Hey there,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The reason I’ve been quiet is because I didn’t have much to say and I didn’t want to bother you. That being said, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. Aside from life doing it’s thing and my full time job, I have been doing some significant amount of writing, which is what I suspect you really want to know about.

Let’s get to it.

Song of the Sandman (A God in the Shed: Part II)

The bulk of my time has been taken up by work on the sequel to A God in the Shed, titled : Son of the Sandman.

Writing, editing and rewriting this sequel has been one of the most depressing and difficult creative journey of my life. I very nearly quit writing entirely at one point, and writing is one of those things that brings me the most joy in life.

But the storm has been weathered. The book is on the verge of completion. We have a date to go to copy editing, which means a solid release date isn’t far behind. While I apologize for the delays in getting this book to you, I hope the wait will have been worth it.

I do have a little something to help tide you over until Song of the Sandman hits shelves.

Achewillow is a side project I’ve been working on with my friend Amy Frost (winner of the first season of America’s Next Top Podcaster). It’s a ‘cozy’ horror story that isn’t as intense as A God in the Shed, but has a much weirder background setting. I wrote the story, so you can expect some strange characters, old gods and bizarre magics. It’s also codeveloped with Amy who brings a layer of cooking and coffee to the story. Also, she narrates it, which really elevates whatever I put on the page.

Achewillow takes the shape of a storytelling podcast, the first season of which spans 15 half-hour episode. It’s essentially a free audiobook. It tells the story of Miriam DuFour, a young adult who’s life is spiralling into the gutter until she receives a strange envelope. In it, Miriam discovers that she’s inherited a coffee shop from a relative she didn’t know she had in a town she didn’t know existed: Achewillow. From there, she is drawn into a world of subtle magic, baking, demons, coffee and the occasional raccoon.

I’m really proud of Achewillow and I hope you listen and enjoy it. This is the first of a few projects I have in mind to make sure you and I, dear reader, don’t lose touch for so long again. Of course, the more successful Achewillow is, the easier it becomes for me to put things like this together. So, if you do like our little podcast, consider rating it on iTunes, or leaving a review. I can’t overstate how much impact this has on the success of such a project.

The last time I put Arch-Android, the sequel to The Life Engineered, back on the shelf, I was done with a second, mostly satisfying draft. Once Song of the Sandman is out of my hands, I’ll be doing a third draft which will be sent to beta readers. From that point on, we’ll be in good shape to get this book into your hands.

The Life Engineered has always had a special place in my heart and I’m very eager to bring you the next chapter in that story. 

That’s it for now. I apologize again for the long silence. I didn’t feel like had much to say that was worth your time, but that’s about to change.

Cheers and much gratitude,

J-F.

This round of edits are done!  Just sent back the manuscript to Inkshares incorporating some excellent beta reader feedback. The story definitely got stronger because of it and it gave me a chance to tighten up a few things too. 

Looks like line edits then copy edits then we should have a date. Fingers crossed!

Just got off the phone with Inkshares and we have a plan. We’re hoping for an autumn release. To do that I need edit notes back in a couple weeks then turn around revisions. So yay!  We’re making progress finally! Sorry for the long time between updates but as the progress continues I’ll keep you updated.

"THE END."

These may be the most amazing pair of words we have ever typed.

After years of plugging away, we are beyond pleased to inform you that we have completed the final chapter of our novel, A Friend for Otter. We will now begin a thorough editing process, which will include sharing the completed draft manuscript with a group of advance readers for diverse feedback. Once we incorporate all the editorial changes, we will begin the publishing process, and we hope to have your copies out in time for Christmas.

Thank you to everyone for your support and patience. This has been an amazing journey, but for Otter and for us. We could not have done it without your backing and encouragement.

Sincerely,

Sylvia and Jesse

I am alive! Anything you heard to the contrary is false. No, JF Dubeau did not kill me off in his upcoming sequel. I just have had a really tough couple of years and I didn’t keep up with much of what I probably should have.

In the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, pertinent updates:

I will be at Dragoncon. If you can make it by, reach out to me so I can say hi. If you have your copy and it isn’t already signed, I’ll sign it!

Fall is 50% done being edited by me. If you haven’t, you should probably get your copy pre-ordered today!

I’ve got other ideas that have been percolating, but that’s the important stuff for now.

I am alive! Anything you heard to the contrary is false. No, JF Dubeau did not kill me off in his upcoming sequel. I just have had a really tough couple of years and I didn’t keep up with much of what I probably should have.

In the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, pertinent updates:

I will be at Dragoncon. If you can make it by, reach out to me so I can say hi. If you have your copy and it isn’t already signed, I’ll sign it!

Fall is 50% done being edited by me. If you haven’t, you should probably get your copy pre-ordered today!

I’ve got other ideas that have been percolating, but that’s the important stuff for now.