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

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

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.

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! 

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  ~

Hey all, 

Happy Saturday, Space-Friends!

First, thank you all for your continued support. I squeal with glee when I see your pre-orders in my inbox. You guys are the best space crew a writer could hope for. 

First Piece of News: New Chapter Preview! It should have hit your inbox already. Still going chronologically. You’ll get a glimpse of the Contessa, the highest ranking person on Palunos. And you’ll get to see a bit more of Damaus’ fate as one of the Twelve. 

We’ve Hit 50 Pre-Orders! This is an important milestone. We still need to double this number to be near the top three, but I’m confident we can get there as long as you guys keep spreading the word. I want to prepare something for you all when we hit 100, and I’m open to suggestions. 

Thanks again for your support. This ship needs a passionate crew like you to make the journey successfully. 

Your chaotic captain,
-AC

We’ve broke 100 pre-orders and you know what that means...50 POINT RAFFLE TIME!!!

That’s right! We’ve finally made it to 100 book orders. I’m super excited that you’ve all taken the time to help back my work. Now time for the raffle. And the winner is...  JASON POMERANCE!!!!!

Congratulations!!! Your super soft blanket will be in the mail soon. 

If you want to see pictures posted of me being silly on camera doing the raffle follow the link below to Beyond the Code’s facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/138300049868157/

This campaign has been an real joyous and at the same time frightening experience so far but it’s not over yet. The road is a little less than half way done and we are just shy of half way there. If you like my hard work please don’t forget to pre-order. Not only will you get good karma for helping a dream come true and have a good book to read, also in another 50 orders you’ll have a chance to win a nice, soft fleece blanket. 

Thank you all so much for your continuing support and feedback and I hope you have a great weekend.