Good day, everyone. It’s been an intense four months to get where we are and now it’s crunch time for Bane of All Things.

I can’t emphasize this enough – it’s now or never. We crossed the 250 pre-orders mark a week ago. Help me get this thing past 300 by March 1 by encouraging a friend or family member to pre-order, too.

(And if you have followed BoAT but haven’t yet pre-ordered, please do!)

Before I go further, let me again acknowledge and express my deepest thanks for the support and patience of each of you. This campaign would not be anywhere without you.

Help build the Ripple Effect

Most funding campaigns on Inkshares fail. Some that succeeded hit that 750-pre-order goal, but many did not. As I wrote in my previous update, the Inkshares team is tracking metrics beyond just number of pre-orders to decide which books to publish.

The common denominator among Inkshares’ success stories is that the author’s friends and family had the biggest impact—they not only pre-ordered, they brought in their friends and family to also lend support. This ripple effect is key. An extended community of people who wanted to support a new author, even if the author’s kind of story wasn’t necessarily their thing. 

Many of you have helped to bring in those additional supporters. You have helped to spread the word. And some of you are of course Super Reader supporters. Again, thank you all.

It takes just one, for US$10

I have asked you before about bringing in other supporters. I can definitely appreciate that it may seem like a daunting task. But you don’t have to muster a whole team—it takes just one to make a difference. A single additional e-book purchase by a fresh face for a mere US$10. (Of course, if you can bring me more than one, please do!)

So, I ask you, please and thank you, can you find me that fresh face, today, tomorrow or by the end of the week? It could be your sibling, parent, cousin, child, co-worker, neighbour, workout buddy—anyone interested in supporting a new author and a good cause.

We may be literally a few dozen more supporters away from success! Together we can cross the finish line.

Reach out with a direct message/email or phone call. This is much more effective than social media posts. Remember to tell them that this also supports autism services and if my campaign does not succeed, they do get a refund.

There will be prizes

If we cross the 300 mark, I will be holding a prize draw for a piece of artwork printed on canvas, signed by me and the artist. Do you remember that skull and sword illustration from the early version of the BoAT cover? This is the work of award-winning Canadian comic book and graphic artist Dominic Bercier:

An additional prize will be drawn for those of you who bring in an additional supporter(s) between now and then – a $50 Amazon gift card.

And FYI: You can also pre-order additional copies of BoAT yourself. Up to 10, in fact. That includes e-books. The way Inkshares’ shopping cart works, you can’t purchase multiple e-book copies on one transaction – you have to do separate transactions. But anyone who pre-orders at least three copies, even if they are all e-books, will be recognized as a Super-Reader supporter.

Thanks again, and happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

First place gets first choice.
Second place gets second choice.
Third place gets third choice.

After I hear from the gold, silver, and bronze winners, I’ll try to quickly reach out to winners 4 - 10, but you might not get a choice, just some cool cards in the mail (make sure to email me your street address if you’re a winner!) 

All of Week 2’s prizes in one photo



Prize 1: Autographed and framed Perez-Steele card of Jim Catfish Hunter, autographed by the great A’s and Yankees pitcher. What a dominant pitcher in the 1970s! A winner! Click on the image and it’ll take you to Youtube and the lite beer commercial in which a comedian calls him "Catfood."



 Prize 2: Seven 1955 Topps cards. Fair-Good condition. Probably worth $1-$2 dollars per card because of their condition. 64 years old!



 Prize 3: Now we move along to a few cards from the HELMAR BASEBALL ART CARD COMPANY. Many of you know that I’ve been writing the backs of some of the Helmar cards for a few years. I love what Charles Mandel, the greatest baseball artist alive today, does with Helmar. The artwork for the cover of Going, Going, Gone! is made up of Helmar cards. All of the cards on the cover of the book are transformed into characters in Going, Going, Gone! 

This is a Helmar Oasis card. Oasis has SEVEN LAYERS of paper. They are inspired by 1870s and 80s advertising signs in the era of gaslights. Charles Mandel’s genius shines through in every card he makes!



Back of the card.



Here’s a link to the current Helmar auction on eBay.

Time out to consider pre-ordering more of GOING, GOING, GONE for every one of your baseball-loving friends! Each pre-order is another entry for prizes. Click on the book to pre-order. Pick up a few more eBooks and help the team! Thanks!



