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.

coa//007 visits new jack city

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 #7. You should probably start at story #1, though.

Current readers — Here’s the big finale. Well, some bridging scenes, THEN the big finale.

Technically this is about two weeks of small updates rolled into one large update. I asked on my Twitter/FB whether my readers wanted it all in one go and then an empty week after, or spread out over two weeks. As proof that these are vital issues of import in your lives, a whole two people replied. I ended up flipping a coin. If it came up tails and you wanted heads, well, you’ll somehow have to carry on despite this mighty burden.

One thing I definitely would like to hear from you guys on is the upcoming Kickstarter, launching early March. I wanna make sure this is appealin’ to you. Prior post I asked for some feedback on it but got nada, so lemme entice you with more details. Here’s the backer level / tier reward scheme I’ve got in mind. Keep in mind each tier includes all previous tiers, so for example, $25 has Wallpaper + eBook + VIP, etc.

$1 Desktop Wallpaper
$15 CoA eBook
$25 VIP Club Membership
$30 CoA Print Book (limited quantity early bird special, add $15 for international shipping)
$35 CoA Print Book (add $15 for international shipping)
$45 CoA Character Bookmarks, Stickers, and Other Fun Bits (mailed to you)
$60 All anachronauts eBooks
$75 CoA Autographed Print Book (don’t get 2 books, I just sign your book)
$100 I write a CoA short story based on your idea (limited 2 only)
$200 Co-publisher’s credit (limited 2 only)

Look good? Price points okay? (Note the print book costs a minimum of $10 to make and ship, so I have to tier it high, but.) Any other things you’d be interested in getting as a reward?

And lest I misdirect, I also would love some feedback on the finale of 007. So, this blog post works for postin’ up those thoughts too. Thanks for your help!

EDIT: I swapped around the Print Book and bookmarks. I think I can afford to ship a book at the lower tier and still make enough to put it towards the overall costs.

EDIT 2: Changed all the prices again, dropping everything a bit. The book itself is now only 35, but there’ll be a limited-quantity-only 30 early bird special too.

servin’ up fun

More of a personal post than a story update. I do plan to have 007 content for you this Sunday — either the whole finale at once and then a quiet week, or splitting it up across two weeks. Probably the latter. Anyways.

I want to make a home media server. Specifically, a PC attached to my television, so I can watch digital video files (FLV/AVI/MP4) and Bluray movies, as well as emulate arcade games and such on my TV. Maybe even use Steam’s big picture mode. In the background it’ll run a personal Minecraft server and some other odds and ends. I know the basics of what I need to do all of that, hardwarewise.

What I don’t know is how exactly to control all of this. Either the software to run on the system, or the hardware that tells that software what to do.

What should I be running so I can launch video files, play discs, or launch a game emulator — and how do I control it? Is there a remote control designed for this sort of thing, or maybe an iPhone app? Do I need some special media server software? Most of the stuff I’ve looked at is focused on delivering media over your LAN but I don’t need that, the PC’s gonna be connected to the TV, it just has to launch playback (or a game emulator like MAME) on demand.

I don’t need something overblown here; no $200 home media server solution thing. I just wanna launch video and launch applications, and do it using a reasonably efficient and simple control method. Done.

Again, requirements are that it works under Windows 7, it can playback AVI and FLV and MP4 (maybe MKV too), it can launch executables on demand, and that it be controllable without having to bust out a keyboard and mouse.

Any suggestions?

Edit: Looks like the answer is XMBC — it has plug-ins for everything, even arcade emulation, and is open source. I’m okay with alternative suggestions though, and control suggestions. Or PC hardware suggestions.

coa//007 goes big or goes home

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 #7. You should probably start at story #1, though.

Current readers — You know those crummy anti-piracy ads in front of movies in theaters ordering you to either pay ridiculous ticket prices and five bucks for popcorn or go home? Most of the time I choose to go home. So do Dave and Kelsey, in today’s scenes.

Bit of a short update but I think 007 will be finished next week, so hey, there’s that to look forward to. Also, as posted earlier this week on the blog, Anachronauts: Stars Fall is now available to buy! And I have details about the upcoming City of Angles Kickstarter! So, read that, too.

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//007 is getting to know you

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 appear to have invented a new genre: psychological horror romantic comedy. You’re welcome.

With this posting comes some tweaks and revisions to earlier scenes. I’ve noted the changes at the top. Some details are obfuscated, other details are explained in more, uh, detail. It’s all part of the give and take of the draft process. I give writing, you take it in; you give feedback, I take it in. Ciiircle of draaaft…

The latest Project Wonderful ad campaign for CoA is coming to a close and it seems I’ve picked up a few new readers thanks to those smashing pics of Marcy, Vivi, and Cass splattered across the web. Yay! Welcome! Put your feet up, have a frosty beverage, and enjoy. I’ll probably suspend the ad campaign after this until post-Kickstarter, when it’ll be properly crowdfunded.

Speaking of which, I haven’t decided yet if I’m gonna go the KS route — if I do, it’ll be a ‘megafund’ of sorts, with a low initial goal and lots of stretches for Moar Art, Moar Ads, Moar Editing of Past Stories, and possibly even Moar Published Books. Details to come. For now: 007. Enjoye.