So it’s come to this... publication day.

To be honest, it snuck up on me. I thought the actual pub date was June 15th. Needless to say, I’m unprepared. 

I could bore you with a long text about how important your support has been, but instead, let’s take a quick look at what you were a part of accomplishing, shall we?

• We published a book. "Wasn’t that the goal?" Absolutely. But publishing a book is a huge deal, especially for the author. Of all the things we’ve done, 
  
• That book got great early reviews from CriptTV, Fangoria, the creator of Bates Motel and a few others who I had never dreamed of getting the attention of.
• Our book got optioned by Skydance to be produced by Akiva Goldsman. This is huge! (not automatic-tv-show-huge, but huge nonetheless) I’ve never even considered television as a medium for A God in the Shed, but obviously, others disagree.
• A God in the Shed is going to be an audiobook too.

All of that, and probably more in the future, because of Inkshares’ tireless work and your support. I know some of you had even forgotten you’d pre-ordered this book. That’s how long the road has been. Yet, here we are.

So what’s next?

• Well, hopefully you read and enjoy A God in the Shed. Perhaps even to review it on Amazon, Goodreads and wherever you can leave a review. Write one and copy/paste it everywhere.
  
• Get in touch with me on Twitter @jfdubeau and let me know what you thought.
• Or get on the mailing list for my newsletter at jfdubeau.com/books
• Brace yourself for my next projects. The Sequel to A God in the Shed is already being written, but in the meantime, why not follow the page for the sequel to The Life Engineered? I’ll be having some announcements regarding that one sooner than you might think.

So that’s it. You guys are amazing and you’ve done something amazing for me. Hopefully there will be so much more in the future and I’d be thrilled if every one of you were there for the ride.

Thank you. So much.

JF

Friends and Family,

The time has come.

Short update, I promise...

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)

Hey everyone!  Happy Summer!

At least they tell us it’s summuh up here in glorious Maine.  Hard to tell with highs in the upper 60s and nights in the 40s.  At least it’s keeping the black flies down.  A little.

 
                                          May 31 in Maine, Ladies and Gentlemen

So have I got some news for you!

The crowdfunding sequel to It’s All Fun and Games is now up and running! 

As I mentioned in a past update, More Fun and Games has been written (for several years) and now needs the spit and polish (and in some cases massive reworking) to get it up and ready for publication.  In the meanwhile, I need your help. 

Many of you rallied to It’s All Fun and Games because I harassed you, begged you, and after all, it was only five bucks.  Unfortunately (for us…financially appropriate for Inkshares), the price to support has increased - $10 for an ebook and $20 for the paperback.  This is a bigger commitment, for sure, so I don’t feel comfortable doing the same level of begging.  Having said that, I would really appreciate your tossing a few bucks my way.

Also unfortunately, this isn’t part of a contest, which means no getting the big win on a near miss (that is, the target of 750 copies is much more firm than it was last time).  So even if you don’t feel like you can preorder a copy, if you know anyone who liked the first book and would be willing to pitch in on the sequel, please spread the word.  Do you know someone who runs an indie bookstore?  Rope ‘em on in.  Are you a Reality TV family with 19 children (and counting)?  All the rug rats need a copy, maybe two.

I will continue to post updates from both projects, so for those of you following both, I apologize for the spam.  I’m hopeful that over the summer we’ll be able to get enough momentum to get the process up and running and the sequel out in a timely fashion.

As always, I am humbled by both the kind words and the financial support of my first novel.

Thank you!

Dave

(before you start reading, there is a surprise at the end)

Friends, it has been a while 

You may have heard that my absence in the hallways of Inkshares is due to my adventures around the world gathering material for my memoir: Eat, Drink and Pass Out. You may have also heard that I got a job at NASA and I’ll be the first rainbow flag waving queen to put foot on Mars. All lies, friends. All fabrications from one of my multiple personalities.

The truth is I’ve been ridiculously busy juggling a new job, a cranky brain that insists on not working properly and writing Bad Medicine, a novel that I think you will love.

A couple of things have happened since the last time we talked:

1.      I finished the manuscript, but then I read it again and decided it needed a lot of work. Characters needed to be stronger, motivations had to be clearer, and villains needed more evil running through their veins.

