Media kit: Done

After a little (O.K. a lot of) rearranging and reuploading and relinking, I finally have the media kit finished for Twisted Vol. 1. I had a bit of a kit available on the publisher site, but I hadn't uploaded anything yet on the book site so I wanted to get moving on it. That, and the original media kit was mostly geared toward the Kickstarter campaign which, if you haven't noticed, was finished about a year ago. I had some catching up to do.

So available for download would be:

• The cover image (both low and high res)
• A still from the book trailer (low and high res)
• Two head shots to choose from, one casual, one formal (low and high res for each)
• The book's one-sheet (pdf)
• A contact sheet (pdf)
• An author bio (pdf)
• Info about the book (pdf)

I also have links to all the reviews I know about, plus the Kirkus Reviews Indie Spotlight Q&A they did with me and whatever other press the book has gotten along with all the links for the book: the book's site, blog, trailer and shop.

I'm hoping I haven't forgotten anything. I'm sure somebody will let me know if I did (and thanks in advance).

Getting Dirty From Newspaper Print

I did an interview a couple of weeks ago with a local newspaper about the Twisted book and how I funded it through Kickstarter. They took some pictures of me along with some of the Kickstarter rewards a few days after the interview. The article printed just this past Monday. Here's the online version, mercifully minus the horrid photo of me that accompanied the print version:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_767174.html

Sometimes when I do these things I have trouble dealing with misquotes and misinformation, but this one is pretty much on the money. The quotes in the article that Mike Arnzen supposedly said totally melt my brain though. I understand he was my fiction writing professor—and everything I know about writing fiction I learned from him, and everything I've read since then just reaffirms what he taught me—but getting a pat on the back from a mentor is incredibly satisfying.

When I set something that might be a little on the "out there" side free to roam in the public, it's easy to get nervous about its safety. I worry about whether I've pushed anything too far, whether people will get it, whether it will be over everybody's head. But so far things are going well. It looks like Dr. A totally gets it, but he's the one who taught me how to show (my dark side) without telling. I know a couple twenty-somethings who get it, but they've lived with me for years, and how they turned out is probably my fault. I'll apologize to them later. But on top of that, I've also gotten a couple of nice comments on the Kickstarter page and on my personal Facebook page, so I'm starting to think everything's oakey dokey.

Along those same lines, the book got its first review on Amazon, and it's a five-star! Thanks, tonimarie77! I totally owe you dinner and a movie for that one.

The hard cover books are in!

After a few hiccups in the printing process (mostly on my part), I've finally been able to get the correct files uploaded and accepted at the printer! I ordered a bunch, and the hard cover shipment showed up yesterday. They look fantastic.

A couple of days ago the book appeared on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but without all the information necessary. Amazon doesn't have the images and Barnes & Noble doesn't have a description. So yesterday I finished putting together the file to upload for Amazon's "Search Inside", and that should be up and running in about a week. I'm not sure how to get into the B&N site as a publisher, so that will be added to my to-do list.

I've also noticed the hard cover and paperback versions of the book aren't listed on each other's pages as a different format that would be available, and I'm not sure who I would see about making that happen. Another to-do. And on top of that, I need to get these puppies available through the Hairy Eyeballs site. More to-do.

But first up, I've got Kickstarter rewards to ship out. I had hoped to get the books to backers by Halloween, but unfortunately that's not going to happen. Lots of signing and packing and addressing to do over the next few days, but totally, totally worth it.

So much to do I should probably skip sleeping for a while.

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part

We've hit a few snags with the printer. Some mistakes (on my part), some computer glitches (on their part), some wailing and nashing of teeth (all the way around).

Good news first: The hard cover format has been proofed and accepted (after first being rejected and re-uploaded), and an initial order has been placed for 250 copies to be sent to me. I'll sign and ship out copies to Kickstarter backers as soon as I can get them packaged and ready to go.

