The Final Experiment is the next book in the Contramulyde Project series, following the lives of Ian Drake, Tria Aguinaldo, and Zoe Lee after the events of The TECH Project.  The Final Experiment will hopefully be published in Fall 2012 by Glass Tower Press – but that will require some support from my friends and fans.

[Warning: Everything below the break will include spoilers for The TECH Project.  If you want to support The Final Experiment but haven't read the book, please refer to this post instead.]

The Final Experiment takes place one year after the death of Maria Aguinaldo.  We meet Ian Drake, the new leader of Team Erie Canal; we see Zoe Lee has gone solo – and rogue; and finally, we watch Tria Aguinaldo as she deals with the news Dr. Nobill gave her at the end of The TECH Project: news that her sister is dead, but potentially may not stay that way.

As Tria races to find a way to bring her sister back to life, Ian struggles with the effects of his mutations manifest on his personality and Zoe tries to cope with the losses she’s faced.

This novel was completed in 2009, but was never edited – primarily because of The TECH Project‘s January 2010 release date.  I hope to finish editing by April of 2012, and the next challenge will be publishing the book.

Here is where I need your support.  If you haven’t purchased a copy of The TECH Project, please do so! You can either contact me personally or via the Facebook page to find out how.  If you live in the Toledo area, I’ll even deliver a copy of the book straight to your door.  Hardcover copies cost $16 each, which includes sales tax.  You can also support Glass Tower Press and The TECH Project by purchasing an eBook when it becomes available.

You don’t have to buy the book to lend your support.  If you’ve already got a copy – or just want to show some support – feel free to drop an e-mail to thetechproject [at] gmail [dot] com.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories.

Any and all of your contributions will help me obtain the means and motivation to publish this book.  Post your comments on The TECH Project/The Final Experiment Facebook pages; follow both this blog and my personal blog.  Leave comments on posts.  Anything you do gives me a reason to keep going.

Without your comments and purchases, The Final Experiment may not get published at all – or there won’t be a hard copy available.  I love print books, and I know many of you love print as well.  Please help me get this project off the ground.

Every copy of the book bought with a mention of this blog will include a handwritten note expressing my appreciation.  Thank you all for the support you’ve given me over the years.

- Feliza

The Final Experiment is the next book in the Contramulyde Project series, following the lives of Ian Drake, Tria Aguinaldo, and Zoe Lee after the events of The TECH Project.  This novel was completed in 2009, but was never edited – primarily because of The TECH Project‘s January 2010 release date.

I hope to finish editing by April of 2012, and the next challenge will be publishing the book.  The Final Experiment will hopefully be published in Fall 2012 by Glass Tower Press – but that will require some support from my friends and fans.

Here is where I need your support.  If you haven’t purchased a copy of The TECH Project, please do so! You can either contact me personally or via the Facebook page to find out how.  If you live in the Toledo area, I’ll even deliver a copy of the book straight to your door.  Hardcover copies cost $16 each, which includes sales tax.  You can also support Glass Tower Press and The TECH Project by purchasing an eBook when it becomes available.

You don’t have to buy the book to lend your support.  If you’ve already got a copy – or just want to show some support – feel free to drop an e-mail to thetechproject [at] gmail [dot] com.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories.

Any and all of your contributions will help me obtain the means and motivation to publish this book.  Post your comments on The TECH Project/The Final Experiment Facebook pages; follow both this blog and my personal blog.  Leave comments on posts.  Anything you do gives me a reason to keep going.

Without your comments and purchases, The Final Experiment may not get published at all – or there won’t be a hard copy available.  I love print books, and I know many of you love print as well.  Please help me get this project off the ground.

Every copy of the book bought with a mention of this blog will include a handwritten note expressing my appreciation.  Thank you all for the support you’ve given me over the years.

- Feliza

Each week, something new and fun will be announced.  This week, it’s the TECH Project birthday contest.  The winner will get one hardcover copy of the book – signed and delivered.

