Behold! The very rare, snowy update!

Hey everyone. Sorry to be so quiet as of late. There’s been a lot going on between grad school and...well mostly grad school. But I’ve spent the last two days in the library preparing presentations (and writing a short story) so hey, let’s have some news.

An Unattractive Vampire Update:
This week I gave final notes on the e-book version of the book. So everything is on schedule for people getting their books on time. (I know because lots of you keep asking me about that.) Additionally, Inkshares is in talks to throw a launch party here in Chicago. I won’t put out too many details until things are finalized, but keep the evening of Friday March 18 free or rather, come do your St. Patrick’s Day weekend drinking with me at soon-to-be-disclosed location (well probably before and/or after soon-to-be-disclosed location. I doubt the bookstore actually serves booze.) There are also other things in the works that I probably can talk about, but hey let’s be mysterious and pretend I can’t. So yes, hush, hush, secret, secret, upcoming podcast appearances. Shhh....you read nothing.

Also I have five hundred shiny new postcards that will be finding their way into every coffee shop I can find. 

Inkshares:
There’s a new contest! The Nerdist and Geek and Sundry are holding a series of themed contests to publish more books. (Swoon.) The first one runs from now until March 15 and is all about Space Opera. Now, I’ll be honest with all the work I’ve been doing writing stories about Nikola Tesla and ghosts and reading Arthurian legends (you know, like you do in grad school) I haven’t had a chance to check out what’s out there. But I will (soon) and you should. So visit the contest page here and see what’s what.

Other News:
On February 5th, it was announced that for the second year in a row, I was a winner of the Midnight Audio Theatre Scriptwriting Competition. What does this mean? Well, it means that Midnight Audio Theatre will be producing my piece "The Fairie Wood"--a tale of an arrogant lord who learns it does not pay to run afoul of fairies--will be produced sometime this year. So yay! More good news. (For those who might be interested, I will you link you to my arctic horror piece from last year, "Last Transmission."

I feel like there’s more to tell. There probably is and I’m forgetting it (or maybe that’s my homework. AAAAAH!) Anyway, I hope you all are well and I promise you will get your books soon. This isn’t just all an elaborate scheme to steal tens of dollars from you. (Or is it? MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)

Announcing Blood Dawn Risk!

Coming soon, to see the Blood Dawn funding campaign to an end, I will be hosting a game! 

I wanted to take a moment today to discuss some of the features of the upcoming game, its purpose, and how you can personally get involved. 

Blood Dawn Risk will see God-Kings and Dragons competing for control of territory in the world of Blood Dawn.  Those who have achieved official God-King or Dragon status as of today — by pre-ordering three or seven copies of Blood Dawn, respectively — will be prime competitors on the map.  Did you only order one copy?  Or did you miss your chance to be a God-King or a Dragon in time for the game?  There’s still a role for you in the game!  If anything, you’ll be courted by other God-Kings and Dragons, hoping to get you to ally with their forces.

In the set-up of the game, laid out on the official Blood Dawn map, God-Kings will have Houses assigned to a territory.  Houses want to gain control of as much territory as possible, by expanding into neighbouring territory.  There are rules in place, though, so Houses can’t just rampage across the land, doing what they want!  A house must have a troop strength equal to or higher than that of the territory they wish to claim.

Houses may wish to overtake territory already claimed by another house!  If this happens, then the Houses will move to the game’s built-in dice combat system to battle against each other.  The winner will claim the strength of the House they’ve overpowered.  Houses may also form alliances with each other, if they choose to get along.

But this is the world of Blood Dawn, where nothing is easy.

Hidden covertly in unclaimed territory will be the Dragons.  If a House tries to claim territory that a Dragon is inhabiting, the House must battle the Dragon, using the dice combat system.  If the House wins, it adds the strength of the Dragon to its troops.  But if the House loses, then the Dragon can start roving the land, leaving death and destruction in its wake!

Houses and Dragons can add to their troop strength by pulling their friends in to pre-order a copy of Blood Dawn.  Each pre-order equals one boost in strength for a House’s troops or hit points for a Dragon.  So, to win, you or your alliance, must bring your fantasy-loving friends into the fold, selling them on Blood Dawn!

And with this game, there are lots of fantastic prizes.  While some of the prizes are yet to be determined, the grand prize, awarded to the Dragon or House that emerges triumphant, is one to make any Blood Dawn fan envious!  The winner (or winning alliance) will receive a one-hour Skype conversation with me to discuss the formation of a unique nation that will then be worked into the next revision of Blood Dawn!  That’s right — the winner of this game gets to help craft the novel!

Through this game, we will achieve a boost in pre-orders of Blood Dawn.  If we can hit 750 pre-orders, Blood Dawn will qualify for the full Inkshares publishing imprint, which includes comprehensive editing, full publication, wide distribution, and promotion by Inkshares.  So, by helping to win this game, you’re helping Blood Dawn reach many more readers.

