Happy New Year! (and schedule update)
over 4 years ago – Mon, Jan 06, 2020 at 01:56:14 PM

From Greg:

Happy holidays, everyone! While Áthila and Atthis Arts continue to do their thing, I've been busy with the end of the semester and wrapping up a whole host of projects—putting the final touches on a new middle grade manuscript which I've sent to beta readers, wrapping up final edits on the Tales and Tomes Forbidden Library adventure/sourcebook which should be released from Alligator Alley Entertainment in February, preparation for the release of what we're whimsically calling the "Grayshade Literary Universe" Kickstarter in March from a host of amazing designers, authors, editors, and voice actors, and work on an as-yet unrevealed non-fiction project. Beyond that, I've closed out a busy and amazing year on my Twitch channel, started to plan for a busy 2020 there and everywhere in my professional life, and…taken a badly needed rest with family, books, board/video games, and some football/basketball watching. That rest is going to continue for a couple of weeks longer, but I'm already looking forward to sharing an amazing Icarus/Jellinek release with all of you in 2020. A personal thanks as well to Chris, Emily, Kris, and of course Áthila; all of them have done a truly awe-inspiring job with this project, and I couldn't be more grateful to all of them. Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2020!

Schedule Update (from Chris):

In our last update, Emily reported that our schedule was getting tight to finish the Icarus (Book 1) artwork on time, but that we were still pushing toward the original March delivery date. But now, unfortunately, I've had to make the decision to push the schedule back. Áthila has brought in a couple of artists to assist finishing in the inks and colors, but they will likely need through the end of May to finish everything up. This means our full timeline is likely going to slip about 4 months.

I want to make it clear: The artwork is proceeding; we are still moving forward. The books will be delivered as we envisioned them. But we are not going to sacrifice the quality of the art for schedule.

The updated schedule means that both books will now be delivered in late June or early July. We will also use the extra time to get printed samples to make sure the finished printed copy is the best it can possibly be. 

Both Greg and Atthis Arts have events in June that we really would like to have these books at. The delay is affecting us too, and our ability to sell these books. So I promise you that we are doing everything we can to get these books completed as quickly as possible! I also promise we'll keep you updated as we get closer. 

Thanks, and I hope you have a great start to 2020!

Chris

Icarus Update - and a walk.
over 4 years ago – Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 04:15:17 PM

Hello - Emily here from Atthis Arts. We'll hear more from Greg next time (in the meantime let's all send him wishes to feel better) but we wanted to let you know how we were doing with the graphic novels. And then - my daughter and I are inviting you to join us on a virtual walk - we'll get to that at the end.

As you are likely aware, this project has required a concerted team effort to untwist it (only possible with your help), and that still continues. So we do have the art for the second book completed (with lettering and layout in work) and our push is to get the reworked artwork for the first book. It's going a little more slowly than we hoped and with some bumps in the road, but Chris and Greg are keeping at it with weekly status meetings and calculating out what milestones we need to hit.

We are currently planning to have both books: Icarus and Jellinek done by the end of March. (Physical shipping likely in April.) We will not be earlier, and that schedule is tight, but that's the plan. Regarding the long saga for those who have been part of it, the two main things to remember are:

• These books are going to be gorgeous. Just, everything they were always meant to be. I feel this not just as the publisher, but as a reader. I truly look forward to sitting down with a copy and experiencing this story. Yay!
• With both books out and all contractual issues resolved, we will be fully untwisted and ready to address allowing Icarus' story to continue. For those who have been involved in this for years, we know how exciting that will be. And we hope all lovers of a great, visual story will enjoy.

On a related note of long paths and small press dreams, my daughter and I went on a long walk yesterday to promote our upcoming anthology: Community of Magic Pens. (It hasn't reached the minimum funding yet and we're getting near the end.) We hope you'll enjoy joining us for this unscripted (as you'll see!) walk whether you're interested in the book or not, but that said we'd love for you to consider pre-ordering a copy (or sharing the link with a recommendation; that helps a lot! - and I'm pulling "praise for the project" quotes from social media shares too (#MagicPens), if you've got something lovely to say ♥).

It's a big challenge promoting a book without big names behind it, but I believe so strongly in our open-submissions model, which brings in new and diverse voices from all around the world for something really fresh and unexpected. And if you've seen our last collection, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, you'll know the quality of the stories will be top notch. (Writers across the planet are already buzzing about it, and if you're a writer, the guidelines are here. Everyone is welcome to submit!) If you support those goals (including our commitment to paying professionally qualifying rates) or just love the art and surprise of short fiction the way we do, we hope you'll give it a look. An ebook is $5 USD and all pledges increase momentum and visibility.

