I’ve been doing this every Friday now for a long time. And it certainly has been fun studying Kickstarters. I look for fiction campaigns that are not just about “pretty books” but actually want readers. I look for clarity in the campaign, meaning can I figure out what the hell is offered.

I look for a good story that flows and good art. I do not bother with anyone who is so flipping lazy as to us AI in any part of their campaign.

And I look to see if the campaign will fund or if the writer behind the campaign asked for far too much.

And sometimes a campaign just catches my attention and I think it is worth mentioning.

So for another week, here we go again.

NEW THIS WEEK!!

THREE FANTASY NOVELS From Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Three Fantasy Novels Set in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Acclaimed Seavy County!

We are just finishing up getting out the books for the three mystery books (all but paper will be out this week), and now Kris is offering up three fantasy novels in her Seavy County world. Amazing books. This launched on Tuesday and we have already hit all the stretch rewards and will be adding more. And we already got from Kickstarter a “Project We Love” designation. Take a look and take a look at the two fantastic writing workshops offered as well.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/three-fantasy-novels-from-kristine-kathryn-rusch?ref=25j9jd

—-

Spin Trap: Stunning deep space adventure by Sean Monaghan.

Pulse-Pounding Science Fiction Adventure Novel filled with action and disaster. Even a touch of humor. From award-winner Sean Monaghan.

Sean might be one of the best new science fiction writers working and he has sold his fiction to many different magazines, including me at Pulphouse. This is going to be some great reading, so take a look and back this one if you love great science fiction and great writing.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanmonaghan/spin-trap-stunning-deep-space-adventure

—-

Halloween Hearts – An Anthology of Love Stories edited by Brigid Collins and Ron Collins

Twelve tales of cursed love, monstrous meet-cutes, dark and stormy witchcraft, and happily ever hauntings to warm your Spooky Season.

Oh, my, folks, you want to watch this one and back it now. This has some stunning stories in it. I know, I have read them all. And some fantastic writers. And two super editors putting it all together. This is a must buy for great reading. For now, take a look at it and back it. Great reading. A great campaign

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roncollins/halloween-hearts-an-anthology-of-love-stories

UPCOMING FUN CAMPAIGNS…

JUST A GIRL: A Sweet Romance Where Love Meets Magic by Kathryn Kaleigh

What if the voice you talked to every day suddenly appeared in your apartment? Some questions have impossible answers.

Kathy might be the best romance writer I have read in years and her campaigns are always well done and worth studying. Get on the watch list for this one. It sounds like a great one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kathrynkaleigh/just-a-girl

—–

A Pocketful of Dragons: A Cozy No-Spice Romantasy by E. R. Paskey

A shy baker saves two dragons, upending her life as she knows it and leading to love & belonging in this no-spice cozy fantasy romance.

E.R. is a great fantasy writer and has done a number of really fun Kickstarters. This one is worth watching and backing when it launches. Always fun.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erpaskey/a-pocketful-of-dragons-a-cozy-no-spice-fantasy-romance?ref=1wkh28

—

Festive Fantasy Holiday Tales: 10 Tales of Holiday Magic by Rebecca M Senese

Reindeer and elves, Krampus and Yule creatures, even a magical, runaway turkey, delight in these 10 fantasy tales of magic and heart.

Wow, does this one look great. Rebecca has done a bunch of great campaign and they are always wonderful and I have read some of her holiday stories and trust me, they are wonderful. So get on the watch list of this one and back it when it comes out. Great stuff.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rfarpublishing/festive-fantasy-holiday-tales

—–

A Cut Beyond: Twilight Zone inspired stories in two books by Rob Vagle

The barbershop that wasn’t there yesterday. File under M for Magic. Weird and fantastic stories from the wondrous land of imagination.

I have known Rob and been reading and buying his stories as an editor for forty years. He is one of the best and most original writers I know and these two collections are going to be something really special. Get on the “Inform Me” list on this for when this launches. Trust me, you will be very happy you did.

And take a look at the nifty header and the nifty Story header. The best.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robvagle/a-cut-beyond-twilight-zone-inspired-stories-in-two-books

—

Voices Through Time: A Ghostly Appalachian Novella Trio by Kari Kilgore

Special edition omnibus full of romantic suspense, ornery ghosts, and the antique postcards and images that inspired the tales.

Oh, my, is this going to be a great book when it comes out. I have read a lot of Kari’s stories and loved them and Kris has bought many of her Appalachian stories. Trust me, you are going to love these, so take a look at the promotions page and get on the Inform Me list. Going to be a treat.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/karikilgore/voices-through-time?ref=ctw09d

Of course we have added in two of the 3-week workshops in this new Kickstarter campaign, and wow are they great ones.

Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Here is the description from the campaign of the two workshops.

