Happy Labor Day! Hope no one is actually laboring today. 

Another milestone achieved: We are over 100 orders and 50 backers! Thanks again, and please keep those pre-orders coming. When we reach 60 backers I’ll do my first drawing for a limited edition print as promised. 

But to deliver on my new art promise for reaching 50 backers, please check out an alternative cover I came up with for my novel. I call this this Bring on the Fall/Halloween/Tim Burton version if you will. Please let me know your thoughts!  

Hello September!

No more being gone for three out of the five weekends in August. Hurray...

We are 5 orders away from 100! I’ve decided for every 50 new backers, I’ll release a new piece of artwork and new chapter. We are still edging closer to 60 backers and the top 10 of the contest. Once that happens, a limited edition print will be given away.

I participated in my first media interview yesterday chatting up Kingdom of Dreams with my old alma mater, James Madison University. I’ll post it here when it goes to print.

The trailer plans have been firmed up and will be filmed in the next couple of weeks come Hell or High Water. (By the way go see that movie, it’s excellent!) 

I look forward to your continued support and a very productive month!

Best,

Kevin

Happy weekend, everyone! We’re still doing well in the contest, but need a surge to keep consistent pace and challenge that lead pack. Remember, once we reach 60 backers, I’ll hold a raffle to give away a special limited edition signed artwork. Please help me complete my dream of becoming a writer/illustrator. Either that, or it’s probably off to Arkham Asylum for me. (By the way, my wife urged that I also apologize for misspelling Gryffindor in my last post. Shame on me, and 100 points to Slytherin.)

Meird, Like Weird

Now, just what kind of fantasy is this story? Regarding the world itself, it’s very much a mix of Narnia, Coraline, and Alice in Wonderland. Like those stories, most of the narrative takes place in a fantasy setting once our heroes journey to the dream realm. Without giving too much away, the strange land is known as Meird, the quirky, distorted home of all dreams.

Once in Meird, our heroes notice some strange absurdities. Like, why is there an ocean in the sky? Or, why does the weather seem like it’s alive? And is that flaming sword hilt significant, or just a party trick? Or is the writer just a hard-core Holy Grail fan? 

Back me and find out! 

Stay well,

Kevin

 Milestone Update: Okay, so no more hiding behind the cat as my spokesanimal. My soft launch is over and the "writer/artiste" as the kitty likes to call me is taking charge. So... despite a late start due to life events, and the-not-to-be-relived Great Campaign Reset Fiasco-whoa, what a flurry of orders! For the first time in our campaign, we’re ahead of the recommended arc that shows us on the right track to reach full publication! All thanks to you wonderful people. 70 orders (and climbing!) have come in all the way from California to the Great Lakes (did that person order from their houseboat?), with my home state of Virginia leading the way. Very humbling stuff indeed. Please keep up the momentum, we’re progressing well! 

Then there’s the contest. In a normal contest, we’d be right up there with the leaders. But Geek & Sundry is no ordinary contest. Oh no. This is the Super Bowl for nerds like me and my fellow fantasy writers to win. That Geek & Sundry logo on the spine of our book is as good as gold. It’s like having Griffendoor on your sweater. So my prediction is that the winner will end up with something like 1,000 orders, no kidding. I’m pretty sure my competition is employing call centers to help them get so many backers. Anyone know that QVC lady on Shark Tank? 

Well, in my quest for us to catch up to Lockwood & Company (there’s a double inside joke there for readers of Jonathan Stroud, and a guy named Lockwood is one of the leaders), I’ll be giving away a signed limited edition print of some of my artwork when we hit 60 backers. This little puppy:
Wouldn’t this look schwanky on your wall of nerdom? 

And mentioning Mr. Lockwood, the guy actually has a book I’ve been following for a while and will now stupidly purchase (even though he’s the enemy through November 1st), A Beast Requires. 
It looks hysterical, right up my alley. And what does the beast require? Let’s read and find out.   

• Lastly-yes, I’m pretty pumped up today-everyone will get their schwag at the end of the contest. We’re working on adding some exciting new items as well. (Hopefully exciting to you as well.)
• The trailer should come out sometime in early September or sooner if life behaves itself. Until then, thanks again-we’re moving on up!

Best Wishes,

@kevin

We’re baaaaack! For those of you that haven’t met my acquaintance, I’m Francis, a character in Kingdom of Dreams. Perhaps I’m a real cat, or perhaps not. And maybe Francis is my real name, or maybe it’s something like... Oh, I don’t know-Timba. That doesn’t matter. What matters a great deal, is that we’re back up and cheaper than ever:

Check out our bright and shiny new book here:WE’RE SLASHING PRICES!

Oh that writer/artiste. There’s been muttering, cursing, and stomping-maybe even melodramatic, inconsolable weeping? I suppose he did work as hard as he could to make our page presentable. I wouldn’t know, I was outside hunting and using nature’s litter box to my heart’s delight. Anyway, we’re back in Geek & Sundry’s contest coming from the back of the pack. But I think we can do it. A sneak attack that they’ll never expect...

The fun of these contests seems to be to get introverted, anti-social writers to beg for an unrealistic plethora of unique orders. That means as fantasy fans of a good old fashioned illustrated yarn, they’ll probably say things like, tell your friends and your friends’ friends daughter’s, son’s, cousin’s and cousin’s parakeet about this book. (And then, oh pretty please let me know where said parakeet resides.) My thoughts? This book will double as a wonderful coaster, door stop, and foot prop. And don’t underestimate how good it will look on top of the back of the commode. A conversation piece if there ever was one. Did I mention there are pretty pictures inside? Or how about extra copies to donate to your local school? Let’s get kids reading instead of being devoured by Pokemon NO!

Aha! The writer/artiste is so desperate, he’s giving schwag away with every order: Magnets, reusable totes (oh, how responsible of him). He’s even having the lady of the house bake dog treats upon request. Deplorable, yes, but I suppose it could make some worthless pooch somewhere in Des Moines happy. I’m giving away some of his original artwork too. Let’s just keep that one under wraps. Shall we?

Okay, enough prattling. Shopping tip of the day: if you have a $5 coupon bestowed upon you by Inkshares, use the e-mail to link into to the site to make your purchase. Each person can purchase up to (10) copies of any tier. And always look both ways before crossing the street. People drive like maniacs these days.

Stay well and feel free to pester me upon my golden Twitter perch.

Best,

Francis

Well... I somehow did it, I managed to break Inkshares. Well, make that my page at least. My status is what I call in my book the In Between, the state of consciousness between sleep and waking. At any rate, my page is not in draft mode to allow me to reenter the contest, yet it’s also not in pre-sale mode either with the corrected pricing. Fun, right? 

It’s okay though, because it’s been a tumultuous go since August rolled around. Life happenings took precedence over my campaign, and I haven’t been able to work the contest at all. The next step is to wait to go live again. So stay tuned, and thanks for the support I have gotten without even bugging anyone. This community has a knack for offering support just when depression is about to kick in. Looking forward to jumping back in full throttle!

Best Wishes,

Kevin

So just a quick note: I haven’t dropped out of the fantasy contest, just resetting so my book will be more affordable and competitive. You’ll be able to purchase again starting tomorrow! 

Longer message coming tonight, and I’ll be reaching out to my original backers as well. Thanks for your input and understanding.

Best,

Kevin