EVERYTHING BUT THE DRAGONS!
29 days ago
– Wed, Aug 21, 2024 at 02:42:38 PM
I'm sorry you haven't heard from me sooner. It has been a crazy summer so far. The GREAT news is that the books for the Kickstarter and Backerkit fulfillment are HERE.
Two Fridays ago, Rita had an uncharacteristic day off (usually she is watching the grandbaby while her parents work, but both parents were home following some dental surgery). We sat on the back deck on a beautiful day debating whether to work on something or just chillax. I mentioned that I should have books arriving soon, but hadn't heard any word about their delivery date. I only knew it would be soon. "We could rearrange the garage, consolidate the Found Worlds books remaining and get rid of the trash: make room for the books when they come." Rita suggested we wait and do it Saturday. But after a couple more minutes, we decided to get it done.
Four hours later, we had filled the pickup with old pallets and garbage, the big, gray recycling bin was packed solid with carboard, and we had everything consolidated so:
Not more than half an hour later, a big UPS truck came up the street. I said, "Wouldn't it be Ironic if that was my books, for the Kickstarter?"
It was my books for the Kickstarter. Irony achieved.
In the photo above, the standard edition on the right only looks smaller because of parallax. They're actually the same dimensions (the Special Edition books are printed on thicker paper, however, and come with the slipcase).
Santa and I had already arranged to get together here at the studio on Sunday to sign the photos for the Santa-signature add-on (everyone who bought Santa's signature in a book also gets a photo of me and Santa signing them). Now all the books were here too, so we spent the afternoon signing books and talking about toys and reindeer and such.
That puts everything on site except for the Dragon variant covers for those who ordered the Dragon Special Edition, and the packing material. The covers are at the printers as we speak, and should arrive in early September.
I have Dragon Con coming up at the end of the month, so there's prep to do for that. Then in the first week of September I will begin mailing your books! The Dragon Editions will probably go out last, but fear not—you are well ahead of the Christmas rush!
Thank you again for helping me realize this project of 34 years. I couldn't have done it without you.
EVERYTHING BUT THE PRINTING! And one other thing...
2 months ago
– Tue, Jul 09, 2024 at 05:28:45 PM
Hello! I apologize for the long silence. It has been a very buy summer! There was an old children's book that I thought was the 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, one of Dr. Suess's earliest works. But I was wrong. In the story I'm thinking of, a hat salesman is heading into town with dozens of hats stacked on his head, when he is accosted by an army of mischievous monkeys. I could have sworn that was Bart the Cubby, but that story is very different. So I have no idea. But that's me: too many hats stacked on my head: Illustrator, author, designer, printer, entrepreneur, con-goer, marketing guy (I ought to fire me, but no one else will work so cheap), launderer, maid, chief cook and bottle-washer, and grandpop!
One hat worn and removed: I did the ALA / San Diego whirlwind signing gig on June 30th. That was crazy strange. I've spent countless hours in that convention hall when the Comic Con ran. I never saw so many people who looked like Librarians, or who were so polite, or who didn't careen through the crowds on a mad dash for free stuff. It was actually very cool and really chill. I signed and gave away 50 or so Advance Reader's Copies (and came home with 10 more of my own. I'll talk in another post about what I intend to do with them).
As to production, last I reported, the books were at the printers, but apparently there were a couple of hurdles yet to be cleared. Not major, but the language and ocean divides are huge. That said, Brown has done a great job of handling their suppliers (Brown has clout by virtue of volume). As of this minute everything is approved. This was the message I got this morning from Brown Books:
"Advances for 12 days are scheduled to ship on 7/29 and the bulk shipment goes out on 8/5. We are working with the plant to ship the special edition direct to you, and I will have more details on that later this week. Getting closer!"
94% of you have filled out your surveys: Good for you, and THANK YOU! If you don't know where your BackerKit survey is, or If you accidentally deleted the email containing your survey, you can recover it by going to the survey recovery page. Enter the name of the project you backed and then the email address you used to pledge on your crowdfunding platform.
In the meantime, I have started the alternate Dragon-themed cover for the Dragon version of the Special Edition. Here's a sneak peek:
This is the last thing left to complete. I am a little bit behind schedule, but we've been doing a lot of babysitting lately. I must say that it eats up huge chunks of days, but it's not a hat I'm willing to take off!
More when I know more,
Todd
Catching Up! Book news, ALA, and more!
4 months ago
– Thu, Jun 06, 2024 at 11:11:40 AM
I apologize for the lateness of this update. I've been working on getting the Backerkit page up to speed. It has launched! The button that reads FOLLOW ALONG! takes you to the Backerkit storefront. Send your friends or relatives that missed the campaign here:
https://the-twelve-days-of-christmas-0.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
The book itself is now completely finished and on its way to the printers, I expect to take delivery in July or August, and then fulfillment will start immediately. You should all have your goodies before the book releases across the country (across the world?) in October. You will be sooo ready for Christmas.
Meanwhile, I will attend the American Library Association's annual meetup in San Diego. On June 30, I'll be signing Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) at The School Library Journal's ALA booth #1638. This is happening on my own dime, so I appreciate my backers all the more—with your help, I may get this book into libraries everywhere.
Finally, I'll soon start work on the Dragon Edition alternate dust-jacket, the prize in the Dragon Special Edition exclusive. I'll post updates all over the place as that progresses.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart, which is where I assume the cockles of my heart are located.
Todd
Advance praise for The Twelve days of Christmas:
4 months ago
– Thu, May 09, 2024 at 04:56:21 PM
“I never would have guessed that renowned fantasy illustrator Todd Lockwood had this delightfully whimsical side. His skill, as always, is astonishing, but the over-the-top fun he brings to this Christmas classic is a wonderful surprise. I still haven’t found all of the rings and hens and maids a-milking that he has hidden in these pages, but my grandchildren and I are gonna have a blast searching for them!” —Warren Hanson, New York Times Bestselling Illustrator of A Cup of Christmas Tea and the Beloved Peef: The Christmas Bear Series
Deadline Reminder
5 months ago
– Mon, May 06, 2024 at 12:03:47 PM
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