Dear Machiners!

Time has come and gone since we last spoke. Much has happened and there are many things to update you on. 

First, I want to begin with the Nerdist contest which is CONCLUDING tomorrow. This contest was hosted by Inkshares following the Sword & Laser: The Sequel contest (which we co-won, in case anybody forgot :-) and many thanks to you!). 

This Nerdist contest’s theme is SPACE OPERA. So that’s really fun and there are many fantastic entries in the competition. I have backed about five or six myself. 

I’m not going to pick favorites, especially at this late stage. But I will emphasize that as a past contest participant I very much appreciate the drive, love, dedication, passion, and ultimately sometimes, pain, that goes with these six week emotional sprints. I tip my cap to these authors, fighting for discovery because their words need to breath. The battle doesn’t end here. So even for those disappointed come tomorrow, it’s so critical to remember that if your words deserve to be heard you must never stop fighting for them. This is also part pep talk for myself - just because my story will be published, it remains difficult to stay focused on writing, and write on we must. 

Remember, the contest is not over yet. So keep pushing authors! The last full day was the best day for us in the S&L - I think I had exactly 50 new readers.… 

And to all my supporters: Some of you may even have stray Inkshares’ credits hanging around on your accounts. Go take a look at the entrants and pick a favorite to support:

https://www.inkshares.com/contests/nerdist-space-opera-contest 

To update you on THE LAST MACHINE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM: 

I really cannot tell you how excited I am for you to hold this story in your hands, to read the words and to enjoy the truly unbelievable illustrations by Jack Katz. I have completed the manuscript and it is ready to hand into Inkshares, and then all the real fun shall begin! I am wrapping up a few straggler pieces that Inkshares requires to begin the process and will be handing things over in the next couple of days. I am not sure yet of a publication date, but expect to know soon. Whether it is late this year or early next, I know that the wait will be worth the ultimate reward. Thanks again for being along for the ride!

At the bottom is a brand new illustration from the man himself, Jack Katz. I don’t know how he does it or where it comes from. He takes inspiration from my writing it seems. The value I draw in turn from him bringing my story to life is the best part of all. 

As a fan of my story, I have an important favor to ask on behalf of Jack, the greatest creator I know. Jack is 88 years old and his vitality and creativity, as evidenced by his illustrations, has not waned. With that said, after a seven decades long career, illustrating such famed works as Popeye and Bulletman, money remains a hardship. In addition to working with me on The Last Machine, Jack is working diligently on the epic sequel to The First Kingdom, called Beyond the Beyond. Please consider supporting Jack, one of America’s great living artists from the gold and silver age of comics via Patreon. I very much appreciate your support for my friend! 

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2830339&ty=c 

This update is becoming long-winded, which probably shouldn’t be surprising as I took too long to update (nearly 2 months). However, I have a couple more quick hits which are important!

There is an absolutely spectacular epic fantasy project which everyone who supports me, Inkshares, and flat-out awesome writing, should back. The book is Blood Dawn by John Robin. I could write an elaborate explanation of why, but it’s actually not necessary because a number of John’s super fans (including yours truly) made a sweet video. Here’s the awesome fan video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDc8B-dL7o 

And here’s my uncut endorsement of Blood Dawn! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqLl2njZbTw 

Last but certainly not least, I have started a syndicate on Inkshares! This is basically a monthly subscription book club. Inkshares is the real deal everybody and as one of their authors I want to support Inkshares and the wonderful projects that they help bring to light. The syndicate is called GREAT SCIFI for the 21st CENTURY and BEYOND SYNDICATE! 

As indicated by the name, we are backing books that explore complex issues in the realm of SciFi. Books in the same genre as The Last Machine. So if you like my novella, you will hopefully enjoy the work we support. Feel free to check out our syndicate and sign-up today to support other authors. You can also read more about syndicates in general here.

Annnnd, drumroll, I’m thrilled to announce that The Inhabitants: An Unremembered Life is our first backed book! Congratulations to author Mike Sebby. His book is amazing and perfect for our syndicate. I love it as our first selection; it sets a great tone for us going forward. Check it out today as Mike is still funding his book and needs your support. Also, Mike sent out a hysterical video update today. I suggest you watch. You also may hear mention of a certain machine in said video! 

