Connor Coyne

This will be the gathering place for all timely information on Shattering Glass, my second novel.

College is a strange new world. But it might be too strange for Samo, Ezzie, Marty, and Dunya. They’re just first year undergrads at the prestigious but mysterious Arkaic University, known for its site on the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital, and its curious technology that converts time into electricity.

And then there’s the matter of the shattering glasses. Ezzie has the unfortunate bad habit of causing glass to fracture, just by looking at the. The four undergrads are stalked by student organizations with a history of espionage and homicide — dreaded groups with names like the Theatre of Gold and the Artemis Club — and the eclectic sexual appetites of the older students is something to be both sought out and feared.

Obviously, college is a time of action and exploration, of soul-searching and risk-taking, but the risks at Arkaic University seem to transcend reason. Wise students will learn to master this surreal landscape to both survive and thrive during their first year of college.

CHAPTER 1: Orientation is dangerous. Five students arrive at Arkaic University from Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and California, and settle into life at the Calliope Cradle Dormitory. One of them will never be seen again…

Read Chapters One and Two — http://tinyurl.com/shatteringglass

Read Chapters Three and Four — http://tinyurl.com/shatteringglass2

Read Chapters Five and Six — http://tinyurl.com/shatteringglass3

A MAP OF ARKAIC UNIVERSITY

SAM PERKINS-HARBIN‘S COVER COMPOSITE

Sam is a meticulous and imaginative cover designer who has taken a unique approach to Shattering Glass’ serial release. Each installment’s cover is part of a sequence that proceeds from the prior segment and leads into the next, ultimately revealing and participating in elements of the story. Below you can see the covers (to date) placed side-by-side, in their proper context.

I would like to publish my second novel now and I would like for you to read it.

But there’s a catch.

Imagine that you’re standing on a sheer rock face twenty feet above the frigid, clear-as-glass waters of Lake Superior, and you want to jump. You really do, but you’re afraid of heights, and that water looks awfully cold. You won’t do it on your own. You don’t want to be the only one taking a chance. If someone, anyone, else is willing to take the plunge with you, then you’ll bend your knees, spring into the air, and watch that water drop up and upon you.

My novel, Shattering Glass, or more properly, How to Survive Your First Year of College: Shattering Glass can be published episodically for the Amazon Kindle (you can get the Kindle for free for your PC here, for your Mac here). Serialized fiction was made great by such writers as Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Herman Melville. Technology such as the Kindle has made it viable once again. I would like to release my novel in sixteen chapters bundled into eight installments. I will release one installment each week starting on November 8th.  Each installment will cost 99 cents, and so you get to read the whole novel for under $8.  Artwork will be designed by the fabulous Sam Perkins-Harbin of Forge 22 Design, and the book will be edited by Reinhardt Suarez, who co-curated Chicago’s Tuesday Funk reading series with me.  They are both impressive artists in their own right.

Now here’s the catch: I want to know that I’m not jumping alone. I want to know that I won’t be taking a big risk alone, or sinking hundreds of hours into an endeavor without an audience.  In order for this to happen, I need 150 people to commit to “giving the book a try.”  What does that mean?  It means that they’ll at least purchase the first installment for 99 cents at Amazon.  LET ME KNOW if you are willing to do this, and if I have reached 150 people by November 8th, the book will officially go live.

You can answer by leaving a comment here or on Facebook, or by sending me an email at connor@connorcoyne.com.

* * * * *

About the Book: College is a strange new world. But it might be too strange for Sam, Ezzie, Marty, and Dunya. They’re just first year undergrads at the prestigious but mysterious Arkaic University, known for its site on the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital, and its curious technology that converts time into electricity. And then there’s the matter of the shattering glasses. Every time Ezzie, an aspiring playwright from New York, finds herself looking at any sort of glass, it explodes. The four undergrads are continually stalked by student organizations with a history of espionage and homicide — dreaded groups with names like the Theatre of Gold and the Artemis Club — and the eclectic sexual appetites of the older students is something to be both sought and feared. Obviously, college is a time of action and exploration, of soul-searching and risk-taking, but at Arkaic University, it seems that logic has gone off the deep end.

Still not sure?  Read Chapter 1 here!

Remember: If you want to read this novel, let me know, and please tell your friends about it too.  150 people is our goal.

The writer didn’t even have the meager pride Faust’s reckless ambition. Instead, procrastination had been the culprit this time. Procrastination… and a demanding and needy child! Never a man to breach a contract, Mephistopheles gave the child her bottle as promised, and whisked the writer away to the lake of fire. There, twenty-five minutes is longer than eternity.

Tyrone thinks there isn’t something right about this DJ, with his Ray-Ban sunglasses, his corduroys, his nonchalance… but what could it be? As Tyrone tries to decipher the puzzle, he scratches his head with two of his tentacles while using the rest to light cigarettes and order drinks for the many women surrounding him.

The insult burned so bad he had to have a whole bowl of soup to soothe his flayed tongue. His victim, on the other hand, had to cover himself in aloe vera. It was a pretty sore day for both of them, and their friendship never fully recovered.