Hey, superspies!

We had a wonderful time at our Itchy Pig book signing and reading event at Barnes & Noble in Wilmington, NC.  Thank you all for your support.  We feel truly blessed!  More events to come.  We would love to meet you and your family!

Hey all, 

I got some exciting news over the weekend: Bill Oakley, former writer and showrunner for THE SIMPSONS and a personal hero of mine endorsed IN BETA.

"A hilarious concept from a very funny and talented guy--I cannot wait to see it!"

This is the genius who wrote some of my favorite Simpsons episodes, including "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy", "Bart vs. Australia" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns". It’s a huge shot in the arm for the novel, and for my campaign.

Thank you Bill, and thank you to everyone who’s ordered a copy thus far!

Prescott

Hello Friends:

I’ve been staring at this blank page for 45 minutes trying to figure out what to say. In the wake of the Orlando shooting, I keep going back and forth struggling to decide what is the right way to express my anger and hurt.

As a gay man and as the founder of the Write Out Loud Syndicate I think it is important to remind my readers and supporters that homophobia and transphobia continue to be a reality in our country. The LGBTQ community has won significant battles in the past years, but there are still plenty of people vulnerable to violence and discrimination.

I know that love and action are the answers. So I will focus my anger into action and fight the hateful rhetoric flooding the internet with love. This afternoon I will attend a vigil in memory of the victims. I encourage you to do the same in your area. Show your support; show that you are not afraid to stand next to the LGBTQ community. 

It is not the violence against us but our courage what define us.

In this link, there are other ways in which you can help.

Love

Ricardo

Greetings Destiny-followers,

I just got my first podcast mention! JF Dubeau and Paul Inman of WriteBrain fame have a chat about the Inkshares/Nerdist contest in general, their awesome book in particular (one that I have pre-ordered), as well as giving honorable mentions to Destiny Imperfect and another top read (and my closet competitor), SideScroller (a book I have also pre-ordered). Go and have a listen to their podcast!

And, if you haven’t already, take a look at Destiny Imperfect and see if it’s something you could pre-order. I could do with the help!

Cheers,

Peter

Dear friends and followers,

Today, 12 June, is day number 85 in the campaign. The suggested timeframe for a campaign is 90 days, which means that, had I not specified my timeframe, this thing would be over this coming Friday night / Saturday morning. At present, we are at 349 pre-orders, and you know what? It would be really nice to end Friday night at the halfway point of 375. That’s doable, right? If you know anyone who might be able to help, please encourage them to do so ... and if you’re still on the fence about ordering, I encourage you to come down on this side of it. The grass is greener here.

With the writing for "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" done and simmering on the back burner, I’m focussing more on my short story for "Too Many Controllers". How does a Wodehouse-inspired tale of a VR gaming companies, ruined castles, and stuffy aristocrats strike you? Well, if not Wodehouse, then at least Westlake ... that should give an idea of where I’m thinking of going with this.

With the Nerdist contest going on, I thought we might take a look at a couple of the other books in the contest:

1) "Reb1rth", by Xavier Auger-Mailhot. I remember reading one of Auger-Mailhot’s works, once upon a time: a very rough thing hot off the NaNoWriMo press. I remember thinking to myself as I went along, "my goodness but this reads like a video game". And now he’s written something that’s actually about the fusion of reality with video games, and I know he’s pushing his strengths on this one.

2) "Squids In", by Matthew Poat. An octopus gets hold of a controller and proceeds to dominate the video game circuit. Poat has some prime comedy material invested in this, and, from what I’ve seen, it is indeed hilarious. I get the impression that this is going to be a madcap caper with wacky hijinks in abundance, and I’m looking forward to see this book happen for real.

That’s it for this update. Until next week, have fun and keep reading. Cheers! And here’s hoping to hit that 375 milestone by Friday night!