— Workshop #1… MONEY-MAKING TIPS USING INVENTORY

In three weeks, we will give you a whole bunch… a lot… no, make that a ton of tips and ideas on how to make money with your inventory. Many indie writers give this no real thought, not realizing they are sitting on a gold mine in just the stories and novels they have already finished. 

Remember, stories never spoil. They are new to the reader when the reader first reads them. But the key for the writer is getting these stories in the hands of readers. That is what this class is all about.

THIS IS A BUSINESS WORKSHOP. We might suggest an idea you would never do in one sentence and then give you an idea in the next sentence that will help you make extra money and find new fans and readers.

—

— Workshop #2…. LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Beyond  Depth… How to Make a Location Come Alive

A city, a spaceship, a colony, a building, or in the case of Seavy County books and stories, coastal towns. This three-week workshop will focus beyond depth, far beyond, into the methods, tricks, and techniques of making a setting really come alive in the reader’s minds.

This is an advanced craft class that all levels of writers in all genres can learn how to make the locations of their stories real to the readers.

This special workshop will only be offered through this Kickstarter. Plus, you get all three of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s fantasy novels in electronic form.

—

— Get Both Special Workshops At a Discount!!

You can get both special workshops under the $250 reward level or as an add-on. In two short classes you will take your writing and business in any genre to another level.

These special workshops will only be offered through this Kickstarter. Plus, you get the three Kristine Kathryn Rusch fantasy novels in electronic form.

Both three-week classes will be offered starting October 6th and October 27th. Your choice. 

—

Yes, the first workshop goes along with the 40K Seminar we are doing, but in that seminar we are not talking about inventory with a focus like this class will have.

And that second class on Location!!!  You think you know depth? Well, in three weeks we will show you how little you actually know about using depth for setting. This will be a stunning craft class.

Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Don’t miss this one.

For each claim page (I filled out five different claims with over 7o titles total on the five claims), Anthropic is sending out proposed amounts for each book or story. Some letters are saying no dispute with the enclosed titles, others are disputed.

For example, on a number of titles, some company I have never heard of is claiming they own 100% and all the authors should get nothing. Yeah, that’s a dispute.

And good old Pocket Books is given rewards two and three times on some books, and then Simon and Schuster claims a share. Yeah, that’s a dispute.

More than likely I will get ten different letters for my five claims, one letter for each claim number with no disputes and on some of those no disputes I will dispute, and some letters for each claim with known disputes.

Kris should get about six more letters for the 60 plus titles she claimed.

So joy, a ton of paperwork again for this, but since the money is supposed to be paid out for 2/3s of the total per book in early November, might be worth the pain. ($2,200 per title)

We shall see. But some of the titles we have all the shares with no disputes, others just 15% or less.

Here are some made-up numbers because I am a ways from knowing the actual numbers, percentages, and exactly how many titles… But say this turned out we average about 35% per title. That is about $770 per title for this first payment. At about 130 titles (again, just made up), about 30 of which we overlap, that is over $75,000.

Yup, worth doing the paperwork.

Great fantasy novels! Original collections. Important workshops.

Don’t miss this one…

Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

A really fun Kickstarter… Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch. We have not done a campaign since early May, instead spending the time to get other campaigns caught up and WMG caught up. We still have a few books in the nonfiction Kickstarter we did, and hardbacks and paperbacks are in the process for three of the campaigns. But except for my collections in the campaign in May, most awards are fulfilled and we feel its time to do another one.

The most ignored and forgotten series that Kris has done over the decades is the Seavy County series of books and stories. They are all wonderful and it has been a crime they have been ignored. And this spring as Kris worked to gather that series of books and stories, as I am gathering my short stories for my collection challenge, she discovered she had a lot more than she remembered.

So as a first step in really branding and bringing a number of the books and stories together, this Kickstarter came about. The three novels are all dark fantasy set on the coast, basically in Seavy County.

And in this campaign she did four brand new, original collections of Seavy County stories. So if you get the collections, you get the three novels as well with that, and if we hit all five stretch goals, you will get most of the Seavy County stories and novels.

Three Fantasy Novels by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

WORKSHOPS INCLUDED!!!

Of course we have added in two of the 3-week workshops in this campaign, and wow are they great ones. Here is the description from the campaign of the two workshops.

— Workshop #1… MONEY-MAKING TIPS USING INVENTORY

In three weeks, we will give you a whole bunch… a lot… no, make that a ton of tips and ideas on how to make money with your inventory. Many indie writers give this no real thought, not realizing they are sitting on a gold mine in just the stories and novels they have already finished. 

Remember, stories never spoil. They are new to the reader when the reader first reads them. But the key for the writer is getting these stories in the hands of readers. That is what this class is all about.

THIS IS A BUSINESS WORKSHOP. We might suggest an idea you would never do in one sentence and then give you an idea in the next sentence that will help you make extra money and find new fans and readers.

