Hey all, Robin here with a very important announcement. If you are one of the few who have seen the recently released Indie Author Movie (you can get a copy of it here), you'll see that an overall theme is how much authors help authors. And there is a project coming up that epitomizes this "we help our own" mentality. But before I make the announcement, let me go back in time . . .
Back in late 2012 I heard about a story that touched my heart. Shawn Speakman (who at the time was primarily a website developer for Terry Brooks and Naomi Novik but who also sold high-end limited editions books through The Signed Page) had a terrible problem. You see he was diagnosed with cancer, and after extensive (and expensive) treatment he beat it! But he became uninsurable, yes remember when pre-existing conditions would prevent you from getting insurance), and then he got cancer again!
Faced with hundreds of thousands of medical debt, he was at a loss, but Terry Brooks said he would donate a short story to Shawn, and if others were approached, they would to. The result was an anthology called Unfettered, and it was a great success - and Shawn's medical debut disappeared.
Peter Orullian, the author most known for his debut release through Tor: The Unremembered (a David Gemmell Morningstar Award Winner), was the truest of friends , and he often sat by Shawn's side during chemotherapy treatments.
Okay, now let's roll ahead to earlier this year. In January, we received an email from Peter, probably because Michael had a story in Unfettered, as we don't know Peter well, or at least we didn't at that time. He explained that he was between a rock and a hard place. Like many authors, he earned enough such that he didn't qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to pay for insurance. Peter had his own bout with cancer (which took part of his tongue), but his wife, Cathy, also became inflicted and her situation is much, much worse.
Of course Michael jumped on board right away, but when he mentioned it to me, I stepped up as well. Together Shawn, Peter, and myself started working on the project. Peter and Shawn went about gathering the authors, I worked on calculating shipping costs and setting up the rudimentary aspects of the page, and together we discussed various aspects for production and shipping.
I also reached out to some other people I knew. Travis Baldree graciously agreed to donate his time to do the narration, and I got a nice advance from Audible Studios to produce the audiobook. I should note that at this time we aren't sure whether we will "sell the rights" (and get an advance but lower per unit cost income), or "keep the rights" and be able to sell the audiobook directly as part of the Kickstarter. but either way, an audiobook edition of the anthology will be coming.
As for artwork: Donato Giancola created the cover, Magali Villeneuve has created a bonus tarot card, and Todd Lockwood has donated a beautiful interior piece. There will also be black and white illustrations for each story, but I'm not sure if there will be one or mutliple artist doing those, so I'll announce that later.
Now, just wait until you hear the line up of authors who have donated stories to this project:
J.A. Andrews • Bradley P. Beaulieu • Carol Berg • Peter V. Brett • Terry Brooks • Jim Butcher • Delilah S. Dawson • Matt Dinniman • Kate Elliott • Jessica Day George • Lev Grossman • Kevin Hearne • Nancy Kress • Mark Lawrence • Scott Lynch • Jonathan Maberry •Seanan McQuire • Brandon Mull • Peter Orullian • Christopher Paolini • Kat Richardson • Christopher Ruocchio • Anthony Ryan • R.A. Salvatore • Brandon Sanderson • Scott Sigler • Shawn Speakman • Michael J. Sullivan • Carrie Vaughn • Brent Weeks • Tad Williams • Janny Wurts
Talk about a who's who in fantasy!
As for Michael's story, it will be a short from his much anticipated "The Cycle" series. Here is the "blurb for it."
It all started with a "new thing” called war that heralded the death of thousands. Famine and disease followed. Then the world of Elan was lost in an eternal winter, a dark and bitter cold that lasted years. Those struggling to survive walked upon the face of what they considered to be a corpse. All that remained was a glimmer of hope, and it, too, was waning. But for the one known as Muriel, the worst thing to happen was learning that the white wolf had found her. While this can be read without any prior knowledge of Michael's other works, it is first and foremost a foundational tale for those eagerly awaiting The Cycle series.
The pre-launch page is live now, so click on it to show Peter your support, and don't forget to back the project when it launches September 23rd - MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
