Greetings Hexers and Machina Riders:

Do we have some things to talk about!  So much has happened in the last week my head is spinning. Let’s get right to it:

Extra Life Stream this Evening

I’ll be streaming Heroes of the Storm tonight for the Extra Life charity over on my Twitch channel, starting at 6 PM CST and running until midnight. Come cheer me on as I main Sylvanas and try to figure out if I can still snipe towers behind enemy gates. It should be fun times.  

Donate to my Extra Life fund

If you watch (and even if you can’t) help me get to $100 by donating here. I have already raised $40 for kids in need, so I’m 1/3 of the way there. Woncha help out?

The List 2016 contest

This week Inkshares announced which books were selected for their end-of--the-year contest, and Deus Hex Machina is on The List!  It’s a crazy big honor to be among such amazing books and their authors which leads me to my next item on the agenda:

A ton more Deus Hex Machina stuff is coming

A new contest means a new campaign, so I’ve been working in the last few days to shape what a second campaign for DHM would look like. Astute readers among you will already notice I’ve updated the book’s Inshares page, refereshed my cover concept, and put up a couple new character bios. In addition I have uploaded the revised first chapter from the 2nd draft -- I think you’ll be happy with the changes. 

My edit is plugging right along, and won’t stop just because another contest has popped into my life. You don’t stop feeding your kids just because extended family dropped by unannounced. You pull up extra chairs and make more desserts.

And I plan on more desserts friends. I will try to keep the updates meaningful throughout this contest, but I do have a good amount of fun stuff planned, and I want to share it all with you. 

My goal for this campaign will be to get to 400 readers. It’s a huge crazy unimaginable number, but I think we can do it. If you’re following the book but haven’t purchased, I’ll be reaching out to you personally in the coming weeks to ask for your order. If you have purchased the book, I’ll be reaching out to you personally to ask for your referral. 

In exchange for your support of the book I have planned more goodies: live-edits, fan art contests, a contest for the ARG -- yes Qathren YOBIBYTE got the jump on you Sombra. You got nothin’ on a hexer from the future.

It’s gonna be a fun, weird ride, and I hope you’ll join me. I’ll see you tonight. 

May the code replicate eternal.

Friends, drag enthusiast and horror fans

Hey Campers!

I am still getting a lot of emails/messages asking me when they will receive their books. The answer: SEPTEMBER 2017. 

Why does it take so long? It takes time to edit, market, and design a book. Plus, it takes time for companies like Barnes and Noble to decide how many copies they want to order for their stores.

Read more about how Inkshares works here: https://www.inkshares.com/how_it_works

Since you preordered, you will be among the first people to receive the book when it is released! Thanks again for all of your support!

Peace and love to all of you!

Kyle T. Cowan

As I write this, it is the final hour of Remembrance Day--Veterans Day in the U.S., and Armistice Day in the 1920s world of "Murder at the Veterans’ Club". It’s a solemn occasion, for remembering the sacrifices made in the name of one’s country. In Cape Town, South Africa, they began observing a daily three-minute silence from April 1918 onwards; this idea spread through the commonwealth and became, in 1919, an observed two-minute silence from 11:00 to 11:02 AM on the 11 November, the anniversary of the Armistice.

One minute for the soldiers who died. One minute for their families left behind.

To all the veterans out there, to their families, and to the families of those who are not coming back ... thank you.

On this occasion, we had an interview with Regina McMenomy of The Geek Embassy. Dr. McMenomy is the author of "Mothering: the Game", available for pre-order at Inkshares.

And, because it’s a day for remembering our veterans and because my background is in Architecture, here is a link to a news story about housing for homeless veterans in Kansas City, Missouri.

Let us not forget.

So yeah. Long time no update. 

Stuff has happened. Probably a lot of stuff and I’ve been busy with grad school, but really I don’t feel like talking about any of that. Because right now sucks. A lot. 
 

Why I’m updating everyone at this time when so many of us just want to curl up into the fetal position and do nothing is because while I don’t have a lot of money to donate to causes that may need it in the next four years or the skills to help people (I write silly stories about monsters), what I do have are six codes for the audiobook version of An Unattractive Vampire. 

So here’s the deal: between now and December 15th, donate to an at-risk cause. Here’s a list from Jezebel to get you started. Once you’ve donated, tell me. Tweet at me @jimmcdoniel or leave a comment on this post telling me that you’ve donated or walk past me on the sidewalk and give me the Elder Sign. Just make sure I know and your name will be added to the list. On December 16th, I will draw six names and those lucky do-gooders will be able to experience my book as it was meant to be experienced: read to them by a British man.

So hey, let’s get out there and make this all suck slightly less.