About
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Welcome to the Shaman States of America where 2% of the world’s population not only see monsters but hunt them. We have several series show life of Monster Hunter’s in every region.
But what about the other 98 %?
Well, if you are Poppy Schmidt, you’re a retired Texas Ranger that now owns one of *the* upscale soap shop in Jocelyn Square - a fictional neighborhood in Austin,TX, you find that murder keeps happening.
What’s a woman to do?
I'm about to finish the last words on the first book in the series, Handmade Murder.
And for the first time, I want to release a series as an ebook and in print.
But I need your help…!
I created the Beauty Bubble Cozy Mystery series, the first non-monster hunting series in the Shaman States of America universe to fulfill a dream of writing mysteries. I watch TV shows and play video games with monsters.
But I read mysteries. From Encyclopedia Brown in grade school to Agatha Christie in high school to countless authors now, the mystery is the genre I love. And now I have the confidence to write the one I want to read.
Even so, this is very much a Shaman States novel.
We have a wonderful female protag in Poppy Schmidt that was a Texas Ranger (that means that she is tough), happily single, over 40 years old and ready to start a new phase of her life (much like me and many folks like you that enjoy cozies and want the hero to look like us!).
The fictional neighborhood of Jocelyn Square (based on several areas in Austin, TX) is vibrant with the weird, fun and even nefarious characters that will keep you turning pages.
There may be a few familiar faces from the Shaman States.
And by contributing, you are helping streamline production and get the chance to have your input on this new project and allows you to get Handmade Murder 3 months early.
I am also developing the first Beauty Bubble DIY Spa Weekend Box Builder, a craft recipe book where I walk you through making a full day spa goodies for yourself and a friend.
This is exclusive to Kickstarter (the standard book will only have a single recipe).
I’ve written the first book in the series and the marvelous Miss Mariah Sinclair - the cozy mystery cover maven to craft the covers and working adapting the manuscript for audio.
With the book and the covers done, the next steps are to the book to Lynne Stiegler to get the book and audiobook manuscript edited and hire audiobook talent to bring the book to life!
We will also need to have paperbacks for signings, rewards for you (thanks!) and promotional items!
As many of you know, I LOVE monsters - I play them in video games, watch them in movies and write about them in books.
But what fewer know that when I’m reading for the love of it, I read cozies - Miss Marple, Miss Fisher, Dixie Hemingway, Koko & Yum-Yum are all over my Audible account.
My friends and family are shocked - SHOCKED - that I haven’t so far.
So why I haven’t I? Because I wanted to get a few beginner books out of my system and then some good books out into the world before I learned the subtle science and exact art that is cozy mysteries.
Mariah Sinclair is an award-winning designer. During most of her career, she worked for advertising agencies serving Fortune 500 companies, the City of Los Angeles as well as other government entities as a designer and digital marketer. She designed her first book cover in 2001. Now she focuses exclusively on designing book covers for independent authors. Her goal is to create beautiful, engaging book covers made to fly off the shelves!
She’s lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans and currently resides in the quaint Arizona town of Prescott with her two cats that resemble the comedy duo Laurel & Hardy. Mariah also volunteers as an Art Docent, teaching art history and appreciation to children.
In addition to traveling all over the world, Lynne Stiegler has been the night receptionist at a mortuary, the Chief FInancial Officer of an international consulting firm, the Executive Director of a nanotechnology research start-up, and a database programmer. Her latest and most fun profession is editing for LMBPN Publishing. She has edited over two hundred books in the past eighteen months, because indie.
She currently lives in Kingman, AZ with her husband of almost thirty years, her three dogs, and her sixteen chickens (number of chickens subject to change without notice--_not_ because we eat them. Get your mind out of your stomach).
Feel free to jump in with your moneydollars! The more funding we get, the faster we’re able to get the bonuses to you. If it all seems a bit much, then pledge the Da Bath Bomb tier and get both the ebook and paperback, as well as the DIY recipe book bonus.
$5 ~ advance copy of the ebook
$10 ~ ebook, exclusive ebook copy of the Beauty Bubble DIY Spa Weekend Recipe Book
$25 ~ ebook, a paperback (with the DIY included), DIY ebook
$40 ~ ebook, 2 copies of the paperback (with the DIY included), DIY ebook, YOU appear as a customer!
$75 ~ ebook, 2 copies of the paperback (with the DIY included), DIY ebook, YOU appear in as a character in one of the holiday short stories (not the novel) - and you get a copy of that story too!
$100 ~ ebook, 2 copies of the paperbacks (with the DIY included), DIY ebook, YOU appear as a customer and get to name and describes the person that dies!!
Here is a visual guide of these rewards:
Here is a breakdown of how your pledges help create this book. I know I said it before, but as an indie author, I’m not only responsible for writing the book, but also all of its production.
That includes securing Lynne time as an editor to make sure that the story flows in print and in audio, as well as a proofreader to make a final check and make any needed changes.
It means scheduling Mariah’s time to ensure that the cover in on genre and lovely.
And it also means getting the books and rewards to you on time.
Where the money-dollars go:
The aim is to release Handmade Murder in August wide to all outlets.
But for you, the bonus will be delivered in March, the ebooks will be delivered the week of April 30th and the prints will be shipped about three weeks after.
Here’s how the break looks:
Risks and challenges
To be sure, the most significant risk would be if Handmade Murder doesn’t get completed. But since I have a lot of accountability and a first draft, you don’t have to worry about that.
That said if you back at a level that includes providing information for a character, getting that info to me as soon as possible reduces the delay in the future drafts.
We could also have a delay in editing. Lynne edits for some heavy hitters in the indie community, so it isn’t uncommon for my books to get bumped for up to a couple of weeks.
The logistics of printing and shipping print books is another challenge that I have full faith that Prolific Works will take care of that seamlessly. But if there are issues that come up, I will notify you as soon as possible with solutions and alternatives.
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Funding period
- (30 days)