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The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

By Darran Handshaw. Follow the adventures of Actaeon in the ruined, futuristic city of Redemption.

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The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

The Engineer, a Chronicles of Actaeon story

By Darran Handshaw. Follow the adventures of Actaeon in the ruined, futuristic city of Redemption.

By Darran Handshaw. Follow the adventures of Actaeon in the ruined, futuristic city of Redemption.

By Darran Handshaw. Follow the adventures of Actaeon in the ruined, futuristic city of Redemption.

By Darran Handshaw. Follow the adventures of Actaeon in the ruined, futuristic city of Redemption.

Darran Handshaw
Darran Handshaw
Darran Handshaw
Darran Handshaw
1 Campaign |
Sound Beach, United States
$1,060 USD by 22 backers
$1,060 USD by 22 backers on Apr 14, 2017
Overview
The Engineer is my first complete novel. It's the true story about how I met my wife in Redemption, a world created by Stefanie Handshaw and Simon Svensson, where I role-played the character Actaeon from 2009-2011. The adventures of Actaeon were some of the most memorable experiences of my life, and I tell that story and more in The Engineer. The book is fully written and just needs to be edited, formatted, have cover art made, and be published. For that I need your help!

The Novel

The first draft of The Engineer is complete at 229,000 words - that is about 500 pages in a 6"x 9" book.  It follows the story of Master Engineer Actaeon Rellios in the ruined futuristic city of Redemption, a shattered remnant of the advanced people known only as the Ancients, strewn with dangerous technology, strange creatures, and unforgiving terrain.

In the ruined city, survival is paramount -- politics, war and sustenance rule the minds of most who live there. But Actaeon is different; he is guided by an inquisitive mind and an endless quest for truth. Will these qualities lead him to discover the secrets of Redemption, or will they drive him to the same ruin as the Ancients?

The Engineer is a multi-faceted story that has a bit of something for everyone: science fiction, fantasy, adventure, action, romance, and intrigue.  

The Main Cast

Actaeon: The Engineer himself; a quirky and eccentric former resident of Shore who has journeyed to Pyramid in order to find better opportunities to study the artifacts and solve the mysteries of Redemption.

Eisandre: A young woman that serves as a Knight Arbiter of Pyramid, honor-bound to defend the neutrality of Redemption's political center.

Trench: A mercenary and veteran of the Invasion war, a giant man with a hideous scar across his face.  A brutal fighter that is fiercely loyal to his friends.

Wave: Trench's charismatic best friend and fellow mercenary and veteran.  Wave is one of the best swordsmen in Redemption, a reputation that allows him to cavort with the nobility.

Gunther: The Lord Shore, an older and prominent figure in the Raedelle Dominion who wants to see change in what he sees as the ineffective leadership of his people.

The Author

Darran M. Handshaw is the author of The Engineer - his first novel.  In addition to writing a book, Darran works as an R&D Engineer for Zebra Technologies where he designs and invents new data capture products and holds more than 10 patents.  In his spare time, Darran is also a firefighter and EMT with his local fire department where he recently completed a two-year term as Captain.  When Darran isn't writing, inventing things, or responding to emergencies, he enjoys his time with his wife, Stefanie, and baby son, Corwin.

Read an interview with Darran here: www.bit.ly/darraninterview

The Background

The Engineer is an especially important novel to Darran because it tells the true story of how he met his wife in the text-based, role-playing game Redemption.  The first draft of the novel is complete, and so only the final touches are left before the book can be published for all to read.  The Engineer will be published whether or not the goals of this campaign are achieved, but if you contribute, you can get cool items like:

  • A signed copy of The Engineer.
  • The Engineer's bookmark.
  • Both digital and printed artwork of the cover art and inside map.
  • The Engineer eBook.
  • Recognition in the book as a backer.
  • You could even help the author name one of the characters!

You will also be supporting the project to help fund the final steps in the process to help an author's dream come true.

What's Left

Even though the book has been written, there are quite a few things left to do before it can be published:

  • Cover Art must be commissioned and designed for the book.
  • Final editing must take place for grammar, spelling, and plot consistency.
  • Final touches must be made to the interior map.
  • The book must be formatted for print.
  • The book must be formatted for multiple e-reader formats.
  • The final edited and formatted story must be published.

