Hey everyone, thank you for your continued patience. We are still wrapping that final story for the book to go to press. In the meantime, we are going to continue digital distribution of the individual stories and today are also releasing 5 of the 10 remastered episode mp3s.
Just to note again - when the full book is compiled, you will also receive the official complete PDF digital edition of the book.
Today, we are sending "To Have and to Hold" by Emmy Award-winner Dean Haspiel! And we are sending the episodes "Devil's Due", "Valse Triste", "Until Dead", "He Dug It Up", and "Death Robbery"!
You should have already received an email for this, but you can also go into you survey and click the "Get Your Digital Downloads" button:
In our next update we will be sharing "The Giant" by Madeleine Rosca and the additional 5 LIGHTS OUT remastered episodes!
Thank you for your patience on this project. We are still waiting on one final story for the anthology that is just about wrapped up before we can go to press. In the meantime, we'll be sending out PDFs of individual stories in each monthly update. Of course, when the full book is compiled, you will also receive the official complete PDF digital edition of the book.
Today, we are sending "Rabbit" by Justin Jordan and John Bivens! You should be getting an email for this in, but you can also go into you survey and click the "Get Your Digital Downloads" button: You'll then see the option to download the story:
Look out next month for "To Have and to Hold" by Dean Haspiel as well as the remastered original recordings of the LIGHTS OUT radio show in mp3 format for download!
As we continue to get the book ready for print, here is a behind-the-scenes look at development on the Charlatan story featuring commentary from creator Leeanne Krecic!
Character Design:
Initial Design: In this design, Quinn’s core features are beginning to come together. I envisioned him with a Dark Academia aesthetic, but with a Gothic edge. I pictured him tall and lean, with silver hair and pale skin -- someone who looks almost ghostly or unwell, like he has one foot already in the grave. I liked the idea of him having long hair, but the red eyes didn’t sit right with me. I briefly considered making him albino, but that direction didn’t quite click. His look also felt a bit too feminine and polished, which didn’t align with the rougher edge I want his character to have. Overall, he came off a little too clean-cut for the role he’s meant to play.
Second Design: In this design, the Dark/Gothic Academia style is still present, now with a few added piercings and his hair worn down. He’s also in a chemise and a darker color palette. That said, his face looks far too soft here -- he doesn’t come across as a "Charlatan." Instead, he looks more like someone’s kind older brother in cosplay. I did like the addition of the glasses, though; they feel like a fitting prop for him and add a bit of intrigue.
Final Design: In this final design for Quinn, I moved away from the red eyes entirely, opting instead for a pale blue-gray tone to enhance his ghostly appearance. I trimmed his hair and added more layers to the cut, and scaled back the ear piercings to avoid the full “edgelord” vibe. His clothing palette became more varied, incorporating deeper, earthy tones while still keeping with the overall dark aesthetic. I kept the glasses and top hat, and added a cane -- or possibly an umbrella -- to complete his set of accessories. To better reflect his sly, scheming personality, I gave him a snarky, toothy smile. I also added dark circles under his eyes to suggest that rest doesn’t come easily to him.
Quinn is a morally gray character -- part anti-hero, part reluctant guardian, faux villain, and full-time cynic. When I described him to a friend, they said he sounded like a cross between Dr. Gregory House from House and Crowley from Good Omens -- which honestly feels spot on.
Logo Design:
First Logo Design: This logo was an early, rough concept -- the idea was to shape the word Charlatan like a key. I threw it together quickly, mostly just to have something to look at for a while and see if any interesting or clever ideas might emerge from it with time. Second Logo Design: This is another one of those designs I made just to sit with for a bit -- messing around with the idea of the logo having a more gothic feel. Nothing final, just seeing if anything interesting comes through after staring at it long enough. Third Logo Design: Here, I was playing around with adding some extra design elements to the logo -- things like hands, a planchette, and sparkles. I liked this direction because it hints more at Quinn’s line of work and brings in some visual interest. Fourth Logo Designs: With this one, I was going for something that felt like a vintage sign -- the kind you'd see painted on the glass door of a fortune teller’s shop. I played around with themes like angels and devils, life and death. In the end, though, it all felt a little too busy for what I was going for. I also looked at some old circus and fairground ticket art, including Zoltan's cards, to get more ideas. Final Design: This version of the logo leans into that vintage, theatrical vibe I’ve been circling -- something you might see painted on the glass of an old fortune teller’s shop. I wanted it to feel a little mysterious, a little dramatic, but not over the top. The lettering is a bit extra on purpose -- kind of showy, kind of charming -- which felt right for Charlatan and Quinn.
We don't have much to update as of now - 92% of surveys have been completed, which is great!
From a production standpoint, stories are being finalized, and we hope to get prepress underway over the summer. When books are ready for the printer around that time, we'll be able to distribute the PDF version, ideally along with the MP3s of the recordings.
We are still on track for our estimated October fulfillment, so more updates to come!
We are pleased to tell you that our BackerKit surveys have begun to go out! Thank you for your patience as we prepared them.
PLEASE NOTE: BackerKit will send surveys in waves over the next two days, sopleaseallow up to 48 hours for your survey to be processed and sent to you. If at that point you still have not received one please check your spam folder, and check that the email you used on Kickstarter is the email account you're checking.
If that doesn't work, you can click the link below to enter the email address associated with your survey and BackerKit will send you a new one:
https://lights-out.backerkit.com/
Surveys will remain open for about 30 days. Once locked we'll have proper order numbers so that we can begin going into production on items! :)
Additionally, if you or someone you know missed the campaign and wants to still get in on the action, we're accepting late pledges here!
