new vip story: rain of terror (and more news)

Pull up a chair, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover…

Kickstarter-backed VIP story released! It’s called RAIN OF TERROR and it is exactly that. If you have membership in the VIP Club, you can click dat link and enjoy — if not, you can sign up over here for seven lousy dollars. Or wait for this story to come bundled with the eventual book #2. Kickstarter backers get this for free; check your inboxes for details.

New official artwork up for Kelsey Jones! Thanks to our artist in residence, Allison Barraza. Again, this is thanks to the Kickstarter funding. More characters are on the way, so keep an eye on the blog for details. Also… I have high resolution versions of all this character art. It’d be super easy to make t-shirts or coffee mugs or whatever. If there’s something you’re keen on getting your hands on, suggest it in the comments below! I’d love to have some merch up and running alongside the launch of the first book, this fall.

A poll about how and when you read City of Angles. I’ll let it go another week before closing it, I think, but already I’m getting some good data — and I think it’s time to let go of the idea that if I’m not getting feedback on this blog, there’s nobody out there. Clearly the ways people approach the story and how they interact with it are VERY diverse. In fact I may need to reshape how I approach the blog itself. More to come on that in the future, I suspect.

(One thing I didn’t add in the poll, but am curious about. Folks who are using various social media to access this stuff… would you prefer I link from twitter / FB / g+ straight to the story itself, or to the blog post? I’ve been linking to the posts in hopes of encouraging comments, but it IS getting in the way of hitting the story directly. What do you think?)

Project Wonderful ad campaign for anachronauts. $50 from the Kickstarter campaign is earmarked towards getting the word out about that series. It’s an inefficient way to get readers but it does work — the number of visitors a day that City of Angles gets is definitely higher now than it was before I started advertising that on Project Wonderful. In addition, now that anachronauts is “done” (aside from releasing Second Age on paper) it’s a great opportunity to introduce it to your friends. There’s no pressure to keep current on it, since it’s in the bag.

Next week… hopefully the start of Cleanup on Aisle Ten, the next story in volume 002.  I’ve got a good plan for the story thanks to some brainstorming, although Act II is still quite fuzzy and unplanned. Then again, the last story had a largely unplanned Act II too, and it worked. So hey, who knows? Stay tuned and find out.

new vip story: dogs of war

It’s time for your news roundup!

New VIP Story!

All VIP subscribers and all Kickstarter backers now have access to Dogs of War, a story suggested by backer Wender Wu. He kicked this sucker up to the highest tiers of awesomeness, which earned him the right to tell me to go forth and craft his tale. Did he wish to read an epic adventure, a tragic romance, or a legendary yarn for the ages? No, he wanted something about a hot dog vendor. And his wish is my command!

Read “Dogs of War” now! (NOTE: You must be a member of the VIP club to use that link. Kickstarter backers, I’ll be sending your backer-only link soon.)

I welcome feedback about this story; I suggest emailing me directly, though, instead of posting on the blog. Spoilarz, and all.

Kickstarter Progress!

The Kickstarter’s going great; we’re fully funded now, although by fully funded I mean “a few hundred in the red” due to reward fulfillment costs. Printing and shipping books costs money, yo. Hoping we’ll get a few more backers to help offset the costs, and eventually start adding towards future projects.

What you can do to help is spread the word about City of Angles itself. I know I’ve said this several times, and I apologize if it feels like high pressure sales tactics or anything like that, but word-of-mouth is basically the only good way to get a web novel promoted. Even if we don’t get backers from it, if we can get more readers in general, that’ll help me going into the future!

eBay Auction!

I’ve got an eBay auction up for a rare misprinted version of Anachronauts: Stars Fall! It’ll be autographed and dedicated, too! Right now it’s going for less than an actual copy of Stars Fall, which is a real steal for this is a one-of-a-kind item. Who will be the one to outbid the dread lord of the Sith, Darth Wiggles? Anachronauts calls do you. Don’t deny its call.

TVTropes!

We’ve got a TVTropes page now! There’s not too much there, so I welcome any tropers who want to take a poke at it and add a few things that were missed. Same goes for adding City of Angles to other trope pages, linking back and forth.

TVTropes is responsible for quite a bit of traffic to the anachronauts site, so if I can get a healthy page going for CoA, it may bring in more readers!

