So, three weeks ago I launched the Pre-order Natural Born Cyborgs campaign. I have pretty much laid low since then so that I wasn’t beating everyone about the head and neckle area. The voting was pretty intense and I was certainly posting and shouting about that for a couple of weeks. I figured y’all needed a breather.

Now I am back!

I have a ton going on right now and it is all overlapping in a tasty word lasagna in my not quite (yet) fried brainpan. Since there is so much to talk about I will break things down into categories. Here we go:

1. The Natural Born Cyborgs Pre-order

There have been six backers so far which puts us at 10% of the $2000 goal that needs to be hit before I start writing the novel. For more info click on the handy cover up to your right or that handy button up top in the menu. Or HERE! By the way, that cover you see to the right is just a place holder. It’s not the actual finished cover. So back the hell off, haters! If you are already a backer then be sure to spread the word about NBC. The sooner we hit the initial funding the sooner the novel is written and published! And if you haven’t backed it yet then you should go do that right now. I’ll wait for you. No hurry. That’s it, just click the order button. Okay, now fill in your PayPal info or credit card info. You’re almost there…and…BAM! Don’t you feel like a real human being now? I thought so.

2. What I Learned From The Voting

As you know (because you hang on every word I write/speak/tweet/post) I asked my fans and readers to vote on which novel I write next. Natural Born Cyborgs won handily, but there were a couple runners up that I couldn’t ignore. Big Box Blood Bath came in second which really surprised me. I would never have picked that one to get so much support. It really taught me that my idea of having my audience pick which novel to write next was a good idea. That title would have sat around in my Idea Shed ($49 + tax at IKEA) for a long time. I love the idea, but never thought it would gain as much support as it did. The voting also showed me that ideas I thought would dominate didn’t dominate in any way, shape or form. I could have spent months writing something that no one wanted to read. Go me for letting folks pick what they want to read! GO ME! And go you for voting! GO YOU!

Which leads to…

3. Big Box Blood Bath- The Serial

I have written Episode One of Big Box Blood Bath (B-cubed, yo) and am almost done with Episode Two. What does this mean? It means that first I am going to pitch the serial to Amazon. You hear that, Amazon? I’m coming for you! Why submit to Amazon first? Why not just self-publish? Well, because I would rather have the Amazon juggernaut behind me. Plus, a relationship with Amazon publishing could lead to other projects down the line.

Why serialize? Good question. An easy one to answer. When I first started writing I released my first novel, DEAD MECH, as a serialized podcast novel. I was writing the novel as I was podcasting it. This is not advised, but it was fun to do. The cool thing was I didn’t know what was going to happen next any more than my listeners did. I want that feeling again with Big Box Blood Bath. I want to have the story wide open for any idea that comes into my head. I want to publish one episode without knowing what will happen in the next episode. I want to discover the characters, the story, the action, the intrigue, at the same time as my readers.

I also don’t want it to end. At least not for a while. With Amazon serials they do end and get turned into a full-length novel after the episode run. But, if I don’t go with Amazon and self-publish each episode then I plan on keeping the serial open ended. It will become more of a TV show than a novel. It could go on for years and years, or it could end after a few episodes if there aren’t enough readers. Who knows, right? As a writer moving from one project to another all the time it will be nice to have a constant project in the works. And an every two week release schedule for episodes that will be between 7,000-10,000 words in length is an easy schedule to keep. I think y’all are going to like this.

4. The DEAD MECH Comic Book

You read that right: I am writing the DEAD MECH comic book. I have the script for Issue #1 done and out for submission to a few comic book publishers. So, if you feel like emailing Dark Horse Comics and crowing about DEAD MECH then you should do that. It’s a free country and who am I to get in the way?

Now, if Dark Horse, or the couple other comic book publishers I submitted to, decide to pass on DEAD MECH then foo on them. FOO ON THEM! But not foo on me. Or you. Us. We have the ability to make the DEAD MECH comic book happen. Via Kickstarter, of course! Comic books are very popular on Kickstarter. They not only tend to get funded, but they tend to get overfunded. I like that. The trick is I will have to put a team together. I’ll need a penciler, inker (inkist?), colorist, letterer, and formatterist. Or someone that can do all of that. I have the words covered, just need the pretty, pretty pictures. If you are interested, or know of someone that is, then have them shoot me an email. Contact info is up above under “About Jake Bible“.

The great thing about a DEAD MECH comic book is that I can expand on the world and characters I have already created. I can expand some scenes from the novel that I thought needed more work or I can cut scenes all together that really aren’t important. I get to revise the world of DEAD MECH without having to revise the entire novel itself. That’s the beauty of adaptations! I also will have The Americans waiting in the wings. That will have to be its own series since it can’t really be incorporated into the DEAD MECH storyline without giving a ton of info away. Universe building FTW!

Like I said above, feel free to bombard Dark Horse with DEAD MECH praise and also feel free to contact me if you want to be part of the DEAD MECH comic book team.

