In this week’s show I mentioned that the autograph Alethea Kontis put in my copy of ENCHANTED was amazing, but today I realized I hadn’t posted a picture of it. So, let me remedy that right now. Look and enjoy!

I did an interview with the guys at the First Million Words podcast, and they’ve now posted it up for download. If you’re interested in hearing me talk about my work and writing in general, head on over and give it a listen. You can find it HERE.

Hey, everyone, I wanted to let you all know that the audiobook of HAYWIRE has finally been released to Audible.com. The book was narrated by Veronica Giguere, and she did an amazing job bringing my words to life. I’m so excited by this, and I hope you are too. Please come by, give the sample a listen, and then buy yourself a copy. I think it’s worth it, but I’m a little biased.

Well, it’s March 13th, and you know what that means! No, I’m not talking about when St Felix III began his reign as Catholic Pope, or that today is when Mongolia declared their independence from China in 1921. No, I mean that today is the day HAYWIRE becomes available for purchase. I hope that all of you are ready and eager to buy your copy, because I’m more than ready for you to get it. Now, the first question is of course, “How do I get it?” Great question! First, and probably most importantly for a good number of people, it’s available on Amazon via the following links:

Kindle $4.99_____. Print $9.99______.

It is also available from Barnes & Noble for the Nook. I don’t have a cute picture to serve as a link, but you can click HERE and head straight to it.

If those aren’t to your liking, it’s also available from Smashwords in a wide variety of formats, among them PDF, EPUB, Palm Doc, RTF, and HTML. You can go HERE to see those if you’re interested.

Soon it will also be available in print from Barnes & Noble, as well as in ebook format for iBooks, Sony, and the Kobo. When those come available, I will let you know immediately.

Now, some people have asked me, “What about signed copies of the print book?” That’s another great question! As of right now I don’t have any copies on hand to sign and send out. When I do, I’ll let you know. Until then, though, you are free to mail me your copy with a self-addressed stamped envelope, and I’d be happy to sign it and mail it back to you, or you can order it and send it directly to me, along with an email to let me know to expect it. Either way, reach out to me and I’ll pass an address along to send it to. Or you could make a trip to Balticon, run me down in the hallway or on a panel, and I’d be happy to sign it and have a chat. Your choice.

Let me end this by saying thank you. If you’re reading this, then it means you’re at least somewhat interested in buying my book and reading it. For that, I thank you. Writing is something I’ve wanted to make a career of my entire life, and with your support I get closer to living my dream. I hope that you order the book, love it, order copies for your friends and family, and then you review it on Amazon or where ever you bought it to help bring more people on board. I also hope you pass this post along to everyone you know, and so on, and so on. Thanks for everything, and check back soon for more news.

w00t!

I want you to buy my book Tuesday, March 13th (from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other fine retailers). I do. I can’t lie. I’d love for you buy it. But, more than that, I want you to buy it and ENJOY it. If you buy it and end up hating it, I might have gotten some of your money, but I’ve lost a reader, and at the end of the day it’s you guys who will help me establish a career that thrives. So, to make sure that you know what you’re getting in for before you actually plunk down your hard earned cash, I want to offer you a sample of the book. Right-Click HERE or on the small book cover above to download a PDF of the first three chapters of the novel, complete and unchanged from the full book. If you read it and you like it, then I encourage you to purchase the novel on March 13th in print or the ebook format of your choice. If, sadly, you don’t like it, at least you’ll have saved some money and time, and maybe the next novel that will be coming out later this year, A MINOR MAGIC, will be more to your liking.

Thanks for reading this post, for your time, and for your consideration. It means a lot.

How’s that cover, huh? Because HAYWIRE is being published by a small press, I had more control over what my cover would look like than a lot of other authors would, and I knew my brother — who’d worked on previous covers for me, all to my delight — was up to the challenge. What do you think? Do you like it? Please let me know.

Also, the book will be releasing on March 18th in both print and ebook versions. You won’t be able to just walk into a store and see it on a shelf since Gryphonwood is a smaller press, but you should be able to order it at your local store, as well as online. I hope that you do, and that you contact me to tell me what you thought. I’m really excited. Are you?

When I think about spellcasting, wizards, and far-flung magical lands, the next idea to jump into my mind usually isn’t the US military, but luckily for all of us author Myke Cole made just such a connection, and his debut novel SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT is the result. One part J.K. Rowling, two parts Tom Clancy, CONTROL POINT is a taut military thriller, but instead of guns and terrorists Mr. Cole fills his story with humans bursting with magical powers, powers that spring from a distant world that could be our salvation, or the source of our destruction. And, unlike most urban fantasies where magic runs wild in the streets, unconstrained and unregulated, Mr. Cole — who has a deep military background himself — brings his unique perspective to the genre and shows us a world where the government has clamped down on all magical activity, and where those who have the ability to wield fire, air, and earth are pressed into serving the United States armed forces. Can such power be contained? Can beings who control the very fabric of reality be controlled? These questions and more lie at the heart of SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT, and the answers will blow you right out of your seat. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Cole’s debut novel, and if you want to see what happens when “Lord of the Rings” is smashed into “Clear And Present Danger,” buy his novel and join the excitement. You won’t be disappointed.

SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT will be available in print and on the Kindle January 31st, 2012.

Hey, everyone, Justin here. Today marks the start of Movember, and I’m hoping you’ll want to join me. What’s Movember, you ask? Well, I’ll let the site who organizes the event fill you in:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

And, to make sure that I do my part to help this worthy cause, I’ve shaved off my goatee, signed up with the site, and am now asking people to donate. If you’d care to lend your dollars to this effort, please go to http://mobro.co/JustinMacumber and make your donation. We can use every dollar you’d be so generous to give. Thank you in advance.

