(All names and titles are clickable)
Let’s talk about cowboys. Scott Roche, a good friend of mine and a great author, loves cowboys. He also loves Samurai and Scott’s spent some time recently going over the similarities they both have, and, being a particularly great author, has done so in fictional form. However, as is so often the case with authors, it’s got a little bigger than he initially planned. Initially a novella, the story focuses on a steampunk world where cowboys adhere to the way of the warrior, the Bushido code that Samurai lived their lives by. Aided by Clockworkers, one part technician and one part surgeon, these men and women do their best to uphold the law within a corrupt justice system. Scott himself describes it as
“The short stories in this anthology will have all of the action and adventure that you’d expect from a Sunday matinee shoot’em up with a dash of philosophy and tension as ancient codes deal with an increasingly modern world. “
The who’s who he’s got lined up is extraordinary too. Jake Bible, one of my favorite authors and the man responsible for the extraordinarily ambitious Dead Mech and The Americans, Justin Macumber, author of the military sci fi novel Haywire, Zach Ricks, editor of Flagship magazine and author of his own Weird Western series, my friend Jared Axelrod, creator of the rich world behind Fables of the Flying City, Scott Pond, a fantastic artist whose cover design has evolved over the last few weeks, the latest version of which is at the top of this page and Doc Coleman podcaster and author of the steampunk series Crackle and Bang
Oh and me.
But we need your help to put me in there. Scott’s running a funding campaign for the book through IndieGoGo which you can find here. For those of you who don’t know, IndieGoGo is a similar site to Kickstarter, wherein you can pledge money to a project at set levels in return for rewards like a free copy of the book, a t-shirt, your name being in the book, that kind of thing. It’s a lovely idea and I’m a huge fan because essentially it’s arts patronage where you get to pick the arts you want to see happen. They get made, you get stuff, everyone goes home happy.
Plus, the beauty of IndieGoGo is the artist keeps anything that’s pledged, where a Kickstarter that doesn’t make its goal leaves with nothing. Now, as I write this Scott’s on $1381 of a hoped for $2500 with eight days to go. That’s pretty good, but he could do with a hand. This being Scott, a very practical cat, he’s launched a promo campaign. Here’s Scott to explain it:
“Tell your friends on the social media frontier about this campaign! The two people with the most referrals between Saturday, December 1 at 8:00 a.m. and Wednesday, December 5 at 11:59 p.m. EST will receive an e-book copy of Justin Macumber’s as yet unreleased novel A MINOR MAGIC (due out December 17).In addition, a random winner will be chosen to receive a signed paperback copy!
Here’s how: If you have (or register for) an Indiegogo login and use Indiegogo tools to share this campaign with Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or denizens of the many social media platforms you’re part of (you can find these tools just under the video at http://www.indiegogo.com/WayOfTheGun) the Indiegogo site will attach your unique ID to it. This is how we can track referrals. For every person who funds the project thanks to your referral you will earn an entry in the random drawing for the signed paperback copy. The more funders you refer, the greater your chances of winning! And, of course, a free e-book copy goes to the two people with the most referrals. This great opportunity is open to anyone who pledges at any level. Just use your Indiegogo account and make sure your referral uses your link to contribute to our campaign. Good luck!!”
And here’s the write up I gave him about my story, And Throw Away The Key
The treasure of Garske Hollow changes depending on who you talk to. Sometimes it ’a a sword, sometimes a tomahawk, sometimes a gun and always a weapon. The person that wields it will change the world.
But no one has ever opened the locks in Garske Hollow. The weapon, whatever it is, is locked away.
Until Jett Mallory arrives in town. Jett is a bodyguard, an occasional Sheriff and a martial artist without parallel. Jett is in town, ostensibly, guarding Professor Sean Duffy, the latest academic to study the locks. But Jett has an agenda all her own. Because one of the men who trained her knows what’s hidden in Garske Hollow…
It’s a really fun story, in which, I can exclusively reveal, the following ten things will definitely happen:
-Doctor Sean Duffy, amiable man of letters, will discover the true horror of American baked beans.
-The annual Garske Hollow Throwdown Tournament will have at least one surprising new entrant.
-Jett Mallory will discover that whilst you can’t go home again, you can see it from where you are.
-Captain Luisa Crissano of the US Army will discover exactly why she was stationed in Garske Hollow.
-The song ‘Fallen Angel’ by Elbow has one particular image in it which is central to the story.
-Jett and Sean commit a particularly nasty, but necessary crime.
-We’ll find out not all of Jett’s sensei were in Asia.
-Three locks will be picked.
-The sun rising will not be a cause for relief.
-One lock will be turned forever.
But only if that stretch goal gets hit. This is a really fun story, and, just to make it more fun, some of that list I just came up with which should make writing the story even more fun. I’d love to have the opportunity to do it and I’d love to see Scott’s project funded regardless so if you can, and if you want to see me tie myself in knots over a couple of those ten things (And who DOESN’T want to see that, right?) then pledge at Way of the Gun now
In fact, if you pledge, I’ll even tell you who plays Jett and Sean in the movie and where they go on their next trip…