Okay, whew. I ran out last Friday to pick up my son, and then we left for a camping trip. I didn’t get the chance to do proper thank yous, so here it goes:

A huge, huge thank you to my supporters. It was amazing on Friday at 11:30 am to have people come out of the woodwork and push me into 2nd place. I absolutely could not have done it without you all. Thanks to my wife for finding this contest and encouraging me to enter. And thanks to all the Harveys and the Clearys and the Mills who bit their nails alongside us. Thank you to Simon Winchester, Brian Baldwin, Sean Garcia, Hannah Davis, and Ryan Weilert. In the end, it was your willpower that won me 2nd place. I’m in awe of all of you.

Great work to everyone else in the competition. There was some serious talent I was competing against. Alisa King ran a fierce campaign. Congrats to Peter Ryan, who really does seem like a genuinely nice guy. I can’t wait to read Too Many Controllers. And as I’ve said before, Andrew Fantasia is a great writer. I hope his novel Sidescroller gets funded so we can all give it a read. I also want to give a shout-out to G.A. Finocchiaro and his book Knightmares. He helped me a ton, and his book looks awesome. 

So what’s next? Sweeping changes. I’ll soon be deleting the prologue that’s up on Inkshares. Years ago, I had written IN BETA as a feature film. At the start of this contest, I was simply adapting the film into novel form. The farther I went down that path, the more I realized I wasn’t excited about a book that followed the rigid formula of a Hollywood comedy. So during this contest, I made significant revisions to IN BETA’s setting and plot. The concept and the characters are the same, but I’ve moved the locale from Seattle, WA to a rural town in the Cascades. The setting works better for a number of reasons. If anyone is interested in the mechanics of "why", ask and I’ll happily distract myself from writing by geeking out over my decisions. Otherwise, just satisfy yourself with the knowledge that I’m not content to deliver a shit novel.

I’m very excited about IN BETA, and I can’t wait to share the new prologue with the world. Thanks everyone for this amazing opportunity. I’ll try to be regular with my updates, and I’ll let you know the timeline of this process once I figure that out.

WELCOME TO EARTH, EXILE! 

A long time ago the planet Earth, birthplace of the human race, was a beautiful green and blue jewel of a world…the centerpiece of the Sol system! It had sprawling cities with towering skyscrapers, jungles, deserts, rainforests, tundras, oceans, rivers, lakes and a population that numbered in the several billions! 

However, that was before the Cleansing deemed the world fit for destruction and the atmosphere was scorched and made unbreathable. Clouds of dust and ash now block the once nourishing rays of the sun, the soil has become contaminated and every living thing that was not relocated to Avalon is now long dead. Once the centerpiece of the system, it is now the one world everyone wants to avoid. It is a barren wasteland of outcasts, criminals, and exiles just like you!

That’s the good news! Earth salvage is one of the most valuable commodities in the system, prized by collectors and scientists from Avalon all the way to Pluto! Objects that were once part of everyday human life are now highly sought-after artifacts of immense value. You will become an indentured scavenger, braving the harsh wasteland in search of treasures worth more than you can imagine. And if you’re lucky, after say, your tenth expedition, you may even be eligible to get a small percentage of the profits! What better incentive to survive this poison landscape than the possibility of earning your own meager pay!

 Being an Earth scavenger is not a “success overnight” path. In most cases, it’s not even a “success over several months” deal. But, with the proper training, equipment, and support, anyone can succeed as a scavenger! Sometimes, we even have one or all of those things available to new recruits such as yourself! 

Besides the toxic atmosphere and crumbling landscape, what other dangers can you expect to find in the wastelands of Earth? Well, there are mutants, twisted by long-term exposure to the poison air and radiation. “Freelance” scavengers, otherwise known as “bandits” roam the wastelands, some of which have even taken up cannibalism. The once towering skyscrapers are now decaying safety hazards and there are sinkholes, quicksand, dust storms and probably more nightmares than anyone could ever possibly bear. For others, that might spell an immediate “no way, I’m not going anywhere near there”. But, for you exile, it spells adventure. 

(Also, you’ve been legally bound to indentured servitude, so it’s not like you have a choice anyway.) 

So, go out there and fetch yourself a fortune or at least a fraction of one while you toil away under the moderately brutish leadership of a master scavenger. One day, he may even release you from indentured servitude and you can become a “free” scavenger. That’s right, you too can be your own boss and the entire, muddy, destroyed expanse of a once beautiful planet can be your office! 

On the other hand, if you die, please know that we will make every effort to make sure your carcass doesn’t get stolen by cannibals to be used as bait to trap other scavengers with better survival skills than you. 

Enjoy your stay and happy hunting! 

-Welcome brochure for Earth exiles, produced by Axis Earth Salvage, Inc. 

Two women are about to brave the wasteland that used to be the planet Earth to uncover a plot to destory the utopian society of Avalon. One is a hardened spy, the other is a scientist from another time.

Want to find out what happens next? Pre-order now!

And the Winner of the Mission 51 Raffle is...

Jaye Milius!!

Congratulations, Jaye! You have won an original, personalized, signed sketch by Mission 51 artist Idan Carré! :-)