Indulge your dreams of living in a cursed bookshop with literature's hottest villains in the Nevermore Bookshop series, exclusive to Backerkit with brand new paperback covers, foil details, and sprayed edges, all housed in a limited-edition slipcase.
Book boyfriends may do it better, but they're more trouble than they're worth.
Indulge your dreams of living in a cursed bookshop with literature's hottest villains in the Nevermore Bookshop series, exclusive to Backerkit with brand new linocut paperback covers, foil details, and bookshelf sprayed edges, plus artist-made merch.
Do you love reading light-hearted cosy fantasy filled with bookish humour, but you also want all the spice?
Are you obsessed with tropes like found family, villains get the girl, murder mysteries, grumpy/sunshine, quirky villages, whychoose, raven shifters, touch her and die, and disability representation from a blind author?
Do you collect gorgeous collector's editions of spicy cosy fantasy books?
In the Nevermore Bookshop series by Steffanie Holmes (that's me!), our heroine, Mina, finds herself working in a magical bookshop that brings infamous fictional villains from classic literature to life. Now she's wrangling Heathcliff, Moriarty, and Poe's raven – three of literature's most notorious fictional men – all the while trying to solve the mystery of who killed her ex-best friend and why Nevermore Bookshop is cursed in the first place.
The Nevermore Bookshop series is a ten-book spicy cozy fantasy series. We are raising funds to produce the first five books in these beautiful luxe collectors' paperback editions, with some fun merch from the world of Nevermore. (The remaining five books will be produced next year).
To give these paperbacks a true punk rock aesthetic, incredible artist Holly Dunn has created linocut covers. Linocutting is a printing technique where you take a sheet of lino, carve out the details you want to remain white, then ink the lino tile and press it onto paper. You can create multiple colours, but you have line them up PERFECTLY. (I suck at it but Holly is amazing).
In addition to all the usual paperback bling (foil! sprayed edges! signed by the author! maps! easter eggs from the books!) these paperbacks feature linocut details that were hand-cut and printed by Holly – a truly unique Nevermore experience.
Limited-edition linocut print of book 1's cover, by artist Holly Dunn.
Holly is creating other linocut details for the campaign, such as Quoth the Raven chapter headings and art prints.
Quoth art prints with gold details.
As well as special edition books and kooky, spooky nmerch (stamps! tarot cards!), we're offering backers the exclusive opportunity to purchase limited- and open-edition archival-quality art prints of the covers and chapter headings, signed by both author and artist.
Book boyfriends may do it better, but they're more trouble than they're worth.
After being fired from my dream fashion job, I return home to my village under a cloud of failure and take a job at the quaint Nevermore Bookshop. I'm hoping for an easy few months while I get my life together.
But this is no ordinary bookshop.
A mysterious curse on Nevermore brings infamous fictional villains from classic literature to life in the real world.
My "easy" job involves rescuing customers from a 6foot4, grumpy, tattooed Heathcliff, drinking tea and evading the authorities with sophisticated villain Moriarty, and making art with Edgar Allen Poe’s shy, cheeky, raven shifter, Quoth.
As if that isn’t crazy enough, my ex-best friend shows up dead with a knife in her back, and I’m the chief suspect. I’m going to have to Agatha Christie this shiz if I want to clear my name.
Oh, and those three fictional villains?
They like to share…
The Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries are what you get when all your book boyfriends come to life. Join a brooding antihero, a master criminal, a cheeky raven, and a heroine with a big heart (and an even bigger book collection) in this spicy cozy fantasy series by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes.
Love interests are famous villains from classic literature
Magical bookshop
Disabled rep from a blind author
Grumpy/sunshine, they fall first
Raven shifter
Mysteries to solve
Morally grey book boyfriends
Kooky, spooky humour
About five years ago, I'd just started my indie author career after being pushed out of my dream job because of my eyesight. (I'm legally blind). I took all the hurt I felt and poured it into a story about a heroine who is going blind and ends up working in a magical bookshop that brings infamous fictional villains from classic literature to life.
