(Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some additional exciting updates!)
Hi everyone! And a very special welcome to those of you who are just joining this colorful little corner of the internet! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
So, these past few weeks have been wild. A couple of my social media posts went unexpectedly viral, bringing in a wave of new followers and activity. You remember that modest little Gilded Blood Kickstarter we did for $50k at the end of last year?
Well, we've now raised, uh.... checks 6-page spreadsheet .....$175,000 😅
(To say I'm stunned, flabbergasted, and completely blown away would be a huge understatement.)
Because of that, the initial 1,500-book print run I already ordered and paid for - which was supposed to last me the entire year - isn't going to last beyond this week.
What that means for you: 1,500 books have already been printed and are being bound and glued as we speak. They'll most likely be shipped out sometime next week, and usually take 3-4 weeks to arrive via cargo ship. Andrew and I are already working on adding another 2,000 books to our order, which should start printing soon. Those will be shipped separately - an added cost for me, but it means we won't make those who supported the Kickstarter and/or preordered early wait any longer for their books.
TO SUM UP:
Those of you who have already placed preorders: you're good to go, and your orders are expected to arrive sometime in May, as expected!
Those of you who have NOT yet preordered the omnibus: all preorders made after today (April 2nd, 2024) will be placed in the second print run, which should arrive in June/July.
Regardless of when you order(ed), you WILL get your books. Some will just come a month or two later than others.
Speaking of virulity (viralness?), going viral is a WEIRD experience. You make this post, expecting your usual tribe of 100 or so to jointly share a chuckle with you and then move on with their lives. But then you start seeing comments coming in by the dozens, and next thing you know, you've gone to an hour-long appointment only to come back to several hundred conversations happening on your page, most of which continue to be light-hearted and positive.
At this point, FB/IG/TT will start showing your post to people who don't even follow you, most of whom have been hand-selected by the algorithm to be interested in your content. But the algorithm, as we all know, makes mistakes.
That's when the trolls come.
Now, as a public-facing figure, I'm told not to engage with trolls, to just let them spew their vitriol all over my page and move on. It's the smart and PC way of handling things.
Well, as we've all witnessed, I'm not always very smart or PC 😅
Was my reaction the correct one? Probably not. But did it bring me great satisfaction during a very stressful and overstimulating 24 hours?
You betcha.
Last-But-Important Updates:
I'll be announcing a VERY special passion project involving the Bone Whisperer Chronicles in the next week or two, so keep an eye out!
And finally, I've been invited to be a guest at RARE Edinburgh (one of the largest romance conventions on the planet!) alongside some of my favorite authors, including Annette Marie, Rebecca Yarros, Julie Hall, Leia Stone, Tessonja Odette, Tate James, and Heather G. Harris. (I'm not dying, you are!!!) So if you'll be in or around Scotland this September, let me know!
(And yes, you did read that right. I'll be flying to Edinburgh, Scotland immediately after Dragon Con in Atlanta. Will future Rachel be happy with Present-Day Rachel? Not a chance. But hey, that's a problem for Future Rachel, not me! 😇)
Will you be attending any of the above events? If so, let me know which ones! I'd love to meet you!!
Cheers!❤️
