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ECLIPSE disaster
1 min read
Hey friends,
I'm not sure how many of you actually come to the group for your Weaponry reading, rather than just snacking on pages from your notifications, but Eclipse has made it impossible for me to accept comic pages to the group anymore. The notifications are visible, but every time I try to click on them to accept the comic page, it boots me back to my private notifications.
No idea how to fix it, and DeviantART is patently opposed to listening to its users' feedback or, y'know, actually making a functional website, so I don't know if this is something that can be fixed. If any of you have found a way to troubleshoot this problem, please let me know.
And, as always, thank you for reading!
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New Year, Who Dis?
4 min read
Hello friends and scallywags!
2020 has arrived, and I'm still standing . . . mostly. I don't often post written updates, or insights into my personal life, so I hope you'll bear with me for a bit of a long one.
2019 brought a lot of changes:
1. I got a promotion at work which required me to quit my second job and that no longer pays me commission.
2. It has required me to go back to school for training (twelve courses to be precise; so far I've finished two).
3. This has cut down on my creative time, as well as time for anything else, like hanging out with my friends, exercising, or (my one true love) writing.
4. I lost a bunch of followers, either from dwindling interest, websites shutting down, hosting expiring, or other factors.
5. I received more commissions than every before, which has been great to make up for some of the challenging points above, but has also meant even less free time.
So, where does that leave me, and Weaponry?
This comic launched in 2011. It has 4 print volumes out, ran 4 IndieGoGo campaigns, has had readers as far away as Belgium, the UK, and Pennsylvania, and has resulted in keychains, art prints, t-shirts, bookmarks, post cards, stickers, hand-puppets, brass medallions, and plushies. It's also been the cause for me to create 446 documents (so far) and invest several thousands of dollars. It has never made me any profit. This has always been a labour of love. Sure, I once had dreams that it would take off, build a following, spawn otome game spin-offs and all that.
Now, 9 years and 14 chapters later (if you count the origin stories, and don't count chapter 8 which just started), I have to ask myself where do I go from here. I'm so close to the end of the original plan for 10 chapters (each with a bonus back story) . . . relatively speaking. But at 1 page a week, that's still approximately 3.5 years more work to do.
I'm tired but I'm stubborn. I don't want to give up. But I've been getting more and more anxiety and disassociation whenever I have to work on this comic. I want to bring it to a healthy conclusion for you readers who have stuck with me this far. What's the solution?
Ember, my partner, suggested that since my one true love is writing, I should just write the rest of the story. That sort of works, but it still doesn't feel right to just abandon chapter 8 mid-artwork. I propose the following: A) Re-script the end of Weaponry to take place in 2 chapters, rather than 3; B) Continue in B&W for the remainder of the comic to cut down on the time it takes me to complete a page (and the wait times for you to get updates); C) Provide the remaining 3 bonus origin stories in written format, along with sharing the written Crossbones vignettes as Patreon exclusives. This would mean we could potentially see the comic finished by the end of this year.
If these changes would mean you wish to unsubscribe, or even cease reading, I fully respect your choices. After all, I'm here to entertain you, that's all. If you would keep reading, please let me know. It's been a long road, and I want to ensure all our journeying hasn't been for naught.
Thank you for reading! Astra
P.S. If you didn't know, I write short stories, RPGs, and novels. If you like my storytelling, please check them out. There are queers in all of my projects!
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Legend of the Quill Pre-Order
2 min read
Hello, hello, hello!
After a mad-cap pace and gruelling schedule, which may have permanently bloodshot my eyes I am happy to report:
Legend of the Quill is ready for print!
For those of you who read First Born, this is the next book in the Ul-Zaorith world, and the start of an epic high fantasy trilogy!
The book clocks in at just over 440 pages, and is illustrated by yours truly. It will be released at this time only in soft cover. The selling price is only $25 and you can pre-order your copy here: www.astracrompton.com/legendof…
If you're outside of the Victoria area and would still like to order a copy, please send me a message and I can get a shipping estimate for you. I will be basing my initial order numbers off of the Pre-Order interest, so if you want one, now is the time to get in on this great deal! I'll be signing and doing a sketch in each copy for the Pre-Order, and you'll get a limited edition bookmark to go along with it, so please do order a copy!
For those who aren't familiar with Quill:
This is an epic high fantasy, in the tradition of saga stories. If you like books like The Malazan Book of the Fallen, or Lord of the Rings, or The Eternal Champion, you will probably like my book. It does contain some scenes that may be too graphic for young or sensitive readers. Buckle in for magic, sword fights, ancient prophecies and mischievous Demons -- all set in a unique and fresh setting with new races and cultures for you to explore. I've spent 15 years building this world, with history, languages, maps, flora, fauna, gods and magics, so I truly hope you'll take a chance on me and read The Prophet's Tale, Book One: Legend of the Quill.
