Media-palooza
So in addition to today being the big one month anniversary of Ash to Ashes going to print, I've had two other major updates:
1. "I Did it for the Art"
Not too long before Ash to Ashes entered its final phases of publishing, I attended a comic convention (Little Apple Comic Expo in Manhattan, KS) as an average attendee. I had buzz cards for the book and a poorly rendered t-shirt and hoodie, but I was far from ready to start looking at doing conventions myself. What I did have was a drive to find out as much as I could about the convention scene and what I could do to make myself more marketable. Susanne Lambdin (author of the Dead Hearts Series and Realm of Magic Series) suggested finding an artist to do commission work for merchandising (small posters of the characters and such). She has been a huge help in figuring out other aspects of the convention scene and navigating the post-publishing minefield as well. (Other area authors, Dane Kroll and James Young have also been invaluable in helping me get ready for the events and convention scene.)
So, I did some asking around and, long story short, I found Kent Willmeth, a graduate of the school I had just worked at for three years who happened to be transferring colleges to go into video game design and concept art. Kent was amazing to work with. He was super excited about the project and great at adapting to suggestions I had when he asked for input. More importantly he wasn't shy about asking for input and didn't just assume he had all the creative answers for our project just because he was the artist doing it. He even managed to complete the first project about a week in advance of the deadline we had contracted for (Yes, Susanne and James, I DID pay attention in that panel!). The finished promotional poster is the eye-catching beauty shown below. We're currently discussing options for individual character work that will be more geared to small art prints for vendor sale at events. I can't wait to see the future concepts he comes up with. I think it'll be a lot of fun!
2. "To Be, or Not to Be... Heard?"
So for those of you who have been following this blog (bless your deranged little hearts, I love you to little pieces), you may remember a few posts ago where I mentioned the question of doing an audiobook. More accurately, you may remember that I left it as a "We'll see what happens."
Well, we came, we saw, we conquered.
I'm thrilled to announce (Again. Check the Facebook page for the official announcement in video format!)
that the audiobook for Ash to Ashes: Chronicles of Chalisaria Volume One has officially started production!
By the wacky voodoo magic of ACX.com, I lucked into an audition by Jack Voraces (pronounced (Vor Aces), a charming and talented new producer/narrator from the UK (I'll let him disclose where exactly if he feels like it). After listening to his audition (and the second audition he promptly submitted after I made some casual suggestions without any expectation of a redo -- he's that damn motivated and professional folks!), I did a little more digging with the information from his producer page. One YouTube video later, in which I immediately saw Ashton Firebrand in the flesh and heard him in the voice (camping in the forest in a survival how-to video, no less!), I sent the ACX contract offer and away we went. (And no, I didn't see Ashton literally. Jack wasn't doing cosplay for bonus audition points or anything. That would have been... weird. But I bet Jack could do Ashton cosplay now, and it would be amazing!)
Since then, this week has been a blur of activity (blurry in part because the crazy weather patterns have been messing with my sinuses so bad). In addition to my current social media blitz and trying to stay on top of other matters, I've been trying (REALLY HARD) to keep up with Jack and get him the information he needs for the character concepts and production reviews. This . Guy . Is . AWESOME. (No, really. You have no idea. His day job is his business to share, but it's super important stuff. He's also a super nice guy and incredibly good at following my convoluted director notes. I think he may be a genius, actually. If he ever turns evil we're screwed. For real. I'm glad I'm getting in with him at the ground level in case that ever happens. If nothing else, at least we'll have the audiobook before that happens, so that's a bonus.)
There was a point around here somewhere... YES! So, Jack Voraces will be narrating and producing Ash to Ashes: Chronicles of Chalisaria Volume One! Stay tuned for updates and possibly some exciting surprises as we approach the estimated July release!
Oh and while you wait for Jack's amazing performance, you can still get the paperback and e-book versions of Ash to Ashes: Chronicles of Chalisaria Volume One HERE or in the Kindle App store!
