[Guest Post by Jon S. Lewis] Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons (A Kickstarter Project)

Hey folks! Today I have the amazing Jon S. Lewis (author of the Grey Griffins series) on the blog, and he's here to talk about a project very close to his heart, and ultimately, a project that can save so many lives. Without further ado, please take the time to read this post!

 

 (Kickstarter Page)

Stephenie Meyer, Project Book Babe and Why I Want to Give Back

A couple years ago a friend found out that she had breast cancer. To compound the situation, she couldn’t afford the treatment. So I got mad and then I called and emailed some author friends and we went to work.

Faith happened to be the children’s book buyer at Changing Hands Bookstore and she not only helped launch my career, but she’s been an amazing champion for authors like Stephenie Meyer, Aprilynne Pike, Lisa McMann and quite a few others.

So I went to work with Stephenie, Brandon Mull, Shannon Hale, Laini Taylor and a few other authors to create an event called Project Book Babe. We were able to raise enough money for Faith to pay for her medical care and living expenses while she went through her treatment. And I’m happy to report that she’s alive and well, but there are also thousands of other women who aren’t getting the care they need.

A New Venture to Raise Money for Breast Cancer Research

As I write my next book (Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons), I enlisted some of author friends to write an anthology of short stories set in that same world. I can’t wait to read their stories, but the best part is that 100% of the profits from that anthology will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/) and Kids Need to Read (http://www.kidsneedtoread.org/).

And these aren’t just any authors … they’re some of the biggest names in the industry today:

• Brandon Mull | NY Times Bestselling Author, Fablehaven
• Aprilynne Pike | NY Times Bestselling Author, Wings
• Frank Beddor | NY Times Bestselling Author, Looking Glass Wars
• Michael Spradlin | NY Times Bestselling Author, Youngest Templar
• Dean Lorey | Co-Executive Producer, Arrested Development
• Shannon Messenger | Let the Sky Fall, Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Tom Leveen | Party, manicpixiedreamgirl, Sick
• Joseph Nassise | International Bestselling Author, Templar Chronicles
• Matt Forbeck | Leverage: The Con Job based on the TNT television series
• Janette Rallison | My Fair Godmother, Slayers

The One Drawback

Each short story in the Grey Griffins anthology will be professionally edited. It will also have its own professional cover painted by Scott Altmann (http://www.scottaltmann.com/). But the one drawback when you publish your own book is that you need to come up with the money to cover all the expenses.

It’s why I’m running a Kickstarter campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1363603530/grey-griffins-night-of-dragons) to help pay for the artwork and the editorial for the anthology as well as Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons.

Crowdsourcing a novel is basically a way for readers to make pre-order so we can invest the money into making the product. We tried to make it so there were pledge levels for every budget, which is why they start at only $1.

There are some fun rewards like custom Grey Griffins short stories, collectible character trading cards and sketches from the cover artist. For the writers out there, we’re even offering the chance for a query letter review, a partial manuscript review, and a Skype brainstorm session where I’ll help you come up with ideas for your story.

You Can Get Your Own Story Published in the Anthology

I love helping new writers break into the industry, so I’m also going to give people a chance to get a short story published in the anthology right alongside all of those New York Times bestselling authors. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in you can find the submission guidelines here: bit.ly/gg-anthology.

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your consideration to back the Kickstarter campaign. I’m going to need your help to make this project a reality, and I know that together we can do something incredible!