Andres discovers that living a normal life is impossible when the blood of monsters run through your veins.
See below for more content related to After Man’s back story.
Less than 6 hours to go. Then the production starts for After Man. We cleared 300 readers yesterday and are now approaching 350 copies sold. That may not seem like a lot, especially compared to Rise’s 609 readers during the contest and 780 copies sold to date, but 350 copies is still a large number of books. More copies means more people reading and more people talking about it and more people hearing about it. That’s the key to a book taking off. So thanks to you for helping make that happen. Also, I’d like to say a big thanks to Jim Chatfield for his being the 300th reader to hop on board After Man’s support train and then later bringing his wife on board! It’s things like this, people like you choosing to not only preorder but to go and find someone else to jump on board, that make an author smile a lot inside.
Now for what’s next for After Man. First up will be my finishing the rewrite of the manuscript. After that, the same editing and production process as before with Rise begins. It will be several months before this book is ready. Rise took almost a full year to get out to people (Nerdist Contest ended 30 Sept 2015, release date is 13 Sept 2016). After Man is going to be shorter than Rise or Fall (which I’ve completed btw. Keep an eye out for that one), but I still expect it to be in production until at least Jan 2017. And remember, this time I’ll be going to San Francisco to sign all of these before they are shipped for sure. That’s part of what you helped make happen by preordering. I likely won’t be able to do the same for Rise, but everyone who preorders After Man will get one of those signed copies.
As always, some content for you, this time in the form of a news headline from long in the past. Enjoy!
Martin Hoffman, Nobel Prize-Winning Geneticist and Last Man On Earth, Is Dead at 76
by Alexandra St. Fleur May 4, 2121
Martin Hoffman, who shared the 2100 Nobel Prize in Genetics for discovering a new more stable method for artificial insemination of the female egg using artificially create sperm using female genetic contributions, died on Sunday in East Sussex, England. He was 76.
The cause was complications of chorioepithelioma resulting from his exposure to the same viral agent released at the end of World War III in 2095 that led to what is now called the Great Death, the death of all Y-chromosome carrying males.
As a geneticist, Dr. Hoffman played a key role in the advancement of an early 21st century process wherein skin cells from adult females could be harvested and used to artificially inseminate an egg, thus creating an embryo. His Nobel Prize-winning discovery, which he shared with Dr. Rebecca Smalley and Dr. Roberta Curl of Rice University in Houston, was the demonstration of specification of hPGC-like cells (hPGCLCs) from germline competent pluripotent stem cells.
Dr. Hoffman, a life long lover of art and service to community, always gave credit to his partners for the lionshare of the work put in to finish the revolution of this new process, a key step in preserving humanity in the wake of the Great Death.
"He always gave us the credit, and never wanted any accolades," said Dr. Smalley, formerly a genetics professor at Houston university, where Dr. Hoffmann worked for nearly two decades after the war before returning to England in the fall of 2115 because of failing health.
"Unlike most discoveries in genetics, this was immediately impactful," said Gina Forrino, a science writer who worked with Dr. Hoffman at the Science Museum of London for a brief stint in 2116 before he officially left public life and returned home to East Sussex. "Everyone in the world felt this. I mean, the work of those three saved humanity."
Dr. Hoffmann studied genetics at the University of Sheffield, earning his undergraduate degree in 2067, and completed his Ph.D there in 2070 with a focus on Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. As a student, he divided his time between conducting experiments, playing tennis and amateur painting.
Dr. Hoffman completed postdoctoral work in the United States and Canada in 2073 and returned to England to work as a teacher at the University of Sussex.
He began working with Dr. Smalley and Dr. Curl at Rice in the fall of 2091, two years after World War III erupted in central Asia. In addition to his wife of 53 years, Mary, he is survived by two daughters, Stephany and Diana.
Hello!
It’s Sunday and we are at 199 orders. Unbelievable. Thank you all SO much.
If any of you reading this plan on ordering Cape’s Side and haven’t yet (or you have some spare credits lying around!), I’d love to hit 200 by tomorrow!
