Tracking the development and maturation of synthetic life, Omega Children gives a unique take on the birth of A.I.
Good evening Machiners!
I hope you are all strong in body and mind. Here is wishing you a fantastic holiday season and New Years!
I don't want to take up too much time this evening. For many of us, tomorrow is a big day (more on that in just a moment). But here are a couple of quick hits...
First, if you haven't seen the new video trailer for The Last Machine yet, the handiwork of fellow Inkshares author Yicheng Liu, go check it out! It's like an early New Years gift.
Second my apologies for being a little slow on the 50th reader raffle. I blame my wonderful readers for the wave of support, which is humbling. We blew right by 50 readers and then past 60. So thank you very very much! Therefore, without further ado, I'd like to announce Paul Robinson as the winner of the raffle for the super early edition of Rudyard Kipling's Mine Own People. Go check out Paul's science fiction book Ghosts of War, a planet hopping tale of revenge and retribution!
The new plan is to have special raffle giveaways at 75 and 100 readers! I know we can do this. You all continue to prove it to me each day. Updates to come on just what those raffles will entail...
OK, and now for the section of this update dedicated to tomorrow's epic Review-a-Thon - Inkshares' first annual! Full details below.
But first, and importantly, for anybody who pre-orders tomorrow, Saturday 12/19, whether you are pre-ordering for the first time or have before, you will receive a signed copy of the book cover art. It will be signed by myself and the magnificent artist who created it, Jack Katz, author of The First Kingdom.
Looking forward to an awesome day!
------------------------
On December 19th, all authors and readers are invited to leave reviews on currently funding Inkshares books using the Inkshares “leave a review” option.
Throughout the day we’ll be hanging out on Twitter in the #InksharesReviews tag as we share our favorite book projects, answer author Q&As, debate the merits of astronauts with swords versus cavemen with lasers, and much, much more!
From 6 - 8pm ET, JF Dubeau and Paul ‘such a nerd’ Inman will be hosting a Google+ Hangout lifestream filled with author interviews, review readings, and live announcements of prize winners!
Prizes?!?!
Everyone who leaves a review on December 19th by 6pm ET will be eligible to win one of our fantastic general prizes:
Readers: Peruse the “currently funding” books on Inkshares and leave as many reviews as you want. You could even start up a “must-have” list of books to order in case you win a free pre-order or the $30 in credits!
Authors: Join our review exchange to leave three reviews in exchange for two guaranteed reviews on your Inkshares project and a chance at author-exclusive prizes!
Email Cara Weston at cara.c.weston@gmail.com with questions, or simply to learn more.
Soooo… change of plan! After getting so many shares on Facebook and having so many phenomenal people spreading the word about my book today, I decided… Why wait?!
Funding started!!! Now to get 750 presales!
So first rule is you are only allowed to buy up to 10 copies of the book each. So those of you who were hoping to build a Bones-of-the-Past fort or doghouse are out of luck. :P
On the bright side, getting a copy of the book in e-book format can be free and it still counts for me! Prices start at 10USD for the eBook, and you get 5USD credit when you sign up on the site, and another 5USD when you first recommend a book (on Inkshares, Twitter or Facebook) or post a review (at the bottom of the page after reading a full chapter). Credits will be delivered to your email address within a few minutes. If someone buys a book from your Twitter or Facebook recommendation you get another 10USD credit! Perfect to help out any one of the many other great books being funded on the site.
For those who would prefer a physical book, prices start at 20USD for a book + eBook. Bear in mind there are shipping fees for those of you who don’t live in the US - 15USD per order (so you might as well pick up a few to make the shipping worth it!).
Chapters 3 and 4 are now up as well. Since all four chapters are the intros to the respective characters, feel free to read them in any order.
Thank you all for the support!!!
Every time I visit inkshares to delete my wip, work in progress, I find that someone else has taken interest, and I just can't delete my book yet. As only a few books have sold and I only have sixty days left, the odds of meeting the publishing goal is looking slimmer and slimmer.
