This week something pretty amazing happened. Inkshares sent me the back cover text and author bio for The Punch Escrow. I was also given an official publication date, which is a lot further in the future than I originally imagined, but makes sense. The book will be released at San Diego Comic Con (July 19, 2017) and will be given a big promotional push by Geek & Sundry there. We haven’t even started coming up with what sort of pomp and circumstance we’ll do, but I’m sure it’ll be fun. Anyway, the rewrite is moving along swimmingly. Some days more swimming than others. Right now with around 35% of the rewrite complete, I can’t seem to get out of the limbo that exists between 28,000 and 29,000 words, but I’m very motivated by deadlines and I’ve committed to handing in the manuscript by November 1, so I’ll get there. For those curious about the back copy and author bio, here’s what they look like (some of you who have been with me since the beginning of this campaign will note that International Transport has gotten better at marketing, they’ve eliminated "Journey" from their slogan):

Back Cover Synopsis:

It’s the year 2471. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport—a secretive firm headquartered in New York City. Their slogan: Departure... Arrival... Delight!

Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday twenty-fifth century guy. He spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980’s synthpop—an extremely obscure genre, and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems—until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting.  

Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.

Author Biography Back Cover Version

Tal M. Klein was born in Israel, grew up in New York, and currently lives in Detroit with his wife and two daughters. When she was five years old, his daughter Iris wrote a book called I’m a Bunch of Dinosaurs that went on to become one of the most successful children’s book projects on Kickstarter —something that Tal explained to Iris by telling her, “your book made lots of kids happy.” Iris then asked Tal, "Daddy, why don’t you write a book that makes lots of grownups happy?" Tal mulled this over for a few years, and eventually wrote his first book, The Punch Escrow. It won the Inkshares Geek & Sundry Hard Science Fiction publishing contest, and will be the first book published on the Geek & Sundry imprint.

Hello everyone!

We’re locked and loaded at #1.

Short update for this week. Things have been crazy with Weaponized. The positive reaction you’ve all shared with me has been overwhelming. It’s been truly gratifying.

This week, we had the book appear on Bloody-Disgusting. I’ve also been streaming with my brother on Twitch to gather orders. Should be streaming again tomorrow, you can find us here. I’m sure we’ll be playing retro games. 

In the meantime, I have a few more offers for press for Weaponized. I write for The Huffington Post during the weekdays (find my stuff here). I only mention it because next week I’ll be writing about Banned Books Week. The freedom to read is incredibly important so if y’all have a banned book you love don’t hesitate to reach out, I’d be happy to write about it.

Finally, I still need everyone’s help in spreading the good word of Weaponized. If any of you have a friend who’d be interested in the book, please refer them to this page. We’re a month and a week away from the end of the CryptTV contest and I’ll need all the support I can muster to stay in the top 3. Also, we’re 87 orders away from Quill!! So let’s push for that!

-Zac

“That which is imagined can never be lost.”  - Clive Barker

70 preorders!

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could have 80 by the end of this coming week?

After the excitement of last weekend’s Gollancz Festival, there’s another fantasy lit convention happening in the UK this weekend: Fantasy Con By The Sea. Witherfist is one of the books featured in the event programme booklet, so I’m hoping that we’ll see some #fcon2016 attendees joining the Witherfist reader count.   

It’s still a while before October’s syndicate picks are made, but Witherfist has already gotten nominations in the Break the Bechdel syndicate and the Rite of Passage syndicate. Amazing!

Thanks for your continued support. If you like to read more of my thoughts on writing Witherfist, you can check out the second part of my interview with blogger and author Natacha Guyot and my chat with Jim Vines, on his blog Jim Vines Presents.  

 ~ Jenny

Every last one of you is fantastic.  I thank you sincerely and truly for helping this dream come to fruition.  The timeline for final production and shipping is fluid, but I am hoping to launch sometime in late Spring, give or take.  This may be as early as February but, as my old boss used to say, it’s always best to under-promise and over-deliver

Speaking of, those of you who won raffles or earned prizes; you have not been forgotten.  They are coming.

To every last one of you, whether you supported this dream with a follow, a recommendation, a review or even a gorgeous, eternally beautiful pre-order:  You are Magnificent.  You have helped to sculpt a wonderful reality.  You have earned my appreciation.

In short, Borehole Bazaar, the first book the Vow Unbroken series, is in the works and being shaped and polished to accept its physical and digital forms.  And a special, extra thanks to everyone who has helped in this process.