—

— Workshop #2…. LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Beyond  Depth… How to Make a Location Come Alive

A city, a spaceship, a colony, a building, or in the case of Seavy County books and stories, coastal towns. This three-week workshop will focus beyond depth, far beyond, into the methods, tricks, and techniques of making a setting really come alive in the reader’s minds.

This is an advanced craft class that all levels of writers in all genres can learn how to make the locations of their stories real to the readers.

This special workshop will only be offered through this Kickstarter. Plus, you get all three of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s fantasy novels in electronic form.

—

— Get Both Special Workshops At a Discount!!

You can get both special workshops under the $250 reward level or as an add-on. In two short classes you will take your writing and business in any genre to another level.

These special workshops will only be offered through this Kickstarter. Plus, you get the three Kristine Kathryn Rusch fantasy novels in electronic form.

Both three-week classes will be offered starting October 6th and October 27th. Your choice. 

—

Yes, the first workshop goes along with the 40K Seminar we are doing, but in that seminar we are not talking about inventory with a focus like this class will have.

And that second class on Location!!!  You think you know depth? Well, in three weeks we will show you how little you actually know about using depth for setting. This will be a stunning craft class.

Kickstarter launches at noon. Don’t miss this one.

Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

She did this really short video for the new Seavy County Three Fantasies Kickstarter we have launching on Tuesday. Not only is it perfect for Seavy County, but really fun.

Take a look and then check out her introduction in the link above.

As she said in her introduction to the Kickstarter (you can read it here… Three Fantasy Novels…), she is working on gathering up and putting in order all the Seavy County stories and novels. This new Kickstarter is focused on the three novels set in Seavy County, but she has been also writing different forms of short stories set there as well. She has now gathered them together in four collections.

I talked her into putting the four collections in the Kickstarter with the three novels and tonight I was doing covers for those four collections. Super fun. So in this campaign you can get all the Seavy County stories and novels.

Kris has not approved these covers yet (since she is asleep while I do them) so they might change, but even so I thought you might like to see the four collections that will be also available in the Three Fantasy Novels by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Kickstarter, launching on Tuesday.  Check our her introduction and get on the watch list to be informed when we do launch.

And note the different genres of these collections, but all set in Seavy County.

I’ve been doing this every Friday now for a long time. And it certainly has been fun studying Kickstarters. I look for fiction campaigns that are not just about “pretty books” but actually want readers. I look for clarity in the campaign, meaning can I figure out what the hell is offered.

I look for a good story that flows and good art. I do not bother with anyone who is so flipping lazy as to us AI in any part of their campaign.

And I look to see if the campaign will fund or if they writer behind the campaign asked for far too much.

And sometimes a campaign just catches my attention and I think it is worth mentioning.

So for another week, here we go again. And I found nothing new this week I would suggest, mostly because I did not have much time to look.

STILL GOING!!

The Finder: A Supernatural Mystery Novel (and Crossover) by Michael Jasper

A paranormal thriller about impossible abilities, missing people, and two unlikely teams whose worlds collide.

Mike is a great writer I have known for some time and this new book will be great and you can get all of them in this campaign that came before. Some really good reading, so jump on board and back it and study it. Worth it. It is his first and looks great.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaeljasper/the-finder-a-supernatural-mystery-series-crossover

—

All Hallows of Feyland: A Cozy but Dangerous Novel Trio by Brigid Collins

3 fantasy novels set in Anthea Sharp’s world of Feyland. VR games, fey mischief, spooky season, queer no-spice romance & friendship.

This one is worth backing. Brigid is a fantastic fantasy and mystery writer and this trio of books could be really something special. Click the link and back this one and study it. Brigid knows what she is doing and this one funded quickly.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brigidcollins/all-hallows-of-feyland-a-cozy-but-dangerous-novel-trio?ref=a206v3

—–

Bandana Cowls Knitting Pattern Books by Stephannie Tallent

Lovely knitting patterns inspired by the California coast: cables, lace, stranding & texture. Easy-to-wear, fun-to-knit bandana cowls!

Well, yes, I know, this is different, but Stephannie Tallent is a fantastic fiction writer and from the looks of it damn good at knitting and creating patterns as well, so she has decided to do a Kickstarter for this and I love the idea and wanted to push it to those of you who would love this sort of thing, or knows someone who does. I have backed it for a friend who loves knitting.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stephannietallent/bandana-cowls

—-

UPCOMING FUN CAMPAIGNS…

THREE FANTASY NOVELS From Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Three Fantasy Novels Set in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Acclaimed Seavy County!

