Hi everyone!  

Just wanted to give you a quick update - the Copy Edits are done!  My Copy Editor Michael Trudeau over at GFP did an absolutely bang-up job, not just cleaning up grammar and such but finding some rather embarrassing inconsistencies in the text.  He also highlighted a number of passages that could be confusing to a first-time reader, and I got all those cleaned up.  The final product keeps getting better and better.

So next steps:  The copy edited manuscript is getting "poured" into galley format.  This means that the book is finally going to start looking like a book!  It’s in this galley format that the final proofreading gets done, and there will be a limited print run so we’ll have copies to send as promos to elicit blurbs.  I’m planning on dropping a copy off over at Stephen King’s house...wouldn’t it be cool if he gave us a quote to put on the front cover?

This phase of the process is budgeted to last through March, and then mid-April it gets sent to the printer.

I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but you can follow me on twitter @llabak and you can find It’s All Fun and Games on Facebook here.  

We recently lowered the ebook price to $5.99, so if you know someone who might be interested, by all means spread the word.  New Inkshares members are still receiving a $5 credit, so the ebook is only $.99 (and the trade paperback is $8.99).  The first time someone orders any particular book from Inkshares using your referral code you get $15 in credit with which to support another up-and-coming author.  It’s a win-win!

Thank you again for all your support through this process!

Cheers
Dave

Hello readers!

My book and I are being featured on thewarblerbooks.com! I encourage you all to check that out. Elan (the Warbler himself) had some very nice things to say about the book and I’m humbled to be featured alongside some other great entrants in the current Nerdist contest. 

I’m also going to be making a new pitch video so you can all see my smiling face talking enthusiastically about this book that I’m having a blast writing. On that note, the writing is going wonderfully, I’m revising and editing the heck out of the first half of the book and hope to have another sample chapter up very soon. 

Finally, for those of you on the fence that haven’t pre-ordered yet, perhaps reading some of my other work will help alleviate that trepidation? I have three short stories up on wattapd.com, so check those out. My profile is at wattpad.com/AtomicBoyWonder. 

Thanks for the support! Stay tuned for more fun stuff coming very soon!

Much later than intended with this Sunday’s reviews/recommendations (I will neither confirm or deny that this was due to a series of unplanned naps as I sat in my way too comfy chair at this desk or as I prefer to call them “nap ambushes”), which I suppose would technically be Monday reviews/recommendations at this point. I’m sticking with the same format as last week with this one (1 book from my old short list, 1 underdog space opera not currently in the top 10, and 1 space opera currently in the top 10), so I’ll just jump right into it. As always, links are embedded in the bold text.

“Infinity Mind”  by   Patrick Jamison: Oppressive government? Mars colony? Telepathic assassin? Yes to all three, and the first 2 chapters presented here make me happy to have answered so. The first chapter serves as an excellent pressure cooker, serving to quickly introduce and humanize Mason through his extreme pain, both physical and emotional, during an ordeal which also serves as the hook to draw us into the main plot on hand. Chapter 2 pulls back from Mason to give us a real look at the larger world, or in this instance colony. What we are shown is a significant glimpse into a fully developed world, populated by real people and with a well laid out political structure. I am confident in the promise this glimpse makes, and am eager to continue reading about the El Dorado colony as well as the ordeals and intrigue which both it and Mason are most certainly barreling towards.

“The Inhabitants: An Unremembered Life”  by  Michael Sebby: Filled with excellent characterization, Mr. Sebby also does a wonderful job of juxtaposing the familiar waking world with the sometimes surreal, sometimes sinister, and often prophetic dreams of the main character, Jacob. Throughout the first 4 chapters presented here we are left to ponder the reality of the dreams as well as the waking world they so often intersect. Are they truly prophetic? Just what are the people/creatures encountered in some of the more unusual dreams? I look forward to reading more and finding out just what is real, unreal, and more importantly where this is all taking Jacob.

