Hello everyone,
This week I want to talk about the incredible rewards that will be on offer via the kickstarter for †3 Dark as well as the plans for †3 Dark long term. There’re so many exciting and exclusive rewards, from such a variety of creative talents, that it really is unlike anything else out there.
SPECIAL REWARDS
For those who just want digital editions of †3 Dark, never fear, you can go for that too. But today I want to talk about some of our more outlandish and unique rewards.
Firstly, let’s talk about Gamut magazine. There are going to be 2 major rewards relating to Gamut.
- THE GAMUT : There are going to be a limited number (5) of 1 year subscriptions available at a ridiculous knockdown price (and it will also include all 13 digital editions of †3 Dark + extras) of £40.00. Considering Gamut subscriptions normally go for $120.00 (and boy are they worth it given the sheer amount of content you get), this is an absolute steal. I’d like to say a special thanks to Richard Thomas and the Gamut team for providing these to us.
- THE CONSUMMATION: The second reward is going to be a special ‘double subscription’, all 13 physical paperback editions of †3 Dark alongside a 1 year subscription to Gamut plus a ton of extra books and exclusives. This is a more premium package priced at £220.00 but one that will set you up for an incredible year of content (over 500,000 words, 150,000+ of which will be in beautiful limited edition paperback). Want to immerse yourself in powerful modern fiction? Want to be at the cutting edge of publishing? This is the one for you.
Next, I’d like to talk about my novel Nekyia. Nekyia will be available via the reward ‘THE SEER’ (including digital editions of †3 Dark plus extras) and in various book bundle packages.
Nekyia is the collected Four Horsemen novellas & The Fifth Horseman novel in one 720 page, 170,000 word volume. This has been the work of 5 years, numerous edits and revisions, and immense personal upheaval. In some ways, it is a sequel to my first professionally published novel The Darkest Touch.
Nekyia, in different forms, was accepted by 3 publishers and then reneged; though it was heartbreaking at the time to be ‘so close’, I now see it is for the best, as I can deliver Nekyia in the form it was always intended: a unified epic tome. To finally bring it to you, blazing at the forefront of †3 Dark, feels incredibly fitting and is quite emotional for me. There will be just over 1000 unique pre-release copies of this novel available to order via the kickstarter. This will include digital editions of †3 Dark and other extras thrown in. Want to know more? Check out the blurb below.
All must perish; all must rise.
Across time, across worlds, the dark prophets are surfacing. And above the rabble of maniacs and heretics are four supreme lords. A weaver of illusions. A life-drinking mastermind. A psychotic scientist breaking with reality. And, highest of all, The Prince with his hypnogogic eye. Where the horsemen go, hunger, death, terror and sickness follow. As their dark plots unfold, their paths will converge, centering on a city only spoken of in dreams.
There are also those who resist the end times. A wolf-woman. A desert seer. A cripple. A fortune-teller. And the Last Knight. From the slums and shadows come these defenders of the old ways of life, but how can they face the dark when it is unified and they are disparate, lost, broken?
Lines will blur in the darkening city. Secrets kept beneath its black stone will unspell the rule of tyrants and reveal the hidden fate of all wayward souls. Light will meet dark. Dark will meet deeper dark.
And all will perish; all will rise.
REVIEWS
From Dark Prophets Press:
‘Nekyia is the collected Four Horsemen and The Fifth Horseman in one almighty tome, a composition of four novellas and one novel which tells an epic saga of apocalypse and unlikely redemption. As harrowing as it is moving, as graphic as it is surreal, Nekyia is a vision of the end times that will surely haunt its readers forever.’
From Clare Jarvis, publishing beta reader:
‘Bringing together characters from The Darkest Touch and Four Horsemen in this climactic finale, Sale’s characters continue to jump off the page… It is clear that Sale has an in-depth understanding of the human psyche at its limits and harnesses this to make the reader curious about even the most gruesome characters like Dr Monaghan. At one moment, I was nearly brought to tears and at many other points my heart was in my mouth showing Sale’s understanding of the human psyche goes beyond the characters to the reader too.’
Praise for the author:
‘I have not read an indie author like Joseph Sale anywhere… a literary genius in the making.’ -Christa Wojciechowski, Author of the Sick series
‘I could not put it down…this is really a writer to watch.’ – Leslie Gardner, Artellus Ltd
‘Atmospheric, chilling, and emotional. The humanity and depth of the characters shines against the backdrop of space, a setting which is hauntingly realised. A very well crafted journey from start to finish.’ – Samuel Parr
‘…an original story full of twisted characters who, despite being almost impossible to like, are nevertheless compelling and complicated.’ – Danielle Bentley
COVER DESIGNS & EDITING
I’ll also be offering special publication packages via the kickstarter rewards in which you can get your hands on editing, coaching and graphic design work! If you want to support the kickstarter but don’t have time to read all the amazing stuff we’re publishing, why not choose one of our packages for fine-tuning your book?
Want to make your novel live? Want a truly striking cover for your self published book? We are the team you want to work with! We really care, for a start, and we’re experts! Our reward ‘THE DREAMER’, for £80.00, offers you complete proofreading and editing on your novel and a unique cover designed for you by myself and Grand Failure.
To get a taste of our work, check out the cover of Nekyia & the †3Dark material, including the concept wall & logo and the cover of our first story Bethesda. For the editing and coaching, we’ll be showing testimonials from various writers who’ve benefited from my coaching during the lead up to the kickstarter to give you a flavour of the immense difference coaching can make to your work.
FUTURE PLANS
†3 Dark is just the beginning. I’ve had quite a few people asking about submissions and openings. The sad news is that †3 Dark‘s story quota is already full with solicited stories from 13 fantastic writers. The good news is that once †3 Dark is launched, and if it proves successful (I have every faith), then there will be follow up projects which will include open submissions and unique writing concepts, such as:
- a multi-author novella collection of stories written in the same universe
- an anthology of dark fiction accompanied by concept artwork
- a graphic artist and writer collaboration
- and many more ventures!
These can’t happen, of course, until we get our feet off the ground with †3 Dark.
The kickstarter for †3 Dark is not just kickstarting one project, but a whole revolutionary way of creatively thinking about storytelling. I hope that concept is as thrilling to you as it is to me. The aim is for this to get bigger and bigger until it’s not just †3 Dark, but †0,000 Dark, †00,000 Dark. You get the drift.
That’s enough from me for now. If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, feelings or ideas, feel free to leave a comment below!
Take care of yourselves out there (and don’t forget to follow @project13dark)
Adieu!
@josephwordsmith
Joseph Sale: Graphic-Horror Writer 