I will do my best to update more frequently so I don’t have soooo much to mention per update. It’s all important, and I hope none of the individual items get overlooked because of the length of this message! 

 -Matthew 

My dear Machiners, 

Where do I begin? I will start by saying that I have now had over 48 hours to decompress. I took some extra time before writing my post-Sword & Laser update. I just didn’t quite feel that I was coherent enough to write the update I wanted in the immediate aftermath. At this point, the fact that I can call myself a “soon to be published author” has not fully sunk in. That this story, which I poured myself into, will be in print and on a bookstore shelf is still hard to believe. When I do see it on that shelf, it will be serious reality check time. 

For now I must say Thank YOU. Thank you with all my heart. I cannot thank everybody enough. I want to stress and stress some more that this was an unbelievable team effort. I wrote the story but bringing it to a wider audience through crowdfunding on Inkshares was undeniably a group effort. And a tremendous one at that. Many, many people went above and beyond the call to bring new readers to our cause. 

To illustrate this unbelievable outreach, we can break the campaign into two chunks. There were the first 4.5 weeks of the campaign: We brought in 170 readers and this was phenomenal. We were in a strong 2nd place position and hoped it would be enough to stay in the top 3. Then there was the final 1.5 weeks of the contest - and we brought in 180 readers! In my wildest dreams I would never have expected to more than double what we did in over a month in just 10 days. Thank you for the incredible support to finish this race. I feel honored and humbled. I want all of you to feel that you had a hand in making this happen. Because it’s true. The eBook or paperback you receive is yours as much as it is mine, and far beyond the money you contributed. 

I must give a hearty salute to my co-winners Joseph Asphahani author of The Animal in Man and Craig Munro the author of The Bones of the Past. It was an absolute pleasure to compete against them. An experience that was full of camaraderie and goodwill. Their books are awesome and I look forward to receiving my copy of both. It is well worth your time to go check them out, and also the other excellent work by talented authors in the top 10 in the Sword & Laser contest. The contest was filled with wonderful creative work - those outside the top 10 also deserve your consideration. Here is the rest of the top 10:

Adam Greven and Matt Deller’s The Knight Proper 

Byron Gillian’s The Children of the Forest 

Amanda Ornekc’s Deus Hex Machina 

Andre Brun’s Lies and Deception 

Michael Sebby’s The Inhabitants: An Unremembered Life 

Alexander Barnes’s The Amaranth Chronicles: Deviant Rising 

Edmond J. Wedge’s Ocean Black: The Noble Exiles

The journey is just beginning for The Last Machine in the Solar System. There will be future updates as we continue down the road toward publication. This is all new and exciting for me and I am sure I will learn something each day. I look forward to sharing that with you, my benefactors. Without you I would not be here, and neither would this story. 

Until next time, 

 -Matthew 

Dear Machiners! 

 I only have time for a very quick update today because the Sword & Laser is in full sprint to the finish mode and I feel like a politician out amongst the people shaking hands on election day. 

This is my only campaign. Almost guaranteed I will not run another crowdfunding campaign, at least one like this, which leverages my extended network to such a great extent. So failure is not an option, especially at this late stage when we have tasted so much success. 

As we know though, nothing is won until the contest is officially over. So I must implore you, if you follow this project and have not yet pre-ordered, please do so. 

At the moment, we may or may not still be in 2nd place. This amazing story has held 2nd place for the last four and a half weeks! To be quite honest, I am a little too competitive to feel very good if we slipped to third at the end. I know getting published is getting published and I will certainly do a dance and feel amazing. But for a moment, I’ll be disappointed about the way the campaign lost steam at the end and was overtaken. 

So let’s not let that happen! 

This is a 2nd place campaign, and it has felt that way for several weeks. The Animal in Man has dominated the competition and my congratulations to the fantastic Joe Asphahani! Craig Munro also has a wonderful project, and I enjoyed learning more about it last night on the Sword & Laser podcast with Tom and Veronica. If you haven't watched the interview yet, you can check it out right here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BT-qJERU_s 

Oh, and if you are a fellow Inkshares author following along but haven't pre-ordered, I almost invariably order back. Always happy to swap pre-orders to support my fellow authors! 

