FridayFix™: THE MVP pre-order is TOMORROW!

FridayFix sponsored by GoDaddy.com

Here we go Krakens, here we go (clap-clap!). It's almost on Junkies! The pre-order for THE MVP, Book IV of the GFL series starts tomorrow, February 4, 2012 at 9:00am Pacific Time.

THREE-MINUTE EPISODE RIGHT HERE!

Listen in for a few final notes about the site and what you'll see/do/buy tomorrow. This time it's even shorter than my last MVP-related FridayFix™.  Still  totally worth it. And, unlike last time, *this* time there might really be bunnies on the podcast!

NOTE: PayPal might give you a warning tomorrow when you go to buy the book. It's okay, it's just PayPal looking out for you. We've tested through that warning and it's fine. Click through and get your goods. 

(Disclaimer: still no bunnies.)

GoDaddy.com discount codes 

This episode of FridayFix™ is brought to you GoDaddy.com. Click the banner above to see great discount codes for Go Daddy, like the coupon code SCOTTCOM which gets you a brand-new domain for just $7.99, or SCOTTDEAL which saves 10% off your entire order. Visit the discount page to see all the savings codes.

You Humans and your goddamn magic rooms

All right, I know that I'm old. I know this. I'm 98 in "dog years," which we all realize is an arbitrary number assigned by "the man" to keep my people down. How come nobody talks about our civil rights, huh? Got an answer for me, smart-guy?

I didn't think so. You all are too busy laughing at goddamn cats that are too stupid to spell correctly. Since when is laughing at retarded cats an acceptable form of behavior? Idiots.  

Anyway, I have a bone to pick with your kind, and not of the delicious milk variety (Purina FTW!). What the hell is up with your goddamn magic rooms? A door opens. I walk out of the hall into a room. The door closes. A few seconds later, the door opens ... into another hall! Black-magic chicanery, that's what I call it.

So here's my problem: sometimes I can't remember which part of the magic room is supposed to open up. Oh, that's my fault? Listen, asshole, you're the ones that build this crap, it's not my fault that I don't know which side of the magic room is going to magically open into Magic Land. Did I mention I'm 98 in dog years?

And my smart-ass "pal," Scott. What a douche, taking a picture of me from the open door of the magic room while I stare at a wall. How the hell was I supposed to know it was just a wall??? Huh?!

Humans ... someday I will bite you all. 

Meelion Word Update: January 2012

Um, this is harder than I thought ...
My boasty-boast New Year's Resolution to write one million new words in 2012 is off to a rocky start. That's my writing ego in the picture, taking a punch from Captain Reality. 

I started off on fire because I was cranking out the first draft of THE MVP (which goes on pre-sale right here on this site on Super Bowl Saturday, Feb. 4, 9am PT, noon ET, 5pm GMT). When I finished THE MVP, I puttered around a bit reveling in my glory. Well, glory (and FIFA 2012) doesn't pay the bills, folks. I had a bunch of zero-word days and discovered those are unacceptable if I want to accomplish this crazy goal. 

MONTHLY CALCULATION
• I wrote 61,777 words in January.
• I need to write 83,333 words a month to make 1,000,000 for the year
• I am now behind 21,556 words.

DAILY CALCULATION
• I averaged 1,993 words a day (8 pages)
• I am off of the required pace by 1,007 words per day (4 pages)
• To catch up in February, I need to write 2,976 (if I write every day in Feb) + 1,007 (to make up for January deficit) = 3,983 words a day (that's 16 pages a day)

Impossible? Hardly. Difficult? You bet your country ass it is. I have had plenty of 5k+ days in my career, but an entire month of 4k days is a biggun. Hopefully, I can carve into the deficit in February and finish it off in March. 

THE ALL-PRO Episode #14

THE ALL-PRO cover

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THE ALL-PRO Episode #14

It's opening day in the GFL! Teams tear into each other in hopes of taking that first step toward the Galaxy Bowl title. Quentin leads his team onto the home turf of Ionath Stadium to do battle against the Isis Ice Storm. Can Quentin overcome the galaxy-wide points-shaving scandal and grab victory in front of 180,000 screaming Krakens fans? 

THE MVP PRE-ORDER IS COMING!
Mark it on your calendar, folks:SuperBowl Saturday, Feb. 4, 9am PT, noon ET is yourchance to get a low Advertisementnumber on the signed, numbered, limited-edition hardcovers of BOOK IV in the Galactic Football League series. 

