WRITEBRAIN - J-F. Dubeau

... that gets posted post holidays.Paul and JF set goals and aspirations for 2018 before the holidays hit hard. There's a lot to take care of in the upcoming year but if even half of it happens, it'll be a productive one.What do you have in store for 2018 as writing goals?

JF gets into this one looking for a fight but is disappointed that Paul largely agrees with him. It's a battle between either waiting for motivation or exercising discipline and you won't be surprised by where it ends up.

Hey... this thing on? Hello?I don't know what to tell you people, but, JF and Paul are back? After a long hiatus, you demo-dynamic duo has returned to talk about... huh... let me check my notes. Says 'books' here. So I guess they're going to talk about books.But first, a quick bunch of excuses... err... I mean, a quick explanation as to the hiatus!

What do Marcel Proust, Dungeons & Dragons and our boys here at WriteBrain have in common? Find out as Paul and JF continue their study into the challenges of creating credible characters. The spine of storytelling.

JF has been sitting on this episode for a couple of weeks. Finally getting off his ass to post it, this 'gem' is all about characters. The boys didn't realize going in how ambitious of a subject it would be to tackle. It will definitely require another episode and perhaps even more. Maybe a guest will be necessary to finalize this one.

The boys have a guest! Fancy pants R.R. Virdi joins them to talk about he complicated and demanding world of self-publishing. With many of our listeners trying self-publishing options themselves, Ronni's expertise is a good primer for this most intricate of enterprise.Check out R.R. Virdi's books on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

JF and Paul talk about their experiences with the editing process and give their impressions of what it means to edit a book, from the self editing stage all the way to copy edits.Feel free to chime in with your own experiences and let us know how you go about editing your books.

Every wondered where Audiobooks come from? Well when a daddy Audiobook and a mommy Audiobook love each other very much......nothing happens. These are inanimate objects.To get an Audiobook you need an actor and a producer and all sorts of stuff that the boys don't understand. Thankfully, actress Amy Landon, the narrator for the upcoming Audiobook for The Life Engineered joins them to explain how it all goes down.Don't miss this fantastic interview where Paul asks smart questions and JF doesn't. Learn about Audiobooks and about Amy's career. Then go hire her for your next project. Because she's awesome. Check out Amy's website     Then go order your copy of The Life Engineered in audio form

The boys celebrate the holidays! JF summons forth the ghosts of Christmas past (joys and regrets of 2016), present (hopes and dreams for future publishing success) and future (resolutions for 2017).A fun little episode where the guys just chill and enjoy each other's company while chatting about the past year and how it builds into what the future might hold. Literally Paul's Christmas tree

The guys have guests for what is essentially the wake of WriteBrain's rebellious sister show: Drinkshares Last Call. But never fear! DLC will be like the Phoenix reborn! JF and Paul have Bekki and Christine on to tell us all about their ambitious plans along with more about them, their books, hopes and dreams. Bonus: They inject a little of the Drinkshares spirit into the show for a taste of what to expect from what the future holds...

Paul couldn't make it for this wonderful episode 36, but fear not gentle listeners, for JF is not left alone to have conversations with plush toys this time. Instead, he's kept in line by guest Sam Morgan from the JABerwocky literary agency.Sam explains the job, purpose, care and feeding of a literary agent and gives us a great primer of what to expect from an agent, how best to approach one without spooking it away and some best practices for agent hunting. Check out some of the books from authors represented by Sam. Dusk fall by Christopher HusbergSteal the Sky by Megan E. O'KeefeMechanical Failure by Joe Zieja

This week the boys have a special guest in Jamison Stone. Turns out Paul and JF lied when they said episodes would get shorter. We had so much fun talking to Jamison about his book, his passion for cosplay, his audiobook and the events he attended that we went a little long.I won't say it's required reading, but you should definitely pick up a copy of Jamison's book, Rune of the Apprentice. Oh, you've read it? Go review it on Amazon and Goodreads, etc. Click the image! It leads to untold riches...

Back again!The boys are back and this week they talk about what kind of good habits you need to have if you want to be a steady and/or prolific writer. How do you get all those words out regularly if NaNoWriMo is going to be over in a few days. The answer is: NaNoWriMo is all the time and JF believes in magic.Enjoy the show!

