***Update***
How would you like to win 6 limited hardcover books in the Empire of Blood series, no donation or purchase necessary?
Just make sure you're signed into your Indiegogo account (or register for one if need be, it's completely free!) and then share the link on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or via the Indiegogo share tools on the campaign page where you can even share via email or embed it on your blog! Basically share the hell out of it, because Indiegogo tracks each of those as referrals and the person with the most referrals at the end of this campaign will win signed limited hardcover copies of each of the following as soon as they're available: SHINING IN CRIMSON: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK ONE (available in October), FADING IN DARKNESS: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK TWO (already available), RISING FROM ASHES: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK THREE (slated for January to March release), ORIGINS OF BLOOD: THE RISE OF CAESAR (summer 2014), ORIGINS OF BLOOD: ISHAN THE ANCIENT (autumn 2014), and ORIGINS OF BLOOD: QUEEN OF THE DEAD (winter 2014).
And for those of you who have already contributed, you can also compete to win. If you happen to win and you've already chosen one of the prizes as your contribution perk, you will receive a special replacement gift.
Robert S. Wilson and Empire of Blood:
"Robert S. Wilson proves himself a master of the dark fantastic."--Tim Waggoner, author of LIKE DEATH and THE HARMONY SOCIETY
"A writer on the rise, Robert S. Wilson's fiction is highly original, deftly written, and shows a refreshing commitment to (and respect for) craft and depth."--Greg F. Gifune, author, THE BLEEDING SEASON
"Wilson is a dark force to be reckoned with."--Trent Zelazny, author of DESTINATION UNKNOWN and FRACTAL DESPONDENCY
Praise for Shining in Crimson: Empire of Blood Book One
"A big-scale vampire thriller that changes the rules."--Scott Nicholson, bestselling Kindle author of After, Liquid Fear, and They Hunger
"One of the best surprises I've had in a long while. Writing with a smart, self-assured ease, Robert S. Wilson has given us a gift with Shining in Crimson. Part Underworld, part Escape From New York, Shining in Crimson is genuinely frightening, genuinely thrilling, but above all, first-rate storytelling. I'm a Robert S. Wilson fan from now on!"--
Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Apocalypse of the Dead
"Robert S. Wilson shows a lot of promise here with this debut novel. Now it's time to see where that promise will take him."--Ray Wallace, The Chiaroscuro
"You'll not find some glistening torsos and smouldering eyes in this book. What you will find is a brilliantly thought out society of Vampires."--Jim Mcleod, Ginger Nuts of Horror
"The Mesh of Religious symbolism and political commentary tucked neatly between pure horror and suspense is superb."--Lisa Lane, The Cerebral Writer
"With well-fleshed characters, multiple storylines and a vampire history that makes sense, Shining in Crimson: (Empire of Blood #1) is a well-written horror novel. I am anticipating the second and third books in the series."--Trembles Horror Magazine
Introducing RISING FROM ASHES: EMPIRE OF BLOOD BOOK THREE! Click here to read the description for book three on its Goodreads page. (***Warning: This description has spoiliers for those who have yet to finish Fading in Darkness***)
Hi, I'm Robert S. Wilson, author of the Empire of Blood series (SHINING IN CRIMSON, FADING IN DARKNESS and the forthcoming RISING FROM ASHES). I'm a Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor and author of dark speculative fiction ranging from science fiction and dark fantasy to noir and horror.
When I first started to get feedback from readers about SHINING IN CRIMSON, the most common response I got went something like this, "Where is book two? When will it be out? What kind of monster ARE YOU? HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Well, not so much those last two although I did have a couple of (albeit understandable) nasty and negative complaints after a while. And at the time I started writing FID, I had every intention of releasing the book within the next year. And then life went and changed on me. See, back then I was only a writer. But then I got into editing. I started with co-editing the AIDS charity book, Horror for Good: A Charitable Anthology. And then from there my life, and attention, became split in two directions. Writing and editing.
Shortly after that, along with two partners, I launched Nightscape Press and became its Editor in Chief. And ever since I've been very, very busy. But these things alone do not pay the bills yet, sadly, and I long ago took up freelance editing and various other author services in order to get by. Between both Nightscape Press and freelance work, I end up with very little time for writing. And because of which, it took nearly two years to finish FADING IN DARKNESS. And that was completely due to the fact that I had too many commitments to handle at the same time.
