1. School Visit # 1
   
2. I have a $10 Inkshares coupon burning a hole through my pocket and don’t know how to spend it?
3. In production
4. NEXT ISSUE...

1.) School Visit #1

Thanks to a KOD backer and parent, I was lucky enough to have a school visit in early January at the impressive ACE Academy in Austin, Texas. If you’re ever in need of a healthy dose of self-morale and an unbelievably energetic hour--no espresso needed--, visit a school! 

I gave out a ton of illustrated bookmarks and they asked excellent questions the entire session. I look forward to my return visit in the Spring for a creative writing project! I promise I’ll bring a box of actual books down the road...

When I told them my first significant piece of writing was for an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module, they all chanted "D&D! D&D!" How cool is that?

They had no trouble spotting the "Easter Eggs" in my illustrations without any prompting whatsoever. 

A future author! 

2.) I have a $10 Inkshares coupon burning a hole through my pocket and don’t know how to spend it?

I’ve been getting this question recently. You supported our project, and Inkshares sent you a $10 coupon to support another project. Now perhaps time is running out or you don’t know what to do with it, or what to spend it on? 

Never fear. Open the mail with your Inkshares coupon. Go to Inkshares through the link in that message. You should see a $10 credit applied to your account. As time permits, I’ll be recommending projects that I think worthy of your support. 

Here’s the first one:

Fae Child by Jane-Holly Meissner. Like our project, it’s a fantasy intended for young adults. To quote the author: "A child slips through a portal into the land of the Fae and traverses the Otherworld with the help of a young elf, while her parents are left to deal with the changeling that was left in her place. ALICE IN WONDERLAND meets TAKEN"

Perhaps you’ll never read this or any other project that you select on Inkshares, but know this: Don’t waste your coupon! And coupon or not, at the other end is a hopeful author that will be VERY appreciative of your support. This site can make dreams come true. 

3.) In production...

So things are moving along, but before I speed it up to ludicrous speed and involve a professional editor and get to finishing the illustrations, I wanted to get some meaningful feedback on the first few chapters. I think the prologue is covered, but please feel free to let me know what you like or don’t like about the new Chapter 1 I sent yesterday. Pretty please? You can leave comments, highlight certain sections, etc. Again, you can find Chapter 1 here.

I’ve decided to post one more chapter in the villain’s voice to make sure we’re on target with tone, but then: it’s some quick editing and off to the races!

4.) NEXT ISSUE...

I grew up collecting comics, and one of the things I loved was to immediately flip to the back and preview the NEXT ISSUE page to see what might be coming. Sacrilege to some of you, I know. But hey, I had to walk a mile to the nearest 7-Eleven across a busy intersection to get my beloved comics. It was worth the peak in the store in case something happened on the way back! 

So coming up: I have a long awaited blog forthcoming. A pretty crazy casting call, and well... I’ll save the other news for down the road and not get too far ahead of myself. 

Thanks everyone. Stay well, and continue to tell new backers about our project!

Best,

Kevin

Happy New Year, everyone! A lot of things are now transpiring with Kingdom of Dreams...

1. Officially In Production!
2. What now? Casting Call!
3. Next Steps...

1.) Officially In Production!

Has everyone noticed the new page? We have shifted from funding to in production. Because Kingdom of Dreams will be published, you’ll notice the book has also been slightly reduced in price. 

We have earned a third badge as well,  this one as part of the Quill collection. What is Quill? Well, it’s an opt in publishing option that Inkshares offers for projects like this one that didn’t hit the full publishing quota of 750 pre-orders, but did reach a minimum threshold of support that suggests there is enough backing to publish. Read more here for a complete breakdown.

2.) What now? 

When will my readers have the book in hand? 8-12 months from now minimum. Though it sounds morbidly slow, it’s pretty typical for publishing dates. There is a significant queue of books to be published in front of this one. But I will try to expedite this process as much as possible by completing the following steps in short order:

• I will finish editing and any new rewrites over the first quarter. 
• Complete Illustrations as well. 
• I turn over the manuscript to a professional editor, then to Inkshares. At that point a timeline to publication should appear on my page with the approximate shipping dates.