Writer, magician, podcaster, author of the Jessica Blackwood books, star of A&E’s ‘Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne’ and all around renaissance man; Andrew Mayne himself is our guest and he’s here to help YOU guys.While we could talk to Andrew endlessly about his varied and fascinating career, it’s none of the achievements listed above that we wanted to talk to him about. Because being an award nominated tv star wizard isn’t enough, Andrew has also been working on a project for us, writers.Join us for this episode where we discuss AuthorPage.com. A website where authors at all points in their career can build a site, share stories and build an audience.But why read about it here when you can hear it from the man himself. Download the show and enjoy.When you’re done, check out all of Andrew’s other projects at the links below.andrewmayne.comweirdthings.com (Where you'll find more about the AfterThings podcast we discuss)authorpage.com/andrewmayne Trustworthy

The irony of this show is that we talk about plotting and preparing for a book project, but we prepared nothing. Or not much. We followed what I'm going to call the 'Paul Inman Method'. Why? Listen to find out!

Who are these two guys?It’s the WriteBrain guys! They’re back! They don’t explain it in the podcast but JF has been extremely busy traveling to exotic but dangerous locals to feed and help the people that live there. Paul grew a beard. In short, they were both very busy. The important thing is: WriteBrain has returned.Back but… different?As times change so does WriteBrain. We’re one year in and it’s time for an overhaul. We’re going be focusing more on the art of writing and publishing but since we’re not experts, we’re going to try to make friends with some experts and have them on to help us out.We’re also going to have more of our author friends come on and tell us about their books.It’s gonna be a good time.

This week, after yet another long hiatus, the boys have company. Brian Guthrie, author of Rise (out now!) joins the show to talk about his book, his inspirations and more importantly; how insane DragonCon is!It's a great show and might just be the genesis of how WriteBrain shapes up in the future. The important thing to remember is to go pick up Rise or, if you already have it, go review it on Amazon, Goodreads and everywhere else!

Paul came back from SDCC and he won't shut up about it... and that's a good thing! Because it's fascinating. The guys talk about writing short stories but that's not what you want to hear. Oh no, Paul also got the privilege to talk to both Dave Barrett, the author of It's All Fun And Games along with Zachary Tyler Linville, author of Welcome To Deadland.

Inkshares is a changing and the last few weeks have seen some important upheaval for the company. One contest ends and another is already going on, but more importantly, there's someone new at the helm and we have him on the show to help answer some of YOUR questions about the direction of Inkshares and how it impacts your books.The guys are honoured to have Adam Gomolin as a guest who shares with us about Inkshares, past, present and future.NOTE: With Paul in Vegas and a ton of technical difficulty, it's a miracle we got this done at all. Thanks for you patience Adam!

Whoa! We're back... and I'll be damned if I remember what we talked about. It's been a crazy week guys and I'm sorry I don't have a better description of the episode, but with Paul gone, I don't know what I'm doing.I miss you Paul...

The boys have the end-of-contest jitters and talk about the last few books they haven't covered in the top 10 of the Nerdist Video Game contest. More importantly, they have the delightful Alicia Smock, previously from Examiner.com as a guest to help make the podcast more pleasant and answer a few questions. If you don't know Alicia, she's been doing amazing interviews with Inkshares authors as well as reviewing books. Now that Examiner.com is closing its doors, find out what's next for our intrepid reviewer!Follow Alicia on Twitter orRead her articles here!

JF is joined by Mr. Murloc in this mind-altering version of the show. Paul is on vacation and the original episode 25 has gone missing, so JF takes over as best he can and without a safety net. The results are horrifying. Still, talks about books and the Nerdist Collection contest along with his thoughts, rambling though they may be, on the Inkshares Properties App. Strap in... it's a weird one. Mr. Murloc

The guys have a guest! It's Landon Crutcher, author of Monkey Business and first to be published under the Quill Collection on Inkshares. Landon is a super fun guy to chat with and brought a lot of insight into his process an the origins of his book. We talk about his experience and the differences with the 'standard' Inkshares model. Paul and JF also dig deeper in to the books and campaigns of the Nerdist Video Game contest.Landon's next project is called Black Cloud and from the description it sounds amazing. Follow it on Inkshares so you don't miss when the official campaign begins!Do us a favour; if you've read Monkey Business, go review it on Amazon!

