Where are Icarus and Jellinek?
over 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 01:57:28 PM

What would 2020 be without a few more hiccups? The final bound proof had a couple of issues that we addressed with the printer before the final printing and binding.

But now here they are, and they are gorgeous. Jellinek looks determined to load up with Iccy in a padded envelope and head on out. And that they will—tomorrow.

The limited edition pages have been printed, but the original art needed for the deluxe editions is still on route from Brazil. As soon as that artwork arrives, the pages will be sent to the bindery for all the hardcovers to be completed.  We'll get these out as soon as we can, but it is looking more like sometime in September.

We've made a small number of the Kickstarter-edition paperbacks available on our website. These are the last copies available of Icarus and Jellinek prior to the full retail release targeted for November 10th.

And as a fun surprise, Emily dropped a book on us last week! This is the slipstream fantasy story that she previewed on Greg's Twitch channel during Gen Con Online (if you missed it, the same video also features a clip from the audio drama of Icarus, and Greg reading from Jellinek). It's a short novel and easy to read, friendly to those of us having trouble focusing right now. I may be a tad biased about this book, but I've read it and loved it.

Lord's Dome  is available on our website as well as most online retailers.

Hope everyone is safe and well!

Chris

Upcoming dates as we get close to shipping.
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 02:52:07 AM

Rig has some dates for you: 

Next Week: Icarus and Jellinek e-books will go out! You'll receive a notice from BackerKit with a link to your downloads in various formats (Kindle, epub, and PDF). If you are receiving original artwork, you will get a separate email from me to discuss which page you would like to have.

July 19 will be the last day to change anything relating to your rewards and survey. Your BackerKit order will be locked, and any remaining charges for add-ons will be processed. It will also be the last day that the BackerKit pre-order page will be up. If you know someone you think would enjoy these graphic novels, please let them know!

July 24 we will lock shipping addresses. So if you've recently moved, please make sure your address is up-to-date. If your address is already locked (i.e. we already shipped you a reward item), send us a Kickstarter message with your new address.

Early August: Icarus and Jellinek paperback copies will go out! Hardcover editions and artwork rewards will be a little later in the month. 

Thanks, Rig (and Chris)

I got an email from Áthila today...
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 10:13:03 PM

Hi - Chris here.

I was already in the process of writing an update, when an email popped into my inbox from Áthila with a quick update on the artwork. Scroll down to read what it said.

Our Little Bird Logo - Enamel Pin Campaign

So the update I was writing when that email came in was about a fun campaign that Emily came up with to help support our small press during what I’m sure you know has been quite a year. She does a better job describing it on the page than I could, so I really hope you’ll check it out – we appreciate your support a great deal.

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/littlebird

Ok, now to Áthila's email. Here it is: 

What do I think?! 

Maybe something like this?

So—we'll be quickly wrapping up the lettering and layout, then start looking toward fulfillment. Stay tuned for another update in about a week!

Hope everyone is safe and well. And please check out our cute little Atthis ellioti  hummingbird!

Chris

May the Fourth be ... An Update!
almost 4 years ago – Mon, May 04, 2020 at 10:22:08 PM

Hey Everyone, 

I saw a request for an update, thank you to whoever did that, this had been an overdue item on my list for a while.

First of all, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. You can't help but think thoughts like: "If when this Kickstarter Campaign was running, you were told you might have to delay the release because of a global pandemic that shut down the entire world ... and forget having the books at a convention this year. Ouch.

So of all the Covid-related things that you might think could risk Icarus & Jellinek, I bet you didn't think of what I'm about to tell you. Because, actually, corona-virus is not impacting the vast majority of our timeline. All of our final printing is being done in the United States by printers that are considered critical and remained open and we don't have to worry about overseas freight. All of the creators are working from home offices, and everything is being managed electronically. But one critical step is being affected. We are currently unable to get the inks transferred  to the coloring paper. The businesses that do that locally for Áthila are temporarily closed, but expected to reopen in the next 2 weeks.

We are 3 pages away from having the remaining inks completed, Kris has already done initial lettering based on those inks, and we've received color proofs from the printers based on Jellinek -- so once we are able to get the inks transferred over to coloring paper, we'll be able to drop the final artwork in as quickly as the coloring is done. My best guess at this point is that it will push our final delivery back about a month...

...Or about the same amount of time it took our bank and the SBA each to reply to our initial financial aid applications, and we have yet to be approved for anything as a small business. Maybe if we were selling $100 steaks, that would be different. (For international backers, that is a reference to the not-so "small" corporations that were aided financially by a program meant to save the smallest businesses.)

But enough of that -- let me share some some other news, along with a piece of Icarus art that I think reflects our determination to get through this, together. Take care and stay safe! 

Chris

New Release Today!

Oh, and we released our third anthology today :)

Community of Magic Pens is an eclectic, multi-genre collection of 40 original stories about the power of communication, the magic of writing instruments, and the strength of community, curated to inspire wonder, hope, and joy.

If you enjoyed our previous anthologies, we hope you'll give this one a look. Learn more here.

Award-Winning(?) Fiction

Finally, we get to learn if our recent title, The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus will be a gold medal winner at the 2019 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards for Best New Voice: Fiction. If you'd like to watch the ceremony with us, it will be streamed online. The acceptance speeches are pre-recorded, ala RuPaul's Drag Race (where each contestant is filmed winning so that the actual decision can be broadcast live).

If you haven't read Triple-C, we really are proud of this title and glad that it is getting some of the attention it deserves.

Chelsea is determined to make it to her brother’s wedding. And she’s not going to let the fact that she’s been dead for two years stop her.

Learn more here.

Atthis Arts AMA on Reddit r/Fantasy Tomorrow/Today (Thursday) - and Icarus/Jellinek Updates
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 12:27:47 AM

Hey everyone,

I hope you are staying as safe and healthy as possible in these tough times. We're struggling here too, but committed to keep moving forward as we get though this, together.

If you are able, we'd love for you to join us as Emily and Chris discuss our small press on r/Fantasy (link) tomorrow starting at 12 noon EDT.  In this AMA, we'll be discussing the business of small press publishing and talking about several of our upcoming titles . . . including Icarus and Jellinek.

Speaking of Jellinek, we've received print samples from multiple printers in the U.S. 

We are still on our current schedule for getting Icarus completed and distributing rewards. And we're keeping our fingers are crossed that soon we will be able to share Greg's story and Áthila's artwork with the rest of the world. 

Take care and stay safe,

Chris