So it’s come to this... publication day.

To be honest, it snuck up on me. I thought the actual pub date was June 15th. Needless to say, I’m unprepared. 

I could bore you with a long text about how important your support has been, but instead, let’s take a quick look at what you were a part of accomplishing, shall we?

• We published a book. "Wasn’t that the goal?" Absolutely. But publishing a book is a huge deal, especially for the author. Of all the things we’ve done, 
  
• That book got great early reviews from CriptTV, Fangoria, the creator of Bates Motel and a few others who I had never dreamed of getting the attention of.
• Our book got optioned by Skydance to be produced by Akiva Goldsman. This is huge! (not automatic-tv-show-huge, but huge nonetheless) I’ve never even considered television as a medium for A God in the Shed, but obviously, others disagree.
• A God in the Shed is going to be an audiobook too.

All of that, and probably more in the future, because of Inkshares’ tireless work and your support. I know some of you had even forgotten you’d pre-ordered this book. That’s how long the road has been. Yet, here we are.

So what’s next?

• Well, hopefully you read and enjoy A God in the Shed. Perhaps even to review it on Amazon, Goodreads and wherever you can leave a review. Write one and copy/paste it everywhere.
  
• Get in touch with me on Twitter @jfdubeau and let me know what you thought.
• Or get on the mailing list for my newsletter at jfdubeau.com/books
• Brace yourself for my next projects. The Sequel to A God in the Shed is already being written, but in the meantime, why not follow the page for the sequel to The Life Engineered? I’ll be having some announcements regarding that one sooner than you might think.

So that’s it. You guys are amazing and you’ve done something amazing for me. Hopefully there will be so much more in the future and I’d be thrilled if every one of you were there for the ride.

Thank you. So much.

JF

Congratulations! Crow’s Gambit is holding at 2nd place in the Nerdist contest and I couldn’t do it without your support. But…there are several good authors coming up strong behind us. Please don’t stop spreading the word! 

I just sent out an excerpt from Chapter 9. It introduces a new character, Susan. There is also an introduction to the Crow Research division known as the Crow Works (modeled after the Lockheed Skunk Works and the Boeing Phantom Works). 

At this time I’m also redesignating the support levels with some new rewards.

• Crow Research Investor ($10) – Supporter will receive a copy of the Crow Research Prospectus. 
  
• Crow Research Employee ($20) – Supporter will receive a copy of the Crow Research Employee Manual and the Prospectus.
• Crow Works Access ($60) – Supporter will receive the Employee Manual, Prospectus, and an identification badge allowing access to the Crow Works.    

The end is near but I need all of your help getting us there in one piece. More to come… 

PT 

Hello dear followers!

We have slipped down to 7th place! Backwards momentum isn’t good. SO, an incentive for you to order, and order now:

If I get 9 preorders in the next 24 hours, I will record myself reading the first chapter of Mutants: Uprising, swears and all. I don’t normally swear all that much, so this could be a disaster. A disaster you’ll want to hear!

Preorder here. Just $10 for an ebook and my undying gratitude!

If you’re interested in Spotify playlists, here’s the one I listen to when I’m writing this story.

Have a great Sunday! I’m off to see Wonder Woman again and get empowered.
~Jane-Holly

The Nerdist SciFi contest is now at the two week mark! And I am both elated and panicked. Crow’s Gambit is currently holding on to the 2nd place in the contest and I cannot thank you all enough. Really, the support and comments on the story mean a great deal to me.  

However, there are some really good authors and stories nipping at our heels. There is also the great unknown of Syndicates that could come into play. Anything can still happen! If you are fence sitting now is the time to jump into the fray. If you have a friend who might be interested in the story now is the time to let them know about the contest. 

In these last two weeks I’m going to start giving you more insights into the story. I don’t want to give out TOO much and ruin the story for you but I’m eager to start sharing some of the other characters and their interactions. Today I’m posting an excerpt from Chapter 8. On Monday I’ll be posting the first of two excerpts from Chapter 9. 

I’m also working on the Q&A video as we speak. That will be coming out soon too. Some good questions have already been submitted but if you are still wondering something PLEASE let me know. 

Stay with me. Your support means more now than ever. More to come…and thanks. 

PT 

There are only two weeks left to influence the outcome of the sci-fi contest.  Here’s a run-down of the top 10 at the time I’m sending this message. I’ve highlighted the top 3 - who are currently in the position to win the contest and full publication - and where 1000 Faces is in relation to them. 

Mission 51 - 100 
Crow’s Gambit - 59 
Proteus - 51
Artifical Generation - 44 
The Experiment Himself - 44 
Mutants: Uprising - 42 
After Death - 40 
Linked - 40 
1000 Faces - 40 
Curio Citizen - 38 

Yes - we’re that close!  Remember, only the top 3 entries will be published. If you’ve already preordered, please consider sharing the book with your friends, or leaving a review here on Inkshares of what you think about the concept and samples.

