Backerkit & May Updates
almost 3 years ago – Mon, May 10, 2021 at 10:57:14 PM

Hi backers,

Quick update: everyone who added additional Unfettered Hexes loot in Backerkit should have just gotten notification that cards were charged.  It looks like there are a couple with old expirations etc so if that's you, you should be getting an email about that. 

I promise a comics preview last update!  Here's the a page from "Talalora" by Caleb Hosalla:  

We have almost the entire deck of Oracle Cards by Matthew Spencer done.  You can see those here.  The images from the deck will also be in the book as interior art, so you'll get to see them either way, but if you decide to pre-order the deck, you can still do that here.

For those of you who backed at the "A Spell and an Ember" reward level, we'll be getting the ebook for Glitter + Ashes to you in the next couple weeks.  

Thanks to a rad community of backers, 2021 Novella Series kickstarter funded in the first couple days; we just have one big stretch goal over there, which is that if we hit $16,250, every backer over $36 will get this rad pin by Rosefinchie:

Otherwise, we're reading, editing and running events over here at Neon Hemlock.  

These three are still coming up in May:

• May 20, 8pm EDT:  Rulebreakers with Charlie Jane Anders, HA Clarke, Danny Lore, Nicasio Reed & Izzy Wasserstein (with Argo Bookshop)
• May 22, 8pm EDT:  In the Key of Mood with Rasha Abdulhadi, Jason B. Crawford, Lynn(e) Schmidt, jo reyes-boitel & Lannie Stabile. Hosted by Saida Agostini.
• May 27, 8pm EDT:  Neon Hemlock Live with Bendi Barrett, AP Thayer & Maria Dong

Take care and talk soon!

dave

Cover Reveal | Novella Series | Events
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 03:26:38 AM

Our cover reveal is live over at LGBTQ Reads!  Check our Robin Ha's incredible work. If you wanted to boost the reveal, here it is on Twitter and Facebook.

We're still on track for our October publication date.  Edits have begun for stories, so we'll be able to lay everything out and send the anthology to trade review publications on time. We'll keep sharing Matt Spencer's incredible oracle card illustrations here as we go. We're getting ready to reveal The Machete, The Cabal, The Tunnel, The Ship, The Teacup & The Rupture.

Also pre-sales for our 2021 Novella Series will launch May 1st.  Head over here to be notified when they begin. Of course, if you backed at the Club Serpentine level, you'll already be getting the novellas sent to you, but there will also be rad literary candles and enamel pins, so you might find something you like!

If you're looking for some events to add to your calendar, here's what we're up to the next couple months:

• April 22, 9pm EDT:  Neon Hemlock Live with Lina Rather, LP Kindred & Zin E. Rocklyn
• May 8, 1pm EDT:  Queer Space Force with Rasha Abdulhadi, Marlena Chertock, Rashid Darden, Craig L Gidney & Malka Older
• May 20, 8pm EDT:  Rulebreakers with Charlie Jane Anders, HA Clarke, Danny Lore, Nicasio Reed & Izzy Wasserstein (with Argo Bookshop)
• May 22, 8pm EDT:  In the Key of Mood with Rasha Abdulhadi, Jason B. Crawford, Lynn(e) Schmidt, jo reyes-boitel & Lannie Stabile. Hosted by Saida Agostini.
• May 27, 8pm EDT:  Neon Hemlock Live with Bendi Barrett, AP Thayer & Maria Dong
• June 17, 8pm EDT:  Neon Hemlock Live with Joshua Johnson, Premee Mohamed & Jen Karner

Thanks again for your support!

Next time maybe we'll share some sneak peeks at one of our comics!

dave

Update: April 7 Cover Reveal | Oracle Card Progress | Contributor List
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 02, 2021 at 09:44:49 PM

Hi all!  Quick update, at a backer's request.  

