AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[No Easter Bunnies were harmed in the writing of this update] [...but there might be a hollowed-out bunny-human ribcage or two in the latest scene I wrote for “The Animal in Man.” No joke… Happy Easter.]

Good day, animals. **

Just a quick update to let all The Animal in Man’s followers know that its author is still alive and semi-well (wife just passed her flu to me, I suspect). Some of you have messaged me directly, wondering when the book will be released. Well, I cannot say for certain, and I hesitate to confirm anything, but by my best guesstimate you will have the completed story at your fingertips no sooner than late-2016. (In the meantime, there are PLENTY of other books on inkshares to blow your mind!) I might have mentioned this in a previous update… when I got back into writing it, I revitalized my outline and discovered that this story is much more massive than I realized.

“Why not cut it into a trilogy then, Joe?” Good question! The reason I won’t do so is because it’s ONE complete story, an epic adventure that ramps up quickly and never slows down, start to finish, all within about two week’s time (I think). It is, however, diced up into three parts… Maybe three and a half.

Some of the characters you’ll meet along the way, besides our heroic and cunning fox Maxan, include:

• A white wolf wizard (seen in chapter 1)
• His apprentices, twin squirrels
• An octopus samurai (guess how many swords)
• A one-winged eagle preacher
• A rhino who charges through buildings
• A grey horned owl sorcerer who never blinks
• A thousand-year old [senile?] snapping turtle
• A grizzly bear wasted away by poison

And more… I promise this is not going to be a cutesy tale of anthropomorphic, cuddly snugglemongers. No. It’s a tale about killers. Because in case we’ve forgotten… Animals are killers.

Are we any better?

Peace to you and yours this holiday.

** (My mom was wondering why I’m calling her an animal with every update... Kind of awkward... When I call you animals, please know that I do so with the utmost endearment, and remember that the question of whether or not mankind is any better than animal-kind is one of the central questions driving the story. Animals are also capable of love, I believe, and I do so love each and every one of you.Thank you for your support and attention.

Well, I’m not dead, and neither is A Beast Requires. 

We all fall short sometimes. It sucks. It can be devastating. In the months since the campaign ended, life gave me constant reminders that time keeps moving on. I lost a war with a dying washing machine, celebrated the one year anniversary with one of my gaming groups, and failed once again at reading all seven volumes of In Search of Lost Time. 

I’ve also kept editing. It’s been a slow process, often times with complete rewrites of scenes. The brain lives in autocorrect mode, skipping over homonyms and dangling commas. I wish I could do it all via computer, but I need my dead trees and red pen. But after months of working at it, I have the first ten chapters done. 

You all were behind me in the campaign. You all bolstered my confidence, forming a wall of support that encouraged me to push forward even when my emotions were telling me otherwise. It meant the world to me. So I have this things. It’s up on Google Drive. If you want to read it, let me know. 

Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes.

All at once - the time has come:

I’m ready for it. I’M PREPARED FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.

Amazon has unlocked the ability to leave reviews for Asteroid Made of Dragons.

You all have the paperback and ebook - I need  you to go leave an honest review. Today, tomorrow - whenever you get done reading. It’s the most important thing you’ve done for me. As crass as it is to say - MORE important than backing the book in the first place.

Reviews on Goodreads are also great!

Even just clicking some stars is a huge help. Text reviews are monumental.

So please - as you finish reading, take a moment to leave a review. I want to know, I need to know - and if the book is going to stand a chance after the first couple of weeks, the world needs to know what you thought of it.

Other Articles of Note

• Spell/Sword and The Riddle Box FREE on Kindle 4/5-4/9.
  
• I still have download codes for the Audible audiobook of Spell/Sword - basically ask me for one if you want it? I will devise some sort of hoop for you to jump through.
• LAUNCH PARTY 4/5 Avid Bookshop - Athens, GA - 630p EST. (You all must be there. I’m going to drink too much and make people listen to me. It’s ALL I ever want.)
• Some upstart by the name of...*checks notes*...Thomas Ferret is taking the leap into getting his novel Pilot X published through Inkshares. I disapprove of this sort of rabble clogging up the halls here, but he’s a radio DJ and you know that medium is dying. Somewhere in the midwest, the Board and Grazer? It’s about farming and cows.  His alleged book is about time travel and I HATE THAT. https://www.inkshares.com/books/pilot-x

You’re going to be hearing a lot from me over the next few weeks. How are you? When are you all going to start calling in the tremendous backlog of favors I owe you?