Thanks again for your time and support. Indie fiction has weathered a few storms lately, but if you're here, you know how important small presses are to the ecosystem, and why we need the support of those who believe along with us! I'll be blunt: small presses cannot survive without the love and enthusiasm of readers who get what they are doing and the voices and stories they are enabling. So thank you. ♥ ♥ ♥

Here's the link to click or share - and if you'd like to join us on our chilly walk around Ferndale, that's in Update #5. Thanks again! ♥ Emily.

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

Our 2020 Anthology and Icarus Artwork Update
over 4 years ago – Fri, Oct 25, 2019 at 03:58:44 PM

Before we jump into this update, I'd like to quickly say that we support Kickstarter United. We posted a longer statement on our website.

Our 2020 Anthology: Community of Magic Pens

Short stories and flash fiction from authors around the world with themes of joy, hope, and community.

If you have been following Atthis Arts, you've seen the evolution of our annual anthology. And if you're new, we hope that you'll join us! Our passion for the beauty of artistic voices fuels us in producing a high-quality anthology that thrives on the authenticity and diversity of the writing community. With that in mind, we:

• Will have open submissions.
• Are committed to paying professionally qualifying rates to the authors.
• Do not edit the author's voice out. This means we honor stories with international or regional dialects, including Black English.
• Publish stories designed to be safe for a diverse reader base. We specifically prohibit harmful messaging regarding culture, background, religion, ethic, gender, orientation, attraction, race, ethnicity, disability, or body. Our Anthology Content Guidelines (and submission guidelines) are linked to the campaign page.

We are proud to present our 2020 Anthology:

(We love this graphic, illustrated by Detroit teen artist Journey!)

Through this campaign, you can pre-order a copy of Community of Magic Pens, and help us pay the up-front costs of professionally qualifying rates. We believe in fair pay for writers, and your support really truly helps. (If you went through the Icarus campaign with us, you know our finances are tough. And, yes, this is another project where we aren't likely to make any profit. We believe in art, in goodwill, and community and that we'll find a way as a publisher to survive in the longer term based on our hard work and values.)

If you are new to our anthologies, the crowdfunding campaign also offers rewards to receive our 2018 anthology, As Told by Things, and last year's anthology Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove. Yes, these were offered as rewards to the Icaurs/Jellinek Kickstarter as well — but in case you missed them or want more copies for gifts or library donations.

We hope you'll check it out. If nothing else, enjoy the awesome video put together by Chris & Emily's daughter and her friend. As always, sharing the link is greatly appreciated!

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

(If you want to share this and also Icarus and Jellinek together use: atthisarts.com/projects)

Icarus Artwork!

Chris here. With the Jellinek artwork and page layout complete, I want to share with you some of the pencil pages from Icarus. If you have the original edition of Icarus, you will likely recognize the scenes depicted. But just in case, I added thumbnails of the original pages :)

(Of note, Áthila has not seen the original artwork. He is reworking all the art based on Keith's script of Greg's story.)

And finally, if you know anyone who missed the Icarus/Jellinek Kickstarter, we are still accepting new backers via BackerKit! They just need to click the button at the top of the campaign page. Or send them this link: atthisarts.com/projects

Take care!

Chris

September Updates
over 4 years ago – Sat, Sep 21, 2019 at 02:46:17 AM

Production update from Chris:

For everyone on the north side of the planet, I hope you are enjoying the end of the summer!

All of the final Jellinek artwork is complete and has been approved! The interior page layout is done and being reviewed this week. All of the initial thumbnails for Icarus have been approved, and Áthila is now working on the pencils. We are still pushing towards a spring 2020 completion, but the schedule is getting really tight. We'll keep you updated with any changes to the schedule if they occur. 

You might be wondering why we are finishing book 2 first? We made the decision to re-release Icarus (book 1) with all new artwork after running into challenges getting the original Icarus artwork licensed for a new release -- plus we absolutely fell in love with Áthila's depiction of Icarus, Jellinek, Rig, and the world of Vol. By the time of this decision, however, we were already more than halfway through Jellinek and didn't want to interrupt that process.

That's all for now. Thanks! Chris

Update from Greg:

Hello, folks! While Áthila, Kris, and Atthis Arts have been hard at work on art and layout, with me overseeing the story elements which are my responsibility on this awesome team, I've been busy with a number of other writing projects. Tales and Tomes from the Forbidden Library, my D&D adventure/sourcebook from Alligator Alley Entertainment, is heading to the printers, and should be out by the end of next month. I'm finishing up work on my middle grade manuscript (my daughter has been a perfect alpha reader!), and I should be ready to start submitting that at the end of October. I have a non-fiction and another fiction project about which I can't say much yet, but about which I'm really excited. :P And my conference schedule (during which I'll be chatting a lot about Icarus/Jellinek, of course!) next year looks exceedingly busy--which I'd be even more interested in if it weren't for some of my attention being occupied by the academic semester, which has arrived with its usual mix of fun and frenzy. So I'm as busy as always, but very excited about all of it...and incredibly excited about everything I'm seeing from the whole Icarus/Jellinek team. I can't wait to share all of it with you!

