My name is Michael J. Sullivan, and I've been publishing for a little less than a decade. Over that time, I have released 14 novels and sold more than 1.4 million books in the English language (and an unknown number through my 75+ foreign language translations.

I recently heard from one of my publishers (Del Rey, a fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House), that they have put the hardcover edition of Age of Swords out of print, and they're offering me the opportunity to buy the remaining stock before the books are pulped or offered to resellers.  Unfortunately, buying those remaining copies aren't cheap. But neither are the prices that marketplace sellers are charging.

Prices for new (and used) copies of this book have already skyrocketed.

These sellers are capitalizing on the out-of-print status.  I hate this kind of price-gouging, and if I gobble up all the remaining books they won't be able to get any more copies. The above screenshot was taken 8/26/18. For current prices use this link.

Whether pulped, remaindered, or sold through resellers, I, the author, receive exactly $0 from any future sales of this edition. But that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that my readers will either not be able to get a copy or will have to pay outrageous pricing because they waited too long to pick up the hardcover when it was first released.

This campaign is being launched to solve these two problems. If funded, I'll buy those remaining copies and sell them at list price ($28 on my website, but I'll offer a 20% discount for purchases through this campaign). 

But this is the 2nd book in the series, I don't want to jump into the middle!

That's a perfectly understandable sentiment, and that is why this project also provides perks to get the first book as well.  Heck, you can buy all three released novels if you want to!

Now that we are fully funded (and thanks for that, by the way), let's provide some stretch goals to take the project to the next level (and give you some bonus perks).  So here goes:

• GOAL #4: $30,000 total funding - I'll write a second short-story based on the world of Legends of the First Empire. This one will feature Suri and Minna.
   
• GOAL #3: $25,000 total funding - We'll host two on-line Q&A conference calls, the first one will be geared towards writers and will talk about the craft and business side of writing. The other will be geared toward readers and talk about Michael's writing process, past works, and what's coming up in the future. We'll take questions both during and before the call, and we'll record them so people can watch even if they aren't available when they air.
   
• GOAL #2: REACHED: $20,000 total funding - A number of people have been emailing and asking whether the bookmarks would be signed. Well, I hadn't planned on it, but I'm willing to take the extra effort. So, let's make that our next stretch goal shall we? 
   
• GOAL #1 REACHED: $5,000 over funding ($16,360) - if we reach this level we'll make an  Age of Swords bookmark and it to the orders. We already have an Age of Myth and an Age of War bookmark so this will complete the set (and any orders with those other books will have their corresponding bookmarks so your books and your bookmarks will match)!

So, what is this book about?  Well, here's the marketing copy from the jacket flap:

In Age of Myth, fantasy master Michael J. Sullivan launched readers on an epic journey of magic and adventure, heroism and betrayal, love and loss. Now the thrilling saga continues as the human uprising is threatened by powerful enemies from without—and bitter rivalries from within.

Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but long-standing enmities dividing the Rhunes make it all but impossible to unite against the common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess renders them indistinguishable from gods?

The answer lies across the sea in a faraway land populated by a reclusive and dour race who feel nothing but disdain for both Fhrey and mankind. With time running out, Persephone leads the gifted young seer Suri, the Fhrey sorceress Arion, and a small band of misfits in a desperate search for aid—a quest that will take them into the darkest depths of Elan where an ancient adversary waits, as fearsome as it is deadly.

So, that may sound great, but is the book any good? Well, I think so, but then again I might be a bit biased. ;-) But Age of Swords has received excellent ratings from others who have read it.  There are more than 15,000 ratings/reviews from sites such as Goodreads, Amazon, and Audible.com and more than 90% have rated it a 4- or 5-star and only 2.14% as a 1- or 2-star.

