@Jamison Stone "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" - Sir Winston Churchill
Wednesday updates are becoming my favorite updates. I really enjoy taking a day off my campaigning to throw recommendations at other people’s books that I think really deserve at least as much of your attention as my own.
This week, I want to spotlight M. Robert Randolph’s book, Wings of the Crallow.
In the first paragraph alone, Wings of the Crallow snatches up your attention, then immediately subverts your expectations. This is the kind of experience you can expect to have throughout all of the story currently available to read. The highly symbolic prose of the story’s content lies somewhere between Stephen King’s Dark Tower and ancient epic poetry. Modern writing terminology doesn’t even properly convey what this story is. It’s not merely a story, it’s a journey. Wings of the Crallow is a timeless, utterly phenomenal story I cannot recommend higher. Pre-order it immediately.
And on a separate note, Tantalus Depths has just passed 600 pre-orders!
I’m completely over the moon about this. Tantalus Depths is so close to that finish line...
We still have a lot left to do, but we’ve made it so much farther than most books manage here. I feel destined to reach that sweet, sweet 750. We only have 19 days to get there, though, so everyone get ready for the final push!
Also, as promised, I’ll be releasing chapter 2 as a reward for getting us to 600. Expect me to upload that and my video reading of it some time tomorrow!
You are all such incredible people for getting Tantalus Depths this far. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
My dear Animals,
After this update I’m out. Radio Silent. Taking a Hike. You could say I’m ‘Going Astray.’ (Alluding to Animal in Man’s first chapter.) You won’t get another update from me until my manuscript is done, I swear it. And in this final update before its arrival, I’m pleased to report that the writing is progressing faster now than ever before. But enough about my own work. I wanted to shine a brighter light on three sci-fi novels that have totally got me on their hooks this week.
Lady Timekeeper: Cities in the Dust is co-authored by two very dear friends of mine, Marie Green and MK McFadden, who I’ve known for almost three years now. We grew up on criticizing each others’ work in Full Sail University’s Creative Writing Master’s program, so I can tell you truly: there are no other authors I know better ‘round here than them, and their work is worth your attention. Writing about time-travel can be extremely difficult (I know, I’ve tried), but Marie and MK manage to weave two of the most important story elements into the complexities of the concept: ACTION and SUSPENSE. Go follow Lady Timekeeper right now!
For the second spotlighted book… A quick story, if I may: so the other day I was in the forums dropping my two cents about comment etiquette, when an unfamiliar name came up as a notification. “Kaytalin Platt liked your…” etc. etc. So I checked in on her, and lo and behold found this amazing story she’s putting together, “The Living God.” Right now, as I type this, there are simply NOT ENOUGH FOLLOWERS on that draft. It’s another story about time travel (I’m sensing a theme here!), but it’s set in an epic fantasy world. It’s like Jeremy McGuire (or whoever) said in his movie, “You had me at ‘Time Mage.’” Please go follow Kaytalin’s draft.
Another quick[er] story: I got an email yesterday informing me that Brien Shores’ novel “I Think You Dropped This” has returned to Inkshares for a renewed funding campaign. What sort of world do we live in where writing this good can’t make its funding goal? Perhaps a world where people who are reading this aren’t clicking this link to check out Brien’s amazing book. I don’t want to live in a world like that. The mouse is in your hand, as is the power, to make that ardent wish a reality. ...OK, ok, enough with the meta… The bottom line is, Brien’s storytelling is a mind-f**king good time. You will be pleasantly puzzled one moment, and laughing out loud the next. Go check out “I Think You Dropped This.”
(One last look at the breathtaking artwork for The Animal in Man, shall we? Credit to artist Ilie Vaduva.)
Peace out, you Animals. No more updates from me until the big one hits, but if you ever want to get a hold of me, I’m a DM or a tweet away.
Hello guys, gals, robots,
I figured I might as well keep you guys a little updated as thanks for following this project.
I’m a little behind schedule getting the Draft version of the campaign ready. Mostly because it entails having images and a video and a bunch of things ready to launch and I want to get this right.
On the bright side, the first draft worthy of being sent to beta readers is almost ready and I’m very excited about it. I had a blast writing it so I’m tentatively optimistic you’ll enjoy reading it.
As a ’treat’ for you who are early into this project, here are some sketches of the main characters’ heads in Arch Android.
I’m mostly trying to be a better feel of how I want them to look so I can make a temporary cover. I’m still planning on getting the amazing Eric Belisle to do his interpretation of whatever I come up with for the final cover. Hopefully I can convince him to do that.
