Hey all!

In my excitement about reaching Quill and following the aftermath of the contest I forgot to show the full painting since we reached 250! Here it is:

You’ll all be getting a copy of this painting (without all the lines of course). 

Finally, I want to congratulate Kendra Namednil on reaching Quill with her fantastic project Borehole Bazaar: A Vow Unbroken !! Kendra has been one of my biggest cheerleaders during the contest and the first person I connected with on Inkshares so for that I am grateful. The Inkshares community has been so wonderful to me and I appreciate every single one of you :)

I will make sure to keep ya’ll updated on AYSYWTQ? as I go. Have a wonderful week!

Greetings All,

So it’s been awhile since last I updated, but it’s also been a hectic mess of conventions, deadlines, and submissions so...there.

CONvergence was great. All 250 ribbons I made were handed out. One of my fancy shmancy posters was vandal-eyesed, so clearly I made it. I played D&D for the first time and lots of people asked about my book (spurred on by said fancy shmancy posters.) All in all, it was a huge success.

But the BIG NEWS is: (Trumpet sound) An Unattractive Vampire is now available for preorder on Audible!  It will be released officially on August 23rd. So, if you need a bit of reading for when you’re stuck in traffic or catching Pokemon, you can listen to the sultry British tones of narrator Drew Campbell read my book to you. (Did I mention sultry British tones?)

Other news:

After eight seasons, Our Fair City just had the final read-through...EVER!   Oh the wonder and glory of watching actors squirm over their character’s fates. The power. THE POWER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If you want to catch up before the end, including checking out the current season head over to iTunes or visit www.ourfaircity.com.

Also, for those writers amongst you, the submission deadline for Deathscribe 2016 is quickly approaching. Scripts must be in by July 31st. So, if you’ve a scary story to tell (in radio play format), then throw it on some paper (digital paper) and send it to Chicago! (via e-mail)

Dear friends and followers,

It continues to be slow on the pre-order front--Summer is meant for lazy, restful naps in the sun--but that does not mean I have been completely idle. I have plans for a second Peterkin mystery game, which I hope to unveil in a couple of weeks.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could just spend all my time writing? Both games and books. I guess I could consider Patreon for that, but I figure the pre-order thing with Inkshares is better. A one-time contribution can lead to publication, which in turn leads to sales and royalties ... it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Speaking of games and books, the video-game oriented Nerdist contest just ended, and I am pleased to say that "Too Many Controllers" came in first. A number of you contributed to that win, and we’ve compiled a video to express our gratitude.

It’s a first taste of publication, folks. And that is bloody exciting.

And in the continuing series of introductions to the characters you’ll meet in "Murder at the Veterans’ Club", here’s (Lord) Oliver Saxon, the fifth and last of the club officers:

Here’s a bit of trivia that didn’t make it into the book:

In the UK, a military Mess is normally run by a Mess Committee comprising of seven members: the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and three members responsible for stocking the bar, organising the entertainment, and maintaining the premises. The Veterans’ Club is almost certainly derived from such a Mess, which suggests there ought to be seven members on the board of officers, not five. I blame Bradshaw for this: it is my belief that he proved so efficient as Secretary that he swallowed up the offices of the Treasurer and the member responsible for maintaining the premises. No doubt, once he’s gone, the Vet will find itself in need of an additional two officers on the board to bring them back up to seven.

Then again, has the Mess Committee always been as described, and was it so in the days of the club’s founding?

Until next time: have fun and keep reading.

WELCOME TO EARTH, EXILE! 

A long time ago the planet Earth, birthplace of the human race, was a beautiful green and blue jewel of a world…the centerpiece of the Sol system! It had sprawling cities with towering skyscrapers, jungles, deserts, rainforests, tundras, oceans, rivers, lakes and a population that numbered in the several billions! 

However, that was before the Cleansing deemed the world fit for destruction and the atmosphere was scorched and made unbreathable. Clouds of dust and ash now block the once nourishing rays of the sun, the soil has become contaminated and every living thing that was not relocated to Avalon is now long dead. Once the centerpiece of the system, it is now the one world everyone wants to avoid. It is a barren wasteland of outcasts, criminals, and exiles just like you!

That’s the good news! Earth salvage is one of the most valuable commodities in the system, prized by collectors and scientists from Avalon all the way to Pluto! Objects that were once part of everyday human life are now highly sought-after artifacts of immense value. You will become an indentured scavenger, braving the harsh wasteland in search of treasures worth more than you can imagine. And if you’re lucky, after say, your tenth expedition, you may even be eligible to get a small percentage of the profits! What better incentive to survive this poison landscape than the possibility of earning your own meager pay!

 Being an Earth scavenger is not a “success overnight” path. In most cases, it’s not even a “success over several months” deal. But, with the proper training, equipment, and support, anyone can succeed as a scavenger! Sometimes, we even have one or all of those things available to new recruits such as yourself! 

Besides the toxic atmosphere and crumbling landscape, what other dangers can you expect to find in the wastelands of Earth? Well, there are mutants, twisted by long-term exposure to the poison air and radiation. “Freelance” scavengers, otherwise known as “bandits” roam the wastelands, some of which have even taken up cannibalism. The once towering skyscrapers are now decaying safety hazards and there are sinkholes, quicksand, dust storms and probably more nightmares than anyone could ever possibly bear. For others, that might spell an immediate “no way, I’m not going anywhere near there”. But, for you exile, it spells adventure. 

(Also, you’ve been legally bound to indentured servitude, so it’s not like you have a choice anyway.) 

So, go out there and fetch yourself a fortune or at least a fraction of one while you toil away under the moderately brutish leadership of a master scavenger. One day, he may even release you from indentured servitude and you can become a “free” scavenger. That’s right, you too can be your own boss and the entire, muddy, destroyed expanse of a once beautiful planet can be your office! 

On the other hand, if you die, please know that we will make every effort to make sure your carcass doesn’t get stolen by cannibals to be used as bait to trap other scavengers with better survival skills than you. 

Enjoy your stay and happy hunting! 

-Welcome brochure for Earth exiles, produced by Axis Earth Salvage, Inc. 

Two women are about to brave the wasteland that used to be the planet Earth to uncover a plot to destory the utopian society of Avalon. One is a hardened spy, the other is a scientist from another time.

Want to find out what happens next? Pre-order now!