But For Real...

…now the book is done.

Thanks to the wonderful Chad Anderson of Graymalkin Lane, I was able to squeeze in one more interview for the book this past Saturday. Because when the legendary Janice Chiang asks for your phone number, you give it to her and make room in your book for her voice. Why was I so excited? Well, listen, it’s JANICE CHIANG. She’s lettered so many beloved stories throughout the years- including over half of the first volume of Alpha Flight- and I was so excited to connect with her. With specificity, we talked about Issue 106 and how that landmark issue came together. In general, she gave me (and subsequently, you all) insight to her creative process and how lettering is a beautiful art we often undervalue as fans.

Yesterday I made my final (yes, actually) changes to the book to include Janice’s voice. I think the book is richer for it and, after wanting to talk to her for months, it is well worth it. So the files are all uploaded and everything is set for Barnes & Noble to crank out copies for the July 1 publication date! Who else is ready for Canada Day to get here?!?!?

I posted about the book in several facebook groups and on Instagram last week- the very talented Mark Eastwood collaborated with me on an image, including Richard Lumsden’s fantastic logo, to publicly announce pre-orders. I received comments (some constructive, some not so much) from international folks who wanted to order a copy. I know I’ve written this before, but I went with Barnes & Noble because they are both not Amazon and they have physical stores in the United States where folks can go in and order a copy to ship there (if they don’t want to order it online). Their international distribution is not as robust as Amazon (although they do ship to Canada, which was the most important criteria in selecting a service). Also, I realize that in today’s climate, some folks may not want to contribute to a United States headquartered business. I totally get it- it frustrates me, too. So if you are aware of a similar print on demand process for Canada, the UK, France…really, anywhere…please let me know ([email protected]). It’s hard out here for self-published authors and resources are limited; I am also not interested in going with a predatory publisher that will charge thousand for the privilege of distributing a book. The advantage of print on demand is that copies are literally printed based on orders received- and that’s the model I really enjoy for a lot of reasons.

Anyway, that’s enough of that! My next update will include pictures of the in-hand copy of the book on its way to me right now. We’re less than a month away and this is all suddenly VERY real!