The Kindle Edition is live, and the Kickstarter stage of The Blue Beacon is nearly complete.
9 months ago – Tue, Sep 05, 2023 at 04:13:56 PM

Backers,

What a journey! 

This project launched at the end of May with the hopes we'd raise enough to orders some boxes of The Blue Beacon and get the story started in the world. Well, our mission was accomplished. In the past 90 days, we raised over $11k together, more than enough to print a few hundred copies and bring The Blue Beacon into publication.

This campaign was a joy to work on mostly for how it brought community in. From the decades-long conceptual stage, through the more recent editorial phases, and all the way through this Kickstarter, you were vital to bringing this book to life.

And you remain vital! Because now we are in the next stage. The Blue Beacon is now available on Amazon in Kindle form, and your word-of-mouth will keep this story rolling! The novel is now free to flit about in the world along with Milo the hummingbird. At least digitally. 

Along those lines, my old friend Rod Richards, one of the most prolific readers I know, was the first to review the book on his Facebook page:

This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it exceeded my expectations.  The story of a badger, marten, raccoon and a flying squirrel in the area around the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette.  All the prime mammals (that would be us) are gone.  There are various alliances around the area and conflict didn't leave with the departure of the humans.  Each of the main four characters are wonderfully written and Jordan knows how to set a scene and make you feel like you are there in the midst of the action.

I would recommend this for anyone who likes fantasty and animal adventure.  The only problem with liking it so much that I know I have to wait awhile for the next volume in the series.  10/10

My friend Ryan Barrans also sent me a very kind text.

The story was great, good pacing, and I liked the short chapters so I could pick it up and read a bit whenever I had a free moment. It often made me hungry with all the descriptions of food. 

Hopefully there are many more reviews to come, though I greatly appreciate this feedback for now. Meanwhile, I'm waiting on Audible to approve of The Blue Beacon audio edition. All files are submitted to ACX standards, and they await review before entering the Audible marketplace. The wait for this could be a few days, or up to a month, but most likely the Audible Edition will be available in the next week and a half.

I also plan to offer print copies of The Blue Beacon through a Shopify store I'm setting up. Along those lines, do you have any experience setting up Shopify stores? I could use some help! 

Anyhow, in both cases I will let you know when the various editions are live, even if you already have all this stuff. If you haven't received your books, or are having trouble with your digital files, please let me know!

I feel reasonably certain of returning to Kickstarter again for future projects, but for the meantime, this ongoing Cascadian adventure will continue over at Substack, which many of you are already signed up for. (Substack subscriptions will also be available to higher level supporters, though only of your volition.) CascadiaChronicles.com is where I'll keep fans updated on The Blue Beacon and whatever's happening with Book 2.  Please join us there!

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the story, and if you've read and enjoyed the book, and feel so inclined, please drop a review on Amazon.

Thank you, friends!

Jordan

Unless you ordered the audiobook, it's only good news.
9 months ago – Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 11:48:06 PM

There are two versions of this email. This is the one with only the good news. The bad news was I botched the audiobook delivery, but I'm working on it.

• All but 16 orders for The Blue Beacon's Kickstarter backers are shipped. Many backers received their copies this weekend, and many more will arrive over the next few days. To all the folks who've shared their deliveries so far: thank you! I feel glad each time I see they arrived safe.
• A few early reviews from hard-core readers are trickling in and I am overwhelmed by their kindness. This book started as a way to dabble in this world, to be a sort of Hobbit-style precursor to a more substantial fantasy series. I wanted a basic tale to start all this off, and I'm hearing that worked, that readers want more of the world, and that it's fun and nicely-paced. 
• The last bit of good news is that backers who ordered the ebook version (Greenhorn, Oak Brigade, High Ranger, and Cascadian Councilors) should've received that order by now! The audio version should be finished shortly, and the digital editions will be available in the pre-order store and in other markets shortly.

There's good news (about the ebooks and paperbacks) and bad news (about the audiobook).
9 months ago – Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 11:36:27 PM

First the good news: 

• All but 16 orders for The Blue Beacon's Kickstarter backers are shipped. Many backers received their copies this weekend, and many more will arrive over the next few days. To all the folks who've shared their deliveries so far: thank you! I feel glad each time I see they arrived safe.
• A few early reviews are trickling in and I am overwhelmed by their kindness. This book started as a way to dabble in this world, to be a sort of Hobbit-style precursor to a more substantial fantasy series. I wanted a basic tale to start all this off, and I'm hearing that worked, that readers want more of the world, and that it's fun and nicely-paced.
• The last bit of good news is that backers who ordered the ebook version and the audiobook version (Greenhorn, Oak Brigade, High Ranger, and Cascadian Councilors) should've received that order by now! You'll find links in your email.

