I’ve been secretly working on a side project for some time now. Nearly a year ago I had a nightmare. I was in my office, surrounded by kittens who were taunting me as they took turns walking on my keyboard, tapping my touchpad and whacking my mouse between each other. All the while I could hear the sound of something tunnelling beneath my feet. I woke up suddenly, as though the world exploded.

That’s how the concept behind this book, which is only half comedy, was born. It’s more of a novella with an abrupt ending that I don’t want to spoil, so I can’t talk about it much more. You can pick it up anywhere ebooks are sold and there is an audiobook in production using several voice actors. You might not recognize them though, since all of the dialogue is recorded through a cat or kitten filter except for the adults, who are recorded using the Charlie Brown Wah-Wah filter since this book is really all about felines.

I hope you enjoy this, even though it is quite a departure. I’ll get right back to work on Spinward Fringe and my shorter series as soon as the movie deal is finished. I can’t say much about which studio has come along, but their name rhymes with “fairmount.”

Amazon
Kobo
Smashwords
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble

Could you imagine being given the opportunity to choose which direction the story will take in a book you’ve been anticipating for over a year? It’s with no small measure of excitement that I’m giving my Patrons the opportunity to do just that.

Earlier on, I asked them what I should call the last version of the Uriel Fighter, a mainstay in the main Spinward Fringe series for over ten volumes. There were an incredible number of quality public responses. Some were pretty creative, others fit really well, and I went with an obvious one that worked best. A name that I should have thought of, but overlooked. I’m glad a couple of readers posted it, or I would have missed a great opportunity.

When I took that name for the new evolution of that starfighter I promised my Patrons two things:

1. That I would refer back to that list of names for other ships and objects in the Spinward Fringe books.
2. That there was a much bigger decision coming.

Well, this is it.

I won’t go into the details behind the decision I’m putting in front of my Patrons because I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone. What I can say is that there are three directions available for my main characters. Each one represents a great opportunity for the progress of the story, and will change the outcome of the book drastically. You could argue that the book could be completely different depending on where they guide the story. It’s a vote for Patrons who contribute $3.00 or more per month.

I’m confident that I can deliver a good, satisfying ending no matter what my readers decide, but I’m so excited to see where they want to take it. Voting closes on Thursday morning, November 3, and the first twenty-seven chapters of the book are available on Patreon, so you could catch up if you like.

Direct Voting Link

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 17: Clash Index

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 17: Clash is set to release on December 21, 2022.
You can preorder Clash through Smashwords at the moment, and it will be available for preorder shortly with other retailers.