Weekly Update - 2/9 - The Radio Man Laughs (Patreon)

Ya finally did it. When I started this Patreon back in September, I bought a second whiteboard. I've had one whiteboard since I became a freelancer almost a decade ago, tracking what I was working on, what was coming up and what my deliverable dates were. At the start of the Patreon, I realized I was going to need a second whiteboard, to keep track of what I was working on for this, and I had it split down the middle, with the top half being for dates for public releases and the bottom half for Patreon deliveries. As of this week, that second whiteboard isn't big enough, and I had to go out and buy a third damn whiteboard. So in my writing studio, I now have three whiteboards - one for contract work, one for Patreon deliveries and one for eventual public releases. The public releases are definitely going to be falling behind the pace I'm delivering for patrons.

As it turned out, I got a few emails (and a couple of new subscribers, welcome!) about the first chapter of The Threadbinders, which dropped publicly last Saturday, and so I'm glad I put Threadbinders 2 out yesterday, and I will definitely be making sure to try and get a TB chapter every month moving forward, since it drew in new readers, and I definitely enjoy writing Yasha and Arkady. I've written a decent amount of fantasy over the years, but this is really my first attempt at erotic fantasy in, well, decades. 

I also started work on Brewster's Brood 9 this afternoon, and should be getting that out either 2/11 or 2/12, depending on how this other thing I've got to do this weekend shapes up. There is a distinct possibility it might slip to 2/13, but I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that doesn't happen, and if I buckle down hard tomorrow, I should probably be okay. I'm waiting on specifics for the project I'm doing on Friday and Saturday, and knowing this client like I do, they'll probably wait until the very last minute to get them to me.  Just keeping you abreast of the fact that things might get messy for the weekend, but that I'm going to do my best to prevent that from spilling over. Also, I think I've said this before, but man, is our boy not ready for Bravo Group.

I've decided to commit to Quaranteam 38 for 2/15 and I previously announced I would put out a new chapter of Janus Coins for 2/18, and both of those are things I'm going to hold to. I can also confirm that the following week will be Brewster's Brood 10 on 2/22 and Morgana's Gift 8 on 2/25 (as was decided by the tier 3/4 subscribers) will round out our month. It also means, we're going to start up our poll to decide what I'm writing for 3/4.

Also, one final thing, and again, as I do any time talking about this stuff, if you don't think you can afford to pitch in, do not feel like you're obliged to. But I gave some thought about what I'm going to do for an intermediary level, and I've come up with this -- I'm introducing a new tier, The Selectors, between the existing tier 2 and 3, for $10 a month. There will be four very specific benefits for that tier, and they will also be available for those subscribing at higher levels.  

At this point, both Quaranteam and Brewster's Brood are large moving stories, and I know they have a lot of characters in them, so not everyone gets to see their favorite as often as they might like. But also these stories are each getting two chapters a month now, which means, I have some definite freedom in how I write them. So what I'm going to do is let you decide which character gets a sex scene every month. Here's how it'll work.

After the next chapter of QT is posted, I will also include a poll, listing all the women in Andy's life, and everyone at the new t3 and higher (so, the new t3, and the old t3/t4s) will be able to vote on one character. The winner of that poll will be in a sex scene in one of the two chapters of QT being posted next month, and I will also write a one-page profile of that character, giving a more detailed history of who she is. I'll do the same after the next chapter of BB. That means I'll be writing two one-page profiles each month and you get a chance to show which character you want to see in the spotlight.

Some things to keep in mind - the winning character will be in a sex scene in at least one of the two chapters in the following month. It might be the first one for the month. It might be the second one. Hell, it might even be both. Part of the reason I want to do it as such as it offers me the freedom to incorporate it naturally into the story, and not just shoehorn it in. Also, whoever wins in a month isn't eligible for the next month's poll, but that doesn't mean they might not be in a sex scene in that month. I do love to surprise people, and you never know what tricks I've got up my sleeve.

If you're already a $15/$30 subscriber, congrats, you just got new benefits added to your subscription! If you're a $6 on the fence, let me make one last pitch to try and get you to kick up, and I promise not to harp on it. I'm currently writing between 40k-80k words a month for the Patreon, meaning you're getting the equivalent of a novel every month. The paperback novel I bought this last weekend cost me $16.95.  ("Joe Country" by Mick Herron, in case you're curious.) Yes, you can get a mass market paperback for less but the most recent Jack Reacher book I bought ("The Sentinel") cost me, hey look at that, $10. That's why I settled on the price that I did.

For those of you who can't stretch your spending that way, I completely get it, and I promise you that as a guy who's been scraping by on freelance work for the last decade or so, I'm not judging you at all. But those of you who feel like you can give a little more, now you have another option to swell your support.

Anyway, that wraps up this week's update. I've been thinking about old reunions a lot lately, and so I want to leave you with a band I enjoyed in the mid 90s whose sound has never really been replicated. I'll see most of you this weekend with the next Brewster's Brood (and spare a thought for poor Max - this is the point where he starts to wonder if he's just dead) and the rest of you back here on Tuesday for QT38. (It's mostly about Moira!) 

Soul Coughing - Screenwriter's Blues (1994) HQ video - YouTube