What can you say about Dyrk Ashton that others haven’t already said? I am frankly at a loss, however I will say that his first book, Paternus, has place on my shelf of books that must be read. It takes so many myths and legends, weaves them into each other so smoothly you come to think that maybe, just maybe, this is actually the way it was intended to be all those thousands of years ago.
I will refrain from too much lyrical waxing and let him tell you why he is here today. Over to the myth, the legend, the leg end, the foot, the toe, that is Dyrk Ashton!
First, a huge thank you to all the fabulous folks at
Fantasy-Faction for hosting this article about my little Kickstarter. It really
is an honor for me, especially considering I owe much if not all of any success
my books have had to Fantasy-Faction choosing my first book, Paternus: Rise of Gods, as their
finalist for SPFBO 2016. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t know most of the
wonderful people I know now, and I honestly believe very few people would be
aware of my books.
And though that book was released in May of 2016, it has never been available in hardback. I could have gone with POD through Ingram Spark, but I wanted something more special, with niftier materials and foil printing than IS provides. That means ordering in quantity through a regular printer, the cost of which adds up pretty quickly. And there’s always the worry – will enough people really want them?
As nervous as I was to try it, Kickstarter really seemed like the way to go. I hesitated to invest the time and effort for a long time, but friends encouraged me to do one, and helped me tremendously once I decided to take the plunge. I was honestly really nervous it wouldn’t fund – I’m incredibly happy today to be able to say I have been proven very, very wrong. I find it hard to express just how surprised and happy I am at the response so far.
To my utter shock, the Kickstarter funded in just over 24 hours after it launched on October 29, and we’re already into stretch goal two, which will be to have the books printed in color, with artwork by the amazing Ed Binkley to be completed in color as well (stretch goal one was to have an illustration done in b&w).
Due to the overwhelming response to this Kickstarter, I will definitely be doing one for book two, Wrath of Gods, probably something like late next summer, once the dust settles from the May 19 release of book three, War of Gods.
I cannot thank my readers and this unbelievably supportive community enough. This really is a dream come true. 🙂
All the very best,
Dyrk
You can visit Dyrk’s Kickstarter here and learn more about his work on his website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Jennie Ivins