As I turned the calendar this morning, I saw the word "March" heralding in the new month. I’ve never reacted to seeing the word "March" with such anxiety before...

Actually, I was at work in the ER one day when this nurse comes up and says, "This might be kinda weird, but didn’t I see you at a breastfeeding class?"

Turns out our daughters share the same birthday and we were with our wives at that class. But, the opening line of our first conversation is right in line with the sense of humor of this nurse, one Michael Haase.

Getting to know Mike over the last year has been pretty cool, especially finding we share some of the same interests: music, art, writing... creating, in general. In writing, he is much more invested than me - he writes constantly, and he is a great storyteller. He has a fantastic poetry blog, and even had one novel in editing stages already when I invited him to participate in NaNoWrimo (a noveling challenge) back in November, where he finished another fresh novel draft.

And now he has found himself soul deep into yet another novel, born of a contest where the top 3 novels get full publishing treatment.

Determined to see himself through to his dream of being a published author, he spends the wee hours of every morning pounding out his current story, and even developing a deep back story on a companion blog to generate interest.

Mike is one of the most personable, genuinely funny guys I know. So, when he tells me he is tackling a comedic novel in the ’space opera’ genre, then I’ve got a pretty good idea it’s going to be a hoot and a darn interesting read.

...as a big supporter of anyone in the creative arts, and in being an admirer of anyone who dares to tackle a novel, I’m writing this to help him out.

If anyone has an interest in the ’space’ genre, is looking for a good read, a new author, or just wishes to lend support, please do check out Michael Haase’s "The Madness of Mr. Butler."

I know it’s hard to sell something that’s not quite finished yet, but Mike has the first 6 chapters posted for perusal, as well as an excellent supporting blog for background info, in the form of ’The Diary of Mr. Butler.’

...and consider that one day you might be able to say "the new Michael Haase novel is out! You know, I actually helped him get his start." It could happen - I believe in Mike’s passion to become a published author.

But, I’ve said enough. I’ll let Mike’s words speak. Check out the following links, and have a look for yourself. And, if you like what you see, please consider a pre-order."

I actually teared up reading that. I have amazing friends. And I’m making more here. 

I hope everyone has an amazing day. 

Love to all,

-Michael

P.S.-Yes, I even make friends at breastfeeding class. haha

IT’S PUBLICATION DAY!!

After a long and rewarding process, The Future of Men is officially published and available at Amazon, B&N, and local bookstores starting today! Thank you for backing the book and making this all possible.

Early reactions to the book have been fantastic, and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be appearing on CBS This Morning at 8:30AM today! I’ll be sitting down with Charlie Rose and New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor. Tomorrow, I’ll be on Good Day New York at 9:45AM. Please tune in!

I ask that you PLEASE SUPPORT our marketing efforts on this very important day by sharing the book link on your social networks and leaving a review/rating on Amazon. Ask your friends and colleagues to do the same, and they’ll be entered to win a free hardcover copy when they use #FutureOfMen. Your support is incredibly important and will increase visibility to potential buyers (and help cut through the noise of Super Tuesday!). I’ve included a few sample tweets below.

Feel free to cut and paste any and all of these tweets to your social networks today.

- Masculinity revisited? Jack Myers explores what it means to be a “real man” in today’s world. BUY NOW: http://amzn.to/1QgD9va #FutureOfMen

- Don’t be fooled by the title, The #FutureOfMen is about the future of women too! BUY NOW: http://amzn.to/1QgD9va

- The #FutureOfMen begins today! Buy Jack Myers’ new book: http://amzn.to/1QgD9va

PLEASE SOCIALIZE! AND ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

-Jack

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