Casting Call: Now that the project is official, I have an open casting call for 4 roles to help complete illustrations for the book:

• Jimmy Reve, the main character. An imaginative 6th grade boy that is picked on by the bullies at school.
• Lem Reve, Jimmy’s big sister. An 8th grader, decorated swimmer that while protective over Jimmy, enjoys picking on him relentlessly as well.
• Clay Rakes, a huge, intimidating eighth-grade bully. 
• Bucky Brees, a lanky, devious seventh-grade bully.

If anyone knows any kids close to this age range that might be interested, please contact me as I will pay them to use their likeness. I hope to have the children cast by the end of the month. All ethnicities are welcome and encouraged.

3.) Next Steps...

Thanks again to everyone for backing Kingdom of Dreams to a guaranteed publishing deal. That said, we have a ton of work to do to get this project known to the masses. The more pre-orders we can get as this project gets closer to completion, the better the chance Inkshares will give it full marketing attention and start a distribution plan of getting it in bookstores, and supporting it at key conferences. 

I’ll keep you up to date on my progress, but please continue to evangelize as much as possible. Look for new updates as significant milestones occur. Thanks again, be productive and stay well!

Best Wishes,

Kevin

1. SnarkyDarkSy!
   
2. 21 Pre-Orders Needed for Guaranteed Publication! 
3. Toys For Tots = 8 Days Left... 
4. Next Up?

1.) SnarkyDarkSy

I’m so humbled. A syndicate on Inkshares, SnarkyDarkSy just backed Kingdom of Dreams! What’s a syndicate, why is that a big deal? A syndicate is a collection of kind humans made up of readers and usually fellow writers that form a group based on their mutual tastes. They vote monthly on which Inkshares project they feel is worthy enough to be published, then pool their own hard earned money together as a collective to support its publication. There are literally hundreds of projects to choose from. To be chosen is an honor, to be chosen by my fellow like-minded and very talented writers-I’m speechless. All I can say is a gracious thank you. Please visit their page on Inkshares and see their selections here. See you soon Snarky’s!

2.) 21 Pre-Orders Needed for Guaranteed Publication! 

With that syndicate selection and just over a dozen new orders, we now are 21 orders away from guaranteed publication! Thanks again to my new backers and double-dippers, you are making this wild dream of ours into reality day by day! 

3.) Toys For Tots = 8 Days Left...

So with this small flurry of pre-orders, we are building a healthy donation to give to Toys For Tots on December 20th. For those not in the know, for every pre-order I receive until 12/20/2016, I am matching every book ordered with a like donation to Toys For Tots that I will post here. 

If the book is published, I will also donate extra copies to Toys For Tots as well. How cool is that that they take books? So let me know if you’d like your book donated or just want to buy an extra copy to donate to a needy child excited to receive and read a shiny new book with pictures to boot!

4.) Next Up?

More sample chapters, at least one more special giveaway. 

Kind Regards,

Kevin

1. 29 Pre-Orders Away From Publication!
   
2. Toys For Tots Update
3. Revised Chapters

1. 29 Pre-Orders Away From Publication!

So with about 21 days left in the year-and our campaign-we are 29 pre-orders away from publication. Please keep the orders coming. We are nearly there!

2. Toys for Tots Update

My apologies if my post was a bit confusing regarding how this is going to work: I am going to match the dollar amount of every pre-order until December 20th with a personal donation to Toys For Tots. Remember, Kingdom of Dreams is not a complete book at this stage that will be ready in time for this Christmas. 

So how will this work? For instance, we’ve gotten 11 pre-orders in so far since I started this incentive (awesome!), so I will match the total of those books along with any additional orders that come in and donate a matching gift to Toys For Tots on 12/20/2016. Make sense? I’ll post the donation on the 20th in one of these updates.

