About this project
NEW YORK, 1887. Put on your Sunday best and board the steamboat Lorelei for mystery, intrigue and romance on the Hudson River in the Gilded Age.
One night the Lorelei's captain finds a wounded mermaid hanging from the side of his ship...
A reclusive bestselling author, a French shipowner, and the crew and passengers all come into it, as we ply the Hudson from Manhattan to Albany and back. Eventually three love stories intertwine into this densely plotted mystery.
Sailor Twain is an adult graphic novel thousands of readers keep coming back to, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at www.sailortwain.com.
I've been working on Sailor Twain for about seven years, and 200 of the 350 some pages of the story are done. I work on the final pages in charcoal in my studio, early every morning.
Though Sailor Twain will come out as a printed book in 2012, the work is serializing as a webcomic—free and ad-free.The accompanying blog is filled with historical bits, process snapshots, and the dialog with readers has been extraordinary. A number of them even send their photos and appear as cameos in the story.
Giving it away online is still an experiment from a publishing standpoint. The measure of its success will be in the number of readers it gathers along the way, and sales for the book.
There's more on Sailor Twain at the ABOUT page, plus links to articles and interviews.
So the plan for me is simply to keep telling this story. This Kickstarter supports the serial with a campaign to grow its online audience. Any money raised here goes only to ads for driving traffic to the free serial. Ads will most likely focus online, and include comics sites, of course, to keep it visible there and give back to the comics community in the process.
Sailor Twain speaks to many readers who don't usually read comics, let alone webcomics. With your help more of them will find their way aboard the Lorelei.
Thank you.
And . . . see you onboard!
*
P.S. Some of the gifts for pledges:
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
93
Backers
$7,820
pledged of $7,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on July 4, 2011.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
A 5x7" print of Twain and the sleeping mermaid, signed by the author.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
3 limited-edition Lorelei letterhead cards, with Twain artwork on reverse, and matching envelopes. Their design is based on genuine 1880s steamboat stationery.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
3 Lorelei letterhead cards; and a signed limited edition Sailor Twain print (8 x 10").
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
3 Lorelei letterhead cards. A signed limited-edtion print. And a signed first edition copy of the book when it comes out (2012, from First Second Books.)
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
3 Lorelei letterhead cards. A signed limited-edtion print. A signed first edition copy of the book. And hand-crafted Sailor Twain jewelry creation: "The River Opener" pendant, by Allison Hourcade of RockLove.com.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
3 Lorelei letterhead cards. A signed limited-edtion print. A signed first edition copy of the book. And an original piece of Sailor Twain artwork, signed and matted.
Project By
Has not connected their Facebook account.
Illustrator of award-winning picture books. Editorial Director of First Second, a Macmillan Publisher. Grew up in France. Works in New York. Wears different hats.