50% gray news next: The paperback format has been proofed and rejected. I re-uploaded files last evening, but I'm not sure how soon those will be O.K.'d by the printer. Once the printer has accepted the files, I'll place another order for (probably) another 250 copies, and I'll sign and ship those out to Kickstarter backers ASAP.

Bad news last: Kickstarter backers won't receive their copies by Halloween as I had hoped, but—

Great news: To make up for not getting the physical books out by Halloween, I've uploaded the entire book to Issuu where you can read it online for free! It will only be available through Halloween, so make sure you take a look while it's up.

Here's the link: http://issuu.com/norathompson/docs/twisted_tales

Happy reading!

New story sample

Here's another story from the Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 1 book. It's the very first story in the book and was instigated by a writing prompt from Mike Arnzen (http://www.gorelets.com) that suggested I "depict an allergy gone haywire." So I did.



Dr. A. is quite the instigator. I've elaborated a little about his role on the book's "About" page here.

Two more days to go on the Kickstarter project! Thanks again to everybody who is helping make this happen!

Hard back cover is finished

When I decided to print a hard cover version of the book, I figured I needed to do it right. I didn't want something that looked cheap. I think any book with the word "Rot" in the title deserves something classy, right?

So the hard cover books will be bound in gray cloth with the book title stamped in gold foil on the spine. They will be wrapped in a full-color dust jacket, and I've attached the jacket image above.


Three more days to pledge on the Twisted Kickstarter project!

I'm getting a little psyched.

The bookmarks are in (and they're beautiful)!

Got the bookmarks back from the printer, and they turned out great. They are printed on recycled, 100lb cover stock with a matte finish. The image attached will give you an idea of how they look. (Pay no attention to that messy, messy desk...)


I originally promised one physical bookmark to everyone who pledged $25 or more on the Twisted Kickstarter project, but I so lied. How about one of each? Can't wait to send them out.


Also, anybody who pledges up to $25 will be able to download pdfs of all three.

Sketchbooklets all around!

With the overwhelming response the book project has been getting on Kickstarter, I'm thinking we can do even more. I would be able to list the book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. as well as keep the book's domain (www.hairyeyeballs.com) and hosting up for an extra five years if we raise the funding goal a bit. But this doesn't mean the project won't be funded if this new goal isn't reached! We've already reached it, and I thank every one of you lovely backers quite sincerely.

I've raised the new funding goal to $2,950, so if the project reaches this new goal before September 17 (or on the 17th, as long as it's before 10 am!), everyone who pledges $25 or more will receive a limited edition physical copy of all the sketches from the book, in booklet form. Limited edition meaning, the booklets will be signed and numbered, and only available to backers of this Kickstarter project. The total number printed will be the total number of backers who pledge $25 or more. Anyone who pledges up to $25 will be able to download their copy of the booklet as a pdf.

When I sketch, I usually draw in pieces and then assemble a final composition in Photoshop. So I'm thinking the sketchbooklet will include not only the direct scans from my sketchbooks, but also the final sketches as they were reassembled in Photoshop. The image attached above is a tentative version of a two-page spread from the booklet.

The countdown is on! Only eight more days to go!

Bookmark designs for Kickstarter

I designed a few bookmarks for backers of my Kickstarter project, and the general consensus was leaning toward the first two pictured here. I added the third design just because I think you're cute. So that means anybody who backs this book project will receive all three of these designs, either physical or virtual, depending on your level of pledge. The designs are at the printer as we speak!

If the funding level reaches $2,950, I'll throw in a sketchbooklet of all the images from the book to anyone who pledges $25 or more. I'm looking to keep the book listed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (among others) for another five years as well as keep the book's Web site up and running during that period, and the new funding level will enable both of those things to happen.

Next up: Print designs...

Twisted Project on Kickstarter

I've decided to launch the book as a project over on Kickstarter, and today is "Day 1" of the 45 days they're giving me to reach my goal. I created an animation for the trailer which also doubled as the project video (see below). It stars "Doodles", an illustration from the book.



You can leave a comment on Kickstarter if you like, and let me know what you think!