That said, as a bonus gift for the future, if you’d like me to also donate your book or an extra copy or two to Toys For Tots when it is complete sometime next year, feel free to let me know and it’s a done deal. 

3. Revised Chapters

The revised Chapter 1 is up. I’ll be sending this out later today to each of you as well. Chapter 2 soon to follow. Please feel free to read, critique, and review. This is a very helpful exercise for your contribution to the book and also encourages new readers to engage with it. 

Stay well and stay tuned!

Kevin

Happy Autumn KOD Supporters,

Who thinks this is a good week to give away things that might help you escape or give you something to look forward to? Me too. Welcome to the Raffle-a-rama update! 

1. 56 pre-orders away from publication! 
   
2. RAFFLE-A-RAMA
3. Happy Birthday, Dad!
4. NEXT UP: Guest Blog, My Indoctrination into the Reddit World, School Visits, New Chapters

1. 56 pre-orders away from publication! 

This post is dedicated to the raffle, but I couldn’t help but get excited about the developments of the past week regarding Kingdom of Dreams. As of this update, we are 56 pre-orders away from our book becoming reality! There are about 70 of you following KOD that haven’t pre-ordered. So if you’ve been waiting around to see if this project is worth your hard earned cash, or maybe you just want to jump up the scale as a key Inkshares influencer of books that go on to get published--now’s the time to pre-order, because this book is getting close!

2. RAFFLE-A-RAMA

I thank everyone for your patience. Well, my newest illustration is complete. Here is the picture along with the accompanying speech from the novel as told by Francis the cat. And the winner of this original signed print is... Rebecca Getzinger! "Even I don’t understand cats...

The fickle, mysterious (and sometimes) infuriating nature of a feline is often overstated, but also accurate. When a cat runs from one room to the next for no reason whatsoever, it isn’t as mindless as it seems: we can see spirits. We’re simply spooked. I know I am. I blame my Egyptian forefathers for getting too involved in the affairs of the dead.

Worse, because rookie spirits once depended on felines to be their spiritual guides into the afterlife, they still have a nagging habit of following the likes of me around. Now without fail I can spot the spirits of corpses slobbering and lingering around me like lost tourists. I doubt I could lead a dog to a fire hydrant, let alone the eternal to an unknown plane."

-Francis the cat, excerpt from Kingdom of Dreams. 

Next up for my Excel Randomizer to pick is the winner of the POP Ash Evil Dead figure as signed by Bruce Campbell. It goes to... 
Rick Heinz! 

Congrats to Rebecca and Rick. I’ll be in touch! 

3. Happy birthday, Dad! 

Thanks so much for your awesome support. You’re a huge part of why this project continues to progress. ;-)

4. NEXT UP: Guest Blog, My Indoctrination into the Reddit World, School Visits, New Chapters

• More details to come in my next update, but I’ve agreed to be the guest blogger in a well respected fantasy blog. 
  
• On November 23rd I will be the featured fantasy writer of the day on Reddit’s fantasy blog! 500,000 members, gulp. If anyone has any experience with Reddit, please, please reach out to me, because other than what I’ve read, I’m a total newbie. 
• I’ve also started to accrue some school visits. Again, I’m new to this as well, but looking forward to it! 
• New chapters are still being revised and going well. I hope to have the revised Chapter 1 up very soon for starters.

Stay well, stay tuned, and keep the orders coming!

Kevin

Hey everyone,

A quick update of where our project stands and its immediate future:

1.      Contest Over
2.     Campaign NOT Over Until 12/31/2016!
3.     Raffle Winners
4.     NANOWRIMO/Book Update

1. Contest Over

So after a brutal 3 months, the Geek & Sundry fantasy contest is over. First off, congrats to the winners and other participants that also receive these updates. Contest highlights:

• We finished tied for 12th out of 406 entries in the official results. Thanks so much for everyone’s support for a respectable showing. Not too shabby, but there’s still work to do.