How do you win such a delightful prize?  It’s easy!  Just leave a Wall post on  the Facebook page about one of these three topics – and don’t worry: if you already have a copy, you’re still eligible to win one for yourself or a library/other charity of your choice!

The Topics:

1. Who is your favorite Team Erie Canal member and why?
2. If you could have any superpower, what would you want to have and why?
3. What was your favorite book of 2010?

Submissions will be judged on many points, including grammar and spelling!  (I work as a copy editor, so I’m picky.)  Also, I won’t be the only judge…. so make sure your submission is the best one you have!

You may enter ONE submission for each topic.

New Website?

While we’ll still be at TheTECHProject.net, soon the blog will be moving back to its original domain – TheTECHProject.WordPress.com – and a new site will be there for the rest of your TTP wants, needs, and information.

The blog is going to stay up – and will be home to all updates! – but information about the author, the book, and how to buy the book will move to the new site.

The new site will also be home to more content, which remains a surprise…

Another Blog

Even though it’s not directly related to The TECH Project, my new blog Project Contramulyde will cover some closely related subjects: the upcoming novellas about Ian Drake, Gordy Johnson, and other characters from The TECH Project.

You can check out Project Contramulyde at ProjectContramulyde.Blogspot.com and learn more about the upcoming series.  Keep checking back, though, because a huge announcement is coming soon!

Why, might you ask?  Because this month is October, which means next month – November – is National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month, abbreviated NaNoWriMo, is an international event held once a year by the staff of the Office of Letters and Light.  (Check out the official website, by the way.)  During NaNoWriMo, participants attempt to write a 50,000-word novel during the 30 days of November.

I participated in NaNoWriMo during the 2008 and 2009 sessions, but unfortunately I’ve never “won”.  (If you complete the 50,000 words in that time, you “win.”)  I came very close in 2008 – I wrote approximately 48,000 words – but ultimately didn’t make it in time.

For me, NaNoWriMo is a source of bitter pride: I do it every year, but never manage to actually win.

This year, though, I hope to change that!  If you’d like to join me in my NaNo quest, please comment with your NaNo username.  I’ll add you and we can keep each other on track!

Back to school season.

For years, many of us dreaded this time of year: the back to school shopping (and Mom’s complaints about how expensive things have become,)  the ungodly uniforms, the end of nights spent staying up late, and the prospect of having to wake up at 7 a.m. – or earlier, if school was farther away.

Yet as I grow older, I notice something: my peers are dreading back-to-school time less and less – and so am I.

In fact, I find as I grow older that I enjoy school more and more, especially the beginning and ending of the year.  Maybe I’m getting crazier as I grow older.  (Not something I doubt.)  Maybe I’m just enjoying higher-level education.

But more than than, I think it’s just the overall experience that I love.  Since I started college, I’ve lived in the dorms; after I move in tomorrow, I will have lived in 3 different buildings with 3 different sets of roommates.  I love the experience of living with other people, especially ones that are not related to me.  (Sorry to my sister.  Love you, but I’m sick of sharing a room.)  The experience of living with someone who was raised differently with unfamiliar habits is somehow appealing.

That’s not the only reason I’ve started looking forward to school.  Higher-level work – at the junior and senior academic level in college – definitely appeals to me.  I’m a writer by nature, and somewhat of an analyst.  I have to take a lot of literature classes and writing classes for my degree, which I usually enjoy.

Another thing I like about college is the broad range of people that I get to meet.  I’ve become friends with people ranging from pre-med students to campus journalists and people from so many places, from  small-town Ohio to Liberia.  The experience has been enormous.

And that’s why this is definitely the most wonderful time of the year.

Check out this girl’s top 10 books of all time – then pay attention to her “honorable mentions” at the end.

