Dear readers,

I was a guest on the WriteBrain podcast! Episode 12 of JF Dubeau and Paul Inman's popular podcast aired yesterday and for the first time they had a guest. I was honored to be their first.

Come and listen here on JF's site, where we talk about writing, publishing, some of the fun we all have as authors on Inkshares, and even ... murder confessions!

And while you're there, be sure to check out JF's work. You can pre-order The Life Engineered on Amazon right now. (Here's a link for that: http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Engineered-J-F-Dubeau)

JF is also still funding his book, A God in the Shed, so if you're into a story about an ancient trans-dimensional god in your backyard shed, check it out and please show your support!

(How embarrassing. Sorry for the double-update. The link actually WORKS in this one.)

For the past several nights, I've been putting together my game plan. It's a sick form of procrastination from which my writer friends know I suffer: Instead of just sitting down and writing the actual story, I'll write pages and pages of outlines, timelines, character backstories, and all kinds of 'preparative' work. (Wow, that's actually a word.)

You see, so much of "The Animal in Man" has changed since I first started writing it. ...before I can pick up where I left off, I thought it would be a good idea to get my notes straight.

But to hell with that.

For the past several nights, I've skipped the damn preparative work and just re-wrote chapter one. I only meant to tweak a sentence here or there, but I ended up tossing out and rebuilding probably 90% of the words from the ground up. No lie. The shape of the chapter is the same, you'll see, but everything changed.

And I think it's better. My god do I think it's better! I worked really hard on this first chapter. It would be an honor if you would spend a little time reading it. (Inkshares says 33 minutes...?) Please enjoy.

CLICK HERE to go straight to Chapter One of "The Animal in Man".

And I swear my next update will be further along in time... next time. But just so you know, I will be working tirelessly every night, armed with a Jameson and Ginger Ale in one hand, a keyboard in the other. (...That makes little sense. Must be the Jameson.) Cheers!

For the past several nights, I've been putting together my game plan. It's a sick form of procrastination from which my writer friends know I suffer: Instead of just sitting down and writing the actual story, I'll write pages and pages of outlines, timelines, character backstories, and all kinds of 'preparative' work. (Wow, that's actually a word.)

You see, so much of "The Animal in Man" has changed since I first started writing it. ...before I can pick up where I left off, I thought it would be a good idea to get my notes straight. 

But to hell with that.

For the past several nights, I've skipped the damn preparative work and just re-wrote chapter one. I only meant to tweak a sentence here or there, but I ended up tossing out and rebuilding probably 90% of the words from the ground up. No lie. The shape of the chapter is the same, you'll see, but everything changed.

And I think it's better. My god do I think it's better! I worked really hard on this first chapter. It would be an honor if you would spend a little time reading it. (Inkshares says 33 minutes...?) Please enjoy. 

CLICK HERE to go straight to Chapter One of "The Animal in Man".

And I swear my next update will be further along in time... next time. But just so you know, I will be working tirelessly every night, armed with a Jameson and Ginger Ale in one hand, a keyboard in the other. (...That makes little sense. Must be the Jameson.) Cheers!

Hello, my dear animals! This will be the last update you’ll hear from me for a while, fortunately or unfortunately. I’ll be dialing down the frequency from twice a week to once a month. And this update in particular will go by fast, so don’t blink!

I shot (and heavily edited!) my last Reader-Raffle drawing earlier today. I got my kids to fill the starring roles again, and I could barely contain the chaos that ensued. I want you to know that after the 5 minute drawing, I had an extra minute in which I thank everyone one more time and then plug two inkshares books worth your time, attention, and money (including extra inkshares credits if you got ‘em!). They were “Deus Hex Machina” by Amanda Orneck - a book I have been really, really looking forward to since I first visited the website - and “Transilience” by Kevin Bragg - a book I just recently discovered and instantly fell in love with. 

Look, don’t let your purchase of “The Animal in Man” be the only interaction you have with Inkshares. Get back to the website and check in on the hundreds of other books they offer. Great books by great authors who have great stories to tell, who are working really hard to get published. I know a great majority of my followers probably still have credits attached to their inkshares accounts, credits still unclaimed in their emails, and more still potential credits to earn by signing in and clicking “Recommend via Inkshares.” Why the heck wouldn’t you want to spend free money?

Finally, I want you to know I’ve been busy this weekend. I had kind of like a nesting instinct. My baby’s going to be born soon, right, so I rearranged the basement, I dug out my outline document, revised it a bit, and made a poster. Hung up a poster, a calendar. Most importantly I taped my favorite fortune cookie on the wall, the one I’ve carried in my wallet for three years or more: “Do Not Fear Failure.” This is where The Animal in Man will be born. 

...also there’s a kid watching Frozen, again, in the background. Again. Please don’t think I’m staging that for cuteness’ sake. I’m really not. I. Am. In. Frozen. Hell. Writing this book might help me thaw my way out. Hopefully.