IN SHORT

• We've funded in under 72 hours! You all have blown our tiny minds with the speed of this.

• Secret Reward Unlocked: As a thank-you for getting us to this so fast, all physical reward backers will be receiving a fun, rub-on tattoo of the NESS logo in black!
  
  
• Next Goal: Now we're working toward our first stretch goal (aka Achievment), DOUBLE ART. As I'm writing this we're 89% of the way there.
  
  
• Unlock More Stories: Please check out either of the achievements attached to this update regarding sharing the campaign on Facebook or Twitter. When enough backers share the campaign through their buttons, bonus short stories will be added as digital rewards for everybody!

IN DETAIL

Wow! I, your humble editor, was thinking it'd be nice to hit 50% in the first 24 hours like we did in 2023. You always hope for more, but I didn't expect to fund in less than 72 hours.

This is very exciting, as it gives us plenty of time to push through more stretch goals like DOUBLE ART, and INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DISCOUNT, as well as pay raises for our contributors!

There's also some secret stuff that will be unlocked along the way...

...secret stuff like the no-longer-secret RUB-ON NESS LOGO TATOOS!

Some of you may recall that in the run-up to launch we tried for a very ambitious campaign follower number by the end of the first week after announcing the campaign, and I promised that if we made that number I'd add a stretch goal where I'd get a real tattoo of the logo. 

We came so close to that follower total, that I decided to still provide a reward as thanks for everybody helping spread word of our campaign, and this is it! If you back us at a physical reward tier of any kind, you'll get one of these fun rub-on tattoos with the rest of your order.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL

Scroll down our campaign page far enough and you'll see the following:

• 666 BACKERS = MAKE ONE OF US GET A REAL TATTOO!
  Not a joke! Nathaniel Webb, our layout & design person, has vowed that he will get a tattoo with the NESS battle-axe logo if we hit 666 backers.
  
  This won't be paid for from campaign funds, and the tattooing will be documented for a backer-exclusive update.

Yup! NOT A JOKE. Nat suggested this and we took him up on it. As I write this we're more than halfway there, with 382 backers. So please tell your friends and enemies, your SFF book club, your TTRPG group, your impressively literate cat...tell everybody about a crowdfunding campaign where the staff literally put their flesh on the line!

A way to do that and unlock even more rewards is to share the campaign on Facebook and Twitter using the buttons found in the two achievements attached to this update. With enough shares, these bonus stories be provided to all backers in digital formats!

Something else cool you all did? You got us on the main page of Backerkit!

The way campaigns get featured on Backerkit's main page is through strong activity on the Community Tab, like where many backers have been sharing their answers to the question "What do you want to see more of in Sword & Sorcery?" Please feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, or just say hello over on the Community tab, knowing that simply by chatting with your fellow backers you're also helping get us in front of fresh eyeballs!

Why, there's even a UNIQUE REWARD for whomever is the most active member of our campaign's community!

Scroll down far enough on our campaign page and you'll see:

• The Top Backer, meaning the backer who is most active in our Community tab, will receive softcovers of 3&4 that have each been annotated (using post-its, not writing on the page unless you give him permission) by editor & publisher Oliver Brackenbury, providing special insight into the process of producing the issues.

Not too shabby!

Alright folks, that feels like plenty for now. Thanks so much again for backing us! There's plenty more livestreams, achievements, unlockable rewards, and good times to come.

Sincerely,,