Kickstarter/Pre-order for War of the Seasons, a fantasy trilogy with a strong female protagonist and minimal sparkling!

For me, it all started with a boy named Will.

I first met William Snell in the spring of 2003, and Katie Johnson the following year.

In 2005, seven year old Katie passed away after her battle with cancer. In 2008, eighteen year old Will died in a single car accident. Will and Katie had a very special relationship, and both of them left a lasting imprint on the lives of everyone they touched.

Katie’s father Albin Johnson said this about Will a few hours after his passing: “William was an incredible young soul – at the age of 15 he volunteered to visit Katie while she was bed-ridden and they quickly hit it off as friends. Will earned a place in Katie’s heart when she dared him to take some of her yucky medicine – and he did. He stayed by her side and read to her, watched t.v. with her, and was there only days before she passed to present her with her Honorary Membership in the Legion. I cannot over emphasize the depth of this young man’s soul, who we will miss terribly in the Carolina Garrison. He was our best and youngest and tragically cut down before he even got his TK number. ” Don’t worry – Al made sure Will got his TK number posthumously. ☺

So, as I think you’ve probably picked up on Will and Katie were very important to me, and their loss (along with others, like my dear uncle Milton) motivated me to write War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human. It was the only way I could find to express everything that I was feeling and have a place where my loved ones could live forever. In June 2011, after several heavy revisions and workshop treatments, The Human was published by Silence in the Library Publishing.

If you’re here, you’ve probably read the first two War of the Seasons novels, but just in case: The protagonist of “The Human,” Story, starts out as an angry teenager battered by the loss of loved ones. As is usually the case with this type of loss, in her anger she strikes out unreasonably against those who love her and want to help her. Through the course of an epic adventure in which Story finds herself thrust into a magical world she does not understand and wants to escape, and called upon to be the savior of that world, the reader gets to see her development from an angry, confused, lonely teenager to a human being who learns and grows from the loss she has experienced.

Book two, The Half-blood, is much darker, and Story has to deal with the consequences of her choices/actions in The Human.

And now what this whole post has been leading up to, the last book in the War of the Seasons trilogy, The Hunter and its Kickstarter.

In “The Hunter,” Story faces an evil greater than any she’s encountered before. As darkness looms over Ailionora, Story, her companions, and all of the races of Ailionora band together to fight for their very survival.

The initial print run for War of the Seasons, book 3: The Hunter is going to be funded through a Kickstarter, which means this is essentially how you can pre-order the book.

That said Silence in the Library Publishing has some pretty exciting offers over at the Kickstarter page, one of which I’m going to mention now. Ron and Al worked together to create an exclusive Will and Katie patch that you will only be able to get at select reward levels as part of this Kickstarter. The patch features Will posing in Stormtrooper armor and Katie in Rebel uniform. I’d like to personally thank talented artist Juan Jose Matamoros for creating and donating the patch design. Of note, I’m not allowed to say on the Kickstarter website, but I can say it here, all proceeds from any sales of Will & Katie patches or Will’s prints (you can find out about that at the Kickstarter website) will go to the Make a Wish Foundation and the Craven Arts Council as both these organizations were significant in Katie & Will’s lives. As you can see below, the patch is pretty awesome, and captures the spirit of both Will and Katie:

Another thing I want to bring up here are some of the stretch goals this Kickstarter has: Ron managed to convince (and I don’t know how, but I’m not questioning it) some pretty amazing authors to write short stories in the War of the Seasons universe. Authors you know and love, like Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston, and authors you know from other venues, like Cleolinda Jones, Albin Johnson, Maggie Allen, and Bryan Young.

Additionally, my amazing cover artist Betsy Waddell is standing by to create illustrations for each of those stories. If we hit those stretch goals, everyone at the $5 and above level will receive electronic copies of all of the short stories at no additional cost. After the Kickstarter is over, Silence in the Library Publishing will bundle the stories together with some of my other War of the Seasons short stories and publish them as a print anthology (everyone always asks why there are only 3 books if there are 4 seasons… there were always going to be 4 books ☺).

And you guys, there’s SO MUCH MORE. So be sure to check out the Kickstarter for War of the Seasons: The Hunter and please consider contributing and help fund the initial print run for The Hunter, the pivotal final book in the War of the Seasons trilogy.

If you can’t contribute monetarily, please, if you wouldn’t mind, spread the word to all your friends and family, and keep spreading the word. By doing so you’ll not only help see War of the Seasons through to its thrilling conclusion, but help keep Will and Katie’s memories alive.

Thank you.

If you want to spread the word and would like something easy to cut and paste, here you go:

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Check out the new Kickstarter for Janine K. Spendlove’s War of the Seasons Trilogy. A trio of great fantasy novels, and stretch goal short stories by authors like Michael A. Stackpole, Aaron Allston, Bryan Young, Maggie Allen, Albin Johnson, and Cleolinda Jones. With a lot of really cool extras and add-ons, there’s sure to be something for everyone. http://tinyurl.com/pquscr4

Twitter:
Kickstarter Launch for Janine Spendlove’s War of the Seasons fantasy trilogy. Check it out! Please support/RT http://tinyurl.com/pquscr4

Tumblr: You can reblog my post here: http://janinekspendlove.tumblr.com/post/63460463359/kickstarter-pre-order-for-war-of-the-seasons-a

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In case you missed my last blog post about “How I do it all? (answer: I DON’T),” you can find it here.