Everyone,

Most of you have returned the surveys...so thank you!!

As soon as we receive those final few, we can add the acknowledgments and send out the ebooks.

Paperbacks can then be ordered (with those acknowledgments) and we can get those to you as soon as possible.

If you have NOT filled out and returned your survey, please do so.  I know we're all busy on the weekends, but we are really excited to send out those books...and see what you think about our final story in the Enchanted Fairytale series.

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Lorri Moulton/Lavender Cottage Books

Hello Stitchbinders!

Surveys for Weave Of A Thousand Lies went out TODAY!!! You have 15 days to fill it out. I know this is quick after the campaign but the book is written, edited, and ready to go to the printer as soon as I have all your information!

On Oct 27th, I will lock orders so I can send stuff out. Cards will be charged. (Don't worry you can always update your address later). I will send out ebooks shortly thereafter! I've started ordering all the add-ons. I'll post pictures as they come in!

Once I get the physical books back, I will ship them ASAP! I'll keep you updated and ensure addresses are up to date!  

If you pledged toward a character name add-on, I'll be reaching out to you as soon as everything is locked in a private email to discuss options!

THANK YOU AGAIN for all your support in me! I can't wait to get this ball rolling!

A. E. Zeigler

Hi everyone.

We've read all of your comments, have looked at the back-end data with BackerKit, and have reached the following conclusions for the trivia challenge:

First of all, a total of 859 participants qualified for the free Loremaster patch. Congratulations to all of you!

Second, 299 participants answered all eighteen questions correctly and qualified for the Loremaster credit in the book. An additional 228 answered seventeen out of eighteen correctly.

Based on the unexpectedly high number of backers who aced the trivia challenge, as well as your overwhelming number of comments advocating for changing nothing, we will keep Loremaster credit as an exclusive for those backers, rather than extending it to the next 228 backers.

HOWEVER –

We do now have a process to check data for individual trivia participants. If you think that a technical error occurred with your answers, or if other circumstances interfered with what should have been a perfect score, please email [email protected]. We believe that being fair extends to offering grace when something out of your control goes wrong.

There will be a survey question where you can share the name you wish to be credited under. Please plan on filling out surveys as soon as possible when they're released, as we'll have a fair amount of work to integrate all of your names into the book before it goes to press.

If space permits we may still add the 17/18 backers to the book as Loremaster Apprentices (or something similar), but we will have to see if we end up with enough extra pages.

If you applied for a scholarship and weren't able to redeem it before the campaign closed, please email [email protected]. We will honor every scholarship application received during the campaign, but you have to let us know if you missed pledging on time!

Late pledges remain open on the main page for at least another couple of weeks. If you're following this project and haven't pledged yet, we'll extend that window as long as we can, but we definitely wouldn't recommend delaying.

We are finalizing quotes and tech specs with our manufacturer, based on the number of units that we'll be producing. Artists continue to submit excellent process updates for their pieces, which we look forward to sharing with you as they are completed. We've also confirmed logistics with our fulfillment partners in Los Angeles and have begun building shipping tables.

Our current plan is to send surveys later this month. While we won't calculate or charge shipping yet, we're confident that we'll be able to provide close estimates for what you can expect to pay. This should give you enough information to plan for that expense when it arrives.

International backers, we will be defaulting to including pre-paid VAT in your survey charges. While this number can be high, it's usually cheaper (and more convenient) than what carriers charge you at the door or at the post office. If you're an international backer who wants to risk not pre-paying VAT, we hope to have a method for you manually request that we change your shipping profile.

Yes, there is an official Discord server coming, but not quite yet. First we need to get the final elements (names and art) added to the book, and the book off to the printers.

...the mystery that is Backerkit Questionnaires lol 😜

I just wanted to give you a wee update and let you know that I haven't forgotten you! 

In the past I've used a different Pledge Manager and it's taking me a while to get my head around the Backerkit version. But one thing I've realised is that, once I send out the questionnaires, the digital (eBook) fulfilment should happen at the same time, as they appear to be integrated...

Up until now when I've run a campaign I've done the questionnaire, finalised all the reward items, and then started fulfilment.

This way around the finalising is happening first but then fulfilment should start sooner. I think. If I'm understanding it right! 🙃

So watch this space! 

Everyone,

Backerkit likes us to send what they call a 'smoke test' to make sure the surveys are working as planned.

You may get a survey (I believe it's about 5% of backers will receive one), so please fill it out and return if you do.

Also, I have a surprise for EVERYONE for being so patient with this new-to-me process.  More about that once all the surveys have been sent out.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Lorri Moulton/Lavender Cottage Books

Everyone,

Thanks to our successful 'smoke test' all the surveys have now been sent.  I appreciate some of you getting those initial surveys back so quickly!

Remember, if you're only getting digital goods, we're asking for your physical address for the postcard.

And for those of you with paperbacks, PLEASE send those surveys back so we can get your name in the acknowledgments.  After one week, I will send out the ebooks without those names if the surveys are not returned by then.  (Hopefully, we'll get them back much sooner). 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Thank you!
Lorri Moulton/Lavender Cottage Books

Everything but the hardcovers for Thread of a Spider have been delivered. If you didn't receive something that you pledged for, please email me and let me know!

Hardcovers are in the process of being made. They will be delivered to me Oct 30 if all goes as planned. I'll pack them up and send them to as soon as I get them so you can expect your books the first week of November if you're in the US, otherwise it might take more time. You will get tracking numbers so you can keep an eye on your delivery. Please do. Sometimes customs expects further communication if you're International.

