(cross-posted in varying forms in varying places)
GLORY!
Hey, everyone! I’ve been relatively quiet for a while, and this is why. It’s time to release my novel Glory into the wild, and to that end, behold this beautiful cover by Eric Trautmann! I am obligated to say NOT FINAL by custom, but be damned if that isn’t my favorite prose cover of all time for my work just as it stands now.
If you haven’t been catching the updates, Glory tells the story of a young woman who gets caught up in a war between immortals on the way to solve an initially small mystery. It’s ambitious, it’s a little crazy, and it involves both gnostic pre-history and band name jokes aplenty. I’m quite proud of the work.
I’ve written a lot of books. This is the one I believe in the most. I encourage, nay, BEG you to give it a try, and promise you won’t regret it.
I am going to launch a modest Kickstarter to print the book next Tuesday, July 17th.
We’re shooting for a very, very small goal, given that novels are traditionally a much harder sell on Kickstarter. We need $1,100 to make that happen. That’s it. That’s fifty books, the cover and graphic design, and postage. If it goes bigger, there are a ton of things we can do, but if it doesn’t, there’s still a solid good chance we can get this thing done.
So yes, once again, I hold out my hand in return for the promise of something good and fun. Please, join me!
To allow you to give the book a free look, here’s the first seventeen thousand some-odd words. Boom! I’ll post the link to the Kick right here, next week, as well, when it drops.
DISCORD
(puts on Old Man Bailey voice)
I don’t know about you, but I’m damned tired of what’s happening on social media. Giant corporations taking our data, allowing fascists and other shitheads to manipulate us without repercussion. Hate, anger, rage, bad news — I’m pretty sure if you’re alive and on the internet, the last two years have been a circle of Hell worse than the one with high school poets.
That said, social media has a good and promising intent. Getting people together to share the things they enjoy, and allowing us to converse with the people we know and love. WANT.
That’s getting lost in the mix, clearly. But I have a personal solution, and I invite you to join me in it.
Recently, a good friend of mine and a fellow writer opened up a Discord server as a private, curated space to speak with people outside of the rigmarole of social media. Watching and participating in it, I’ve not only been envious of the peace, quiet, and civility it maintains, I’ve actively engaged in social media without a negative experience for the first time in YEARS.
I want more of that. And I’m betting you’d want that to.
I’ve also seriously wanted a way to help Patreon folks interact with Dex and I, get sketches ahead of folks, other goodies.
To that end, I have created a Discord server for people who read my work, or who know me, and want to hang out/interact/ask questions/whatever. Ostensibly, Discord is a gaming chat server program, but as I have discovered, it can be used when NOT a gamer at all as a powerful social media tool, without all the bad shit associated with the other services. No trolls. No constant stream of bad news. There’s just more substance and humanity on it.
It’ll be a place to, on the fly, learn about what’s coming down the pipe, ask specific questions about specific projects, and just generally jaw about the good things. This is not to abdicate the responsibility to fight and address all the bad things, it’s just more to give a space to the side to talk art, writing, and other stuff, for those days when you don’t want to hear about the newest stack of shit falling from on high.
If you would like to join, I won’t lie, there is a slight bit of effort required. You need a program, or a Google extension. The program can be found here:
https://discordapp.com
And the chrome extension here:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/discord-for-chrome/aigfcfiejnjclhfnhlcfcmhedggjipgk
I recommend the program. It works the best for me, anyway. It’s also available on phones.
I’m going to be on standby for the next few days during waking hours, as well, to help anyone who wants to join in figure out the interface.
I know installing a program is yet another ask, but in return, I promise that it’ll be worth it, safe, and fun. And it’s all free.
To get access to our Discord, Treadwell Enterprises, simply click this link, which will not expire:
https://discord.gg/k6YX8ZV
Feel free to share it with friends or folks who might want to check out the work. I’ll be there to throw samples out, and chat about what we do.
As an added bonus, if you are a Patron, simply ping me in the general chat, and I will add you to the special Patron section. This is a chat for Patrons only, it will be given priority, and it will have, pinned to the top, a collection of the growing set of links to media that all of you have access to, as patrons. Right now there are thirteen separate pieces of media, and that’s before I’ve added the short stories, bonus comics, and extras, which I’ll be doing soon.
If you’re not part of the Patreon, feel free to join here. It’s just $3 to get all existing issues and a TON of other stuff.
I’m also instituting an invite a friend/plus one policy. If you’re a patron, and you know someone who would enjoy the work, simply send them an invite to the discord server (or give me their email, and I will), and I will give access to one of your friends to the Patron section. I’m looking at it like a way to loan a book to a friend to check out the work, when much of the work in question is digital. Ideally, this’ll help people see what we’re trying to do, and bring in more folks to build the Patreon to break even.
Dex will also be on there, and have his own section for his work, as will folks working on other comics I’m doing, and you’re all more than welcome to form sections of your own that branch out, if you want.
I hope to see you there. It’s a grand, chancy experiment, but the alternative of the madness of present corporate social media is far worse.
IN CLOSING
Next Tuesday, folks, a new novel! Let’s do this! Any and all signal boost is greatly appreciated. The more people who know this is happening, the better chance we have of getting this done! Thanks.
-N