diff --git a/contrib/create-release-candidate.sh b/contrib/create-release-candidate.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2eef6f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/create-release-candidate.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,294 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+# (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+# the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." || exit 1
+scriptname=$(basename "$0")
+
+projectGroup="fluo"
+sourceArtifact="build-resources"
+sourceArtifactName="Fluo Build Resources"
+binArtifact="" # blank for none
+
+# check for gpg2
+hash gpg2 2>/dev/null && gpgCommand=gpg2 || gpgCommand=gpg
+
+# check if running in a color terminal
+terminalSupportsColor() {
+  local c; c=$(tput colors 2>/dev/null) || c=-1
+  [[ -t 1 ]] && [[ $c -ge 8 ]]
+}
+terminalSupportsColor && doColor=1 || doColor=0
+
+color() { local c; c=$1; shift; [[ $doColor -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "\\e[0;${c}m${*}\\e[0m" || echo "$@"; }
+red() { color 31 "$@"; }
+green() { color 32 "$@"; }
+yellow() { color 33 "$@"; }
+
+fail() { echo -e ' ' "$@"; exit 1; }
+runLog() { local o; o=$1 && shift && echo "$(green Running) $(yellow "$@" '>>' "$o")" && echo Running "$@" >> "$o" && eval "$@" >> "$o"; }
+run() { echo "$(green Running) $(yellow "$@")" && eval "$@"; }
+runOrFail() { run "$@" || fail "$(yellow "$@")" "$(red failed)"; }
+
+currentBranch() { local b; b=$(git symbolic-ref -q HEAD) && echo "${b##refs/heads/}"; }
+
+cacheGPG() {
+  # make sure gpg agent has key cached
+  # first clear cache, to reset timeouts (best attempt)
+  { hash gpg-connect-agent && gpg-connect-agent reloadagent /bye; } &>/dev/null
+  # TODO prompt for key instead of using default?
+  local TESTFILE; TESTFILE=$(mktemp --tmpdir "${USER}-gpgTestFile-XXXXXXXX.txt")
+  [[ -r $TESTFILE ]] && "$gpgCommand" --sign "${TESTFILE}" && rm -f "${TESTFILE}" "${TESTFILE}.gpg"
+}
+
+prompter() {
+  # $1 description; $2 pattern to validate against
+  local x
+  read -r -p "Enter the $1: " x
+  until eval "[[ \$x =~ ^$2\$ ]]"; do
+    echo "  $(red "$x") is not a proper $1" 1>&2
+    read -r -p "Enter the $1: " x
+  done
+  echo "$x"
+}
+
+pretty() { local f; f=$1; shift; git log "--pretty=tformat:$f" "$@"; }
+gitCommits() { pretty %H "$@"; }
+gitCommit()  { gitCommits -n1 "$@"; }
+gitSubject() { pretty %s "$@"; }
+
+createEmail() {
+  # $1 version (optional); $2 rc seqence num (optional); $3 staging repo num (optional)
+  local ver; [[ -n $1 ]] && ver=$1 || ver=$(prompter 'version to be released (eg. x.y.z)' '[0-9]+[.][0-9]+[.][0-9]+')
+  local rc; [[ -n $2 ]] && rc=$2 || rc=$(prompter 'release candidate sequence number (eg. 1, 2, etc.)' '[0-9]+')
+  local stagingrepo; [[ -n $3 ]] && stagingrepo=$3 || stagingrepo=$(prompter 'staging repository number from https://repository.apache.org/#stagingRepositories' '[0-9]+')
+
+  local branch; branch=$sourceArtifact-$ver-rc$rc
+  local commit; commit=$(gitCommit "$branch") || exit 1
+  local tag; tag=rel/$sourceArtifact-$ver
+  echo
+  yellow  "IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!!"
+  echo
+  echo    "    Don't forget to push a branch named $(green "$branch") with"
+  echo    "    its head at $(green "${commit:0:7}") so others can review using:"
+  echo    "      $(green "git push origin ${commit:0:7}:refs/heads/$branch")"
+  echo
+  echo    "    Remember, $(red DO NOT PUSH) the $(red "$tag") tag until after the vote"
+  echo    "    passes and the tag is re-made with a gpg signature using:"
+  echo    "      $(red "git tag -f -m 'Apache $sourceArtifactName $ver' -s $tag ${commit:0:7}")"
+  echo
+  yellow  "IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!!"
+  echo
+  read -r -s -p 'Press Enter to generate the [VOTE] email...'
+  echo 1>&2
+
+  # compute the date with a buffer of 30 minutes
+  local votedate; votedate=$(date -d "+3 days 30 minutes" "+%s")
+  # round back to the previous half-hour
+  local halfhour; halfhour=$((votedate - (votedate % 1800)))
+  votedate=$(date -u -d"1970-01-01 $halfhour seconds UTC")
+  export TZ="America/New_York"
+  local edtvotedate; edtvotedate=$(date -d"1970-01-01 $halfhour seconds UTC")
+  export TZ="America/Los_Angeles"
+  local pdtvotedate; pdtvotedate=$(date -d"1970-01-01 $halfhour seconds UTC")
+
+  local fingerprint; fingerprint=$("$gpgCommand" --list-secret-keys --with-colons --with-fingerprint 2>/dev/null | awk -F: '$1 == "fpr" {print $10}')
+  [[ -z $fingerprint ]] && fingerprint="UNSPECIFIED"
+
+  local binArtifactPath; [[ -n $binArtifact ]] && binArtifactPath="Binary: $(green "https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/orgapache$projectGroup-$stagingrepo/org/apache/$projectGroup/$binArtifact/$ver/$binArtifact-${ver}-bin.tar.gz")"
+  cat <<EOF
+$(yellow '============================================================')
+Subject: $(green [VOTE] "$sourceArtifactName" "$branch")
+$(yellow '============================================================')
+$(tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' <<< ${projectGroup:0:1})${projectGroup:1} Developers,
+
+Please consider the following candidate for $sourceArtifactName $(green "$ver").
+
+Git Commit:
+    $(green "$commit")
+Branch:
+    $(green "$branch")
+
+If this vote passes, a gpg-signed tag will be created using:
+    $(green "git tag -f -m 'Apache $sourceArtifactName $ver' -s $tag") \\
+    $(green "$commit")
+
+Staging repo: $(green "https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/orgapache$projectGroup-$stagingrepo")
+Source (official release artifact): $(green "https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/orgapache$projectGroup-$stagingrepo/org/apache/$projectGroup/$sourceArtifact/$ver/$sourceArtifact-${ver}-source-release.tar.gz")
+${binArtifactPath}
+(Append ".sha1", ".md5", or ".asc" to download the signature/hash for a given artifact.)
+
+All artifacts were built and staged with:
+    mvn release:prepare && mvn release:perform
+
+Signing keys are available at https://www.apache.org/dist/$projectGroup/KEYS
+(Expected fingerprint: $(green "$fingerprint"))
+
+Release notes (in progress) can be found at: $(green "https://$projectGroup.apache.org/.../$ver")
+
+Please vote one of:
+[ ] +1 - I have verified and accept...
+[ ] +0 - I have reservations, but not strong enough to vote against...
+[ ] -1 - Because..., I do not accept...
+... these artifacts as the $(green "$ver") release of Apache $sourceArtifactName.
+
+This vote will remain open until at least $(green "$votedate") ($(green "$edtvotedate") / $(green "$pdtvotedate")).
+Voting can continue after this deadline until the release manager sends an email ending the vote.
+
+Thanks!
+
+P.S. Hint: download the whole staging repo with
+    wget -erobots=off -r -l inf -np -nH \\
+    $(green "https://repository.apache.org/content/repositories/orgapache$projectGroup-$stagingrepo/")
+    # note the trailing slash is needed
+$(yellow '============================================================')
+EOF
+}
+
+cleanUpAndFail() {
+  # $1 command; $2 log; $3 original branch; $4 next branch
+  echo "  Failure in $(red "$1")!"
+  echo "  Check output in $(yellow "$2")"
+  echo "  Initiating clean up steps..."
+
+  run git checkout "$3"
+
+  # pre-populate branches with expected next branch; de-duplicate later
+  local branches; branches=("$4")
+  local tags; tags=()
+  local x; local y
+  for x in $(gitCommits "${cBranch}..${nBranch}"); do
+    for y in $(git branch --contains "$x" | cut -c3-); do
+      branches=("${branches[@]}" "$y")
+    done
+    for y in $(git tag --contains "$x"); do
+      tags=("${tags[@]}" "$y")
+    done
+  done
+
+  # de-duplicate branches
+  local a
+  branches=($(printf "%s\n" "${branches[@]}" | sort -u))
+  for x in "${branches[@]}"; do
+    echo "Do you wish to clean up (delete) the branch $(yellow "$x")?"
+    a=$(prompter "letter 'y' or 'n'" '[yn]')
+    [[ $a == 'y' ]] && git branch -D "$x"
+  done
+  for x in "${tags[@]}"; do
+    echo "Do you wish to clean up (delete) the tag $(yellow "$x")?"
+    a=$(prompter "letter 'y' or 'n'" '[yn]')
+    [[ $a == 'y' ]] && git tag -d "$x"
+  done
+  exit 1
+}
+
+createReleaseCandidate() {
+  yellow  "WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!!"
+  echo
+  echo    "  This will modify your local git repository by creating"
+  echo    "  branches and tags. Afterwards, you may need to perform"
+  echo    "  some manual steps to complete the release or to rollback"
+  echo    "  in the case of failure."
+  echo
+  yellow  "WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!!"
+  echo
+
+  local extraReleaseArgs; extraReleaseArgs=("$@")
+  if [[ ${#extraReleaseArgs[@]} -ne 0 ]]; then
+    red "CAUTION!! Extra release args may create a non-standard release!!"