So, I know as more people read FADING IN DARKNESS, they are going to want to read the next book and I'd like to make that happen much faster this time. I have two chapters written, but I find myself constantly dragged away from my progress by other commitments. So my plan with this fundraiser at its core, is to help fund the process of finishing the book in three short months. Two months to write it and one for a professional editor to help me make it shine. This time period would start as soon as the fundraiser is over. So, if all works out, the book will be ready to release as early as the beginning of January, 2014!
This money will also cover the cost of editing, cover art, promotion, paying for the perks I'm offering to contributors, my coke habit (just kidding!), etc. This book is in my head and so very ready to come out into the world. And regardless of this campaign the book will see the light of day. But I don't think I'm the only one who doesn't want to wait another two friggin' years for that to happen!
The Perks!
I think I've put together some great perks for long time fans as well as people who have yet to read even the first Empire of Blood book:
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Ebook editions of RISING FROM ASHES and/or SHINING IN CRIMSON (book one) and FADING IN DARKNESS (book two) for a low price!
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Signed paperback and limited hardcover editions of each individual book in the series as well as the same in omnibus editions.
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Interactive perks: Name a vampire or a Foederati soldier in RISING FROM ASHES. Use your own name or somebody elses, or make one up. Your call!
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Rare pieces of memorabilia: Signed and personalized manuscripts of SHINING IN CRIMSON, an early draft of my unpublished novella THE NESTING PLACE, and more.
- All contributors of any amount will be listed in the book's acknowledgements page (unless, of course, you're embarrassed to be seen with me!). All contributors who choose a physical perk will receive a signed Empire of Blood bookmark as well.
The Impact?
Contributors to this campaign can sleep with ease at night knowing they've helped solve global problems like world hunger, war, and climate change (okay, maybe actually none of that really...):
While this fundraiser is going I will be finishing up my current freelance obligations and getting what little writing I can done. If funded I will balance a very strict writing schedule with my work at Nightscape Press and finish an editor-ready draft of RISING FROM ASHES within two months of the end of this fundraiser in order to have the book edited, formatted, and ready in at least ebook format for contributors by early January. Then the process of paperback and hardcover production, ordering, signing and personalizing will take place with the goal of having all copies shipped out by the end of March at the very latest. As far as the public release goes, I have yet to decide how I will handle that. As I said earlier, a portion of these funds will go to promotion and I would like to have at least a month after the book is ready to promote it before releasing it publicly.
Here's my prior track record as an author, editor, and publisher:
Over the past several years as a writer I have written two novels (Empire of Blood books one and two), two novellas (THE QUIET and EXIT REALITY) and over a dozen short stories for various markets and as Kindle downloads.
As an editor I have co-edited two anthologies (the Bram Stoker Award-nominated HORROR FOR GOOD: A CHARITABLE ANTHOLOGY which contributes to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research and is available now, and NIGHTSCAPES VOLUME 1 which will be available soon) and solely edited one anthology (BLOOD TYPE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF VAMPIRE SF ON THE CUTTING EDGE which will contribute to The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and is due to be released on October 30th this year).
And as a publisher I have edited and released five novels (A REQUIEM FOR DEAD FLIES by Peter N. Dudar, the Bram Stoker Award-winning LIFE RAGE by L.L. Soares, DUNGEON BRAIN by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Benjamin Kane Ethridge, THE EVOLUTIONIST by Rena Mason, and STEALING NIGHT by Peter Giglio), three novellas (BUTTERFLY POTION by Nightmare Award-winning author Trent Zelazny, SUNFALL MANOR by Peter Giglio, and THE ANGEL OF SHADWELL by Jonathan Templar, and proofread and published one anthology (WORLD'S COLLIDER: A SHARED-WORLD ANTHOLOGY edited by Richard Salter).
For those who might be interested, here is a breakdown of how the funds donated to this campain will be used:
- $1,000 more or less will go to my Promotion and Production fund to cover the cost of hiring a professional editor, cover artwork, some other minor production costs, and to promote the book.
- $2,000 more or less will go to paying for the production and shipping of the physical perks offered in this campaign as well as counting the cut that Indiegogo will take out. If this ends up costing more than 2k, the extra will come from my Promotion and Production fund, if it ends up costing less, more will go toward promotion.
- $2,000 will go toward two months of living expenses to cover my bills and any possible materials I need during the two month stretch of finishing the final draft of the book.
Other Ways You Can Help
For those of you who cannot contribute but would like to help out:
- You can tell your friends by word of mouth, sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Goodreads, Livejournal, your blog, smoke writing, morse code, yelling through a bullhorn in a moving car, or live song and dance performances!
- Don't forget to make great use of the Indiegogo share tools!
- You could probably pray for my immortal soul... no never mind, too late...
