Art updates + Print edition updates + Retail e-book release
about 2 years ago – Tue, Jan 17, 2023 at 10:52:49 AM

Hello! I have a nice beefy update today for you.

Art update

All the art by Polar Engine is complete! The NSFW art has made it to me, and as of a little bit ago, I added it to backerkit for download to those who pledged at levels where that was a reward.  Here's the [censored] preview of the art you'll get ;)

Something to note: if you selected "no" to getting NSWF art on the survey, I made a mistake with the survey and didn't set it up to exclude you from the digital distribution, only the physical. Sorry about that. So you will get the files, but as you may surmise, you can easily ignore the download.

That's not the only art update I received. The Limited Edition undercover art has had progress that I also want to show you! I've been rather quiet about this art as it's gone through a lot of changes, so I wanted to wait until I had something more concrete before I did any reveals.

I'm so happy with how this is turning out. We're so close to completion I can taste it.

As a reminder, this art will be used as the undercover artwork for the limited print hardback, and have a limited print run for some art prints and bookmarks (particularly the foil editions).

e-Book update

I've made some changes to Valkyrie Lost. These changes included some typo and grammar fixes, as well as fixing a few scenes. For the most part, these are minor, and the edition you have is perfectly fine to continue reading/keep. However, for those who want the most updated version of the book, I pushed the update to Bookfunnel. If you downloaded the file instead of read it on their built in reader app, you'll need to download the book again to get those changes.

Print update

I've finally gotten the standard edition files off to the printer. Once they accept the files, I'll be ordering up proofs and I'll show those off once they arrive. The special edition is still in progress, but should hopefully be following the standard edition files to the printer soon.

Retail release

Today is the e-Book retail release of Valkyrie Lost! I'm so happy. If you know anyone who was looking to get their hands on this edition of the book, they're now able to on all major retailers. Here's the link!

If you've already read Valkyrie Lost, I would be so appreciative if you left a review at your favorite retailer (or more than one if you feel so inclined). Reviews are so incredibly helpful for a book's success, so any additional support is greatly appreciated.

Enamel pins are here! Plus other updates
about 2 years ago – Sat, Jan 07, 2023 at 07:20:35 PM

Happy new year everyone! I hope yours is getting off right.

Mine is. I came home from work last night to a very special box that arrived early. Here's a little video of what was inside.

Yup, the enamel pins are here! And they came much earlier than anticipated. I expected later in January, so this was a much loved surprise. And they are stunning. The video doesn't do these justice (I've got crappy natural lighting in my house, and extra lights were making it worse so I didn't use them, sorry).

It's a bit surreal having them in my hands. The amount of time I spend on designing them and then going back and forth on proofs with my manufacture did not prepare me for the end product that I now hold.

If your pledge didn't come with these, and you want them now that you're seeing them, you can update your Backerkit survey to include them.

This checks off one more finished product off the list. This does lead me into talking about what's going on with the rest.

The computer death I updated last about did a number on me. It took me 2 weeks to fix it. Luckily, I was able to grab finished digital files from the hard drive a few days after the initial computer crash after obtaining a few external devices to assit me, and I upload those to Backerkit from a spare computer almost on time for my promised delivery date. So everyone who finished their surveys now has everything except the AI audiobook (still in production), the NSFW digital prints (art not finished), digital phone wallpaper: LTD undercover art (art not finished). If you haven't finished your survey, once you do, Backerkit will provide you with all downloads.

As for everything else... that two weeks really messed up my schedule. My backup computer was my laptop, which can really only handle my word processor and a few Google Chrome tabs being open. It definitely couldn't handle any intensive designing programs I needed to get the physical books formatted, or the AI audiobook worked on. It also put me in direct conflict with my January deadlines, making sure Valkyrie Lost was ready for e-Book retailers, and a deadline to finish the draft of Valkyrie Renewed.

As a result, I haven't quite finished formatting the standard edition of Valkyrie Lost, and I definitely need more time for the special edition. And the AI audiobook still needs some more time as well. I am working on them, just very slowly around my other non-negotiable deadlines. I hope you can forgive me for these unexpected issues, and I promise the wait for these items will be worth it!

Anything else is still waiting on art from my artists. I'll update you on those when they're done.

~Shannon

Unexpected delay for digital content
about 2 years ago – Tue, Dec 13, 2022 at 05:55:49 AM

This is not an update I wanted to make, and right after I made my last one. 

There will be a small delay on all digital content except for the Valkyrie Legacy Bonus (which went out over the weekend). Just as I was finalizing digital files, my computer died. Just died. I don't know why, because it's a fairly new computer I had built (only a year old), but it decided "no" was going to a be a fun response to what I was doing. 

I've been testing my computer all weekend, trying to find what broke and how to get my computer up and running. While the exact nature of the issue is still alluding me, I've confirmed in the very least, the files are safe.

I can extract them from the hard drive before the computer is fixed, I just have to wait for parts to ship to me in order to do that. They should be in by the middle of the week. I am so so sorry this happened. I didn't mean to get your hopes up and mess with expectations.

