Hello!
Been thinking about timing and luck and whether one influences the other. And somehow, that mental exercise turned into a gratitude spiral.
Which, of all the spirals I could fall into, isn’t a bad one.
It ties into creating and launching Vampires on Mars because that’s where most of my head is these days.
VAMPIRES UPDATE
It was a quiet weekend for the campaign, so I’m working on keeping the negative out and focusing on the positives—another reason for that gratitude spiral.
If you’ve been thinking about coming on board, you’d be a massive boost to the momentum.
One of the positives is we got tagged as a project Kickstarter loves.
As much as I’m working on not being externally focused on defining success…this was very nice to see.
So much of this is blind faith that it’s nice to have these little wins along the way. To feel like you (kinda?) know what you’re doing, and other people dig it.
FERNANDO!
One of the things I did this weekend was post an interview/chat I did with Vampires on Mars artist and co-creator Fernando Pinto.
Fernando’s in the final hours of his own Kickstarter for his book, Gunpunch.
I’m thrilled Fernando gets to tell his story after years of helping bring other people’s books to life.
I’ve also read it, and it’s terrific. Funny, energetic, and a blast.
I really want to see him have the best campaign possible and feel the love and support he’s put into the world for others.
And now let’s tie this all together…
ON MY MIND
I’ve waited a long time to get Vampires out into the world. And I spent much of that time feeling like I was failing.
The foundation of this story was born more than ten years ago, and I actually put a pitch together for it back in the day. Sadly, it didn’t go anywhere.
Self-publishing wasn’t what it is now, and I didn’t have the tools or knowledge to dive in.
So it sat…for a long time. It was always there. Patiently waiting.
And for over 10 years, I kept picking at it. I didn’t want to push it, so I waited for the right artist. I knew if I was going to try and make this ridiculous-sounding book a reality, it had to be done with the right partner.
Enter Fernando!
He killed his Toddler-pocalypse short and proved to be a fantastic collaborator. I knew I wanted to work with him again. I just didn’t know when.
Then he posted some manga-inspired art he had done for a pitch that didn’t go anywhere. He said he enjoyed working in that style, but no one else wanted it for their book.
I stopped DEAD in my tracks (well, my scrolling) because that was the EXACT style I was looking for for Vampires.
I cleaned up the slightly dusty pitch and sent it his way with my fingers crossed.
And here we are!
Vampires on Mars would not be the book it is if I didn’t wait. And I HATE waiting.
But during that wait, I got to work on Toddler-pocalypse. And thanks to that project, I also got to work with Ellie Wright and Justin Birch.
I found my dream team while thinking I was letting a project die on the vine.
I also grew a ton in those 10 years. If that original pitch had been picked up, it would have still been fun, fast, funny, and with the right touch of horror.
But now I had the tools to dig deeper into the story.
A fun story is great, but if I could figure out the story behind the story, I felt like there might be something more special. I could say something real among the vampires, blood, and sci-fi.
And then I cracked it—this mission only works if the astronauts give up their humanity.
THAT felt like something. That felt real. That felt like something we’ve all had to decide in life. How much am I willing to compromise—to sell out—to get something I want?
Tapping into that question turned everything up in the story. Motivations were higher. Stakes (no pun intended) were higher. Emotions were higher.
Now we had enough meat and meaning to turn this idea from “that’s funny” to “that’s something.”
And thanks to ten years of studying the self-publishing marketplace and Kickstarter, I had the confidence to bring this story to life the way I wanted to with creators I trust and admire.
I’m terrible at waiting. The fear that I’m “wasting time” hangs heavy.
But I see how waiting has made all of this possible, and I can’t help but give a little nod to past-George and thank him for his patience and trust that the stars would align somehow.
It’s been an interesting—sometimes incredibly frustrating—journey, but I’m here now with a book I believe in, created by a KILLER group of collaborators, talking to you…someone who’d decided I’m worth hearing from and supporting.
So what can I do but roll the dice, launch an all-or-nothing campaign, and shout from the rooftops?
And finally, speaking of stars aligning, I’m going to wrap this up so we in the U.S. can watch a solar eclipse!
HENRY
One of the sweeter developments over here has been Logan finding out 1. I have a newsletter, and 2. I feature a picture of Henry in it.
Logan’s become very invested in making sure you’re getting your Henry fill, and he sent me this photo for you to see…
The two of them are pretty damn adorable together.
THINGS TO SUPPORT
Smut (#1 of 3) - A NSFW Slice of Life Comedy
A personal trainer attempts to clean up her act and get to know her date before jumping his bones. A 32-page comic about trust and sex.
Another Fernando connection! You might remember me talking about a book called MechaTon that Fernando was drawing with the writer of that series, Wells Thompson, who has launched a new book today!
Not only does Wells have an excellent track record of running campaigns (I have several of his books, all delivered on time and in great condition), but this is the type of project perfect for Kickstarter.
There is a very specific point of view here, and Kickstarter connects those specific types of creators with an audience looking for that type of story. This looks fun and honest…maybe too honest…and that’s a good thing!
Wells has been doing this for a while, and I’m looking forward to seeing this new idea come to life.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Support things! Make things! Don’t stare straight into the eclipse!