PROMO IN THIS EPISODE:
HELL WATCH by Laramie Taylor (a.k.a., "Laramie the Gimp" here on the scottsigler.com forums).

FridayFix™ GFL T-Shirts!


Ladies & gentlemen, please allow me to introduce our new in-house designer, Scott "Big Fish" Pond. And since we wanted to announce Big Fish in a Big Pimpin' way, feast your eyes on four brand-new GFL team T-shirts. Sha-ka-paaaaoowww! These were designed by Scott, and now you can buy them. Click on the shirt you want, put that thang in your cart, and when you're done ordering all you want just check out (a.k.a., give us your moneys).  

We have small, medium, large, XL, 2XL and 3XL. Since we are in pre-order, if you need a special size (teeny or big), we can hook you up, just email ARealGirl with your request.

GFL influencing future NFL uniform design?

Well, I also invented the internet, so who knows?
Here's a very cool article I stumbled across thanks to a link from science secret agent Tom Merritt. Business Insider showed off "crazy, science fiction-y uniform designs" in a recent post, and damn if these things don't look like the GFL come to life. Let's go ahead and admit it -- the GLF is slowly infiltrating the world of football, and things will never be the same.  


Click through to see if your team gets a uniform rave-up. The picture above of the concept art for the Washington Redskins. Hmmm, six feathers, three on the right, three on the left ... does this design resemble a certain team from Ionath, or is it just me?

Maybe it's just me ...

Oh, snap! Look who's online!

A stalkerrific tool for you stalkertastic Junkies
Check out the big brain on Brad! And "Brad," in this case, is the BackMyBook guys who created this site (but you already knew that). Some new features just rolled out, including a nice little tool to let you know which of your fellow Junkies are online. See the image in the upper right-hand corner, where you log in? A new link there tells you how many registered Junkies are online. It doesn't represent how many people are on the site in total, just the registered users. Cool, no? 

You can also now make "user comments" directly to a fellow Junkie. If you're going to say "howdy" to each other, or get into a side conversation with many back-and-forth responses, this is a great way to do it. So, if you're trading comments on a blog post and those comments go off-topic, consider taking the conversation "offline" in this way -- you still get to talk about that new pair of curly-toed shoes, and the rest of the Junkies can focus on the topic at hand. 

Audible doesn't want indie authors? Too bad for them.

You can have my free podcast when you tear it from my cold, dead hands
Scott's blog I feel compelled to respond to Evo Terra's blog post about Audible Creation Exchange, or ACX. Evo Terra runs podiobooks.com. He has been at the forefront of free, serialized audiobooks (also known as "podiobooks") since 2005. Podiobooks.com offers audiobooks that are almost exclusively narrated by the author. 

Please read his post, but in a nutshell, here is what it says:
  • Audible Creation Exchange (ACX) is part of Audible.com, a place to buy and sell downloadable audiobooks.
  • ACX, on their own website, says they are actively seeking authors that want to record their own audiobooks. "Your book, your voice."
  • ACX positions itself as a champion of the little guy with website text like this: "Too many authors have been left out of the quickly growing and culturally repositioned digital audio market. Until now.”
  • Evo wanted to let ACX sell the nearly 600 audiobooks available on podiobooks.com, if the individual authors wanted to do the deal.
  • ACX has told Evo, in no uncertain terms, that they will not sell an audiobook that is also available for free.
Click through to read my full response to this and get my thoughts on Audible's myopic efforts to control content and take choice away from the customer, because you obviously aren't smart enough to make your own decisions. 
...Click to continue or comment

THE ALL-PRO Episode #13

THE ALL-PRO cover

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THE ALL-PRO Episode #13

Along with the glory of professional sports, there comes the heartbreak of the "final cut," when teams release players that didn't make it on the roster for the regular season. Quentin watches as the Krakens finalize their 2684 roster, and says goodbye to friends and teammates.
Advertisement
Quentin also confronts Don Pine about the Galaxy Sports feature story by Yolanda Davenport, the story that paints Quentin as a villain -- because he's taking the blame for Don's choices. Will Don step up and be accountable?

NEW SPONSOR!
GoToMyPC is the latest advertiser helping to keep this podcast free. They add one minute to the "four minutes of fury," but give it a listen and then enjoy the story. 

PROMO IN THIS EPISODE:
THE ANGEL HUNTER by Jerrod Begora

More site work, be patient!

Don't make me stop this car ...
As you can see, we're making more adjustments to the site. We know about missing icons. But if stuff breaks, do email us media@scottsigler.com. If you got a butt-load of emails all of the sudden, our bad.

