For BLUE FIRE we still have 10 failed credit card charges, so you may wish to check if your pledge has gone through.
If it hasn't, you can comment beneath this update and we'll respond, or perhaps first you can check out this help page for ways you may be able to resolve the issue yourself: https://help.backerkit.com/category/616-payment
Meanwhile, work proceeds apace! If you're a backer then you can scroll down to see a work-in-progress image for Saša Đurđević's back cover artwork.
We unlocked every stretch goal, invented new ones, unlocked those, invented another one in the final 48 hours THEN GOT THAT ONE???
Right now backers are being charged for their pledges.
Backers will be charged for shipping approx. four weeks before fulfillment. This is also likely when surveys will be sent out to collect necessary information such as mailing addresses, though the surveys may come sooner.
Our current goal for fulfillment is Nov 3rd, so expect to be charged for shipping in late September at the earliest. Backers in Canada will have a $5 USD shipping discount, all other backers living outside the United States will have a $10 USD shipping discount.
All backers are cordially invited to join our New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord server through the link you'll find in the "Backer Only Content" section way at the bottom of this update.
Though we'll be much quieter for a little while, if you'd like more regular updates and other fun info, we can be followed on Bluesky, Facebook, andInstagram. Keep an eye on them, or join our newsletter.
IN DETAIL
This was a record-breaking crowdfund for us and you made that possible; we've never funded a project so quickly (21 hours), our book projects have never funded by such a high percentage (256%), and we were stunned to see BLUE FIRE get more backers than our flagship publication, New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine, had last year (NESS 2025 got 709 to BF's 768!).
Just...wow! It is encouraging to see such a strong appetite for exciting new Sword & Sorcery fiction.
FULFILLMENT SCHEDULE As we're in a great place with the content for this book and its printer is located a modest drive from our fulfillment center, we're comfortable aiming for our goal of shipping beginning on its release date of Nov 3rd, 2026.
Those backing both NESS 2026 and BLUE FIRE do run the risk of the latter being delayed should NESS suffer delays, since they'll be shipped together, however should that occur we hope the savings on shipping will help make up for it. Besides this is only a possibility, and NESS 2026 production is currently on schedule.
Please do join The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord (Link at the bottom, in the Backers Only Content), a great online hang-out that I'd love to see your digital faces in, a fun spot to chat about the magazine, Sword & Sorcery in general, and otherwise connect with your fellow readers, writers, artists, and more.
It's also a breeding ground for goofs like how Meatball Subs Are The Only Real Sandwich, and the only time I get to eat one is when we've finished funding another publication.
Alright, that's all from me for now. Please make sure to read through IN SHORT for the practical details of what's happening with charging backers for pledges, charging for shipping, our rough schedule and more.
Keep your swords sharp, and your sorcery numinous,
Dare we dream of unlocking the final stretch goal, the free-to-all-backers risograph zine of Thevin's solo adventure, "CITY OF TEARS"? Maybe in overtime...
Right now we'd like to reveal a digital zine you're already going to get: a sixteen page PDF collection of drawings by author Molly Tanzer, depicting the events of BLUE FIRE!
We've been telling you how great we feel BLUE FIRE is for a hot minute. You may be curious to hear what others have to say!
And tonight we have something pretty entertaining for you!
Using the excellent Black God's Kiss setting & rules from Flaming Hand Games, I'll be running their module based on the classic C.L. Moore Jirel tale Hellsgarde. Will Molly Tanzer play as Jirel and be joined by a cast of other exciting individuals?
SHE JUST MIGHT.
So please join us at 7pm EST for our final livestream of the crowdfund!
Truly FINAL Stretch Goal - a Free 'Zine for All Backers!
We don't want to get cocky...
...but being as close to our creative team pay raise stretch goal as we are, and with the crowdfund ending at noon EST this Saturday, we thought we should probably come up with one....last....stretch goal!
If we hit $22,300 then all backers will receive a free 'zine starring Jirel's hard-drinking buddy, Thevin!
What does she get up to when Jirel isn't around? Find out in a 13,000 word tale called "CITY OF TEARS".
All backers will get the 'zine as a free PDF.
All physical format backers will get a free 5.5 wide by 8.5 inch tall, 34 page stapled 'zine. It will be produced using a fun, lo-fi method called "risograph printing" which creates retro lo-fi results using only two colors.
An example of two-color risograph printing. Photo by themostinept.
Cover art will be done by Carl A-F! Here's a B&W example of art she did for a past risograph printing project:
But first we've gotta close that last distance to unlock bonuses for the creative team behind the book! So please consider pledging if you haven't already, and tell your nearest evil sorcerer about Jirel of Joiry's historic first book-length adventure.
We greatly appreciate how far you've taken us, let's see how much further we can go in these final days of the crowdfund!
One Week Left, Molly's Signature, Your Face, and S&S MAMMOTHS???
The crowdfund ends at 12pm EST, Saturday July 4th so that means just about a week left to pledge for your copy of BLUE FIRE...
...and don't forget that every physical copy of BLUE FIRE purchased through the crowdfund will be SIGNED BY MOLLY TANZER.
You could make this book even more special by appearing in the art!
Available as a pledge tier and an add-on, you can have yourself drawn into a scene with Jirel of Joiry herself! Working from reference images you provide, Saprophial will draw you into the book's second full page illustration as a peasant, person-at-arms, or other "movie extra".
Fifty years from now, when someone in a used book store finds a copy of BLUE FIRE, they could open it and see you!
But we can only fit in two people, so if this kind of literary immortality is appealing, we suggest you grab the pledge or add-on now.
SPEAR & FANG &....TUSK???
Our friends over at OLD MOON QUARTERLY magazine are getting ready to crowdfund their own exciting novella, SEERS IN A BROKEN SEASON. Written by superstar author Jonathan Olfert, it stars a friggin' mammoth!
