And They’re Gone! Books Have Shipped.

All of the books, cards, and patches are on their way to being delivered; posters and scrolls are shipping direct from the printers. Enjoy!

The Books are Here!

After several weather delays, the books are in my hands and will soon be on their way to Kickstarter backers around the world!

200 Copies of Tears of a Machine

Books, Patches, and Cards

It’s quite a relief to have them. Now it’s time for addresses and mailing supplies and several trips to the post office.

Turning the Corner to Production

Been a while since my last full update but that’s because we’ve been busy, busy, busy.

Cards and Badges

The “feelies” (physical rewards) are set! I got the box of CRC ID cards this past week and they look and feel as good as I had hoped. The Preservation Forces patch has been drafted and approved and is in production now. He’s a peek at the studio’s proof:

This image is slightly lower res, but I was surprised at the scale and detail that we were able to get for our budget; 4 1/2 inches tall by 3 inches wide. Everyone of our SAInt tier and higher backers will receive one of these with their physical copy of the book. Thank you, once more, to our Angel tier backer, Athrun Nailo.

70,000 Sure is a Lot of Words!

Sorry that I’ve gone dark for so long and deprived you of updates! J. R. Blackwell returned the text to me with her editorial remarks and I’ve been making my way through, tweaking, adjusting, correcting, and polishing with her excellent guidance. This is the “how the sausage is made” part of the process, with lots of minutiae so there’s just not much to share. Nothing exciting at least. So while I continue to trawl my way through all these words, let’s enjoy some pleasant distractions.

Pilot Launch Suit Design

Jennifer Rodgers, our esteemed illustrator has been working on more designs for the illustrations of Tears and here’s her first draft of the pilot’s Launch Suits.

The astute viewer will notice a few references to religious iconography in the patterns. It will be more obvious once the pilots have their neural exchange halos attached.

Campaign Success!

The Tears of a Machine kickstarter campaign has been a success! We’re fully funded to get the game through editing, art, layout, and printing. Here’s the last update of the funding drive.

Offering the book in accessible format did a lot to help me find the support I needed. I’m going to make every effort to keep the level of quality just as high in creating the synchronized audio version of the text.

Thank you once more, to all my backers and supporters.

The Bully – Part 2

It’s time for the next scene. We’ll fill in the story with some of Klaus’ ruminations, explaining more about who he is and where he comes from.

Klaus went to physical training after lunch. He had been sheltered as a child, his mother terrified of the open sky overhead that had snatched away her husband. She worked two jobs to afford an apartment only three blocks from an emergency shelter. Klaus was left with little more than his books.

The months of training since he had joined the Preservation Force were toughening him up and he noticed the flab of inactivity fading but he was still short and nervous and never did very well in sports.

Today was worse than usual. No matter what he did his thoughts drifted back to George with mixture of anger and fear. What do I do now?

“Klaus!” He jerked back to reality just in time to reach up and bat a ball away from his head.

“Good reflexes. But this is soccer, not volleyball.” Trainer Levinson picked up the ball and handed it over to the opposing team. Bettina from Fortress Company rolled her eyes at him and smirked to her teammates.

The Bully – Part 1

Things are never cut and dried for a pilot, or any teenager for that matter. Add in the responsibilities of becoming the hope of humanity and even the simplest situations become charged.  Over the next few updates I’ll be posting some scenes from one pilot’s life. Each of these posts could be a separate scene in an episode of Tears. Enjoy!

Klaus swallowed hard and stepped back. The metal rails along the lunch counter stopped him by jabbing his kidney. George stared down at him, still shocked at the runny mess of beef stroganoff and whipped potatoes dripping down the neat creases of his cadet uniform. Klaus pawed at his pockets and tried to find a napkin or tissue to hand over but as he fumbled George’s eyes snapped into a brute’s scowl and he balled up his fists.

Klaus stammered out a lame apology while George reached out and grabbed his lapel. Franz and Jackson, George’s toadies closed in around them but not fast enough to block out the security officer.

“Cadets!” Her shout echoed off the high ceiling of the cafeteria. Other diners turned to watch and their voices dropped to whispers.