And just like that - there's no turning back.

The interior of Asteroid Made of Dragons has been approved and it's on the way to be printed. Inkshares staff, Bethany at Girl Friday Production, the irrepressible copy editor Carrie, the mysterious being I only know as DES (Designer), and my Pokemon trainers Veronica and Tom from Sword & Laser have all given the nod. Final cover tweaks are coming today as well and we're off to physical production.

I feel odd about it. I've self-published before, so there was much more of a feeling of instant gratification when I put the book out. After intense beta reading and copy editing by friends and colleagues - I clicked a few buttons and it was done. You could order the book immediately. That moment of white-hot excitement as I pushed 'GO' and tossed my stuff out into the world - it was wonderful. And then, inevitably, I'd realize I'd goofed on stuff.  The problem with being both writer AND publisher is you get to overrule a lot of sensible things when you WANT BOOK NOW. My first book, I actually pulled it down, re-edited it and put it back up on Amazon a few months after release because of all the snarky little copy edit and formatting problems. Ha, I had an ogre that changed names at least twice in one chapter.

So, the moment where I left to my own devices would have put this book out - was months ago. And in all that time, the book has only gotten stronger, cleaner, better - less prone to causing impromptu hauntings. Intellectually, this is amazing - readers will see a remarkably more polished form of my work this time around. But emotionally, hmm. It's been long enough that I've kind of come disconnected from the excitement of the book coming out? Maybe I'm just tamping down my expectations for what launch is going to be like, but in a weird way - it's like I'm excited about someone else's book coming out?

Stephen King (Uncle Stevie), has a phenomenal book called 'On Writing' - and one of the many passages I really took to heart was his edict that you have to put the book away after you write it. Long enough that you can read it as a stranger - that it doesn't sound like your own voice in your head. I think this is the first novel I've really been able to do that. Especially this week as we were working on the final copy edits - I found myself reading passages of AMOD and thinking Who wrote this? This is pretty good. Ha ha, Sideways is the best.

And you must now how much it pains me to say this about my own stuff. I am a quiet, quivering ball of self-loathing. 

But quite honestly - I kept feeling a new excitement. Not the sweaty, PUSH THE BUTTON release fervor I've felt before - but more of a Christmas morning, oh, just you wait until you see what I got you kind of feeling. As dangerous and perilous for my anxiety as this is to even think or type - I felt ...proud...of the book. I wanted to swagger.

I hope this feeling lasts. I'm going to ride it as long as I can - until the crippling doubt returns, natch.

Thank you all again - I can never say it enough. Real bookstores are buying the book! You are going to get to read my book in just a few weeks! You did this. YOU DID THIS.

It's all your fault.

More reports as they come in - be prepared, we're on target for release at the beginning of April - so you're going to hear more and more from me soon.

NOTES OF INTEREST

Audiobook giveaway for Spell/Sword - Precursor novel to AMOD. - ends 1/31

My jam.

My twitter! - c'mon and follow me people! It is SOLID GOLD over there. Just me whining and complaining ALL THE TIME.

Dear readers and supporters, friends,

The day nears! In about a month’s time The Life Engineered is going to launch. While I thank you with every breath I take these days there is no time for lengthy speeches about gratitude. Indeed, the time is for action! My friends, in the next weeks I need to drum up as much interest in The Life Engineered as I possibly can and I’m kicking it off with a bang.

On February 4th, 5th and 6th I will begin San Fransisco. My mission? I want to personally sign each and every copy of The Life Engineered going to supporters. All of them. Like a maniac or some kind of machine.

While I’m on the West Coast however, I might as well try to hang out with a few of you that are in the area. So on Saturday February 6th I will be hanging out at Borderlands Books. I don’t know if that’s going to be an official event or just me sitting at a table drinking all their coffee. I’m still working out the details. All I can tell you is that starting at 3pm, maybe earlier, I’ll be at Borderlands Books in San Fransisco. I’ll probably have prints or at least papers and I’ll answer questions about The Life Engineered, Inkshares, why I think robots are awesome, I’ll tell the story of my car accident and why the top of my feet tickle all the time (the secret is nerve damage).

As I get more details I’ll send out more updates but I’ll also be Tweeting about it and posting to my writer’s Facebook page, so why don’t you follow me on these platforms?

Guys, gals, sentient machines masquerading as humans… there is some cool stuff down the pipes and I really want you to be involved.

 Cheers, JF

A mini update!

• I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the infamous John Robin. We chatted about his epic fantasy, Blood Dawn. Click here to read it!

• There are now five (5!!) different Syndicates to choose from. Syndicates are a great way to support new authors and projects each month, even if you don’t have the time to peruse and choose the projects yourself. Check them out here!

• And last, but not least: We already knew this was coming, but as of today, Seven Shards is officially part of the Quill collection!!! Take a look here!

That’s it. Short and sweet!

Goodnight!

It's been awhile since we've chatted...

Was looking through the folder on my computer with all of my story bits in it and came across a map I made of Umberland, years back, the fictional landmass where the bulk of Disintegration takes place.

As you can see, it's an almost UK-sized landmass. I came up with its general shape by looking at a bathymetric map of the Atlantic (thanks Google!), and then I extrapolated high points on the seafloor to be above sea level.