Prize 4: Another amazing Helmar card. A framed Helmar-T206. Yes, that’s right, FRAMED. With a cork matting and Japanese paper border and thin plexi cover and back and a wax seal on the back. Hello Joseph Cornell!!!! These sell for $20 - $40, depending on the player. But they should sell for hundreds! One day!



The thickness of the framed card from last week’s card. The detail on the edge!



The back of the card, with a gummed tag inspired by antique baggage tags, initialed by the person who constructed the card. And that wax stamp!



Prize 5: Another Helmar art card. The series is Polar Night. John Cahill, from Indianapolis, who played in the 1880s. Baseball players were sometimes photographed in a studio, posing with a baseball suspended from a string. Such is the inspiration for this pose.



Prize 6: About 75 high-quality, contemporary football cards, including Troy Aikman.



Prize 7: Stack of over 100 cool baseball cards spanning the past 30 years.



Prize 8: Auction catalogue from the most recent REA auction, the premiere auctioneer of a breadth of quality baseball memorabilia, from Babe Ruth’s bat, to rare cards, photos, and on the front, sheet music with a very early lithograph of a baseball game. This would be a great way to see what the baseball-collecting world is up to.



Prize 9: Late 1970s Topps card, including the 1988 Orel Hersheiser. This one is worthy of sending to get graded. It’s from his MVP season and the last time the Dodgers won the World Series. We were all so much younger.



Prize 10: High-quality reprints of T206 cards. I enjoyed poring over the players in these cards who appear in GOING, GOING, GONE. I’d stare for a long time at the images. I spent two wonderful days in the library at the Baseball Hall of Fame looking at photos of players from 1906. These aren’t worth much money, but are very cool. Make great bookmarks.

Peter G., New York Prop Dusters, SS
Charles Mandel, Helmar Antiquifyers, Owner
Laura M., Brattleboro Yankees, Mgr.
David B., East River Fishermen, P/Captain
Charlie C., Toll Bros. Demolition, SS
Ed B., SF Team Brothers ’N Sisters, CF 
Beth B., SF Team Brothers ’N Sisters, LF
D. Krasnoff, Team Navy, Coach
E. Krasnoff, Team Navy, G.M.
Elizabeth C., Team DiVino, Nutritionist
Brian S., Prudential All-Stars, CF
Barnaby C., Washington Absinthe Sippers, P/2B
Miles R., New York Value Seekers, 3B
Charles G., New York Limo Hailers, CF
Jacqui L., Mill Valley Visionaries, SS-2B
J. Redford, Marin County Muckrakers, P
Stefan, Smith, Sports Massage Marin (his real team), 3rd base coach
Devin C., Amsterdam Comedy Makers, P
Robert H., New York Skiiers, CF
Susan H., New York Museum Researchers, Mgr.
T. Wexler, L.A. Dealmakers, SS
Adam K., Ithaca Royal Palmists, CF
Bennett, J., Mill Valley Millers, 3B
Jonathan W., Mitzi Potted Parrot Fan Club, P
Jon R., Mill Valley Troubadors, P
David B., East Hampton Fly Casters, 1B 
Joe P., Sausalito Voiceovers, P
Jason A., Dalton Tigers, 2B
Stephanie A., Dalton Tigers, 1B
Jim C., San Francisco Dealmakers, P
Helen Y., Tiburon Sharks, SS
Karin T., Sausalito Winemakers, Mgr.
Adam T., Dalton Tigers, 2B
Duncan P., L.A. Guitar Riffers, P/OF
Ellen H., MVP Sister, DH
Kirk D., Arizona Tar Melters, LF
Adam K., Ontario Seal Pups, CF
Beth B., San Francisco Elites, RF
Kenneth P., Houston Stan Key, P
Douglas Zang, Santa Fe Steakmakers, C 
John B., San Juan All-Stars, P
Leila S., Sausalito Sartajians, Mental Health Coach

Every book purchased will be entered into the weekly drawing for a very cool, valuable baseball card(s). If you purchase 5, you will have 5 entries. If you purchase 10, you will have 10. Entries roll over week to week until the pre-sales campaign concludes when we hit 750 pre-sales!