Athena's Daughters, Day 6: Positive Press, Another Preview, and The Rewards Rundown
Day 6, and we are over 16K and climbing, thanks to front page press on Jezebel, The Mary Sue, and i09. Frankly, it's surreal and totally awesome to see our project sharing page space with articles about Jennifer Saunders, Paul Dini, Peter O'Toole, and the fact that someone has created Hogwarts-house themed high heels. I'm so thankful to everyone for contributing and spreading the word about our project. You guys are amazing.
I'll give you a revised version of the Rewards Rundown, now updated to reflect achieved stretch goals. In addition to any items specifically pledged for, all contributors at the $5 level and up are now getting:
-a digital copy of the “Athena’s Daughters” anthology, now also featuring stories by authors Nisi Shawl, Tanya Spackman, E.J. Lawrence, Tera Fulbright, and Tricia Barr
-an email from one of our authors, personally thanking you for your contribution
-a digital copy of two Danielle Ackley McPhail novels (The Halfling's Court and Yesterday's Dreams)
-a digital copy of Gail Z. Martin’s short story bundle including “Vanities,” “Buttons,” and “Steer a Pale Course”
-a digital download of Maggie Allen’s album Last Call, recorded with her band Naked Singularity
-a digital copy of Cynthia Ward’s short story “Gabriella”
-a digital copy of Sherwood Smith’s novel Crown Duel
-an anthology cover upgrade, created exclusively for our book by artist Tietjen Alvarez
-a digital download of Jean Marie Ward's short story bundle "Four For More"
-a digital download of the audiobook of Danielle Ackley McPhail’s collection of short stories, Flash in the Can.
-a digital download of Gail Z. Martin’s Jonmarc Vahanian short story bundle, including “Raiders’ Curse”, “Caves of the Dead”, and “Storm Surge,”
-and last but not least, a digital download of Janine K. Spendlove’s novel War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human.
And that's not all! Here are four more stretch goals on the horizon:
At the $17,000 level, all backers who have pledged at the $5 level and up will receive a free digital download of Tera Fulbright's short story "Fires Within the Blank Page."
At $17,500, we'll add another story to the anthology, this time by author Jennifer Brozek. Jennifer is an award winning author and editor who has been writing roleplaying games and professionally publishing fiction since 2004. She has won awards both for her game design and for editing.
When we reach $18,000, all backers at $5 and up will additionally receive a free digital download of Ginger Breo's illustration of the goddess Athena. Additionally, backers who purchase print copies of the book will receive a free 5x7 print of Ginger’s art.
At the $19,000 level, backers pledging $5 or more will also receive a free digital download of the audiobook for Janine K. Spendlove’s novel War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human.
I want to leave you with another story preview, so you can get an idea of the type of work that will be featured in the anthology. Maggie Allen's "Lunar Camp" is about a thirteen year old African-American girl named Bee who spends her summer vacation at camp on the moon. As Maggie says, "her passion is botany and growing plants, so you can imagine her excitement at spending a summer learning about moon rocks. Lunar Camp ends up being more than she bargained for in so many ways..."
You can read an excerpt from Maggie's story here.
Per usual -- if you or someone you know would like to contribute to our anthology, or would like to hear about it, link them to it!