Third Stretch Goal - Let's get the right image shall we? + BackerKit
over 4 years ago – Fri, Sep 27, 2019 at 01:49:17 AM

Hello, we are all a bit excitable here as we near the end of the campaign and prepare for fulfilment, so excitable that I accidentally posted the wrong image of the third stretch goal necklace in the last update! 

Here is the (correct) necklace you will be getting if you are a printed item backer and we reach £4,000:

Behind the scenes I am testing BackerKit - if you have backed Kickstarters before, you may well have come across this system to help with orders, pledge surveys and fulfilment. For backers it allows you to add-on items such as the original graphic novels and order extra copies of things. It also means we should be able to offer you alternate versions of the necklace to buy and other goodies.

Sorry for the spate of updates - but at this stage of the campaign it's getting a little hectic! A final push and we hope to hit that £4,000 goal!

Second Stretch Goal reached - Let's make it to a third!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 01:12:08 AM

Something Special to Finish With!

There are just four days to go as I write this and we would be really chuffed if we could reach £4,000 by the end of the campaign. 

In fact we would be mad as hops, sporting gigglemugs, and ready for a right old benjo if we batty-fanged the £4000! (Yep, Victorian slang comes in really handy at times like these.)

But how can we persuade new pledgers to join up? Hmm, how about with a fabulous piece of Hopeless, Maine jewellery! 

Introducing our third and final stretch goal -  if we should get £4,000 in pledges before the end of the campaign, then all backers who pledged for any printed reward, will receive this special item - a Hopeless, Maine necklace you can wear (or give as a gift – we should deliver before Christmas don’t forget!).

Attached to a ribbon necklace is a hand-crafted, Hopeless, Maine, glass-domed cabochon featuring a character from Tales of Hopeless, Maine, drawn by Tom Brown. We think this is a fabulous physical reward and a great way to end the campaign in style!

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We're looking forward to the final art card artworks from Doctor Geof and David Morris - but in the meantime, David has sent us this work in progress so you can get an idea of the awesome illustration he is creating for our first (unlocked!) stretch goal reward - which all backers of a printed reward will be receiving. There are some characters and detail to be added to this image - but we hope you'll agree with us that it's looking amazing so far.

Remember – please keep spreading the word amongst friends and on social media - let's hit that third stretch goal!

Pssst. Backers only! Help us to decide.
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 01:03:11 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

First Stretch Goal UNLOCKED! Second stretch goal ANNOUNCED! Last word of a sentence in CAPITALS!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Sep 23, 2019 at 12:04:43 AM

Phew – You know, I’m really having trouble keeping up with all you lovely backers!

Yes, our first stretch goal has been passed, and even before we’ve had time to think, we are on our way to the next!

So what is it I hear you ask? (I do have VERY good hearing).

Well, it’s something slightly different, unique and also awesome. We thought we would stimulate more of your senses, so this one is a musical stretch goal! Yep – it’s a downloadable music track from a legend of the steampunk music scene.

Oh, sorry, did I say one track? My mistake. We have TWO TRACKS from TWO LEGENDS of the steampunk music scene – both songs inspired by Hopeless, Maine.

The first is by chap hop and fighting trouser legend Professor Elemental – if you are a steampunk and you haven’t heard of the good Prof. then you really should look yourself in a mirror and sternly utter “tsk tsk”. For anyone else – check out Professor Elemental’s YouTube channel. This song is the one that features as the soundtrack to our Kickstarter video.

The second is by the amazing and wonderfully creative Walter Sickert & His Army of Broken Toys. They may be less well-known in the UK, but their brand of rock, punk, vaudeville, and splendidly eccentric music is very steampunk and very Hopeless, Maine. (Tom reckons it’s the soundtrack to the Island). Check out their live performance at Sofar Boston.

Both of these downloadable music tracks will be available as stretch goals to ALL BACKERS who pledge £5 or more, when we hit £3,750.

Plus – if we hit £4,000, we have something extra special lined up for backers who pledged for printed books.

Don’t forget the new £25 Art Collectors Package pledge – each one will include a unique piece of Tom’s pencilled artwork – you can upgrade to this level from any pledge level (Early Bird pledgers won’t lose their obituary or tattoos).

I’ll hopefully be able to show you the last two art cards in the next few days – David Morris is working on his and I’ve seen a draft of what Doctor Geof has drawn and I have to say it’s a stunning piece of work.

Remember – keep spreading the word so you can pick up those lovely stretch goals!

HOT NEWS! New Pledge level + Second Art Card Image Revealed
over 4 years ago – Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 02:04:48 AM

Hello fellow Islanders! I reckon it’s about time for another update – and it’s a good one! No, actually, it’s not. It’s a great one! I’ve at least three marvellous things to tell you about.

First a progress update. Thanks to our wonderful backers, we are now more than halfway to our stretch goal, which is really brilliant news. And we have another art card to reveal – see the end of this update.

NEW PLEDGE LEVEL!

The major news is that we have added a new pledge level which includes a piece of Tom’s original art from the Graphic Novel, The Gathering. Below is an example of the type of artwork you can expect. (Artwork is an individual frame or panel and will be smaller than A5 in size).

This new pledge level includes both printed copies of the Tales of Hopeless, Maine books (The Oddatsea and New England Gothic) PDFs of both books, a sheet of tattoos, PLUS an exclusive, one-of-a kind, original artwork frame or panel from Tom’s acclaimed graphic novel, The Gathering. Here’s your chance to own a small piece of Tom’s art for a very reasonable price. For all this, the total for the pledge level is just £25. There are just 50 of these available.

Remember, pledges should be delivered before Christmas and would make great presents!

For those who pledged early – you will be able to upgrade your pledge and still get your exclusive early bird obituary. If you do decide you would like to upgrade your pledge – here’s a useful link: How can I change my reward selection?

Reading from New England Gothic

Secondly, If you’d like to hear the first chapter of New England Gothic read by the author Nimue Brown – follow this link to watch it over on YouTube.  (I’ll be sharing my own reading from The Oddatsea shortly.)

Before I finish – just let me say that we have something a bit different and a bit special planned for the next stretch goal – so keep following, and please tell all your friends, family, workmates and complete strangers about the campaign. The more it’s shared, the more pledges we should get, and the more wonderful stretch goals we can bring you lovely people!

Second Art Card Image Revealed

So, last, but oh so definitely not least, we can now share with you the second piece of artwork for our Stretch goal art cards – it’s a fabulous image by Claire Peacey of Autumn Sky and it is of Jason from The Oddatsea.