It is now August 7th, which means there is only one more week until I close this campaign for good.
There are still four surveys that have not been filled out, and one failed payment. I would hate for those of you who initially backed Monitored Activity to miss out on your goodies!
This is your last and final chance to get your orders sorted.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can email me at [email protected].
All physical goodies — books, bookmarks, prints, stickers, key chains, etc — have been sent out and, as of me writing this, most have already arrived at their forever homes! Some of those international packages do not have active tracking but a good chunk of you have either shared pictures of your loot or told me that the package has arrived, and that is incredibly appreciated. On that front:
This project is getting ready to close.
There is currently 1 person with a failed charge, and 3 people who haven't completed their surveys. You have until August 7th to get it all squared away, because this project closes for good on August 15th!
I'll fire off one more reminder around the beginning of August, just in case.
And, that's it.
It's over. That's a wrap.
Thank you, everyone, for being such a killer audience.
Hello fairy friends! It's time for a very another update!
We have the final poll for this week's make-a-fairy ready for everyone to vote on. Go vote!
We have less than four days left before the campaign ends! Ah!
As a special weekend treat, I'm revealing the sketches for last week's fairy animal companion.
The fairy animal companion, a creature with a mix of traits
A cute, jellyfish-like creature carrying an umbrella.
The first of these sketches is the animal companion. He has lizard traits, a unicorn horn, fuzzy mammal fur, a mermaid tail, and the appendages of a insect. I chose praying mantis. The sword wasn't a winning thing, but it did tie with all the secondary traits. The winning accessory, a cute friend, is what the second drawing is of. The cute friend is wearing earrings and carrying an umbrella. I didn't quite know how to fit the sweater in without it being too much, sadly.
While these creatures look aquatic, and can swim if need be, they are more apt to levitating above the ground. They swim through the air.
I'm excited to ink these very soon! I hope you like them!
And be sure to vote on the polls for the latest fairy!
Fairy friends, we did it! We configured our first fairy. I'm going to put it in the kiln to cure. It takes about a week for the pieces to set. For review, here's what we used to craft out fairy (AKA, the poll winners):
A Crystal Theme
A regular fairy head (elven-ish)
OOPS! All Eyes
For wings, we had a tie. We just couldn't decide between delicate fairy wings and dragon wings. So we did something with both.
And the limbs of our fairy are animal-esque and end in claws.
What an interesting and beautiful fairy!
One of the high-fey, Blutterbarts, Princess of the Stink Swamp, is looking for an animal companion that's as beautiful as they are. As long as we make the companion with some fairy magic, we'll be still fulfilling our mission to make more fairies. We'll need to decide on body features and the kind of hat Blutterbarts' new companion should wear, as well as an accessory.
Check out the first of these new polls below. Then, go check out the other ones! Ah! A wild moth! Where did that come from? Well, I guess there's no harm in letting the little fella hang out.
Now, onto Book Bazaar news!
We've completed our first week. Yippee! Fairy Seasons is almost 50% funded! I think that's pretty awesome. We have two weeks left and I think we can reach the initial funding goal for this project.
Please continue to share Fairy Seasons with others. It helps more than you think! And share often! There's quite a few times that someone shared something several times, and at the right time, I saw it and got it. Perhaps, with a little luck, we'll all share this project at the right time.
On November 23rd, The Book Bazaar will be streaming a reading of my Fairy Seasons Sampler. It's read by the author (me!). Be sure to stop in and listen. It'll start at 6pm (CST).
Check the bottom of this post for your first assignment from the Plot Bunny Resistance!
Find a full list of the Mission Updates, and your next step, at the end of the post.
Hello Defiant One!
Thank you for supporting Hero: 10th Anniversary Edition! Whether you’ve been part of the Rebellion since the beginning or you’ve just stumbled through the wrong portal into the Hub—welcome!
💥 The Low-Down on the Situation
For newcomers: the Hub is the interdimensional network that connects every story in the Defiant Multiverse (aka. my various series). Normally it’s overseen by Vren, a snarky, wise-cracking cosmic dragon and official drama liz—Err, I mean Timeline Guardian™.
Unfortunately… Vren’s missing.
[🐰 'Usually this would be our moment to liberate all the stories from the Archives,' says Plot Bunny General R. Fluffington. 'But we have more pressing issues.']
Extremely pressing issues.