My hope is to have my computer up and running within the next week so I can continue working on the physical book layouts and they won't be too badly delayed, but depending on what we discover is the cause of the issue, it might take a little longer. 

Again, my deepest apologies, and once I extract those files that are finished from my hard drive, you'll get an email from Backerkit how to download them.

~Shannon

Digital rewards coming soon!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 08, 2022 at 11:08:03 AM

This is not a drill

Everything is falling into place. Almost everyone has filled out their surveys, and most digital content is in their final stage of development. For those who have completed their surveys, in the next few days, you'll be getting email notifications from backerkit and bookfunnel about digital rewards. If you haven't completed yours, please do. I need them completed in order to send your items.

Digital content that will be sent based on pledge tiers:

• Digital phone wallpapers: Valkyrie Lost Standard, Valkyrie Lost Special
• Digital art prints: Astrid portrait, Tyr portrait, Astrid & Tyr rain portrait, Astrid pinup
• Valkyrie Lost e-book
• Weekly pledge bonus (based on when pledges were made): Valkyrie Renewed preview, Valkyrie Legacy omnibus

Art update

Astrid's pinup piece has been completed. I love it so much. Look! (censored in this post per KS requirements)

This only leaves Tyr's pinup (almost done) and all art for art prints and interior art that's been unlocked will be complete.

There is still time to unlock more through Backerkit (if you've already completed your survey and it's not locked, you can still go in and add items. If it is locked, you can use the pre-order site to create a new order). These not only will unlock art prints, but more interior art for the special editions and limited editions of Valkyrie Lost. (You will not be charged for the extra art unless it's been unlocked).

Unfortunately, due to a tight budget, sketches of these potential unlocks before they're unlocked aren't on the table. I've provided a description for each art option of roughly what it will be (the final piece always changes a bit, so it's not extremely detailed), except for one pieces which would be a spoiler if described (once you read the e-book, that scene will make more sense). This is the best I can do at this time.

Pin update

I've been a little quite about the pins. And that's because I've been busy working with my new manufacture. I had a manufacture in mind, and then found out they didn't do a few things I wanted, so I looked around to see if I could get what I wanted. And boy did I get more than I bargained for!

Thanks to a friend, I found myself with a new manufacture who could not only do what I needed, but even more, and the cost is about the same as with the previous planned manufacture, so... win!

Not only were they great to work with, they've provided me with digital mock-ups of the finished pieces, and I'm going to share them with you!

Excited? Because I am! These are expected to arrive at my door mid-January.

If your pledge didn't come with any of these (or you want more than one for yourself or someone else), you can add it through the survey if yours isn't locked (if it is, you can use the pre-order site to create a new order).

There is also still time to unlock the other metal pins of the insignias to match Valkyrie Rising one that was unlocked during the campaign. The sooner they're unlocked, the quicker I can order them up and they'll arrive within a similar time as the others. They'll only be made once, so you'll want to get the whole set to match the Valkyrie Rising insignia.

Pre-order page

As a reminder, don't forget to share the pre-order page with those you think will enjoy the products I'm offering. It's the last chance to get many items that won't be printed/offered a second time.

~Shannon

Check your email!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 01, 2022 at 08:45:35 AM

Surveys have been sent

Over 70% of you have already filled them out so far, and I thank you for your promptness! If you haven't, please check your email. It'll have gone to the email you use for Kickstarter, and come from Backerkit. If you don't see it, check you spam/junk folder, sometimes they can be accidentally sent there by your email provider.

When you're filling out your survey, you do have the chance to add more to your pledge through an internal add-on system. So if there's something you didn't add to your pledge through Kickstarter and really wanted to, you'll be able to do it this way. As I mentioned in a previous update, some items are set up as a second chance unlock. There are a number of art pieces that can be unlocked (which also unlock special edition and limited edition book upgrades), pins, and the human narration audiobook. You can add them to your cart and won't be charged for them unless we reach their minimum goals by a certain time.

You can also share the Backerkit pre-order page!

Share it with any and all you think would love to get their hands on any of the items offered in this last chance opportunity so they don't miss out either.

https://valkyrie-lost.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

And speaking of art pieces, I've got an update! 

The artwork for Scene #1 (now named Astrid & Tyr in the rain) is complete. I love it so much. It's sweet interpretation of what happens in the book.

This art will be an insert in the Limited Edition hardback, and is available as an 8x10 and 11x17 art print/poster (and a 4x6 digital download for those who pledge to any tier above ebook only).

There's a lot more still in the works with artists, and I'll be keeping you all looped in as they finish and products are ordered up around those completions.

Transparency

I ran into my first little snag while formatting that gave me a mini heart attack. In my researching of the setting for Valkyrie Lost I chose to use some more traditional spellings of words in certain instances. These worked fine in my word processor, but as I've began working in my formatting program I quickly found out, not all programs supported certain characters.

I tried to figure out how to work around that, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized it was going to continue to be an issue for e-books, as not all e-readers/phones would support the characters. So as not to delay anything further, I was forced to choose to change the problematic spellings. A little disappointing, but that's okay. I'd rather you all be able to read the book rather than be distracted by technical issues.

~Shannon