The Book of Starry Wisdom: Apocrypha of Lovecraft's Cthulhu

Layout continues, illustrations on schedule, and a preview!
almost 9 years ago – Sun, Mar 13, 2016 at 08:10:49 PM

March is here, the nightmare of Daylight Savings is upon us, and spring is on the wind here in Seattle. In better news, production for The Book of Starry Wisdom remains on schedule! Valerie is finishing the linework on the final two illustrations at which point she will begin the must faster process of flatting and finalizing all the pieces. I expect to be able to share a few the finals in mid-April as we being the final steps of readying the book files for press. 

I am currently preparing the final edited document for layout. Over the next few weeks myself and my prepress manager will flow the text around FPO (For Placement Only) spaces where the final art will be inserted, apply our fonts, headers, and other graphic items. Proofreading will be ongoing at this point. 

In the meantime, I wanted to share one of the essays with you in advance in thanks for your support of the project. All eight of the essays in the book came out well above my expectations, so it was hard to choose which one I wanted to share first. Ultimately, I chose Orrin Grey's I Think Therefore Something Is: Cartesian Skepticism, Free Will, and That Which is not Dead, not just because I love the material but also because it's one of the simplest in formatting and looks good even in this pre-layout format. Please note that the linked document is not a sample of the interior treatment of The Book of Starry Wisdom. This is a working manuscript file that has not had any of the final fonts, headers, and other textual treatments applied. I'll share a sample of those in late April as we approach print-readiness, but for now, I think this is a fun read and speaks to the heart of the essays. Grey's essay subtly interweaves real world classical philosophy and the pop culture explorations of John Carpenter's Lovecraftian films. 

Download: I Think Therefore Something Is: Cartesian Skepticism, Free Will, and That Which is not Dead

If you enjoyed it, please check out Orrin Grey's other works, including his recent anthology, Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts.

Before I go, I would like to draw your attention to a Kickstarter by my friends and comrades-in-arms at The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival/Arkham Bazaar. Gwen and Brian have a very short term Kickstarter in its final three days. They're producing a limited run of decorative stone carved petroglyphs depicting the secret Mythos history of the earth and the hungering god-things that shaped it. Stone carvings, pendants, and t-shirts are all available. Check it out now! 

That's all for tonight. I'll soon have news about upcoming projects that may interest you in the coming months, but for now, beware the Ides of March, prepare the traditional Eoster sacrifices, and thanks so much for your continued support!

February update: Schedules holding, more linework!
almost 9 years ago – Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 08:20:46 PM

Somehow, February is almost over but that also means we have a bunch of new work to show off! We remain on track to go to press in time for our estimated July delivery of rewards, in large part to Valerie's perseverance in plowing through our schedule. As for other progress, editing is almost completed, layout continues (and will start coming together very quickly in the coming weeks), and I'm currently taking a break from final proofing on the R'lyeh Map. The book will soon be in a state that I can get final printing quotes, and I'm currently beginning to research some storage spaces for when the pallets arrive here in Seattle, this June. Next update I hope to share a PDF of one of the essays from the book, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few of Valerie's in-progress linework. Almost all of these are completed now, so I should be able to start sharing finished pieces in the next month or so! 

Finally, the majority of you (80%, or 337 of you!) have already filled out your Backerkit surveys, for which I thank you! If you're among the 98 people who have not yet filled out your survey, I'd greatly appreciate it. Backerkit is a painless way for you to share your address information with me and increase your pledge or purchase more add-ons if you'd like. I won't be locking the surveys until late March or early April, but the sooner I get everyone's information the sooner I can settle some of the logistics on fulfilling all of your rewards. If you have lost the link to your survey you can recover it here: https://the-book-of-starry-wisdom-apocrypha-of-lovecrafts.backerkit.com

As well, if you have friends who were unable to back the Kickstarter but would like to pre-order a copy, they can do so here: https://the-book-of-starry-wisdom-apocrypha-of-lovecrafts.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

I will also have news soon about some upcoming books from the publishing company I've been able to found thanks to your support, Strix Publishing. I have some very exciting books lined up that I think will appeal to many of you. 

But for now, thank you once more for your support of this project. I remain overwhelmed and grateful.

Ftagn!

Sketches and progress
about 9 years ago – Sun, Jan 31, 2016 at 04:57:37 PM

With January behind us, I wanted to share a few progress updates. Things are proceeding on schedule, the essays are in editorial, layout is beginning in earnest, and Valerie has been turning over sketches and pencil-work for review. Since the most complex illustrations are the landscape pieces, she's been working on those first, with just a few sketches left to be done for some of the more character-oreinted pieces. The landscape pencils are already looking tremendous, though, and I wanted to share a couple of these in-progress works. 

First, is her wonderfully moody and evocative illustration of the Massachusetts coast. Kingsport and its lighthouse are seen here by moonlight. Setting is perhaps the most important element of Lovecraft's work and even just from the pencils this image sets an excellent tone.