In SEERS, Walks-like-a-Rockslide, blade-tusked hero of the Blue Ochre People, flees the creeping ice, seeking the sweet grasslands for the mammoths of his herd. But after discovering the gnaw-marked bones of one of the Deep People, he finds himself embroiled in a war of revenge against the cannibal whalers of the shore. The specter of his grandmother, sorceress and matriarch of the mammoths, haunts him. Honor, and fury, and (on occasion) even compassion compel him. Will he whet his tusks upon the whalers? Or will he, like the Deep People, fill their bellies?
A 35,000 word novella for fans of Conan and Primal, and fans anywhere of mammoth melancholies and mammoth mirth!
I've already gone to the crowdfund sign-up page to learn who the cover artist is and make sure I'm alerted when they launch, and I strongly recommend you join me!
Don't forget, there's just one week left to snag your copy of BLUE FIRE and help us unlock our final stretch goal, a nice pay bonus for the creatives & staff involved in making the book.
For BLUE FIRE we still have 10 failed credit card charges, so you may wish to check if your pledge has gone through.
If it hasn't, you can comment beneath this update and we'll respond, or perhaps first you can check out this help page for ways you may be able to resolve the issue yourself: https://help.backerkit.com/category/616-payment
Meanwhile, work proceeds apace! If you're a backer then you can scroll down to see a work-in-progress image for Saša Đurđević's back cover artwork.
We unlocked every stretch goal, invented new ones, unlocked those, invented another one in the final 48 hours THEN GOT THAT ONE???
Right now backers are being charged for their pledges.
Backers will be charged for shipping approx. four weeks before fulfillment. This is also likely when surveys will be sent out to collect necessary information such as mailing addresses, though the surveys may come sooner.
Our current goal for fulfillment is Nov 3rd, so expect to be charged for shipping in late September at the earliest. Backers in Canada will have a $5 USD shipping discount, all other backers living outside the United States will have a $10 USD shipping discount.
All backers are cordially invited to join our New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord server through the link you'll find in the "Backer Only Content" section way at the bottom of this update.
Though we'll be much quieter for a little while, if you'd like more regular updates and other fun info, we can be followed on Bluesky, Facebook, andInstagram. Keep an eye on them, or join our newsletter.
IN DETAIL
This was a record-breaking crowdfund for us and you made that possible; we've never funded a project so quickly (21 hours), our book projects have never funded by such a high percentage (256%), and we were stunned to see BLUE FIRE get more backers than our flagship publication, New Edge Sword & Sorcery magazine, had last year (NESS 2025 got 709 to BF's 768!).
Just...wow! It is encouraging to see such a strong appetite for exciting new Sword & Sorcery fiction.
FULFILLMENT SCHEDULE As we're in a great place with the content for this book and its printer is located a modest drive from our fulfillment center, we're comfortable aiming for our goal of shipping beginning on its release date of Nov 3rd, 2026.
Those backing both NESS 2026 and BLUE FIRE do run the risk of the latter being delayed should NESS suffer delays, since they'll be shipped together, however should that occur we hope the savings on shipping will help make up for it. Besides this is only a possibility, and NESS 2026 production is currently on schedule.
Please do join The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord (Link at the bottom, in the Backers Only Content), a great online hang-out that I'd love to see your digital faces in, a fun spot to chat about the magazine, Sword & Sorcery in general, and otherwise connect with your fellow readers, writers, artists, and more.
It's also a breeding ground for goofs like how Meatball Subs Are The Only Real Sandwich, and the only time I get to eat one is when we've finished funding another publication.
Alright, that's all from me for now. Please make sure to read through IN SHORT for the practical details of what's happening with charging backers for pledges, charging for shipping, our rough schedule and more.
Keep your swords sharp, and your sorcery numinous,
Dare we dream of unlocking the final stretch goal, the free-to-all-backers risograph zine of Thevin's solo adventure, "CITY OF TEARS"? Maybe in overtime...
Right now we'd like to reveal a digital zine you're already going to get: a sixteen page PDF collection of drawings by author Molly Tanzer, depicting the events of BLUE FIRE!
We've been telling you how great we feel BLUE FIRE is for a hot minute. You may be curious to hear what others have to say!
And tonight we have something pretty entertaining for you!
Using the excellent Black God's Kiss setting & rules from Flaming Hand Games, I'll be running their module based on the classic C.L. Moore Jirel tale Hellsgarde. Will Molly Tanzer play as Jirel and be joined by a cast of other exciting individuals?
SHE JUST MIGHT.
So please join us at 7pm EST for our final livestream of the crowdfund!
...but being as close to our creative team pay raise stretch goal as we are, and with the crowdfund ending at noon EST this Saturday, we thought we should probably come up with one....last....stretch goal!
If we hit $22,300 then all backers will receive a free 'zine starring Jirel's hard-drinking buddy, Thevin!
What does she get up to when Jirel isn't around? Find out in a 13,000 word tale called "CITY OF TEARS".
All backers will get the 'zine as a free PDF.
All physical format backers will get a free 5.5 wide by 8.5 inch tall, 34 page stapled 'zine. It will be produced using a fun, lo-fi method called "risograph printing" which creates retro lo-fi results using only two colors.
An example of two-color risograph printing. Photo by themostinept.
Cover art will be done by Carl A-F! Here's a B&W example of art she did for a past risograph printing project:
But first we've gotta close that last distance to unlock bonuses for the creative team behind the book! So please consider pledging if you haven't already, and tell your nearest evil sorcerer about Jirel of Joiry's historic first book-length adventure.
We greatly appreciate how far you've taken us, let's see how much further we can go in these final days of the crowdfund!
