Hello, CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 backers!

I’ll feel I’m overdue in letting all of you know how things are going, so here’s an update.

1) First, CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 opened to submission on Oct. 1. (The guidelines are here.) Again, thanks to all of you … without your help this step would be unthinkable. We’ve already received over 200 submissions, with more coming in every day. I’ll keep you folks updated as the book comes together.

2) Second, with the exception of CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 (obviously) all of the e-books that are being offered as Kickstarter rewards are ready. Kickstarter allows me to send official backer surveys only once, so if you pledged $20 or more, I will not be sending your official survey until CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 is ready. However, if you’d like me to go ahead and send you the e-books of the previous three CLOCKWORK PHOENIX volumes and the three bonus stories, here’s what you need to do: send me an e-mail at mythicdelirium@gmail.com, or message me through Kickstarter, and in that email message tell me what format(s) you want to receive the books in: your options are PDF, EPUB, MOBI, a combination of any two, or all three. It would be helpful if you also tell me the amount of your pledge, to make it easier for me to check you off in my spreadsheets. (IMPORTANT: If you message me through Kickstarter, tell me what email address you want the books sent to. Because if you don’t I’ll have to ask you anyway.)

3) Third, a detailed breakdown of how rewards are going.

3a) Because this Kickstarter has a lot of moving parts, my goal has been to tackle it a piece at a time. My first goal was to collect all the backer names for those who want to be listed on the CLOCKWORK PHOENIX website acknowledgement page and in the acknowledgements of the completed CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 anthology. At present there are 208 names on that list. However, there’s still room for more. If you’re a backer and you’re not on this list (click here to view) and you want to be on it, send me an email at mythicdelirium@gmail.com, or message me through Kickstarter and spell your name out for me exactly as you want it to appear.

3b) My second goal was to take care of the rewards for the people who pledged in the $5 to $15 range. This is mostly done. To my puzzlement, two backers in the $10 category have not yet filled out their reward surveys. I very much want to give these two people their rewards. So if you happen to be one of those people and you’re reading this, please fill the survey out — or, if for some reason you can’t do that, email me at mythicdelirium@gmail.com and I’ll get you squared away.

3c) My third goal was to take care of the people whose rewards include a 1-year or 2-year subscription to Mythic Delirium. All of those folks have responded to my request for their addresses: thank you so much! The monkey wrench here has been than I’ve had unanticipated problems with cover art that have delayed the release of Issue 27, the newest issue. I’ve taken steps to take care of this, but it will still be a couple weeks yet before it’s ready. So stay tuned.

3d) My fourth goal is to get the remaining e-book rewards (again, with the exception of CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 itself, which isn’t ready) out to those who’d like them now. I am going through category by category and sending messages to backers asking them their ebook format preferences. However, if you don’t want to wait for me to message you, you’re welcome to follow the steps I outlined in paragraph 2 above.

3e) At present, my plan is to send all rewards that involve the shipping of physical books out at the same time, which means they’ll go out once the CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 paperback is in hand. This includes the Cherie Priest chapbook, copies of the first three CLOCKWORK PHOENIX volumes and of my poetry collection, THE JOURNEY TO KAILASH, and the tote bag rewards.

3f) Craft items by Anita, on the other hand, will likely go out as they’re completed. (She’s still working on those pins.)

4) Okay, fourth, I thought I should mention that the new web market for fiction and poetry made possible by that final $2,000 push (again, thank you) is in progress, though in its very early stages. The new website that will house it is in the process of being built. My plan is to open a submission window in the spring that will seek stories and poems for the first six months of the new webzine and also collect poems for issues 29 and 30 of the print edition of Mythic Delirium. It should be quite the bonanza.

5.) Further complicating these things, though at present not causing any schedule problems: CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 is not my only book project at the moment. My first novel, THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO, is scheduled to to appear in late November/early December as an e-book from Black Gate. My first short story collection, THE BUTTON BIN AND OTHER STORIES, is scheduled to appear this coming March from Dagan Books.

6) Still have questions? If any of you have any questions, at any time, feel free to shoot me an email at mythicdelirium@gmail.com or message me through Kickstarter.

7) I will alert all of you if anything changes, and as more things develop. Whew!