Backer Kit Invitations have gone out!
over 8 years ago – Thu, Aug 06, 2015 at 04:04:57 PM

Hey all,

Robin, here, again. If I've done everything correctly, the invitations to Backer Kit have gone out to everyone, so you can now sign in, specify your various options and purchase any add-ons.  Michael and I just arrived in Indianapolis and we are going to run out to dinner, but I'll check back here later tonight to see if anyone is having problems getting in. 

Alpha Reading is done!
over 8 years ago – Sun, Aug 02, 2015 at 12:54:33 PM

Robin finished reading The Death of Dulgath yesterday and put her official stamp of approval on it. A good thing for all of us.  She has 86'ed my novels in the past, but I couldn't pull her away for swimming as she was finishing up yesterday, so she really likes the way it turned out. That doesn't mean she didn't have changes....I incorporated 4 (or was it 5) yesterday, and as soon as I get done with this update I'll be fixing the last few things. They are relatively small and easy to do. 

She has to copy edit - which she is doing now.  But things are going well on that front. We are doing this work while sitting in a raised Gazebo overlooking Lake Robinson in Michigan. It is a 5 hour drive to Indianapolis so we'll be leaving later today to get to GenCon on time.  We are also listening to the audio books while we drive - learning a few things I didn't know about - or forgot. It's helping Robin with her "Riyria Revealed" ebook. I didn't remember that Ethelred had a nephew!  

Robin tells me to mention that there was a few missing "SKUs" (I don't know what that is but she says each item needs one). She fixed them up this morning and re-submitted the file for approval - so we should be good to go either later today or early tomorrow. 

I think that's all for now.  For those going to Gencon, check my schedule and if I'm not in a panel, we can definitely meetup and chat.

Beta Reading, Free Audio, Short Story Competition
over 8 years ago – Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 11:36:57 AM

Morning all!  I have a few updates and opportunities to share with you all today. I hope you find some of this interesting.

Beta Reading

Now that the book is finished, Robin will be turning her eyes toward the alpha read. For those that don't know what that is, it's basically "the first reader" of the book (other than myself of course), and it is done by a trusted individual with a really good sense for plot, character development, pacing, and the like. In the past she's made substantial improvements to my books through the alpha process.

Once she is done with that, I've incorporated her changes, and Robin does a copy edit of the book, it'll be ready for beta readers. This is an opportunity for readers to see the book for the first time and provide feedback that might change the book. In the past, I've saved some characters from death, removed entire chapters, and added new scenes all because of beta reader feedback. 

The is beta read process is run by Robin. If past betas are any indication, we'll have many many more people volunteering than we can possibly accommodate. Robin tries to select from a wide range of readers:

•  Some with no experience with my books and others who have them all (or some), those experienced with beta 
• Avid readers and casual ones
• Those that have beta read in the past and those new to the process
• Aspiring or established writers or those who just like to read.

Robin is going to be picking half her beta readers from our existing beta pool and half from backers of this project. If you would like to throw your hat into the ring, here is a link.

Free Audio

I mentioned this in one of the early updates, but a lot has happened since then, including more than a thousand new backers. If you've not heard any of the Riyria stories narrated by the amazing Tim Gerard Reynolds (Audie nominee for Theft of Swords and Earphone Winner for The Rose and the Thorn), then you definitely should. Quite simply, Tim makes me sound good.  He'll also be the narrator for the audio book of The Death of Dulgath.  

In any case, two of my short stories (which those at the Digital Delight level and above will receive in ebook format) are on Audible.com and are free.

• Professional Integrity was included in the Blackguards Anthology (also a Kickstarter project). As far as I know its the only short story from that book that has an audio version. 
• The Jester was included in the amazing Unfettered Anthology (short stories by some of fantasy's greatest...and me). This will also be adapted into the comic so you'll be able to compare both adaptations.

If you listen to either (or both of these) please consider leaving a rating and/or review on audible. Having a good amount of third-party validation really helps others to give them a try.

Short Story Competition

As promised, I have an update from Robin on the short story competition. When all is said and done there were 173 submissions. I suspect we'll be reading/reviewing most of these while we are waiting for the beta readers to provide their feedback. I'm hoping to get you a good story, and to introduce you to a writer to check out for further future tales.

Well, that's all for today.  Other than to say I'm officially on vacation. I am working on The making of the Death of Dulgath book, waiting on edits from my publisher for The Age of Myths and waiting on alpha feedback from Robin for The Death of Dulgath.  If you have any questions, you know where to find me ;-)

What we're up to...
over 8 years ago – Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 11:36:46 AM

It's been awhile since the last update so I thought I would fill everyone in.