5. DEAD MECH mobile game?

Could happen. I know a guy. He has ideas. He has mobile game making skills. I trust the shit out of him not to screw it up. Playing GI Joes in elementary school together builds that kind of trust. That guy knew how to put a HISS tank to use! I’m sure he can make a 50 foot battle mech play awesome on a tiny screen. This is still in the “talking about it” stage, so no timeline as of yet. We shall see where it goes.

6. Mobilizing The Deader Army

I need to organize my fan base a bit better. And I am looking for input. Leave a comment below or email me if you want to help build up my fan base and exposure to the world. A few key people cheerleading can make all the difference. And I will gladly reward those that help. Sneak peeks at novels or works in progress. Custom written stories. Becoming a character in a new book. That kind of stuff. Help from others means I have more time for writing. That is a good thing.

It has been suggested by more than one person that my fans should be called Deaders (after the name of the zombies and dead mechs in the Apex Trilogy). I like that. Deaders or Deader Army work just fine. How does that sound to you? Want to be a Deader in the Deader Army? I know you do! I have no specific plan in mind right now, so again, suggestions are welcome. Let’s brainstorm and figure out how we can overtake the world of genre fiction one corpse at a time! (There will be no actual corpses harmed in the making of the Army)

7. Audiobooks

I know that quitting podcasting has bummed a few people out. There are those, for various reasons, that audio is their preferred way to consume fiction. I totally get that. So I will say that the audiobooks of my novels will happen. Just not right away. After looking at the costs involved, I have decided I will record and produce the audiobooks myself. I have the skills needed to do that. The trick is finding the time. That’s why this is number 7 on the list of topics to talk about.

The plan is to re-record DEAD MECH completely. I have The Americans done and Metal and Ash started. Little Dead Man will be on the list also. I could also do the Bethany collection. Possibly Big Box Blood Bath? I would need to figure out how to serialize that as a pay audiobook. Hmmm… To the researchmobile!

So, be glad to know that my dulcet tones will soothe your earholes sometime in the future once more. Just not right away. And, unfortunately, not for free.

8. Future Projects

I have a crap ton (not to be confused with a shit ton or crap load) of ideas for future projects.

I do plan on starting the sequel to Little Dead Man this year. I have a killer idea that will make the sequel even better than the first one. If you haven’t read this novel then you should get on that. It’s pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. Which I just did.

I also want to develop more comic books. It was a learning curve figuring our the comic book script format, but now that I have the hang of it I can crank those puppies out! Writing a comic book script is freeing in many ways. It’s like writing a screenplay, but with a trillion times more freedom to do whatever you want. In addition to DEAD MECH and the rest of the Apex Trilogy, I’d love to adapt Bethany and the Zombie Jesus into a series of graphic novels called: The Wardens of the Zombie Jesus. Each graphic novel will tell the story of one of the people tasked with being a Warden and burdened with the keeping and imprisonment of Zombie Jesus. Also, remember the novel ideas for PAIN and for Stone Cold Bastards? They would make great comic books!

And there will be novels! Not just Natural Born Cyborgs or the Little Dead Man sequel, but other novels. Novels galore! I’d still like to write a series based on the exploits of Stone and Reginald from the Apex Trilogy. Quick novels with a very pulp feel. I am also planning my grand novel set in Depression era thirties. Guns, bootlegging, racial tensions, guns, sex, violence, guns, and very fast cars. Very. Fast. Cars. And guns. That one will be a long way down the line as I am carefully plotting and planning it. It needs care to grow. But grow it shall!

And, by the time you are done reading this, I will probably have six million more ideas that I want to work on. I’ll keep you posted.

9. What Has Just Released

I have also been busy releasing a couple of ebooks!

One Foggy Night: A DEAD MECH Prequel Short is now available for your ereading pleasure. It is free on some platforms and $.99 on others. Fans of DEAD MECH will dig this one. Go get yourself a copy!

I also just published C-Notes: A Collection Of 100 Drabbles on ebook. $2.99 for 100 drabbles is pretty darn nice! Hop on over and grab a copy of that one while you are grabbing One Foggy Night. I mean, you know, since you’re already shopping.

10. In Conclusion…

…I am one busy mofo. I have enough ideas/projects to keep me working for the next couple of years. My goal -my very, very, very ambitious, HUGE goal- is to be writing full time in 2014. That means a lot of what I have written about above will need to happen. Let’s hope it does. Any help you, dear reader, would like to throw my way to get me to that goal will be rewarded. The one thing modern publishing has taught me is that writing is no longer a solitary endeavor. It takes a community now to make a novel, and/or writer, successful in today’s world. You want to help build that community with me? Then SUPER AWESOME TO YOU! I am open to any and all suggestions. I may not like them; I may fight them kicking and screaming; Or I may make sweet, sweet love to them. No matter what, I am open. Like a book.

And be sure and pre-order Natural Born Cyborgs! Limited edition hardcover (signed and numbered), the audiobook, and signed ebook (epub and mobi files)!!!

Cheers!