I just added a few names to it, in honor of a few multi-copy supporters of Disintegration: Kay Prunty, Brian Whiton, Dan Broyles and Dan Paskell all have place names on the island. Map's probably hard to read, but the places are: Prunty's Quay (at the very bottom of the island), Whiton's Heath (a major trading post), Broyles Moor and Paskell's Moor (which are the anchor points of a bridge). The bay created by the upper peninsula isn't marked, but I'm thinking naming it for Bob Broad. Broad's Bay? Broad Bay?

There are plenty of place names up for grabs, and character names, too. So, if you ordered more than one copy, let me know what you might like to bear your name and ...

His book has already been mentioned on io9.com and it's getting really good reviews, so if you like robots, give it a chance and ORDER IT ON MARCH 1st!

SIXTH, AND FINALLY, I am going into deep editing mode for the next month. I will be doing little "Writer's Log" updates periodically, but otherwise I'll be going internet-silent until I finish my manuscript.

(We'll see how that goes.)

Hello everyone,

Sorry about the recent radio silence lately, but in truth, there really hasn't been anything happening here that warrants an update. We're currently sitting at 191 copies  of Storm of Fury sold, which leaves us with 59 books remaining and 45 days to sell them.

The number of sales has increased since my last update, which is due to the fantastic efforts of my very generous family. And while every sale is a good one, I can't help but feel disheartened by it. There has been little to no growth in Storm of Fury's following, which is a very bad thing. While I may be able to sell a few here and there, very soon sales will grind to a halt.

As we currently stand, we have to sell more than one copy each day, at the very least, in order to hit 250 copies in time. Some might begin to worry. Others might start to have doubts.

But not me.

I will not doubt this project, not for a single moment and not even in its final day. I do not take my writing lightly, and I've spent years crafting story after story, and I would not dare present one for publishing that wasn't worthy of an audience. I know Storm of Fury is a story worth reading and sharing, I know it's a novel worth publishing. I've seen the reviews my fellow peers and authors have left on SoF's page, and I've seen them rally to support me. The people here at Inkshares have helped SoF rise into the view of potential readers since day one, and I know they'll continue to do so until the end. I couldn't do this without the people I've met here and I couldn't do this without each and every one of you. You, my readers, are the most important part of this whole campaign. You're the reason I haven't given up, for I know that you will someday soon hold a copy of this book in your hands.

Thank you. Thank you for your contributions and continued support.

59 more copies? Peace of cake.

-Andrew

 Hello Everyone! 

I have some great news! RUNE's schedule and publication date has just been finalized! Although there are many deliverables on RUNE's production timeline (publishing and marketing a book is a MASSIVE undertaking), the one readers will be most interested in is:

RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE will be published on November 1st, 2016!

Additional good news is that YOU will be getting your copies before this date AND we will also be able to have special early release copies for New York Comic-Con, too! We don’t know the exact date books will be shipped to you, but I’ll keep you posted!

Even though you will be getting you books before November, I know this is still a long way out. Reading this, I’m sure you are feeling the same emotion I initially felt upon hearing the news: disappointment that RUNE will not be published sooner like originally planned. Despite that initial feeling, as I work more closely with both Inkshares and Girl Friday Productions, and see the tremendous amount of work being put into RUNE, that disappointment has been transformed into appreciation and gratitude. While I know you do not see this hard work first hand, I will do my best to keep you updated on our progress so you can see all we are doing to polish RUNE into printed perfection—which will hopefully help curb your disappointment, even if only a little.

I can go on and on about this and am happy to answer any questions over at @StoneJamison, or down below in the comments, however, I want to keep this update quick so as to not fill up your inbox. Although there are MANY milestones ahead, the next important steps are Cover Design and Developmental Edits!

Cover: I have a call later today where the RUNE team will be solidifying our collective vision for the cover so the designer can begin to move forward with samples for review and selection. There are usually three rounds to this process. The early samples will focus on options of several different directions and the later rounds will polish that vision, bringing it into a finalized physical form. The designer’s previous work is fantastic and I am very excited to see what he produces. I will keep you all updated as we progress!

Developmental Edits: Editing a 500+ page Fantasy/Sci-Fi epic is no small feat. Although RUNE has already had several rounds of professional editing, there is always ways to make a novel of this magnitude more engaging, engrossing, and awe-inspiring! I have been tremendously pleased with the pre- Girl Friday Productions edits, and am now very excited to see their continued polish added to RUNE. The next round of Developmental edits should be done by the end of next month, and then wrapped up by the end of March with copy editing and proofreading to follow in the months to come.

As I said, there are many more milestones after that (I have not even gotten started on marketing!) but for now I’ll end this update. The road to publication is a long one, however, I am so very excited to have you all along for the ride. RUNE OF THE APPRENTICE is going to enliven the hearts and minds of readers across the globe, and it warms MY heart knowing that you all are here to partake in this EPIC journey!

By now you will have received your notification that "Nowhere Else I Want to Be" has reached the 750 pre-order mark and is in production. 

Whew.

Thank you to all of you who pre-ordered this memoir, who either believed in me or the story or the women I write about enough to take a chance.

You can still pre-order. There is no longer a ten-book limit, and bulk orders over five cost $10.00 per book instead of $14.99.

The January 2016 promotion is still on: pre-order this month and you'll receive a gift mug when the book publishes.

Thanks again! We're on our way.