I enjoy writing about things that have a social impact. I have met victims of the war in Syria and i...
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!
Thank you all yet again!!!
It is just past the end of the second full week of the Inkshares/Nerdist science fiction novel contest, and my entry, Mutants: Uprising, is tied for second (so technically in 2nd, alphabetically). I spent a good part of the week in third, and then yesterday was TIED FOR THIRD with two other books, but a surge of support put me up, and here we are today.
Needless to say, without continued support from YOU (and you, and you too) we won’t be able to stay in the running. Mutants: Uprising was nominated in a couple Inkshares Syndicates this month, and I am hopeful that I might get at least one to back me. It would be an immense boost to my campaign!
Less than four weeks to go. Never give up, never surrender!
I’ve had some questions about the Lovecraft connection in my novel, and while I’m wary of giving away too much, I’m going to let you, my followers, in on part of it. The Cthulhu/Lovecraft connection is a surprise for Jane, who has a lot on her plate already, so it isn’t present except as foreshadowing in the early parts of the novel.
Lovecraft exists in my universe, only he was a mutant - a psychic who managed to contact a much stronger psychic Presence in another dimension...and It wants to come here. My main character (you) stumbles into this information the further she goes, as the conflict escalates from local gangs to shadowy organizations who may or may not want the world as we know it to end.
Order your copy today!
~ Jane-Holly
Hey, readers.
1000 Faces is currently jostling with a couple of other books for 3rd place in the Nerdist contest. If you like the book- if you like the concept...
"In a paranoid near-future where every private part of the internet is public, people hide their identities behind digital masks. Desperate for intimacy in this impersonal world, a mask designer risks everything to feel close to another human being."
Please consider preordering. There are 2 excerpts you can read right now, which will introduce you to the main character, Kara Finch, and the world she lives in:
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-1-
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-2-
~ Jenny
Hello, readers.
If you haven’t already, please check out my new project, 1000 Faces. It’s currently 6th place in the Nerdist sci-fi contest. If it ends the contest in the top 3, it’ll get a full publishing deal. Here are a couple of excerpts from the novel:
https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-1-https://www.inkshares.com/books/1000-faces/book_segments/excerpt-2-
Dear Readers and Followers,
How exciting! I have just added a video book trailer to the Mission 51 home page. When you have a moment, please check it out! :D
Updates, Faoii! Listen up!
As we get closer to publication day, I’ve noticed more excitement in the ranks. People are beginning to spread the word again, and more soldiers are coming to pick up their blades. As such, I’ve decided we need a minute to go back to the beginning.
For those of you who don’t already know this story, let me tell you how The Last Faoii came to be. I woke up from a dead sleep one night in 2012, wandered out to my living room, and typed out about 25 pages on my laptop. I didn’t know then how common this midnight writing would become as I worked to tell Faoii-Kaiya’s tale. But, even from the beginning, I knew this story wanted to be told.
Today, those original 25 pages have been cleaned up and tweaked, but they, for the most part, remain true to the original story that sparked Faoii five years ago. Now separated into three chapters, I’ve uploaded the beginning of Kaiya’s journey to Inkshares, (alongside the excerpts that are already there).
Since The Last Faoii manuscript is currently with its new editor, I cannot guarantee that these chapters will not change in the future, but you deserve to see them as they were when The Last Faoii was just a spark of inspiration in the middle of the night. I hope you enjoy.
Shields up
Faoii-Tahani
I am humbled and flabbergasted by the show of support I continue to receive for Mission 51! Thank you all so very much! After the first two weeks of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest, we are still in 1st place! More followers are following. Pre-orderers are pre-ordering. I am very grateful! :-)
I was especially floored when I took a look at the list of "Notable Readers" in the sidebar of the Discussion section of the Mission 51 project page. This is a list of successful Inkshares authors I greatly admire and I am honored to have their support! These are The Cool Kids of Inkshares! I encourage you to click on their names and support their work.
There are four more weeks to go in the contest. I am actively reaching out to everyone I know to ask them to join The Cool Kids Club, and that includes Mission 51 followers who are still on the sidelines. So if you haven’t yet placed your pre-order, perhaps Ned Stark can convince you...
"One must first purchase a Mission 51 pre-order!"
LOL. Again, thank you all very much for your kind support! I am blessed and grateful!
Peace and love!
(and join the club!)
