I was asked recently: what makes doing a Kickstarter so time-consuming? 

This is the first post of at least three to answer Kickstarter questions that I’ve been asked. I have copied this from my newsletter as I’ve also been informed that my newsletter text is difficult to read. As I am unable to adjust the text size in the newsletter template, I hope by posting here too, it makes things easier to see.

When I think about what I’ve already done so far for the Veil of Souls Kickstarter, I am seriously proud. Yet at the same time, I’m trying not to get overwhelmed by how much I yet have to sort out. I know you are being very patient with my writing schedule, especially as, for some of you, it seems like I haven’t released much new material for a long time. I can only thank you for being patient!

As with all businesses, there is always a lot that goes on behind the scenes. I thought it would be interesting for you to see a breakdown of what I’ve done for the release of the Aether Chronicles. It would all be too long to put into 1 newsletter/post so this is part one!

The reason behind this venture!>>>

About 5 years ago I was drooling over the gorgeous fantasy covers Amalia Chitulescu was creating. I wanted a series with her covers so badly and I was lucky enough to book a slot with her. It took a long time to get that first cover, and I didn’t want to release a book from that series until I knew I had all three covers in my possession. That meant waiting for about another two years to get another two covers finalised and in my hands.

When I saw the covers for all three books together, I desperately wanted to make gorgeous hardbacks with them. As I wasn’t in a financial situation to make that a possibility, and I was mid-writing Shadow Sentinels, I shelved the project.

Obviously, as in any other industry, things in publishing changed. Other ways to publish and release are now available. Kindle Vella is one, and direct selling is another. Sadly authors outside the US can’t use the Kindle Vella platform. Just over a year ago, I joined a Facebook group which is for authors who run Kickstarter campaigns to fund some absolutely amazing special edition book production campaigns. I knew this could finally give me the opportunity to try and make these covers into the stunning books I always wanted them to be.

That was when I halted writing the Blood Throne series for a while, along with the next Shadow Sentinels standalone book. I put all my effort into writing the complete three book Aether Chronicles.

I wanted this series to be a dark fantasy but also with the spicy romance that I love. Action and romance is what I like to read in fantasy and that’s what I wanted for the characters that had been in my head since I saw the cover for Veil of Souls.

I started writing Dexalion and Zahlia’s story last July. All three books are more than 110,000 words. All three are complete and have been through developmental and deep edits. Judi Soderberg is the wonderful reader turned editor that helps me kick my characters into shape. I am eternally grateful to her for her insights and feedback. Book one now needs line and copy edits from me and then the manuscript will be complete, but the book itself isn’t yet a finished product.

So what else have I done as well as writing and editing three books? Well, so that I don’t overwhelm you, I think I’ll put that in my next newsletter! Find out next time what sort of steps I’ve completed so far for the VOS release, and what exciting things are in progress for this campaign!

For now let me reassure those of you who are waiting to dive into the Blood Throne world, as well as seeing what Stone has in mind for Shannon, that those books are in progress. At times when there is little for me to do but wait for others to get back to me about art, etc, I am already writing these books!

Don’t forget to add me to your list of addressees in your phone or email list so that these emails don’t go into spam and you get updates on the campaign as I get ready to release.

I am still looking at October to release, and I will be organising a cover reveal date for VOS very soon! I have my twins’ birthday in September so I will be spending some time with my gorgeous girlies around that time.

If you have a BookTok account, Bookstagram, blog, Facebook group/page, or other social Media platform, and are willing to help with the cover reveal just drop me an email, or message on your chosen social media platform and I’ll add you to my list of people to contact about it. I need all the help I can get with this campaign to make it a success!

For now, I hope this has sparked interest in the VOS Kickstarter. I’ll post part two and explain the steps I’ve taken so far in getting all the beautiful bookish things in place, in my next newsletter. 

Feel free to drop a comment, or send me an email/message if you have any further questions for me, or want to take part in this grogeous cover reveal.