“The Lonely Space Lounge”  by  Gregory Wlasiuk and Venkat Malladi: Told in a series of transmissions from different crew members on the same ship, the narrative proceeds in a non-standard format which I immediately fell in love with. Assigned to the Healthy Beverage Division in the Cosmic Empire, the crew certainly has their individual quirks as they work alongside each other aboard what is best described as a brewery ship. The portions presented here show a wealth of wit, unique voices to each character, and just enough detail to give one the sense that something is not quite right. Delving deeper into that mystery alongside this cast of well-written, unique characters promises to be very much a joy.

I know I said the next update would be once we will reach 250 pre order. BUT I wanted to share 2 things with you.

First, I have been interviewed on  mythsmistsmusings blog you can read the interview here.

 We are at 12 pre order to reach Quill !!! and only 8 days left in the campaign.

Please share with your friends, pre order if you haven’t done so :)

thank you :)

CONTINUING COVERAGE OF EVENTS

Hey folks,

So, it happened. I received the final e-mail from Girl Friday, the production company that has been handling all things editorial and the final version has been sent to the printers! It’s done! We did it! (Well not quite yet. I’ll get to that.) Thank you to everyone at Girl Friday for being great and pushing me to make my book the best it could possibly be. 

So from here on out, it’s all about pushing the book for me! To that end, there are some pretty big deal happenings that you should be aware of starting with...

A LAUNCH PARTY! Yep. It’s been confirmed. An Unattractive Vampire will be coming out in style here in Chicago with an official launch party at Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records. So in the midst of your St. Patty’s Day stupor come out (please come out) and buy a book or get your book signed and say hi and then go back to green beer and vomiting on sidewalks, a Chicago tradition. For more information about Bucket O’ Blood you can visit their website or Facebook page.

Also...THE SWORD AND LASER! In very much another "crossing off a life goal" moment, I will be appearing on The Sword and Laser podcast on March 15 (PUBLISHING DAY). So you’ll be able to listen to me stumble through a haze of glee and make a fool of myself very soon. Also, if you have any questions for me (looking at you other authors) head over here and ask them. I have wisdom dammit! Let me share it!

Finally, the Nerdist space opera contest is still going strong with a just under a month to go. If you happen to like starships battles and alien wars, you might want to head over there and check it out. Here are a few suggestions:

The Madness of Mr. Butler by Michael Haase: The tale of an eccentric old man on a far away planet desperately trying to prove that his world is a sphere circling a star. Also, God talks to him through an astronauts helmet.

Aurora by Taylor Hopkins: A bounty hunter faces off against a criminal mastermind in a planet-hopping adventure. The sample chapter reads like a combination of Alien and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Lucky by RH Webster about a woman hitching a ride back to earth from the dusty end of space. I’ll be honest, there aren’t a lot of details about the plot for this one, but the writing is REALLY good.

Anyway, until next time everyone.

Well, hello there...

Wait...what are those words in the corner?

Yes, what you see is really there. It isn’t a figment of your imagination. We have a cover blurb! For those of you that can’t quite see it, here it is in its full glory:

We are gearing up for the promotional/marketing push for the book as well. Hopefully we will be soon locating a great local venue to have an awesome launch party/signing, if you’re into that sort of thing.

For those of you that don’t remember the books publication date is slated for May 3, 2016. But the good news is that the backers will be getting it a bit before that (barring some unfortunate catastrophe). Why is that important, you may be asking yourself... Well, it’s important because that gives us plenty of time to jump start the reviews! In this crowded world of publishing reviews can make or break your book. I will be at your mercy one last time, in desperate need your help. In order for this book to dig its roots in and take hold we must a have a lot of great reviews. What’s a lot? Let’s shoot for a 3 digit number like 100 positive reviews. So that means, about 10% of the people who will be getting a copy. That seems totally doable.

Please, please, please don’t feel obligated to review (especially if you end up less than loving it; email me and tell me how to do better if you feel so inclined). I cannot thank you enough for all you have done to make this a reality. 

I’ll leave you with the following (slightly edited) infograph about the importance of reviews borrowed from my fellow Inkshares author, G. Derek Adams, author of Asteroid Made of Dragons.