at the "electron" level for $10 per month, or the "atom" level for $20 per month. The syndicate lead then works with members to choose a book to support on the 15th of each month. Orders are then placed on behalf of each member. Electrons receive an ebook. Atoms receive a print-book.”

      You can find full details in the FAQ section of Inkshares.

      I think that a syndicate could be a great way to support LGBTQ aspiring authors and allies who feature characters breaking stereotypes. So I will start a syndicate called Write Out Loud.

      I will be hosting an online Facebook event this Friday (cause they are the hot thing to do these days) previous to the launch of the syndicate to inspire friends a family to join. 

      I want some of the work of other LGBTQ authors and allies currently on Inkshares. So if you think your work would be a good fit for this syndicate, let me know and I will share a link to your book (and maybe an excerpt from your book) during the event.

      I kept the even private because I want it to be a safe space for all participants. Send me your e-mail address if you want an invitation ricardophenriquez@yahoo.com.

      I will launch the Write Out Loud Syndicate On March 4th, at 6 pm, I invite you to join.

      Facebook event here

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        Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for The Traveller’s Cup

        Happy March the First!

        Well, space crew, we’re getting close to the end. There are only 15 days remaining on our voyage in the Nerdist Contest. It’s time to get serious.

        These measley two weeks are going to fly. Not only for me, but for the other contestants. I need your help to triple our pre-order count in that time. Otherwise this book won’t be published.

        Let’s make this week about word of mouth. I challenge you, today, to tell your friend, partner, brother, sister, or dog about The Traveller’s Cup. Tomorrow maybe try your coworker. Friday your Dungeon Master. If you believe in this project as much as I do, I need you to take up this challenge as part of the crew.

        For every day that we increase our pre-orders by 10 I’ll release a new sample chapter or excerpt.

        That means that right now we’re sitting at 53. If tomorrow by midnight we’re at 63 I’ll give you a new sample on Thursday. I’m willing to keep this up to the end of the campaign if it kills me, because I believe in this book.

        Also! If you successfully refer 3 people to order (have them mention your name by Tweet or Inkshares comment to me) you’ll get an honourable mention in the book and a 1,000-word piece of micro-fiction written just for you. This will be a space-themed piece where you can choose the setting, character, or scenario.

        Spread the word, space crew.

        Your Compulsively Copacetic Captain,
        -AC



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          Thomas J. Arnold liked the forum thread, Trading Pre-Sale Orders
          @Zack Jordan because your campaign is incredible!
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            Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for The Traveller’s Cup

            Top of the Monday, Space Crew!

            Today I need to get personal. This campaign has been among the most heartwarming and most stressful experiences of my life. It seems that you all hold the power to make or break my day. 

            That’s something I hope to get better at pushing out of my mind as my writing career advances, but this is my first major publishing endeavour, so I’ve got a lot of jitters around the whole thing. 

            I was recently asked about why I needed to publish this book in an Inkshares article. You can see my full answer there, but it comes down to this:

            Science-fiction used to be a thing that brought people together. I think of Star Trek in the 1960s, and how groundbreakingly diverse it was. That was a time when we didn’t divide people into segmented nerd cultures. It was a time when grandparents and children could share an appreciation for fiction together. 

            When I try to put a genre on my stories I get pretty overwhelmed. If I want to appease the "true" sci-fi crowd, then I need to go with hard sci-fi, which means pulling out the old physics textbooks and hitting up r/askscience. If I want to include magic it becomes fantasy, unless it could be explained by science. If I mention anything potentially unscientific while the rest of the story is consistently well-researched, I break suspension of disbelief. 

            Now, I love science-fiction. I have a sort of reverent respect for futurologists, and well-studied fiction writers. But I couldn’t take all of these constraints and still make The Traveller’s Cup what it is today. So when I discovered the Nerdist Space Opera contest, and my eye caught the following line, I gaped for a moment: 

            "We define (a space opera) as any adventure that takes place in space."

            I have never felt so liberated as a storyteller. I began to dig out old notes. I tore a page out of one of my fantasy ideas and shoved it in the middle of a sci-fi project. I let my imagination run wild with all the rules I could now break! I can write fantasy set in space. My heroes can be space pirates who run into space dragons battling space wizards. The Tolkien-esque fundamentals of a classic adventure story can exist in a galaxy far, far away. 