Oh, here’s what I look like tonight, just so you know I’m on the up and up:

Hey, folks, Justin here. A little while ago the guys over at ThrillerCast put out a call for people to tell them what books they would want to be buried with, and I was more than happy to throw my thoughts out to them. They came back and asked me to join them on the air, and I was honored to do so. If you want to hear what book I’d like to be buried with, please give this a listen. I hope you enjoy it.

There are several writers whom I idolize. There’s of course Stephen King, my love for which I’ve spoken of many times in the past, and there’s Joss Whedon, whose work on Buffy, Angel, and Firefly has thrilled and chilled me many times over. But, to that list has to be added Kevin Smith. For those who don’t know him, Kevin Smith is the writer/director of such films as CLERKS, CHASING AMY, and ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO. If you’ve never heard of those films, I don’t blame you, but I do judge you. His films have always slanted to the comedic, and they’re usually dialogue heavy, with said dialogue coming from hip, young characters. CLERKS, his first film, came out nearly twenty years ago, and he’s been entertaining me since then. He’s also known for his comic book writing, but for me that’s really just the icing on top of his already amazing film career cake. The guy is just a damn good writer. In fact, I idolize him so much I own an action figure of him, and I have it sitting on my desk like a patron saint of writing so that he can watch over me and give me inspiration when I need it. Photographic evidence has been provided to the right. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Smith’s burgeoning podcast network. He has several great shows, and soon it’ll be growing into an actual internet radio station. My week would be pretty dull without listening to him and his friends talk about their lives and loves and work. If you’ve never listened to SModcast, then you’re seriously missing out.

But, all of that isn’t why I’m writing this blog entry. No, I’m writing this because I recently got to meet Kevin Smith, and it was a fantastic experience. You see, his next film is RED STATE, and it is very much unlike his usual fare in that it’s a horror movie. And, not only is it his first horror movie, but it’s also a movie that he didn’t want to sell the distribution rights to, so he’s been going around the country to show it to audiences himself. Luckily for me, one of his stops was Austin, which is about three to four hours south of me. Now, I have to say, when my brother first brought up the idea of going to Austin to see the movie and Kevin Smith, I was hesitant. I am a creature of habit to the extreme, and the idea of going so far to do something so other than what I’d normally be doing made me itchy. Even though I love Smith’s work, I didn’t want to go. Were it not for my wife saying she wanted to go too, I probably would have stayed home. But, she did want to go, as did my brother’s wife, so we decided to make a little trip out of it. We’d get tickets, drive together to Austin, see the movie, and then drive home the next day. It would a simple, fun time. Knowing we’d all be together made it easier for me to want to go. So, we made plans.

Cut to a couple of weeks ago, and my brother telling me that not only were we going to see the movie, but he’d also gotten us backstage passes to MEET Kevin Smith. How had my brother performed this incredible feat? After cyber-stalking Kevin for what seemed like months, finally he broke through, and Kevin said my brother could have the passes if Scott could give him something in return. Well, as luck would have it, my brother had a short song he’d created awhile ago, and he sent it to Kevin to see if he liked it. Indeed he did, and four backstage passes were issued for us. Joy! Fast-forward to a few days ago, and we all drove to Austin. My wife loves the city, as do I, so it was a pleasure to be there anyway, but knowing we’d get to meet Kevin Smith AND see the movie made it that much sweeter.

Now, if you don’t know who Kevin Smith is, I can only assume you also don’t know what RED STATE is about. RED STATE is a rather simple film, all things considered, but it is a brutal film as well. RED STATE tells the tale of three boys who think they’re going to drive to an internet hookup and get laid, only to have their little sexual sojourn turn into a horrifying ordeal at the hands of a congregation of religious zealots made in the mold of the famous Phelps family, but taken to an extreme. Soon the ATF is called in, and all hell breaks loose at the Five Points Trinity Church compound, which is part Westboro Baptist Church and part Branch Davidian Complex. It’s a short movie, but every second of it counts, and there is no fat to be had. We all really enjoyed it. I wish I had a copy of it so that I could watch it again. If you get a chance, go see it for yourselves. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

After the film, as he’s done at every stop on the tour, Kevin likes to come out and do a little Q&A with the audience. I say little, but really it ended up being about an hour and a half of him talking about the film and his plans for the future (which includes making one more movie — HIT SOMEBODY — before he retires from the film industry and concentrates on his writing, his internet radio show, and developing an independent film distribution company). I loved hearing him talk, but after an hour or so my legs were killing me, I was sweating like crazy, and I needed to go to the bathroom. When it was over, it was bittersweet. Fortunately we knew we were going to meet Kevin soon, so it really wasn’t over at all.

I’ve been lucky, in that because of my podcast and writing I’ve gotten to meet a lot of celebrities I look up to, either in person or over the phone while interviewing them. I’ve met Kevin Anderson (writer of more books than I’ll ever be able to produce from my meager fingers), Nathan Fillion (star of such TV shows as Firefly and Castle), Ray Park (his greatest claim to fame was playing the roll of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, and you need to hear my wife tell the story of that meeting), and Tracy Hickman (one of the authors of the Dragon Lance series, which when I was kid I thought was better than The Lord Of The Rings) amongst others. Meeting Kevin Smith might have been better than them all, because not only did I get to shake his hand and tell him how much I liked his work, but for those few moments he was really engaged with me on a personal level. Thanks to my brother I was able to talk to and touch a person I idolize. Thank you, Scott. And thank you, too, to Kevin Smith. I really hope you kept my business card, and that you call me. I know you’d have fun on my podcast, and getting to talk more with you would be a dream come true.

Anyway, that’s it from me. The trip to Austin was great, the movie was amazing, and I’m still kind of floating on the high of it. Now if only I could figure out a way to meet Stephen King and Joss Whedon…