2.      I changed the name of the novel. I thought the tagline “Slay it Queen!” didn’t convey clearly what the novel is about, so I changed it to Bad Medicine: Zombie Slaying Queen! Sometimes straight to the point is best.

3.      I started practicing meditation and mindfulness (I won’t be offended if you roll your eyes now) and had an epiphany (roll them again) the goal of this journey is not publishing a novel, the goal is creating art. Taking the ideas bubbling in my chest, shaping them and then surrendering them to you.

Yes, I want to see my book on bookstores but more than anything I want to feel confident that every drop of creativity inside of me labeled Bad Medicine, is out of my system and ready for the world to love, hate, ignored or adored.

In the large puzzle of the publishing process, I have only one job, and I am planning to do it well. I have to write a great novel.

I guess I am asking you for patience and trust. Your novel is coming. I don’t know when, but Inkshares and I will work hard to make sure you feel great about the investment you made six months ago.

In the meantime, since you have some waiting to do, I created a playlist called “Essential Drag” below are songs and videos where I find inspiration for Bad Medicine. Even if you are not writing a novel about a zombie slaying drag queen, these are just fun songs to listen to. 

Playlist here!

Until the next time...

Which do you want first: the Good News, or the Good-er News?

Fine. Good news is I’ve finally had the epiphany I should’ve reached months ago (which, by the way, is why you’re receiving another update so soon after the last). I’ve decided to SPLIT THE ANIMAL IN MAN IN TWO. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Fellow authors, publishing industry gurus, inkshares itself, close friends and relatives - all these folks had been asking me for so long “why not just split the novel? Honestly, my dear animals, working on The Animal in Man had become a lot like sculpting pottery: the wheel spins and spins at a constant, but the larger the pot I was trying to make, the more likely it was to start coming apart and ultimately wind up an unrecognizable ruin. I’d rather make something beautiful - keep the pattern intact - and I figured you’d rather read it that way.

So what’s the Good-er News?

I re-submitted the manuscript last week! This means the ball is now in the publisher’s side of the court. I’ve done a little research that should make all parties involved (including you and me) much happier: An author with multiple books develops a better readership. Trilogies sit better on store shelves and are more likely to be stocked & re-stocked by booksellers. Imagine you’re just Joe-Schmoe Bookreader at the B&N down your street, just browsing the Sci-Fi Fantasy section like you always do, and you spot book one, book two, and book three of The Animal in Man all side-by-side. You are more likely to wonder what you’re missing out on when you discover a trilogy for the first time.

Yes, I said “trilogy.” That, in fact, was the straw that broke this camel’s back. The original, monstrously-oversized Animal in Man ended on a the mother of all cliffhangers, and I’d originally intended to leave it as-is (frankly I like unfinished endings, like Watchmen or Inception). But the ideas just kept gestating in the dark, warm, moist recesses of my brain, fed by the questions. What would happen to so-and-so? Did so-and-so make it out alive, and if he did, what would he do next?

Stay tuned to find out. Because of the decision to split the book, it won’t be as long of a wait.

In the meantime, check out some of the AMAZING sci-fi novels burning up the leaderboards on Inkshares’ Nerdist Contest. The second I read the description of Jenny Graham-Jones “1000 Faces” I knew I had to have a copy. That kind of dystopian, bleak-future vision of our world - where everyone wears a mask and all is never as it seems - is my kind of jam. Take a look at the submissions, you’re sure to find something great.

Until next time, my dear animals.

Today is Publication Day for the Bones of the Past!

It has been a very, very long road to get to this point: I started writing what would eventually become the Books of Dust and Bone in January 2010. I made my way to Inkshares in late 2015 and launched my funding campaign on December 18. With support from you, my readers, I managed to place in the top 3 of the Sword and Laser contest (The Sequel) and on January 15, 2016 won a publication deal. Today, the book is available in hundreds of brick and mortar stores across North America, not to mention a number of online retailers worldwide.

I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the final product!

Once you have had a chance to read The Bones of the Past, I would really appreciate a review! Reviews are the single most important factor in the continued success of a book. Just a short note (a sentence or 2 is all it takes!) to tell other people what you thought really can make all the difference. Those who would like to help even more – please copy and paste your review to all of the sites listed below!

Amazon

Goodreads

Indigo

Barnes and Noble

 Thank you all yet again!!!