In Vren's absence, a mysterious gremlin is spreading through the Archives, corrupting the timelines and rewriting stories. Disaster is on the horizon.
Luckily the Plot Bunny Resistance, lead by General R. Fluffington, has taken command of the situation. They’re trying to locate the dragon and stabilise the Heroverse. Naturally, this involves forms, chaos, and a surprising amount of paperwork.
⚙️ The Operation
The Hero 10 campaign doubles as an interactive narrative—an ARG (Alternate Reality Game)—where you get to be part of the fun.
You’ll receive updates from Fluffington, discover secret transmissions, and maybe even file a few dubious reports with the Office of Narrative Compliance (ONC).
You don’t need any prior knowledge to join; every mission stands on its own. Participate as much or as little as you like – just know that the fate of the Heroverse may depend on you (and your ability to navigate bureaucracy).
👉 How to Participate
Stay Tuned: Major story updates and missions appear right here in the Updates tab, and in your inbox if you're a Backer and just Following the campaign.
Watch for Clues: Some transmissions will link to hidden files, ONC forms, or strange narrative anomalies.
Join the Hunt: Solve puzzles, vote in community polls, and help the Resistance find the lost dragon.
Relax: Everything is optional, and you can jump in at any time – even if you missed earlier missions.
Thank You
Your support keeps the Heroverse alive and helps the Rebellion bring Vren home. Whether you’re a long-time Hero fan or a brand-new Navigator, the Resistance welcomes you.
🧩 MISSION 0: Operation Find the Dragon
General Fluffington requests that all incoming agents register a callsign for secure communications across the Resistance network.
Comment below with your chosen callsign!
Until next time, safe travels through the multiverse
I'm thrilled to announce that I sent off digital rewards yesterday. You ought to have received them via email straight to your inbox or via a BookFunnel link.
There was only once bounce, so if you think you missed out and didn't receive your eBook(s), please let me know.
Paperbacks and merch are due to be sent next week - either to me for signing first OR directly to you via drop shipping. (Please check the FAQ if you want a refresher on what the campaign offered).
Hope you enjoy the books - I'd love to hear from you if you do!
By this point, I'm hoping everyone who has filled out their survey has received their book featuring non-spooky familiars. If you haven't, please reach out to me and I'll look into it on my end. This goes for packages as well as ebooks—if you're having trouble accessing digital rewards, you can email me with the address you use for Backerkit and I can always send you the file directly.
I've got four people who haven't filled out their surveys yet. Please do so as soon as you get the chance, or let me know if you need to make a change to your pledge.
In other news, Honeycomb Heart is now on Goodreads! So you can get credit for your yearly reading challenge if you're participating! (Would it be cheating for me to count it for mine? Hmmmm...)
And—if you haven't heard me screeching about it yet—2026's Book Bazaar starts at the end of this month! The indie author and small press squad is even larger this time around. I'm nearing the end of my current draft for Friends for Lonely Gods, and am hoping to have at most one more round of general revisions followed by a final round of line edits and polishing before it's ready to share with the world.
This might be my last update on this campaign for the year, though I imagine I'll be back here with a big announcement once I'm further into my work on the sequel. It's been a big 12 or so months for me between running and fulfilling two campaigns, as well as all the other writing projects/distractions I haven't been able to keep myself away from. I'm aiming for 2027 to be a year of continuing to grow the worlds that I've had the pleasure of sharing with you from 2025 to 2026.
At the risk of sounding repetitive: thank you for being here, and I hope you're all enjoying the change of the seasons.
Here's another quick update - this time to share the paperback cover design (designed by Christina P, who did the first two books), and to note that surveys are closing very soon, and cards will soon be charged by BK.
As ever, contact me any time with questions.
Also:
The blurb is visible on the back cover in the image below, even though I kept it fairly low-res, so don't zoom unless you want to come across light spoilers!
Surveys have now been sent, so you ought to receive them soon if you haven't already :)
If any questions about the survey or fulfillment come to mind, please ask me anytime.
In related news, Dark Fang is now proofed and typesetting is underway, along with creation of the wrap-around cover. (I'm also going to give War Heart and Scales of Fire a quick tidy up while I'm at it).
I'm estimating that most folks will receive books and merch in October, which pushes things back to December for retailers. However, if you know you've already filled out your survey and you want me to send eBook rewards sooner, please send me an email!
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