Got my first review from a real kid yesterday! It’s from 7-year-old Sam Berg, posted by his mom and fellow Inkshares writer Melissa Berg. Getting a thumbs-up from an actual kid made me extremely happy:

 ;’I really liked the descriptions, I could imagine everything clearly. I especially liked the part when he gets trapped in the orb, that was my favorite part. During the flashback of the bullying scenes, I understood how Milo felt and I was worried for him. I wanted to get back to the orb, but I still wanted to learn about the backstory. I didn’t think the orb was creepy, just mysterious. I had some relief when the boys didn’t find Milo, but I was eager to find out how they all get in the orb together. I liked the bully aspect in chapter 2, and I liked when Milo got trapped in the orb in chapter 3. I can’t wait to read more!’ ;

By the way, if you haven’t already picked up a copy, check out Melissa Berg’s book ;Prophecy of the Stars;, which was one of the first books I picked up when I signed up for Inkshares. She had me at ;Game of Thrones; meets ;Lord of the Rings;.

I feel at this point that I will have to admit defeat. 
Yeah, there are a few people I can think of who will probably still pre-order, but honestly, nowhere near the 185 more needed, just to make quill. 
For everyone who has already pre-ordered you will obviously get your money back and this is not me giving up completely. 
I shall regroup and have another think. 
All the time that I am spending trying to promote "Children" is time I am not spending writing Women, or the fourth Time Tunnel book, or the biography of my Grandfather Frank Kingdon-Ward. 

Love y’all

Hi readers!

Please end my torture now !

Dear followers and backers.  We are missing 38 pre order... that’s right only 38.  If you haven’t got your copy yet please do so, or if you want to order another one you are welcome to do so :)

There is some very interesting project in the pipeline for Lies and Deception but I cannot talk about it now.

Once again thank you for your support,

Happy Friday, Animals.

Are you in between reading stuff? I refer, of course, to that sliver of space-time in which you’ve just finished one book and are considering checking out a new one. If you’d like something to fill that void this weekend, having perhaps two hours to spare… Well, I wrote a screenplay a while back.

Hotline Miami was released in 2012. Made by two very talented indie game developers, it came close to stealing Game of the Year accolades from the likes of triple-A contenders like Halo 5, Xcom, and more. Yet a simple-minded gamer named gamer named Joe Asphahani never paid it much mind until mid-2015. Once he did, however, it blew his godamn mind, fueled his creativity, and inspired him to write a feature-length screenplay as a form of fan service. (There are more details on my portfolio page if you’re into that kind of thing.)

I started writing this screenplay in May, 2015. After several manic bursts of writing, punctuated by some debilitating stretches of writer’s block, I finally finished it in mid-November the day before I got on a plane to Japan for a family trip. ...and as soon as I landed back home in early December, my friend was like, “Hey! Enter your Animal in Man thingie in this Inkshares Sword and Laser thingie!” Now that the contest is all over and I’m dedicating literally every free moment to writing The Animal in Man, I decided to post my Hotline Miami script-homage up on the internet because… why not. What else am I going to do with it? Let the people enjoy!

So, like I said, give it a read if you have time. Please keep in mind I never got the chance to go back and revise it like I’d intended. (It’s what they call in the professional writing industry a “sh***y first draft.”)

Also, it’s ultra violent. Like the video game from which it derives its title, to which it pays mad respect. If you’re not into human shields, neon and hot pink, bullets, Russian mobsters, drills, the 80s, being set on fire, animal masks [yes, maybe I write about what frightens me], katanas, having your testic….. well, you get the picture, maybe. It’s all in there. If you’re not into that, this might not be for you.

Enjoy! Click HERE to read the script.

And by all means, try the game HERE.

I’m back to work on The Animal in Man now.

Hey everyone!

So firstly, I was ecstatic to see that we managed to sell 18 copies of the book yesterday! That’s pretty crazy, given how dormant the page has been for the better part of a month. Looking forward, there are still 10 days left for the book’s current funding period. If we can keep sales clipping along at the current pace we’re guaranteed to hit the goal for Quill.

I need everyone who has followed along with the novel to market the book to their friends, family, and anyone else who loves fantasy or just good books in general. Word of mouth is instrumental in successfully hitting each new milestone, and I can only do that with your help!

There are a ton of great rewards currently available for anyone who pre-orders a copy of the book, so now is the time. If you’ve been on the fence, I implore you to check out the new page and the updates samples and then jump!

Finally, I’d like to take the time to recommend a few authors who’ve reached out to me to help with my own campaign, or whose work I’ve followed for some time without comment. 

Abigail Burton and Autumn Gass are the authors of "The Guardians," which is currently seeking to win the Space Opera Contest through 

Inkshares. https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-guardian-the-veiled-hope?recommended=true

Billy O’Keefe is the author of "These are my Friends on Politics," and while he’s already reached his funding goal, I’d still suggest grabbing an early copy if you’ve yet to!

https://www.inkshares.com/books/these-are-my-friends-on-politics-0985?recommended=true

Matthew Isaac Sobin is one of the winners of the Sword & Laser contest, and a great guy who reached out to me multiple times over the course of the campaign with kind words and more. He’s got a great project (it won for a reason) and I’d really suggest checking it out if you’ve somehow missed it. 

https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-last-machine-in-the-solar-system?recommended=true

Joseph Asphahani is another winner (the overall winner, I believe)of the Sword & Laser contest. His book "The Animal in Man" is reminiscent of the beloved "Redwall" series.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-animal-in-man-7699

So that it’s for now. Remember thought that while things are looking up for "The Children of the Forest," there’s no guarantee without your support that the book will hit its goal. In fact it’s almost certain it wont.  So go pre-order a copy today and help ensure that the adventures of Fionna and Rew become a reality!

Dear Sentients,

The rollercoaster rides on.

We are a little over a week from the official launch date for The Life Engineered. Already, many of you are receiving your copies and a few of you have already devoured the book. I’m seeing so many photos of my book in your hands and receiving so many positive comments that I’m at a loss for words. Which is a terrible predicament for an author.

As we get every closer to the launch date for The Life Engineered there are a few points I want to address with you, my friends:

1. If you’ve received and read your copy of The Life Engineered and you enjoyed it (I know you did), take a trip down to Amazon and leave a review. If you’re on Goodreads, leave a review there too. Reviews are crucial to rankings and rankings are important to sales and sales are what allow me to publish a sequel.
2. I’m still working on preparing a launch party. If you’re local to Montreal, stay tuned. The moment I have a venue confirmed, I will be making an announcement. I’d love to see as many of you there as possible. I have a mailing list! Because not every one of my readers are on Inkshares, I’ve started an independent mailing list. You can sign up here. If you’d rather just receive these updates however, don’t worry, all information about The Life Engineered and it’s sequels will be posted on Inkshares too.
3. I’m going on a trip! I’m not bragging, I’m just pointing it out because I might be difficult to reach for the next week. I’ll try to receive my emails and respond as best as I can but I’ll be on a boat, so internet access will be difficult.

These are exciting times my friends and none of it would be possible without you.

As always: Thank you so much for your support. I hope you’ll stay with me for the duration of this ride. There’s some cool stuff on the way.

JF