• The TECH Project Reading Event will be held at Walbridge Park, near the Broadway entrance of the Toledo Zoo.  Apart from a brief reading and a discussion, there will be a game of some kind (possibly/probably Capture the Flag or flag football) and drinks.  Feel free to bring a lunch or some snacks if you like.  Date: June 19, 2010, at 2 p.m.
• Li X Leo’s Artist Alley table at Garasu no Shi Con will feature not only copies of The TECH Project at their table, but also character art.  So far, Feliza (Li) has completed 9 x 12 portraits of two characters, and plans to make more.  If nothing else, stop by the table and say hi!  Garasu no Shi Con is a free convention at Owens Community College in Perrysburg, Ohio. Date: July 17-18, 2010.  Times vary; please see Garasu no Shi Con site for more info.

Hope to see you there!

Now, there are quite a few things that stopped me from gaining that unwanted weight, so I thought I would share a few tips with this year’s graduating class.

1. Don’t bring your car with you to campus. Or, if you do, put it in freshman parking and use it only for things like trips home and shopping.  Many freshmen who do bring cars to campus (and sophomores and juniors and seniors, actually) become dependent on their cars, even if it’s just to go a few hundred feet.  I don’t drive, so I had to walk everywhere when I was on campus.  I ended up burning a lot of calories, and it helped me to curb some of my snacking – why would I walk all the way to the dining hall if it’s 33 degrees outside?
2. Avoid the elevators. This is just common sense for some people – lots of old college buildings have horrible, rickety old machinery.  However, walking up and down the stairs also helps you stay fit and keeps your stamina high.  I’ve seen college students who look perfectly healthy wait five minutes to go up one floor in the elevator.  Stay on time for your classes and keep your body healthy by walking up that one flight of stairs.  [EXCEPTION:  No one is going to mind if you go up the elevator to the 11th floor to your dorm room.  That's just ridiculous.]
3. Use “meal exchanges” instead of going to the all-you-can-eat buffet. Many colleges now offer “meal exchanges” in their food courts.  With this, you can get a meal similar to one you would get at a fast-food restaurant, usually an entree with a drink and side dish.  This is much healthier than the 6 entrees and 4 extra-gigantic servings of french fries you will be tempted to get in the buffet-style cafeteria.  My school even offers meal exchange at the salad place in our food court, which was great.
4. Take advantage of the Student Recreation Center. I didn’t really do this much, but I really should have.  The Student Recreation Center is a great place to hang out with friends for a pick-me-up game of basketball or even just to zen out on the treadmills.  Exercise is key to keeping off those evil 15 pounds – and there are many colleges who offer unlimited access to their recreation center to students with a full load.  You can even study there: colleges such as Miami University in Oxford, Ohio have supports on their machines that hold your book up so you can read as you run.  Get in a couple chapters of Jane Eyre and work off that basket of fried mozzarella at the same time.
5. Bring your bike with you. Even if your college doesn’t have bike racks, there are probably light posts or fences you can lock it to.  Riding a bike works different muscles in your body than walking does, so using a bike instead of walking or driving will help tone different muscles in your body.
6. Keep your drinking to a minimum. When I first met one of my boyfriend’s friends, who is about four years older than me, he asked me if I ever drank.  A little startled, I told him no.  He said that he could tell I didn’t because “you can always tell if a girl drinks a lot in college.  When you see her at the beginning of the year, she’s all cute and pretty.  Then at the end of the year, her clothes don’t fit and she has a huge gut.”  That basically sums it up – they call it a “beer gut” for a reason, I think.

That’s just about all the advice I have.  To those of you attending college next year: stay fit and healthy.  Please eat right, or you’ll get sick!  Besides, college is no fun if all you worry about is how much weight you’ve gained.

I’m conducting a short poll about content for TheTECHProject.net, so if you could take the time to answer a few questions, I would be eternally indebted to you.

Here are the questions:

1. What sort of content do you usually read about online?
2. Do you prefer to read about books or about authors?
3. What sort of content are you most interested in hearing about from TTP.net – college-related information, anecdotes, book news?
4. Have you read The TECH Project?  Do you know how to get a copy of The TECH Project?  Is the book available in your area?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!  And here’s the YouTube video of the day: