First Empire Name Changes
almost 9 years ago
– Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 01:25:50 PM
While this has nothing to do with THIS Kickstarter, it is a topic that is being discussed quite a bit in the comment section so I thought it would make sense to address it. THIS Kickstarter is for The Death of Dulgath - the ninth Royce and Hadrian book.
Some people have noticed the titles have changed on my new Del Rey series...The First Empire, and it has led to some confusion. So let me clarify. The titles of THAT series has changes as follows:
- Rhune --> Age of Myth
- Dherg --> Age of Swords
- Rhist --> Age of War
- Phyre --> Age of Legends
- Fhrey --> Age of Empire
Again, not really anything to do with this Kickstarter but since people are talking about it here, I wanted to address it here.
Another stretch goal bites the dust!
almost 9 years ago
– Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 12:17:15 PM
And now we'l have a print run for both the hardcover AND printed books - thanks so much all. While print-on-demand books are fine, they (a) use toner rather than ink (b) have to be of a specific size and (c) don't get into bookstores and libraries. By reaching this goal we can eliminate all those barriers and significantly reduce the real material cost of the book which means more of your money will come to me rather than third-party middlemen. Thank you!
We also will have extra bookmarks for those with packages and now even those in the DIGITAL DELIGHT category can get some (up to 1 ounce including envelope) sent to you.
We have a little ways to go for the graphic novel adaptation of The Jester, but what's after that? Well, I have plenty of ideas, but I want you guys to tell me. We're in this together, after all, so I thought I should ask you what you would like to see.
Here is a form where you can add your suggestions. If i don't get any, I'll add some of my own, but I'm hoping you guys have some cool things that I've not thought of. Feel free to enter as many suggestions as you can think of.
3 Goals met in 24 hours
almost 9 years ago
– Fri, Jun 19, 2015 at 09:53:41 AM
Yesterday was a very good day for the Kickstarter...you guys continue to amaze me with your generosity. There were a number of goals that I thought were within reach, and sure enough, they all occurred from day 13 to day 14. What were they?
- Passing 1,000 backers.
- Getting into the Top 10 most funded US fiction projects.
- Hitting the stretch goal for maps.
You've taken a successful project and put it into the Hall of Fame! There have only been 12 US fiction projects to hit 1,000 backers, and now The Death of Dulgath is one of them...how cool is that?
What's even more amazing is the project's climb through the most funded list. We came out of the gate in a big way (hitting #35 by the end of day 1) and in just two weeks made it into the Top 10.
The next rung is especially high, and we'll have to top $50,000. Can it be done? I don't know. You have proven me wrong at every turn, so if the excitement for the Kickstarter continues to spread, it's a possibility. But even if it doesn't, I'm more than pleased with what we've accomplished together, and as always, I thank you for your support.
Another wrung up the ladder, and new stretch goals
almost 9 years ago
– Thu, Jun 18, 2015 at 04:17:42 AM
Thanks to your generous support, The Death of Dulgath Kickstarter moved from #14 to #13 on the "Highest Funded" list. If we raise another $3,536, we'll jump three more spots and be in the top 10! That would be truly amazing.
To help get us to those levels I've come up with two new stretch goals. One will provide a greatly needed upgrade to the map, and the other is something I've wanted for a long time. A visual representation of Royce and Hadrian as seen by a graphic novel artist.
The maps have long been a sore spot for me. I'm a writer, not a cartographer, and the original maps were only created to give me direction as I wrote the story. I needed to know where various places were and what kind of terrain would be encountered. So I drew up something I never intended for the books. When self-published, I didn't have the extra budget for better maps but figured my crappy one was better than nothing. When the series was sold to Orbit, I assumed they would have them redrawn...they didn't.
So, if we reach $43,000, there will be new maps (and we'll be in the top 10!!). I would anticipate the distribution of the maps would go like this:
- Everyone will get the map in the book (both print and ebooks).
- Everyone will get access to high-resolution versions online. I'll make a full-color map available and also have various "detail areas" where regions will have "zoomed in" versions.
- Printed maps will be available as a low-cost add-on, just $4 to get a 11 x 17 full-color map in the US. If you are overseas and are already receiving something physical (other than the postcard), then the map will be added without additional shipping charges. If overseas and not receiving anything else, posters will cost $6.
I'll provide more information about the graphic novel adaption of The Jester in a future update. We are far from that goal, so no reason to go into too much detail at this point. I will say I've selected an artist, and paid for some preliminary work. I love what he's done, and I'm hoping we can bring him on to do the whole project to completion...it'll be epic! Besides the Dulgath poster (and the print runs of course) this is the stretch goal that I'm most excited about. I don't have a movie deal and am unlikely to get one, but seeing a visual representation of one of my stories is a long-held dream.
Well, that's good enough for this update, other than to do a round-up of where we stand with the various stretch goals. Also, a reminder, two of the perks had to be removed because Kickstarter doesn't permit raffles. I'm still going to give those items away, but you'll have to enter separately. The links to do so are provided in the summary of stretch goals below:
- UNLOCKED: $31,000 - signed bookmarks.
- UNLOCKED: $35,000 - Death of Dulgath poster.
- REMOVED: $37,000 - 5 audio books raffle, now must enter here for this reward.
- UNLOCKED: $38,000 - Print upgrades & signed ebooks.
- REMOVED: $41,000 - 5 early ARC's of Rhune, now must enter for this reward.
- LOCKED: $43,000 - Improved maps.
- LOCKED: $45,000 - Trade paperback print run.
- LOCKED: $48,000 - Graphic Novel adaption of "The Jester."
Thanks again for the amazing support. Getting the hardcovers funded was a goal we cleared effortlessly, and it would be great if we could get the trade paperbacks in bookstores as well. But what I'm most excited by, is the prospect of a graphic novel. Doing The Jester would provide a proof of concept, and if it turns out well, we can seriously consider doing graphic novel versions of the novels. I hope you'll join me in the enthusiasm to reach these new goals, and help to spread the word to others who may be interested in this Kickstarter.
Removing the two raffles
almost 9 years ago
– Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 02:41:35 PM
Hey all, I just got notification from Kickstarter that my project is in jeopardy of being removed because I'm doing raffles as part of stretch goals. I knew doing a "project" that only offered a chance at winning something (as opposed to getting something) was against the rules, but I didn't realize that doing raffles in the Stretch Goals was a problem. I did a number of them for Hollow World and it wasn't an issue, so I didn't think it was a problem with this.
So, bear with me while I come up with different stretch goals, and remove these. I'll do a separate contest via my website that has nothing to do with the Kickstarter and will be open to all people (even non Kick-starter folks). The only difference is you'll HAVE to enter into them separately as opposed to being in them automatically. Bear with me while I get this fixed up.
