Good morning everyone! 

I know it hasn’t been long since my last supporter email, but this one is a special announcement. You all know my novel by its name Human Resources. What I haven’t told you previously is that the title is changing. There are various reasons for needing to change the title. Human Resources was a great title in some respects: it was understated and linked back to the corporate dystopia, as well as the way humans are treated in the novel. However, despite that, there were signs it would make the book harder to sell. Some of the issues were:

• Human Resources is not a unique title. There weren’t any other science-fiction books I could find with that title, but hundreds of business books. That meant searching for the book could be difficult.
• It confused people. Right throughout my campaign I encountered people who thought I’d written a non-fiction business manual. This can be addressed to an extent with a good cover, but I still had people misunderstand after I started including a cover image of a person with a big sword.
• It’s out of genre. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by switching it to a title that is more recognizably from the genre of the book, it makes it stand out to people who read that genre.

So, without further ado, the new title is Blood Capital. This title isn’t as subtle, but ties it firmly in the genre. It also links back to the corporate dystopia, the treatment of humans in the world, and (bonus) the city the novel is set in. Work is underway on the final cover image, and I can’t wait to share the outcome of that. In the meantime, Inkshares have posted a (short) video of Matt Harry (Head of Story Development at Inkshares) talking about Blood Capital.

Matt Harry of Inkshares Discussing Blood Capital (July 2018) by Robbie Batten: https://vimeo.com/240758751

Robert Batten.

Good morning everyone! 

I know it hasn’t been long since my last supporter email, but this one is a special announcement. You all know my novel by its name Human Resources. What I haven’t told you previously is that the title is changing. There are various reasons for needing to change the title. Human Resources was a great title in some respects: it was understated and linked back to the corporate dystopia, as well as the way humans are treated in the novel. However, despite that, there were signs it would make the book harder to sell. Some of the issues were:

• Human Resources is not a unique title. There weren’t any other science-fiction books I could find with that title, but hundreds of business books. That meant searching for the book could be difficult.
• It confused people. Right throughout my campaign I encountered people who thought I’d written a non-fiction business manual. This can be addressed to an extent with a good cover, but I still had people misunderstand after I started including a cover image of a person with a big sword.
• It’s out of genre. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by switching it to a title that is more recognizably from the genre of the book, it makes it stand out to people who read that genre.

So, without further ado, the new title is Blood Capital. This title isn’t as subtle, but ties it firmly in the genre. It also links back to the corporate dystopia, the treatment of humans in the world, and (bonus) the city the novel is set in. Work is underway on the final cover image, and I can’t wait to share the outcome of that. In the meantime, Inkshares have posted a (short) video of Matt Harry (Head of Story Development at Inkshares) talking about Blood Capital.

Matt Harry of Inkshares Discussing Blood Capital (July 2018) by Robbie Batten: https://vimeo.com/240758751

Robert Batten.

Happy E-Day everyone! Delivery of the premium paperback edition of "Skavenger’s Hunt" is right on schedule for the middle of this month, but if you ordered an e-book edition, you probably have a nice little surprise in your email inbox right now. 

Yup, the first emails with the various e-book files went out just this morning, which means you can pop the story of Henry Babbitt, Hunter S. Skavenger, Mattie, Ernie and Jack (along with a handful of historical figures from the late 1800’s) into your e-reader right away. As you can tell, I already went ahead and did so this morning...

So many of you have said you’re looking forward to reading the book, but know that I’M looking forward to you reading it just as much!

Oh, and by the way, in case you have any problems with the files, here’s some helpful info:

The PDF is straight-forward and simple...just like any PDF. Same goes for the EPUB, which is the one you’ll want to use for your iPad or iPhone. Just follow the directions in the email you received and it’ll open up easy as can be.

The Kindle is the only that sometimes gives readers a slight problem. If you have issues, I found that a really easy thing to do is email the file to your Kindle. Yep, that’s right, every Kindle has an email address. Just download the file to the desktop of your home computer, and then do the following:

1) Go to amazon.com/myk and sign in to your Amazon account. This will be your "Manage your Content and Devices" page. You’ll see three tabs, the far right one being "Settings." Scroll down to "Personal Document Settings" and find your Kindle. Next to it, you’ll see an email address. That’s your Kindle email address.

2) Plop your Skavenger’s Hunt file you just saved to your desktop into an email (as an attachment) and send it to your Kindle’s email address.

