Join Us follows an imprisoned space labor activist locked in a battle of wills with his fascist interrogator.
Brand-spankin’ new sci-fi short story up on Patreon! Join Us opens with space labor unionist Dirk Larsen imprisoned on the planet T’Lairen and interrogated by a faceless crony of the fascist government. As attempts to break his will fail, the roles of jailed and jailer blur, and Dirk plots escape while grappling with the ideals he’s willing to sacrifice to do so. As I go into with more detail in the post, I originally wrote this in spring 2021 with the January 6th insurrection fresh on my mind, hence the photo. Tragically, it’s only grown more relevant (Seeing a fascist militia arrest its political opposition IRL this week was not on my promotional list).
Available for all Patreon subscribers, as well as non-subscribers for $3. All proceeds are part of a $5,000 fundraiser my wife Angela and I are running to pay for surgery to heal our beloved dog Harley Quinn’s torn CCLs. Sign up for my Patreon at any tier to read Join Us plus the first ten new subscribers will get a free copy of the upcoming audiobook of The Mystery of the Pale King, narrated by yours truly. Want to make a one-time donation instead of a recurring one? No prob! I’m grateful for every donation made via PayPal (@samflynn1992) or Venmo (Sam-Flynn-7). Thank you to everyone who already pledged and donated. Since we started our fundraiser last week, we’ve already raised almost $1,000. Me, Angie and especially Harley are grateful for every bit of support.
MAKING A LIVING ON PATREON
Last year, Timber Ghost Press published my debut fantasy/horror novella The Mystery of the Pale King which Grimdark Magazine named one of the best reads of 2024. This year, I am focused on querying my next book, the epic fantasy/mystery novel The Darkest Fate. But behind the scenes, for almost a decade now since I graduated college, I’ve worked the night shift at the superb locally-owned restaurant O’Betty’s Red Hot. A night owl long before I started working there, the job allowed (and continues to allow) me to write on my own time and pursue my dream of becoming author. For a decade, the arrangement worked.
Then my 20s became my 30s. I’ll be 33 this year. Life gets more expensive, for all of us, and that’s particularly true in the service industry. Add being an independent artist to it and you can see the cash flow problems. Thing is, at some point, my wife and I would like to have kids. Kids cost money. If I’m going to attempt to write full-time, the time is now, when my responsibilities are as limited as they will ever be, even while costs are higher than ever.
That is why, following the example of some of my favorite authors including N.K. Jemisin and Monica Byrne, my new goal is to crowdfund a working salary, to be used for living expenses such as groceries, rent, transportation, and healthcare. More immediately, our beloved seven year-old dog Harley requires surgery on both her hind legs to repair torn CCLs. Raising $5,000 for her is paramount, which is why proceeds raised on Patreon and from the forthcoming audiobook release of The Mystery of the Pale King (coming soon to Audible) are so important. In addition to exclusive fiction such as Join Us, each tier comes with its own benefits such as e-books, signed copies, and behind-the-scenes insight on the world of SFFH publishing. As always, thank you for reading.
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