--Greg

Update from Greg - Gen Con Recap - and a Last Call!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 15, 2019 at 10:45:03 PM

Hi all,

We hope you've all been enjoying the summer with family and friends, and that you've been able to get a bit of rest in along the way. As for us, after taking a couple of days to process the amazing finish of the Kickstarter (and to sleep! :D ), we got right back at it. Áthila's art is moving ahead nicely, as is Kris's lettering, and we're in good shape in terms of our schedule and delivery goals.

Moreover, we got the chance to talk about Icarus and Jellinek more at one of the largest conventions in North America, with the largest individual writing track: Gen Con, in Indianapolis! I got my creative start at this convention over ten years ago when I met editor John Helfers, who would eventually buy my first novel, and I've had a soft spot in my heart for it ever since. Gen Con is best known for being the "best four days in gaming," and 70,000 attendees this year seemed to agree--the combination of gaming, LARPS, cosplay, crafts, and panel discussions seems to be irresistible. For the past ten years I've been honored to be a part of the Writers' Symposium, which features authors, editors, and agents from across the speculative fiction field; under the leadership of first Jean Rabe, then Marc Tassin, and now Kelly Swails and Melanie Meadors, it's grown to be one of the most prestigious and well-attended writing events for speculative fiction every year. It also happens to be where, last year, I first met Chris and Emily--Emily in the Authors' Avenue, where she was talking about and selling her work (about which more below!), and Chris as a moderator for the Symposium. Chris had some really interesting questions on the panels he moderated for us, and when we got the chance to chat more at the Symposium hang out, the subject of Icarus came up, I gave them one of the original books, and the rest is history--a history of which you're all now a critical part!

This year, Emily was back in Authors' Avenue, Chris was back doing his usual amazing moderating job, and I was presenting on panels, doing talks, participating in critiques, and running the concluding D&D adventure for my Forgotten Library trilogy (which made a bit of its own Kickstarter magic earlier this year, and which will be out in less than six weeks!) in front of a live, enthusiastic audience on and offline. We also had the chance to do a signing together, chat with some Icarus fans (it was nice to see some of you there!), and even play a game with our kids. All in all, it was another reminder to me of how special this event really is, and how fortunate I am to be a part of it--and to have met the amazing people who make Atthis Arts what it is, to boot. If you're in reasonable traveling distance of Gen Con, make sure to mark it on your calendar for next year, check out the Writers' Symposium, and stop by and say hello!

Otherwise, we're full speed ahead on Icarus and Jellinek. I am incredibly excited to get these books to you, and again, am so thankful that you've all made it possible. Take care, and talk soon!

      --Greg

Emily here. I'd like to echo how nice it was for Chris and I to talk to Greg again; his heartfelt storytelling was one of the factors that drew Chris and I to this project, but we've also learned what an agile sense of humor that he has, and broad sensitivity toward life. So I really think you'll enjoy these books! And we're just honored to be a part of this journey.

Many thanks to Greg for mentioning my own work - which is live here on Kickstarter, with less than one week to go. I have a lot more on the campaign page about why this is important to me, plus my super-awkward video. (Hey, I have anxiety. I tried.)

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

Diamondsong is a little hard to describe (that's kind of the point), but essentially it's a ten-part, character and worldbuilding driven high fantasy novella serial. I tell people at my events that I'm doing all the things I was told wouldn't sell, like focusing on non-violence, incorporating speciesism, and fully integrating multiple sets of gender pronouns. I did it all anyway! (And I'm hoping people will appreciate that. Fantasy has always been a conversation about who we are.)

You can try the first book through this Kickstarter, to see if you might like it, or you can subscribe to all ten volumes. (With Parts 01-05 delivered at the conclusion of the campaign with the others to follow.) There is more over at the campaign, but the bottom line is: This project is so deeply personal to me, and it would mean a lot if you would be willing to give it a chance.

Thanks again from myself and Chris - we will keep you updated on Icarus and Jellinek, and, as always - we very much appreciate your support! (P.S. If you're in the Detroit area, I'll be at Michigan Comic Convention this weekend - stop by if you're there. I hope meeting and saying hi to people.) Cheers, Emily. ♥