The Dark Thorn by Shawn Speakman

Hi Backers of The Dark Thorn,

Similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure of old, you get to choose what happens to Merle and Snedeker as they journey through Seattle to find a rare and risen evil just north of the city. I have written the first draft of the tale's opening below. NOW YOU decide where it goes from there by reading the opening and then voting in the attached poll.

Then, in two or three days, I will continue the story based on the majority choice and offer another poll! All the way to the story's conclusion. Get to reading. And voting, of course.

With Magic,
Shawn

PS: This is definitely a first draft! Take that with a huge boulder of salt.

Hi Fantasy Readers,

The Dark Thorn BackerKit has been incredible thus far. Over $100,000 in pledges. Multiple stretch goals achieved that have improved the books and offered additional freebies. And excitement online has been high about these special editions of our very own Shawn Speakman's first book.

This will be the last notification we send out to the bulk email list that did not sign up for the pre-launch. Apologies if you've felt spammed. That certainly was not our intention. But this last email is about the 72 Hour incentives, so we'd be remiss not to share one more time. Because at 2PM ET / 11AM PT today, those incentives end for the duration of the crowdfund and we don't want anyone to feel like they missed out.

What are those incentives? Fantasy readers who pledge in the first 72 hours receive:

Only one hour left to get the 72 hour incentives. Though you can still pledge afterward.

And in other news, we will be announcing our next BackerKit project on Wednesday during the Grim Oak Press Q3 Reveal. It is the SF&F anthology Unavowed. Details about the Q3 Reveal will be posted on the website this Monday.

Thank you for being SF&F readers! We hope you are reading something great right now!

Best Wishes,

—The Grim Oak Press Team

Hey Everyone,

I am excited to share that the BackerKit for The Dark Thorn has just crossed $100,000!

That also means we hit $90,000. So two stretch goals have been hit. The $90,000 one adds foil to the boards of all editions. I'll be figuring out which colors soon. And the S&N, S&L, and Rare editions added artist signatures to my own. That's a nice little upgrade too!

But my favorite is the $100,000. Because that Stretch Goal is giving 10% more money to the artists who are helping to bring this project to life. Artists don't get enough love in our industry -- they don't make royalties on book sales like authors do -- so whenever I can help them out I try to do it. And thanks to ALL OF YOU, we made that one happen. So pleased as I type this for Magali, Don, and Jared.

What's up next? An upgrade in endpapers for all editions and gilding for the S&N, S&L, and Rare editions. If we hit this one, the book will match up quite nicely with what I did on The King-Killing Queen last year.

Okay, I have to make some boxes now. I'm in the Grim Oak Press warehouse right now and while I work I'm going to consider my CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE story that will begin tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for making this a successful crowdfund!

Shawn

Hi Dark Thorn Backers,

You kept it going overnight! We have achieved the $80,000 Stretch Goal.

So a map of Annwn by Jared Blando has been unlocked! The eBook and trade hardcover will print it in black and white; the S&N, S&L, and Rare editions will have a full-color tip. I'm not sure if the tip will be a foldout or single-page yet. We shall see what Jared turns his work in. After talking with him this morning, he thinks he can get the map done by the end of June. So I'll have something to show you before the BackerKit ends!

A map is important for this story, as the knight Richard McCallister and his ward Bran Ardall venture from Seattle into what is the Arthurian legend's Avalon. While in Annwn, the story takes me many different places. The map will help the reader navigate that journey.

What's next? $90,000! Where all the physical books will get foil. And the S&N, S&L, and Rare editions will become multi-signed by me and the artists. We are so close to this Stretch Goal so I know we'll break it today. And happily so, since The King-Killing Queen S&N, S&L, and Rare editions were also multi-signed.

A fun day ahead for me. My youngest son Kael turns 5 years old! Rather than go to school, he's coming with me and my wife as we chaperone our 8 year old son's field trip to the Seattle aquarium. Then Kael has pre-school graduation and, after that, his birthday dinner. A busy day! Try not to wreck the place, will ya?

As usual, if you have any questions about any of this, do ask.

Onward with Magic,

Shawn

Hi Everyone,

Wow! I come home from a very busy day to see YOU ALL not only funded the project but have almost doubled that funding goal!! I can't believe it. THANK YOU for making this a successful project within 16 minutes. Woo!

Why wasn't I watching it like a hawk? Well, I drove an hour to visit with author Django Wexler and artist Nate Taylor. Django was signing some books for customers of The Signed Page; Nate Taylor was signing signature pages for Grim Oak Press's special editions of Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. We ate lunch. We talked and laughed. They signed their scribbles. Then I had to go to the MD worried I had strep (I don't, just a non-COVID virus of some kind). And I really didn't look at things until I got home.

And as I write this, we are almost to $80,000. Because of you all!

Some Stretch Goals got obliterated. The ones in purple below are the ones we've opened thus far:


My favorite one of those is probably the $50,000 Stretch Goal. Because all of the $35 trade hardcovers now feature cloth boards rather than the paper boards most bookstore hardcovers have. It's just a great upgrade for what will be the bestselling item.

So what's next? That $80,000 Stretch Goal. I'm betting we hit that within minutes, so I'll be writing another update in the morning. It's definitely one of the Stretch Goals I wanted hit early. I read fantasy and I write fantasy and I love fantasy maps, maps, maps! Jared Blando is great at what he does and I'm so thankful Annwn gets a new map.

The $90,000 Stretch Goal is important too. More signatures is always a great addition. And foil. More foil, please!

How do we get there? Share this project with any online fantasy groups and readers you think might be interested in it.

I'll be sharing more news in the morning, I bet. And some questions have arisen that I'll also address. Stay tuned!

GUESS WHAT? WE DID IT!

With Magic,
Shawn

PS: Backers, there is a note below for you!