In this episode, Paul and JF make good on their promise to talk about other books in the current Nerdist Collection Contest and through their initial glance at the competition get really excited about all the promising novels on offer. The guys talk about Peter Ryan's Destiny Imperfect and the awesomely named Andrew Fantasia's novel; Side Scroller. Why don't you go pre-order a copy of each? They also offer themselves up as sacrifice to be the first to discuss their stories in the Too Many Controllers anthology.

Paul tells us about his con experience; the good, the bad and the weird. JF tries to touch on the sensitive subject of pulling a project off of Inkshares and the reasons that might spawn such a decision and finally, the boys break all the rules for the current Nerdist Collection contest. The next few weeks are going to be interesting so let's hope we can get our recording schedule squared off.

Holy cow guys! Paul's book Ageless is officially out and if you don't have it; what's wrong with you? The guys are back and they're talking book releases again and preparing for future campaigns. They also discuss Inkshares being at the Book Expo America and what it might mean for readers and writers in the coming months.

In this comparatively short episode, Paul and JF talk about the impending release of Ageless and how it feels to see your book show up in people's hands while celebrating the funding of A God in the Shed. What do these two things have to do in common? Community and the role it plays in getting your book out there.What about book reviews? We didn't have time! However, here are a couple of books nearing their funding deadline that you should absolutely check out before you miss your chance:

WRITEBRAIN RSS This week, they guys are alone again and talk at length about ending campaigns, contests and ways to promote books both inside and out of a crowdfunding effort. Also, JF is losing his mind over the end of his campaign for A God in the Shed. Consider pre-ordering.Oh! And Paul's book, Ageless is out in digital format. Get your goddamn copy today!

In this episode, Paul and JF talk to their honoured guest; G. Derek Adams about his upcoming book, Asteroid Made of Dragons. The guys ask Derek the usual battery of interview questions with a few curveballs to keep thing interesting.Asteroid Made of Dragons is officially released on April 5th and WriteBrain thinks you should get a copy. It's a great book. In fact, JF already gives it his seal of approval... for what that's worth.

On this episode Paul and JF have a special guest: Jim McDoniel, author of the just released An Unattractive Vampire, second book released as part of the Sword & Laser Collection on Inkshares. The guys discuss Vampires, launching a book and to everyone's relief, JF's mic dies midway through the show. Everyone lived happily ever after. (Seriously, sorry for the bad audio. It is JF's fault)Check out our book picks for this episode and pick up a copy of An Unattractive Vampire immediately! Read it as fast as possible and then go review it. Go! Go! Go!

JF is back from his cruise and from his book launch. That's right; The Life Engineered is out in the wild and the guys talk about the lead-up to the launch along with the release itself. We apologize for the lack of episodes and the wonky schedule recently but as we learned, launching a book is a lot of work and will disrupt a normal human being's schedule. JF in particular has been busy being on a list of other podcasts, all of which are worth your ears.Sword & Laser interview with JFJF is a guest on Current GeekBeyond the Playlist with J. Hammond C.Mind of a Geek

No show this week guys. J-F is off on a family vacation and didn't prepare a show in advance. This gives Paul a chance to catch up on stuff. Y'know... stuff.

In this episode, Paul gets an earful of the mistakes that JF has made on his trip to San Francisco. The boys discuss two books on Inkshares: Single Version by Scott T. Barsotti (JF apologizes for ranting about your video Scott. He just wants what's best for you) and Lies and Deception by André Brun. Both are great looking books and deserve your support right... now.If they guys sound a bit drunk by the end it's because they're out of practice, not because either was inebriated. So they claim.

Where the magic happens... On a very special episode of WriteBrain (one that Paul had a hell of a time editing), J-F visits the Mothership. A.K.A.: The Inkshares offices in San Francisco. Instead of the standard format, listen to the guys do their usual banter with occasional interruptions from the Inkshares people as we learn more about the awesome people who make this amazing company work. J-F invested in a trip to San Francisco, just before the SuperBowl so he could have the privilege of signing copies of The Life Engineered for his backers. One thing he learned dear friends; signing takes a lot more time to do than you'd think (think 100 copies/hour) and he spent too many hours goofing off and eavesdropping on Jeremy, Avalon, Matt and the rest. Behold: the whiteboard of awesome! Learn with us how the proverbial sausage is made. It's a fascinating story for readers and writers alike.J-F:On a personal note, I really want to thank the Inkshares crew for being so hospitable and allowing me the leeway to finish signing and numbering all the books for backers. It's quite a thrill to see the boxes of books and feel the electricity in the air as these guys do their job.I was fortunate enough to be there when Dracula vs. Hitler hit its funding goal and witness the liquid excitement that flooded the office. If there ever was a doubt that Inkshares loves books and loves the books they work on, it is completely dissipated now. So cool to be surrounded by these boxes. Such an amazing feeling... Again, thank you so much Inkshares for everything you did to make The Life Engineered a reality. However, as I've learned during my visit: We're barely getting started.JF They made me part of the team for the day and let me sit at the adult table! My signature and handwriting did not remain very consistent I'm afraid. WRITEBRAIN RSS

