Hey Writer Balcony friends!
So I’m on the home stretch of my very first Kickstarter, and I wanted to give everyone on here an update on how it’s going, and let you know where I am with stretch goals and some of the bling that the special editions (and the art packs) have accumulated as a result.
I admit, I was panicking hard about this whole thing before it launched. I’m STILL panicking, but now because I’m getting close to the end, and while I’ve done everything I can think of to be ready for this next phase of things, it’s still daunting because it’s my first time. Still, I’m HAPPY I get to tackle the fulfillment and signing and packing and shipping part of things - it’s the good news, really!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE KICKSTARTER!
So here are the big wins in the Kickstarter so far:
Totally blew past my initial $ goal within a few minutes - it shocked me, honestly, just how fast that went by, I wasn’t expecting that at all (in fact I was up the entire night before, positive the whole thing was going to tank, mostly because my brain hates me)
Since that first day we’ve hit NINE (9!!!) Stretch Goals, and are now squeakily close to Stretch Goal #10.
While the above was (and is!) completely amazing, it also posed a bit of a challenge as I worked to pull together artists and vendors to fulfill all of the goals hit. Luckily, I had a few people on standby in the event I might need them. I found another at the last minute when I realized I hadn’t looked specifically for someone who could do cool symbol art in a gothic style, initially to design a “Malcroix Cross,” the symbol for the magical university (see below).
Another artist I found, for the “Full Cast Art,” was by pure luck - a really cool artist who happened to be running a Kickstarter at the same time as me (more on that below).
I’ve already written a draft of the Bonus Scene (another stretch goal) and am currently working on the Bonus Novella stretch goal, so progress is happening!
Because I ended up selling more books (particularly one version) than expected, I’m now going with a bulk printer, which means fancier binding for the special editions. Previously, I’d planned to stick with PUR glued, just to keep prices down, but now the bindings for the two fancy special edition styles (the “Art Deco” and the “Gothic”) will be stitched, instead, which was something I’d originally had down as a stretch goal!
Because of how the Malcroix Cross symbol (and the pin I designed from it) came out, I’m now going to get glow in the dark pins made, which I can’t help but be geekily excited about!
So yes, overall, I’m very pleased with how things are going!
And to follow up on the story about the “Full Cast Art” Stretch Goal, I found the artist because I was talking to other writers behind the scenes on Kickstarter, mostly so we could boost one another and promote one another’s campaigns if they were compatible. I complimented one writer on her absolutely adorable artwork, and it turned out that she was the artist!
(they really are insanely cute, see below)
So I asked her if she ever did commission work for other people, and she said she did, so now she’s going to be designing images for seven of the main characters for the Bones and Shadow series (plus one cat, lol). She’ll likely be doing more for me in the future too, since I have a few more characters/animals I’d like her to draw, as well.
Another cool thing about this - not only is she doing the characters themselves, but she’ll also be doing their individual primals, which are the familiar-like magical creatures that every witch/mage needs in this world in order to operate their magic. So that’s going to be super fun, and I absolutely can’t wait to see them!
She also seems like a very nice human, which is a huge bonus. :)
In general it’s been a great experience on there. I’ve met a lot of other writers and creators, which I always enjoy doing, and the ones who are supportive have just been a joy to chat and share ideas with.
I also have two more concepts for the artist who drew the Malcroix Cross (the pin, above), which may or may not be used for this Kickstarter, but definitely for the next one, which will feature the second half of this series. Those two pieces include an insignia for “The Malcroix Skulls,” which is the university’s Skyhunt Team, and a family crest / symbol for the Bones family, which should be even more gothic and Haunted House-y than the Malcroix Cross, (lol). She’s working on them one at a time, and I can’t wait the next set of sketches, which should be for the Malcroix Skulls.
One thing that shouldn’t have surprised me but somehow did is that all of this – finding artists, talking to printers and vendors, answering questions and talking to other creatives (not to mention my own stress-obsessing) - sucked up a lot of time these past few weeks, more than I expected. It’s all good, but yeah, it’s been tough to get everything done I want to get done.