Thanks for your support. Let’s get more people on board so that when this project launches it gets funded so fast I won’t even have time to get an ulcer (this time).
Cheers,
JF
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G1xgFZnvX1COvAnDHyCwh0QFVwkUNNylMDr8760IBaY/edit?usp=sharingHello and a welcoming week full of good things and adventure to you all!!! I am setting a personal goal to reach 300 pre-orders by August 14th, when I finish funding, and I want to let folks know that I am one (ONE!!!!) follower away from posting the next chapter! I’m hoping to put it up first thing tomorrow (all is written, all I’m waiting on is a friendly follow from one soul! If you know someone who might be interested, send ’em my way! Tis FREE!!!)
Speaking of awesome, all of you guys ROCK!!! I keep smiling and dancing and have nothing but absolute exultation for everyone who’s cheered from my corner, whether they cheered silently or financially or in letters or in ANY form! I’ve felt your intentions and I treasure them with all my heart.
Now for the important bit; I’ve finished 5 of the fully illustrated spiral bound books but I’ve run out of the proper paper type, so I’ll bee picking that up first thing tomorrow and hopefully the other nine will be done and ready by Friday. And Skylar, I am so sorry to take so long. I’m working on your Raffle Prize, I promise! Had to all but start from scratch, but now it’s even better! To the other winners, I haven’t forgotten you either! I’ll ask your preferences (or mail the finished products) with the spiral bound pieces this Friday (unless something comes up, but something’s not invited this week!)
Okay, okay, I’ve stalled long enough. This is a companion piece to Kalla Names a Pup. It may or may not be suitable for children, so please pre-read it first (as with any of these stories. My guess for the most child-friendly pieces are Bosco, Pretty Girl, Telles and
the Kiki tales, in that order. The rest might be, of course. None of these are, like, vile... but do make your own judgment calls!
The indented one is this week’s
--->;;;;Kalla Downs a Stag
Have an AMAZING WEEK and Direct Message me at ANY TIME!!! Including for spontaneous compliments or reviews!
TO: Avalon Council Members
RE: “Welcome-bot” implementation
Why Welcome-bots? Because the Proxies are terrifying. Allow me to elaborate.
When the human race was spared and brought to Avalon they were greeted by the silver-skinned, glowing blue androids that represented the Aetherians. The Aetherians had designed Avalon, but rather than meet humanity in person, they used these strikingly beautiful machines as their proxies. The Proxies are nice enough, they are certainly programmed to be cordial, but there are also quite terrifying in a way. They come and go as they please, disappearing into the shadows of God-knows-where only to reemerge when help is needed, like synthetic nightmare genies.
Alright, perhaps that was a bit over the top, but my point still stands. The Welcome-bots are designed by humans with the compassion born naturally out of human beings. The Proxies (and I’m guessing, I didn’t make the bloody things) seem to be made to be as compassionate as some other race thinks will be acceptable to humans. We already have enough people disturbed by Avalon’s entire setup that they are leaving to live on other planets, we can’t welcome new arrivals with the strangely polite wraiths that first welcomed us.
But, I know what you’re saying. Welcome-bots are still going to be machines and if you are so concerned about showing off human compassion then why not meet the new arrivals with actual human beings and not a glorified calculator with manners. Worry not, because that is exactly what we are going to do. After the initial meeting with customs officials, the Welcome-bots will be able to completely brief new arrivals and answer the myriad of questions they will undoubtedly have. They’ll get them up to speed on our customs, regulations and laws. We’ll call it “orientation”.
There’s no avoiding the Proxies, to be sure, but I’d rather they not be the face of Avalon. All who end leaving Avalon inevitably complain about the Proxies and the Aetherians and whatever dark motivations they must have for the human race. Whatever your feelings on the matter, you must agree that it is in our best interest first and foremost to present a different, friendlier, more human face. A human face on a flying monitor, yes, but a little whimsy never hurt, did it?
Which brings us to Jeb Nolan’s design for the Welcome-bots and the concerns about that design. Yes Jeb is an eccentric, yes he writes poetry about cats and yes, he is a “one shower a week” type of person. But, there is no denying that his design work on the prototype Welcome-bots has been sound. I think the "flying television" set design has a certain nostalgic sensibility to it. After we’ve used this particular model for a extended trial run, we can revisit other proposed designs, although I must veto the “Hug-o-matic” droids that we proposed last week. I’ve been told that some alien species may take a sudden embrace as an act of aggression.
