The sweet smell of success, the bitter taste of defeat

So, as far as Kickstarters go, that's one successfully funded and one failed project.

After the resounding success that was the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter I had great hopes for Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath, partly because it was a collaboration (so should reach a wider audience), partly because I thought various communities on Facebook would get behind it (which they didn't), and partly because we were asking for less money than I had with YOU ARE THE HERO. However, it was not to be.

The publisher Ian Whates and myself have already discussed running the Kickstarter again, in a couple of months time (possibly to coincide with the Nine Worlds Geek Fest), and the artist Tom Brown has said he hopes to work on some more of the artwork for the project between commissions.

Some fans of the project have suggested Unbound as a possible funding source but that's not something we've had a chance to discuss yet. And we did end up with 90 backers, many of whom were very passionate about the project.

Thank you, if you were one of them, and hang on in there - Clemency Slaughter's not dead and buried yet...

7 days to go!

That's right, there's only one week left to run on the Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath Kickstarter, so you'd better get those pledges in soon.

But in case you've just stumbled across this blog and you're wondering what Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath is all about, it's a collaboration between writer Jonathan Green (that's me), artist Tom Brown, and publisher Ian Whates.

To find out more, follow this link and check out the project video. But all you really need to know is that this is a unique project offering some fantastic rewards that needs your support!

Thank you (in anticipation).

Back to work...

... after the Easter weekend, and it's back to pushing the latest Kickstarter. After all, how is it ever going to achieve funding otherwise?

If you run a blog or a website, and would be happy to feature a feature about Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath, or an interview with Tom Brown or Jonathan Green, please do get in touch. Leave a comment after this post or email info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

We shall await your interest with... er... interest. ;-)

Steampunk Thursday (Part 2): Jonathan (Lurid) Green

As some of you may have noticed, my blog has a new background wallpaper as of this morning*. What's special about this one is that it is a portrait of Yours Truly**, produced by the very talented artist Mr Tom Brown, my partner-in-crime on Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath.

I had no idea that Tom was doing this until he tagged me in a picture of a sketch he was working on, via the social medium of Facebook. I was blown away. And then I saw the colour version...

I love the T-Rex skeleton and the tentacles, not to mention the sinister quill. The only problem is that having seen this picture I think I'm going to have to go shopping so that at the next con I attend I look as smart and as dapper as I do in my portrait***.

And if you would like an utterly fantastic portrait of yourself drawn and painted in this style**** then all you have to do is pledge at the P is for Portrait (for a pencil portrait) or M is for Masterpiece (for a full colour portrait) reward level here.

* Although this could be said of a lot of mornings and my blog background.

** And an image of myself that I actually like to boot!

*** At the moment there's a bit of a reverse Dorian Gray thing going on. I've not shaved this morning, I need a haircut, and I'm wearing a hoodie. 'Nuff said.

**** What we like to call the Clemency Slaughter style.

Clemency Slaughter and the Zombie Hamster

Clemency Slaughter artist Tom Brown featured on ZombieHamster.com the other day, as did Clemency herself.

Thank you to the guys at Zombie Hamster for their support and if you would like to read their piece about the project, simply follow this link.

1,000... is the Magic Number... Competition Time!

A while ago I threatened to run some sort of competition or other if (or more accurately when) I ended up with both 1,000 followers on Twitter and 1,000 friends on Facebook.

Well that magic number was exceeded a while ago now (as of writing I have 1,018 followers on Twitter and 1,030 Facebook friends) so I thought it was about time I made good on my promise.

Your Part of the Bargain

I want you to do all you can to promote the Kickstarter project I am currently running with the artist Tom Brown and publisher Ian Whates, Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath. I don't care how you do it - blog posts, social media campaigns, YouTube videos, get in mentioned in the press, on the radio, on TV! - just do whatever you can to get word out to the masses about this exciting adventure in publishing!

You have until the end of the month (11:59pm on Sunday 31 March) to enter - in other words ten days - and email me a link to whatever it is you've produced at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

Be imaginative, be creative, be prolific, be persistent! But whatever you do, to be eligible for the big prize, you must let me know about it.

 

Our Part of the Bargain

The three of us (Jon, Tom and Ian) will decide who has mounted the most effective campaign and, as long as the project funds on 13 April, you will be invited to the grand London launch as our guest, with all that that entails (book, goodie bag, drinks reception, etc.) but without having to stump up £100 for the privilege yourself. (You must arrange and pay for your travel to London.)

And that's it!