            So with reckless abandon I began breaking these rules, and found a story that was always meant to be told. A story that I think can transcend our need for niches and subgenres and just breathe. This is a book for your mom. It’s a book for your geeky brother. It’s a book for teens as much as seniors. At least that’s my hope. I wrote The Traveller’s Cup to be approachable and accessible. 

            Because I think it’s time we stopped focusing on our differences and let our minds experience the unknown again. 

            Your Exuberant Overlord,
            -AC


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              Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for Transilience

              One week left in Transilience’s funding campaign and I have been mysteriously quiet for the past two weeks. What’s going on, Kev?

              What’s going on, indeed!

              Before I progress any further, allow me to thank Zack, Christopher, Dom, Billy, and Peter for their support of my novel. You guys rock and I appreciate you taking a chance on my book! 

              For those of you not named Zack, Christopher, Dom, Billy or Peter, I encourage you to check out their Inkshare pages. For those of you named Zack, Christopher, Dom, Billy, or Peter but not the same Zack, Christopher, Dom, Billy, or Peter with a hyperlink...same thing goes for you. Check out their pages, and their work. You can do your part for a fellow Zack, Christopher, Dom, Billy and Peter.

              Before I progress any further...wait a second....this is starting to sound oddly familiar. Hmm...perhaps you’re right. I guess I’m going for an aside before I launch into an update whose content has not been fully formed in my mind.

              My plan, you see, is to fill this update with hyperlinks. I really have no idea why but it seems like fun to me. If this update is not replete with hyperlinks, my plan has failed. In either case, you will either applaud my efforts or vow never to visit this page again.

              The funding campaign for Transilience has one week left. Eight days...I mean seven days until it ends. I need 187 orders to make the Quill goal. That’s eBook publication with a print run for everyone who has ordered a paperback. (The Beatles twice in one paragraph? Really? *shrugs*)

              Where was I??

              Oh yeah! One. Eight. Seven.

              One week = Eight Days...er... Seven Days.

              Perhaps it’s a sign.

              As many of you already know. 187 is also police code for murder. They even incorporated the number into a television show featuring my former hometown, Detroit. Pity it only lasted a season.

              Another coincidence? Transilience is also about murder. Murder for a belief. Murder for a profit. You know...daily life.

              Seven days to accomplish a Herculean task. 187 Orders. Perhaps if I could amass a seven nation army of supporters, I can reach 250 by the Eleventh hour.

              The obvious solution is to trade pre-orders. Trade them like I’ve never traded them before. Which, ironically, would be any point in the span of time before the moment I traded my first pre-order with another author.

              That’s right. I haven’t swapped pre-orders. I’m not a swapper and it may cost me my chance of publication through Inkshares. However, here is why. NB: Some of you have heard this already.

              (climbs atop his soapbox).

              To me, it’s gaming the system. Perhaps the creators of Inkshares created the credit system for the purpose of trading pre-orders to achieve a goal. However, I’d like to think they did it to encourage others to find new authors, and new works of fiction that excite them. And, in turn, support said fledgling author. Not exchanging orders simply for the sake of achieving an end.

              I want people to order Transilience because they are excited about it. Because it’s good fiction. Because it’s relevant. Not because of a sense of obligation.

              Am I a fool for sticking to a principle when it might cost me my dream? Probably. After all, we live in a world where - yep here it comes - the winner takes it all. But at what cost? Our dignity? Our chance - sweet Lord brace yourselves - to say, I may have failed but I did it my way? It matters to me.

              It’s important here (for me anyway) to point out that I’m not judging anyone who does trade orders. I am simply expressing my opinion. Not trying to inveigh against any one thing. I’d like to think I am engaging in one of the greatest aspects of living in a pluralistic society - another point-of-view. More and more, we are criticized for feeling differently when we should embrace as many perspectives as possible. Isn’t that true democracy?

              (Steps down from Soapbox).

              True story. Heading into this update, I had no idea what I was going to write. I’m not sure I’ve actually said anything relevant. I’m also not certain I’ve used enough hyperlinks to qualify for ’replete’. I may have alienated many of my peers on this site. But in a paragraph fully engaged in modal verbs, who can say for certain. Right?

              I can safely say that I need a shitload of orders between now and next Monday to make the Quill goal. I think it can happen. I know it can happen. I’ve spent much of my life feeling like an underdog (I wonder how many of you expected that link??) and the reward is that much sweeter when I succeed.