After a mad-cap pace and gruelling schedule, which may have permanently bloodshot my eyes I am happy to report:
Legend of the Quill is ready for print!
For those of you who read First Born, this is the next book in the Ul-Zaorith world, and the start of an epic high fantasy trilogy!
The book clocks in at just over 440 pages, and is illustrated by yours truly. It will be released at this time only in soft cover. The selling price is only $25 and you can pre-order your copy here: www.astracrompton.com/legendof…
If you're outside of the Victoria area and would still like to order a copy, please send me a message and I can get a shipping estimate for you. I will be basing my initial order numbers off of the Pre-Order interest, so if you want one, now is the time to get in on this great deal! I'll be signing and doing a sketch in each copy for the Pre-Order, and you'll get a limited edition bookmark to go along with it, so please do order a copy!
For those who aren't familiar with Quill:
This is an epic high fantasy, in the tradition of saga stories. If you like books like The Malazan Book of the Fallen, or Lord of the Rings, or The Eternal Champion, you will probably like my book. It does contain some scenes that may be too graphic for young or sensitive readers. Buckle in for magic, sword fights, ancient prophecies and mischievous Demons -- all set in a unique and fresh setting with new races and cultures for you to explore. I've spent 15 years building this world, with history, languages, maps, flora, fauna, gods and magics, so I truly hope you'll take a chance on me and read The Prophet's Tale, Book One: Legend of the Quill.
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Legend of the Quill Fundraiser is Live!
3 min read
Ladies and gentlemen!
After 15 years of hard labour -- mapping out an entire world, learning languages, culture, history, fashion, cuisine, religions, flora and fauna -- I am proud to present Legend of the Quill - Book one of The Prophet's Tale!
In order to take this epic tale of adventure to print, I'm running a Pubslush campaign to fund the Offset printing. This would enable 500 copies to go to print in a glorious, Canadian-made, deluxe embossed, illustrated and signed limited edition.
In order for that to happen, I need your help!
Please check out the campaign: pubslush.com/project/5634
Pitch in whatever you can, share the link, tell your friends, get this thing out there and seen!
Are you a fan of the arts? Do you like gritty high fantasy like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings or The First Law? Do you like cool swag like bookmarks, audiobooks, posters, custom illustrations or limited editions? Do you like world building, alien races, diverse pantheons, or in-depth magic systems? Then you should definitely check out Legend of the Quill!
Even if you can't afford to pitch in cold hard cash, you can still be a part of the magic! I'm running two raffles that are totally free to enter:
1) Share the Poster:
(see the post for details)
2) Share the Link: pubslush.com/project/5634 on your social media (twitter, tumblr, dA, facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc). For each channel you post it on, you get one entry. Send me the link, and I'll reshare it on my channels as well, which means you get some return exposure. It's a win-win!
I've got only 45 days to raise $10,000 dollars. For each $1000 threshold we clear, EVERYONE who has pitched in gets automatic upgrades to their perks. It's a team effort, and everyone will be rewarded by better and more stuff the closer we get to that dream goal. Join the party and help us get one step closer to that finish line!
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement! With your help we can make this dream come true!
After 15 years of hard labour -- mapping out an entire world, learning languages, culture, history, fashion, cuisine, religions, flora and fauna -- I am proud to present Legend of the Quill - Book one of The Prophet's Tale!
In order to take this epic tale of adventure to print, I'm running a Pubslush campaign to fund the Offset printing. This would enable 500 copies to go to print in a glorious, Canadian-made, deluxe embossed, illustrated and signed limited edition.
In order for that to happen, I need your help!
Please check out the campaign: pubslush.com/project/5634
Pitch in whatever you can, share the link, tell your friends, get this thing out there and seen!
Are you a fan of the arts? Do you like gritty high fantasy like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings or The First Law? Do you like cool swag like bookmarks, audiobooks, posters, custom illustrations or limited editions? Do you like world building, alien races, diverse pantheons, or in-depth magic systems? Then you should definitely check out Legend of the Quill!
Even if you can't afford to pitch in cold hard cash, you can still be a part of the magic! I'm running two raffles that are totally free to enter:
1) Share the Poster:
(see the post for details)2) Share the Link: pubslush.com/project/5634 on your social media (twitter, tumblr, dA, facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc). For each channel you post it on, you get one entry. Send me the link, and I'll reshare it on my channels as well, which means you get some return exposure. It's a win-win!
I've got only 45 days to raise $10,000 dollars. For each $1000 threshold we clear, EVERYONE who has pitched in gets automatic upgrades to their perks. It's a team effort, and everyone will be rewarded by better and more stuff the closer we get to that dream goal. Join the party and help us get one step closer to that finish line!