You can't make an omelette without breaking the kneecaps of a couple of guys who owe you money, if you know what I mean.

FridayFix™ Scott on the NSFWShow, Jan 2012

 
FridayFix sponsored by GoDaddy.com Sometimes, Scott gets to do guest appearances on other shows. Sometimes the shows go well, sometimes not so much. Rarely, however, have I ever seen the FDØ™ enjoy himself as much as he did on the NSFWShow (part of the TWiT Network). 

We've linked to the audio, as usual, but if you have time do set aside an hour and watch the video. Hosts Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young are funny as hell, and the fans of the NSFW show make in-joke art as the show happens that will blow your mind. 
Click here to download audio of FridayFix™ Scott on NSFWShow January, 2012 
(Disclaimer: no minds were actually blown in the filming of this video)
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Junkie Brainstorm Session: GFL/Siglerverse numbering system

Allright, you lazy, good-for-nothing beatniks! Get out of that got, drop your linnen and stop your grinnin'!

This year is going to see as many as six new Dark Øverlord products enter the marketplace. ARealGirl and I are starting to plan for the far future, and we want your brains (for doing stuff brains are actually supposed to do, not to put in our belly). 

We want to develop a naming system that shows the exact timeline of Siglerverse cannon, and have that nomenclature be included in titles. We want people to be able to see, at a glance, the order of Siglerverse books.

It's far more complex than it sounds. Click through to the full article to see our dilemma, and if you want to help we'd love your thoughts. 
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THE ALL-PRO Episode #12

THE ALL-PRO cover

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THE ALL-PRO Episode #12

TOR READER'S POLL
Did you vote for THE ALL-PRO in the Tor.com 2011 Reader's Choice Poll yet? We're in the lead for a "Stubby" award. This is a great way to spread Siglerism to a new bunch of scifi fans, so if you enjoyed (or are enjoying) the book, click the link and leave a comment that says "Best novel: THE ALL-PRO by Scott Sigler." Spread that Stank!

IN THIS EPISODE
A huge 40-minute episode. Media Day blows up in Quentin's face as Yolanda Davenport's well-timed cover story finally hits. The season changes instantly for Quentin and the Krakens as the accusations start to stack up, and he becomes the galaxy's number-one villain.

PROMO IN THIS EPISODE
• "The Account," a free podcast novel from Teknikal Diffikulties.

4inkjets.com coupon code SIGLER saves you ten (10%) percent off of ink and toner, refill kits, save money for your printer and avoid Staples and OfficeMax

This episode brought to you by 4inkjets.com. Low prices on ink cartridges, laser toner and all printing supplies, plus you get free shipping and save 10% on your order with the coupon code SIGLER. Save big on supplies for printers by Apple, Xerox, HP, Epson, Lexmark, Dell, Cannon and more.

My review of ALCATRAZ, the series (Episode #1)

Scott's blog I am a fancy-pants big-wig. I am horribly important and terribly busy. My wallet is too small for my $20s and my diamond shoes are too tight. People like me get to see shows before anyone else, because the opinion of our kind moves mountains. These are the reasons I have already seen the first episode of JJ Abram's new series ALCATRAZ.

Watch the trailer, then read on to see my scintilating review of this show, where I let JJ have it with both barrels.

...Click to continue or comment

FridayFix™: THE MVP Pre-order is coming soon!

FridayFix sponsored by GoDaddy.com

The time has come, Junkies! Well, no, not exactly -- three weeks from tomorrow, it will come. Yes, the pre-order for THE MVP, Book IV of the GFL series is almost here. 

It's early this year: Super Bowl Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 9:00am Pacific Time. Get ready, get online, and get yours!

But before all that, please listen to this quick FridayFix™ to make your ordering experience better and make things go as smoothly as possible later this year during shipping hell week. I swear it'll only take five minutes, and it's totally worth it. You don't even know, there are probably bunnies on this 'cast! 

(Disclaimer:  there are no bunnies on this podcast.)

GoDaddy.com discount codes 

This episode of FridayFix™ is brought to you GoDaddy.com. Click the banner above to see great discount codes for Go Daddy, like the coupon code SCOTTCOM which gets you a brand-new domain for just $7.99, or SCOTTDEAL which saves 10% off your entire order. Visit the discount page to see all the savings codes.

Tor.com 2011 Reader's Choice Awards

Junkies, let's see if we can make some noise at Tor.com's 2011 Reader's Choice Awards. You know we won't get any traction on other awards, as the reaction of most sci-fi fans who haven't read/listened to the series is "Oh, please, football? How pedestrian." 

