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Hey, hey Bloodlings!

I hope you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy. Today, I have another monthly update for you.

TLDR: Challenge coins have arrived and they look great! I have instructions on how they, and the pins, work. Still figuring out who to purchase the prints from, but I narrowed it down to two companies. I jumped the gun and went ahead and ordered the stickers, and they also came out great! Art for Rimi and Indigo is complete. Though there is no character print option for them since we didn’t hit the $1500 stretch goal, I will still include their pictures in the book. The book is in the editing stage with plans to complete all edits by early May and ship between late May and early July. I’m sending smoke tests in the next week and surveys shortly after the smoke tests are complete so I have an accurate count of everything that needs to be ordered.

Challenge Coins and Stickers
So, I received the challenge coins, and I’m pretty impressed! I posted two separate videos on Instagram to show what they looked like. The first video is me unboxing them, but it doesn’t show the glow-in-the-dark feature all that well. The  second video shows what the glow-in-the-dark should look like. The secret to getting the coins to glow in the dark is to put them under direct light for 3-5 minutes before taking it into a dark space. The same rule is applicable to the vampire teeth pins. If you want to make a video of your coin or the pins, the effect doesn’t show up well if you try to record directly through Instagram, so you have to record on your phone first and then post. But, this is how the coins turned out: 

I was supposed to send y’all a poll about which five stickers you wanted; but, honestly, I didn’t have the patience to look at another poll and see minimal interaction (sorry!), so I made the executive decision to pick the sticker designs for you and, boy, am I happy with the result!

I posted a video on Instagram of the stickers, and I think y’all will be happy too. Instead of five stickers, everyone will receive fifteen. Here’s what the sticker sheet looks like:

Indigo and Rimi Character Art Sneak Peek
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen a sneak peek of Rimi’s art, but I wanted to share the concept art for both her and Indigo. We didn’t hit the $1500 threshold for me to purchase character art prints, but their pictures will be included in the book. That said, if y’all end up adding $467 in add-ons as a collective, I can definitely put that option back on the table. 

Blood Lies Book
Blood Lies is in the editing stages. I hired an amazing editor named Megan to do line and copy edits. As long as we remain on schedule, the line edits should be complete by the end of March, beginning of April. After that is the round of copy editing, which should be complete by the first week of May. Sometime in between that, I have a section that needs to be sent to a sensitivity reader. I’ll be looking into finding someone who can do that job. After the editing and sensitivity reading is complete, I’ll apply for the LCCN. It will take a few weeks for the LCCN to be approved; but once it is, I can send off the copyright application and then officially publish the book!

After that, it’s just a matter of getting a proof copy and checking for any errors before ordering the book en masse.

Smoke Tests and Surveys
Since I need an accurate count of rewards before I order the prints and the book, I will be sending out smoke tests next week. Once those are completed, I’ll send out the surveys. When surveys are sent, you should fill them out immediately! Filling out the surveys immediately allows me to order everything on time.

Overall, I’m so excited that we’re at the stage where the book is almost complete and I’m able to send out surveys. Overall, we’re looking at reward completion by early July at the latest (but, hopefully sooner). In the next post, I’ll be sharing the finalized art for all seven characters! And, as always, I’ll keep you apprised of what’s going on with the project up to completion. Have a great rest of your weekend! 

XOXO

J.S. Living

Hey, hey Bloodlings! 🩸🩸🩸

I hope all is well and that you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy! I think it’s been a month since I last spoke to y’all, so I’m here with an update.

TLDR: Indigo, Islyn’s, and Rimi’s plots have been updated to match the character’s emotional journeys. They’ll be different from what was in the description. I’m still working on writing and editing, but the fully edited first draft is almost complete. The Challenge Coins have shipped and I should have them in hand soon. Sneak peek of Indigo’s and Rimi’s art coming soon. I still have to sample/order character prints, stickers, and proof copy of the book. Surveys will be sent after I receive and approve the proof copy of the book. Delivery of everything is pushed to May, unless things get worse. Then, we’re looking at July.

As it states in the title of the update, there have been a few developments in terms of the plot of the short story collection.

As with all stories, my characters have a mind of their own; and, the story I planned on telling for Islyn, Indigo, and Rimi, are not the stories my characters want to tell—no matter how hard I try to stay on track with what’s in the description.


That said, I do think the new stories have more depth and will connect better emotionally while still maintaining some of the themes I listed. When the book is finished, I’ll update the description of the affected stories. I’m still writing, but I can see the end of the tunnel. If all goes well, I’ll have a fully edited first draft by the end of the month and will be able to send it off for editing after that, and then the other logistical things like copyright, LCCNs, ordering, etc.

