First Life Duet

Hope you are having an incredible weekend! Did you know tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox? I don't generally follow that stuff, but I find it crazy that we are going into fall when the weather is still so beautiful (at least it is here in Eastern Canada). I love summer, but I also can't wait for cozy sweaters and pumpkin-spiced everything!

But I digress. This morning, I did a livestream with a few other authors from Booktopia, where we discussed our characters and campaigns. It was a blast, and if you missed it, you can find the replay here. Slight warning, I sometimes get nervous when talking unscripted and might share spoilery tidbits about certain characters. Do with that information what you wish.

I put the other campaigns below, in case you want to check them out!

As always, happy reading!

P.S. Only five days to go!!!

Amanda


Sombulus
Three world-hopping adventurers - a flippant magic scavenger, curious tinkerer, and zealous paladin - solving the weird magic problems they find and the ones they create! An all-ages fun fantasy graphic novel series!


DIRE Contact
What do you do when a stranger disintegrates right in front of you? If Good Omens and Dr. Who had a baby – that is DIRE CONTACT! Be part of the birth of Space World!


Reimagined: The Relic Saga
Relic Trilogy gets a new chapter! Special edition softcovers & special edition hardcovers with bonus scenes, plus early access to two new books to complete the Saga.


The Eyes of Mandoral
A new and complete epic fantasy duology with regular and special edition books, following a character-driven story of found family trying to stop a magic-wielding queen from saving the world.

Booktopia (and the First Life Duet campaign) ends in seven days. Just one week left!

But that doesn't mean it's over ;) We still have two active stretch goals (chapter headers at 1250$ and the book's timeline at 35 backers), and I would love for us to get to an illustrated case laminate cover before the campaign is up. Do you think we can do it? (I definitely do!)

If you want to hear a little more about the characters in mine and a few other Booktopia books, check out our livestream on Saturday morning at 10 am (EST). Claudia and I should both be there, and I can't wait to introduce you to Tristan and Alison <3

Also, if you happen to have kids in your life, here are two awesome kidlit projects from Booktopia. They are nearly at their funding goals, and each helps kids be more understanding and accepting of differences, which I thing is great. Check out My Body Beeps and If Shapes Could Eat :)



My Body Beeps
Follow Katie in MY BODY BEEPS! as she navigates hide and seek while managing diabetes, teaching lessons of self-care, empathy, and embracing differences.



If Shapes Could Eat
The TASTIEST campaign you've ever tasted! But it's a picture book... about trying new foods and having a good relationship with food. The tastiest kind!

We did it again! Thanks to the amazing 29 of you, we reached our first stretch goal of me sharing which actors and actresses played the characters in my mind when I was writing. And you don't even have to wait for the campaign to be over, I included it below ;) (for backers only, of course!)

I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed, followed, shared, or just been encouraging during this crazy process. Booktopia has been an exciting adventure, and I am learning so much about what you guys are interested in and how to use crowdfunding platforms to not only make the best book projects, but also to build the strongest connections with those who would like to read the books. (I'm also always open to suggestions if there are swag items or stretch goals you'd like to see, maybe even characters you want to hear more about)

Our next achievements are twofold, which gives us a better chance of hitting more stretch goals before the campaign ends in a little over a week (eight days, if we're being specific).

First, once we reach 35 individual backers, I will include the book's timeline in the duet. Since Alison and Tristan aren't always together, it might be helpful to have a reference of what happens when, and for anyone who read the Owens Chronicles (Prophecy, Destiny, and Legacy) this is a way you can figure out how much time has gone by since we last saw Lucy, Gabriel, and everyone else ;)

Second, once we hit 1250$, the Duet will get awesome chapter headers (one for Alison and one for Tristan) from @mynameisjehhtattoo <3 So far they look really cool!

Once, thank you all for being here, and if you have a chance, you can check out all the other incredible booktopia projects here.

Happy reading!

Amanda

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We are just over a week into Booktopia and things are going swimmingly! 42 of the 59 booktopia projects have funded and First Life Duet is one of them! As a quick recap, everyone who pledged in the first 48 hours got an adorable sticker (which is now available as an add-on), while everyone who also backed The Owens Chronicles Anniversary Edition gets The Decoys in Florida bonus scenes, and those who backed both me and Claudia Blood - at a physical tier - will receive three oracle cards and a box that can hold the entire deck!



There's also a tally at the end of each pledge, so you can see how many Booktopia projects you've backed, and once you hit five, you get a sleek metal bookmark straight from Backerkit. I am so excited for all the cool swag I will be getting in the coming months. But even more thrilled that First Life Duet is doing so well, thanks to my 18 wonderful backers!!!


I'll be working and attending birthday celebrations this weekend (one of them an Abracadabra-themed children's party - very exciting) so I won't be as glued to the campaign as I would like to be, but I think it would be really cool if we hit our first stretch goal by Monday...If we do, I'll not only release my fan casting of the characters, I'll also include some character bios ;)

Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Amanda

P.S. If you want a taste of the content, I've been embarassing myself by reading chapters online, so you can find First Life Chapter 4 here, and Tristan Chapter Nine here. And if anyone replies to this update asking for more, I just may release the one with Tristan's inciting incident...

Thank you so much for all of your pledges! Your support means the world to me, and helps more people get to know Tristan. It also lets me indulge my newfound addiction to character art (and the stickers that inevitably come with them ;) )

I've been a bit MIA over the past few days because I've been with family, at my day job (background work on movie sets, which really isn't work most of the time!), and at the absolute best surprise party in history. I may be slightly biased, but my friends and family showered me with so much love, and life-size prints of the character art from my last campaign. It was the best night ever, and I am so grateful to them. And to you, for following on this journey.

Claudia Blood's campaign also funded, and since she is my cross-collab partner for Booktopia, that means that anyone who backed both of us at a physical tier will also get 3 oracle cards from me, and a box that holds the entire deck from her! Yay us (because you know I backed hers as well, lol)!

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart <3

Amanda

P.S. Our current stretch goal is me letting you in on the actors and actresses I pictured when writing the characters, then the next one is making First Life Duet even better through custom chapter headers by Jehh Tattoo! She already designed one, and it is awesome!