But why listen to others when you can check out the books for yourself?  Here are some links to sample chapters:

• Sample Chapter of Age of Myth (Book #1 of the series)

• Sample Chapter of Age of Swords (Book #2 of the series)

• Sample Chapter for Age of War (Book #3 of the series)

Perks for this campaign are actually pretty straightforward: a hardcover edition of Age of Swords (and other books in the series if you want them, too).

Because you'll get the books directly from us, there are a number of additional perks we'll be providing to our backers.

• 20% discount ($22 rather than $28 for all copies of the books sold in this campaign)
• All books bought through this campaign will be signed.
• You'll be acknowledged on my website as one of the people making this possible.
• You'll receive a free short story (Little Wren and the Big Forest).
• You'll receive screen savers featuring the work of Marc Simonetti (who created the cover).

There is one perk, however, that needs a bit more explanation, and that's "The Night in Avryln." You see, about a year and a half ago Robin (my wife) built us a cabin in the Shenandoah Valley (near Luray VA). We've moved there full-time and are loving it. When it was built, we put in two extra guest rooms (and also have a 2-room guest suite above the carriage house). We've had lots of visitors: family, friends, fans of my writing, and other writers. If you would like to come to "The Valley" and hang out with us we'd love you to visit as well. And if you're a writer, we'll even critique some of your work. There are a limited number of these rewards, and you must provide your own transportation to the area, but once you arrive, we'll take care of you well. Lots of food, drink, and the guest rooms are comfy. 

If you want to see more images of where you'll be staying, you can click here.

NOTE: You can choose your own date (we'll schedule based on first-come-first-picked), and it can be any time in 2018 or 2019. I do, however, recommend the warm months as the pool is wonderful, and there is plenty of surrounding things to do including hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, mountain biking, tubing, zip lining, and there are also famous caves to check out.

I think it's important for you to know where your hard-earned cash is going. We structured this campaign to cover only our expenses, no profit whatsoever. But after funding, I'll have extra books to sell via my website (which will provide me an income going forward).  Here's what we need the money for:

• Buying the original copies from Penguin Random House
• Shipping them to a fulfillment center who will package and ship the books to you
• Paying for one year of storage (because I doubt I'll sell out all the copies now)
• Paying Indiegogo and credit card processing fees

The cost breakdown is as follows:

As for shipping fees from us to you, I have no interest in making money from that, so I set those fees to just barely cover our costs. You can click here to see how they were calculated. If you looked at the link, you'll see there is money for a fulfillment company to pick and ship the books, the shipping materials (boxes & envelopes), and the fees paid directly to the United States Postal Service. For our other crowd-funding projects, Robin used to package and ship the books herself (with the help of my daughter Sarah), but that's such a Herculean task (and she's developed wrist problems in addition to her knee and back issues), so I don't want her to do the shipping any longer.

The risks for this project couldn't be smaller. Age of Swords already exists (and was produced by the largest publishing company in the world), more than 250,000 copies of books in the series have been sold, and I've already set up a fulfillment company to ship orders. All I have to do is sign the copies. I guess there is some risk that the books will be involved in a crash during transportation to the fulfillment house, but if that happens, I'll gladly refund all payments received.

Oh, and just to be clear. Full funding means I buy all the books, but a partial funding means I'll buy as many books as the funds allow, but no matter what the funding level everyone who pledges WILL get their books, so no worries on that front. 

Well, I think that about covers everything. Oh, except to say I've run several other crowd-funding campaigns in the past and they have gone amazingly well. You can check out the comments and updates to see what the backers have to say with regard to my responsiveness and deliverability on those projects:

• Disappearance of Winter's Daughter | 2,075 backers | $80,332 raised
• The Death of Dulgath | 1,750 backers | $73,163 raised
• Hollow World | 861 backers | $30,857 raised

I do hope you'll check out the book and help me get these hardcovers away from the price gougers and into the hands of readers at a reasonable price. As always, I thank you for your support.

Oh, and if you already have the book(s), don't like hardcovers, or just don't have the funds right now, please consider sharing this campaign with your friends and family by posting through social media.