We did it!
Well, let’s be honest, YOU did it.
The truth is, we did not reach our goal of 750 pre-orders for Achewillow: Book 1. We did our best with a difficult campaign. Technical difficulties, bad timing, and other issues plagued us, but throughout the whole thing there was always one shining light.
You.
Where our total numbers might not have met expectations, your enthusiasm more than made up for it. So many of you ordered multiple copies, shared our campaign with others, and engaged with the campaign. None of that went unnoticed. It’s that enthusiasm that helped convince Inkshares to publish Achewillow: Book 1.
There’s still a lot of work to be done before we can get the book in your hands. The manuscript of Season 1 needs to be adapted, edited, and proofed. We still have our cover to finalize with Lynne. Inkshares will need to get the book into distributor catalogs as well as promote it with book vendors.
We will be keeping you up to date with every step as it happens, along with sending out all the perks and bonuses for pre-ordering during the campaign. Right now, we want to thank each and every one of you. If nothing else, you’ve demonstrated a passion for our project and the little town of Achewillow. We’ve said before that getting this book published opens many doors for us, and we can’t wait to show you what lies beyond their threshold.
Amy and J-F.
Is that the official cover?
Absolutely not!
Lynne is still hard at work coming up with a fabulous cover for Achewillow: Book 1. However, in the meanwhile, we needed a different temporary cover for some boring marketing reason and thought we might as well update the page.
Oh, and we have the (probably) official title for the book.
Excellent news!
The exclusive episode, ’The One That Got Away’, is now available to download for everyone who pre-ordered Achewillow: Book One.
You should be receiving an email with the link to the episode. If you don’t get the link, let us know and we’ll do our best to remedy the situation as fast as possible. Don’t forget to check your spam folders.
While the dark sage of the Achewillow Café looks great as a temporary stand-in for the cover of Achewillow: Book 1, we feel that this is a story that deserves a little bit more.
Part comforting and part unsettling, Achewillow walks an unusual line. It’s a tale meant to warm the soul while chilling the spine. For that reason, it takes a unique vision to move it from words to images.
Hence, we are thrilled to announce that the official book cover will be illustrated by the legendary Lynne Hansen (click here to see her incredible portfolio).
As you can see, Lynne has a rich and textured portfolio. She has the ability to capture the flavour of a small town like Achewillow, while baking in those secret ingredients that make it strange and terrifying.
We don’t have a cover to reveal yet, and may not have one for a while still, but rest assure that the book’s plating and presentation is in good hands.
If you’re still hesitating on pre-ordering a copy, we hope this helps you decide. If you’re looking for ways to help us reach our goal, try sharing it with friends and family. Spreading the word is the best means by which we can get this book in your hands.
And as always, thank you for your continued support.
Miriam DuFour is at the end of her rope. Kicked out of cooking school and living in her ex-boyfriend’s apartment, nothing in her life seems to be going right. That is until she inherits the estate of her dead great grandaunt: a little café in the forgotten town of Achewillow.
Intent on selling the business and using the money to make a fresh start, Miriam visits Achewillow and discovers the village sits firmly on the border between Vermont and Quebec. But that isn’t remotely the strangest thing about the place.
Demons, coffee, witchcraft and baking; those are the ingredients that make up Achewillow.
Achewillow is an ongoing story that swings back and forth between the comfortable warmth of small towns and kitchen magic, and the sharp and cold chills of folk horrors gone wrong. Go along with Miriam DuFour as she tells you the tale of her life In Achewillow, the friends and horrors she meets there, and how she unravels the history of both the village, and her own family in the process. Expect anything between a hot cup of cocoa on a cool night, and bone chilling murders committed by strange demons and malicious monsters.
Achewillow started as a podcast. In fact, it’s still an ongoing series on its seventh season as of this writing. You could, if you chose, go listen to the entire run right now.
Achewillow: Book 1 will be a re-edited version of the entire first season, including the Achewillow Holiday Special. And, because cooking is a fundamental pillar of the story of Miriam DuFour, we’ll toss in a short cookbook in the final pages, giving readers all the recipes for the various dishes and treats Miriam cooks through the story. We’re fixing a few continuity errors, sprinkling in some extra details, and reworking the text to flow better. We’ll also benefit from another layer of professional editing, allowing us to polish Achewillow to its proper luster.
If you’re into stories like Joanne Harris’s CHOCOLAT or Neil Gaiman’s STARDUST, Achewillow should be the cream to your coffee. If you’re already a listener, then this is the best way to own a piece of Achewillow on your bookshelf and help us nudge Miriam farther on her journey. You could even write in the town ledger and become a citizen, having your name printed at the back end of the book.
You’ll notice that we’re calling it ‘Book 1’ and that it tells the story of only the first season of Achewillow. Our hope is to have the full series published in time, which makes your support all the more important.
If you’re here because you’re familiar with Inkshares, then you may have already heard (or read) A God in The Shed and Song of the Sandman. Both are part of a horror trilogy written by J-F. Achewillow came about as a way to keep writing and putting out stories in between book releases. J-F.’s been writing for upwards of a dozen years and has published three books with Inkshares and a few short stories in various anthologies. A God in the Shed has been optioned for television with a third and final book to that series in the works for late 2025.
Winner of the first season of America’s Next Top Podcaster, Amy isn’t just the voice for all the citizens of Achewillow, she’s also the producer who keeps the whole operation running. As a co-creator, her hand can be seen touching every aspect of the story, from the personality of every character to the recipes used throughout Miriam’s spine tingling adventures. Amy is a formidable cook herself as well as a crafter with many talents. Amy and J-F. have been collaborating on projects for well over a decade now, but Achewillow is by far their most ambitious work so far.
Good question!
Obviously, you get a book. Maybe you’re fine with just getting a copy on your e-reader, and that’s fine. However, if you prefer a print version, here’s what you can expect:
- You get an e-book version of Achewillow: Book 1 included
- A bookmark signed by both J-F. and Amy
- A link to a special episode written and recorded just for our backers if we reach our publishing goal
- If all works out, we’ll even throw in some stickers. Who doesn’t love stickers?
If you back the book at the Citizen of Achewillow level - going that extra mile and pre-ordering three copies - we have some extras
- Your name at the back end of the book, forever linked to the history of Achewillow
The following two rewards are no longer available. Unfortunately, we have to close them down so that we can start their production with the official list of backers. Our intention was to close them down at the end of the campaign on Halloween, but we wanted to give everyone a chance to squeeze in their pre-orders. Alas, we no longer have a choice in the matter if we want to avoid issues with fulfillment.
- An Achewillow Citizen card personalized to you. You’ll have your own unique citizenship number and Achewillow address. Rumor has it JF is working on a map that you’ll be able to use to track where your Achewillow alter ego lives!
- A short audio message from Amy, the Voice of Reason herself, thanking you for your contribution
The campaign goes officially online on August 1st and will last until Halloween.
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