On Exposure

flasher2Recently, I’ve heard a lot of people talking about publishing. Not so much the difficulty of self-publishing, with the formatting, the editing, the plot, the characters, the marketing, or any of that. No, what I’ve seen the most is hand-wringing about just hitting that big red “publish” button. They say, “I just don’t know if I’m ready to expose myself to the whole world like that.”

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The Invito Rex Kickstarter is here!

InvitoRexCoverIt is with great pleasure and pride that I announce the Kickstarter to pay for editing and cover art on my next book, Invito Rex. This is the story that I’ve been slowly serializing here on the blog.

If we can get over the base level of $5,000, I will be able to add short stories by the inestimable Nathan Lowell and the dynamic Matt Wallace.

In addition, we have some seriously cool rewards that include 3d-printed sculptures, collector cards, and board games based on the book.

Click here to check it out!

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Invito Rex – Chapter 8

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

“Somebody has said, that a king may make a nobleman, but he cannot make a gentleman.”
— Edmund Burke

Dizzy slid into the velo and waited for the others to join. This time, only Wendy followed. The Duke was still outside, trying to calm his people.

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Invito Rex – Chapter Seven

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here:
Part 1
Part 2

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

“Of the great noble houses, none is so openly hostile to the public as that of the Wilde clan. The Wildes own more property than any other two houses combined. Occasionally, a new scion will make a foray into business, selling off land for influence, but those attempts have never ended well. The most successful of the Wildes have been those who stayed with the family, using rental income to purchase more land, and build upon the largest agricultural center in the Americas.

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You were rude to my friend

8344709There’s this scene from “Cabin in the woods”. The city kids roll into forgottenville gas station, owned by cantankerous old coot. Old Coot (OC) starts telling them about how the old house on the hill is dangerous. He says he’s worked at that station since the war and Daphne asks, “Which war?”

OC jumps at her, “You know damn well which war!”

Shaggy walks up to OC and asks, “Was that maybe the war where some guys wore blue, and others gray? Maybe brother against brother?”

OC steps up to him, towering over the young stoner, “You sassin’ me, boy?”

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Invito Rex – Chapter Six

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

“The fourth estate, once seen as the vox populi, was altered, and some would say perverted, by the ownership of those tools used to express the will of the people’s culture. While the individual presses each vociferously claim autonomy, it is the worst kind of folly to believe that people who own a thing would choose to let that thing hurt them. As such, it is only natural to paint the majority owners of all news and entertainment reporting systems as the new fourth estate.

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Invito Rex – Chapter Five

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

“The creature must not be visible. That is paramount. If it is to do it’s job, it must always — (unreadable) — hovering just out of sight, never revealed. I don’t care how you do it, but I must have it. The realm needs it.

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Invito Rex – Chapter Four

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

It is well known that there is a higher echelon of nobility, above that which you or I can see. In the same way that we are able to look down at the commoners who scratch and toil for their every cent, there are others who look down upon us as well. We know the king to be at the top of this pyramid, but very little is known about those who sit just below him.

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Invito Rex – Chapter Three

InvitoRexCoverYou can find the audio version here.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter (and the cover). And throw a buck or two in to support the book, if you like it.

 





 

Before one may understand the concept of the “Byblow King”, one must first fully comprehend the traditional line of succession. That a father should train the son is obvious, and such is the bedrock of our society. A good king raises his eldest son to replace him. A more perspicacious king will prepare multiple sons, knowing that the scythe swings wide, and no man can truly say that he has prepared enough.

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Writing Patterns and Pirate Cinema

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow

Pirate Cinema

So, I was reading Cory Doctorow’s “Pirate Cinema” (absolutely brilliant for anyone who has kept on top of the SOPA/PIPA/CISPA thing), and I realized that he’s using the Lester Dent formula! The hero has an inciting event (Internet is cut off from his home because of excessive downloading), which spurs him into action (running away from home) but he slowly builds his life back up (finding life among the homeless, starting his downloads again so he can make remix movies), and leads him into another inciting event (the cops raid his new squat). Lather, rinse, repeat.

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