I Am Stretch Goal, And I Make Stretchy Kitty Noises

What?

I dunno, shut up.

So, Storium is less than a week into its Kickstarter campaign.

It was successfully funded in 24 hours.

It has already reached stretch goals.

And now I’m the next stretch goal.

What’s that mean? Well, it means that if the campaign gets to $43,000, it unlocks a campaign based on my short story, “The Auction,” found in my collection, Irregular Creatures. (Which, I’ll note shamelessly, is a mere $0.99.) The story takes place in a farm-style auction where a whole lot more than cows and tractors are on display: there you can buy haunted cars, lunatic machines, mermaids, magical victuals…

Game designer and good friend Will Hindmarch is adapting the work to Storium, and I couldn’t be more excited. Will’s a bonafide bad-ass when it comes to writing and I’m proud to have him making this a reality.

Consider bidding, wontcha?

Remember, you get beta access soon as you jump in…

Other Gravy-Soaked News Nuggets

In just a couple-few hours I leave for Erie, where I’ll head off to Penn State to visit classes and give a talk about diversity and diversification in writing and publishing. Part of the reason for this trip is that they are teaching Blackbirds there (!) as part of a women’s lit / female superheroes class. Which is like, whoa, dang. I’m pretty geeked about that.

However, my primary talk on Monday night is open to the public: details here.

Blightborn Preorder (Or, “Cornpunk, Baby”)

A poke-poke-prod reminder that the second Heartland book, Blightborn, is now up for pre-order. A mere $3.99 not only gets you the pre-order, but also gets you a Gwennie short story (“The Wind Has Teeth Tonight”) set before Under the Empyrean Sky.

The book:

Cael McAvoy is on the run. He’s heading toward the Empyrean to rescue his sister, Merelda, and to find Gwennie before she’s lost to Cael forever. With his pals, Lane and Rigo, Cael journeys across the Heartland to catch a ride into the sky. But with Boyland and others after them, Cael and his friends won’t make it through unchanged.

Gwennie’s living the life of a Lottery winner, but it’s not what she expected. Separated from her family, Gwennie makes a bold move—one that catches the attention of the Empyrean and changes the course of an Empyrean man’s life.

The crew from Boxelder aren’t the only folks willing to sacrifice everything to see the Empyrean fall. The question is: Can the others be trusted?

They’d all better hurry. Because the Empyrean has plans that could ensure that the Heartland neverfights back again.

Pre-order here!

And, if you haven’t tried the first book, it too is just $3.99 right here.