Frann Mike Cyr followed The Traveller’s Cup
The Traveler’s Cup
When Damaus put his name in for the Traveler’s Cup he wasn’t expecting to be chosen.
Frann Mike Cyr liked an update for The Traveller’s Cup

Wow, guys! Wow, wow, wow. 

Would you believe we went up 10 pre-orders in a day? I knew you could make it happen. So as promised, by tomorrow you’ll have a brand new sample chapter! 

The level of encouragement I’m seeing from you all is astounding. It reminds me why I started this book in the first place: to reach people like you with a wacky idea for a space opera. 

Now for the important news...

This is officially the last week of the Nerdist Space Opera Contest! Next Tuesday the contest will close, and that means that whichever authors have books in the top three will be set up with a publication deal. 

If we aren’t there it means we’ll have to work a lot harder in the future to make sure this book sees the light of day. I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather finish this now so I can make sure the book goes to market in this collection.

Again, this is referral week! I’ll reiterate what that means for the newcomers and folks who don’t read the bottoms of every email:

If you refer three people to pre-order this week you’ll get: 

  •  A signed first-edition draft version of the book complete with random scribbles of frustration

  • A collection of sketches of characters and setting, 10 in total, as a bound art-book

  • A pack of 10 Traveller’s Cup bookmarks
  • A custom Traveller’s Cup mug so you can enjoy your hot caffeinated beverage of choice with your new book

All of these items will be delivered physically to you after the release date, complete with a spacey thank you note. If you refer by word of mouth, that counts too. Just send me an email or message telling me how you know the person. 

So with that out of the way, I again want to say a space-sized thank you to you. You belong in this crew because of your dedication to our mission: to make more space books and send them to the worlds beyond. 

Your Overworked But Determined Space Captain Whose Blood is Now Caffeine,
-AC

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    Frann Mike Cyr liked a review for The Traveller’s Cup
    The Traveller's Cup immediately brings the reader into the story in the most efficient way, bringing the world to life with the interactions of the characters and the ceremony the reader witnesses. One of the strongest aspects of the work is how the revelations of the world are seen through the gestures of the character within the story, as opposed to being directly described.
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    People who have liked this review of The Traveler’s Cup

      Frann Mike Cyr liked a review for The Traveller’s Cup
      The Traveller's Cup immediately brings the reader into the story in the most efficient way, bringing the world to life with the interactions of the characters and the ceremony the reader witnesses. One of the strongest aspects of the work is how the revelations of the world are seen through the gestures of the character within the story, as opposed to being directly described.
      like · liked by Frann and 1 other

      People who have liked this review of The Traveler’s Cup

        Frann Mike Cyr liked a review for The Traveller’s Cup
        Drawn in by the About section, I had to read the posted chapters. Engagingly well-written with descriptions that don't slow the pace, but create a world you can see and move through, (OMG! I've ridden in a bejeweled golden chariot drawn by giant  slugs!), I'm invested in her characters, and fear for the protagonist already. I've ordered my copy. Please order yours so Ms. Baldwin can get it published.And A.C.? Keep those chapters coming. In order, okay? Pleeeease?
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        People who have liked this review of The Traveler’s Cup

          Frann Mike Cyr liked a review for The Traveller’s Cup
          Drawn in by the About section, I had to read the posted chapters. Engagingly well-written with descriptions that don't slow the pace, but create a world you can see and move through, (OMG! I've ridden in a bejeweled golden chariot drawn by giant  slugs!), I'm invested in her characters, and fear for the protagonist already. I've ordered my copy. Please order yours so Ms. Baldwin can get it published.And A.C.? Keep those chapters coming. In order, okay? Pleeeease?
          like · liked by Frann and 3 others

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            Frann Mike Cyr liked an update for The Traveller’s Cup

            Top of the Monday, Space Crew!

            Today I need to get personal. This campaign has been among the most heartwarming and most stressful experiences of my life. It seems that you all hold the power to make or break my day. 

            That’s something I hope to get better at pushing out of my mind as my writing career advances, but this is my first major publishing endeavour, so I’ve got a lot of jitters around the whole thing. 

            I was recently asked about why I needed to publish this book in an Inkshares article. You can see my full answer there, but it comes down to this:

            Science-fiction used to be a thing that brought people together. I think of Star Trek in the 1960s, and how groundbreakingly diverse it was. That was a time when we didn’t divide people into segmented nerd cultures. It was a time when grandparents and children could share an appreciation for fiction together. 

            When I try to put a genre on my stories I get pretty overwhelmed. If I want to appease the "true" sci-fi crowd, then I need to go with hard sci-fi, which means pulling out the old physics textbooks and hitting up r/askscience. If I want to include magic it becomes fantasy, unless it could be explained by science. If I mention anything potentially unscientific while the rest of the story is consistently well-researched, I break suspension of disbelief. 

            Now, I love science-fiction. I have a sort of reverent respect for futurologists, and well-studied fiction writers. But I couldn’t take all of these constraints and still make The Traveller’s Cup what it is today. So when I discovered the Nerdist Space Opera contest, and my eye caught the following line, I gaped for a moment: 

            "We define (a space opera) as any adventure that takes place in space."

            I have never felt so liberated as a storyteller. I began to dig out old notes. I tore a page out of one of my fantasy ideas and shoved it in the middle of a sci-fi project. I let my imagination run wild with all the rules I could now break! I can write fantasy set in space. My heroes can be space pirates who run into space dragons battling space wizards. The Tolkien-esque fundamentals of a classic adventure story can exist in a galaxy far, far away. 

            So with reckless abandon I began breaking these rules, and found a story that was always meant to be told. A story that I think can transcend our need for niches and subgenres and just breathe. This is a book for your mom. It’s a book for your geeky brother. It’s a book for teens as much as seniors. At least that’s my hope. I wrote The Traveller’s Cup to be approachable and accessible. 

            Because I think it’s time we stopped focusing on our differences and let our minds experience the unknown again. 

            Your Exuberant Overlord,
            -AC


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