The Plan

This is where you come in.  With your support, the author will be able to meet the expenses listed below in addition to paying and delivering your backer rewards.  Here's what needs to be done:

  • The cover art will be commissioned from Marcin Rubinkowski, a digital artist whose vision and style matches up nicely with the world of Redemption.  Check out some of his work here:  https://marcinrubinkowski.artstation.com/
    • Cost: $500
  • The book will be formatted for print and e-reader by Streetlight Graphics.  In addition, they will do any final formatting on the cover art for title and back matter.  You can take a look at their website here: http://www.streetlightgraphics.com/
    • Cost: $385
  • Editing will be completed by the author with help from some of his biggest supporters.  This process will take the longest time of all the things that must be done in order to deliver the best possible story to you, the reader.  Because of this, the book may not be ready for publishing until late summer. 
    • Cost: Varies depending on the need for print copies for editors.  Any extra money in this campaign will help fund this effort.
  • The interior map was made by the author as the concept art for Actaeon's map of Redemption.  Final touches will be made to the map by the author so that it is ready for the interior of the final, finished book.
    • Cost: Time.
  • The finished novel will be published using Amazon's Createspace, where Print copies will be available using their Print-on-Demand service and Kindle versions will also be available for the book.  The author also plans on publishing for Nook, Kobo, Apple, Google Play and Smashwords to cover the full variety of e-readers available.
    • Cost: Free + Sale Royalties + Print Costs.

The campaign goal has been set at a reasonable $1,000 to help cover the costs above, in addition to the rewards and editing costs.  Whether or not the goal is met, the plan above will still be completed by the author and any backers will be rewarded once the final work on The Engineer is complete.  If extra money is raised, it will be applied toward advertising the novel to better get the word out.  And, if enough is raised (2-3 thousand more), a professional editor may be hired for the final round of editing to help make the story read even better.

The Rewards

  • The Engineer Desktop Wallpaper:

A high resolution desktop wallpaper of the original cover art for the book.

  • Digital Map:

​A digital copy of the interior map of Redemption, hand drawn by Actaeon Rellios himself!

  • The Engineer eBook for Kindle:

An early release of The Engineer eBook in Kindle format. 

  • Printed Map 8"x10"*:

A large printed version of Actaeon's map of Redemption for the inside of the book.

  • The Engineer's Bookmark*:

A bookmark with art from the cover and promotional artwork so you won't lose your place while you read.

  • Cover Art 11"x14" print*:

A large print version of the original cover art for The Engineer, suitable for framing or use as a poster.

  • The Engineer - Signed Copy*:

​An early release version of the printed paperback novel, individually signed by the author.

  • An in-book Thank You

For major backers of the project, your name will be included inside the book as a thank you for your tremendous support.

  • Help name a character

You will help the author name a character in the book.  The author will discuss your suggestions with you and do his best to find a way to use a name of your suggestion in some form for one of the characters in the book.  The author will have the final say as to the use of the name as it must match the theme and fit the character well.  There are limited characters that are waiting for your help with a name, so get this one right away before they run out!

*All items marked with a (*) will only be shipped within the United States due to high shipping costs for the author to outside countries.  If you live outside of the US, check out the E-Reward Packs!

The Risks

The Engineer will be published regardless of the success of this campaign.  It is a dream of mine to publish a novel and the story has personal meaning to me.  Therefore, you will get your rewards even if the funding goal is not met - though any contribution you make will go a long way toward making this dream come true.

That said, I've set the date for the rewards conservatively as October 2017.  There are many things that can cause a delay in the process, not the least of which being that I've never edited a book before.  I'm shooting for a late summer publishing date, so you may see your rewards even earlier!  I will post any updates to the finalization of The Engineer here, so you will be the first to know (well, second if you count me) how quickly I'm making out and what challenges I run into.

If you have any other questions or concerns, you can feel free to message me on The Engineer's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ActaeonRellios/  and I'll be sure to get back to you quickly. 

Other Ways You Can Help

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but there are other ways to help out too:

Thank you for everything!

-Darran M. Handshaw

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Choose your Perk

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Luminary Reward Pack

$40 USD
The Luminary Reward Pack gets you a signed copy of The Engineer and a special bookmark.
Included Items
  • The Engineer's Bookmark
  • The Engineer - Signed Copy
Estimated Shipping
October 2017
8 claimed
Ships to United States of America

Wave's Flamberge E-Reward Pack

$20 USD
Wave's Flamberge has all the electronic rewards in one place.
Included Items
  • The Engineer Desktop Wallpaper
  • Digital Map
  • The Engineer eBook for Kindle
Estimated Shipping
October 2007
0 claimed

Actaeon's Halberd Reward Pack

$50 USD
You get an early, signed copy of The Engineer, a bookmark, plus all of the digital reward items including an eBook copy so your signed copy can remain pristine on your shelf.
Included Items
  • The Engineer Desktop Wallpaper
  • Digital Map
  • The Engineer eBook for Kindle
  • The Engineer's Bookmark
  • The Engineer - Signed Copy
Estimated Shipping
October 2017
3 claimed
Ships to United States of America
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