So check out the Clemency Slaughter Kickstarter page, Facebook page, and blog, get thinking, and good luck!

Steampunk Thursday: Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - A Grim, Gothic Tale Without a Happy Ending

It's Steampunk Thursday here on JonathanGreenAuthor.com... Or should that be Gothic Thursday?

The reason? Because today I want to talk to you about Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath, a grim, gothic tale born of a chance meeting at the Steampunk convention Weekend at the Asylum last year.

When Tom Brown (the artist behind Hopeless, Maine) and I first discussed collaborating on a project, it was going to be a Steampunk project. But then it morphed into something less knowingly anachronistic and a lot more darkly gothic.

So what is Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath?

Well, in a nutshell, it's a book, written by Yours Truly and fully illustrated by Tom, and it's due to be published by Steel Quill Books, a new imprint of NewCon Press.

At first it might appear to be a children's book, but in reality it is something much darker and more adult. Children of all ages will enjoy its mix of macabre humour and beautiful illustration - and you can become the proud owner of one (as long as the project funds) if you pledge £12 or more here.

13 - Unlucky for some?

Forget what you might have heard already, today - 13th March 2013 - marks the true start of the Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath Kickstarter.

Artist Tom Brown, publisher Ian Whates, and myself, want to bring you the tale of Miss Clemency Slaughter, her ill-fated family, and the legacy of Lord Daedalus Drummond D'Eath that awaits whoever is lucky (or unlucky) enough to inherit in the end. But we can only accomplish this task with your support, via Kickstarter.

We have a host of wonderful rewards on offer, including original artwork, invitations to a launch party, signed books, and bespoke jewellery. Bids start at only £2 and there's even going to be a digital version of this macabre picture book, as long as we achieve our funding goal of £7,500.

So now it's up to you. Please 'Like' our Facebook page, pledge your support via the Kickstarter page, and then tell all your friends via the medium of social media - and not just today, but every day! That's how we'll draw in the new backers we'll need to make this project happen.

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath - coming soon to Kickstarter

It's been a busy weekend, but hopefully a profitable one. Or to put it another way, I've submitted Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath to Kickstarter for approval. Once that's been received, artist Tom Brown, publisher Ian Whates, and myself, can all put our finishing touches to the project (unique rewards, examples of brand new artwork, and the like) and then plan the big launch.

The tentative start date is 13th March, to end on 13th April 2013. So watch this space...

Clemency Slaughter and the Legacy of D'Eath

I thought some of you* might like to see what artist Tom Brown and I have been working on since we met at last year's Weekend at the Asylum.

Check out the new blog, check out the Facebook page, click the 'Like' button, and start to spread the word. This is going to be something special...

 

 

* Especially all you fans of Steampunk and the Gothic.

Weekend at the Asylum 2012 - The Aftermath

So that's Weekend at the Asylum over for another year, and what a weekend it was! I caught up with all sorts of friends (whom I didn't know before Asylum 2011) and made many new ones too. The event itself was even bigger and better than before, taking over much of the historic part of Lincoln (or so it seemed).

Lincoln Cathedral and the top of Steep Hill

I was kept busy all weekend, selling books and badges (which proved to be very popular) and on Sunday hosted 'An Audience with Jonathan Green' and moderated the panel 'Write a Cog on it'.

My wares - not much of this was left at the end of the weekend!

Just a few highlights of the weekend included a boy telling me that the opening of Unnatural History was like a cool version of Jurassic Park, meeting Vincent's family, having the moral support of the Pax B Posse (Esther and Frances), officially joining Emilia Etherheart's pirate crew as their Professional Gambler, being asked to help judge the costume competition, and Kit Cox's evening of folk singing.

You can see my (many) photos from the event here. If you see yourself among them, please do tag yourself and thereby help to grow the Pax Britannia community.

Bebb and Rockett - here to save the day!

Among the people I met were Tom and Nimue Brown. Tom had some of his artwork on display and at the end of the weekend very kindly gave me one of his prints. You can check out their gothic webcomic here. I should also mention that Vincent Shaw-Morton won the coveted Ruskin Award for the second year in a row!

Bridge of Bottles, by Tom Brown

Thank you to Tinker and Lady Elsie, Ben and the rest of the Victorian Steampunk Society, for organising such a fantastic event, and thank you to the staff of the Assembly Rooms in Lincoln who were absolute stars as well.

And lastly, congratulations to Raven Dane who won Best Novel at the inaugural Victorian Steampunk Society Awards for Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron.

Apparently we're doing it all again next year... so here's to Weekend at the Asylum 2013!