In the meantime might I invite you to take a look at the Sword of Cho Nisi series I have on Kickstarter. There are only 3 days left as it ends Tuesday the 15th. Whereas this is book 3 in the series, and all three books are available in this campaign, there are 2 more spin off novels. Those campaigns will be launched next year.

All the books in the series have leather covers, gold stamping, and textured gold foil dust jackets. The audio book is narrated by Erik Franklin, a Seattle film producer and actor. We just reached a stretch goal for Curse of Mt. Ream that puts select chapter illustrations in the book, and there are word art cards that have been reached with the stretch goal too.

But what I mostly want you to know is that this is an award winning series that I believe is one of my best. 

"The entire series is a rising star in a universe of fantasy favorites such as The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and even Tad Williams’ The Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. 

Gardner really knows how to write epic fantasy. Hopefully, she has more adventures, worlds, and legends to bring to life for us after this one. "

I was able to connect with the artist who is creating the Katie + Josh dolls and will be creating the custom doll for the winner of the raffle. If you want to be entered into the raffle, you need to indicate that on your survey in the next 72 hours. The artist told me that due to how long it takes her to handcraft her dolls, I need to get her the information asap. We currently had 56% of the surveys filled out - I would like everyone who is interested to have a chance to win.

Other updates: I met with the book designer and looked over everything for the book design. The editor is currently taking a final peek and then the files will be sent to the offset printer to have a sample created. Below is the front and back covers and inside dust jacket flaps.

Hi from Ben!

So, you're here! Maybe you're thinking "Wow, I've followed one or more of these creators for years and I'm all in on any stories they have to tell." Or perhaps you found the campaign on Booktopia, thought it looked cool, and pledged on that basis alone. Or a friend referred you, promising that it's awesome.

However you got here, I want you to feel at home, so today I'm going to share a bit more about the creative journey that led to the development of American Geniuses. But to understand the beginning, I have to start at the end, like one of the movies that gives the audience critical information before any of the characters know it!

I spent twenty years in the film and game industry, developing and producing dozens of beloved movies and shows, and not knowing that I was neurodivergent. I didn't know until January of this year! But art tends to tell on the artist. We write the secrets about ourselves into fictional characters before they ever reach our conscious mind.

American Geniuses is my reflection on living life as a person stuck at the intersection of giftedness, ADHD, and autism. It's a deeply personal story that explores the struggles of kids who are celebrated for their differences, as long as their differences don't make other people uncomfortable. As many "formerly gifted kids" discover as they move into adulthood, the promises that adults made to them—that they were special, they they would change the world, and that they were destined for achievement at the highest levels—quickly meet the reality of bills, make-work jobs, and burnout. The spark fizzles and they wonder what happened to their potential. They feel like failures who could have succeeded if only they had more energy, more motivation, or more executive function.

I was one of the lucky ones: I masked well enough (more or less), learned how to turn fear of imminent failure into adrenaline-fueled productivity, and found myself telling stories that enough people cared about to support my career in the arts. I'm still working in the arts, happier than I've ever been, making stories, games, and music as a full-time career.

But so many of my closest neurodivergent friends hit the burnout wall and had to give up their dreams. And after twenty years making movies, I hit that same wall during the pandemic and crashed. Hard.

Returning to the world of American Geniuses felt like returning to a story that, despite its fantastical setting, was deeply personal. I hadn't been trying to write "normal characters." All of these kids knew they were special—that's what everyone always told them!—and were still at a place in their lives where they believed in themselves and their futures. And so I started wondering what would need to change in their worlds for them to realize their potential and make a real difference. What were the forces that would soon start demanding conformity and compliance from them? What would they need in order to retain their spark of genius as they moved into adulthood?

The answers are what this story is about. In one sense it's wish fulfillment: "What if we kept our dreams and passions alive?" In another, it's a recipe for reclaiming the weird, broken, and often hidden parts of ourselves from the people who just wanted us to shut up and be normal. Mostly, it's about community and mutual aid. The more we understand and see each other, the more we can SUPPORT each other and start to rekindle the sparks of genius that we each carry.

Writing manuals and teachers say to "write what you know." I'm not sure that's accurate. Maybe we should spend more time writing what feels good, or true, what makes our hearts alight. Even before I knew what I was doing, it felt right to create characters who weren't "normal." Instead of the Hollywood "everyman" character, meant to stand in for the audience's point of view—not too smart, not too different, just average and relatable—these kids would delight in their special interests without worrying about whether an average movie-goer would get the details. There would be no designated "audience translator" to rephrase their words for easy comprehension. They could be experts.... no, GENIUSES. Unapologetically.

At the end of the day, I love the original definition of "genius." We all carry it. Genius is the part of us that makes us unique, where our passions, loves, hopes, and dreams reside. It's what makes us different. It's the part that so much of the world does its best to kill. Genius typically doesn't make money for the machine. Genius is busy getting excited about a cool new flower, or the history of ants, or perfecting poached eggs. Genius is letting ourselves be drawn into the joy of discovery.

This story was where I let my own "genius" free to play. As the characters came alive, and began making demands of the narrative, they all engaged in that same quest, for the freedom to be who they were. And they ultimately made the hardest discovery: that they couldn't do it alone.

I'll share another day about the "American" part of the title. (As a recent emigrant from the USA to Canada, where I'm now a citizen, I have complicated thoughts.)

Thanks for reading!

The two weeks after a campaign are always a strange sort of limbo, but as of today BackerKit has released project funds and we can officially get to work!

Here's what to expect in the upcoming months:

Stay tuned, we have so much more to share!

- Ben