I have not been promoting this book at all, due to how intense it is to write and the strange reactions I get from folks in the real world. When I begin speaking about my crowdfunding book that I am working on, and that it is a sci-fi book about an alien woman who helps free humanity from their enslaved dictators, eyes begin to glaze over, then they look at me, differently. When I excitedly share with my loved ones and friends the subjects in this book, they actually get upset. Hmm. Especially when I tell them that some of the subject matter is in fact, more real than fiction! Then they really start stepping away from me at that point, lol! They just shake their head, kind of look at me sadly, and then make some excuse to end the conversation, so they can get away, without me noticing that they did all that just to not have to hear more about Genevra and her adventures, which makes humanity uncomfortable, of course. Therefore, I am not exactly marketing it, and really don't even talk about this project to anyone in my life anymore.
But, as the characters keep speaking to me, I still have not been able to push the delete button. The main character, Genevra, keeps appearing to tell me to tell her story (no, she is not real, just part of this book, and in my head, and no, I'm not nuts, so to speak, just so amazingly creative through God's power that flows through me, that this world is hard on me).
Eventually, one of the following will occur: the book will magically get done on time and amazingly get its quota filled, the book will get finished on time, but not funded, or as I have tried to do a number of times, I will get here and will hit the delete button to put this book on the back burner for now.
I don't even know what this outcome shall be, but for today, I have written a few more words, that claimed their place in the book.
Merry Christmas, Thank You, and God Bless Every One of You and Yours, and the Earth!
Good morning everyone!
Hi my (presumable) fellow nerds! Guess what's coming up sooner than soon?
Hello all,
Very very sorry for the protracted radio silence, especially this late in my campaign. Please chalk it up to a combination of the oncoming holidays and some very difficult personal/family circumstances that have demanded much of my attention and may continue to do so for the immediate future. Nevertheless I've been busy on FEYSIDE and its promotion as time permits, and today I can send you some fruits of that work:
First off, Chapter 8 of the book is off to readers. This is a very special chapter, not so much "the heart of the matter" as "the doorway to everywhere." The images and events of the chapter were some of the very first that I imagined and some of the first to be scribbled down, and I worked backwards and forwards to grow the seed of these weird imaginings into a story, root and branch. Hopefully with this chapter you all will begin to have a better sense of the both the broader outlines of the story and its very specific voice. As always, feedback is most welcome!
Additionally, I am also attaching some teaser frames from a promotional video which I hope to release in the next day or three for my final push. These reveal key characters and settings in a more finalized depiction guided by LJ Ruell's wonderful concept art - hopefully they provoke anticipation for the full video to come!
Lastly I remind you all again to stay tuned for the Inkshares Review-a-Thon on December 19th - a chance at great prizes, an awesome opportunity to interact with crowdfunding authors (me included!), and a good time to be had by all...
Hi folks! We'll be putting our time in this weekend with reviews, but as we're not quite at the funding stage ourselves, we still wanted to reach out and see if you could give us a spin in the review or the recommendation department. If you've already done so, we toast flagons of murky mead in your honor - if not, here's a quick list of why you might want to check it out!
- Zombies, Knights and Witches. Is there anything else you need to know?
- Our witches are called “Gravewalkers”…and their magic system is derived from emotions, which is why they’re super-cool and super-freaking powerful around graveyards and cemeteries.
- It’s also a twist on traditional necromancy… and how different undead creatures could be created.
- Our bard is definitely NOT your usual bard of lore.
- If you loved the DnD setting of Ravenloft, this is basically Ravenloft in Medieval Germania.
- At the end of the day, it’s still just about a dad trying to reconnect with his long-lost daughter.
Greetings Friends,
Quick update with two items,
As previously mentioned, I'm appearing at Barnes & Noble in Salem, NH this Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3 pm. Most of my local supporters have already purchased the book, but I would still love it if you could stop by and help make this important event a success.
I need to have a good enough showing to have a chance of ever being invited back. So for anyone in the area who already has the book, I would appreciate it if you would consider purchasing another one at the event - I will reimburse you for the purchase afterwards and you could keep it or gift it.
Any copies purchased and left with me (as gifts) will be donated to Webster House in Manchester NH - I think the kids that are 13 to 18 years old who are temporarily residing there might enjoy having a personally autographed copy of the book. http://www.websterhousenh.org/
The second item is that Inkshares is having it's first annual Review-a-thon! I am donating five $20 prizes that can be used to buy one of Inkshares books.
Select a currently funding book at Inkshares.com, read *excerpts* and write a review for chances to win some amazing prizes. BONUS: help authors hone their work and get recognized! Check it out on
https://www.facebook.com/events/683611381775339/
Thanks everyone!
Rich saunders
Hi Everyone!