The "Watchers" Kickstarter Is Officially Pre-launched!

Quick updates and a preview of our first crowdfunding campaign

Thank the Wright it’s Friday.

The lack of regularly scheduled annals–codex–news, Vaporous Realms at War character profiles, or miniature crafting pics this week was for the excellent reasons that 1) I’m committing anew to reining in my work hours and 2) perhaps ironically, I was pulling together our first-ever Kickstarter campaign. Both efforts went well, this seven-day—and my wife is to thank on both counts.

Here’s the run-down of updates:

“Watchers” Kickstarter Pre-launch

Our Kickstarter will run September 26 to October 26. If we reach our minimal pledge goal, it will continue a while longer. Find the pre-launch page with the trailer and full details here. [Update: To my annoyance, it doesn’t seem to include full details yet (unless you happen to be logged into Kickstarter as me). But there’s an option to be notified when it goes live—and having “followers” like that will help the campaign’s visibility. But I’ll resend the same link to you next Thursday, after launch. And I’m updating this post with the trailer.]

If you’ve already purchased the Dustsong novella, please know that I continue to be humbled by that show of moral and financial support—and I have no expectation that you’ll support this Kickstarter campaign. You’re already being patient for the revised and expanded version of Len’s story, and Kaelii’s and Egwae’s Dustsong POVs. I’m only sharing the campaign details in case you’re genuinely interested in the rewards for one of the pledge tiers.

The truth is, success with this Kickstarter would go a long way toward helping me get the expanded Len novella and Kaelii’s novella finished, edited, and published in the first half of 2025.

Of course, this campaign is our first, modest go-round with crowdfunding. But I’m sure we’ll fine-tune our approach after launch and find our stride. I’ll be doing a lot of promotional (and fulfillment) work this fall, though I’ll spare y’all most of the promo stuff.

That said, I’ll remind you when the campaign goes live and will update you selectively in the weeks to come.

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Of Warriors and Sages Release

My fellow author Jenn Lees pens historical portal fantasy—and does it well, from characters and setting to action and plot to her finely crafted writing. Her ebook Of Warriors and Sages: Arlan’s Pledge Book Two was released today! (Congratulations, Jenn!) You can find out more about her books on her website.

What I’ve Been Reading and Watching

Tighter limits on my work days means I get to pick up and finish several books I only started over the past year. First is Amanda Auler’s Daughter of the Sun, a tale of families and community and prophecy-gone-awry (with ice age and prehistoric vibes).

On the Youtube side of things, I’ve been checking out the Bald & Balding channel, hosted in part by Rosaire Bushey, my table neighbor in Roanoke last month. Just a couple of guys having fun, nerding out, and chatting with other creators! (Which describes the convention, too, come to think of it.)

Have a blessed weekend, y’all!