+    red "You added '${extraReleaseArgs[*]}'"
+  fi
+  [[ ${#extraReleaseArgs[@]} -eq 0 ]] && [[ $gpgCommand != 'gpg' ]] && extraReleaseArgs=("-Dgpg.executable=$gpgCommand")
+  extraReleaseArgs="-DextraReleaseArguments='${extraReleaseArgs[*]}'"
+
+  local ver
+  ver=$(xmllint --shell pom.xml <<<'xpath /*[local-name()="project"]/*[local-name()="version"]/text()' | grep content= | cut -f2 -d=)
+  ver=${ver%%-SNAPSHOT}
+  echo "Building release candidate for version: $(green "$ver")"
+  local tag; tag=rel/$sourceArtifact-$ver
+
+  local cBranch; cBranch=$(currentBranch) || fail "$(red Failure)" to get current branch from git
+  local rc; rc=$(prompter 'release candidate sequence number (eg. 1, 2, etc.)' '[0-9]+')
+  local nextVer; nextVer=$(prompter 'next snapshot version to be released (eg. x.y.z)' '[0-9]+[.][0-9]+[.][0-9]+')
+  local rcBranch; rcBranch=$sourceArtifact-$ver-rc$rc
+  local nBranch; nBranch=$rcBranch-next
+
+  cacheGPG || fail "Unable to cache GPG credentials into gpg-agent"
+
+  # create working branch
+  {
+    run git branch "$nBranch" "$cBranch" && run git checkout "$nBranch"
+  } || fail "Unable to create working branch $(red "$nBranch") from $(red "$cBranch")!"
+
+  # create a release candidate from a branch
+  local oFile; oFile=$(mktemp --tmpdir "$projectGroup-build-$rcBranch-XXXXXXXX.log")
+  {
+    [[ -w $oFile ]] && runLog "$oFile" mvn clean release:clean
+  } || cleanUpAndFail 'mvn clean release:clean' "$oFile" "$cBranch" "$nBranch"
+  runLog "$oFile" mvn -B release:prepare -DdevelopmentVersion="${nextVer}-SNAPSHOT" "${extraReleaseArgs}" || \
+    cleanUpAndFail "mvn -B release:prepare -DdevelopmentVersion=${nextVer}-SNAPSHOT ${extraReleaseArgs}" "$oFile" "$cBranch" "$nBranch"
+  runLog "$oFile" mvn release:perform "${extraReleaseArgs}" || \
+    cleanUpAndFail "mvn release:perform ${extraReleaseArgs}" "$oFile" "$cBranch" "$nBranch"
+
+  # switch back to original branch
+  run git checkout "${cBranch}"
+
+  # verify the next branch contains both expected log messages and no more
+  {
+    [[ $(gitCommits "${cBranch}..${nBranch}" | wc -l) -eq 2 ]] && \
+      [[ $(gitCommit  "${nBranch}~2") ==  $(gitCommit "${cBranch}") ]] && \
+      [[ $(gitSubject "${nBranch}")   =~ ^\[maven-release-plugin\]\ prepare\ for\ next ]] && \
+      [[ $(gitSubject "${nBranch}~1") =~ ^\[maven-release-plugin\]\ prepare\ release\ rel[/] ]]
+  } || cleanUpAndFail "verifying that $nBranch contains only logs from release plugin"
+
+  # verify the tag is one behind $nBranch and one ahead of $cBranch
+  [[ $(gitCommit "${nBranch}~1") == $(gitCommit "refs/tags/$tag") ]] || \
+    cleanUpAndFail "verifying that ${nBranch}~1 == refs/tags/$tag"
+
+  # remove tag which was created
+  run git tag -d "$tag" || \
+    cleanUpAndFail "removing unused git tag $tag"
+
+  # create release candidate branch to vote on
+  run git branch "$rcBranch" "${nBranch}~1" || \
+    cleanUpAndFail "creating branch $rcBranch"
+
+  # push branches (ask first)
+  local origin; origin=$(git remote -v | grep ^origin | grep push | awk '{print $2}')
+  echo "Do you wish to push the following branches to origin ($(green "$origin"))?"
+  echo "  $(yellow "$rcBranch")      (for others to examine for the vote)"
+  echo "  $(yellow "$nBranch") (for merging into $cBranch if vote passes)"
+  local a; a=$(prompter "letter 'y' or 'n'" '[yn]')
+  {
+    [[ $a == 'y' ]] && \
+      run git push -u origin "refs/heads/$nBranch" "refs/heads/$rcBranch"
+  } || red "Did not push branches; you'll need to perform this step manually."
+
+  # continue to creating email notification
+  echo "$(red Running)" "$(yellow "$scriptname" --create-email "$ver" "$rc")"
+  createEmail "$ver" "$rc"
+}
+
+if [[ $1 == '--create' ]]; then
+  shift
+  createReleaseCandidate "$@"
+elif [[ $1 == '--email' ]]; then
+  shift
+  createEmail "$@"
+else
+  fail "Missing one of: $(red --create), $(red --email)"
+fi
+