~ Jenny

Let me paint you all a very pretty picture:

That’s right, Proteus is still sitting firmly in the top three, and only climbing higher. There’s plenty cause for celebration for coming as far as we have, and I owe everyone who’s supported it so far a huge debt of gratitude. But there are some significant impending challenges ahead as we gear up to enter the final two weeks of the contest. What obstacles are those, you ask? One word: syndicates.

Syndicates are groups on inkshares that collect contributions from their members and pour all of them into one book every month. You may remember that Tantalus Depths received support from many syndicates during the last campaign; in fact I’d venture to say the campaign could not have succeeded without support from the syndicates.

So why are syndicates a problem for Proteus? Well, most of them more or less make their decisions about which book they plan to back at the beginning of the month, or even earlier. Some of the bigger ones are already narrowing down their choices to one or two options, and they’ll make their final choice within the next week or so. Because I launched my campaign for Proteus as late as I did, most of the syndicates who might have considered supporting it had already turned their attention to other books in the contest. Some of these syndicates are large, and if they pick a book I’m competing against, that book will instantly jump ahead by twenty or thirty orders all at once.

Long story short, it’s unlikely any syndicate will pick Proteus, and it’s highly likely some will pick competing books. One already has, in fact. This means we can expect some of the books we’ve already passed in the leaderboard to instantly leapfrog over us if we can’t get some more traction and build up a buffer between Proteus and the rest of the leaderboard. Since we can’t count on syndicates, we have to push forward the old fashioned way: one order at a time. So even though we’re doing really well right now by making it to the top three and holding our position, it’s crucial that we keep pushing as hard as we can to increase our numbers.

Remember, please tell all your friends and family to pre-order, and keep sharing our posts to boost our visibility. Victory is in sight, but it’s not within reach yet, and it’s going to take all of us to get there!

I was taken completely by surprise this morning with some wonderful news and I am still reeling in the excitement of it! Mission 51 is the June 2017 selection of the Rite of Passage Syndicate!

I want to thank the Syndicate Lead, Christopher Lee Eichenauer, and the entire syndicate membership for this incredible honor! I humbly join a remarkable group of authors and works and I am greatly encouraged by their faith in me and Mission 51. Please check out the Rites of Passage Syndicate and consider becoming a member of this supportive group of amazing human beings.

This boost gives further momentum to the Mission 51 campaign in the current Nerdist Science Fiction Contest on Inkshares. We remain in 1st place out of more than 160 contestants. But the contest is far from over. There are many remarkable books by talented authors in the competition. We need to keep pressing on!

I am eternally grateful to everyone who has pre-ordered a copy of Mission 51! If you have yet to pre-order, I ask that you click on the green pre-order button below. It is through your kind and generous pre-orders that Mission 51 will become a published reality. Be a part of it!  :-)

Thank you again to Christopher Lee, the Rite of Passage Syndicate, and everyone who supports Mission 51. You have all touched my heart more than you can know!

Peace!

Ferd

Ladies, gentlemen, and sapient AI, I have a phenomenal announcement to make:

As of right now, Proteus is in THIRD PLACE in the Nerdist competition!

All we need to do to earn the full Inkshares publishing deal for Proteus is come in third. If we can hold onto this position, it’s as good as first place. BUT we’re only ahead of the competition by one preorder right now, so there’s no time to rest yet. I want to get some space between Proteus and the competition (well, the competition behind us, anyway. The competition in front of us can get as close as it likes). In fact, I intend to keep going and seize second place just to be safe. First place too if I’m feeling frisky.

Please keep up the support! So much can happen in the next two weeks, and success can only come with your continued support. If you have a significant other or sibling or parent or child who you can convince to put in an order, please do whatever you can to make that happen. If everyone who’s ordered a copy so far gets one other person to do the same, we could tie with first place in a day.

Once more into the breach!

It’s our fourth day in the contest and Proteus is in FOURTH PLACE!!! Actually, just kidding, we’re tied for sixth, but for some reason we’re showing up on the leaderboard as being in fourth place when we technically aren’t. Still, though. We are VERY close to breaking the top three. In fact, we’re only SIX pre-orders away from tying with that coveted third place position.

We can do this, guys. This is real.

We can make this happen, and I’m confident we will. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, now is the time! Competition is neck and neck at the moment, and just a little bit of support could tip us over the edge. 

Today’s story update gives us a look under the hood of our protagonist. This sophisticated targeting AI is designed to help turn a soldier into a literal killing machine in the field by boosting his lethality and survivability in any combat scenario. This may come with a few trade-offs, however...

Jacob Sicarius’s implant served him well on the battlefield, but his days of war should have ended a long time ago. Now on the embattled decks of The Somnambule he must take up arms once again. But can a soldier ever really retire anyway? Can you take the fire of battle out of a warrior’s blood? When that warrior has a machine in his head that automatically evaluates everyone he sees in terms of threat level, it would seem unlikely...especially when that machine develops a bloodlust of its own...

When a battle of wills between man and machine rages within a shared brain, who will triumph? Moreover...who should?

Find out when you order Proteus today.