Ferd 👽
The Punch Escrow is hitting bookstores on July 25 — less than 2 months from today. I wanted to give you guys an update on where things stand based on the increasing number of inbound questions:
- Book Tour: We have one. I hope one of our stops is in your town. You can check out the list of places and dates here: https://www.facebook.com/thepunchescrow/posts/1951228528444487:0 (if you haven’t already, please give The Punch Escrow a "Like" on FB when you’re there)
- Cover Design: It’s done and I will share the full cover as soon as we approve the proofs from the printer. It’s lovely and iconic. I couldn’t be happier! This book will be a lot of fun to hold. We’ve been very picky about materials and inks.
- Pre-sales: Some of you may have gotten an email stating that you’ve "backed a winner!" - yes, I’m super thrilled we’re moving a lot of pre-order units. I’m very happy the book is picking up steam. I don’t know what else to say about that other than: THANK YOU! and maybe also WOOHOO!
- The movie: I can’t really say anything about the movie other than tell you that Lionsgate didn’t only option the book, they optioned The Punch Escrow’s entire world or, as I like to call it, "The Future." What this means is that if things go well, there will be many other stories to come through various mediums, not just film. I continue to have very productive meetings with the creative team at Lionsgate, and I believe "The Future" is in very good hands.
- Blurbs: Here are all the amazing blurbs we’ve gotten for the book so far. The reviews are also starting to come in to the book’s Goodreads page from advance readers and reviewers:
“I read a lot of books but haven’t enjoyed one as much as The Punch Escrow in a long time. I picked it up for a cross-country flight and didn’t put it down until we landed in New York. Tal Klein creates a plausibly real future that sucks you in. He powers his story with action, twists, and a dash of humor. Young actors will be lining up to play the lead character, and any director worth his salt would kill (or at least teleport) for a chance to adapt The Punch Escrow.” —Andy Lewis, Book Editor, The Hollywood Reporter
“A compelling, approachable human narrative wrapped around a classic hard sci-fi nugget, The Punch Escrow dives into deep philosophical territory—the ethical limits of technology, and what it means to be human. Cinematically paced yet filled with smart asides, Klein pulls off the slick trick of giving readers plenty to think about in a suspenseful, entertaining package.” —Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica
“An alt-futuristic hard-science thriller with twists and turns you’ll never see coming. I couldn’t put it down.” —Felicia Day, author of You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)
“Klein transports us to a beautifully rendered near-future world. This is refreshingly original and immersive hard sci-fi. You’ll turn the last page and yearn for Joel Byram’s next chapter.” —Ben Brock Johnson, host of Codebreaker podcast and Marketplace Tech
“A headlong ride through a future where ‘huge international corporate conspiracy’ is a box you check on a form and teleportation takes you anywhere—it just blows you to bits first.” —Quentin Hardy, Head of Editorial, Google Cloud (formerly Deputy Tech Editor for The New York Times)
"The Punch Escrow has a cool high concept and an action-packed story that will leave your head spinning." —Daniel H. Wilson, The New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse and Clockwork Dynasty
“If I lived in the world of The Punch Escrow, I’d teleport around the world shoving copies of Tal M. Klein’s thrilling, hilarious, and whip-smart debut into everyone’s hands. Save me the trip—buy this novel now.” —Duane Swierczynski, author of Revolver and the bestselling Level 26 series
“A fast-paced near-future sci-fi adventure peppered with exotic technology and cultural references ranging from Karma Chameleon to the Ship of Theseus, The Punch Escrow will have you rooting for its plucky, sarcastic hero as he bounces between religious fanatics, secret agents, corporate hacks, and megalomaniacs in a quest to get his life back. If you’ve ever wanted to get Scotty drunk and ask him some tough questions about how those transporters work exactly, The Punch Escrow is the book for you.” —Robert Kroese, author of The Big Sheep and its sequel, The Last Iota
“This book angered me to my core, because it’s based on an idea that should have occurred to me. The fact that Tal executed it so well, and made such a page-turner out of it, just adds insult to injury.” —Scott Meyer, author of the Magic 2.0 series
“Some writers take us to the future so we can question the effects that technology can have on humanity on a global and personal scale, along with the impact upon the social fabric. Others do it to take us on a wild ride made all the more fantastic by pushing the boundaries of what we can expect from the world of tomorrow. Tal M. Klein masterfully balances both and sets it all to the beat of an 80s soundtrack. An excellent piece of contemporary science fiction.” —J-F. Dubeau, author of A God in the Shed and The Life Engineered