Paul quizzes JF about his non-writing hobbies and the guys work through one of the biggest issue JF is having with his upcoming release. Catharsis is reached... until the next crisis.

In this one, Paul and JF interview John Robin, author of the upcoming Inkshares novel Blood Dawn, moderator of the Inkshares Writer's forum on Goodreads, hyper-active member of the Inkshares community and all around awesome guy. Come listen and discover the myriad ways John has helped build the writers community on Inkshares and help other writers towards their goal.It's the first time there's a third chair on the podcast... and it shows.

JF broke his promise of a new marketing initiative, but he has a good excuse; he needs to start thinking about the launch for The Life Engineered. The guys discuss launch parties. You can find the awesome article they refer to, by the amazing Marie Bilodeau, here. JF also reveals something of his mysterious past during his review of How to Get Run Over by a Truck while Paul goes deep about his love of tacos in his review of Tacocity: Los Angeles Through the Eyes of a Tacophile.

Paul and JF talk about how difficult it is to expand beyond people you know when campaigning for a book even though it's an important step in the process. They also discuss two science fiction books currently funding on Inkshares. Check them out below!

JF and Paul say goodbye to 2016! Kidding! We didn't even realize this was the last episode of the year. They talk about the psychological no-man's land that sits between final approvals and a book's release as well as some of the coolest things going on and review a couple of books that you should look at pre-ordering.Since we don't mention it in the episode: Happy New Years everyone! Thanks for all your support.

No episode this week. Instead, we have something special: the audio from the Google Hangout we did for the Inkshares Review-a-thon.Join Paul and JF as they interview Inkshares authors, do an audio play based on Dax Harrison (recently funded book on Inkshares), chat with Gary Whitta and read some reviews left for books during the Review-a-thon.Buckle in, it's a long one.Tony Valdez - Dax HarrisonCara Weston - She is the EndGary Whitta - AbominationJim McDoniel - An Unattractive VampireJohn Robin - Blood DawnRichard Heinz - The Seventh Age: DawnAmanda Ornek - Deus Hex Machina 

Paul and J-F discuss filling out the Design Brief, the second document you'll receive if you publish with Inkshares. They also talk about Artie Sievers' book Captain and B. Riggs' book Terminal Magic. Both look like promising reads and are still funding. Why don't you do yourself a favour and pre-order a copy of each. Finally, the media noise for the Sword & Laser Collection contest: the Sequel along with J-F's book, The Life Engineered are ramping up. The former is mentioned in an article in Examiner.com and the later is mentioned (along with the Sword & Laser Collection) on io9.com!

Paul and J-F talk about Inkshares marketing, Dax Harrison, by Tony Valdez, Rise, by Brian Guthrie and give a few tips on how to prepare, survive and hopefully win a crowdfunding contest on Inkshares.Why that last subject? Because Inkshares is working with Sword & Laser on a second contest for their Collection. Only three books will get automatically published with this contest and one will make it into the Collection. J-F thinks that with the lower goal of 750 books to reach the goal, there's no reason the top three wouldn't get their funding regardless... if not more.

Where Paul and J-F discuss Melissa Berg's - Prophecy of the Stars and G. Derek Adams' - Asteroid Made of Dragons. They also discuss in depth the Marketing Questionnaire that they received when their books got accepted on Inkshares and what to be prepared to answer if you want to get published.

In which Paul and J-F discuss the adventure/humor novel Monkey Business, the sci-fi epic She is the End along with Inkshare's new collection; Quill.

More episode details and notes coming...

In which J-F and Paul promote some other books.More episode details and notes coming...

In this, our official debut episode.More episode details and notes coming...

We try out the format, talk about our own books and plot the course of this podcast's journey.