This weekend has been a huge boost, and BIG shout out to Joni Dee for helping me out! It’s a long tough road and help & support from fellow inksharians is always nice! If you haven’t checked out his book, AND THE WOLF SHALL DWELL, you’re missing out!
The GEEK & SUNDRY contest in almost over! It’s been a heck of a month, if you haven’t backed a book yet you have a few more hours to do so!
The top 5 as of this writing are:
THE PUNCH ESCROW by TAL M. KLEIN
THE PIRATES OF MONTANA by ERIN S. EVAN
WE CLOCKED THE T-REX by RONALD VALLE
TANTALUS DEPTHS by EVAN GRAHAM
It’s quite the race and can’t wait to see the outcome! Best of luck to you all!
Finally, I just want to say I cannot believe that this update is going out to 220 people! Thank you all so much for believing in me, this book, and your continued support.
p.s SCRIBBLES by TABI CARD (who designed the Cape’s Side cover art) received an extension until Thursday! Help get SCRIBBLES: A COLLECTION OF WORDS to Quill!
Dear friends and followers,
One week ago, we were at 246 orders. Within 2 hours of my last update, we hit 250, and we closed the day at 251. Today, we are at 274. This means two things:
First, that this is definitely happening. When I say "this will be published", it will no longer be with the unspoken disclaimer "if I get the pre-orders". This will be published. You will get your books. And you will have my thanks: I couldn’t have done this without you, and I still can’t do this without you. The question now is whether I win the coveted Fully Funded publishing deal, or whether I settle for the light Quill publishing deal. That, too, will depend on you and others like you--whether or not I hit that shining goal of 750 pre-orders.
And second, it means that Chez Doris will be getting their cheque at the end of the month. Right now, the donation amount stands at $23. Can we make it exceed $50? I certainly hope so!
So, let’s move on now to the other books on the Inkshares funding shelf....
1) "And The Wolf Shall Dwell", by Joni Dee: a modern spy thriller set in London, in which an ordinary everyman and a retired agent find themselves drawn together in ... well, that would be the mystery. Dee’s strength is in setting and plotting: he knows where he is, and he knows where he’s going. He certainly gives an impression of knowing what he’s talking about as he paints the lives of his protagonists and the world they move in. If ever there was a book that could benefit from hitting the Full Funding goal, it would be this one.
2) "Scribbles", by Tabi Card: an eclectic collection of short stories. I’ve spoken about this book in an update before, but I believe it bears repeating: this is a good book, and it contains well-written stories. I’ve been impressed by the excerpts I’ve read, and I believe this to be true. Ms Card has had an extension to her funding period since last I spoke of her book, to this coming Thursday. She still needs 62 orders.
Folks, normally I just present books here to draw your attention to them: no pressure! This time, I’m actually going to ask you all to check your accounts for any spare credits you can throw in the direction of one or the other (or both!) of them. They need all the help they can get.
We’re all counting on you.
Aside from that ... have fun, and keep reading.
Pirates!! I have great news!!
The Break the Bechdel with Strong Female Characters Syndicate has chosen the Pirates of Montana as its May Syndicate pick!!
It is an honor to be selected. I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude right now. Thank you so much to everyone that voted for the book!!
Hello, everyone!
I hope your weekend has been great! As promised, I have posted a bonus issue of the Avalon Chronicler, including another piece of cryptic microfiction. What does it all mean? You’ll have to read the full novel to find out!
http://avalonchronicler.blogspot.com/2016/05/editorial-are-free-or-are-we-ants.html
This week I will be posting a video of a reading of one of the later, unreleased chapters. Sometimes it is best to let the work speak for itself! So, stay tuned for that!
If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy yet, now is the time to get it! We are coming very close to our first raffle for a minor role in the book! Those of you who have pre-ordered already THANK YOU so much for believing in this novel and its potential. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and talk to you soon!
Jason
@atomicboywonder
Hello, readers!
