Dinocalypse and Evil Hat Fiction: Where We're At & Going In 2014
Hail, adventurers!
It's been ten months since we last updated you. We're busy running the Spirit of the Century themed card game Zeppelin Attack! kickstarter — but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about the Dinocalypse!
So where are we at?
Next Up: Stone's Throe
C.E. Murphy's Amelia Stone novel is in editing! The first pass should be done by mid-month, with revisions and layout to follow. Chances are very good you'll have it in your hands within the next couple months. We've gotten the cover art done — again, by the amazingly talented Christian St. Pierre — so we should be able to fast-track the book once it's ready.
Speaking of that cover art, here's your look at it!
In it you'll see races across the rooftops of Paris, masked goons, Egyptian artifacts, Josephine Baker, and the Green Eyed Monster. Not to mention the untimely death of your fellow backer, Kiera Knapp (thanks again for your support, Kiera). Stay tuned!
What Remains: The Pharaoh and Forever
Both Brian Clevinger's The Pharaoh of Hong Kong and Chuck Wendig's Dinocalypse Forever are seeing some delays. In both cases it's largely due to those guys being all, y'know, successful and stuff. The nerve!
Brian is continuing to work on his Benjamin-Hu-driven novel (conceived as a trio of interconnected stories) whenever his Atomic-Robo-driven schedule allows it. Which is to say not often, but it continues to move forward. We SUPER appreciate Brian making the time for us given how bright and shiny and time consuming Robo can be, and we're very happy with what's been written so far. Regardless the timeline on this one remains up in the air.
Chuck's star has been rising rapidly, and that's given him a big plate covered in projects. A few months back we talked things through with him and determined that a 6-month bump on writing Dinocalypse Forever would be smart. (This is why you don't have it yet!) We're looking at delivery of the first draft in June, with editing and revision to follow. This should still keep us well on track for a release later this year.
But, oh, yeah. We got the cover art for Dinocalypse Forever done too. Wanna see? (You do. You totally do.)
We know you're burning with questions about this one. A few answers: Yes, that T-Rex is holding the Walking Mind with its stubby little arms. Yes, it is in fact trying to eat Jet Black's jetpack. Yes, that is a crystalline-bubble city from a prehistoric era. Yes, something is streaking out of the sky on a collision course with it. Yes, yes, yes. We can't wait either.
How The Line is Doing
The best way to sum up the health of Evil Hat's fiction line is ... enh? It's doing okay, but breaking into the fiction market — especially with zany, game-tie-in, new-era pulp is tricky at best. Right now none of our fiction titles are really in the black as far as sales vs. expenses (including author advances), though one or two hover close to the mark. This Kickstarter represents the bulk of the revenue we've gotten for each title. (You can review all of Evil Hat's sales numbers in our latest quarterly post.)
Getting into "the trades" — traditional bookstores and, by extension, Amazon — with the physical books has been iffy. When we release a new title we see a few hundred copies get sold within the first couple months, and then it slopes off really rapidly; then a few months later, the trickle of returns begins. It's never quite so heavy to turn into more of a stream, but it's steady enough (even as a handful of copies get sold here or there) that it can feel a little depressing even when the actual percentage of books returned is not particularly high.
We'd love to see these books take off, though. And you can help — if you've read and enjoyed our stuff, please review it in places with high visibility. GoodReads is a solid place to do it, as is Amazon, and plenty of other places. The more folks visibly happy with our stuff, the more likely it'll convince other folks to buy in as well.
You don't have to, of course — you've already done so much for our fiction efforts by backing this project, our first Kickstarter — but if you can spare a few minutes to share your thoughts online, we'd much appreciate it. :)
And regardless, we hope to see you over on our card game Kickstarter, Zeppelin Attack! — assuming, y'know, you like games, pulp villains, zeppelins, weird weapons, and big explosions. (Something tells us you might.)
Thanks again for everything folks, and we'll see you in a couple months with Stone's Throe!
