Diamondsong 02-05 now on Kickstarter
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Aug 08, 2018 at 01:41:27 AM
This message is going to backers of Diamondsong: Escape. If you’re a backer of Escape, you may have backed other of my campaigns and/or follow me on social media, and so you may see this announcement several times! Please forgive us for that - we’re trying to balance being unobtrusive with getting the word out. Thanks for your understanding!
So - I have a big announcement: our first Catalog campaign! We’ve used crowdfunding over the years to help with the initial production costs needed to make the high-quality artistic products that we believe in. We’d still appreciate your help by pre-ordering these products. However, we have so many wonderful things coming out that we’ve decided to combine them - a big ol’ party and we’d love for you to join us. : )
Specific to my own writing, the next four volumes of Diamondsong will be available for pre-order, starting with Part 02: Capture, which you would definitely get before the October release through this campaign.
So here’s how it works: Go to the campaign page at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/atthis-arts-catalog-2018/ Follow the instructions there to select an author and reward level. You’re welcome to pick me (I mean?) but I promise I’ll be just as happy if you pick another of these great titles. And you don’t have to stick with only one author - that’s just the easiest way we could set it up for now. Then, after the campaign is over, you’ll be able to add more titles by other authors (only if you’d like to, of course). I promise we are doing everything we can to make this easy and low-hassle for you.
I hope you’ll give all these great titles a look! The details are at the link, but it includes both adult-level speculative fiction as well as lower and upper middle grade fantasy (meaning great reads for elementary and middle school students).
Thank you so very much for your support. I know you don’t need to go out of your way to pre-order these titles, and I am very grateful for that support. We’re trying to make things happen for our small press so we can continue to publish unique, artistic writing and amplify important issues and voices—and this campaign is a big step in that process.
Thanks and please let us know if you have any questions!
E
P.S. Merci, Amaryllis! ♥
Psssst...
almost 6 years ago
– Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 11:15:57 PM
So, hey. We are going to be doing a Kickstarter soon for our Atthis Arts Fall Catalog. This features some super titles (truly), and I'll be bragging about all of them there.
But. Between us - you start by picking your favorite title. And they are all amazing. But I'm just saying...this will be on there.
...so.
In other news, I've been convinced to attempt some online videos. I don't know. I have anxiety and it's probably going to be silly. But. Eh, let's give it a shot. If you'd like to join me, I'll be posting them at E.D.E. Bell. See you there. : ) - E
All rewards shipped! (And some gender rambling.)
almost 6 years ago
– Fri, Jun 22, 2018 at 09:59:46 PM
Hello! Wanted to give you an update on the shipping, and also it grew into some ramblings that I decided to send anyway. So, you know, hang out a sec - let's chat. (Men, I have a note for you near the bottom.)
The print books look beautiful - paying for (and waiting for) the higher quality was worth it, in my opinion. I mean, if they can't be hardcovers, I can at least be particular about the paperbacks.
All rewards have been shipped - except to one or two people who have not completed their survey. If you're still getting reminder emails, please go fill out the survey, so we know where to ship your book(s).
I've also learned there is some confusion about what a BackerKit survey is. What BackerKit calls a "survey" is what finalizes your information so we know what to send where. It's not, like a satisfaction survey or anything that takes time to complete. So if you get an email (for this or any other campaign you support) that says you need to fill out a BackertKit survey, think of that as a request to finalize your order. It's not spam, is what I'm trying to say. Ignoring it just makes it harder for us to send the product to you and harder to track what's been completed.
So if you ordered paperbacks, look for them soon, and let me know if you don't get them in a reasonable shipping time. I hope you like the swag packs (if you got them) and I hope you enjoy Dime's story. If you do, I'd love to hear about it. Like I've said from the beginning, it is sort of a subtle story. But I'm not here trying to do what's already been done, and I wanted to try something different. My hope it is would be an interesting adventure to follow, and also provoke some ideas about the world. (Note, when I say ideas - I mean your ideas, not mine. I like my stories to be up for interpretation. Just to see things in a different light or to think.)
I want to speak to readers a moment on gender. After this paragraph, skip to your appropriate section(s) please. The bottom line--what I'm going to attempt to say here--is Diamondsong is supposed to be a story for everyone. People seem to be trying to "bin" the book, and that bin is fantasy. I hope it appeals to all of you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, even if the first cover is sort of pretty and much of the first installment revolves around women. I don't consider it masculine-focused like a lot of fantasy, but 1) so? and 2) men are in my mind as intended readers, in fact, I hope they'll enjoy the different perspectives as much as anyone. My readers are statistically split, gender-wise. I love this, because, as a woman who has spent a lot of her life operating in traditionally male spaces and with lots of male friends, I hope my writing speaks to ideas across gender. The fact that I feel nervous enough to explain this speaks to how programmed we are on these topics.