The official rules, game web page (complete with dice combat and a chat terminal), and your place in the game, will all be announced soon!  Houses and Dragons will have a chance to amass allies shortly before the game is officially launched.

I want to take a moment to thank the amazing people that are helping see this game from vision to reality.  Joseph Terzieva, author of The Lost Generation, is writing all of the game code and compiling all of the programming.  Cara Weston, author of She Is The End, helped craft the initial idea and really pushed me to see it through to completion.  And John Anderson, my artist, has coloured my map and is creating custom emblems for Houses, Dragons, and other game components.  If you haven’t already pre-ordered Joseph or Cara’s books, please click on the links above to pre-order their books and show your appreciation for the incredible work they’ve done.

I will be contacting all of the God-Kings and Dragons soon to get them started on preparing for the game — so if you’re one of these people, keep an eye on your inbox for an email from me.  And if you’re not one of these individuals, still keep an eye on your inbox for the email announcing the start of the game — you can check out the webpage and follow along, and perhaps pre-order a copy and ally your strength with a Dragon or House! 

Thank you so much for your time. 

John Robin

More information about The Madness of Mr. Butler...

Thaddeus Butler is a dreamer, a scientist, and an observer. He entered the world of Aridus the same way as everyone else: on a huge raft filled with food and no memory of anything from his past. Like everyone else on Aridus, he is taught to obey the laws of the land, for they keep God pleased and just. The three most important laws are: 1) attend God’s daily service, 2) do not go into the Great Water, and 3) do not question the written word of God.

The problem is that Mr. Butler cannot help questioning the written word of God as it exists on Aridus; not with his preternatural ability for solving mysteries about the nighttime sky. He sees distance, movement, fire, love, action, and art in the stars. Everyone else sees God (the sun) and the goddesses (the moon and stars). Lucky for Mr. Butler, he is the oldest man on Aridus, and everyone lets him be in his secluded hut to carry out his crazy experiments, assuming they will simply find him dead one day.

The Madness of Mr. Butler is the story of Thaddeus Butler’s calm, quiet existence being upended suddenly and violently.

He is visited by an old friend seeking shelter because she is on the run from the King...

He sees a star split in two with half landing on Aridus, and feels compelled to seek the fallen body...

He finds a strange helmet with a voice claiming to be God’s inside, and manages to get it stuck on his head...

He is pursued night and day by his self-appointed apostles as well as the king’s personal assassins...

In a matter of two weeks, he has his life threatened multiple times, is thrown in jail, is mistaken for a prophet, and is offered sexual favors in exchange for his healing powers...

The only thing that is stable and predictable for Mr. Butler at the start of this novel is his descent into insanity.

But perhaps, in the end, everything happened just as it was meant to be...

The Madness of Mr. Butler is a comedic drama/space opera in a rather unconventional sense. It is written in multiple short chapters with action switching back and forth between several character perspectives. The pace is quick and every chapter will leave you wanting to read "just one more" until the entire novel is suddenly finished.

And once you are finished reading The Madness of Mr. Butler, you will realize it is a book about beauty, loneliness, discovery, love, friendship, God, the pursuit of happiness, laughter, and how much an old man can take before he goes completely and utterly mad...

Pre-order your copy today! I guarantee there is no other space opera like The Madness of Mr. Butler!

Thank you to everyone who has already ordered! If anyone else is on the fence still, please let me know if you have any questions. And if any and all of you can spread the word about my novel, I would greatly appreciate it! Just copy and paste this message into an email, send it to a friend or fifty, and I will be eternally grateful. 

Thank you for your time, and I hope everyone has a remarkable day!

To order The Madness of Mr. Butler: www.inkshares.com/books/the-madness-of-mr-butler

To read Mr. Butler’s diary for free: thediaryofmrbutler.wordpress.com

Love to all,

-Michael.

Hi, all.

First, thanks again for all of your support! You guys have fueled my passion to complete this project, but we have a long way to go. 

Many of you are followers of The Traveller’s Cup, but have yet to place an order. Please place an order today if you want to see this book come to life. The numbers for this book are slowly going up, but so are everyone else’s. Currently we have been bumped from the top 10 by a few orders. If the pre-orders double today we would skyrocket to 2nd place. Nerdist winners include anyone in the top 3.  

A note that the digital (e-book) version is $10 with no shipping fee, and comes in any format you’d like. This can be read on a portable reader, mobile device, or even your home PC. 

If you have ordered a copy, I need your help spreading the word. I’m pushing this to everyone I can think of, but you guys have more connections than I do. If we all share this together, we can get the orders we need. 

Thanks again for your continued support for The Traveller’s Cup. Let’s get this book in 2nd place today and published in the near future!