The pop-up comic shop in my apartment is now open

Plus: a sneak preview at my next book!

As you can see from the above image, my single-issue pop-up comic book shop is now open!

I packed and shipped the first wave of Blood of Atlantis #1 Kickstarter orders last week, and anticipate finishing fulfillment by mid-September, making this my fastest Kickstarter turnaround yet.

After launching the Guild of Magic Kickstarter campaign before the book was done, my decision to hold future campaigns until the book/comic was complete turned out to be the right call. Going forward, I anticipate alternating between a book Kickstarter and a comic Kickstarter, so you aren't waiting so long between my launches for something new.

That means that next up is a new book campaign, and at the end of this newsletter, you'll get to read an exclusive preview of that book, Guild of Magic: The Gauntlet!

In other writing news, I finished the script for issue 2 of Blood of Atlantis, and artist Francine Delgado and I just had a very productive Zoom going over the issue page-by-page before she starts drawing it. 

A spoiler-free look at issue 2

I also entered two writing competitions, one for comics, one for fiction. 

The first is the Mad Cave Studios Talent Search. MCS runs an annual competition where you submit a short script in one of their existing comic worlds. 

I submitted a script set in the world of Hunt. Kill. Repeat., where the Greek gods have returned to the modern world and found it wanting, quickly conquering it and becoming its new rulers. The series follows the goddess Artemis as she fights back against her siblings and her dad Zeus. The winners should be announced next month, and I’ll share my entry in a future newsletter!

I also entered the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Competition, or SFINCS for short. This is a sister competition to the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, and I entered my fantasy novella I’m In Love With My Possessed Demon Sword.¹ You can see the other entries in my group below. The first round of the competition will be complete by the end of the year and I’m excited to see how Demon Sword will do!

I’m also working on my next Amazing Journey column, and you can help! Check out my Note below and join the conversation:

And if you missed the Blood of Atlantis #1 Kickstarter, don’t worry! You can still pre-order the comic through our BackerKit pre-order store below.

Finally, here’s a sneak peek at Guild of Magic: The Gauntlet. Although this started out as a novella, it’s looking like it will end up being a short novel, probably 50-60K words. It takes place in between Guild of Magic and Guild of Relics, and features a competition run by the Guild called the Gauntlet, to fill an empty Seat in the Guild's membership. 

Think the Triwizard Tournament set in New York City!

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[Intro music]

The premise is simple, the rest is not. Complete a Quest. Get a token. The more tokens you get, the more experience you earn. Enough experience and you level up. 

I was just like you once, a newbie Quester who had no idea what was going on. I would work all day and Quest all night. But after pulling double-duty for way too many years, I started this podcast, to help others climb the Questing Ladder. And, three years ago, I was able to leave the day job behind, thanks to a particular fruitful Raid and support from listeners like you.

This is the QuestCast Podcast, episode 116, and I’m your host, Pat Krekie.

In today’s episode, we have a guest in studio with us, Nate Whittaker, former portfolio manager on Wall Street but now head of the Wolf’s Claw Clan. Nate, thank you for joining us.

Nate: Great to be here. I’m pretty sure this is the first interview I’ve done in a church basement.

Pat: Heh, well, it’s got great acoustics. As I like to do for first-time guests on the show, I want you to take us back to the beginning of your Questing career. Part of our mission here is to help out the newbie listeners, who are just starting out. So it’s helpful to hear success stories, lessons learned along the way, any things you wish you would have known when you were starting out.

Nate: Absolutely. I mean back when I was a newb, this show wasn’t around, for one. I remember spending the first few months thinking I had gone a little mad, you know? Like is this actually real or am I the subject of an incredibly elaborate practical joke.

Pat: I remember the feeling.

Nate: Yeah, so, it took me awhile to find others out there, like me. But once I did, everything changed.

Pat: How so?

Nate: It sounds cliche, but … I met a girl. Blonde hair, green eyes. And a figure to-

Pat: I get the picture.

Nate: I do a random quest, and when I show off at this coffee shop and she’s there, dark glasses, big sun hat, like she’s a celebrity who doesn’t want to be recognized. She doesn’t say much, just wants me to complete one more task for her, before she’ll tell me the truth.

Pat: What was it?

Nate: I’d rather not say. No offense, but I doubt she’d want all of your listeners going out to try to find it.

Pat: Fair enough, fair enough. But I assume you succeeded?

Nate: I did. Found what she wanted and we meet back at the coffee shop. She takes the offering, as it was, and then pulls out a plastic container with a mouse in it.

Pat: That’s a bit weird. 

Nate: I thought so. But then she drops the truth bomb on me. About why we're doing the Quests and the Raids, all of it.

Pat: I bet you thought she was nuts, right? 

Nate: Absolutely. I mean, I had seen some stuff during my first months of Questing, but not enough to make me question, like, the fundamental nature of the universe, you know? I was ready to walk away from this crazy chick. But then…

Pat: What?

Nate: She pulls out this ornate dagger, opens the plastic container, and stabs the little mouse in there.

Pat: You cannot be serious! You must have been-

Nate: I’m not ashamed to admit it, I almost pissed myself. But then she slides the container toward me and I look inside and… the mouse is just a stone statue.

Pat: That is … incredible. Wow.

Nate: It was. So then she asks me to be her trainee, and of course, I agree. Why wouldn’t I? I learned so much from her, but…

Pat: What happened? 

Nate: Misread some signals, was a bit too cocky. I … don’t really want to talk about it.

Pat: I hear you, I hear you. So, this is a good time then, for a word from our sponsor. It’s BSG, your number one source for coffee, cocktails, and alchemy on the Lower East Side. Previously known as Bleecker Street Grounds, the cafe is quickly becoming the destination for Questers in the know, thanks to its new owner, Beatrice Stallard.

[Pat flashes a picture of Beatrice on the video feed].

Nate: Wait, are you shitting me? That’s her. The blonde. And that was the coffee shop we met at! I had no idea. I need to talk to her!

[Nate stands up quickly, knocking over his stool, and runs out of the studio]

Pat: Hey! Where are you going? 

Hope you enjoyed that little preview!

As you can see, it’s a little different from my previous books. In addition to featuring three different point of views (who you’ll meet in future previews), The Gauntlet will also feature these podcast chapters as the competition progresses. And as you can maybe tell, this book is written both for seasoned series vets and new readers, so it’s a perfect jumping-on point.

Stay tuned for more previews and a cover reveal next month!

1. You can pick up a copy of Demon Sword here.