• I'm working on The Making of the Death of Dulgath - got 5,000 words in which is significantly more than I do on an average day (1,000 - 2,000 words).  Non-fiction is a lot easier than fiction!
• Robin is coordinating the beta read while doing her alpha read. So far she's only found one chapter that needs any significant work, and that chapter will be easy to fix. Overall she is really enjoying it and dubbing it as "good."  No, this doesn't always happen.  For instance book #4 and book #5 of The First Empire is going to need some fairly major work.
• It would appear that all the pledges have been charged - a pretty amazing thing as usually there are quite a few declined payments and people don't always take the time and effort to correct them.  For instance, there was about $4,600 that was "in jeopardy" of not being collected shortly after the project funded but we are 100% done now - whether that will speed up things regarding when the Backer Kit goes live I don't no.  We'll keep you posted.
• There is a way for those people who didn't make the deadline to still back the project (using Paypal).  Getting a lot of people in that way. I'll have Robin tally the number and we'll add it to our count. It won't change the "guess" contest as that has concluded, but it will be interesting to see.
• I've done my first video diary!  And even bought a tripod to help in doing others.  I'll be posting it soonish.

Well that's all I can think of for now. Among all the Death of Dulgath stuff we are in the final stages of getting my "writing cabana" setup.  I'm not sure if I've talked about this in the past but it is a project that Robin started last year and is finally coming together. She bought a piece of land in the mountains, and the plan is to build a cabin on it.  In the meantime she has built a very small "office" for me (because I want to write separately from the main house as noises bother me. Again, I'll talk more about it in a future post. 

Backer Kit has been submitted for approval
over 8 years ago – Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 03:37:08 PM

Hey everyone, Robin here.  Michael an I are on the road (doing a little vacation and going to Gencon). If you will be there, let us know - we'd love to meet up.  I thought I would give an update on things (while Michael sleeps - haha).

• I've pushed the Backer Kit to "submitted for approval" - which means you'll have access in a few days.  Once it is approved, I'll have to send the invites. But thanks to the wonders of mobile wi-fi hotspots I can do that while Michael drives.
• I'm REALLY enjoying the book!  Finding a few things here and there but they are easily corrected.  In fact, Michael was doing some re-writing of one issue last night in the hotel room.
• Michael is flying along on "The Making of the Death of Dulgath" I think he's trying to get it done before I come back with my full alpha reading feedback. I've not started my "Riyria Revealed" but I will once I'm done with the alpha reading and the beta readers have their copies.
• We have the first video diary recorded!  I've not been able to get it "uploaded" but I'll work on that and should be able to give you a link in a new update soon.
• We received the "final" design for the Montemorcey Wine Label.  I think it came out really well.  Here's what it looks like:

 You can click on the picture to see it in a higher resolution.

Because it came out so well, I thought I would put it on more than just the t-shirt, so you'll also see a canvas tote bag in BackerKit that you can add if you wish. I know I'm getting one ;-).  As for the t-shirt, I'm only offering it in black because I have no idea how the logo would look on other colors - the "black" you see in the design above isn't really "black" it's the color of the shirt.

In addition to the tote, I've added a few more things that can be purchased through Backer Kit.

Key chains.  Long, long ago (2011 to be precise) I had some Theft of Swords key chains made up for our book launch party.  I had some left over so thought I would make them available to you all. They are up for sale "at cost" so they're a pretty good deal.

RARE, Original copies of The Crown Conspiracy. Long before the Orbit version, or the self-published version, or even the Aspirations Media version (a small press in Minnesota who was Michael's very first publisher), there was this version of book #1 of The Riyria Revelations:

The back story on this book is this.  After failing to get anyone interested in the title, I decided to publish it myself.  Michael created this AMAZING cover (tongue-in-cheek...my daughter hates generated 3-D art). And I printed up 200 copies.  Just after this happened, Aspirations Media said they wanted to publish the book so I put these away. They've never been sold before (although I have given a few away as part of the Hollow World Kickstarter). I think we threw out a bunch of these (or they are hidden somewhere...I really don't know ), but I do have a case of these rather rare versions and you can get copies of them for $25 each. As for the content...it's different than the version you'll find today in Theft of Swords. There were a lot of edits to the books between 2007  and 2010.  I'm also sure there are plenty of cringe-worthy grammar mistakes...but that just adds to it's charm...right?  In any case, if you are into "rare things" that may be worth nothing or maybe one day being something special then you can grab one for yourself.

I think that is all for today.  We're in Elyria, Ohio (yes just two characters different than Riyria - interesting, huh? Well, maybe only I find it so. Anyway we are off to Newago Michigan once Michael is up, and we'll be in Indianapolis Indiana.  We are being Tumble Weeds and I'm not sure where we'll end up.  Michael wants to go to Glacier National Park - but that's a pretty long drive.  Glad I have Death of Dulgath to read while we roll along.

Oh...dang...almost forgot. I LOVED my day at the spa - very relaxing. Talk about being pampered!  I think I needed that after all that's been going on as of late.  I'm hoping to stop in from time to time with updates in addition to Michael's so I'll see you soon!  Hopefully!