Speaking of ordering, I have an update on that as well.

As I said in the previous update, I was able to order the Challenge Coins and they’re being shipped as I speak.

I also have a new character artwork for Indigo (which is exciting!) and my other artist is hard at work on Rimi’s art. When I have both pieces, I’ll share a sneak peek with you in an update. What I can say is that Indigo’s piece is perfection! It looks exactly like I imagined—especially the fore/background and the facial expression. I think y’all are going to love it!

I stil have to choose a printer for the character art. I did a test print at my usual place, and the colors came out all wrong, so it’s back to the drawing board.

The next thing I’m working on is getting sample stickers. Once I have samples I can show you, I’ll send out a poll in an update so y’all can vote on the five designs you want on the sticker sheet.

The only other thing I’ll have left to do after that will be to order a proof copy of the book. Once it’s finalized, I can begin packing and shipping.

On the topic of packing and shipping, I still have to send out surveys.

You can expect surveys to go out once I’m at the stage of ordering a proof copy of the books. So, for those who are concerned you haven’t received a survey yet, that’s why. I like to make sure I have all the items I’m packing and shipping ready to go before I send out surveys. This means the sticker poll and other things I mentioned above have to be taken care of first. This brings me to my unfortunate news.

It looks like delivery for this project will be delayed past the month of April.

I was really looking forward to getting Blood Lies out to y’all on time. But, these past few months have been a lot between holidays, my job, writing, and my personal challenges. Right now, we’re looking at a month’s delay, so your products will be sent in May. The goal is to ship everything before I attend Imaginarium Bookfest at the beginning of June.

However, in the worst case scenario where everything goes wrong, I’ll shoot for a July deadline to line up with another convention I planned on attending (although, I haven’t received confirmation that I’ve been selected yet).

This is not the news I wanted to leave you with, and here’s hoping that everything falls in place and I don’t have to push back anything; but, I promised to keep you informed of delays, so this is me doing that.

I sincerely apologize for the delays, but I will continue to update you on changes as they happen.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop them in the comments. Thanks!

XOXO 

J.S. Living

Hey, hey Bloodlings!

It's the end of January, so I figure it's a good time to check in with you.

I'll start by saying my health condition has been flaring up and down over the holidays, and even into the new year. It's been a roller coaster of a ride, especially with my full-time job piling on new responsibilities.

I'm grateful I'm able to work with a chronic illness, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't come with challenges. 

So, in that vein of information, I have good news and bad news.

The Bad News

Because of my chronic illness, I haven't gotten to the editing stage of this project yet. I hoped I would be in round two or three of edits. Instead, I still have three stories out of the seven to complete.

I'm also still working on getting a few more pieces of character art for the book since we didn't meet that stretch goal, and I have to cover it out of pocket.

That said,  the ones that are completed look really damn good.

The Good News
 
Although I'm still writing the three stories, they are fully outlined. This means the process of the actual writing should be done by end of February—barring I don't have any other setbacks.

I still fully intend on delivering on time,  even if I have to pay the editor double out of pocket, so you dint have to worry just yet. And, if the production the is moved back further, I'll let you know immediately. I swear on this magnetic tile house I built with my nephew...

Since I'm behind on writing and editing, I thought it would be nice to order some of the campaign items so they're ready to go when the books are complete and ready to ship. I'll send you photos of them as they move through the production process. First up is The Challenge Coins! 

Here's the proof I was sent today:

I think it looks amazing, and am going to approve it later today. 

What about you? Do you like it?

Happy Holidays Bloodlings!

I hope you're happy, healthy, wealthy, and enjoying time with your families!

Today I wanted to take a moment to thank you again for your support of Blood Lies. Here's a quick update of where I'm at on everything:

The next update for this campaign probably won't be until January. Expect them to ramp up closer to completion of the project. In the mean time, happy holidays!

XOXO

J.S. Living

P.S. I'm participating in the 2025 Holiday Mega Sale hosted by Space Wizard on r/Fantasy for the benefit of the Mary Cariola Center. Over 300 authors are participating, and over 650 books will be free or $0.99. If you missed out on my books during my last two campaigns and the pre-order store, this is the perfect time to grab a copy!
 
In addition, I'm also offering 15% off all items in my online store! Use code CHEER to take advantage. This offer is only open to those on my email lists and those who followed or backed my campaigns, so you don't want to miss it.