The clock is ticking

 We are down to just a few hours until the end of the Out of the Ashes Kickstarter.

It's been great so far.  We've been consistently hitting the #1 most backed and the #2 most funded live fiction project.  Plus we got a number of stretch goals down.  I'm a bit distracted at the moment as I've been . . . 

• Proofing audiobooks from Tim Gerard Reynolds (for a short story anthology0
• Helping Peter with the Unbroken Kickstarter - 111,000+ surveys have gone out.  If you missed that one, late backing is available through this link.

#1 Most Popular Pre-Launch Fiction

 

So yesterday, we pushed the "coming soon" pre-launch page live for The Riyria Revelations deluxe hardcovers.  And when I checked today it was the #1 most popular fiction project. Given there are 1,166 projects in that category, I'm pretty impressed!

If you want to join the 500+ people who have signed up for notification, click here.

More Kickstarters coming soon

Hey all, Robin here. As we near the conclusion of the Kickstarter for Out of the Ashes (just 9 days left)! I've been looking ahead to our other projects. No, it's still too soon to discuss The Cycle books, but we are finally oh so very close to getting a signed contract for a 20th anniversary of the Riyria Revelations!  So close in fact, that I've built the Kickstarter page.  If you want to sign up to be notified when the project is live, just click here.

And if you missed the Kickstarter for the matching Riyria Chronicles . . . there are a few left (but once they are gone, that'll be it. We have been selling them at a discount (to get the warehouse cleaned out), so you can pick up one of the remaining sets at a $60 - $80 discount depending on whether you get all five or just four of the books.  To shop the sale, you can click here.  Given the difficulty when negotiating these rights, reprinting more isn't likely. So if you are looking forward to a complete set of Elan Saga books, get these before they are gone!

And for those who are curious . . . yes the Legends of the First Empire and the Rise and Fall series will be getting these cover treatments. Right now I'm in negotiation with another publisher for hardcover rights in the UK for Legends of the First Empire, and the plan is to do a joint printing with different cover designs between our two versions (it's pretty common to have different covers for the US and UK).  For that Kickstarter, we'll have both regular and deluxe versions (much like we are doing now with Out of the Ashes, and Sarah is working on what the deluxe editions will look like. While she's been doing that, I've started toying around with the regular editions.

We have launched the "notify me" page and you can find it at this link.  We also have a survey to let me know what books you are interested in, and we can make sure you get a pre-order created for you. To do that, you can sign-up here.

Well, that's all the news for now. Hopefully you find some of this stuff interesting!

Tomorrow's the day! Kickstarter launch for the new series!

Hey all, Robin here. Well, tomorrow is a big day as we will be launching our 14th crowdfunding campaign. This one is for Out of the Ashes: the first book in a new series called After the Fall. You can click here (or on the picture) to jump to the funding page. Oh, and I should note that there are some "early-bird" specials where people can receive a discount for being one of the first 100 people in each reward level.

With its release, that brings the total number of books in the Elan Saga to twenty-one!

Savvy veterans of the Elan universe will probably guess that After the Fall comes . . . well after . . . the Rise and Fall series, and you'd be right.  In fact, the new book picks up just a few days after the last pages of Esrahaddon. And if the final words of that book ("Hello, Brother") left you wanting more - then you're in for a treat because "more" is exactly what you can expect from this new series!  Not only will you get some further details about that clandestine meeting, but you'll also learn what has become of Nevrik, Jerish, Elinya and even how Esrahaddon was captured.

Now, for those who haven't read the Rise and Fall, that's not a problem because this series, like all the ones in the World of Elan, are designed to stand on their own. Sure, people who have read some (or all) of the books will have a bit of "insider information," but new readers should be able to jump right in without knowing some (or any) of what has come before.

One of the things that makes me most excited about this project is that not only does it usher in a new book, and series, but it also launches the career of a new author! Her name is Lorian Ellis, and I can't wait until you get to hear her tales and meet her characters - I love them so. 

And here's probably the best part about tomorrow . . . the first two chapters are posted on the Kickstarter so you can read part of the book starting at noon!  Just check out the "Sample Chapter" section of the Kickstarter, then pop on over to the Elan Discord server to share your thoughts with fellow Sullifans. 

Getting the opening of the book is great, but the obvious question is when can you read the entire story?  Well since the book is 100% written and edited, we'll be sending out ebooks (for those that order that format) on September 25th - the day after the Kickstarter is over -- assuming of course it funds.

As for the printed versions (both deluxe and regular hardcovers) here is what we're looking at:

•  September 5th - send print-ready files to printer
• September 15th - get proofs back
• September 23rd - Kickstarter ends print quantities determined - print run ordered
• November 25th - books hit the presses
• December 9th - books ready to ship
• January 27th - books arrive in US
• February 3rd - books arrive in our warehouse and shipping begins. 

Now, all that said, I've put the ship date on the Kickstarter for March 2027 just to provide padding as things never go completely to plan.

So, that's my big news for this evening. I hope to see you tomorrow on the Kickstarter!!

Robin.