Cover

Our cover reveal is scheduled for April 7th at LGBTQ Reads, so keep your eyes peeled.  Robin Ha did an incredible job on it, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Oracle Cards

Matt Spencer has been working like a dream on our oracle cards, and I'm pleased to say that we'll also be using them for artwork at the beginning of each story.  So even if you haven't decided to pick up the oracle cards, you'll get to see them in the book!  The cards will be posted on our website as they are completed, but here's a preview of the first 18:

I think 95% of backers have confirmed shipping details etc on Backerkit, but if you haven't yet, please do so.  I think we're on target to lock numbers at the end of April.  Folks will still be able to pre-order or add things to their order, but they might not be manufactured in the first wave depending on how sales go.  

Here's our current list of contributors:

Other projects that Neon Hemlock is working on right now include the Awesome Foundation-funded Queer Space Force, the launch of the 2021 Poetry Series edited by Saida Agostini, and the arrival of Neon Hemlock-branded merch (including a metal print that I'm obsessed with)!

And watch this space for a handful of Neon Hemlock events too.

That's it for now!  If there's anything you were wondering about that I didn't answer, please let me know in the comments.

dave

February Update: Backerkit | Submissions | Oracle Cards
about 3 years ago – Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 07:19:54 PM

Hello friends!

Work continues apace on Unfettered Hexes.  90% of folks have completed their survey on Backerkit, so just 50 or so folks to go (click here if you lost your survey). We're taking a little longer to read submissions, but are hoping to have the first review completed by the end of this weekend.  

The most exciting news is that I have some completed art from Matt Spencer for the first six oracle cards to show you.  Below is The Blood (from Sharang Biswas's story), The Dwelling (from Mercedes Acosta'a storygame), and the Circle (from Cecilia Tan's piece).

And here's The Tooth (inspired by Jordan Shiveley's piece), The Shield (inspired by Rasha Abdulhadi's poem), and The Mask (inspired by Craig Gidney's story).

We're still playing with some design choices (the text right now is too close to the bottom, and we're deciding still on fonts etc), but the cards will all be B&W and will also be used as header art for each of the stories.  There's still plenty more to go, and a book to interpret them that we're writing, but we're really excited by how they are coming together so far.

If you know anyone who missed the Kickstarter and would like to preorder the anthology or the oracle cards (or the fantastic pin by Riddle's Tea Shoppe), you can still send them to the Backerkit preorder page.

Robin Ha and I have been in cahoots discussing the cover art, so hopefully next update I'll have a sneak peek to show you.

Until then!

dave

Oracle Deck Update and Backerkit Survey
about 3 years ago – Wed, Feb 03, 2021 at 07:17:12 PM

Hi all!

A couple updates:

Oracle Cards

The oracle deck design has been kicked off and Matt has finalized the cardbacks for the deck.  Check them out:

The oracle cards will be smaller than a traditional tarot deck (roughly 2" x 3.5" in size) and come in a metal "mint tins" with a hinged lid.  Matt did a lot of color/design studies before we landed here.  Here's one of them:

And here's a mockup using an earlier version of the cardback art:

We're still finalizing the cards of course, since not all the stories for the anthology have even been chosen, but there will be about 40 of them.  We think we'll price them at $30 but backers will get a small discount on that.  

Reward Survey and Backerkit

We've almost finished organizing the reward survey, which will be coming to you via Backerkit.  If you only want exactly what rewards come at the level you backed at, it will be quick couple clicks for you to confirm that.  And for those who'd like to consider add-ons like the oracle deck, decision coin, or enamel pin, you'll be able to add that to your order.  

We're going to leave the Backerkit active until April 1st, so if you know anyone who didn't back the Kickstarter in time, but wants in on the witchery, you can share the link with them and they'll be able to preorder the book via Backerkit.  After April 1st, we'll have alternate pre-orders available on our website. 

Story Selection

We're about a third through the stories submitted during our open submissions period, and a handful of our solicited writers have already sent their stories in.  Our goal is to be able to share the final table of contents by the end of February!

Praise for Glitter + Ashes

We're pleased to say that our last anthology. Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn't Die, just made it onto the Locus Recommended Reading List!  If you've read it, and you'd like to vote for it and the other fine works on the list, you can do so here.  

That's it for now, from snowy DC --

dave