If we are all in agreement, we can begin rolling out the Welcome-bot prototypes to all major government processing centers, including the Avalon Intelligence Service headquarters. Let us propose a trial run of no more than a year?
I look forward to getting your feedback on the matter.
Sincerely,
Professor Philip Thorne
Avalon Council
Earth Historical Preservation Society
(There’s only 12 DAYS LEFT to pre-order and make this book a reality, please consider pre-ordering TODAY and see the world of Avalon and its influence on the entire system come to life!
The second draft is finished and I’m rounding up beta readers NOW!)
So commences the last leg of our journey to Tantalus 13...
That’s right. We’re about to go into our last three weeks of the pre-order campaign, and Tantalus Depths is currently standing at an extremely respectable 595 pre-orders. That full publishing deal is so close, I can smell it in the water.
We also hit a personal goal of mine this weekend. As some of you know, Tantalus Depths started its pre-order campaign on Inkshares as an entrant to the Geek and Sundry Hard Sci-Fi competition, wherein we came in 5th place. Well, this weekend Tantalus Depths officially passed Tal Klein’s The Punch Escrow in current pre-orders.
That’s right. Tantalus Depths now has more pre-orders than the book that won the contest Tantalus Depths lost.
Big thanks to Tal for setting that bar so high and giving me an extra lofty goal to aspire to.
If you haven’t already purchased a copy of his book, please do so. I’d be more than happy to have that bar raised above me again.
Unless I’m mistaken, Tantalus Depths is also the #1 most pre-ordered hard sci-fi book on all of Inkshares now. Another huge honor I barely feel I deserve.
There’s no time to gloat now, though. We still need those 155 pre-orders to hit that final goal (which is, officially, the last goal I have left for this campaign). Remember: when we hit 600 pre-orders, I’m releasing chapter 2 on Inkshares with another video of me reading it. That’s only five orders away right now. Let’s get there today!
Another huge thanks to all the readers, writers, and syndicates who’ve helped get Tantalus Depths where it is right now. We’re going all the way, guys. Don’t lose sight of that prize!
Dear friends
I come to you as the bearer of good news. Very good news!
Blurbs and reviews for The Catcher’s Trap are trickling in, and I can’t be more thankful and proud. I share with you three blurbs that put a smile on my face:
"Ricardo Henriquez’s impressive use of description and storytelling weaves a most captivating introduction of macabre and beauty in his new series. Readers should clear their schedules the day they open The Catcher’s Trap. As soon as they finish chapter one... there is no stopping until the final page has been reached." Alicia Smock, Chicago Books Examiner
“With his debut novel, “The Catchers Trap,” Ricardo Henriquez sucks the reader into a vortex of suspense, sarcasm and stunning detail that is both captivating and thrilling. The novel is engaging to both horror and non-horror fans, with a read that is more than meets the eye.” Christine Bucci-Caprilozzi, Senior Editor for Horror News Network
“The Catcher’s Trap is a riveting story that kept me up reading far too late more than once. Equal parts terrifying and heroic, Andres’ descent into a nightmare existence and back is going stay with me for a long time. I hope Mr. Henriquez has a sequel in the works, because I need to know what happens next, and there’s so much more about the Catcher’s world to explore.” Dave Barret, Author of It’s All Fun and Games, and Nerdist contest winner.
As an author I want nothing more than people to enjoy my work. The fact that those who have read The Catcher’s Trap like it, encourages me to continue writing and sharing the stories I carry inside of me.
In other great news, Nerdist and Inkshares announced yesterday at Comic-Con that our anthology Too Many Controllers was picked to be part of the Nerdist collection. What does this mean? It means that Nerdist will put their marketing power behind our project to make sure it is a successful one. This is a great honor that I share with other 14 talented writers.
Finally, just a reminder that in about a month, on August 27th, I’ll be at the Connecticut Horror Fest, at The Matrix Conference Center in Danbury. If you are in the area, come and say hello. I’ll have free advance readers copies of The Catcher’s Trap and other chachkies to share.
Have a Fantastic Week.
Ricardo
Thank you to everyone who has placed a repeat order for SQUIDS IN following my last update. As a result the book is that little bit closer to publication.
Hendrix the Octopus is continuing in his promotion of the book, though personally I suspect he’s just playing Pokemon Go!
Special thanks to Nick Holden who ordered 10 BOOKS!!! Nick races in the Britcar series over here in the UK in a Renaultsport RS-01 and uses one of my Race-Keeper HDX2 onboard video-data logging systems. Now tell me that this isn’t a gorgeous looking race car...
110 orders in 46 days. LET’S DO THIS!!!
Matthew