Greetings Star Seekers,

Today I get to share five exciting things with you.
 

Star Awakened has been proofread, and I ordered the first printed proofs! Production will take about a month before it ships to me, but after that I can place a bulk order for the books ^_^

I also finished formatting the eBooks! All digital tiers should have received an email with a link. Unfortunately, the digital delivery will only trigger once shipping has been paid (I made a mistake when I set up the digital delivery. I am trying to see if there is a way to change it, but only just got back from a 3 week camping/sailing trip, so it might take some time)

I received the full order for Star Found. There were a few damaged in shipping, but they are replacing them, and they should be here in time to avoid any delays since I haven't ordered all the Star Awakened ones yet. But they look so pretty! I will start signing them over the next two weeks ^_^ I never imagined a stack of my own books like this! It is such an amazing feeling!
 

And last but certainly not least, here is the final bonus illustration I added to Star Awakened because of the delay as a way to say thank you for your patience as I navigate the rough seas! I think this is one of my favourite illustrations so far, so I am very happy I had the time to add it to the book.

This art will also be in the Deluxe edition eBook in full colour (depending on your eReader)

I am so happy with how this book has turned out. And while it has taken longer than I originally planned, I think all the delays simply meant that the book got even more beautiful with 3 bonus illustrations added that wouldn't have been a part of it otherwise. 

More exciting news. With tarriff shock settling, the company I originally planned to use to make my boxes are once more shipping to Canada!!! ✨✨✨😍✨✨✨ I ordered all 48 book boxes and whould be receiving them soon! This makes me super happy because I haven't found an alternative in the meantime. 

✨Digital fulfillment will continue to be delivered
✨Once I receive the physical books I will both read through it for errors and make sure everything looks perfect before ordering the final large batch of books
✨Production will take about 6 weeks after I order the books
✨Once I receive the books I will charge shipping and lock addresses. I will also sign all the books during this time. Since there are so many to do, this part will take me 2-3 weeks depending on my other committments when I finally get the books in hand
✨Books will ship and you will get happy mail ^_^ (With a rough estimate around November/December)

While you wait, I would love to invite you to check out my upcoming "D is for Derpies" artbook & pin campaign which will launch in September. But for this one I plan to do something special for early backers with an exclusive pin as an early bird reward! But I will share more information on that later.

In the meantime, come join the Derpy Shenanigans, where my Derpy Dragons take you on a journey of the trials of adulting and surviving this thing we call life!

Until next time!

Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Star Seekers,

Today's update is some long awaited good news! I have finished proofreading Star Awakened, and began formatting the book. I will order the physical proof this week and make sure everything looks good. But in the meantime, I should be able to upload the eBook later this or next week!

I also received the shipment of Star Found books yesterday and went through all of them for a quality check. While one box arrived damaged and a few books were affected, the majority is good! Luckily there is still time ^_^ As I am doing POD, they will all be hand signed by me when I return from camping in August.

There is still a couple months ahead of this, but the end is finally in sight! That being said, I still need to draw the bonus illustration for Star Awakened that I promised to put in the deluxe edition. I will hopefully get that done by next week so I can order the sample with it in it. 
 

Here is the sketch I have so far:

(I can't remember if I already shared this?)

Here is another sneak peek at one of the Bonus art pages I am adding:

I'm so happy that this book is finally coming together, and despite the delays it will be even better than I imagined! And, if anything, the delay just meant more art ^_^

Thank you for sticking with me through this! I am grateful for all of you.

Yours in Art,
Therena

PS: If you love Dungeons & Dragons, and Derpy Dragons, my campaign for Dungeons & Derpies ends in two days. With not only all designs unlocked, but all returning backers will get a FREE mini pin since we exceeded the 100 returning backer mark!

Greetings Star Seekers,

I can finally share some exciting news! I received the proofread manuscript from a new editor I just hired. Now I need to go through everything to make sure the manuscript is as shiny as can be!

I don't know how long this will take. My hope is two weeks, three at most, as I navigate around other commitments and family obligations.

But the hard part is over!

What is next:

The end is in sight. And while it is months after I had hoped, the wait will be worth it.

Thank you for your patience during this delay. It has been really stressful for me to have things out of my control because of unforeseen delays. But now I know that not even FOMO will make me run a campaign until the book is done!

In the meantime, here is the sketch for the new art I am putting in book 2.

While you wait:

I just launched my Dungeons & Derpies Campaign, and would to see you there! I have written a short adventure/quest story, which I will be sharing in the updates. So even if you just follow the campaign to participate in the story, I look forward to see you there!

 
Until next time!
Yours in art,
Therena

Greetings Star Seekers,

A quick update on the book
There's rough waters ahead, but the horizon is visible through the mist... barely.

Book progress (the rough waters and choppy winds):

The manuscript is still with the editor for proofreading. I'd been holding off making an update that was positive that I had it back in hand, but alas, I am still waiting. 🥺
I'm looking at finding another proofreader as we speak if I don't get it back by the end of the week.
But that adds another delay.

Once I get the book back, I will format it and order a printed proof as a final quality check.

Good news (the visible horizon):
In good news, however, I finally managed to set up the Canadian import CARM program and can once more import to me! 🤗 Yay!
This means that I can do what I originally planned for a print run with signed copies!

The mist obscuring the horizon:
Unfortunately, with trade between the US & Canada being caught in it's own storm, the book box company I originally planned to purchase boxes from are no longer shipping to Canada 🥺😭😭😭🥺.

Once more I'm looking for boxes. If I go with the off-set printing, I'll probably use them, however the cost doubles per box. So if I can avoid that price jump without compromising quality, I will. I'll keep you posted either way.

While we haven't weathered the storm yet, at least we are still afloat and headed in the right direction, albeit slightly delayed.

With these delays, I plan to make a bonus illustration for the book as my way of saying thanks for sticking around.

Those without physical books or the eBook have already received your pins! Which makes me really happy that at least some of the haul have washed ashore to their forever homes.

While I know these delays are out of my control, and that they are often part of crowdfunding, I have learned a lot on how I will do it differently going forward. I am very grateful for each of you being a part of this journey with me. And will take what I have learned to do better going forward in future campaigns. (Starting with only "finished" & edited books)

Hopefully my next update will have more good news.

Yours in art,
Therena