Survey Says…!

I’ve collected 21 surveys from the volume//002 survey. Here’s the interesting bits.

Ratio of Returning vs. New Characters: Between 50/50 and mostly returning. So, I’ll be focusing largely on returning, but I do have plenty of new characters who will be dropping in to say hello.

Major Character: Kelsey Jones beat out the others, which is nice since I wanted to do more with her in vol//002. There’s also a lot of love out there for Hollister, who hasn’t been the star of the show yet… maybe I can do something about that. The Wei sisters got very little support so I might keep them on the backburner for now, depends on if I can find a compelling plot for them.

Minor Characters: Grandma Scarlett ran away with this one, which is surprising since I was figuring her story was over. I’ll have to see what I can think of for her; I can’t promise anything since I have no idea what else could be done with her. Next up though are Lucas and Milly, everybody’s favorite suburbanites, and I absolutely want to revisit them.

City Aspects: A wide variety of responses, here. The top ones were Sideways Signals (great for a Kelsey chapter), independent mappers (maybe a new character?), and the various weird areas like Sideways, Endless Highways, and Undefined Spaces. Near the bottom were Salvagers, but I have a story involving them planned out already. I think you’ll find it worthwhile given WHAT they’re salvaging, though…

I’ll be talking more about my vol//002 plans in April. For now, we’ve got a new VIP story, we’ve got the Kickstarter, and we’ve got time to push awareness of City of Angles to the moon! Thanks for all your support!

misprint… or RARE GET?

So once upon a time I released a book called Anachronauts: Stars Fall. It took quite some time to get it prepared for retail sale, and in the process, I made a teeensy weeensy error of oversight known as “Oh crap I forgot to include every inline image in the entire book.” Didn’t even notice it until after I’d ordered the author’s proof copy.

Since then I’ve fixed the problem, and the version you can get from the Anachronauts book store is A-OK. However, that leaves me with this pristine copy of the book which has placeholder text for all the spell words and the special graphic from Carrie Lane’s chapter.

What should I do with it? Toss it in the trash? Heck no! I’mma auction that thing! It seems the lulzy thing to do.

Here’s your chance to bid on a rare misprint version of Stars Fall, with author’s autograph, on eBay.

I’ll sign and dedicate it however you like. I’m starting the price at ten bucks and normally it goes for seventeen, so hey, ground floor bonus! Hopefully it goes over seventeen eventually though, because the proceeds from the auction will go into the overall creative project fund that the Kickstarter’s pumping too.

In Other News:

• Tune in tonight (Wed 13th) at 8pm Eastern for a livestream of the Walking Dead, in which I will take every jerkbutt response the game lets me take. Fun stuff!
• This Sunday, I’ll be posting the first Kickstarter-backed VIP club story! All backers will get access to the tale, as well as VIP club members.

no news is good news

No City of Angles this week, as mentioned last week. I do have two scenes for 008 written up but they’re not ready for prime time. I should have something to show you next week.

Meanwhile, let’s summarize what’s been going on around these parts…

• City of Angles 007 just wrapped up, and your feedback is welcome. You can post it in this post, if you like.
• The City of Angles Kickstarter will launch at the start of March. Honestly it’s about ready to launch now but I want to have a good portion if not all of 008 done first.
• anachronauts: stars fall is now available on sale in paper and ebook forms.
• Folks asking about a Second Age or even an Unreal Estate book, I’m making those into stretch goals for the CoA Kickstarter. So, get your wallets ready.
• In personal news, I’ve been prepping a home theater PC! Which is now prepped and done and awesome.

That should do it. Enjoy Catch Up Week. I know there’s a lotta readers who aren’t all the way up to the current story, so this’ll be a bit of breathing room to squeeze in some reading before we plow into the big finale of 008.

the stars have fallen (finally)

Settle in, folks, I’ve got a few huge announcements for ya.

THE ANACHRONAUTS: STARS FALL BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. For real, this time. I posted it a few days ago but had to pull it down again due to some errors — errors which have now been fixed. The book is now as perfect as I’m gonna be able to make it.

It’s ready for purchase in paperback form ($17), Kindle eBook form ($10) or donation based bonus story only form ($10). In addition, London’s Fog has gone on sale; you can get the LF Paperback ($13) or the LF Kindle ($5).

