by Michael Rigg
Another huge thank you goes out to Eileen McCarthy. You started reading the Heart of Bronze blognovel before I'd even met you, and you just blew me away with your excitement and questions. You were my first real fan, and your craving for the ongoing adventures of Alice and Bryce really helped keep me going. Likewise, I'd like to thank Judy Gehrels for her ongoing inspiration and encouragement. If and when a Heart of Bronze story comes to audio, you'll probably find Judy's name in the credits as the female lead.
I'd also like to thank my good friend and Best Man, Ray Volk for naming Pandora's plane and the patriarch of the story, Jefferson Landry, and for keeping me on my toes with questions and suggestions. And again, I'd like to send another thank-you to Ethan Richards. Not only did Ethan inspire me with the blognovel cover design, and the character of Lady McFerran, he also went the extra mile you always dream a fan will take. He created a reference wiki that he maintained throughout the blognovel process, giving myself and other fans a really cool reference point for characters, locations and items in the story, and a way to keep this sprawling roller coaster of a tale in what Bryce Landry would call, “A fine order.” Thanks again, E!
Another huge thank-you goes out to the countless scores of readers on Twitter and Facebook who answered my “Pick a Bad Guy to Die” vote. I was so moved by the number of votes I got that either said, “Neither one. I like them both as bad guys,” or “You're doing such a good job, I'd rather just let you pick” that it was actually hard to decide what to do with Teivel Hearse and Bradford Thorne. I hope you, dear reader, like my solution. Just don't spoil it for yourself by jumping to the end. Enjoy the ride.
I would be completely remiss in my thank-you duties if I didn't reach out to Doug Powers, author of the totally awesome futuristic cop dramas, Retiree and Retiree 2.0. Doug was kind enough to look through Clockwork novel after it was published and found more than 50 stupid mistakes. While I pride myself in knowing the difference between to, too, and two, I'm not so keen on proper comma use. Thank you, Doug, for being so detailed in your review. I hope I learned my lesson for next time.
And finally, I'd like to thank you. Whether you're a new adventurer in the Heart of Bronze universe, or someone who suffered eye strain at the mercy of the blognovel version, thank you for reading. Please continue to preserve the art of the written word. Read it. Write it. Fix it when it's broken. Your feedback, criticism, praise, and every acknowledgment is deeply appreciated. And, of course, thank you to the folks behind Amazon Kindle Publishing who give creative storytellers a way to get their tales to a worldwide audience. And a very, very special thank you, Parker Moose, for guiding me through the Kindle process and pushing me to publish. You know that thing where you put two heart cells next to each other and they start beating in tandem? That's me and you. You're a good friend, a tremendously talented storyteller, and a great inspiration.
I'd love to hear what you thought about Clockwork Looking Glass, so please drop me a line. You can contact me at [email protected], and see more of my creative craziness at my site, riggstories.com. PLEASE NOTE: I answer ALL my emails. If you don't hear back from me in an appreciable amount of time, please check your spam folder.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Rigg knew he was destined to tell fantastic stories from the age of 12. It was the summer of 1977 and a little inconsequential film called Star Wars ignited his imagination and opened his mind and heart to infinite possibilities. He studied film and philosophy in college before switching his focus to writing when a creative writing professor pointed out, “You know, you don't have to deal with actors and producers, weather and catering. The budget for a writer's special effects amounts to zero dollars, you can set your story anyplace you want, and--”
Michael never heard the rest of the advice. He was already filling pages in his mind with fantastic adventures, thrillers and mysteries. His keyboard became his camera. His monitor became the Big Screen.
In 2007, after several novels he shared with only his closest family and friends, Michael decided to try an experiment. He wrote an entire novel, a chapter a week, directly into a blog. This “blognovel” became his window to the world and brought him fans and critics from every corner of the globe, then in 2011, he began plotting out the characters and settings of a unique universe caught between realities, an urban fantasy flavored with Steampunk visions in a mythical time of ghouls and witches, soldiers and airships, magic and espionage. The Heart of Bronze universe was born.
Michael lives in Chicago, Illinois with his lovely wife, Melanie, and their Italian Greyhounds, Daisy and Maggie. When he's not writing he soaks up every possible media where fantasy thrives and the imagination reigns. And when his head is not in the clouds, he's looking with pride to the accomplishments of the grown children he considers his own, Chris and Amanda. He looks forward to the day he can live out one of Amanda's adventures and see the light he remembers from long ago shining anew in her eyes.
If you'd like to find out more about Michael J. Rigg and his work, you can visit his web site at www.riggstories.com. You can contact him directly at [email protected].