Publishing professionals and reviewers told me that no one wanted to read a book with a blind heroine, that mixing cozy mystery/fantasy and spice was a mistake, that I was killing my new career before I even got started.
My readers proved them wrong.
Turns out, people absolutely love the Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries series, and Mina, Heathcliff, Morrie, and Quoth. Because of that love, all my author dreams have come true. Nevermore Bookshop has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide.
I've been blown away by the response to these books!
I wanted to do something cool for YOU, the readers who've helped me bring the world of Nevermore Bookshop to life. We already have beautiful hardcovers inspired by vintage book design, but for Nevermore Bookshop's first special edition paperbacks, I wanted to go a little more punk rock.
Each of the books has a unique cover, chapter heading details, and author signature page created by artist Holly Dunn using traditional linocut printing techniques.
Holly has incorporated easter eggs and clues to solve the mystery into the objects on the book covers. This extends to the bookshelf design of the sprayed edges, which fit together to create a full bookshelf!
The sprayed edges form a continuous bookshelf design.
And take a look at the author signature page! I can't wait to sign these beauties.
To make these books look extra hot on your shelf, we've foiled the titles and other details, added a cute AF bookshelf sprayed edge, and Samantha from Honey+Sin has added oodles of bookish details throughout the interior.
Each book contains a different full-page illustration from artist Yulia at Avalach Art.
More of Yulia's stunning pieces.
Specs:
Foiled paperbacks
Bookshelf sprayed edge
Trim size: 5.25x8
Page counts: 200-400pages
linocut-style signature page signed by Steffanie and bound into each book
Luxe internal formatting and linocut chapter heading illustrations (a different one for each book)
To keep with our punk bookshop vibes, we've made this campaign super art-heavy. Here are all the goodies you can get:
Quoth the Raven open edition art prints: These are hand-printed by artist Holly Dunn. Each print is A5 size and includes one of five Quoth the Raven images (from the chapter headings) in water-based block ink on Handmade Khadi 100% cotton, 150gsm paper, with gold details applied by hand surrounding them. These are open edition (meaning that they're unnumbered and we'll print as many as we need).
Quoth the raven art print with gold details (open edition).
Ex Libris stamp and ink pad: A unique and must-have item for a serious bibliophile, this stamp allows you to add your name to your books for lending, or to create a unique signing area for meeting your favourite authors. You can use it on anything – even make your own bookplates. It comes with its own ink pad.
The Ex Libris stamp on a journal page.
Character art print set: Artwork by Avalach Art, these works capture key moments from the books in lush detail. Set includes all five artworks in A5 cardstock, as well as prints of the bookshop floorplan and Argleton map.
Nevermore Bookshop tarot cards: Four new cards for the Nevermore tarot deck created by Kristi Zeyn – one each for Mina, Quoth, Heathcliff, and Moriarty. Cards are double-sided and contain foil accents, and match previous cards made in the Fangs for Nothing Kickstarter (if you're a superfan!)
Nevermore Bookshop cover art limited edition prints: Own a bespoke piece of Nevermore art for your wall. These prints are two-coloured reduction print linocuts (the print itself is around A4-size, but the paper is A3), hand-pulled by artist Holly Dunn on either Handmade Khadi 100% cotton paper or Khadi smoother printmaking paper, 210gsm, hand-numbered in extremely limited quantities (25 for book 1, 5 each for subsequent books). Prints contain subtle variations as part of the lino printing process that make them unique.
Book Cover art prints coming off the press at Holly's studio.
Raven seal stickers (stretch goal) If we hit our stretch goal of $50,000NZ, every backer will recieve a selection of Quoth the raven wax seal stickers as part of their goodies.
Raven metal bookmarks (early bird and ultimate art/ultimate fan tiers only, or add on to any tier): Designed by Pepper Raccoon, this bookmark will look super cute in your brand-new fancy books!