I did manage to get out for a walk today, between bouts of rain (it’s been crazy wet for the past week), and it was super pretty. I got back before I got too drenched, and it was worth it to get a glimpse of snow on the mountains nearby, not to mention the full ponds, creeks, and streams everywhere I went.
Anyway, that’s the gist of this crazy roller coaster of a Kickstarter experiment so far! I’m hoping the last few days of the campaign remain fun, and that I continue to meet more amazing artists and creatives on there!
Just a quick reminder that I also have a brand new JC Andrijeski book available! Seer Wars Season 02: A New Enemy (Part IV) is now live and available to read on Kindle Unlimited!
River and Valek scarcely get a chance to talk, to reconnect after months of being apart, when an unwelcome visitor at the hotel sets events in motion that spiral out of control.
When her husband ends up unconscious and hurt again, River is furious, and ready for war. She tracks down the seers responsible without Valek, determined to end things for good, but before she can, someone else intervenes. An enemy breaches the Earth’s atmosphere, one beyond anything she or her soldiers have ever fought, even in decades of war on Old Earth.
Forced to flee Los Angeles, River and her new, found family attempt to escape the beings after them… preferably before the human world falls apart for real.
But this isn’t an enemy they can easily outrun, and they’ll need to survive on the planet for months before any hope of rescue can reach them.
SEER WARS is an epic, romantic, gritty science fantasy series that started off as a serial and now is being released as a series of novels. Abandoned in Los Angeles as a weapon for a future inter-dimensional war, River Cleopatra Jones never knew her true identity until she got abducted by seer, ex-soldier, and pirate, Valek Targen. But Valek has his own dark secrets, and a much deeper connection to River and her purpose than either of them know. Apocalyptic science fiction, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, slow-burn science fantasy with romance for people who like complex, character-driven sci-fi with a strong romantic subplot.
From the publisher ~
Juniper Lake... a tiny mountain town out in the sticks where a demon can finally get some peace. Or so you’d think.
I’m Delilah Hawthorne - Vengeance demon in dire need of a vacation.
Renting a cabin on a lake in the middle of nowhere sounded like a good idea at the time. I mean, who would need a demon out here in the showy-ness of nature, right?
WRONG.
Turns out a trio of morally questionable (okay, downright evil) witches can’t resist a good summoning. Or setting a demon trap.
Ensnared by their treachery, I’m on the hunt for a way to break out of the predicament I find myself in, because I’m no one’s lackey. Does the old journal I found stuffed in between some bookshelves hold the answer to my freedom?
To add to my troubles, the sheriff is on my trail. It doesn’t help matters that he’s hot, and therefore a distraction. He knows I have the journal, and he knows I’m lying. Is he going to find out what I’m up to before I can figure a way out of this mess?
I don’t know, but the suspense is killing me. Better to die from that than the alternatives, I guess.
When everything comes to a head, it turns out the sheriff has been hiding secrets of his own. It’s a good thing that works in my favor, because I have a feeling life is about to get a whole lot more interesting. There truly is no rest for the wicked.
No Rest for the Wicked is a slow burn, polyamorous Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance.
See Kaleidoscope Romance for content warnings and more!
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE COPY!
Be sure to check out the rest of the books in the series:
Hell Hath No Fury (book 2, F/F)
Hell in A Handbasket (book 3, M/M)
Sure As Hell (book 4, M/M)
A Cold Day in Hell (book 5, F/F)
Reviews appreciated!
This is a quick read novella, great for shorter attention spans or those limited by time constraints. If you do not enjoy quick reads, this may not be the book for you.
1st person dual POV, 36,607 words
This author does not consent to any Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarize, or otherwise replicate any part of this creative work, via any means: print, graphic, sculpture, multimedia, audio, or other medium.
No generative AI was used in the creation of this book.
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BOOK!
Have a lovely rest of your week and an amazing weekend, and thanks so much for following me on here! 🖤
Jules /JC
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