• In total pre-sales, we finished in 10th place at 179 pre-sales. A very cool stat as it means most of my backers are ordering multiple copies of my book. Without you, there’s zilcho chance of being published! 

• I didn’t jump off a bridge after not finishing in the top 3. Here’s a link to the final standings for visual learners like myself. 

2. Campaign NOT Over Until 12/31/2016!

So my campaign will now run until 12/31/2016. While we are edging close to the 200 pre-order mark, 250 pre-orders is still the magic number to hit. We are 71 orders away from Kingdom of Dreams becoming a reality. Please help me flip over any rocks you can to find new backers and if you have another pre-order planned, please do so. I’ve officially fired myself as campaign manager and appointed my tenacious family members to help get this thing across the finish line. My family and friends have been amazing during this process.

3. Raffle Winners

Will be drawn this week. We’ve had a sick baby, family events and a couple of conferences to deal with, including more this week. Thank you for your patience. In fact, the next update will be dedicated to the raffle. 

4. NANOWRIMO/Book Update

National novel writing month started yesterday. Why bring this up, other than the obvious? One fascinating thing I’ve learned in working on the illustrations for this book is they have unintentionally changed the tone of the original novel. (And for the better, I have some exciting new spices to add!) I was fine for the most part with the happenings in the story, but the tone itself no longer matched up with the illustrations. So other than Dromon the Recurring Nightmare’s chapters, I’m going to rework the other chapters and use NANOWRIMO as my fuel this month. I’ll be posting some chapters and excerpts as I go along. 

So to recap: I appreciate the contest and the activity it allowed to happen. But I’m thankful it’s over and now we can focus full-time on getting published! 

Pleasant dreams,

Kevin

Quick milestone update: We’ve crossed the 50% to Quill marker, that means we’re over halfway to guaranteed publication! Since the campaign really only started in earnest in September, this is not too shabby.

So as promised, I have uploaded new chapters upon reader request. Six new chapters all told. A quick little tidbit about this: Kingdom of Dreams has been four years (parts of it much longer than that) in the making. The manuscript has seen its share of professional editors, agent feedback, conferences, reading groups, and general friend critiques (and too many weeping and moaning sessions) during that time. It also finished as a finalist in a national first chapter contest--and it wasn’t even the current prologue, that one’s being used for another book!-and also placed as a finalist in a debut novel writing contest. So to reiterate: this project took quite a lot of maturing to reach where it is today and nearly all of the material is written. And I still think it could be improved by leaps and bounds. Like Oscar Wilde once said: "Books are never finished, They are merely abandoned." 

• New goals: along with the new original art and goofy poetry giveaway at 100 backers, I’ll also release a new chapter or two. Or I may just start pulling random bits from the book as what’s the point of purchasing if you just read the whole thing online? Let me know your thoughts and thanks so much for giving us a real shot at publication. 

Let’s keep it going!

Best Wishes,

Kevin

Okay, so lot’s of great progress going on!

• We are now in the top 10 of the contest in terms of overall sales. 

• We reached our expansion goal of 60 backers! This is the number that needs to multiply like rabbits. (I’ll take the rabbits from Watership Down, thank you very much!) Congratulations to Scott Early  for winning my initial drawing. He’ll be receiving a limited edition original print of his choosing. 

• The next drawing for new artwork will come when we reach 100 backers. The next piece is a lot of fun and comes with a poem from the book, so please get your orders in to be eligible. 

• You voted, I listened, and the new cover will remain! Please check out my reworked-and I’m told mucho simplified-project page. And yes, the current cover (also seen below) is my original work as well.

• And just around the corner, I will also upload new chapters once we reach 125 pre-orders-halfway to the promised land!

I’ll end with the best news of all, we got press coverage! Kingdom of Dreams was covered in an excellent article by my old campus newspaper, The Breeze at James Madison University. Please read to learn more about our project and yours truly:

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