ANACHRONAUTS: THE SECOND AGE will be released in Kindle format in the near future. There’s no bonus content or real cover art so a paperback version isn’t really feasible right now, but I wanted to get something out there so digital owners can complete their “collection.” Lawrence Chu has volunteered formatting duties to make this happen and when you see the magic he has wrought with the Stars Fall eBook, you will be pleased. I MIGHT release the paperback version at a later date if there’s demand, but I don’t really sell enough of these to justify it at this point.

THE CITY OF ANGLES KICKSTARTER will likely launch in March. The details are still in flux, but the idea is to fund the cover art, professional copyediting, and publishing fees. Reward tiers will include the eBook, VIP membership, and the paper book — but I’m open to suggestions for other things you’d enjoy getting as tier rewards. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Srsly. Without your guidance I’m just gonna slap together what I think works, and it may not be what you crave.

UNREAL ESTATE MAY VERY WELL SEE PUBLICATION. I’m making it a stretch goal for the City of Angles Kickstarter — if CoA gets overfunded I can put the money towards copyediting and publishing for UE. I won’t be able to offer the book as a reward tier but the money will at least make the previously-impossible into the possible. If you’re interested in a paperback version of UE… you’re gonna want to start kicking when the time comes.

the stars have … oops

Okay, so, I bungled.

There was originally a triumphant blog post here announcing the Stars Fall book is ready for purchase. And then I realized, after everything was submitted and processed and approved, that I had horribly screwed up and there were a few errors in the book.

It’ll be ready within a day or so, and then I’ll blogpost again with full details and some news about the upcoming Kickstarter for City of Angles. So… yeah. Apologies. And thanks for your patience. Watch this space.

coa//006 is coming down your chimney

New readers — welcome! This blog is where I set up feedback threads for the latest draft story in progress. Right now I’m up to story #6. You should probably start at story #1, though.

Current readers — I got you something horrible for the holidays! The grand finale of 006, which is terrifyingly strange and unpleasant. I debated doing a Christmas special story instead, but didn’t really have any ideas… and this story changes the status quo quite a bit, so if I did holiday story it’d need to take that into account anyway.

There’ll likely be a delay before 007 starts. I had this week off for a little staycation, but I don’t have the plot outline for the next story hammered out quite yet. Some sketchy notes, but that’s it. So, check back next week but no promises. Two weeks will definitely be enough time, I’d think.

In anachronauts news… the book cover is DONE. I couldn’t get the book ready in time for a holiday release but it’ll be ready in January! Rejoice! Meanwhile, you can still email me for a free copy of the bonus chapter, if you honor-system promise to nab a copy of the book when the time comes.

anachronauts stars fall make-good offer

The final saga of anachronauts, Stars Fall, officially ended on Christmas of last year. The plan was to have the retail book — with its retail-only bonus chapter, which closes the side-saga of the other retail-only bonus chapters — available soon after.

Then all hell broke loose in the personal lives of the writer and the artist, and that didn’t happen. It’s still not quite ready due to the delay in getting the cover art formatted appropriately for Amazon’s templates. But the story itself, that retail-only chapter, is done and has been done for some time…

While I can’t start passing out books, I can at least give you that chapter. And because this has been delayed so damn long I’m going to do it for free.

Here’s the deal. If you are planning to buy the retail version, as an e-book or paper book, and you’ve been supporting me the whole way through, I’d like you to email me and request a free copy of the Stars Fall bonus chapter. This is an honor system promise that you will in fact be picking up the actual book, and in return, I’ll give you a pre-release copy of that story in thanks — and in apology for the delay.

If you haven’t read any of the other retail book stories (first age, forsaken shores, london’s fog) I’ll warn this free story will be complete nonsense to you and likely spoil the fun. It’s a direct continuation of those stories. But… if you HAVE read them, and you plan to get Stars Fall once it’s available, I’m happy to send you the final chapter.

Hopefully this’ll make up for the delay. I promise this will not be an issue with City of Angles; I may or may not be running a Kickstarter to get that cover art launched, but regardless it’ll be done in a timely manner.

Thanks for your support and thank you for reading. New CoA up on Monday, I believe.

city of angles updates and vip story!

The ball is starting to roll for City of Angles. Feel the hype, yo.