Men/Masculine types: Diamondsong isn't trying to be real manly. Please don't let that deter you. It's still totally manly to read it. It's also not trying to be real girly. As a devoted feminist who's never even been on a "girls night out" and can't really relate to the idea, I just tend not to be real into stereotypes. Nor have I ever lived them. If none of that makes sense, I'll try it another way, that is probably offensive, but I'm trying: This is not a lady book. It's a weird fantasy tale that isn't staying away from more nuanced gender depictions because I trust my male readers to get and appreciate that. You are so invited to this party. It wouldn't be the same party without you! So please enjoy Diamondsong without suspicion, and pass the word to your friends. Be like - support this lady. Her *'s amazing. (Winks at ironically presented man-talk.)
Non-Binary/Complex types: I really hope you will enjoy the attention I've tried to give to honoring the gender spectrum in this tale. I even settled on two sets of alternate gender pronouns, specifically because it kept bothering me to associate non-binary with neutral, generic, other, or unknown. You're not other, you're you. Anyway, I've tried to represent a wide range of characters that are all just being who they are, and with most of them not so far to the edges of the gender spectrum. I think that's more representative of who people really are, anyway. People are under such pressure to live up to their gender, it's almost radical to just be ourselves and not worry about it. And it shouldn't be such a radical idea, which I hope is something readers take away.
Women/Feminine types: I really hope you'll enjoy the idea of unapologetically gender-progressive, feminist fantasy that does not rely on men to carry every scene, while also appreciating that it's not a "book for women" or promoting empowerment through stereotypes or "strong woman" tropes. Someone recently called it "next level from feminist" and I couldn't have enjoyed the compliment more. I couldn't write "Chick-Lit" (it's painful to write the phrase, honestly) if I tried. And I feel like no less of a woman for it. I don't emphasize this point enough, because I feel like calling my writing feminist or bragging that my female characters are competent and powerful (like that's not normal) is almost counterproductive to the same messages, but even so - if anything I write is in anyway liberating or empowering to female readers. Good. Good!
All of the above ideas have not been expressed eloquently enough. There is so much nuance, and I have to get back to editing Part 04 before an impending deadline. So, you know, I hope you got the gist. Which is:
I write for - and appreciate - all of you. Wave that pretty cover.
Anyway, thanks again for sharing this adventure with me. I'll let you know when Part 02 pre-order links are up, and also when we're ready to run the August campaign. (For this and other titles.) Please do leave a rating or review (they really help) and please let other people know about the series! Thank you again!
- E
Release day, podcast, and what is going on?!
almost 6 years ago
– Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 04:29:28 PM
Most importantly: Release day is tomorrow, Tuesday - I'd love for you to share the posts I'll have up on my Facebook or Twitter pages. Thank you! And I'd really appreciate your ratings and reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. More about that to follow. Also, you can always share the link edebell.com/diamondsong - we'll keep that up-to-date.
Also, and this isn't fun for me to talk about (it's been emotionally very difficult, honestly) - I have now received four reviews, and three of them are one-stars. The one-stars seem to be coming from YA reviewers. (I have since added a more direct note on NetGalley that it is not a YA title, but the early reviewers were not screened for that.) But here's the deal - whether people like it or not, even in the depths of my self-doubt and despair, even I know this isn't a one-star book. I don't even know how I'd write a one-star book or how editing professionals would stand behind it. So clearly something is going on. Either way, if you do like it, your ratings and reviews would be so very appreciated. I can survive the low rating and bad reviews as long as people go to the page and see that people did enjoy it also. If they just see a bunch of one-stars. I mean. Ugh. I do know that some of you are waiting for the print copies, and those are at the printer now. We'll get them to you soon.
Let's end on a positive note. I was featured on a podcast out of Vancouver this week talking about my writing - and what fantasy means to me. I'd love for you to give it a listen at Pondo's Playground. (And I'd love to hear what you think.)
Thanks as always for your support. I'll try to keep smiling. - E.
Update on print copies
almost 6 years ago
– Wed, Jun 13, 2018 at 04:55:01 PM
The good news is that the swag packs are done. I spent more than I should have on them, but I just couldn't let them be too sad. I hope you think they are fun!
The less good news is that we are delayed on the print order. However, we decided to stick with getting the highest quality paperbacks, rather than push to get them out. So while we're sorry for the delay (I think this is the first time we've ever missed the release date on the print) I hope it'll be worth the wait. And, as a side note, your Kickstarter-ordered copies will be better quality than the print-on-demand ones that will come from online sites.
We are almost to release day. If you like Escape and want to continue Dime's journey, Part 02 will be out in October. You can wait and order it online (we'll have the preorder up soon), or our intent is to include it in a catalogue-wide Kickstarter in August, if you'd rather wait for that. (Meaning, we'll provide pre-orders and/or limited editions for all Atthis Arts upcoming releases - we have several!)
And if you've read your e-book copy and enjoyed it, please let me know! I'm working through edits on the next bits, and that encouragement would be really helpful. And, yes, reviews. Reviews and ratings will help a lot.
I hope things are going well for everyone. Thanks again for your support! - E
P.S. If you're not following my social media, I do like being liked, and all the links are posted at edebell.com. : D