Simple as that. After a few seconds, it’ll download to your Kindle just like any other Kindle purchase. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any problems. And if you enjoy the read as much as I hope you do, please go to the Skavenger’s Hunt Amazon webpage and leave a short review, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Amazon reviews are critically important to the success of any book.

Most importantly, though...I sincerely hope you enjoy the story! Drop me a note to let me know what you think!

Thanks, all...

Mike

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

A few updates on Not Afraid of the Fall!

The book is now available in audiobook form on Amazon! Audible bought the rights and released the audiobook last week. The book has since become a Best Seller in the Travel section.

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

 

You all have a habit of making me feel special.

There you go, making me feel special, and then I get all mushy with the feelings, and it’s disgusting for everyone. So this is all your fault. You monsters. ;)

Today, Inkshares posted an image of a pile of DAX HARRISON books, ready to be sent out to all of you fine folks who backed it. The physical books, existing in real life, sitting in their office.

I re-shared the photo, and my little corner of the Internet blew up. The outpouring of love, support and excitement from friends, family, colleagues and so forth was ridiculous. I even had a friend or two saying "What?! How did I miss this?! Where can I get this thing?!" Haha.

By the way, if you didn’t catch my previous official cover reveal on social media, there it is, in all its glory. Another very special thanks to Jessica R. Van Hulle (theladyjessica.com) and Seth Kinkaid (sethkinkaid.com) for their stunning painting and graphic design work. You better believe I’m making posters of this baby for conventions and book signings!

"WHEN DO I GET MY BOOK, TONY?!"

Backer copies will be shipping out this week! I believe Inkshares should be sending out an email asking you to confirm your shipping address, but I encourage you to log in at Inkshares.com and double-check your saved address just in case.

For those of you who ordered e-book copies, you can expect an email with a download link sometime next week. If you accidentally lose the email, don’t panic. You can access your purchased e-books anytime at Inkshares.com under your "Bookshelf". And if anyone still has trouble, you can always reach me at rockhollywood8@gmail.com, or send questions to the Inkshares team at hello@inkshares.com.

You know what’s ironic about all these long updates I write? The book itself is actually a pretty quick read. You’d think I would have written a much more long-winded story. I guess I’m saving it for Dax 2...

That’s all for now. It honestly feels VERY silly making such a big deal over a little comedy book. But the world deserves laughter. It really, really does.

I hope Dax gives you a chuckle or two!

-Tony

Weaponized is real!

That’s right, I’ve received many messages and photos that many of you have received copies of Weaponized in the mail. I do hope that you enjoy the strange book and I sincerely apologize for any nightmares caused by the content within its pages.

Here’s where I ask one more thing of you. If you wouldn’t mind reviewing Weaponized on Goodreads, and Amazon I would be forever in your debt. Reviews for new novels are how we live and die in the direct market and having your honest thoughts on the book will go a long way into enticing new readers to take the jump. 

Amazon

Goodreads

And that’s it! Go forth and enjoy this awfully weird book! 

Well hello there,

So? How was your summer? Mine was busy. Too busy to run a book funding campaign properly. I started funding Arch-Android (the sequel to The Life Engineered) around the time of Nerdtacular in late June. It got a good start but soon after I got caught up in going to other conventions like Necronomicon and DragonCon along with promoting A God in the Shed after its June 15 release.

I dropped the ball.

But I’m back!

Inkshares was good enough to grant an extension to the Arch-Android campaign. Let’s get 750 pre-orders as soon as possible and get this over with. Let’s face it, if you liked The Life Engineered, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the sequel. Especially if your main complaint about the first book was that it’s too short and doesn’t explore the world where the Capeks live thoroughly enough. This is the sequel you’ve been waiting for.

Here’s what you can do to help:

• If you haven’t, read The Life Engineered (it’s only 0.99$ on Inkshares right now)
• Pre-order one (or more) copy(ies) of Arch-Android
• Encourage your friends and family to also pre-order by lending them your copy of The Life Engineered

What do you get for helping?

• Every pre-order and reference gives you an additional chance to win a KOBO Aura ebook reader with original art by me on the back
• 3 or more pre-orders gets your name in the acknowledgements in the back of the book
• All physical copies are signed and come with an exclusive bookmark
• Participation in any further promotion I may add as the campaign progresses
• My eternal gratitude 

So there you have it. Expect more updates and more previews and information as this campaign progresses. Let me put this bluntly: If everyone who receives this pre-orders a copy, we’re done. The book is funded. How cool is that? The campaign ends on December 7th. 

Above: The KOBO Aura ebook reader

Thanks!