There’s a new VIP Club story! I figured if I’m about to launch the “Give me your money dammit” aspect, I may as well have something to throw money AT. The story’s called coa//00a: Are We There Yet? and it represents the VIP idea quite well — an in-depth exploration into some intriguing aspect of the city that doesn’t merit a blockbuster 100k story starring main characters. The VIP club is my way to chase down interesting notions and show a bit of the mystery going on behind the scenes.

The link won’t work unless you’re a VIP Club member (and remembered to write down your name and password; email me of you lost them). Feel free to discuss the story here but I ask that you be spoiler-conscious. If you’d like to join up, the Early Bird special is still on for two days; if you’re a brand new reader I’ve also got the paid VIP application up. US$7 gets you in the door for life. Less than the cost of one printed book (but giving me as much profit as two printed books, so hey, score.)

Commissioned artwork is in the pipeline for our trio of main characters — Dave Smith, and Penelope ‘n Gregory Yates. Oh, and Marcy Wei. But wait! Who’s Marcy? You’ll meet her in coa//003. After the art rolls in I’ll be doing some advertising for the series through webcomic ad networks. (You may see such ads on the site, I haven’t decided yet. I’ve sunk a lotta cash into this project and wouldn’t mind recouping it.)

Oh, and coa//001 is finished. Like, as in I proofread and spellchecked and called it a day. See? I am learning! I CAN finish a story completely before moving on to another one.

Finally, Stars Fall 06 is finished, edited, compiled, and the book is almost done. Mad thanks to Lawrence Chu and my sis for helping with all that. I’ll have it available as soon as I can, and London’s Fog will go on sale that same day. Huzzah!

Next up is coa//002: Orientation Day. I’ll be working on outlines and getting some scenes together soon. Keep an eye out!

sitrep

Here’s my Situation Report.

THE ONGOING ANNOYANCE >:/
The health issues which have been wrecking my ability to seriously get anything done for most of 2012 are coming to a bit of a head. I’ve had tests done and I’m seeing doctor(s) about condition(s).

I’m leaving this a bit vague because right now, well, it IS a bit vague. Sleep apnea may be lurking in the wings, but it’s not clear yet. (I am not soliciting for crazy home remedies for apnea, before you start suggesting pillows made of yak hair or drinking antifreeze or something.)

Personally, I’m getting pretty tired of this screwing up my life. The potential solutions to the vague problem are completely unpleasant but at this point, beggars can’t be choosers. And I have other things I need to attend to in my life. Such as…

STARS FALL :|
sf05 needs final proofreading, and then the bonus chapter written, then the cover done. This is a task that really fell by the wayside in face of the Ongoing Annoyance and it’s something I want to get done soon. Hopefully, sf05 proofed this week, bonus chapter written next week (I hope).

I’m letting my brain slowly cook up the plan for the bonus chapter. Like all of anachronauts, it’ll be less about the epic action-packed fighty time showdown and more about out-thinking your opponents to avoid having any sort of fight in the first place — but it’ll explain and capstone off all the bonus story plot threads to date.

Once all that’s done and in the can and my Volunteer Editor Whom You All Should Be Kneeling To In Homage For His Tireless Put-up-with-ness of My Procrastination Lawrence Chu has a looksee, I can get the book released. As before, that’ll also signal London’s Fog going on sale, if you’ve put off buying it.

THE NEXT FIASCO :)
I’m laying the preproduction groundwork for the next story series. I don’t have a lot of concrete details to share with you, just potential details which may be subject to change…

Structurewise, we’re looking at an ongoing setting-based series (rather than a plot-powered series) similar to the Second Age stories or my old Future We’d Like to See stories. A portion of the stories (10/20%?) will be available for free on my website, a larger portion will be available to members of the Prereader’s Club (70/80%?), and a portion (10%) will be retail compilation edition only. They will generally be standalone, although characters may make return appearances and develop over time.

Membership in the Prereader’s Club, at least under my current plan, will be free for the initial month in which the project gets started IF you email to me applying for it and answer a few very simple questions which show you’ve read my earlier stories. If you’re reading this blog odds are you’ll have absolutely no problems there. After that month it’ll cost a very small one-time nominal fee to join.

As for the story itself, the world it’s set in… well, how’s this for stirring your speculation?

More to come.