We are just finishing up getting out the books for the three mystery books (all but paper will be out this week), and now Kris is offering up three fantasy novels in her Seavy County world. Amazing books. This will launch in September, but take a look at the promotions page for more information. This is my 61st Kickstarter campaign. And we already got from Kickstarter a “Project We Love” designation. Take a look and click on the watch button.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/three-fantasy-novels-from-kristine-kathryn-rusch?ref=25j9jd

—–

JUST A GIRL: A Sweet Romance Where Love Meets Magic by Kathryn Kaleigh

What if the voice you talked to every day suddenly appeared in your apartment? Some questions have impossible answers.

Kathy might be the best romance writer I have read in years and her campaigns are always well done and worth studying. Get on the watch list for this one. It sounds like a great one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kathrynkaleigh/just-a-girl

—–

A Pocketful of Dragons: A Cozy No-Spice Romantasy by E. R. Paskey

A shy baker saves two dragons, upending her life as she knows it and leading to love & belonging in this no-spice cozy fantasy romance.

E.R. is a great fantasy writer and has done a number of really fun Kickstarters. This one is worth watching and backing when it launches. Always fun.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erpaskey/a-pocketful-of-dragons-a-cozy-no-spice-fantasy-romance?ref=1wkh28

—

Festive Fantasy Holiday Tales: 10 Tales of Holiday Magic by Rebecca M Senese

Reindeer and elves, Krampus and Yule creatures, even a magical, runaway turkey, delight in these 10 fantasy tales of magic and heart.

Wow, does this one look great. Rebecca has done a bunch of great campaign and they are always wonderful and I have read some of her holiday stories and trust me, they are wonderful. So get on the watch list of this one and back it when it comes out. Great stuff.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rfarpublishing/festive-fantasy-holiday-tales

—

Spin Trap: Stunning deep space adventure by Sean Monaghan.

Pulse-Pounding Science Fiction Adventure Novel filled with action and disaster. Even a touch of humor. From award-winner Sean Monaghan.

Sean might be one of the best new science fiction writers working and he has sold his fiction to many different magazines, including me at Pulphouse. This is going to be some great reading, so take a look at the promotions page get on the alert list to be notified when it launches.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seanmonaghan/spin-trap-stunning-deep-space-adventure

—-

Halloween Hearts – An Anthology of Love Stories edited by Brigid Collins and Ron Collins

Twelve tales of cursed love, monstrous meet-cutes, dark and stormy witchcraft, and happily ever hauntings to warm your Spooky Season.

Oh, my, folks, you want to watch this one and grab it when it comes out. This has some stunning stories in it. I know, I have read them all. And some fantastic writers. And two super editors putting it all together. When this comes out it will be a must buy for great reading. For now, take a look at it and get on the notify me page. A great one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roncollins/halloween-hearts-an-anthology-of-love-stories

—–

A Cut Beyond: Twilight Zone inspired stories in two books by Rob Vagle

The barbershop that wasn’t there yesterday. File under M for Magic. Weird and fantastic stories from the wondrous land of imagination.

I have known Rob and been reading and buying his stories as an editor for forty years. He is one of the best and most original writers I know and these two collections are going to be something really special. Get on the “Inform Me” list on this for when this launches. Trust me, you will be very happy you did.

And take a look at the nifty header and the nifty Story header. The best.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robvagle/a-cut-beyond-twilight-zone-inspired-stories-in-two-books

—

Voices Through Time: A Ghostly Appalachian Novella Trio by Kari Kilgore

Special edition omnibus full of romantic suspense, ornery ghosts, and the antique postcards and images that inspired the tales.

Oh, my, is this going to be a great book when it comes out. I have read a lot of Kari’s stories and loved them and Kris has bought many of her Appalachian stories. Trust me, you are going to love these, so take a look at the promotions page and get on the Inform Me list. Going to be a treat.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/karikilgore/voices-through-time?ref=65rojn

—

Kris has not approved these covers yet, and they are for the stretch rewards in her new fantasy Seavy County Kickstarter. I flat love the Winston and Ruby series of stories set in Seavy County and making them the stretch rewards will be so much fun. Winston sort of has some magic, Ruby is the small black cat that runs the show.

So tonight I got playing with covers for the stretch rewards and did these five covers, branded to Kris, of course. But also with a look for Winston and Ruby and a Seavy County bug on each book.

See what you think and jump onto the watch list on the Kickstarter for the three fantasy novels. It’s going to be fun.

Three Fantasy Novels from Kristine Kathryn Rusch

If you are following my challenge, you can get two of my collections bundled together in this fantastic fantasy bundle.

Every bundle of fantasy books in this is exclusive to this Storybundle.com/fantasy. All 15. About 47 different books. Wow, just wow.

I am just blown away by the amount of great reading in this one, and I even got to put in two original collections, never before published anywhere, into a bundle and made it exclusive to this. That’s right, two of the collections I have working on and talking about here are now available to read.

Kris put this all together. https://storybundle.com/fantasy

Grab this for some great reading by some great writers. And all exclusive to the bundle. It ends tonight (Thursday!!)!!