 Next is the fantastic underwater city of Y'ha Nthlei. The deep one city here is given a fantastical look, as if set in a tremendous underwater cavern. While my art direction didn't suggest it, Valerie unwittingly created something that reminds me of 90's D&D artwork depicting the subterranean cities of the Drow. Considering the cruel proclivities of the Deep Ones, this seems a fitting homage to the vicious dark elves.

That's all I have to share for now, but I'm hoping to share one or two of the commissioned essays in PDF in the coming months. The essays have turned out exceedingly well, and I have a lot to say about them, but better to do that when they're edited and I can give you all some excerpts.

I also will be posting a brief review of Ezra Claverie's exceedingly good book, The Shadow Out of Providence. Originally a Kickstarter project itself, this is a seriously fun read for any lover of the Mythos and a beautifully produced book. Mr. Claverie sent me a copy as a gift last fall and I have been extremely remiss in not posting more about it, but I'll give it the recommendations it deserves here in February. That said, if you feel like trusting my glowing praise without explanation, go get yourself a copy. You won't be disappointed.

Finally, the majority of you (77% or 323 of you!) have already filled out your Backerkit surveys, for which I thank you! If you're among the 98 people who have not yet filled out your survey, I'd greatly appreciate it. Backerkit is a painless way for you to share your address information with me and increase your pledge or purchase more add-ons if you'd like. I won't be locking the surveys until late March or early April, but the sooner I get everyone's information the sooner I can settle some of the logistics on fulfilling all of your rewards. If you have lost the link to your survey you can recover it here: https://the-book-of-starry-wisdom-apocrypha-of-lovecrafts.backerkit.com

As well, if you have friends who were unable to back the Kickstarter but would like to pre-order a copy, they can do so here: https://the-book-of-starry-wisdom-apocrypha-of-lovecrafts.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Once again, thank you so much for your continued support!

Backerkit Surveys Imminent!
about 9 years ago – Wed, Jan 13, 2016 at 10:22:03 PM

Now that we are safely past the hideous, eldritch festivals of the holiday season, it's almost time for me to start collecting your rewards surveys! I'm using a service called Backerkit to help accurately collect your reward and shipping information. 

Please note, that if for some reason you prefer not to use Backerkit, you can message me directly via Kickstarter and I will take care of your rewards and information manually.

In the next 72 hours you will receive an invitation email which will contain a link to your personal survey. It is important to submit your responses as quickly as you can since I need this information to process your rewards.

If you need to change your survey responses, add or remove add-ons, or update your shipping information, you can click on the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. (This page will only start working after we send the surveys out.)

You do not need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey, just click on the survey link, fill it out, and you’re all good to go! You will be able to answer questions about your rewards preferences, provide shipping information, pledge for more “add-ons,” or even increase your pledge, if you'd like. You do not have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available soon via email!

If you prefer, you can just message me and give me your information, but answering your survey will help us get your rewards out to you quicker. BackerKit helps us save lots of time by streamlining the survey process, automating data organization, and providing us with pledge management software to make it easy to process your pledge reward shipments.

If you use your Facebook login for your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey will be sent to the email you used for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you would prefer to use, please contact support at https://the-book-of-starry-wisdom-apocrypha-of-lovecrafts.backerkit.com/faq and we'll get you sorted out!

Finally, you may notice that the social media sharing options you'll find when you complete your survey refer to Strix Publishing. Don't be alarmed! This is the small company I'm forming to publish The Book of Starry Wisdom and some other upcoming projects.

But for now, the book's text is entering the final stages of editorial, Valerie is hard at work drawing squids (some process images will be shared soon!), and I'm starting the process of getting the book laid out. We're well on track to meeting our estimated shipping date this July. Again, thanks for all your support!

Happy holidays and a quick update about surveys!
about 9 years ago – Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 10:33:37 PM

Hey all, I had originally planned to send basic surveys out in early-to-mid December. However, due to the complexity of rewards and my desire to give you all the best customer service possible, I've chosen to run my survey via Backerkit. It's almost ready to go but the folks at Backerkit are out of their office for the holidays and I don't want to launch without their support available for all of you. This doesn't really mean a whole lot to you as backers, I just wanted to keep you informed. The survey should go live sometime in the first 10 days of January, at which point you will get links to finalize your shipping info and also have the opportunity to increase your pledges for higher rewards and/or order additional copies of the book. 

The actual schedule hasn't changed at all and I'm happy to report that Valerie's illustrations continue as planned (we should have more sketches to show soon!) and the writing and editorial deadlines are actually being exceeded by a small margin! We'll be starting initial book layout in January and as soon as I have a few pages that look good enough to be worth sharing I'll give you all a glimpse. 

Once again, thank you so much for your support and I hope your holiday season is filled with joy and the echoing shrieks of an abyss inimical to human life!