Guys, you are rocking this. 

Thanks to you we’ve gone back up to 7th and are currently standing at 72 readers. This is miles ahead of where we were a few days ago. Thank you so much for your support. 

While we didn’t get 10 in a day like I was hoping for, we got a lot overall. I have your weekly chapter excerpt coming hot off the press momentarily. Don’t mind the spam; it’s all in the name of spaaaaace. The new excerpt is jumping ahead in time a little, giving you a glimpse at what awaits the crew beyond their home system.

That said, we are really running out of time. I need your orders now if you’re a follower who hasn’t placed one yet. 

And if you have ordered, let’s wrap up this word of mouth week by telling our significant other, best friend, or colleague about the book and letting them know where they can order it. If everyone who’s ordered a copy gets one more person in on this we’ll be in great shape to win the Nerdist deal.

Because while I’m sure all us space-nerds are excited about the project, it’s a story intended as a "first foray" into science-fiction. I’ve described it to you a myriad of ways, so let me give you a comment from one of our own:

It’s like The Goblet of Fire meets Hunger Games with a main character who doesn’t appear to be an underdog for once. I find that to be a nice change. (Thanks, Rebecca!)

So if you’ve been holding out to the end, now is the time to pitch your $10 for an e-book, tell your friend to do the same, and spam your social channels incessantly. 

Your Innocuously Insatiable Interplanetary Space Captain Suffering From Incurable Imposter Syndrome,
-AC

Hey there wonderful people, 

I am over the moon and having a wonderful day. We are currently at 126 orders which means...WE’RE HALF WAY TO QUILL!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!!

We now half 69 days to sell 124 copies of Beyond the Code and I believe we can do this. Please pre-order if you want to help me make this caffeine induced dream a caffeine induced reality. To all those who have helped me get this far you will forever be my favourite people and I am working tirelessly to get you the best product I can.

Have a fantastic weekend.  

The book. It is out. It is out officially and should, as of this writing, be in the hands of almost everyone who’s ordered it.

The launch party was small but fun. I’m thrilled by who managed to be there and sad about those who wanted to attend but were unable. It was a learning experience and I’m glad I got to try this out in a safe environment surrounded by familiar and supportive faces. Anyone who knows me is aware that I’m not exactly comfortable with some of the required self-promotion activities surrounding the publication of a novel. Amongst others, there’s reading from your own book which is helluva intimidating to me. However, it’s part and parcel of what I want to do and if it’s something readers want, I’ll do it.

First public reading: Done. The ice is broken. It wasn’t so bad. I think I’ll be fine doing it in the future.

For those who might have missed it; I was on Sword & Laser on the day of release of The Life Engineered and it was awesome. I really enjoy chatting with Tom and Veronica. I got to answer some questions from readers and I swear Veronica’s eyes lit up when I mentioned that sex between Capeks wasn’t impossible. Let me know if I hallucinated.

Speaking of Tom Merritt. I was a guest on his other podcast, Current Geek, hosted by Scott Johnson. Current Geek is the kind of podcast that sounds fun to be a guest on and it’s been on my bucket list of appearances for a while. Good news: Even more of a blast than anticipated. Give it a listen. Hell, go subscribe; it’s a hell of a good podcast.

That’s it for now. I want to thank everyone who was at the party, including fellow Inkshares writers A.C. Baldwin, André Brun and Christopher Huang. Check out their books. Now! I also want to highlight the efforts of Cara Weston who put together a Google Hangout so a few others could attend virtually. Check out her book too.

So what’s next?

• Hopefully more media
  
• Finishing the manuscript for the sequel to The Life Engineered
• Maybe another short story in that universe to bridge the two books
• Pushing really hard to get A God in the Shed to 750 pre-orders. Expect me to enlist your help very soon.

As always; thank you my fellow sentients. It’s a fascinating ride and I think there’s some really awesome stuff on the horizon for The Life Engineered. Never forget that you’re the ones who made it happen.

Cheers

JF