Greetings!

As most of you know, The Sleeping Man has made it into your hands via physical copy or ebook and I’ve been trying to keep up with the wonderful words that have been pouring in. I’m working on some promotional events near the San Diego area, but one of the best things that could happen would be to increase the number of Amazon reviews. Once you’ve finished reading the book, I would like to ask you to head over there and leave a review.

It’s been a long process to release The Sleeping Man, and while I have been working on transitioning out of the Navy I have not been idle. In point of fact, I’ve worked out the larger points of the next two books, though I’m holding back on the titles at the moment. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. This is a dream come true.

Still smiling,

Stephen Carignan

It’s July! We’re moved into our new house and just in time. I received my developmental edit letter from my editor on Friday! If you haven’t heard of a developmental edit letter, you aren’t alone. I hadn’t either until I started this process. It’s basically a giant letter explaining eveything that needs to be changed in your book. 

I’ve been super nervous to receive mine since I’ve heard the editor is very thorough. Some of my Inkshares author friends have gone through 9 or 10 drafts! Sure enough, the letter suggests I restructure my whole story, take out some characters and plots, make some changes to focus on a different audience (young adult!), and work a lot on my descriptive prose and character arcs. 

The extent of the suggestions wasn’t a surprise, but my reaction was! I really expected to be very defensive and sad and overwhelmed. Instead I feel incredibly honored that someone as skilled as my editor gave such thoughtful and helpful comments and incredibly grateful that you all gave me the chance to work with him. This book is going to be so much better because of it.

I just submitted a revised (4000 word!) outline based on his suggestions and we’ll work on that until we agree it’s time to move forward to a rewrite. I’ll keep you all updated!

Thank you for following along with this journey and for giving me the opportunity to experience this process! It’s so exciting!

Greetings hexers and machina jockeys,

Today emails are going out with the ebooks of Sister of the Circuit. By now everyone who ordered physical copies should have them in their hands, which means Isidore and Dax, Surge and Evite are ready to sear your eyeballs with their adventures. 

It’s a surreal day. 

For my part I have been working with the amazingly talented Jill Crenshaw, finalizing the audiobook. My plan is to have that launch on July 3rd along with the paperback and ebook publication date (you know, for people who aren’t awesome backers like you). If you’re the sort of person who likes your books read to you, it will be available on Audible and I’ll send out a link when it’s ready.

If you’re a fan of reviewing things, would you mind reviewing the book once you’ve read it?  Every voice talking about Sister of the Circuit on Amazon, Goodreads, iTunes, whatever, is a huge help.  

Thank you so much for your support, and have a great weekend.

Ready to have some fun? 

You’re looking at some initial Animal in Man cover designs!!! Somebody pinch me - - This is really happening, isn’t it?!? There are elements from all three of these that I really, really like. While #1 definitely captures the proportions of the animal-creatures I see in my head, Inkshares has wisely advised me against endorsing a cover that potentially forms images for readers. I couldn’t agree more. #2 is probably the closest runner-up. I really like the minimalist design, how the cover managed to take my story and form an icon from it. Pretty cool! But what’s it really saying? There’s a fox… Some swords… Hmm… Exactly. Not much. #3 is solid too, since it really accentuates a defining characteristic of the story’s hero, Maxan, a fox with mismatched gold and green eyes. (That’s important, I swear.) BUT… again, his eyes aren’t what the story’s all about.

Now this… This is what the story’s all about. 

May I present to you the desired direction, ladies and gentlemen, for The Animal in Man’s cover!! This one truly captures the sense of violence, danger, brutality, and darkness that Book I: Violent Mind is going for. It captures it so well, in fact, that I’m already dreaming of the cover variations for the rest of the series, Book II: Ferocious Heart and Book III: Undying Soul. Remember, my dear animals, this is not the final cover. Believe me when I say that you’ll be the first to know once that comes in. Thank you all, as always, for all the patience and support.

So, the manuscript for Murder Happens was submitted about 4-weeks ago and they have a 2-month turn before reading for the first assessment. If readers and/or authors are interested in learning more about the process, try following Murder Happens. No obligation and once the dev edits come back, I’ll be posting more discussion-worthy updates.

https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-happens

It’s been a long time coming, friends, but these little ladies have arrived. By now those of you who ordered physical copies should have received shipping notifications. When your books arrive, I’d love it if you posted a photo of them. I can’t wait to see how far the mech crew has spread.  

This is a book that was driven entirely by you, the readers. Without the interest in this book, it wouldn’t exist. It would still be a jumble of graphic novel pages, barely a whisper of what it would become. 

So today I celebrate you. Thank you for this gift of a book. 

May the Code replicate eternal.