Nevermore Bookshop pins (available in ultimate fan tier and ultimate art tier only, or add on to any tier): These three pins are designed by Pepper Raccoon and feature phrases and pins Mina wore in the books.
Quoth plushie! (available in ultimate fan tier only, or add on to any tier). You can have your very own Quoth the Raven! The Quoth plushie is designed by Pepper Racoon and he is silky, squishy, and adorable.
I'm in New Zealand, so rewards are priced in NZD (but you'll see them in your own local currency). I've included the NZD price and the estimated USD price for you.
If your reward doesn't include all the goodies you want, you can add extra books, art prints, and merch. For rewards with art prints, you'll be able to choose your prints during the survey sent a few weeks after the campaign closes.
Pay Over Time is available for this campaign. If your pledge is over $150USD, after you select a pledge and go to Checkout, you'll have the option to pay 4 equal monthly instalments of your pledge total over 4 months.
Note that shipping isn't included in the tier price. We'll charge shipping later when we send out surveys.
If you don't see a tier that perfectly fits all the kooky, spooky goodies you want, you can customise with add-ons.
Simply add any of these extras to your tier before you confirm pledge:
Extra copies of the Nevermore linocut paperbacks. Buy for a friend...or an enemy.
The Grimdale Graveyard paperback collection in foiled slipcase.
Steffanie Holmes special edition hardcovers, including Nevermore Bookshop, Grimdale Graveyard, and Poison Ivy.
Extra Quoth the Raven art prints or print sets.
Limited-edition book cover linocut art prints (if available).
Quoth the Raven and Ozzy the bat plushies!
8 additional tarot cards and tarot card box.
Quoth bookmarks.
Nevermore Bookshop and Grimdale Graveyard pin sets.
Ex Libris stamps and ink sets
Nevermore Bookshop Character cards: These cards are designed by Belén Art and include five of the main characters from the series: Mina, Heathcliff, Quoth, Morrie, and Mrs. Ellis. They're printed on thick, luxe cardstock with foiled borders.
OMG we hit our funding goal!!!!! THANK YOUUUU! Now, let's see how many of these achievement stretch goals we can hit!
Our first stretch goal is a set of Quoth the Raven wax seal stickers – these are designed to look like wax seals when you stick them down. If we hit $40,000 NZD (about $23,500USD), every backer will get a selection of stickers included in their reward package...but only if we hit that goal. So please tell your bookish friends!
Later stretch goals will add new foiled tarot cards for anyone who has tarot cards in their tier or added them on.
I'm Steffanie Holmes, the USA Today bestselling author of kooky, spooky paranormal, cosy fantasy, and gothic romance. My books feature clever, witty heroines, secret societies, quirky villages where nothing is as it seems, creepy old mansions, and mysterious antiheroes with dark eyes and even darker secrets.
Legally-blind since birth, I received the 2017 Attitude Award for Artistic Achievement. I'm best known for the world of Nevermore Bookshop, with around 50 indie-published books and my very first trad pub release, Fangs For Nothing, out now in bookstores.
I live in New Zealand with my husband, a horde of cantankerous cats, and our medieval sword collection. The Nevermore Bookshop series is my most popular series and is inspired my experience as a blind woman who lost a dream career because of discrimination and found herself in a magical bookshop and three hot fictional men...okay, sadly, only some of that is true!
I've created this policy section as an easy place for you to find more information and understand more about how Backerkit works.
Pay Over Time
Pay Over Time is available for this campaign. If your pledge is over $150USD, after you select a pledge and go to Checkout, you'll have the option to pay 4 equal monthly instalments of your pledge total over 4 months.
If you select Pay Over Time, you acknowledge you understand that:
Your rewards will not be shipped until you've paid in full.
Partial payments made aren't eligible for a refund.