              So for those of you who have ordered Transilience, I am eternally grateful, and keep spreading the word about it. For those of you who haven’t ordered it, time is running out. Order soon! 

              It has already been named Thriller Night Syndicate’s Book of the Month, why not make it your own personal Book of the Month??

              Thanks for reading along!
              Cheers!
              Kev


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                Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for Deus Hex Machina

                This is the day that I always think of one thing...Pirates of Penzance. In that amazing Gilbert & Sullivan play the main character Frederic is released from his apprenticeship to a band of pirates on his 21st birthday, only to later learn that he was born on February 29th, and so, technically is only five years old. Yes, I have strange cultural connections to Leap Year, but that’s where my mind goes.

                I’m going to be sending off my raffle prizes today.  I’m thinking of slipping in some postcards with the old cover art on them as little extras. I dunno.  I would like to ask a favor of those that receive their copies. Please consider writing an honest review of Shadow of the Owl once you read it. If Fantasy is not your thing (and I totally understand that), don’t worry about it. There is no requirement to review, it’s just that reviews really help a book get seen.

                Deus Hex Machina is plugging along. Isidore RAM has encountered quite a change in circumstances (this is how I describe her situation without getting into spoiler territory.), and she’s about to learn that there is more going on than she ever dreamed.  As I start chapter three I get to build combat systems for the machina, and I have to tell you, I’m a little hung up there. Once I push past this little bit of world building though, I should be good to get chapter three written. 

                I have two more scenes before I officially enter territory that is beyond the original script. In some ways that’s a good thing, because the old graphic novel script has a good deal of content that’s already changed. 

                I have a question for you all: I am at 167 orders right now. That’s 583 from full publishing, and 83 from Quill. My orders have pretty much stopped, but I have a good amount of people that are following the novel.  For those that haven’t won a raffle yet, would you prefer DHM swag to copies of my first book? Would a tshirt or a mug or something be more attractive?

                Head on over to my Facebook page and weigh in. I am trying to plan out my final push to Quill and how I might be able to break through in the next 100 days toward the full publication. Any suggestions you might have are always welcome.

                Wow, that was a lot more than I expected. Sorry for the rambling. 

                May the code replicate eternal.

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                  Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for The Children of the Forest

                  Hey everyone,

                  I’m absolutely swamped with work today, so this update will be very short. I just wanted to send out one of my finished works, which will available to backers who purchased enough copies to qualify for "Wolf-Rider" or "Alethian" status. 

                  ~ Silas Des’tra is the princess  of the Men’kai tribes, and one of the primary protagonists within "The Children of the Forest." Driven by her fierce loyalty to her people, and her fear of Alethia’s encroachment upon their lands, Silas turns to ancient and forbidden magic to save her world. ~

                  I’ve really enjoyed developing her character so far, and it’s a real treat to be able to see a finished product of the character I’ve envisioned for so long. That’s all for now, but I promise there will be a more extensive (and substantial) update on the near-horizon. Look for more chapters, additional artwork, and even a surprise or two within the next couple days! 

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                    Thomas J. Arnold liked an update for The Children of the Forest

                    So something pretty cool happened last night ~ "The Children of the Forest" hit its funding goal to qualify for Inkshare’s Quill! I’ve been completely blown away by the last-minute rally of fans, and I’m floored that in less than 7 days we managed to move over 50 copies of the book! 

                    Looking ahead, I’m still somewhat processing the fact that the book will be made. It’s been a long road to reach this point and I couldn’t have come this far without everyone in the Inkshares community who put their time, money, and opinions to use in helping me craft what has become "The Children of the Forest." 

                    I just wanted to offer a quick look at what to expect in the next few weeks, regarding the schedule for the novel.


                    1. As mentioned in another update, I’ll be releasing a companion booklet (Free) to all backers. Men’kai will only receive this as a digital copy, while Alethian+Wolf-Riders will be given soft-cover books.
                    2. I’ll be updating the Inkshares page during production on the rest of the novel. I hope to have at least 2-3 more sample chapters made available, along with a refined introduction, video, and more. 
                    3. I also have a short-story in the works that will be made available to all backers within the next few weeks. 


                    Most likely there will be more, but those are the major beats for now. Again, a huge thanks to everyone who backed my novel and made it a reality! I can’t wait to have the finished version in your hands  ~

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