So, bust 'em in the mouth with a vote for THE ALL-PRO by clicking here, then placing a comment in on Tor's blog post

And, of course, spread the word. Get other Junkies to vote. Let's see how our community fares in the broader sci-fi space. 

The BLOOD IS RED stories would also be eligible, so vote for your favorites as "short fiction" selections.


Eusocial Networking novella rings prophetic ...

Scott's blog Junkie Cisco Cividanes sent me an awesome story that was reported in the Daily Mail. 

That's right, human-engineered nightmarish "super soldier" ants with massive heads and "I must crush you" jaws that would make Ivan Drago proud. This is fascinating -- scientists smearing ant larvae with a particular hormone that activates legacy DNA the ant genome has carried for millions of years. Read the article, it's cool

This oversized ant engineering is eerily similar to my Parsec Award-winning short story "Eusocial Networking," written as part of J.C. Hutchins' Obsidian project. Now, if only someone could engineer some coprinus gongylophorus to secret biodiesel, and I'd be a gene-ee-us!

THE ALL-PRO Episode #11

THE ALL-PRO cover

Click here to download THE ALL-PRO Episode #11

You think just because the FDØ™ is dizzy from his trip to New Orleans to watch the Wild Card Playoff for the GD Detroit Lions that would mean we have no Sunday content episode?  Oh, no no, my friends.  That is not how we roll.

In this episode, the Krakens Media Day is here again. And Michael Kimberlin tempts Quentin to learn exobiology of the other races by way of a little holo of what might be the galaxy's most dangerous game.

PROMO IN THIS EPISODE:
THE HALFWAY PORT, by Lynne Gryphon

Coupon code SIGLER saves $8 at TheNerds

This episode of THE ALL-PRO is brought to you by our new sponsor TheNerds.net, home of great deals on electronics, home goods and office supplies. Take a look at all the great stuff they have there, and when you check out use the coupon code SIGLER to save $8 off an order of $50 or more.  

FridayFix™: Goreline calls for January 2012


Click here to listen to January Goreline calls

We're bringing back the Goreline now that we're in 2012 and on the new site! This one's a bit of a catch up, so listen to get up-to-date. 

One answer got a bit garbled. I blame Scott's excitement over today's trip to New Orleans. It's regarding the choice of Sklorno names, and how they're a throwback to Old Earth football-centric cities. (That's what got garbled and cut out, so now you have all the info.)

Also, we need new calls!  If you want to hear your voice on the show, call 206-666-4673, or email an MP3 to media@scottsigler.com.

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ARealGirl busts out the acting chops for EscapePod

Scott's blog Know how sometimes chocolate gets dunked in your peanut butter, and some dude gets all excited and angry, and you're all like, "Just try it, Bro-Ski!" and he does and then he's all like, "Damn, playa! We might be onto something here!" and then you both consume so many calories you go find a hibernating bear and kick his ass out into the snow because -- dammit -- you just gotta crash?

That's what it's like when two of my favorite things come together, such as our Director of Døøm doing a guest voice for one of my favorite podcasts, EscapePod. ARealGirl did a part in the audio drama of "Bad Dogs Escape" by James Patrick Kelly. Also in the cast is one of my favorite scientists, John Cmar. 

Click here to listen to
"Bad Dogs Escape" on EscapePod

Enjoy!

Trench Warfare, a.k.a. "Arimathea"

Scott's blog Junkies, I screwed up. I asked fan and rocker Joshua Loya (from the band Arimathea) if we could use his track "Sirens" as the music for Somalia Midor's group Trench Warfare in THE STARTER audiobook. Josha said "hell yes." The agreement was that I was supposed to name the band in the credits, thereby giving the group a little Siglerism Bump. 

Trouble is, I forgot to mention them in the credits. Dammit.

So to make it right, I'm posting some links to the song. If you listened to THE STARTER, you'll recognize the tune from Quentin's night out on Isis. Snag the track for your collection, and -- of course -- rock the hell out. 

The song "Sirens" is $0.99, and the full four-song EP that includes "Sirens" is $3.69. 

THE ALL-PRO Episode #10

THE ALL-PRO cover

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THE ALL-PRO Episode #10

HAPPY F-ING NEW YEAR, JUNKIES! In the talky-talk four minutes of fury, we've got a bunch of New Junkie Shout-Outs, NOCTURNAL news, plus my personal goals for 2012.