You won't be able to access the pledge manager survey until after you have paid in full. This may mean that if you order limited-edition prints, you may not have all options available when the pledge manager opens for you, as those who paid in full might have snapped up the full print run of some prints.
REMINDER: SHIPPING WILL BE CHARGED LATER, WHEN THE SURVEY GOES OUT. PLEASE NOTE THIS.
Fulfilment
Survey Completion: To get your goodies, you need to fill in the survey we send out a few weeks after the campaign closes. The survey confirms your shipping address and any choices you need to make about rewards. As part of the survey, you can also choose to buy additional add-ons. Please fill out the survey within two weeks of receiving it. This helps my team when ordering our items from suppliers.
Reward Claim Period: You'll have six months from the close of the campaign to claim your rewards by filling in the survey and resolving any outstanding payments. Failure to do so is considered as you forfeiting your reward. The deadline to fill in the survey and claim your rewards for this campaign is 28th February 2027.
Refunds: Funds raised through Backerkit are immediately put to work ordering products, covering shipping, contractors, fees, and storage costs. We cannot offer refunds if you change your mind. For items damaged or lost during shipping, see shipping below.
Limited-edition and open-edition art prints
Be aware that both the limited-edition book cover prints and the open-edition raven prints are hand-printed by artist Holly Dunn, and as such they will show variations and inconsistencies. This is part of the delight of owning unique art.
As there is a limited quantity of each limited art print, we will be allocating these on a first-come, first-served basis based on survey responses. You will fill out the survey with your top 3 options and you'll receive whichever option is available. We'll fulfil these based in the order we receive the surveys so if you want a specific cover, fill in that survey asap!
IMPORTANT: BackerKit doesn't collect shipping with rewards. Your reward does not include shipping. We will charge shipping later, during the survey stage.
We've created this handy table to help you estimate the shipping cost for your chosen tier. Note that this is an estimate only – actual shipping costs will be calculated at the time of the survey.
Your Nevermore Bookshop special editions and goodies will be winging their way to you from two fulfilment locations – the USA and New Zealand. Some rewards, such as those with art prints, may be shipped from both locations. Splitting shipping between my team in NZ and a US-fulfilment partner enables us to keep the shipping cost as low as possible for everyone.
If you don't see your location listed as an option, email us at [email protected] and we can add shipping options for your country.
If you have any questions about shipping or logistics, either message the Backerkit campaign or the email address above.
NZ/AUS orders are fulfilled from New Zealand. All other countries are fulfilled from the US. This means fulfilment may occur in the different zones at different times.
We are not licensed and do not collect fees to pay import taxes, VAT, or tariffs. Depending on where you live, you may pay these charges upon delivery. If you do not typically pay charges on packages shipped from outside your country, you should be sweet as, but some countries assess taxes on any international shipment.
If your package is returned to us, and you don't want to pay for a second delivery attempt, we can re-ship to a different address, provided you pay the additional shipping fees, as we've already paid for the first attempted delivery.
You will have seven days from receipt of your package to alert us to any damage/missing items. We will happily replace at our cost lost packages, damages that impact readability or display, and missing items. We can't provide replacements (except at your cost) for packages marked successfully delivered, returned packages due to unpaid fees or marked 'undeliverable', incorrect addresses, and extremely minor damage that doesn't significantly impact readability or display.
Estimated shipping date:
August 2027
❤️ Bonkers Romance Book Fair 📚
At Bonkers Romance, we set out to celebrate bold, fearless storytelling—the kind of big swings that push a genre forward. Each of these eleven projects is created by an author who embodies that energy. As a backer, you can be part of the Bonkers Romance movement that empowers authors to take ownership as their work in a way that's only possible through crowdfunding.
Check out the other Bonkers Romance Book Fair projects to find new books, fun merch, and Bonkers prizes! Back any 3 (or more!) campaigns within the Bonkers Romance Book Fair and get a FREE "Wall Lean" Sticker, designed by Shannon Donahue!