On to the finish!

I’ve got 99 problems but readers ain’t one! 99 more readers and we’ll be #1! 

I was in the middle of recording a saweeet rap video update…. Regrettably the videocamera’s batteries died ;-) I know you’re all devastated. 

 So, we’ll just go with the typed jingle...

 OK, super quick update for my devoted Machiners! 

We have 1 week to go!! 1 week. It's homestretch time! 

Over 270 followers and as of this writing, 215 readers! Spectacular! Can we get to #1? Who knows, really. My original goal was 150. Not too long ago 215 was totally farfetched. Maybe we can surprise and hit 300? 

I may agree to a real rap video if that happens. If you think that would be epic, and you haven’t pre-ordered, then do so immediately!! 

Dear supporters of California's Lost Gold,

Thank-you for your patience. I realize there hasn't been much development here recently. This project is very dear to me though and it will be brought back into focus in the near future.

For the moment though, I have had to shift my attention first and foremost to my other Inkshares project - The Last Machine in the Solar System - which is funding and competing in the Sword & Laser competition. 

There are only 10 days remaining in the contest and my novella is in 2nd place! Truly incredible support, as we've garnered over 230 followers and 180+ readers.

But the contest remains very close and I could really use your support over there. Please have a look at the story. Give it a read. And if possible, hit pre-order, and move me one step closer to publication!

Thanks so much, -Matthew

My wonderful Machiners! 

Tonight I have an important update for you which includes a call to action. 

Earlier today we reached our 170th unique reader! We continue to hold 2nd place in the standings. 170 is an amazing number, and to be quite honest, we have exceeded what I originally thought possible in this contest. However, with 10 days remaining, it has become clear that it will not be enough. Perhaps not close to enough. 

The standings remain incredibly close, and it's a testament to both the great talent in this contest and the great opportunity presented by Inkshares.

So, I must ask more of you. Having seen the tremendous support throughout this competition - including at least one new reader every day since I jumped in on December 2nd (which I’m particularly proud of) - I have great confidence that my friends, family, co-workers, associates, classmates, athletic team members, and the many supporters who I have no connection to other than through this story, will answer the call. 

Most importantly, please know that I continue to work. Heartened by your support, I am not asking myself, how can I hold onto 2nd place? I am asking myself, how can we make a run over these 10 days to win. I didn't really expect to be here. And now that I am here, why not go for it? It may not be possible. We face a considerable deficit. But the push continues, and in 10 days we let the chips fall where they may. 

So, if you haven’t yet pre-ordered, please jump in and join me. If you have pre-ordered, I need you to spread the word, and implore your nearest and dearest to jump in too. 

Thanks so much! 

Machiner-in-chief

Happy New Year Machiners! 

Based on my map of where pre-orders come from, some of my wonderful supporters are definitely celebrating already. To those all over, have fun tonight, and be safe.

A couple of real quick hits on this 2016 New Year's Eve:

The support the last few days has been tremendous. I cannot thank all of the new followers enough for getting onboard. Monday we hit 100 readers and tonight we may hit 140. That's incredible! 

I had a funny thought after thinking about this today. I hope you all know this book basically has only one character! Well, our protagonist talks about one other important character. For those who haven't read, I won't give it away...

There was a new Inkshares blog post today. Some of the folks in the Sword & Laser contest provided their "best reads" of 2015. Definitely cool to see what everyone is reading. The novels I touched on weren't actually written this year, but to me, they are books worth visiting time and again.

I know I'm behind on the raffle game. At some point in the New Year, I will remedy that. Guaranteed.

Lastly, there is a fun new page on Facebook for The Last Machine. Check it out and Like when you have a moment: https://www.facebook.com/3BillionYears/

And I'll leave you with this brand new, hot off the presses, super rad artwork from Jack Katz of The Last Machine and that "other character." Enjoy, Happy New Year!