BEFORE YOU DO HOWEVER...

There's some bad news, which is I messed up the audiobook delivery. Please don't open the audiobook! Nothing catastrophic will happen (it'll just open as a flurry of individual files rather than one cohesive audiobook) but it's not a clean delivery and I'm super-irritated this happened, even though I'm 100% at fault for not checking to see how distribution worked before delivering to everyone.

I will work to remedy this issue tomorrow. In the meantime, the eBook version is good to go, and a revised audiobook file will still hopefully be delivered by September. 

There is also progress on a digital storefront, and I'll plan to release the book officially as soon as is reasonable. I'm looking forward to The Blue Beacon finding a general market! In the meantime, you can order from me directly over at our Pre-Order Store.

Books: On the Way!
9 months ago – Sat, Aug 26, 2023 at 04:17:40 PM

Friends, I've got some hot & fresh updates for you. This whole Kickstarter project is nearly wrapped up!

 Update No. 1 

The audio edition of The Blue Beacon is recorded and mastered. I am currently figuring out how to properly distribute the audiobook to you with instructions for listening. From what I understand, the file won't be something you can just play on Audible. You might need iTunes, Spotify, or some other digital player to hear those files. Either way, I plan to send supporters the eBook and audiobook versions in the next week.

 Update No. 2 

There's a good chance your copies of The Blue Beacon are currently wending their way across our great nation toward you! We packed and shipped most of the orders on Thursday before running out of cardboard mailers.  Here are some pictures of our squad in action, taken by our shipping manager, Ashley.

The next morning, Lana and I took these over to the post office and dropped them off in a wheeled basket at the loading dock. Sending them out felt satisfying and also a little unnerving. This book isn't perfect, and I could spend years tweaking and refining the story. But I kind of already did that! And The Blue Beacon was always meant to be read, so now it's time for this little book baby to fly off into the world. 

As to the rest of the orders, they will be shipped soon. The new mailers arrive tomorrow, and we have Cascadia Council orders still ready to pack. There are also, it must be said, backers who haven't provided their addresses! If you haven't filled out that whole BackerKit survey, please do that soon or I'll have to track you down one-by-one (via email). 

Otherwise, I'm hoping to have all orders shipped out early next week.

After the majority of the packages were mailed, I set about my next task: delivering the book to my neighbors. I figure if you live near the events in this book, you deserve The Blue Beacon delivered personally. A few who were nearby to the post office were driven their copies, but the rest of my Multnomah Village/Hillsdale supporters received their deliveries via bike. 

There are a few other copies to hand deliver on Sunday to family and friends in Southeast Portland. I worked as a courier and delivery driver back in the day, so this aspect of the shipping process feels like a fun way to brush up on those skills.

Update No. 3

My sense from early readers is this is a good, engaging story, and the refrain is: We want more.

Those expectations are slightly terrifying, if I'm being honest! And yet, I also feel ready to write the next book. I loved this process, and I love that readers are responding to this artistic vision, and I have more of the story to tell.

So Book 2 is taking shape. I don't know what it will be called, and the main arcs of the story are only loosely mapped, but the details of the story are begining to fill in and that exploratory part is fun. Like, just in the last week I had some plot points revealed which both filled me with glee (upcoming scenes in Book 2) and caused me to weep (key realizations for much later in the series). I cannot quantify to you how grateful I am to be the conduit through which the world of Cascadia is revealed! 

In turn, thank you for your steady enthusiasm. Your support and encouragement for this book fills my heart and I appreciate you folks cheering through each step of this process.

What's next 

I'll soon have to choose the book's official launch date on Amazon, and establish my own online store besides.  I'll keep you in the loop about this because I'll need your reviews! In the meantime, look out for your digital and analog copies to arrive imminently.

Enjoy The Blue Beacon!

The books have arrived.
9 months ago – Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 02:32:39 PM

The boxes are now safely stowed away and I'm moving a little slow on finishing up the audiobook editing today. That's alright because I still plan to submit the files for mastering early next week. With every piece moving into place, I feel confident in delivering a large portion of the orders by the end of August. That's an estimation, to be clear. All I'm saying is we're on track.

Okay now back to editing.🫡