Many, many years ago—sixteen years to be exact—I came up with an idea and wrote a comic book miniseries called Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails. I didn't spell "pirate" wrong. For you see, it was a comic book about rats that were pirates, and it was about one of their tales, not "tails."

The infamous Captain Blacktail and his crew of swashbuckling rats set sail upon the high seas in search of a treasure equal to the ransom of kings upon kings. Many would-be plunderers have set forth to claim the treasure of the Cat O’ Nine Tails—only never to return. A young mouse known as Pip will find his life forever changed as he journeys to uncharted waters on an adventure with Captain Blacktail and the rat crew of the Vile Vermin.

Targeted for young adult readers and fans of fantasy and adventure stories of any age, Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails contains swashbuckling action, mystery, intrigue, and a unique perspective on pirates in the arts and popular culture. One might describe Pirat Tales as Pirates of the Caribbean meets Redwall, or Treasure Island meets Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.

The original Pirat Tales comic books were to be comprised of five issues for a complete tale about The Cat o' Nine Tails. Unfortunately, the series was canceled after only two issues (though I had completed the scripts for all five issues).

Not to be defeated, I planned to release Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails in its entirety somehow, sometime. The finished comic book scripts sat on multiple hard drives on multiple computers, collecting proverbial dust. Having tried as a comic book, I felt that perhaps a novel, or novella to be exact, was the next logical option.

I had a detailed outline in the form of a 110-page comic book script. All I had to do was add more adjectives and adverbs and reformat it into a proper manuscript. Sprinkle in a couple of new illustrations, and the result was a self-published 130-page novella that retained the original title, Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails. Without any fanfare, I quietly released the book on Amazon among the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of other self-published books by indy authors. However, I'm rather certain that the other titles aren't about a rat pirate called Captain Blacktail sailing aboard a ship called the Vile Vermin.

But I was not satisfied with leaving Pirat Tales as just a fun swashbuckling story about a world of pirate rats. As the title suggested, it was a tale, and tales are meant to be told. And a tale such as this deserved to be told with spoken word. I wanted to "hear" about the Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails, not just read about it. (Although the novella is an entertaining read.) I found the perfect voice to tell my tale of pirats with Peter Walters, whose spellbinding narration perfectly captures the true spirit of a swashbuckling pirate adventure.

And that brings us to why we're here—to crowdfund the Audiobook version of Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails. If you haven't clicked on the video up top yet, do so now to get an earful of what the audiobook is like.

There are four pledge levels, each with their own rewards, or booty, as they would say aboard the Vile Vermin.

For your $6 pledge, you will receive a download of the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails audiobook. You will also receive all digital stretch goal rewards.

For your $10 pledge, you will receive a download of the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails audiobook and the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails in both eBook and PDF format.  You will also receive all digital stretch goal rewards.

For your $18 pledge, you will receive a download of the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails audiobook and a paperback copy of Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails. If you choose, the paperback can be signed (with personalization or not) by the author at no additional charge. You will also receive all digital and physical stretch goal rewards.

For your $24 pledge, you will receive a download of the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails audiobook, the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails in both eBook and PDF format, and a paperback copy of Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat o' Nine Tails. If you choose, the paperback can be signed (with personalization or not) by the author at no additional charge. You will also receive all digital and physical stretch goal rewards.

If additional treasure ye seek, here it be. What's a crowdfunding campaign without stretch goals and add-ons, right? So, here you go...

I have commissioned a bonified sea shanty about pirates that will be added to the audiobook and available as a separate MP3 file. This earworm will have you dancing a jig on the deck of your sailing vessel or in your car during your commute. Click here for a 15-second preview.

Digging that wicked rat skull and crossed swords Pirat logo? It would make a killer tattoo, right? An approximately 3" temporary tattoo of the rat skull and crossed swords image will be added to all physical awards.

This will be announced once the $1200 Stretch Goal is reached.

This will be announced once the $1800 Stretch Goal is reached.

This will be announced once the $1200 Stretch Goal is reached.

If you missed out on the early bird incentive of the 5" x 7" Captain Blacktail & Pip Print on Linen Paper, you can still select it as an add-on with your reward. The same is true if you would like the Pirat Skull & Cross Swords Enamel Pin offered to previous backers of Ølvl media's previous BackerKit campaign.

What about shipping and a timeline? I'll keep it short. You should be able to download your rewards shortly after funding for digital goods has been cleared. For physical goods, they should ship within a few weeks after funding has cleared. Shipping will be in the neighborhood of $4 - $7 in the United States. As for the rest of the globe, you're looking at anywhere from $10 - $25, depending on the final destination.

The estimated timeline: The campaign will run until October 31st. Surveys should go out sometime in November (fingers crossed). I hope to have everything shipped before we are too deep into the holiday season. 

Thank you for considering and supporting the Pirat Tales: Legend of the Cat O' Nine Tails - Audiobook crowdfunding campaign. Please spread the word if you would be so inclined. I can only yell about it to my friends, family, and followers so much before they threaten to make me walk the plank.

Again, thank you. 

Dan
Ølvl media