Hey everyone.  I just want to say THANK YOU again for pushing us past the 100 mark last weekend.  It’s so humbling to have this much support, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. As promised, I’m handing out the first three chapters of BLUE WATER.  But I thought instead of just sending them along in an email that you have to print out and read, I’d do something else to make it a little easier.  (Hopefully.)

At the bottom of this document is a link to our website.  There, you’ll find a link to three different versions of the beginning of BLUE WATER, so that you can read it on your screen of choice, be it a computer, an iPad or iPhone, or a Kindle.

The PDF will be the simplest.  If you want, you could just download that and print it, or read if from your screen.  PDF is pretty versatile, and can usually be read anywhere.

The ePub and MOBI file are your expert (cooler) mode ways to read.  I’ve tested both out, and they both work fine.

THE DIRECT LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS IS HERE: 
http://www.bluewaternovel.com/#!read-it/ekdqn  

To download the PDF from a PC/Mac:
1.) Click the link below.
2.) Right click on "PDF"
3.) Click "Save Link As..." and save the file where ever you like.

 To read on Kindle:
1.) From the Kindle, click the link below, (or open Silk and go to bluewaternovel.com and click the link "Read the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS")  
2.) Click "KINDLE (.mobi). The file should download immediately.
3,) After the download is finished, click "Open."

To read on iPad/iPhone:
1.) From the iPad, click the link below, (or go to bluewaternovel.com and click the link "Read the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS")
2.) Click "eReader(.ePub)"
3.) Click "Download" in the bottom right
4.) After the file completes downloading, the "download" button changes to "OPEN IN..."  Click that.
5.) Choose "Copy to iBooks"

If anyone has any trouble, please do not hesitate to let me know, either by private message on Facebook, or emailing me at bluewaternovel@gmail.com

Thank you again for all your belief in this book.  With any crowdfunding campaign, the worst fear ever is no one else shows up.  You guys have answered the call in droves.

If you haven’t preordered Blue Water yet, maybe these three chapters will be enough to sway your opinion.  There’s 32 more where this came from.  If you want to know what happens next, we have to get to at the very least 250 to achieve a light publication goal.  The good news is, three weeks in, we’re just shy of halfway there.  So PREORDER TODAY, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS.  Spread the word, share the chapters link with anyone you think might be into the book, and let them get a taste.  The only way anyone reads more is if we cross the finish line.  Together, we can finish this campaign, and finish this story.

Thank you all again.  Keep up the good work,
Joseph Parcell

Hello all,

Hello everyone, 

I’ve added a new poem to the excerpts, entitled, "Out." I hope you like it. To those of you who have pre-ordered, the book, thank you. And please consider recommending it on this site, or sharing with others. 

If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, what are you waiting for!? :)

Thanks, 

Julia

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!)

"I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A REVIEW ON AMAZON."

Is that you? Once that was me. Then one day seven years ago I put on my Grown-Up Pants, signed-in, and I wrote my first Amazon review. It was for capsules to prevent colds. Woohoo! The excitement never stopped. 

How many times do we ourselves use Amazon reviews? I only buy items on Amazon with great reviews. Ask my wife. I’m strictly a 4-star and up kinda Amazon shopper.

Why I am sharing all this with supporters and readers is because it’s time.

It is time to write an Amazon review of The Astronaut Instruction Manual.

Just sign-in and click here. (Or vice versa.) 

The AIM already has some great reviews, many of which came from Inkshare readers. To everyone who has written a review, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Everyone else, let’s do this. Click, sign-in, write. Remember, everyone has a first time.

Mike