In Roaring She Shall Rise is well underway! It is looking like everything is well ahead of schedule to launch the campaign in September!
Cover Artist Found!
I have found a professional cover artist! They are very experienced in cover illustration and design. And, most, importantly, they have experience in and artwork that aligns perfectly with the dark fantasy subgenre. The cover should be complete the first week or two of May 2025 and will likely be revealed in June 2025.
Pledge Rewards
I am working on deciding Pledge Rewards this month so I can work on getting them ready. It's somewhat of a situation as I don't want to offer rewards that will just add to clutter. Plus, let's be real: Merch for books you know and love is far more enticing than merch for Book 1 of a brand new series of an unknown author. So, any merch needs to be very useful or just downright awesome. Many of the rewards will be bonus content for the book or separate but related written content. I plan to have them ready to announce May 2025.
Free Prologue + Chapter 1
Important to the story, the prologue is not a rambling of backstory or the inciting incident, but it explains why Ellyrie is a pirate and... so damn bitter. Chapter 1 sets the scene for where she is now. It will give all of you wonderful people who have chosen to follow this project and are interested in backing, a chance to meet Ellyrie, glimpse the unforgiving world she lives in, meet some interesting side characters, and get a feel for my writing. This will be ready April 2025.
Dying for off-the-cuff posts and comments about In Roaring She Shall Rise and my writing journey? Follow me on BlueSky!
Thank you all for following my project! This book means the world to me. While I am ahead and very well could this campaign sooner, the fact is that I need to keep throwing myself out there so I can find more folks who will also believe in my book. Otherwise, it will be a rather dull book release. Id' rather focus on writing but marketing is a part of the process.
So, I appreciate all the sharing and caring! Once I get the Prologue and Chapter 1 up for ya'll and others, I think I will rest a bit easier. I can talk about my book all damn day but it's not the same as you all experiencing it! For now, I think the teaser page is best for sharing? :)
Until next time.. go find me on BlueSky and come hang out!
-Vanessa
P.S. Here is one artist's rendition of Ellyrie with her baby kraken! My absolute favorite thing about this illustration is how Ellyrie's sad, contemplative demeanor is captured. She is a woman of few words and rather grumpy. Also a bit violent at times. My editor likens her to Logan (Wolverine). But there is pain (and true kindness) under all that and Artemis did a wonderful job at capturing it.
