Whoa... what a trip it’s been.

Before I get into that though, let me give you some good news. Better news than whatever I’ll be prattling on about.

So, have you pre-ordered A God in the Shed from Inkshares? You did? You’re awesome. In fact, you might have already received an email notification that your physical copy has shipped (if you ordered a physical copy that is. And you should have, because ooooh boy. Such lovely books. So, so lovely.). But let’s say you’re not into this ’waiting’ thing? What if you want to start digging into this tale of horror in a small down over this very coming weekend?

Well, you can. By the end of the day, the eBook version of A God in the Shed will be available to download from the site. .mobi and .epub will be available, as always. I sincerely hope you enjoy the book and that if you do, you’ll let me know. Review it on Amazon, on Goodreads. Send me a Tweet @jfdubeau. I want to hear from you guys. 

You’re my very favourite readers.

Which is why I put myself through Hell in order to sign all your copies of A God in the Shed. As promised, I flew myself to San Francisco on a plane leaving Montreal at 5:30AM, signed a bunch of copies as they were being packaged and shipped by the amazing Elena Stofle (with an assist from the dedicated Avalon Radys). Hung out and had dinner with Adam and then, at 11:30PM on the same day, was on a plane back to Montreal.

When I say I’d go to the ends of the Earth for my readers, I do not kid around.

Now please, enjoy the book. We’ve come this far, it’d be ashamed if you didn’t. 

JF

Such a pretty book... (note: Inkshares fed me cheese. They have won my heart once more)

The Punch Escrow is hitting bookstores on July 25 — less than 2 months from today. I wanted to give you guys an update on where things stand based on the increasing number of inbound questions:

- Book Tour: We have one. I hope one of our stops is in your town. You can check out the list of places and dates here: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchescrow/posts/1951228528444487:0 (if you haven’t already, please give The Punch Escrow a "Like" on FB when you’re there)

- Cover Design: It’s done and I will share the full cover as soon as we approve the proofs from the printer. It’s lovely and iconic. I couldn’t be happier! This book will be a lot of fun to hold. We’ve been very picky about materials and inks.

- Pre-sales: Some of you may have gotten an email stating that you’ve "backed a winner!" - yes, I’m super thrilled we’re moving a lot of pre-order units. I’m very happy the book is picking up steam. I don’t know what else to say about that other than: THANK YOU! and maybe also WOOHOO!

- The movie: I can’t really say anything about the movie other than tell you that Lionsgate didn’t only option the book, they optioned The Punch Escrow’s entire world or, as I like to call it, "The Future." What this means is that if things go well, there will be many other stories to come through various mediums, not just film. I continue to have very productive meetings with the creative team at Lionsgate, and I believe "The Future" is in very good hands.

- Blurbs: Here are all the amazing blurbs we’ve gotten for the book so far. The reviews are also starting to come in to the book’s Goodreads page from advance readers and reviewers:

“I read a lot of books but haven’t enjoyed one as much as The Punch Escrow in a long time. I picked it up for a cross-country flight and didn’t put it down until we landed in New York. Tal Klein creates a plausibly real future that sucks you in. He powers his story with action, twists, and a dash of humor. Young actors will be lining up to play the lead character, and any director worth his salt would kill (or at least teleport) for a chance to adapt The Punch Escrow.”  —Andy Lewis, Book Editor, The Hollywood Reporter

“A compelling, approachable human narrative wrapped around a classic hard sci-fi nugget, The Punch Escrow dives into deep philosophical territory—the ethical limits of technology, and what it means to be human. Cinematically paced yet filled with smart asides, Klein pulls off the slick trick of giving readers plenty to think about in a suspenseful, entertaining package.” —Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica

“An alt-futuristic hard-science thriller with twists and turns you’ll never see coming. I couldn’t put it down.” —Felicia Day, author of You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

“Klein transports us to a beautifully rendered near-future world. This is refreshingly original and immersive hard sci-fi. You’ll turn the last page and yearn for Joel Byram’s next chapter.”  —Ben Brock Johnson, host of Codebreaker podcast and Marketplace Tech

“A headlong ride through a future where ‘huge international corporate conspiracy’ is a box you check on a form and teleportation takes you anywhere—it just blows you to bits first.” —Quentin Hardy, Head of Editorial, Google Cloud (formerly Deputy Tech Editor for The New York Times)

"The Punch Escrow has a cool high concept and an action-packed story that will leave your head spinning." —Daniel H. Wilson, The New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse and Clockwork Dynasty

“If I lived in the world of The Punch Escrow, I’d teleport around the world shoving copies of Tal M. Klein’s thrilling, hilarious, and whip-smart debut into everyone’s hands. Save me the trip—buy this novel now.” —Duane Swierczynski, author of Revolver and the bestselling Level 26 series

“A fast-paced near-future sci-fi adventure peppered with exotic technology and cultural references ranging from Karma Chameleon to the Ship of Theseus, The Punch Escrow will have you rooting for its plucky, sarcastic hero as he bounces between religious fanatics, secret agents, corporate hacks, and megalomaniacs in a quest to get his life back. If you’ve ever wanted to get Scotty drunk and ask him some tough questions about how those transporters work exactly, The Punch Escrow is the book for you.” —Robert Kroese, author of The Big Sheep and its sequel, The Last Iota

“This book angered me to my core, because it’s based on an idea that should have occurred to me. The fact that Tal executed it so well, and made such a page-turner out of it, just adds insult to injury.” —Scott Meyer, author of the Magic 2.0 series

“Some writers take us to the future so we can question the effects that technology can have on humanity on a global and personal scale, along with the impact upon the social fabric. Others do it to take us on a wild ride made all the more fantastic by pushing the boundaries of what we can expect from the world of tomorrow. Tal M. Klein masterfully balances both and sets it all to the beat of an 80s soundtrack. An excellent piece of contemporary science fiction.” —J-F. Dubeau, author of A God in the Shed and The Life Engineered

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

We did it. 750 copies sold. This. Is. Amazing.

Thank you, a million times over. The past few months have been challenging, invigorating, frustrating, and inspiring. I have made several new friends and reconnected with old ones. Nothing quite like the raw experience of putting yourself and your work out there.

I am excited to embark on the production journey and to give you sneak peeks behind the scenes along the way. So, what goes into the production of a book with a full-scale publishing house, before it makes its way to a bookstore near you? Glad you asked! I made the following to break it down, and will also add it to my revamped book page for future reference:

As I make my way through these phases, I will aim to send you updates every month or so, or when something particularly exciting happens, so as to not drive all of you up the wall. Also, since I know it will be a long wait, I have decided that once the edits are complete, I will send all of you (my original backers) an electronic uncorrected proof. This means that you will have the ability to read the book months before it is released while waiting for your official copy.

Several, if not most, of you, found the book through my Twitter account @WritesAsheville - I have created a separate handle specifically for book-related news - @TWACI2090 Feel free to follow!

And last, but not least, the winner of the $250 Airbnb gift card (chosen by random number generator) is ......

Nicolette Carter Yates

Just in time for summer! Enjoy!

Cheers! -Jacqui