Got Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift cards from Christmas? Use them to pre-order NOCTURNAL. We're setting up some awesome prizes for people who can prove they pre-ordered the book, so file your receipt away. 

In this episode, Quentin and Gredok the Splithead visit the office of GFL Commissioner Rob Froese aboard Froese's ship, the Regulator. In that office, Quentin sees a plethora of "ancient" football relics. Will Quentin be suspended for the Tier One season opener? Plus, an excerpt from "The GFL For Dummies" that covers GFL expansion (uh, expansion ... hmmm ... maybe that ties into the paragraph just above this one ... hmmm .. ).

PROMO IN THIS EPISODE:
FALSE ALARM, a podcast novel by Heather Stalling

4inkjets.com coupon code SIGLER saves you ten (10%) percent off of ink and toner, refill kits, save money for your printer and avoid Staples and OfficeMax

This episode brought to you by 4inkjets.comSave on ink and toner for any printer with the coupon code SIGLER, which saves you 10 percent. Get printing supplies shipped right to your door for printers and copiers by Apple, Xerox, HP, Epson, Lexmark, Dell, Cannon and more.

2012 stretch goal: one meelion words

Scott's blog
All right, Junkies, time for my 2012 New Year's Resolution. I cover some other resolutions in tomorrow's ALL-PRO Episode #10, but the big one is this:
My goal is to write
1,000,000 words of fiction in 2012.
Read on to see all the brutal, nasty, gory details of this stupid, stupid, stupid goal. 

...Click to continue or comment

FridayFix™: DØM Year in Review

FridayFix sponsored by Eastbay.com

And the tradition continues.  Scott and I sit down with a little bit of beer and an obscenely huge peanut butter cup to discuss the year that was for Dark Øverlord. And the year that will be. And Scott's continuing plans for world domination.

Happy New Year!  If you're heading out to celebrate, stay safe!

GoDaddy.com discount codes 

This episode of FridayFix™ is brought to you by our long-time sponsors GoDaddy.com. Click the banner above to see great discount codes for Go Daddy, like the coupon code SCOTTDEAL which saves 10% off your entire order, or SCOTTHOST which saves 20% off of 1-, 2- or 3-year hosting plans. Visit the discount page to see all the savings codes.

A look ahead to 2012 at Dark Øverlord Media

A's blog Hello from your Director of Døøm. As 2011 comes to a close, we've been plotting what's upcoming in 2012, and getting ready for the battle, errr … I mean, the year ahead.  Here's what it looks like from here:

January: will see new merchandise in the Sigler Store. We'll have "Dig the Sig" tees in the store shortly, and a few more tees coming by month's end.

February 4th: is Superbowl Saturday, and is the launch of the pre-order for THE MVP (Galactic Football League Book 4).  Pre-order starts at 9:00am PST on 2/4/12, and not one second sooner!

March: Our second ebook-only collection of short stories, BONES ARE WHITE will drop (probably).

April 3: Scott's next book from Crown, NOCTURNAL, comes out in hardcover. A five-city book tour is under consideration for the first week, but you can and should pre-order right this minute as we're stirring up some fun rewards for pre-ordering, and it doesn't matter when you do it. So, use some of those holiday gift cards to secure your treat right now!

End of May: will see both Scott and me at Balticon 46!  This is such a great con, and we're already looking forward to it.

June: is a super busy behind-the-scenes month for us. We'll be working on putting the print version of THE MVP to bed, and recording the audiobook as well.

July? Ooooof. Might just have to breathe a little. San Diego ComicCon is on the books as a potential visit for Scott, and a sure thing for me.

August 20 - 24: is the MVP Shipping "Hell Week." We'll be opening this up for volunteers again. Come join the fun!  And right after that we head to Dragon*Con in Atlanta over Labor Day Weekend.

September 4: is THE MVP's official publication date. At this moment there is talk of a potential MVP Tailgate Tour. If it happens, we'll do that in September as well.

October 12 & 13: SiglerFest 2012, Las Vegas, NV.  Details to follow, but it's on, Junkies!

November 2 - 4: Scott is a featured guest at CONvolution in San Fran/Burlingame.

November and December: are currently heavily weighted for writing time, as you've seen these last two month of this year. While there will be three Sigler publications in 2012 (NOCTURNAL, BONES ARE WHITE and THE MVP) Scott is also slated to complete PANDEMIC before the year is out.  

That's what the year ahead looks like for us at the moment.  What big things are brewing for y'all?





Scott