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement! With your help we can make this dream come true!
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Exciting News!!
3 min read
Well, it seems that all of my hard work is finally paying off. I'm really excited by recent turns of events, and would like to fill you all in:
First - Legend of the Quill is going to crowdfunding! That's right! After 15 years of work (world building, illustrating, editing, formatting), I finally found a company that is capable of affordably producing my dream binding for this book!
However, in order to do it, I have to order 500 copies (which is 5 times more books than I've ever sold of any of my previous titles). In order to facilitate this dream, I will be running a Pubslush Campaign to raise the needed funds. Pubslush is very fast-paced, so it needs all the supporters to be funding RIGHT out of the gate, and that means I need to start building hype! So, please! bookmark the campaign link - legendofthequill.pubslush.com. I'll be posting up a notice when the campaign has gone live, so please check it out, donate for fabulous perks, share the campaign, and win a little piece of my soul!
Second - Which brings me to my second piece of news: my new job! As many of you know, I went through a divorce, and it forced a lot of change in my life, including (not insignificantly), the need for a new, higher-paying job. Now, I wanted to ensure that I was doing something I loved, rather than just transferring to another dead-end job like the one I was in. I am now working part-time as a teacher at the Community Centres in Victoria, teaching Creative Writing and Making Comics. I am also working full-time for FriesenPress Publishing, a self-publisher. I'm able to apply all my knowledge from having self-published 6 books to date with my creative passion to help others print their books! Our quality and attention to detail is fabulous, so if you're thinking of publishing a book, let me know and I can hook you up with some sweet deals.
Third - Recognition. It's an artist's lifeblood, and I'm finally getting some. I'm so so grateful to all the people out there who have recommended me for contests, or who have encourages magazines and conventions to get in contact with me. Thank you all!! The result of which are some amazing milestones for me: I won first place at the GottaCon Cosplay Contest (my first 1st place finish) for my Zia costume from Bastion. I will be a special guest at the Camosun Comic Arts Festival (April 11th) and at IFcon (October 31st). My book, First Born, is in the running for the Self-Published Fantasy Slushpile Contest. My articles will be featured on various online blogs/magazines over the upcoming months. And my Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Astra-C… has surpassed 250 likes!
So, if you'd like to be kept in touch for events that I'm putting on (including workshops, readings, conventions, etc) and new releases of my work (comics, novels, cosplay) - please follow my Facebook page, and sign up for my Mailchimp list: eepurl.com/biWGCr
Up, up and away!
First - Legend of the Quill is going to crowdfunding! That's right! After 15 years of work (world building, illustrating, editing, formatting), I finally found a company that is capable of affordably producing my dream binding for this book!
However, in order to do it, I have to order 500 copies (which is 5 times more books than I've ever sold of any of my previous titles). In order to facilitate this dream, I will be running a Pubslush Campaign to raise the needed funds. Pubslush is very fast-paced, so it needs all the supporters to be funding RIGHT out of the gate, and that means I need to start building hype! So, please! bookmark the campaign link - legendofthequill.pubslush.com. I'll be posting up a notice when the campaign has gone live, so please check it out, donate for fabulous perks, share the campaign, and win a little piece of my soul!
Second - Which brings me to my second piece of news: my new job! As many of you know, I went through a divorce, and it forced a lot of change in my life, including (not insignificantly), the need for a new, higher-paying job. Now, I wanted to ensure that I was doing something I loved, rather than just transferring to another dead-end job like the one I was in. I am now working part-time as a teacher at the Community Centres in Victoria, teaching Creative Writing and Making Comics. I am also working full-time for FriesenPress Publishing, a self-publisher. I'm able to apply all my knowledge from having self-published 6 books to date with my creative passion to help others print their books! Our quality and attention to detail is fabulous, so if you're thinking of publishing a book, let me know and I can hook you up with some sweet deals.
Third - Recognition. It's an artist's lifeblood, and I'm finally getting some. I'm so so grateful to all the people out there who have recommended me for contests, or who have encourages magazines and conventions to get in contact with me. Thank you all!! The result of which are some amazing milestones for me: I won first place at the GottaCon Cosplay Contest (my first 1st place finish) for my Zia costume from Bastion. I will be a special guest at the Camosun Comic Arts Festival (April 11th) and at IFcon (October 31st). My book, First Born, is in the running for the Self-Published Fantasy Slushpile Contest. My articles will be featured on various online blogs/magazines over the upcoming months. And my Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Astra-C… has surpassed 250 likes!
So, if you'd like to be kept in touch for events that I'm putting on (including workshops, readings, conventions, etc) and new releases of my work (comics, novels, cosplay) - please follow my Facebook page, and sign up for my Mailchimp list: eepurl.com/biWGCr
Up, up and away!
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